Christmas Day on Kaiterakihi Beach, 2024

OUR CHRISTMAS STORY

I've talked about it before in posts, Kaiterakihi Beach is our traditional Christmas beach. So, today being Christmas, Allie loaded up her SUV. We provided turkey sandwiches, cherry tomatoes, fresh sweet cherries, and drinks. Off we went.  

It was a mostly overcast Christmas Day, but the temperature was in the 70's (F) and it wasn't raining, something it has done in the past on several occasions. No complaints from us at all. 

On our way out to the west coast, we wondered how crowded the beach would be this year. During the last several kilometers of our 45 minute journey, we followed a pick-up truck, with a huge grill strapped in the back. As it happened, he was going to K B as well, and after turning off from the road which continues on to Huia, we followed him in on the narrow, twisty-turning gravel road that ran steeply down to the beach. 

THERE WAS NO ROOM IN THE LOT

When we saw cars parked in the ditch even before the overflow parking lot, we knew it was going to be crowded.  Grill-man backed into the overflow lot, but where he was going to park was anybody's guess. The road was way too narrow at that point for Allie to turn around so she continued on down.  

The main parking lot was crammed, as we knew it would be.  She stopped the car at the very front of the lot and suggested that we unload our gear here, and that she would return up the hill and try to find a parking spot. She'd have to walk back down afterwards, possibly a hundred yards or more.  

WE FIND ROOM

Then it happened. A car, that had occupied what I considered the very best spot in the entire lot, pulled out of their spot and left!  Allie pulled in and we were set!  Thirty feet from the beach, right next to the grassy acres of picnic tables, with all the room we could ever want to unload. Unbelievable! Our Christmas miracle. 

My pictures will tell the rest of the story. We set up on the beach and spent about four hours of bliss, wandering or resting beneath our beach shelter.  

The sun peeked out a few times but disappeared each time as quickly as it had come. It did however help me get a new brighter photos. There was a time when I thought that a squall might be in the offing, but if there was one passing, it stayed out to sea, and the slightly cooler winds that accompanied it disappeared.  The day was warm enough that the passing bit of coolness was refreshing. 

Jeanne and I find that walking sticks are valuable aids when getting around uneven terrain, like beaches. Our balance is not what it was when we were kids of 65.   

  

For all the cars that filled both lots, the beach itself was surprisingly empty. There were loads of families up in the picnic area though.  

Here comes Jeanne. I've been sitting on a rock for some time.  I was hoping to see some fossils that are in the rocks farther out along the shore, but the tide had just covered them. More about that another time. 

Moisture seeping down the cliff face above this area allows for some beautiful growth. 

A little grotto sort of place. 

That'll do it for today.  I'll be back again with more pictures of our afternoon next time.  -djf

Solstice, 2024

I mentioned the upcoming solstice briefly in my last post and we have now just passed it.  You may or may not be particularly interested, but here goes a bunch of pictures regardless. 

I read that groups of people gathered at Stonehenge and greeted at the sun as it rose.  In place of giant rocks, my view of the sun is from between trees.  

This is a picture of the sunrise on the day before solstice.  I took it because I didn't trust the clouds, and my instincts were good.  On the 21st, we had a solid bank of clouds obscuring our view.  As it is, the sun is rather indistinct in this one.  

The following sequence was taken on the morning of the 22nd, the day after. 

As I said, I can't view the sun's appearance from between giant rocks, but these two trees are a great substitute in my opinion. 

Notice the high-flying birds. 

Above the other end of our balcony, almost straight up, the Moon made itself available for a photoshoot as well. This next picture was taken at about 5:55 a.m. on Dec. 22, 2024.  

I hope that you've enjoyed this quick look. With an elevated, east facing balcony, Jeanne and I have come to regard viewing the rising sun as a sort of morning ritual. Well, a ritual that we take part in when we feel like it, anyway. Sometimes one or the other of us stays in bed a little longer. The weather needs to cooperate of course, but when we do join the sun at dawn, we always toast the start of the day with coffee.   -djf  

 

Mid-December 2024

Greetings to you all.  Summer will officially be upon us soon, (Dec. 21st.) but it is already summerish much of the time. I thought therefore that I'd show you some pictures from the gardens that lie just opposite our cafe.  While I was taking pictures, a bumble and a honey bee came along, not together, I doubt that they're acquainted, and I was able to add them to the shots.  Actually, in my opinion, they make the shots.

I hope that you enjoy what I'm sharing. 

The first two shots are a before and after of the sunrise taken on Dec. 6th. 2024. 

The sun is approaching the point furthest south in its periodic sweep across the horizon between the equinox and the the solstice.  On Dec. 21, this year, the sun will rise, when seen from our balcony, directly behind the pine tree which stands just to the right of where the sun came up in the following pictures.   

I like this rose because its name reminds me of the time Allie give me a bottle of 1951 Port for my birthday.  

These hollyhocks remind me of a time in my life when they towered over my head. I shot this picture a little lower than I needed to.  

And here we go with bees and roses.  

I hope you liked those.  

I'm going to finish this post with something completely different.  

I love You Tube.  There are so many fascinating videos available.  I came across this one which was particularly enjoyable.  Amazing number, great presenter.  What's not to like?

Here it is.  -djf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtyNuOikdE4

Swallows

 

This morning, as Jeanne and I sat on our balcony and sipped the day's first brew, we were entertained by members of a family of Waitakere Garden's winged residents.  They undoubtedly started their lives in our potting shed. In fact, the first shot shows them still living at home.   

This is our view of the Palms Building during its remediation.   It is here that today's aerial acrobats rested between forays to catch their breakfasts.  The time is about 6:30 a.m.

I wish I had centered this one better. It looks like a stealth bomber here, and notice its shadow (reflection?) on the plastic.  

While Jeanne and I couldn't see what they were catching, it was obvious that they were very successful. I hope you enjoyed seeing them.   -djf