Do you ever stop what you are doing and wonder about things? I often find myself standing on the hill above our olive grove, casting my eyes over our land. It usually brings a smile to my face. I can’t believe how lucky I am. It’s about this time that I gulp lungfuls of the air in appreciation. Heck this sure is some place to live.
It’s a bonus of course, when the sheep are contained, the sick chook is off antibiotics and no longer wearing her spandex bandage and there is a wedding on the horizon in Australia.
I can’t help but think what super neighbours we have, who don’t mind dog sitting, house sitting or feeding the chickens and kitties.
I also have a special friend who is a horticulturist, a bio dynamics fan who comes up here monthly to give me a hand in my garden. She is so inspiring, a raft of information and works at an amazing pace. I think we are a great gardening team although I doubt that the weeds think so.
Might be a weed, but it sure looks pretty
Of course there are those really silly people who forget to wear gloves and get bitten by a spider .. or those that get teary when they walk past their garlic. Cough cough.
But spring appears to have finally sprung. The past few days have been warm, the sun has been shining and the green of the land seems to have suddenly become, much greener.
We are so very lucky living near Muriwai beach; a walk each day clears the head, gets the dog barking and guarantees black sand in the shower at home.
The gannets have returned too, it’s that time, nest building and generally preparing for parenthood.
They are such amazing birds and can be seen swopping from the cliffs catching air currents as they soar majestically about, glistening in the morning sun.
Now that is something else!
Happy gardening
The gannet shots are just wonderful and I am very fond of the little weed shot too. Yes you are lucky Miss. Count your blessings.
Hey Francesca .. I sure do count my blessings! Those gannets are such beauties .. they were showing off again this morning 😀
I could hear you joy and gratefulness coming through your post. xx
Wish I could trade places… Leafs turning brown and red, this must be autumn. Wish it was summer forever!
Do you like lots of rain? LOL Love to trade places. Does that mean I get to keep Mr B? Love to see some pics of your autumn Herman 😀
Hi to you both. Well Julie you certainly do the Ganet colony justice great action shots. Love the blossom of the weeping tree in the garden,the bloom has always gone by the time I get there. Getting nearer to my setting off to seeing you both looking forward to seeing you both. Hope the chicken gets better. Autumn is well on its way and leaves are changing colour I sent the photos of the vine. All for now enjoy the trip to Melbourne for the wedding lots love Bill.
Hello Billy .. ah what a lovely comment. Those gannets are such magnificent birds, must drag you up there again when you come over. Not long to go now … really looking forward to your visit. Fingers and toes are crossed for Dolly – this is the third time she has had this problem. You take care and lots of love back at you .. xxx
Oh man.. what a gorgeous post!! Heart, soul and glorious pics… Really makes you wanna be there. It’s so wonderful to enjoy your space and be thankful… Good on you girl and thanks for sharing xx
Oh Robyn what a lovely comment. There sure was some heart and soul in it. I do thank my blessings and often find myself on top of that hill doing it. Sigh … Love to share. Hugs Miss xxx
You’re very lucky! Your fab photos make a wonderful pop of brilliant colour to brighten a rather grey day over here (though if the greyness brings rain then hurrah!).
Hi Anne .. I am lucky. So pleased that you like the photos .. at last we have been having some sunny days. Spring has arrived. Ah, you need some rain .. wish I could share, we have had plenty! 😀
Beautiful @Julie! It still takes us long way to the spring! Thank you for sharing fresh and bright atmosphere of the most beautiful season of the year!
Love.
Hello Miss .. and thank you 😀 Happy to share our spring with you! Big smiles your way
A charmed life you lead in the Garden of Eden… 🙂
Ah Mr Draco .. thank you indeed. Now all I need is to be able to take photos like you do 😀
Nonsense. Your photography is beautiful.
Wow it looks amazing! Feeling envious as we enter Autumn. Beautiful pictures 🙂X
Y
Thank you so much 😀
Just beautiful. And yes we should all stop and count our blessings.
Thank you so much! We do need to stop and count our blessings … 😀
Although it’s hard to beat your little piece of heaven in New Zealand, your message is universal. Taking stock of those positive parts of our lives on a regular basis is so important. Gorgeous photos – thanks for the uplifting post.
Oh thank you! I’m so pleased you found the post uplifting. Isn’t it grand being about to stop and think about what is good .. I’m very very lucky.
These photos are terrific. Happy Spring. Good fortune is yours.
What a lovely comment Bruce .. and thank you so much!
So blessed 😊
I think so too Nomzi .. thanks for stopping by 😀
❤️
You really are lucky – where you live is divine .. c
thanks Celi .. I am very lucky indeed. 😀
Happy spring. All the beauty and bounty of your land and gannets too! Island life has definite advantages.
And a happy fall to you! At last spring has arrived. We have just had 4 days of fine weather in a row. Wow! Island life sure does have its advantages 😀
I feel so energized when working and helping on your gorgeous Frog pond farm and a real bonus working alongside a great old school friend….who would have thought! Haha It makes such a difference when working on land that has had so much love and care constantly going into it,and everything simply thrives and lives to its fullest potential, a real credit to you both!! Wonderful shots of the Gannets Jul. Have a lovely trip away…Thanks,Vic X
Ah your comment made me teary. Thanks Vicki .. I would have loved to have said much more. You are a very special ‘old’ friend .. So pleased you liked the gannet pics, they are such beauties aren’t they? See you soon Miss xx
The naughty gardening twinnies in gumboots <3 <3
Happy Spring Julie- the pictures are magical- what a wonderful place to live! You are surrounded by abundance😃
And a happy Fall to you Meg! So pleased you enjoyed the pics .. it sure is a wonderful place to live. And so beautiful with the sun shining. Very very lucky 😀
You are very lucky Julie and thank you for naming the beach so now I’ve been able to find where you are on the map 🙂 Love, love, love the photo of the bird house!
I am lucky indeed. Oh do check us out on the map … west coast of NZ. 😀 And I’m so pleased you enjoyed the pic of the bird house … minus birds 😀
What a wonderful glorious place you have created. The photos are fabulous and you both work so hard to achieve what you have. Very blessed and very well deserved. Your joy is delightful and thanks for sharing your slice of heaven! Xx
Hello lovely Jenny … so nice to see you here – it always is! Thank you so much for your divine comment – it means a great deal. Yes very blessed. So nice to share good things isn’t it? Hugs x
Just LOVE your writing and the photo’s Jules – what a lovely time of year it is for you – thanks for sharing the beauty in your amazing and special way…….
Hey Lizzie .. oh thank you so much. I’m pleased you enjoyed my banter and pics. It is a lovely time of year and so much better now that spring has sprung. Your last sentence my friend is very special. 😀
So very enjoy this special post. Wish I could take photos like you do. 🙂
I love these bird captures! 💖
Amy, I dream taking photos like you! I just have to practise a whole lot more! Thank you so much
Springtime is my absolute favourite season and your photos reflect it perfectly Julie, just stunning, love your Muriwai photos as much as your garden photos. Brings back so many memories of days gone by when Muriwai was our local playground. I remember being two weeks overdue with my baby and going off up the beach off roading for the day! Gosh, did I really do that??. Crazy when I think of it now but it worked, I went into labour a few hours after getting home! Happy days …….. say hi to Vicki and love to you both xx
Sue oh so nice to hear from you! I’m so pleased you liked the pics .. thank you. Gosh I didn’t know that you spent time at Muriwai! That is fabulous. Overdue baby too .. oh my! I’m sure you did lots of wonderful, crazy things. Happy days to you to and I will say hi to Vicki, we were only chatting about you the other day. Hugs x
Oh my gosh!! It’s no wonder you feel such gratitude. You have surrounded yourself with the most beautiful bits that life has to offer. Or so I think. But what more, and this is the key piece, you have an eye of appreciation. And for that I am the grateful one. Your posts and photos never fail to lift me up … and often cause me to gasp. Always beautiful. Even the weeds …. nice one, Julie!
Hi Janet … I think there is loads of beauty around us too. I feel very blessed 🙂 And yes I sure do have an eye for appreciation. Lovely to know that you found this uplifting. A bit like the gannets catching those currents! Thanks so much Miss your comment was divine!
Blimey, I was marvelling at the beauty and freshness of the spring photographs when suddenly the gannets hove into view. Stunning!
Hi Simon … ha ha and thank you! Glad you liked those gannets. They are stunning to photograph. Lucky me! 😀
Great photos as usual. The last on is incredible.
Hey Tim .. Thank you! I wasn’t sure about the last one .. So pleased you enjoyed it 😃
Wow! Could we change places?? 😉
Do you like rain! 😃😃
Your little piece of Paradise, Julie, tugs at my soul. Your bird pictures are amazing and your lost shot I stared at for a LONG time. Wow!!! So glad Spring is at your door and I will certainly enjoy coming here when the freeze of winter is at mine. <3
Thank you so much Amy 😃
So very lovely and those birds are fascinating, Julie! Your pics portray the beauty of nature and indeed we are blessed and thankful as you share them with us. 🙂
It’s wonderful being able to share Iris .. Lovely to see you here 😃
Love the gannet photos, sometimes we can see them diving into the sea here too. And yes, I spend a lot of time gawping at my surroundings too. Enjoy the coming Spring 😀
Those gannets make the best models 😃
Those gannets are great except for the odor that greets visitors downwind from the colony.
When is the wedding in Australia?
You are so right ..the wedding is tomorrow 😄
All I can do is sigh and think , oh my. Ever so lovely!
Thank you Roberta 😄
I thought you must have mounted a Go Pro on one of the gannets to get such lovely photos! Good to hear spring has sprung in your neck of the woods. My kale looks similar at this late date. It seems we must struggle, similarly, over questions not bound to fall or spring, or south or north hemisphere. The question is, WHAT TO DO WITH SO MUCH KALE? Thanks for taking me with you for a walk. Take care.
Ha ha .. I was rather close. Did have the telephoto on though 😃 Kale .. My chooks and sheep love it! Glad you enjoyed your walk Bob …
Wonderful photos, this is a beautifully joyful spring post Julie. As I head into autumn, it’s a little reminder of how the seasons are always turning.
Thank you so much Andrea .. I’m pleased you enjoyed my spring post! 😀
Great photos of the blossoms and the beach shots make me wish to be there…you really have a piece of paradise Julie. Have a beautiful week! 🙂
Hey Josephine … thank you! I think it’s a piece of paradise too. I hope you have a beautiful week too! 😀
Now this is the most wonderful thing that can happen that you consciously know that you’re lucky and that you are thankful. There is nothing better than that. I am happy for you!
When I read your comment it made me smile .. I do know how lucky I am, I treasure this and there isn’t anything better. Hugs Celi
Such beautiful photos! Great to see your gratitude for your surroundings 🙂
Hey Christy thank you 😄
what a beautiful place in time! your photos are wonderful!!
Oh thank you!!!
I think it is do beautiful too .. so pleased you enjoyed the photos 😄
You truly live in a beautiful place. Springing to life in season helps, too. I hope the spider bite didn’t make you ill, or leave any lasting effects. I had a little girl in my preschool class once whose had swelled twice its size after a spider bite. I had no idea they could do that! I find myself grabbing a weed here or there, then realize my gloves are in the house. (And I do like pretty weeds, too.) Gannets are so pretty! I’ve only seen them in pictures, but there’s just something about them.
Hi Miss … the spider bite was a wake up call I think, I need to make sure I wear my gloves all the time. It was very painful a few hours later, but all good now. 😀 The gannets are divine, you would love to take pics of them. Thanks for stopping by
feel like being there 🙂
Hey Joshi … thank you! You could give me some much needed photography lessons 😀
Your photos are incredible! I love your bird and her babies…we have no such bird here. Gorgeous.
Linda
You would love the gannets Linda, they are so majestic. Thanks for stopping by … 😀
In reply to your opening paragraph: yes. Absolutely. One can’t help but marvel at the scenes of nature around us. Wherever I look right now, I see trees, leaves yellowed by the season, or gilded, or russeted, and even softly rosened. They make the majestic blue spruces between them even bluer, in that fresh light-blue way of spruces that make you wonder how a tree can possibly be such a colour, round about the same time you are gasping in wonder and saying a word of thanks for the sheer grace of it all.
Hi Cynthia … what a lovely comment. I’m sitting in the office and staring down our driveway after reading you words … trees are swaying in the breeze their foliage an array of gorgeous greens. Yes we are so lucky .. I often say thanks 😀
I totally agree with you, you live in a absolutely beautiful part of the world and are very lucky. Although I know how hard you both work to make everything be as it is.
Thanks Karen … a wonderful work in progress 😀
You live in a very gorgeous place, Julie! And so beautiful in spring. The photos are incredible!
Yes, it is good to have friends who will come over and farm sit, or help out with things. I don’t know what I would do without ours.
Glad to hear the chook is doing better. 🙂
Hi Lavinia .. thank you so much. I’m so pleased you enjoyed the photos. We have wonderful neighbours (when they don’t light big fires :D) Our chook is doing famously!
WOW! I wanted to be there dear Julie 🙂 So beautiful, fascinated me. Thank you, Love, nia
Hi Nia … thank you I’m so pleased you enjoyed your visit 😀
And they say you make your own luck Julie. Your neighbours are only too willing to help because of the people (you and Andy) are. On the other side of the fence your neighbours are probably thinking exactly the same….As I’ve always said, love your very own slice of paradise. Love Gannets too, seeing them dive is just breathtaking. MM 🍀
Hey MM we sure are fortunate, no doubt about it. Great to see you here .. nice to be able to share a bit of NZ with you 😀
your photos are very nice…..
best regards
Thank you! 😀
How very, very beautiful.
Thank you so much .. lovely to see you here 😀
Lovely photos… That chard like plant looks delicious.
Sorry I missed this … thank you!
Your spring is blueautiful, Julie. Thans for share it with us. 🙂
Thank you Francis .. Wonderful to know you stopped by 😃