Very dry!

A few pictures to show just how dry it is.
The garden still produces good crops. We are eating cucumbers, beans, peas, tomatoes, a bit of corn, kale, silverbeet fresh with plenty more crops to come.
The dam (pond) is drying up. The picture shows its level tonight. Normally it is 5 feet higher. We are just getting no rain. When clouds form they pass over with barely a drop landing. We have had no decent rain since December. Sign of the times or El Nino?

We had a quiet weekend last. That is pretty much what we all needed as the previous week had been pretty busy. I am starting to get warmed up with the breakneck pace of school. It takes me by surprise every year. If we did not have such good long restful holidays, I would never get to the blissful state of restedness that I achieve by late January. Teachers over here look years younger in January than they do in December!

So, we went to town and purchased paint and materials for the roof. The iron from which it is made had become rusted in places, so applying the stitch-in-time principle Stuart and I went up and sanded and primed and eventually top coated the main rusty bits. On Sunday we did our usual Sunday morning bits, had a big dinner and then went out to Diggers to see Ruth and Stephan. We cooled off from the muggy heat in their deluxe alfresco swimming pond. I am in training for a tryathlon so it was my first bit of swim training. Much nicer than the session I did this Wednesday in the town pool, eyes stinging from the chlorine and no sign of the dragonflies that kept me company at the country venue.

Ruth showed us some of their special plants and I took pictures of the ones I was unfamiliar with. Kohekohe is abundant in their bush. There was a matai and a tree that we could not identify. Great fun and it adds a whole new dimension to being outside.

Family news: all settling in well at school. patrick enjoyed a trip to the RNZAF brass band with school on Wednesday. Eric is enjoying his Year 10 Food Technology classes and expands his repertoire of basic dishes. Stuart is apparently doing well in German. One of the advantages of teaching in the same school as your kids. You get to keep a close eye on what is going on. They are both in the 2010 Kaitaia College Chess Tournament.

Kayak to Lane Cove

Chantelle, a friend called Ty and I all spent last Saturday kayaking out to Lane Cove in the Whangaroa Harbour.
As you can see from the pictures the place is pristine. We had been to the wharf at Totara North before for a fish and had watched boats heading out. It was great to follow in their wakes and see what lay around each corner.

It was Chantelle's first kayak journey and she did very well. We worked out from Google Earth that we must have paddled at least 12km. Conditions were good, apart from a head wind on both the way out and the way back (how does that work then?).

Lane Cove is an arm of Whangaroa where DOC have built a hut so that people can stay overnight. No food, cookers or electric ... just a roof over your head and some bunks. I will certainly be figuring a way to get out there again for an overnighter. Ty is more experienced at the kayaking and he trots out to offshore islands to camp. He had a little rod on his boat and he even managed to catch a snapper as we were moving along.

We got out for a stretch at Lane Cove and climbed up a steep path to the lookout high above. basically on top of the rocks you can see in one picture. The view from the top was stunning and panoramic. I have included just the seaward view.

We went home happy, if a little stiff in places. The boys had separated up to various friends to allow us a bit of quality "us" time. Hopefully we will do it again some time soon.