Time for a trim

Last week we had the tree guy here trimming our palm trees. We have 5 around our property and sometimes the leaves go brown and look really untidy so we contacted our landlord who arranged for Steve (above) to come and have a look. Immediately he got to work and also had a wood chipper he put everything into. 

I don't know if you have heard of Phoenix Palm trees but they grow on average to about 18 metres tall and if you get stung by their leaves with your fingers/hands or stand on them they can lead to an infection, they really are nasty. 

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Strawberries anyone?

So while Summer is on it's way here I happened to see someone trying to sell Strawberries a bit earlier than expected. Sundays and Mondays are B's day off so I usually venture out for a long walk while he sleeps in. A large bowl of them was priced at $20 nzd and a smaller bowl was priced at $10, bit expensive I think and not sure how sweet they would be at this time of year either. 

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Tuesday Treasures, Through my lens, All Seasons, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.

Rawene Bus Stop Mural

 On the way to Rawene is this little old bus stop painted (a few years ago by the look of it) with mostly Maori art and a Christian cross. Upon researching this I suspect the art was painted by local group Akau based in Kaikohe.

Linking up with Mural Monday.

Queues

Simply titled "Queues" - this is from the old days, photo taken about 4 years ago when we use to live in Mount Maunganui. The "Big Wave Cafe" is an iconic feature every day at the beach normally serving people with treats such as ice cream, milk shakes etc, back in the days before Covid when there were no worries about standing near someone, or standing in a queue of people. Been a while...but at the moment Delta seems to be passing through New Zealand at quite an iconic rate especially seeing as we are only a small island nation. With this morning's announcement about the change in alert systems it almost seems like we are going in and out of lockdowns, it would be nice to be able to be consistent in getting back to normal life but with large percentages of people not wanting to get vaccinated combined with our biggest city; Auckland having such a high infection rate at the moment it's hard to say when that will be. 

There have been recent government mandates put out that all healthcare workers must be fully vaccinated so I'm happy I got mine sorted in August and now there is talk of vaccination passports coming out within the next month. I've given up trying to explain to conspiracy theorists that these passports have actually been around for a number of years given that when you travel to an infectious country you have to be up to date with your vaccinations etc but they still think it's all about control and taking over their rights. But at the end of the day there is no point stressing about it, we can only do what we can do at the end of the day.

Linking up with Weekend Reflections and The Weekend Roundup.

Bikers are go...

While we were going back and forth on the Opua ferry we saw these bikers waiting in line on the way home. We didn't have to wait long as the ferry was nearly at the wharf.

But once we were on the ferry and on the way back they all got off their bikes to talk to each other, not sure what but something must've gotten their attention.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Fred Wylie

While we were roaming around Rotorua earlier this year I saw this memorial within the old Government Gardens which commemorates Fred Wylie who was a young soldier from Galatea (located in the Bay of Plenty). Apparently he fought in the Boer War with the 4th New Zealand Contingent and was the son of the first store keeper in Rotorua. 

He was killed leading an attack at Klipfontein on 26th May 1901 and was as "brave as a lion" according to the inscription, which might explain the lion's head fountain on front of the statue. The project to create the memorial was initiated by the people of Galatea and unveiled on 1904.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Tuesday Treasures, Through my lens, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.

California dreaming

So lately on my days off I've been pushing myself to get out walking again. While we were in lockdown it got too easy to stay home and vegetate so last week I spotted these California Poppies outside a property near the footpath. I'd say someone probably sprinkled a load of wildflower seeds over Autumn so they are sprouting now and don't they make a nice range of colour?

This one is a Purple Vine creeper that has been climbing over my neighbour's wall - the flowers are so vibrant.

And this one is a path that I follow on one of my nature walks around town.

Pania of the reef

In Napier along the waterfront and promenade is this iconic statue sitting amongst the flower beds. Named "Pania", according to mythology she was a beautiful maiden who lived on the east coast of New Zealand and by day she swam around about with creatures of the reef world  but after sunset she would go to a stream that ran into a bay where Napier now exists.

Karitoki, the handsome son of a Maori chief quenched his thirst every evening at the stream where Pania rested. He was unaware she was observing him for many weeks until one night she whispered a faint spell which carried on the wind to him when he turned around to see her emerge from her hiding place.

They fell in love and pledged their lives to each other and were secretly married. Pania and Karitoke went to his house (Whare) but because it was dark no one saw them enter. In the morning she was preparing to leave but he tried to stop her. She explained that as a creature of the ocean, when the sirens of the sea called her each morning she could not survive if she did not go to them. She promised to return every evening and their marriage continued on that basis.

Karitoki boasted to his friends about his beautiful wife, but no one believed him because they had never seen her. Frustrated by this, Karitoki consulted a wise elder (Kaumatua) in the village who believed Karitoki as he knew ocean maidens did exist. The kaumatua told Karitoki that being a sea creature, Pania would not be allowed to return to the sea if she swallowed cooked food.

That night, as Pania slept, Karitoki took a morsel of cooked food and put it in Pania's mouth. As he did so, Ruru the Morepork/Owl called a loud warning and Pania was startled from her sleep. Horrified that Karitoki had put her life in jeopardy, Pania fled and ran to the sea. Her people came to the surface and drew her down into the depths as Karitoki swam frantically about the ocean looking for her. He never saw her again.

When people now look deep into the water over the reef, some say they can see Pania with arms outstretched, appealing to her former lover. It is unknown whether she is imploring him to explain his treachery, or expressing her continuing love.

Linking up with Weekend Reflections and The Weekend Roundup.