........I'd like you all to meet Wilbur.......

Wilbur came to us by way of Granddaughter no 1 .Wilburs Mum, a Tamworth pig was killed and the hunters didn't have the heart or the inclination to dispose of Wilbur...

so after 3 weeks of being cared for by our Granddaughter the decision was made for Wilbur to go to a loving home...

There is no more loving a home than our home ....

and no more comfortable a knee then that of Aunty Nic....

Even Willow the cat has made room for Wilbur....

Unfortunately the man of the house needs a bit more coaxing and is furious that even at 6 maybe 7 weeks old Wilbur is able to rut up a good portion of lawn with his snout.

The first few days were spent inside , easy to train and easy to feed  Wilbur has just slotted into our lives.

He has a bed out in the plastic tunnel house and can poop and rut till his heart 's content.....

I can't see Wilbur ever leaving us.

He makes all sorts of noises and even gives a cough at the door when he wants in .

He grunts gently at Willow the cat and once tried to suckle Willow.....she didn't want a bar of it...

I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.

Winston Churchill

With Winter now clearly upon us There is only one place a little pig belongs ...

and its where we all will be, this evening. Parked up in front of Game of Thrones ...

After waking to yet another good dumping of snow on the tops

compare todays view out the window.......

Go on then Tell someone you really do love Animals ...cos you know you do

Stay with me Summer

Why must you go

You've been so kind to me ...

and I love you so....

These first words are from the lyrics of a song I once learned. It continues....

Say that you'll always stay. 

Why must you go away ?

....stay just for one more day..

SUMMER 

DON"T GO...

This Summer saw the installation of a windmill....

The Autumn winds have begun...the ripe fruit is dropping fast The peaches and walnuts are dropping too quickly to keep up with and this year saw many peaches bruise and waste.

The preserver was kept busy and the nut roller continues to pick up hundreds of walnuts..

There is no doubt that this year we enjoyed an Indian Summer...

Lots of lake swims and dips in the river...long walks in the sun and an abundance from the garden...

I love Summer so much it is hard to let go and admit that next month will be our last month of Autumn...

Today it has rained steadily and the mountain tops are again covered in fresh snow. A sure sign that winter will soon be upon us....

The view out of the window is spectacular.

On days like today when it is too miserable to be outside I often thumb through my old victoria magazines and today I happened upon a picture that looked familiar.

described as a pair of sweet silver singers....

The little salt and pepper shakers were the exact ones I had picked up in a little junk shop...I couldn't believe my eyes...

Although one little bird was missing and it was very grubby I had fallen in love with the design.

I immediately got to and made my favourite cleaner the tinfoil and washing soda....

I could now clearly see the silver mark...I got so exited  jumping up and down and calling to my family to look.

It is a shame one little bird is missing....that little pepper shaker sure needs a wee friend....

 The wind outside has settled. It is time for a quick lunch then off to the launch of our daughters new children's CD 

Feel free to visit Anna's pledge me site I keep watching it over and over just to see Oscar laugh and screw up his nose so cutely. Just copy and paste the link to your browser.

https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/3232

I can forget about Summer leaving for just a day because already the temperature has climbed again to 22C and the sun is warm on my skin..

 Even though it really is Autumn I can pretend for one more day...

Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains.

Diane Ackerman

Till next time...Run and laugh and be happy.......and Find something in everyday that makes you joyful.

TODAY I MISS MY FRIEND SO MUCH.
THE LEAVES SWIRLING IN THE AIR, THE CHANGE IN THE SEASON, THE SMELL OF RIPE PLUMS,THE BUTTERFLIES

The daisies are disappearing from the lawn

The green foliage of the grape hyacinth is starting to rise up out of the ground

The falling leaves are drifting past the window....

and I think of you and remember our friendship....

I miss  you most of all , my darlin as Autumn leaves start to fall.

Eva Cassidy

                         The annual Duck race

Every year Wanaka Rotary holds a duck race to raise funds for charity.
This year it was in October.  Yesterday I was having a recall of some fun.

Join the community with the Rotary Duck Race! Pop into Video Ezy or any Rotary club to buy your tickets.

Rotary Duck Race

Location: The start line is at the Dungarvon Street Creek and the race finishes at Dinosaur Park Creek.
Cost: $5 per ticket
Prize: $500 cash prize for the winning duck!

Families and tourist gather on the lawn beside the creek and wait for the loader to bring in the ducks. Once the ducks are dropped the race is on.Volunteers retrieve wayward drifters and set them back on their path.

What a wonderful way to see how gardeners make a feature of the creek running through their gardens

It was with great excitement for Grand daughter number 2 as she followed the ducks to the finish line.

 Her Mummy and Daddy had bought 2 ducks , numbers 1180 , and 1181.

We actually spotted 1181 when it was caught up in the rushes.

Thank goodness for volunteers that waded into the creek to save stray ducks.

I love it when "Community" works to bring people together.

Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man's life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self.

B. R. Ambedka

I do love it when community come together ,whether it be a dance a picnic a music event or a game.

 This year I was so pleased to join in the fun and dance Music and picnic and celebration of Waitangi day

Waitangi Day
Traditional Maori Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi, Bay of Islands.
Official name	Waitangi Day
Observed by	New Zealanders
Type	National, Nationalist
Significance	The day on which the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840
Observances	Family meetings, hui, parades, citizenship ceremonies, Order of New Zealand honours.
Date	6 February
Next time	6 February 2016
Frequency	annual

I celebrated Waitangi day with three of my Mokopuna (Grandchildren) in Queenstown gardens ,where community had come together and put on a festive day .Music song kapa haka and picnics were the order of the day.

Each year, as it becomes more and more accepted in New zealand that we live in a bicultural society and as we all become more and more tolerant of others ,Waitangi day becomes special.

I got a Moko stamped on my chin . I had no idea that this  simple act would draw so many stares.

Some of them left me feeling more than a bit uneasy. The stares and snares were from conservative upper middle class  white NZers. Not the tourists.

As I queued to get ice creams for my mokopuna a lady moved away from me and pulled her daughter toward her .It was only when she saw the little ones also sporting the stamped on tattoo that she realised it was safe .Her whole persona changed. It made me feel so sad.

On reflection I felt great empathy for minority groups .It must be so difficult to be different and to show it.

The Moko I had stamped was the same as the one this Wahine has .

Eight years ago I began to study the Maori language.

I had a slight advantage. Not only was my son the teacher but I had also had Te Reo lessons at my work in the 1980's . More on that in a later blog.

The government was, in the mid to late Eighties fulfilling a promise to  Maori of New Zealand that the "language of  Maori"  (Te Reo) would be kept alive.

Te Kōhanga Reo is a Māori development initiative, aimed at maintaining and strengthening Māori language and philosophies within a cultural framework inspired by Māori elders in 1982.

Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust Board was established in 1982 and formalised as a charitable trust in 1983. The Mission of the Trust is the protection of Te reo, tikanga me ngā āhuatanga Māori by targeting the participation of mokopuna and whānau into the Kōhanga Reo movement and its Vision is to totally immerse Kōhanga mokopuna in Te Reo, Tikanga me ngā āhuatanga Māori.

The Trust Board, as the governing body, has therefore had a key role in providing the support needed by Kōhanga Reo. This support has involved specific investment in mokopuna, whānau, and their cultural infrastructure of language, kinship, relationship management, whānau learning, and whānau decision-making.

from http://www.kohanga.ac.nz/?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=10

I was fortunate enough to be on teams to help with funding and set up costs for Kohanga Reo (Learning nests). I had been affected by the enthusiasm of the hard working people that kept the vision alive.

When I was young I remember my Father and Mother saying we would no longer be speaking Dutch.Pappa became Dad and Mamma became Mum.

I remember saying to Pappa 'What if I forget how to speak Dutch" His reply has stayed with me and will forever.

His reply was simple and powerful. He said "You can always go back to Holland to learn, but think on this". "Where do the Maori people go back to when their language is lost"

That was in the 1960's now in the year 2015 the language is alive and used by Maori and European alike.

Through Te Wananga O Aotearoa ( The University of New Zealand ) free classes have  

become available.

I completed my  certificate in  Advanced Te Ara Reo Maori in in 2008. For three years I sang ,ate ,danced  and learned. I was enthralled, challenged, frustrated and sometimes even got tearful. It was a fantastic experience.

I loved the stories of the old ways as well.

The old ways of healing and community and family support are certainly being lost in Anglicised Countries.

I would love to one day go to The Australian outback and learn more about the aboriginal culture.

I would also love to go to Cornwell, Ireland and Whales and learn more about the Celts. 

I Believe that the loss of  language, culture and identity in a nation, is the greatest loss. It is not only a past lost but a present and a future loss and that to me is very sad.

We must become bigger than we have been: more courageous, greater in spirit, larger in outlook. We must become members of a new race, overcoming petty prejudice, owing our ultimate allegiance not to nations but to our fellow men within the human community.

Haile Selassie