Mt Ruapehu Erupts

Mt Ruapehu is another one of our active volcanoes. It is the main skifield for the North Island and at this time of the year (end of winter and also school holidays) it is crowded with skiers.

This looks as if it has been a minor eruption, a one off with no warning whatsoever. Hopefully it will settle down again. You can see the dark smudges in the snow where ash has fallen around the crater lake.
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The pics and following article are from our morning paper:

'Scores of people fled from Mt Ruapehu last night after an eruption shook the volcano about 8.20pm.

One man was rescued by helicopter from the mountain after the eruption, which was witnessed by airline pilots.

The 22 year old Auckland teacher suffered serious leg injuries and hypothermia and was flown by rescue helicopter to Waikato Hospital where he will be operated on this morning.

The man is believed to have been in a hut with three companions when a huge rock, part of the eruption, came through the roof and crushed his legs.

The volcanic blast wiped out a monitoring hut near the crater lake, sending two muddy torrents down the skifields.

Police last night checked ski lodges crammed with school holiday makers near the Chateau as a precaution.

Roads, including State Highways 47 and 48, were closed following concerns that ash could cause slips onto them. The Main Trunk railway line was closed while the damage was assessed.

Road and rail links were later re-opened.'

Baked Hedgehog

I have just found this recipe on google - I don't think I will be trying it.

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Gypsy Recipes

Baked Hedgehog

1 hedgehog
damp clay

First catch your hedgehog. Beware of fleas. Dispatch cleanly.
Coat all over with at least one inch of clay. Place in embers of the fire. Cook until clay is baked hard, then crack open and peel away the clay. Skin and spikes will stick to the clay. Pick out the delicious soft white meat. Enjoy.

Hedgehogs on menu for ancient Brits???

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=206&objectid=10463655

I found an interesting article in The New Zealand Herald today about England's 10 oldest recipes. Follow the above link to read the article.

Apparently Baked hedgehog appeared on this list! I must find out more........not that I ever intend to cook one.

More Imports

More plants from the garden - this time from our beach house garden. Both are imports and belong to the Proteaceae family. The top two pics are Leucospermum (pincushion Protea) - the shrub just looks magnificent at the moment. This plant hails from South Africa and thrives in the sandy beach conditions. Like Proteas they can die if you give them any fertilizer!

The last two pics are the sole flower on our little Waratah which is Australian. It should also thrive in the dry conditions.

Native Birds

While on the subject of local birds, these two birds are ones we see often. The pictures are a little stylized - sorry about that. The real colours for the birds are much more vivid. I will take some pictures of my own when I can.

The top picture is a Pukeko or NZ swamp hen. They stand out in the countryside with their indigo blue plumage and white tail which flashes when they are alarmed.

They are curious comical birds living in wetlands, often seen foraging at the side of roads, where they are sometimes hit and killed by cars as they seem to have no fear. When one is dead on the road the friends will often gather around and stare at the unfortunate victim regardless of cars travelling past!

The second pic is a Tui. They have a dark shiny blue black appearance usually darker than is shown here. The male has a distinctive tuft of white feathers at the throat.

We have lots of them at certain times in our trees here, usually feeding on Kowhai flowers (the yellow flowers in the picture) or other flowers around. They love to eat the nectar from flax flowers and will get a little drunk on it, flapping around and warbling loudly. They have a wide range of very loud calls.

Rosella Invasion

This is the sight that greeted us when we rose this morning - three Rosellas feeding on the lawn. Sorry about the poor quality of the pics - they are very shy birds and I couldn't get too close.

We have flocks of Rosellas out on the orchard where they do cause damage to the kiwifruit. But this is the first time I have seen them here in town, and so brazenly feeding in view of humans and cats.

They are native to Australia and in the last ten years or so seem to have decided that NZ has greener pastures and have established themselves in some locations around the country. It remains to be seen how they affect the local bird population. They may occupy a niche that dosn't displace our own birds, especially if they don't live in the bush (forest).

Later:

I have been looking for more information and they have actually been in the country since the early 1900's! There is some worry that they will displace our native parrots - Kakariki - but this hasn't been proved. Kakariki are not often seen, only in isolated bush areas (NZ native forest is known here as 'bush')

I have been tagged

I have been tagged by Shell - here are the 'rules':

1. Players must list one fact, word, or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of their first or middle name.
2. When you are tagged you need to write your own post containing your first or middle name game facts, word, or tidbit.
3. At the end of your post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag.
4. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them that they have been tagged, and to read your blog.

Here goes:
m - would have to stand for 'Mother, and Grandmother'. I guess those two roles have been and still are the most important in my life. The roles are constantly evolving and my input changes as the years go by.

e - like Shell e is for 'education'. My tertiary training and working life has all revolved around education - mostly in the primary area. I was a classroom teacher for a relatively short time but soon moved into the special needs areas - ESOL, Reading Recovery, and Co-ordinating various special needs services.

r - Hmm, r could be 'reading' but I have already mentioned that. So r could be for 'roaming' - I love to travel. In fact I have been known to say " Happiness is a full tank of gas and heading out of town".
I roamed the world for a few years before I married and have only managed to resume my overseas roaming in the last few years. I can feel a trip to the UK again coming up next year.

i - 'independent' I am very self reliant and can be quite happy with my own company (and computer of course).

nz - these two letters can go together - they mean New Zealand of course - Aotearoa - Land of the Long White Cloud - Down Under - sometimes called Godzone country. Once described in the 1960's as a half gallon, quarter acre, pavlova paradise . We are all immensely proud of our country but, like all countries, we do have a few problems from time to time.

Now I am supposed to tag others. But I will leave it up to anyone else who wants to participate rather than point a finger.

PS. The pic at the top is an old one, around 1962. Just an NZ country scene which, although old, is still typical. My dad on the tractor, sheepdog at the side, moving some sheep down the road to a new paddock. Nowadays the farmer would probably be riding a quad bike rather than a tractor. For those of you who know the area, there is Taupiri mountain way in the background.

Garden Activity

Here are a few up to date garden pics.

The Sugar Snap peas are now flowering and producing, thanks to all that worm fertilizer!

A row of radishes are just poking their heads through the soil.

The bees are enjoying the plum blossom, last year there were few bees around when the plums were in flower so I had to hand pollinate some. This year should be better.

The yellow flower is Australian Frangipani which has a beautiful scent at night time.

Hedgewick

Hedgewick has gone walkabout. All we have are memories and a now empty little home I made for him.

I have decided he must have been a male, as he stayed for a few good feeds, then shot through to goodness knows where.

Perhaps he will be back in the dead of night. But I think that now he has regained his strength he will be busy in my garden during the night, eating all the slugs and snails for me. A much better way of controlling pests than using snail bait. Hopefully he will invite his cousins as well as there is plenty of food for all. Much better food for him than cat food.

The cats seem to be quite pleased to have their domain back to themselves again.

More Knitting

I have just completed these little jerseys for the twins - they are growing so fast I hope they will fit them!

One of My favourite Poems

THE READING MOTHER

I HAD A MOTHER who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,
"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath

I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings-
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each mother of boys were such.

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be --
I had a Mother who read to me.

Strickland Gillilan
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This is one of my favourite poems, I guess being an ex Reading Recovery teacher it strikes a chord!
Especially the last verse.

Hedgewick the Hedgehog

I last wrote about our hedgehog (now called Hedgewick) in April.

He (or she - hard to tell with hedgehogs) has been away sleeping over the cooler winter months and has now woken up ravenous. He has forgotten that he is supposed to be nocturnal and is wandering around in full sunlight blinking blearily.

He seems to have decided to live like our cats ie. hang around the kitchen door in expectation of food magically appearing - which of course it does at regular intervals. They seem oblivious to him, no doubt they have decided that if they ignore him he might go away. He's too prickly to play with, cuddle up with, or eat. So has little value in their eyes I suspect.

He is very tame but I think that is because hunger has overridden any shyness. He likes any cat food, especially something soft. His natural diet is slugs and snails. I expect that he will wander off when he is feeling stronger.

IRB Rugby Promotion

Without wanting to over do the Rugby theme, I couldn't help posting this version of the World Cup theme song 'World In Union' produced by the International Rugby Board and sung beautifully by our own Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

Mt Taranaki (Egmont)

Here are some pics of Mt Taranaki - I mentioned this in a previous post about the Patea Maori Club hit song Poi E.

NZ Volcanic Activity - Rotorua Taupo area

This is a pic of White Island which lies about 48k offshore in the Bay of Plenty.

About 70 percent of the volcano is under the sea, making this massive volcanic structure the largest in New Zealand.

A sulphur mining venture began on the island in 1885; this was stopped abruptly in 1914 when part of the crater wall collapsed and a landslide destroyed the sulphur mine and miners' village; twelve lives were lost. The remains of buildings from that era are now a tourist attraction.

Although privately owned, White Island became a private scenic reserve in 1953, and daily tours allow more than 10,000 people to visit White Island every year.

Volcanic activity on the Island is constantly monitored by Geonet. They have two cameras set up which relay images and take seismic readings.

The most recent eruption was March to September 2000. Early in March a new vent developed and began to emit ash. An eruption occurred late in July which covered the crater area in scoria, also displacing the main crater lake and forming a new explosion crater 150 m across.

The map shows the Taupo Rotorua Volcanic zone and the areas of Thermal activity.

The whole area is also prone to earthquakes.

Sometimes I feel that we are living on an eggshell!!

Poi E - Patea Maori Club

This was a popular hit here a few years ago. While not strictly traditional it shows some aspects of Maori song and dance.

A poi is the small ball on the end of a string that you can see the dancers using.

This is still one of my favourite songs and video clips - did you notice the involvement of all ages in the performance, and what enjoyment they are all getting from the song and rhythm.

I especially love the little bare chested boy singing with all his heart. And the obvious involvement of the town - even a milk tanker going by and also a cattle truck going down the main street.

Patea is a small town in the Taranaki province in the shadow of a beautiful mountain called Mt Taranaki. It is mainly a dairy farming area.

Maori Haka

This is a different Haka performed by a Maori group rather than a sports team.

ALL BLACKS HAKA

The Rugby World Cup

In New Zealand our national sport is Rugby Union. Not Rugby League or Aussie Rules or Soccer or even Football, just Rugby.

And the much anticipated Rugby World Cup has just begun in France.

Our team is called the All Blacks and they are looked upon as heroes!

Before every international game our team performs a haka which is a very stirring 'war dance' would be the closest description. It is like a challenge to the opposing team and designed to frighten and intimidate them.

Here are some pics of the All Blacks performing the Haka. Ka Mate has in the past been the favoured haka but recently the All Blacks have composed one especially for rugby which they perform sometimes.

The Words of Ka Mate

Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!	I die! I die! I live! I live!
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!	I die! I die! I live! I live!
Tenei te tangata puhuru huru	This is the hairy man
Nana nei i tiki mai	Who fetched the Sun
Whakawhiti te ra	And caused it to shine again
A upa ... ne! ka upa ... ne!	One upward step! Another upward step!
A upane kaupane whiti te ra!	An upward step, another.. the Sun shines!!
Hi !!!

I did some research about a popular statement regarding the ratio of sheep to people in NZ

This is an article I found:

Myth: New Zealand has 3 million people and 60 million sheep

New Zealand has 3 million people and 60 million sheep

This is a commonly heard statement about New Zealand, frequently in anticipation of yet another sheep joke.

This is not a myth: its just that the information is now out of date

First the question of how many people live in New Zealand: the population passed the 4 million mark some time in 2003. In fact, the population clock put the event precisely at 5.30 pm on Thursday 24 April 2003. By 31 March, 2007, the estimated resident population reached 4.18 million people.

But do we know how many sheep live here? The figure of 60 million is one that is still heard. How accurate is this number? Is there still a ratio of 20 sheep to every person living here? And if not, what is the sheep-person ratio?

According to the latest Agricultural Production statistics, released by Statistics New Zealand's Agricultural Production team, there were 40.1 million estimated resident sheep at 30 June 2006, which means that the sheep-person ratio has halved in the last 20 years, and now stands at 10 sheep per person.

However, to put this in an international context, New Zealand's ratio is still twice as high as Australia's, which is currently less than five sheep per person. As with New Zealand, this is due to declining sheep numbers and a growing human population. ............................

PS I will have to find some sheep jokes to put on my blog...... Nah some of them are a bit rude!

The above pics show some of our pet lambs we had - lambs were often orphaned and we would had raise them feeding them with a bottle and teat. They made wonderful loving pets.

Rain Rain Rain.

Today is a typical 'end of winter' day with steady rain on and off all day.

When people visit New Zealand they are often amazed at the greeness of the countryside. Live here for a year or so and you will soon see why - grass and trees need watering and our rainfall is usually a generous one!

Here in the Bay of Plenty a 'drought' is when is hasn't rained for about three weeks and we are all talking about how dry it is etc etc.

We are lucky compared to many other countries.

Rotorua

About an hour away from where we live, in the Bay of Plenty, is Rotorua. Rotorua is a popular tourist destination for overseas tourists and new Zealanders also. Being a thermal area there are popular spas and we enjoy sightseeing also!

The pictures below show a magnificent carved doorway at the entrance to The Maori Village and Whakarewarwewa which is one of the 'hot spots' worth visiting.

There are two pics of boiling mud pools and another of a Maori warrior performing a challenge and the visitor is picking up the proffered piece of greenery to signify that he comes with peaceful intentions.

The geyser you see is the famous Pohutu which plays about every 35 minutes.

My Lizard

This little fellow lives at our front door. I saw him at a craft market, fell in love with him, and of course brought him home.

He has some glass tiles which catch the sun and give him life.

He (or she) is often admired!