A not-so-little reminder of home.

When I was in the city recently, I took a shortcut from Britomart to Customs Street that I've been taking lately. I didn't know about it back when Britomart was open all the way around. I only came across it when we had to start exiting from the one of the sides because of construction out front. I used a couple of other pictures that I had taken on this short-cut on a previous post.  

Look what I found this time. It was getting a lot of attention from other people walking through the 'Doughnut Detour.'  

 Fred would know for sure about this. I think that it's a 1959... (I sent this photo to Fred while I worked on the post and he told me it's probably a '58.) 

Look at the trunk on that beast. You could pack your whole closet in there.  

What a steering wheel. Pre-power steering I assume.   -djf

Introducing, the fierce lancewood.

It's not one of the largest. It's certainly not well known. It's not one of the best looking or even one of the better-looking trees. It's small, has sharp teeth that it's not afraid to use, and as a juvenile, is one of the ugliest stick-things you'd ever want to see. But I like it. It has a name that suites it and it's gaining in popularity as an ornamental, if you can believe that. 

Had Morticia Addams known about this little tree, she would have approved of it. No flowers on it that need snipping off, you know. And if you could string it's leaves together in a continuous way, you'd have a very passable band-saw blade. Uncle Fester would have liked that. No doubt about it, Morticia would have had a whole garden of these little, ah, beauties isn't really the right word. But she would have had a lot of them I think. 

It's a Pseudopanax ferox, aka the toothed lancewood, or my favorite name, the fierce lancewood.

I bolded and italicized the font when I typed it's name just now because this little tree deserves to be recognized as the tough little character that is is. Here is a close-up of it's green and growing 'leaves.' 

I found this one and the next picture on Wikipedia. 

The picture below is of a mature tree with a bunch of it's juvenile leaves still attached. 

I think that landing in a forest of these trees might be a parachutist's worst nightmare. Well, his second worst nightmare before jumping, and the worst one after his chute opens up. These trees would shred him upon arrival in their canopy. 

This tree is growing between the War Museum and the Winter Gardens in Auckland. 

Those points are all sharp as, and if that leaf doesn't look like a band-saw blade, I don't know what does.  

Whoever invented the cat o' nine tails needn't have bothered. Pulling up a sapling of the toothed lancewood and swinging it would make a horrendous whip.

Here are a couple of leaves that I found on the ground under a young tree on one of our walks to a waterfall.

I took the train in to Glen Eden to take these shots because they have some of these trees outside the city library. 

Rather unusual aren't they?

This one doesn't have quite as fearsome a tooth pattern as some have, but believe me, the tips are sharper than they appear.  The leaves are like leather and that heavy midrib makes it even stiffer and tougher. 

Well, there you have it. This very tough little tree is endemic to New Zealand. I have yet to find a mature tree anywhere, but I will be watchful whenever I get the opportunity to walk in the bush. I'd love to get some pictures of a big one. When I do, I think I'll use it as a header.       -djf

K' Road

Today I'm going to take you on a little tour of K' Road. No, it's not because it has a repuation in Auckland of being a red-light district or home to counter-culture types. I want to show it to you because, according to The Karangahape Road Business Association, it may just be the most famous road in all of New Zealand. It actually pre-dates European settlement. 

The Symonds Street and Karangahape Ridge are part of a walking route that Maoris used to reach Manukau Harbour. It was known to them as Te Ara o Karangahape, the path of Karangahape. It was in use then, long before Queen Streen was laid out by the early surveyors. 

These photos were taken on September 23, 2017. I had come into the city because I wanted to buy bread from Pandoro and to visit a Scandavavian Deli I had heard is located just a few yards off K' Road. I did both that Saturday morning. The weather was cooperating and I enjoyed my stroll along this famous bit of Auckland.  

K' Road has some interesting architecture And some interesting inhabitants. 

Ahh, The Third Eye. Maybe I look at it with my slightly suspicious 65 year-old eyes now, but I remember Jeanne and I going to another The Third Eye in Marquette Michigan 40-odd years ago. It was a coffee shop that featured poetry readings. We sat at upended giant wooden spools that originally held power line cable. 

There are generally a few street people begging along Auckland's streets. They have been without exception polite and non-threatening. I can't say the same thing for some of those I've experienced in some American cities. 

Here is the store I was looking for.  It's just off K' Road. It doesn't have nearly the amount of product that the Russian deli in Newmarket does, but it was interesting. I'll take Jeanne there some time. 

It's about 65 today. A good day to take some pictures. 

Nothing special to see here. Just a neat old building and some palms. 

Cannabis is not legal here, but a few stores like this are around.

I noticed that I welcomed the shade as I stepped into it along this side of the street. It was getting warm in the sun. 

This is a bridge over the motorway. Somebody was selling inexpensive shirts along it today. 

The view from the bridge. The red road is a bike path that winds it's way above both the other routes. 

Lots of cafes, bistros, and combinations of the two along here. 

Its age is showing. 

Catering to a range of budgets I guess. The Haka Hotel and the Haka Logde for backpackers. 

I took three shots at this Indian Restaurant. I think it is beautiful in there. 

Look at that stairway.

And look at that wall and the curved stained-glass window. Wow. 

Just another corner cafe and palm trees.

I've read that the city council has supported developing businesses along K' Road that are family friendly. This is one of those I think. 

As you can see, families are using this area of trendy shops and restaurants. 

The view from the bottom of a stairway leading to St. Kevin's Arcade, reflecting K' Road's  love of art. 

Poynton Terrace overlooking the walkway to Myer's Park. 

Whether or not your idea of goodtimes is having a drink in a bar, I definitely had a good time showing you this historic part of Auckland. I have a link below that shows a tiimelapse video from various places along K' Road. It does a much better job than my few pictures have of showing it to you.  Take a look.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DPwQnXowvo

Waitakere Race

Sunday, October 15 dawned cloudy and windy. Although yesterday's forecast had predicted  sun, it was anybody's guess at 7 a.m. But it was race day. Entry fees had been paid, numbers pinned on shirts, and most importantly, we had rolled out of bed early. Racers don't change their minds because it looks a little doubtful outside. Allie told us stories of the time she ran in a Los Angeles Marathon as we ate breakfast. Fueled by her tales and by fresh-baked oatmeal banana muffins, off we went. 

As we left the house and started walking up Harvest Drive, I noticed that a light mist was sometimes falling, and sometimes not. Hmmm. I had my big black umbrella in my hand and two little collapsable models stuck into my back pocket. "Oh yeah," I thought, "I'm ready for you."

By the time we got to the race though, the mists had given up and the day, while still very windy, showed signs of proving the weatherman's optimistic outlook. 

Allie and Arram were running in a couple of the Sport Waitakere races that were being held nearby. The rugby club fields next to the Sturges Road Railroad Station hosted the event. Allie would be running an 11 k, and Arram the 2 k.  

 We walked to the race since it was being held just 15 minutes from our home.

 As the support crew, our motto is 'be prepared,' so Jeanne and I carried umbrellas that we hoped we wouldn't need. And, as it turned out, we didn't. 

More support

As always, help was available, but as far as I know, was not needed at this race.  

 Both runners were feeling fit, fueled and fast. 

Pre-race instructions for the runners.

Allie is about to start and is checking her boys on the sidelines. Arram's race starts in about 1/2 hour.  

There goes Allie's group. There were 76 in her category. There were also another 75 starting for their half-marathon run. 

Look at the concentration and anticipation and focus Arram shows here seconds before the siren, starting his race, sounds.  

Not only did the kids run the 2 kilometers, but they had to step through tires and crawl beneath cargo netting twice along their course.

Made it!  Fifth of all runners, fourth boy finishing and third in his age group. He did very well.
The timing and stats are so well done these days. He was wearing an electronic chip that recorded his time. The computer reported all his numbers instantly on the race websight. Impressive.    

Arram already shows signs of being a very smart runner. The course was twice around the fields at the rugby club. The runners would cross the parking lot at the half-way point so we had the opportunity to see how they were doing. When Arram came through the first time, I noticed that he was at least half way back in the pack. A batch of older kids were blazing along out in the lead. By the time they came around the 2nd time, at least a couple of those older kids had run completely out of steam and fallen way back toward the end of the runners. Arram, in contrast, had run his smart race and had been passing kids left and right. You'll notice in the picture that there were a couple he had just pulled ahead of as he made his approach to the finish line.  After the race he commented that he had noticed some kids running down the field and not paying attention to the line they were running. "It was like they were running a zig-zag" he said. He, on the other hand, set his eyes on the corner of his next turn up ahead, and ran the straightest line he could. Smart kid. I think he has learned a thing or two from his marathon-experienced mom. 

Minion hats and balloons were free, woohoo, so the boys decked themselves out and waited at the edge of the field for their mom to arrive at the home stretch. They ran with her as she approached the finish. 

And here she is. Good job Allie. That's Jeanne in the background.   

Post race, we celebrate a successful day.  

They also got free smoothies, and Arram received a mini-toolkit for entering the race. And a medal for finishing. What a great deal for an entry fee of $5.00. 

This is the kind of thing that the boys will remember forever I think. Good, healthy, positive outdoor activities. It doesn't get much better.   -djf