Friday Fences...

This shot was taken at our local pine forest...

Check out the link for other contributors.... http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways....

I love thee with my breakfast cereal, swimming in fresh cream...

I love thee with fresh blueberries, eaten straight out of the container..

I love thee with  French Vanilla ice-cream..

I love thee with freshly whipped cream piled up high on top of you...

I love thee with Pavlova and cream on Christmas Day....

I love thee every day from now until seasons end ...

It's Strawberry Season people, Summer is just around the corner....

I always buy strawberries from a road side stall, these are the first of the season. $2.50 for a punnet, which is not too bad for the beginning of the season. In a few weeks we will be buying 3 punnets for $5.00. This is not all of them, I ate half of them before I got home.

Wordless Wednesday.. Flying high

 Join in with the rest of us for Wordless Wednesday, check out the link below..

http://faithhopeandawholelottalove.blogspot.com/

Shadow Shot Sunday..

Not a lot of sunshine here this week, so I have decided to share a couple of shadow shots taken while I was staying with Evette in Salt Lake City in September. I love the fire hydrants in her neighbourhood theyremind me of chubby little firemen, the trees outside the front door cast some gorgeous shadows and sun flare ...

Enjoy your weekend, and thanks to Tracy over at Hey Harriet for hosting, check out the other shadow chasers on the link below:

New Zealand Culture -The All Blacks and the Haka

To most people, the haka is a war dance. This is understandable as many have seen the haka performed as a pre-battle challenge to their opposition.
But the word "haka" simply means a dance, or a song accompanied by dance.
In pre-European and early contact times, the haka was used as a part of the formal process when two parties came together.

Today, New Zealanders have grown accustomed to the use of the Haka by sporting teams. They thrill to the spectacle of the All Blacks forming ranks prior to kick off.
The modern All Blacks perform the Haka with passion and pride. They have reclaimed the dignity and mystique attached to this traditional art form and in the process, increased its recognition as an icon of New Zealand.

The Haka has come to symbolise the power of the All Blacks and their status in the world of rugby. The team leaves an impression of invincibility and ruthlessness. That impression is in no small part due to the potency with which the All Blacks perform the haka.

One of New Zealabd rugby’s best kept secrets was revealed on 29 August 2005 when the All Blacks performed a totally new haka “Kapa o Pango” before a Tri-Nations test with South Africa.
The new haka arose from discussion within the team about what it meant to be an All Black and the idea for a new haka was one result. The team saw “Kapa o Pango” as an effort to expand the All Black’s tradition of haka and a contribution to the team’s heritage. The new haka has some Polynesian elements, appropriate to a side which now contained a significant number of players of Pacific Island descent
“Kapa o Pango” celebrates the land of New Zealand, the silver fern and “its warriors in black”.
The stated intention from the All Blacks is that the “Ka Mate” and “Kapa o Pango” hakas will each be used by the All Blacks.


 New Zealanders are passionate about rugby, and our All Blacks team. This weekend, on Sunday, the All Blacks will play France in the final. No doubt they will perform Kapa O Pango to show the French team that they mean business.

Hope you all enjoy the You Tube video above of the Haka, especiall for Evette, Melissa and Jeanne enjoy ladies .  xx

Wordless Wednesday...

 Thanks to Sarah for hosting Wordless Wednesday, check out the other posts over at

http://faithhopeandawholelottalove.blogspot.com/

Be the kind of Woman..

 

Happy Wednesday.....

The Piano....

My blogging friend, Sharon, from over at  http://thefabricofsweetrepose.blogspot.com/ is a beach lover just like me. Whenever she sees photos from my local beach, she says that it reminds her of the scenes from the movie The Piano. The Piano was filmed in New Zealand, and the opening scene was filmed at Karekare beach, which is on the west coast of Auckland, just a short distance as the "crow flies" from my beach Karioatahi. The best way to explain the closeness of these two beaches would be to say they are "sister" beaches, both on the west coast, with black iron sand and pounding surf, bleak and remote..

Karekare - pronounce as - "carry - carry"
Karioatahi Beach - pronounce as - "carry - o - tar - he"


Last night and again this morning I went down to the beach, the sunset was amazing and this morning it was grey and bleak but beautiful as always...

Sneek Peek Teddy Bears Picnic...

Shadow Shot Sunday..

This week my Tulips have taken a hammering from the wind and rain, I am so glad I took an early morning shadow shot of them at the beginning of the week.

 

Visit Tracy over at Hey Harriet for more Shadow Shots, and have a great week....

Early morning beach walk..

It was such a mild morning when I woke up I decided that it was a perfect time to go down to the beach. No-one was there, it was so nice to have the beach to myself....

I know I have said it many times before, but I love this beach....  in fact, I love any beach, but this is one of my favourites.

Have a happy Saturday everyone..

Old n Rusty.. Random shots for Friday..

A few days ago I decided to take a wander around the garden with my camera, just looking around, not looking for anything in particular, but just having a random look around.

We have a few old, rusty looking things around the place, I took some shots and was pleasantly surprised.

And the next day it rained, and I took a couple more shots with raindrops..

Barbed wire with an antique finish

Old and crusty with antique finish

This is the front of an old metal plant stand

This screw hole came out looking very old and crusty, it is screwed into some old roofing iron

And after the rainfall

Bike Bash 2011...

Every year for the past three years I have participated in the Bike Bash, a 12hour fund raising event for Canteen, (supporting teenagers with cancer).  And each year there is a theme, this year it was the Rugby World Cup, and we all dressed in rugby uniforms, or dressed in colours to support the teams.

How it works is that different businesses enter a team , and each team member does a one hour stint, or longer if they wish, and there is a real festive atmosphere, loud music,  and lots of money being donated
by the public.

So, on Friday we all did our bit for Canteen, and at the end of the 12hours we had raised over $20,000, not bad for a small town.

Some of the teenagers from Canteen, the reason for the fund raising, these kids are very sick..

Girls from Canteen, these girls are all cancer patients....

These two ladies biked for the whole of the 12hours, what a great effort...

Some people painted their faces and some...

some painted there bodies, all in a good cause...

I was dressed for Ireland, this was near the end of my hour stint, and I had taken my green wig off, I won a prize for being the best "crumper" on a bike........

 What the heck is "crumping" I hear you say, I didn't know what it was either, but I learnt that it is a dancing style.   I have to admit that I think I got a prize because I was the only one riding the bike and crumping. Not easy , but fun. 

It was such a small amount of my time and energy to help raise money for some very sick young people.

I love Auckland - At the Botannical gardens

The Auckland Botannical Gardens is one of my favourite places to visit, it doesn't matter what time of the year I go, I am never disappointed.

Last weekend I went to the gardens  to check out the Spring blossoms. Once again I was not disappointed.

Shadow Shot Sunday..

Following on from my SSS last week that was about the train carriage at the Great Salt Lake and the shadows that it cast, this week I have posted some shadows from the old stone building. The first shot shows the outside of the building, but in the evening light the shadows were all inside.

Hope you enjoy them, check out the other shadows from around the world at Hey Harriet...

That's Evette clicking away inside ..

Love the eye sitting just below the window..

Click on the image to enlarge...