More photos left undpublished from earlier in the year. These ones are from our holiday in Taupo in January. Desiree, Jayne & Nicky enjoyed feeding the swans on the Lake while we holidayed in Taupo. So I was able to capture them braving the threat of ravenous swans scavenging the bread, and threatening toes while they were about it!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Not quite Christmas past ...
I was cleaning up photo files recently, and discovered a bunch of Christmas photos I had forgotten about. These are in addition to the ones I published previously.
So here they are.
So here they are.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Hmmmmm ... Pikelets
I like pikelets. I also make pikelets. I'm told they are also known as 'drop scones' in other parts of the world.
They are a favourite Sunday lunch.
The preferred and reliable recipe is from the iconic Edmonds Cookbook although, strangely enough, they don't have the recipe on their website. Probably because they now sell a pre-prepared mix for pikelets.
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon Edmonds Baking Powder
1 oz Butter (suit yourself)
Method
Beat the egg and sugar until thick and add with the milk to the sifted flour, salt and baking powder.
Lastly add melted butter.
Mix until smooth and cook in spoonfuls on a hot greased gridle. (A frypan is OK, provided the heat is kept low.)
They are a favourite Sunday lunch.
The preferred and reliable recipe is from the iconic Edmonds Cookbook although, strangely enough, they don't have the recipe on their website. Probably because they now sell a pre-prepared mix for pikelets.
The Recipe
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon Edmonds Baking Powder
1 oz Butter (suit yourself)
Method
Beat the egg and sugar until thick and add with the milk to the sifted flour, salt and baking powder.
Lastly add melted butter.
Mix until smooth and cook in spoonfuls on a hot greased gridle. (A frypan is OK, provided the heat is kept low.)
Cicadas in the air
It's a quiet Sunday morning. I'm up on my own, pottering about - read the paper, check the state of our new voice recorder, have a cup of tea, see if there are any emails, have a cup of tea, sterilise some bottles for the latest beer batch, have a cup of tea.
You get the picture.
I open the back door - it is warm, there is a gentle breeze, and the constant noise of cicadas.
That is a sound New Zealanders grow up with in late summer. I can remember walking home down Narbada Crescent in Khandallah past wooden powerpoles with as many as 2 dozen cicadas on each one. And each cicada was making it's repititious, vibrating noise.
I've just had a quick look online, and found www.cicada.net.nz which is actually a website hosting company, and nothing to do with cicadas at all but it does have a page of information about the insects!
There are in fact a whole host of websites devoted to cicadas, including what might be considered the 'official' one for New Zealand, at Landcare Research.
But what prompted this was that on Thursday morning I went out onto the deck, and there was a cicada, just sitting minding it's own business, and ignoring me (as far as I could tell!).
And it was silent.
So of course I got my camera, and happily snapped away for a moment or two.
What surprised me was that after all these years of thinking cicadas were brown and black so they are camouflaged for hiding on tree trunks, that in fact they have startling green and yellow and purple, and black and brown. I knew their wings were opaque, but not that you can see right through them.
I agree I've never made a study of cicadas, or any insect for that matter, but it is startling to have ones assumptions undermined so forcefully.
You get the picture.
I open the back door - it is warm, there is a gentle breeze, and the constant noise of cicadas.
That is a sound New Zealanders grow up with in late summer. I can remember walking home down Narbada Crescent in Khandallah past wooden powerpoles with as many as 2 dozen cicadas on each one. And each cicada was making it's repititious, vibrating noise.
I've just had a quick look online, and found www.cicada.net.nz which is actually a website hosting company, and nothing to do with cicadas at all but it does have a page of information about the insects!
There are in fact a whole host of websites devoted to cicadas, including what might be considered the 'official' one for New Zealand, at Landcare Research.
But what prompted this was that on Thursday morning I went out onto the deck, and there was a cicada, just sitting minding it's own business, and ignoring me (as far as I could tell!).
And it was silent.
So of course I got my camera, and happily snapped away for a moment or two.
What surprised me was that after all these years of thinking cicadas were brown and black so they are camouflaged for hiding on tree trunks, that in fact they have startling green and yellow and purple, and black and brown. I knew their wings were opaque, but not that you can see right through them.
I agree I've never made a study of cicadas, or any insect for that matter, but it is startling to have ones assumptions undermined so forcefully.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Buzzy Bees on the Harbour
As I wander about our office I often glance at the Harbour, having a lovely view across to Oriental Bay.
Sometimes the view is just the pristine, sparkling glory of the sheltered inner harbour.
Occasionally, the view is accompanied by the percussive smoke of a salute fired from the ceremonial battery at Point Jerningham.
On some days the air is so sharp and clear, especially in winter, the ice on the mountains behind the Orongorongas is almost within arms reach, and aircraft approaching the airport look in imminent danger of crashing.
On other occasions, one sees rowing skiffs heading out to practise, or yatchs stretching their sails.
Yesterday it was jet-skis, ploughing up the otherwise calm waters off Oriental Bay.
Sometimes the view is just the pristine, sparkling glory of the sheltered inner harbour.
Occasionally, the view is accompanied by the percussive smoke of a salute fired from the ceremonial battery at Point Jerningham.
On some days the air is so sharp and clear, especially in winter, the ice on the mountains behind the Orongorongas is almost within arms reach, and aircraft approaching the airport look in imminent danger of crashing.
On other occasions, one sees rowing skiffs heading out to practise, or yatchs stretching their sails.
Yesterday it was jet-skis, ploughing up the otherwise calm waters off Oriental Bay.
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Cuba Street Carnival, 2009
Last Saturday was the annual Cuba Street Carnival in Wellington.
Desiree was keen to see the Parade in the evening, so we did. And so did, perhaps, 149,998 others. Needless to say the City was packed.
We made our way to the corner of Taranaki & Ghuznee Streets, and got to within about 3-4 people from the edge of the parade, and decided that was about as close as we could get.
So there we stayed. And watched and waited. The Parade did go past, although it was quite slow, with long gaps between floats at times.
It was terrific, however. Full of light, colour and energy, and reflecting the diversity of the City.
The proof, as they say, was in the clicking. So, of course, there is a slideshow of photos.
Desiree was keen to see the Parade in the evening, so we did. And so did, perhaps, 149,998 others. Needless to say the City was packed.
We made our way to the corner of Taranaki & Ghuznee Streets, and got to within about 3-4 people from the edge of the parade, and decided that was about as close as we could get.
So there we stayed. And watched and waited. The Parade did go past, although it was quite slow, with long gaps between floats at times.
It was terrific, however. Full of light, colour and energy, and reflecting the diversity of the City.
The proof, as they say, was in the clicking. So, of course, there is a slideshow of photos.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
A Polygot Ancestry
I happened across a couple of family history website recently, that have provided useful information about some parts of my ancestry about which I know very little.
The Blair Campbell Family site has some useful information about the Blair and Stevenson families.
These two families are related to the Clearwaters from whom I am descended.
The Forrester & Maitland Family History collates entries from the "Cyclopedia of New Zealand" and lists many Forresters from Invercargill. My father's mother was a Forrester; she died a few weeks after giving birth to her second child, my Aunt Moira. I knew little about her family, so this site filled in a few gaps very nicely.
However, the exercise, useful as it was, prompted some other thoughts. Having updated my database, I prepared a report on my ancestry, to see the 'gaps' filled and the chart extended.
Having done so, the extent of the tree became obvious. So I re-focussed the Report on Charlotte. The resulting Report shows that we can trace our family back some 14 generations, to Rotterdam, Holland. I hope that will be of interest to Charlotte, after her recent visit to Amsterdam and avowed intention to live there.
Because in addition to the number of generations we span, it also shows the diversity of our 'ethnicity' - Irish (green boxes), Scottish (blue boxes), Dutch (orange boxes), and American-Dutch (, oh and a little English thrown there as well.
I was also interested to see just how many branches of the family are Scottish - arguably we are Scottish more than anything else.
The Blair Campbell Family site has some useful information about the Blair and Stevenson families.
These two families are related to the Clearwaters from whom I am descended.
The Forrester & Maitland Family History collates entries from the "Cyclopedia of New Zealand" and lists many Forresters from Invercargill. My father's mother was a Forrester; she died a few weeks after giving birth to her second child, my Aunt Moira. I knew little about her family, so this site filled in a few gaps very nicely.
However, the exercise, useful as it was, prompted some other thoughts. Having updated my database, I prepared a report on my ancestry, to see the 'gaps' filled and the chart extended.
Having done so, the extent of the tree became obvious. So I re-focussed the Report on Charlotte. The resulting Report shows that we can trace our family back some 14 generations, to Rotterdam, Holland. I hope that will be of interest to Charlotte, after her recent visit to Amsterdam and avowed intention to live there.
Because in addition to the number of generations we span, it also shows the diversity of our 'ethnicity' - Irish (green boxes), Scottish (blue boxes), Dutch (orange boxes), and American-Dutch (, oh and a little English thrown there as well.
I was also interested to see just how many branches of the family are Scottish - arguably we are Scottish more than anything else.
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