Texture

Just looking at what pics I was going to put up tonight these two migrated together. I found the top one, a mop, down a dingy back alley in a swanky part of Napier's upmarket wharf district. The bottom one is a bunch of ariel roots from a tree dwelling epiphyte heading to ground searching for nutrients and moisture.  This was found in a very interesting remnant of native bush at Waipataki. One of the features of this bit of bush was the abundance of very large Kahikatea trees, some could be be well over 700 years old. Sadly no stick insects very spotted.

Mouse

This little critter was discovered by Helena while looking for hidden treasure on a treasure hunt. She was deeply saddened. I was moved by her gentle genuine grief. She showed no fear or repulsion as she showed us the carcass. Within a few minutes a funeral had been arranged. The body was swaddled. A digging implement was found. The hole was dug. Flowers were picked. Words were spoken. The mouse rests in peace.

Belinda

Yesterday the boss of the coup passed away. She had been a bit crook. When ever she heard someone approach the chicken run she would come barreling over to the fence to make sure she was first to sample the tasty morsels that were on offer. Sometime she was so keen to be the first she would tumble over as she rounded a sharp corner, much like we see in old cartoons. We buried her where we fed her, I think she would have liked that!. It also give the two remaining flock mates the chance to dance on her grave. She will be missed.

Wildlife

I've been accused on many occasions of being obsessed. I am unable to deny such allegations.
One of the alleged obsessions I have is Stick Insects. Last year I spent hours trying to track some down.
This year they found me. It helps that we were in good 'sticky' areas.
The Top one is in the Eastbourne (Wellington) garden of our dear friends Ellen & Paul
The next three were spotted in the Esk Valley north of Napier where we spent four amazing days in a great old farmhouse surrounded by bush, a gentle stream and no-one for miles.
Reading my treasured copy of the classic book 'The Stick Insects of New Zealand' by J.T. Salmon, I think all the specimens are variations on Acanthoxyla prasina intermis.
The bottom picture is a couple of Tree Wetas up to some nocturnal kindoodling. All the Wetas we found were living in holes bored into Kanuka trees.
I think part of the attraction I have for these creatures is they too often get lumbered into the category of  'yukey creepy crawlies' and get vilified because they aren't cute and furry.

Fossil

I heard rumors that fossil sand dollars could be found hiding in the cliffs around Waipataki. I was very excited. I've always had an interest in fossils and how they become stone and where they end up. The above beauty was on top of a newly fallen chunk of cliff. What always amazes me me is how this sand dollar is possibly millions of years old yet looks the same as one that has been recently washed up on the beach. I could see many other specimens higher up the cliff. This is interesting because another rumor I heard was that Waipataki beach was the epicenter for the 1931 Napier earthquake. This suggests that one possible reason for the fossils being so high up the cliff is through ground uplift. Or it may also be the ocean level dropping. Whatever the cause, we are lucky to be able have a glimpse into the past.

Cameras

I always find it a challenge to to cut down on the amount of cameras I take away with me. I was very controlled this year, I got it down to a mere eight! These pics are of Kirstin with two very different image recording devices. The top one, a smart phone is made of mostly plastic, despite its fiendish and fun capabilities, Im sure it won't last another few decades. The bottom pic is an ancestral heirloom, a German made Paxette used by her parents to record their children's process growing up. I find this intriguing. To me this is like a time machine that has had thousands of events funneled through the lens and somehow there may still be residual memories lurking in mechanisms.

Pig

Penelope is the camping ground waste disposer. This was the most active we saw her, nestled on her bed of dried cabbage tree leaves. I feel it's a little heartless having a roasting pan in her enclosure.
I sense one day parts of her may end up in a similar one.

Beach Girls 2

The sea came up a bit rough after the monsoon. Sadly all the fish evacuated the area. The weather was very warm which encouraged a few of us to bound into the ocean. The undercurrents were extremely strong.and even when only up to your knees, just about dragged us out. Helen and I didn't last long. Kirstin who is a strong swimmer frolicked for ages. I felt it would not be the time to hum the music from 'Jaws' Several days later, the sea was still rough and a young women was dragged out and several blokes who went to her rescue got into a bit of strife as well. The local rescue helicopter made an appearance to whisk the victims to hospital, happily everyone survived.

Beach Girls 1

Kirstin and Helen (in green) testing the water at Waipataki. Just before headed off on our holiday there were reports of  biting insects hiding in the sand waiting to gnaw at exposed flesh causing extreme itchiness. The recommendation was to stay below the  high water mark. Thankfully none of us were ambushed by these so called 'Mt Manganui Maulers'. Note the dark skies in the background. Later that night when Grae, Ben and I were night fishing, lightning was observed out to sea, then within seconds it was behind us waiting to deliver the heaviest monsoon rain ever. The fishing was soon abandoned. I have never been so wet!

Fish

These are two of Grae's victims. The top one is a Yellow Eyed Mullet, a very abundant species that can be found in close to shore and in tidal streams and rivers. The bottom one is a Piper that was snagged as it swam past the lure and was stabbed by the treble hook on the end of a 'Hex Wobbler'. I have a moral dilemma with fishing, on the one hand I enjoy the gadgets and gear, I also enjoy the thought of what I might catch, especially in the ocean, where it could be many different species. The thrill of winding in the line and seeing what has has been caught is a rare and exciting occasion. I do however feel huge pangs of guilt at the suffering I inflict on the fish. I do as much as I can to safely and respectfully release the ones I'm not going eat.

Napier Holiday

We were invited to join our dear friends Kirstin and Grae and family on their annual holiday back to their homeland, Napier in the North Island. We spent nine fabulous days exploring and relaxing.
One of the great lures the area held was the thought of reeling in herds of huge edible fish. Rumours of massive Kingfish and huge Snapper queuing up to snaffle our bait and hook themselves were being spread before we left. Our first destination in the Hawkes Bay was Waipataki Beach. The ocean was calm and very fishy looking when we arrived. It wasn't long before our rods were out. Family pride was at steak the fishing trophy was ours for the moment. Sadly Grae emerged as the one who managed to snag the most fish. The largest caught was a Red Cod of about 30 cm in length. It was very delicous.
The Drawing above was done by Grae and Kirstin's daughter, Helena. I feel she was bribed with chocolates to come up with such a biased and cruel representation.

Old buildings

These old snaps also turned up when I was trawling through files, again these date back to the early 80's. I hope these exquisite beauties are still around, it would be a national crime to have demolished them. The first and third ones from the top were in Southland the other two from the West Coast.
I especially enjoy the exaggerated stone like facade on the bottom pic. To me this type of vibrant and enthusiastically created structure needs the type of heritage protection given to the so called important buildings that are usually frequented by rich middle class people in 'nice' neighborhoods.

1980's Christchurch

Delving through my old negatives I rediscovered these two old pics taken around 1981-2ish
Back then I was a commercial photographer in Christchurch with my dear friend Kevin Capon. We had a studio at the top of the Stewart Dawson Building on the corner of Cashel and High streets. We called our business 'Skylight Photography'. The reason for the name was the studio we rented was originally built for a photographer called Claude Ring around about the turn of the previous century. In those days there were no fancy flash set ups, basically all you had was the light from the sun. To get the most of this exquisite light 98% of the roof was glass. The light was beautiful, sadly it was also very very hot in the middle of summer. Because we were on the top floor we had access to the roof. The top pic is looking down High Street towards the Port Hills. The other is looking north west to the Cathedral.
I think most of the buildings shown have now ended up in rubble piles around the city, thanks to the earthquake that occurred 2 years ago on Feb 22.