Do You Want to Read Ravings about Birds in New Zealand? No, Not Wimmin – Winged Things.

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Bikini Bird. Not the sort I'm talking about... Photo courtesy of memoflores, Flikr

Bikini Bird. Not the sort I’m talking about…
Photo courtesy of memoflores, Flikr

Before I go getting all carried away with researching this matter of birds in New Zealand, I thought I would do a poll to see if anyone is actually interested, in case I go investing valuable grey matter into an exercise in futility. Besides, I wanted to play with the buttons on my blog. (Wot’s that switch over there for? Wot happens if I push this?) So let me know whether reading about ridiculous ratites and assorted avialae would blow your hair back or whether I should give it a big miss and go and pour a nice wine and photograph wetas or some thing instead.

The Weta of New Zealand. Face only a mother could love... Photo courtesy of Masivaan, Flikr.

The Weta of New Zealand. Face only a mother could love…
Photo courtesy of Masivaan, Flikr.

So here we go – your chance to have a say in the investment of my grey matter:

If you aren’t tempted by these tantalizing buttons, leave a comment instead.

New Zealand – Wizards, Politicians and Birds We’ve Nicked from Other Countries

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New Zealand is a unique little country, sitting in an unassuming manner at the very bottom of the world. Or in my opinion, at the top of the world, if other countries would only face reality and turn their atlases up the right way. We’re one of the first countries in the world to see the break of dawn, after all. Our national colour is black, our national flower is a fern and our national bird couldn’t fly if you threw it off a cliff.

I can't fly - please don't throw me off that cliff...

I can’t fly – please don’t throw me off that cliff…

Continue reading →

Life is Far Too Important…

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“Life is far too important to be taken seriously.”

— Oscar Wilde

Playing with Faa Mai. Elephant Nature Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Playing with Faa Mai. Elephant Nature Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Pachyderm Banana Hoovers and Buffalo Sludge-Boulders – Day 7 Elephant Nature Park

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Two BFF's at the elephant clinic, Elephant Nature Park.

Two BFF’s at the elephant clinic, Elephant Nature Park.

Jodi had told us that some of the elephants could be drama queens, and on this last day I got to see it for myself. I was lolling about in the dining area having my morning coffee and looking across at the elephant clinic, where there was always an elephant to be seen who lived there on a semi-permanent basis due to her need for ongoing foot treatment, plus another elephant who hung around keeping her company. Every day at ENP I had seen both of them there together. Today something caught my eye – there was only one elephant (Number 1). The more mobile one (Number 2) had gone for a wander around the back. Elephant Number 1 suddenly noticed she was gone and made a hell of an uproar! She started bellowing ‘Come back! Where are you?!’ – presumably in Thai Ele language – and kicking up a right fuss. I spotted the other one come out from around the back, and I actually saw her heave a great sigh. She took her time wandering back to the front of the clinic then trumpeted to Number 1 – ‘All right! Keep yer proboscis on, I’m here!’ They touched trunks and felt each other all over for a little while then settled back into their usual routine of, well, eating. Ah, the trials and tribulations of a BFF relationship. Continue reading →

Nature’s Tattooes and Captured Lightning in Acrylic

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I was reading about the Fractal Patterns of Lightning Strike Scars here, then I saw the captured lightning stuff. These guys get to play with some really cool toys!!

“This 3″ x 3″ x 2″ three dimensional Lichtenberg Figure was created by ebeam irradiation along multiple planes. The internal potential within the specimen prior to discharging it was estimated to be 2.2 million volts. The specimen is illuminated from below by blue LEDs.”

Lightning captured in acrylic.

Lightning captured in acrylic.

See more about this at capturedlightning.com 

Enjoy!!

Making My Tiny House Look Gargantuan!!

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This is one of the tiniest houses I’ve seen – if not the smallest!!

This is actually a house, not just a toilet!

This is actually a house, not just a toilet!

Check it out here – The Outhouse!

The Ideal Friendship…

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The ideal friendship is to feel as one while remaining two.

– Sophie Swetchine

Hope and his mahout/minder Korn going for a wander at Elephant Nature Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Hope and his mahout/minder Korn going for a wander at Elephant Nature Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

23thorns – In Answer to Your Questions on Tiny House Living

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There’s a great blog on the WordPress site written by a guy called 23thorns, full of witty descriptions on South African wildlife, parenting ups and downs, and all manner of other ravings. I had a nosy at his blog, he popped into mine and read one of my ravings on Tiny House Living, and he wrote a post of his own that posed a few questions about the lifestyle to which I am largely now accustomed.

The answer to why I went (back) into Tiny House Living is in my blog here

My point of view about some of the Pros and Cons of Tiny House Living is here

And the raving that 23thorns read about Tiny House Living is here

And now to his questions. Continue reading →

Kiwi Humour in Advertising.

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Here’s a bit Kiwi humour advertising ice cream. We all used the wording as often as we could for a while there. Oh, random fact. The Trumpet ads were how Rachel Hunter initially got famous.

Here’s the ad.

In Which I Give Mother Nature erm, a Certain Gesture, on a Cold, Rainy Night.

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There’s a lot to be said for having an awning off the side of your caravan on a cold, rainy night. While sitting here with a hot water bottle stuffed up my clothing, somewhere between my merino undershirt, my lambswool jersey (purchased from a menswear department because menswear departments for some reason unknown often have better quality garments for lesser prices than their womenswear equivalents), and my very thick sweatshirt (also purchased from a menswear department for the aforementioned reasons), I have pondered upon this fact mightily.

A few weeks ago I pulled out all the coins and notes I had been stashing aside for a very long time and forked out for a new awning to be tailor-made to my requirements. It’s not that I didn’t like the original awning that came with the caravan, it’s just that I was running out of places to put duct tape to plug up the holes where the wind whistled beautiful melodies into my private spaces, and the water feature was quite frankly getting out of hand. Far be it from me to complain, but when the bits of duct tape begin to outnumber the bits of awning, a girl just has to get practical.

Continue reading →