Remembering . .

The Wall of Remembrance for all of the soldiers killed in every war since the Boer war in South Africa - New Zealanders always went to war if the British Empire were involved - not now thank goodness. We have no fighting forces overseas, only peace-keeping companies - we are nucleur free as well - this little country down here at the end of the world has mighty principles and sticks by them !!

Ellena and I always place a poppy at the cenetaph on ANZAC day in remembrance of my Grandfather who fought in WW1. He was only 19yrs old, had never been out of NZ and went off on a great adventure ! He was part of the mounted rifles, landing in Egypt, was wounded and sent home quite early on, thank goodness.

Easter Sunset at Papamoa.

Norfolk Island Pine trees, always such sentinals on the coast line - many were planted over a hundred years ago as a sign of land for the early ships, before radar etc. I like their symetrical shapes.

The breakers were rolling in gently . .

Sunset looking down the beach towards Mt Manganui, one or two fishermen and groups of people walking were the only signs of life, even the seagulls had gone to roost where ever they roost - or do they sleep bobbing about on the waves ?

Papamoa is a seaside resort town on the East coast of NZ, much tamer then the West coast where I go often. I now have 2 families living here, so will be spending more time over this way.

Headstones and Epitaphs .

Afew weeks ago I joined a group of people here in Hamilton on an interesting and informative stroll through our cities`s oldest cemetary - Hamilton East. I love history and I believe a town`s cemetary is a very good barometer of it`s history. I really liked this headstone above, the hands clasped together was such a loving gesture, the grave itself had a small pot of rosemary ( for remembrance) left on it . .

The picture above is of quite a wealthy looking grave site, the family being one of the forefathers of the town - being able to afford this sort of memorial was not common back then. Hamilton or Kirikiriroa as it was known before the English arrived in 1864, was a Maori kianga (village) with a number of different pa sites along the river bank, the English arrived and built a redoubt for the millitary.

Linda, the historian who guided our tour, standing beside the earliest grave found and on record, it is of a young man who drowned in the Waikato river 1864 - it is very hard to read and the fact that it is still standing upright astounded me, stronger looking headstones had collapsed over time. Reading many of the headstones I discovered that many people had died of drowning before the first bridge was built to unify the east and west sides of the town.

I spent 2 hours just wandering around after the tour had finished, it is a peaceful place with very few visitors now - just me and the birds and the odd rabbit or 2 .

Sunset at Raglan . .

FISHING BOAT HOME AGAIN . .

SUNSET ON RAGLAN HARBOUR

Last Sunday night Ellena and I had dinner with my eldest daughter, Meg and my grandaughter, Lia, out at Raglan where they live. This gorgeous little sea-side town is about a 40 min drive from my place, meandering through and over hills covered either with native bush or sheep ! It is a lovely drive and I never tire of it.

We brought fish and chips from a shop on the wharf, very popular with the locals and fish so fresh it was jumping, then back to Meg and Lia`s for dinner out of the newspaper wrapping - don`t forget the watties !

Lia May - my gorgeous girl ..

Lia is my first Grandchild - her mother is my eldest daughter, Meg, her dad Jamie is not with them now but he does play a big part in Lia`s life which I am thankful for.
There is something special about the first grandchild, I know cause I was my beloved Grandmother`s first, we shared a very special relationship, without her I would not have experienced the kind of love a mother should give.

Lia and I share a love of the the bush, beach and my bees ! The picture above was taken in the Waipoua forest in Jan, Lia is standing on the rails that surround the magnificent kauri tree, Tane Mahuta. This 2000 yr old native NZ tree is one of the very few old kauri left, thousands of acres of kauri forest were destroyed by the early settlers for buildings and ships masts.

Lia is 12 now and in her last year before High School, she will be going to Sacred Heart Girls College here in Hamilton, the same college her mum and aunties went to ..

My Thought for Today ..

What will the world hold for my wee grandson sleeping so peacefully in his hammock ? I just hope the world listens to the wise ones and heeds their warnings, I want my grandchildren to know the beauty of nature as I do - plant trees everyone and nuture your children and grandbabies - teach them well ...

When the last bee died,

nobody noticed. Nobody put on black

or made a dirge for the death

of honey. Nobody wrote an elegy

to apricotes, no one mourned for cherries.

When the last bee died,

everyone was busy. They had things to do,

drove straight to work each morning,

stright back home each night.The roads

all seriously hummed.Besides,

the pantries were still packed

with cans of fruit cocktails in heavy syrup,

deep deep freezers full

of concentrated grape and orange juice,

stores stocked with artificial flavouring.

When the last bee died, nobody cried

for burdock, yarrow and wild delphinium.

Now and again a child would ask for

dandelions, quickly shushed: that pest !

And everyone is fine. The children healthy,

raddish-cheeked.They play she loves me/not

with savoy cabbage leaves, enjoy the telling

of the great mythes, peach and peony.

no one believes in apples anymore.

End Notes for a Small History by Betty Lies

As I sit here on a hot summer day with thousands of cicada yelling out their mating songs,and a slight breeze ruffling the leaves on the trees in my garden, I suddenly become very aware of how lucky I am to live where I live - no fighting and death, warmth, food and a roof over my head. The poem above I feel is very important for all to heed, not only bees, but so many of our insects,plants and animals are loosing their lives to greedy human activities. Without bees to pollinate so many of our food plants, life will be very different and boring to say the least - 3/4 of the food we eat is pollinated by the honey bee Apis melliera.

Some of you may know I have another blog which is my diary really of my beekeeping adventures, it is a hobby I really enjoy, the honey being a bonus. To see and hear my garden, and the neighbours, buzzing with bees, leaves me with such a sense of wonderment - I am doing my small part for my environment.

New Zealand has always been percieved as `clean and green`, but we are dismally failing to uphold these ideals - once the Waikato river is able to be swum in again, there is no rubbish on our beautiful beaches or roadsides and NO more native tree milling, then I will believe our Govt is doing as much as it can to fix the problems.

My Country, My Heart . . .

Aotearoa, The Land of the Long White Cloud, or as it is known through - out the world, New Zealand, is my land - I am drawn to her every fibre . . I know I can never live away from these shores for long before needing to come home.
Maybe it is something to do with the fact that we are 2 larger and afew small islands parked way down at the bottom of the Pacific ocean, one of the last places to be discovered by the western world, with totally amazing flora and fauna that has stayed the same for thousands of years.

Forgive me for rambling, but I feel a connection to this place that seems to get deeper as I get older, I feel drawn to my birthplace - does anyone else feel that ? - or am I a real weirdo as my children secretly think ?
We, as a nation, tend not to express our emotions, a left-over from the Victorian era that most of our ancestors immigrated in. My grandmother, who was born here, referred to England as `home` until she died. We have a developed a certain culture of our own, only in the last 50 years , so as you can imagine, the old ways still rear their puritain heads sometimes. Anyone waxing lyrical about anything is mocked, the `tall poppy syndrom` - never mind, at least my children will always beable to say their mother was never boring, she did her best to always make life interesting and fun !!

BREATH

The amazing flower of the tall, slender, native tree Rewarewa, Knightia excelsa - this tree is endemic to NZ, grows up to 30 m tall with the trunk up to 1 m in diameter. The rusty red flowers come straight out of the wood - necter loving birds and bees love these interesting looking flowers !
Here is a poem I found, I am not sure of its author, but it never fails to up-lift my soul . . .

BREATH

Tree, gather up my thoughts

Like the clouds in your branches.

Draw up my soul

Like the water in your roots

In the arteries of your trunk

bring me breath.

Through your leaves

breath out the sky.

Te Parapara Gardens . .

The recently finished pre-European Maori garden, Te Parapara, is an amazing example of our NZ heritage. The only garden of its type ever built since the original ( pre 1800`s), the garden is situated on the bank of the Waikato river in Hamilton Gardens, the site of an ancient Maori pa . The top photo is the entrance to the actual garden, before that you walk along a path through plantings which are really getting tall, another couple of years and it will be a mini forest !

The vege garden itself is surrounded by a tall manuka spiked fence, typical of the kind used by Maori, it makes a formidable barrier, lashed together with a strong plant material. There are a series of wooden carvings along the pallisades which portray the many Maori dieties of this area, Tainui. The small building on legs is a Pataka or traditional store house for the food, kept out rats etc. Always elaborately carved and well guarded, these small buildings were an important part of the garden, if food was not stored properly, the people would starve.

The last photo is of the Kumera mound, the earth mounded with ash or gravel added and the plants planted in a symbolic way,usually by the women of the tribe - all connected to the fertility of women .. Kumera or sweet potato, were brought to NZ with the first Maori, over 1000 years ago. Taro and a number of other tropical plants were brought here also, but most died in the harsh winters, taro is grown in the northern areas, especially around Auckland which has a large Polynesian population.

Christmas at our place ..

My family spent Christmas at Pip and Matt`s over on the east coast at a beach side village - Papamoa - a beautiful long stretch of white sand and blue waves. My eldest Grandchild, Lia, spent alot of time at the table with her new drawing books, she is very talented like her Mum, Megan, my eldest daughter, who is an artist. It was quite a warm day so all the windows and doors were flung open to the sea breeze, nice mellow music and a very tasty BBQ with yummy salads and desserts were laid out for a feast !

Meg holding her little nephew Jackson, who belongs to my son Cameron and his wife Carly. This cutie is 4 months old now and very sweet.

My gorgeous Grandson, Elliott Thomas, just loved ripping paper off his presents then stuffing it into the stacking cups his Nana gave him - oh, and the mouth organ was fun to !!

Christmas in New Zealand

Happy, Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year to everyone !!

This time of the year down here in the Antipodes is summer time - hot, blue-sky days and muggy nights !! Well, it is raining today but we do need it, hopefully it will clear up later and tomorrow, the 25th Dec, will be a beautiful day.

I will be with all my children and 3 grandbabies at Pip and Matt`s over at Papamoa, by the beach - lots of walks and swims and generally enjoying time spent with family ...

Raglan-by-the-sea

Manu Bay on the west coast of the North Island has the best lefthand surf break in the world I am told ! I know from watching my daughter surf, that it is possible to crash-land on the rocks and really hurt yourself !!

I have just spent 2 days at my favourite place on the west coast, the tiny village of Raglan, about a 40min drive from Hamilton, through rolling countryside, up the divvie ( the local name for the range of hills dividing the coast from the Waikato valley) and down into the hills and dales of the coastal area - I always feel elated and strengthened when coming here - never want to go home .. The township is situated along the harbour edge with the open sea and it`s crashing waves just a short drive away.

Mt Karioi, or the Sleeping Lady as she is known, dominates the scenery for miles. There are many Maori mythes about this extinct volcano, she is very important to local tribes.

Kanuka grows all along the coast - I love the way the trunks all bend in unison - the prevailing wind off the Tasman ocean can be very strong but these hardy trees keep bending, making an excellent cover for more fragile plants. The wood from Kanuka is very hard and makes great firewood or fence posts !

I came home alot more relaxed then I was, met some really interesting people, made acouple of `bee` connections and also have the beginnings of a local Herbal Society to ponder over ...

A day with family ..

The Schobs family, Pip, Matt and Elliott, came to stay last weekend - it was lovely having my gorgeous daughter with hubby and very cute son to hang around with.
Matt had a gig in town and us `girls` took Elliott down to the Gardens - I`m starting him early !

I babysat that night while all the younger clan went into town to support Matt and his band - Nana Marcie watched a movie and crashed into bed. Elliott was a very good boy and slept all night - apart from the time cuddled up to Nana, singing and trying to stand up - he eventually went back to sleep just as the birds started singing !!

Elliott is amazed that these creatures move and have eyes !! He spent some time trying to open Leroy`s eyes and my lovely placid Burmese cat just sat there for ages, didn`t even move a muscle - or though I did see his tail twitching ...

Sunday morning we had brunch at Jacks, a cool cafe down the road, Ellena starts work there this Sunday, washing dishes etc - the girl needs extra money . .

After they left for home I cleaned up the house, it is amazing how much mess 3 other people can make, especially in my small place .. I love having family to stay ...

Elliott`s 1st birthday - 21st August 2008

Happy Birthday Elliott . . . not that sure about the candles but the cake was yum and he got lots of noisy presents, including the balloons. He is such a social boy with a wonderful expressive face and quite a temper too .. Nana in England sent some English flags to fly and lovely presents to boot, all in all, I think we had a great day.

Mummy and baby boy - what a face !

Here is our big boy - one now and full of so much energy it is frightening !! He loves his Aunty Ellena ( my 3rd daughter and my baby ! ) and likes nothing better then to cuddle up.

No 1 and 2 blessings

My first grandchild Lia was born nearly 12 years ago to my eldest daughter Megan and her partner Jamie, who sadly isn`t on the scene now. Lia is a gorgeous kid, lives in Raglan with her talanted Mum ( an artist and teacher) and loves her family.

Sitting on Lia`s knee is no 2 grandbaby, Elliott Thomas, the first child of my 2nd daughter, Pip and her English hubby, Mathew. What a character this little boy is - a real joy ..

blessings ...

Last Sunday my 3rd Grandchild was born to my son Cameron and his lovely wife Carly. Jackson was a healthy 8lbs 6oz with a very good set of lungs and all his bits in the right place !

This new little family lives in Tauranga and I haven`t been over yet as I have the flu !! According to Cameron`s sisters, their brother is coping very well and all is peace at the moment ..

Sad times ..

Last month a very dear person died - we grew up together in the King Country that we both dearly loved, went to the same little school, Te Whakarae that has since closed down, and generally had the same emotions towards the remote valley we grew up in . . . Ross was a gentle, kind man and died far to young - he married my favourite cousin, Glen and they had 2 lovely children, Blair and Shae - he will be so missed . . .

Taumarunui cemetary where we gathered to farewell Ross - surrounded by misty hills - tui singing and fantails fluttering close by. Afterwards Ellena and I wandered around and found the graves of my Grandparents, Aunt and other relations - this is where I want to rest eventually ...

Te Maire Valley memories ..

Te Marie bridge - the only connection out to the main road, in fact the only bridge that crossed the mighty Wanganui River for miles !

My family moved to the sheep and cattle farm called Patunga when I was 6 months old, my Father starting off as the farm general hand and moving us from the cottage to the much larger farm house when he became the farm manager, a position he held until we left the district 12 years later.

Pictured on the left is my Dad on his work vehicle, in front of the cottage. The farm was mainly very steep hillsides with some native bush covering left and rushing streams full of mossy stones and great swimming holes. It was a wonderous place to grow up, the main farm house being built in the early 20th century and surrounded by large English style gardens - more about that later ..

The 2nd picture is Dad with my sister and I - I must have been looking into the sun, we were most probably off to town for our weekly excursion. The closest shops were in Taumaranui, a small town that served the surrounding farming community and local saw mills. It took forever in a small child`s mind,but was probably only about 45mins to get to town over windy, metal roads including a bluff. As I grew older we would be picked up from school on a friday afternoon and the rest of the day would consist of my piano lesson while the parents shopped, then fish and chips for tea at my Aunty and Uncle`s home in the town - always a treat to look forward to - the country cousins experiencing a town cousins life - street lights and traffic, so different to the blackness we were used to - no other lights to be seen, just a Morepork ( owl) calling and maybe a kiwi if we were lucky ...

some history ...

Te Rohe Potae ( Rim of the Hat), the Maori name for the King Country, the rugged area of New Zealand where I was born and raised, stunning scenery with a hint of isolation not found in many other places.

I grew up on a sheep and cattle farm right at the end of a winding, steep valley, back in the 1950`s country roads were mainly metal and narrow. To reach Te Maire valley there was a high bluff to cross, ie skinny road with imposing wall of huge rocks on one side and a very long drop down to the Wanganui river on the other. Many a time families in the area were blocked in by falls of rock, sometimes for days. Just before another bluff ,we crossed over the river using the only bridge for miles, and wandered our way home - sometimes dodging stray animals, not always successfully !! My mother hit a horse once, wrote off the Vanguard ( car) which was a heavy vehicle and the horse had to be put down - no damage to any humans ..