Happy Place

Where's your 'Happy Place'?
Mine would be the beach. And it's Oaklys as well. He likes digging in the sand and chasing after sticks - while I like clicking away with my camera and watching Oakly enjoying himself.

So the other night, Oakly and I set off for our 'Happy Place'. I managed to capture some moody skies and Oakly didn't have to compete with the other two dogs for attention.

It really is time we set off traveling about on the road. I'm running out of new places around Nelson to take photos of!

Evening at the Beach

The last couple of days have been very warm so we decided the dogs might like to cool off at the beach. It's always nice walking along as the sun is beginning to set at the end of the day. Everything is bathed in a golden glow.

Someone had a great idea to hang a hammock in the trees to enjoy the views.

Drier Tyres

Bernie jacked the rig up so he could put sheets of ply underneath the tyres. The rig sits on the grass while we are not using it and in wet weather moisture can be pulled up into the tyres and under carriage. Hopefully having them sitting on ply will keep them drier.

Marsden Valley Walk

We took a quick walk up Barnicoat Hill in Marsden Valley this evening. It was one place that wasn't being battered by the winds Nelson has had the last few days.
Here are a few photos ...

Enjoying the Roses

Becs and I headed out to capture a colourful sunset. We left an hour early and decided to call in at Broadgreen Rose Garden to fill in some time. We were both so engrossed on taking macro shots of the roses we lost track of time. Before we knew it the sun had sunk behind the mountains and we missed our sunset photos - but it was lovely spending an evening together.

York Quarry

We took the dogs for a walk around York Quarry which is where Bernie works. It's located in Whakatu - only ten minutes drive from home.

After we went through the gate, we locked it behind us and parked the truck round the corner. And, then we walked up the road and did a circuit around the quarry.

We walked up the road and turned left at the first t-intersection. This was obviously rabbit territory. Although we didn't spot any the dogs could smell their scent.

At the top bench of the quarry we saw where trucks go to pick up larger size aggregates (screened rock). This spot is also host to a fantastic view.

Then we walked down a steep 4x4 track into the pit, where the crushing of aggregates happens. 

Sunsets and a Shaky Start to the Week

On Sunday evening we took advantage of the break in the weather and enjoyed watching the sun going down over Tahuna.

The view from Queens Road, above Rocks Road.

In hindsight maybe this was the calm before the storm. As little as four hours later, just after midnight we woke to the house rocking and rolling. Is it just me or does everyone lie and wonder if it'll stop soon and whether it's going to be bad enough to get up and stand under the door frame? As it turned out, the shaking didn't stop after a few seconds. It got worse. It seemed to go on forever. As I stood underneath the door frame I could see the large pot in the hall rocking to and fro. Then the lights went out. When the shaking stopped we could hear seagulls screeching and cars sirens blaring in the distance.

We called out to Sarah (our neighbour) to check she was okay and she ran across the drive to join us. We couldn't contact Becs & Hamish straight away and I was reluctant to run down the drive to check on them incase there was another shake.

After five minutes or so, Becs rang and told us there had been a 7.5 earthquake centred in Waiau. From the shaking we experienced we could only imagine the devastation that would have happened near the epicentre.

To end this post on a positive note, here are a couple of photos taken around Rocks Road.