Supersized Sunday - Fishin' for the Family - Goodbyes & Mondays always get me...

SUPERSIZED SUNDAY



The Lady Avon




Avon River -
Gloucester/Gayhurst Bridge, Dallington

  This was an awesome Sunday, better than most!
We ate a hearty breakfast ( see the review in my last post!), cleaned and tidied.
Big Bro arrived, and the kids were set.
It became apparent, it has been a while since we were all together under the same roof.
We are so good as a family, I love it when it all works, and the kids are all home together, happy. It is so rare these days. The older teens have lives of their own... and I miss them, but not half as much as the younger two children do...
So there we all were, having some fun, the light banter and teasing, the cheekiness, the laughter. Oh the humour. Well... that of it which I can understand and relate to... some of it horrifies me, other parts make me laugh til I have tears. Happy Tears! I actually enjoy them, and I like the young men theyre becoming, for the most part.

FISHIN' FOR THE FAMILY
One thing as Ive said before is, we enjoy  fishing.
It makes it so much better when we are all together, but really we all just go to support the one of us who really knows what he is doing. The others of us are enthusiastic, but Gord (nearly 16) is a Pro. He knows Fishing inside out.  He lives huntin'- fishin'- guns and tackle etc.
We smile at his knowledge and his patience with us less proficient fisher people. His instincts are right on track, and he knows his stuff. He ties all the knots, knows which fish is what, and how to get them into the bucket...

So its fair to say, we dont mind cos he caught the most today and the rest of us just enjoyed being there, in the fresh air, cool though it was. Blaise, Dee and I all caught three apiece... yee-haa!

Yellow-eyed Mullet/Herring

What topped the day off nicely (apparently) was Gord catching an eel. A long-finned eel that Duncan stripped, gutted and cooked. All of them love eel once it is baked with salt, oil and lemon juice...

I guess I shouldnt brag, but Im so proud. My boys are all learning GOOD SKILLS that will tide them over, should TEOTWAWKI come. (The End Of The World As We Know It - Native American believe this will be The Event, or Change to come)

Eel prep

Goodbyes after dinner is never fun.  The wee girl sobs, the big guy gets sober and sad, and really it isnt a nice feeling for them to say Good bye to their big brothers. They love them. I love them. I wonder sometimes about where we fit in their lives now theyre bigger, but today left me with no doubt. We fit. We matter. They are part of us, and we are part of them... Aww, heck.



Mums the short one now!



Brother!

Duncan and Arlais

The Lazy As

So, then there were the obligatory photos.
And now it is quiet.  Monday is right around the clock.
I do wonder, and dare I ask... What will this week bring?

Heres hoping your weekend was relaxing, peaceful and Memory-tastic!
Love from My Heart to Your Hearth

E Butterfly
XXXXXX



Fishy Smarts... Fishy Tails - A Good Sunday

Watering day today, and its grey, cool and misty when I wake.
How did I know before I even opened my eyes?
A fluffy tail complete with raindrops and a wet cat-nose in the face let me know before I realized it was morning. She is very determined to be fed these mornings, is our Washington.
So, it was a good day to catch up on the housework, do the inside things, and perhaps take a wander. The boys were restless, so they wandered off to meet friends at the bridge around the corner to take in some fishing. The Avon isnt well known for its fishing. Its Whitebaiting maybe, but not in the past year or 18months, due to silt, sewerage and other nasties that poured in. Its ok, we wont be baiting our hooks and eating our catch...
Its just for the experience of doing something interesting and inexpensive, and the kids love it.

So off they go, theres a few regular fisher-guys who hang out on the bridge too, and Mr 11 is the youngest by far. The tales are colourful - almost as colourful as the language, but if you can get past that, its interesting to hear the Fishy Tales.
What made great sport, was a huge rainbow trout swimming below.

Fishy Smarts 
The Grandaddy, they reckon. The Guardian of the smaller fishes, I say. He wasnt being caught by anyone! In fact, he seemed to throw the smaller fish in front of him so they were caught in his stead.
Its obvious theyre all keen on the dangling bait but this fish has got to a very nice size by not being tempted, and again today, it seemed to use its innate sense of which pieces of bread werent on hooks to eat, very nicely Thank You, and escaped anyones hook! It will live to taunt exasperated fishermen another day. ( And to be killed when we catch it tomorrow says a very keen young Fisherman from behind me!) We also see big eels and tiny bait fish under the water, so there is plenty of life left in the Avon River, despite people saying otherwise.


Fishy Tails

The yellow-eyed mullet run in and out with the tides - we live in tidal Avonside, and the Avon goes in and out daily, swelling as the tide fills, and the boys hook the mullet on small hooks and sinkers, with bread for bait. Its exciting, when, from standing up on the Bridge, you see them nibbling your bait below... nibble, take and there you have them. They hit hard when theyre hungry and are taken up onto the bridge easily by the kids.

We dont eat these fish, they do however, provide a nutritious feed for our cats, and the guts/heads/fins etc are excellent in the garden. My new rose today got the benefits, a bucket of fish buried deep alongside its roots.

How will we make ends meet if our society changes?
What skills will our children need, that we have ourselves forgotten? This is why I have no objection to taking my children fishing - of course, theyre of an age where they can take themselves, but sometimes as parents, we need to make sure they are provided with the wherewithall to do these things easily... Learning is best done when its fun, before the need is there. Fishing experience is an excellent skill to have here in NZ because our landscape lends itself to us being able to use it for fishing for food.

So, for us its been a really Good Sunday. The Bestest Day of My Life, Miss 5 told me as we wandered home. So - Whats next?
Im in the process of planting out the cabbages and broccoli for Winter, sowing parsnip seed, and watching the pumpkins swell. I cant wait for the beets to do their thing, and I have potatoes to dig soon. The garlic has dried nicely, and the tomatoes are changing colour daily - slow, but getting there! Life is good.
I hope with fingers xed that Ive got it right for some continual harvesting later in the year, as with the climate changes, the good weather is pitifully absent, and we may incur some losses.

Heres hoping things in your garden are growing nicely, with abundance.
Love and Blessings
E Butterfly
XXXXXX

2011 leaves with a Shake... so what will 2012 begin with?...

2011 is leaving.
Well, ceasing. And The Bitch doesnt want to leave us without a decent farewell - We got that!
Today we had a 4.82 that the USGS recorded as a 5.2! Some serious shaking, more damage for some, liquefaction for others - us, the lucky ones, just a stern reminder that Mother Nature Lives Beneath.
After a drive yesterday, we realised sadly, that yes, there are changes being made in Canterbury, but our neighbourhood is now looking like a series of country lanes, empty houses on funny angles, broken bits and bumpy gravel roads and neglected spaces where gardens still bloom regardless. Sad and Forgotten for the most part. The people who drive by, are just there just to look, to Thank God, maybe, that it isnt them?  and then they drive back from whence they came.

Did the Mayans truly predict that The World Might End in 2012? Im sure the Mayan who was in charge of writing the numbers at the time, lost count of where he was, and then decided, he had to go to the bathroom. When he arrived back, he looked at what he was writing (The Calendar) and shrugged... Meh. It seemed like a good thing to do at the time, but Im over it... and off he went to lunch. Never would he ever guess that he left us all hanging...
Ok, so thats not it at all, but we will never know :-)
Im picking The Changes that are spoke of,  have begun already. Theres an air of unrest right around the world.  Chaotic Economic changes, Natural Change, More water, less food, more people, Earthquakes, Floods, Famine. Civilization is Changing.
It is all part of an energy that means we MUST assimilate Change - Into our lives, our homes, the way we educate our children, technology, it all will change.
Change never happens without some sort of negativity or positivity to activate it. We need to get used to the changes, and its tough!
Its what they say - What doesnt Kill Us, Makes Us Stronger.
Im about as Strong as I can be. No - possibly not, but lets not push that to trial.

... Out with the Old, In With the New...I just want to cruise - no - sleep! through the end of 2011. I do not like New Years Eve at all.
My family are not entirely with me, and never are now theyre older and have Social committments. New Years Eve for me brings back sad memories of people dear who are no longer with us, of past Memories that bring home how much I miss the ones I love.
So Im a sad sack, and I ll be happy just chilling with the littles, watching some TV, then drifting off...

OR WILL I?
This year in Christchurch, it seems half the world wants a reason to celebrate... and why not?
Weve had some kind of wacky stuff to deal with  this year...
On with the good stuff - Celebrate Your New Year Cantabs~!
Parties on each side of the street here, and lots of music.
Someone was jamming on an electric guitar before - It sounded awesome, even from here, and Im picking it was a few houses down. The unfortunate thing, is that next door have Elton John on Replay, and the two playing alongside one another makes me want to run for cover :-)
Shouting can be heard, (the happy kind) and lots of families walking in the night air. It isnt dark or cooler yet, at 7.30pm its a nice time of night for a stroll around our neighbourhood...
Let the celebrating fill your heart, and let go of the fear - not just here, but whereever you are!
We got through, we will continue to make good.

Love, Light and Blessings
HAPPY FABULOUS NEW YEAR

Roll On 2012!!
Love
Earth Butterfly
XXXXXXXX

Life on the Avon River... Christchurch, New Zealand - Spring!

Our first sighting of Ducklings!

<--- One of the larger Swans, so inquistive but rather haughty!
They are so elegant on the water, and rather clumsy on land...

Miss three is quite keen to sit on the edge and watch the ducklings... The tide brings the water line up quite high at this time of the year, and the white-bait fishermen are dotted along the rivers edge. Here is Arlais sitting watching the first clutch of ducklings we have seen - six in total. She is fascinated because they are not scared of her at all, and the mother is teaching them how to catch food, she welcomed a few crumbs from Arlais' scone! ----->

Beautiful waxy Camellia flower - one of the very tender flowers, such a shame that they dont last long, and bruise so easily...

<--- An olde-worlde favourite, Wisteria vine.
It grows beautifully at the top of a neighbours fence.
I love
purple, but this is purple at Natures utmost best!

The Maori word for YELLOW is Kowhai (Ko-fy) ----> What a beautiful specimen! The native birds love the flowers, and it has showy seed pods most of the year long. They incase hard yellow seeds that at their best need scarification before use... Very pretty and well worth the preparation!

Morning Tea with our Feathered Friends... Ungainly on land, beautiful and elegant gliders on the waters surface... They are much taller than they look once on the riverbank! Quite intimidating when they stretch to their full height :) I wouldnt steal their bread, would you?

<--- A gorgeous Green blossom from an Elm tree.
Just lovely. The tortured roots and branches belie the fact that this old gnarled tree has in store such beautiful GREEN blossoms. Extraordinary - again, Nature is so full of surprises...







Thats it from the Avon River til next time...
Thanks for Looking ...
Blessings

EButterfly
Thats E for Earth :-)

Browsing Night

Hello again!

Having the children at home from school has meant I havent had as much time as Id like to get out in the garden, but we go walking which we all enjoy. Its a lovely time of year to get out and about, and seeing we live right beside a river, we gravitate to it for our walks.

<---A mated pair of Paradise Ducks, the female has the white head. They mate for life, aww! <3

The birdlife enjoy our visits, we take the obligatory loaf of *old* bread to feed the enthusiastic ducks and beady eyed swans, the haughty canada geese look on as we feed the shy little black squab and rare teal ducks... There is also a pair of Paradise ducks who are regulars, living on the river banks and having babies each year. Theyre a long way from the High-country that used to be their home!

On the Plant Note -

Ive been watching my Aloe plants, they seem very happy on the window sill, and their offshoots or *pups* as Ive read theyre called, are growing nicely too. At this rate, Im going to have a very busy Aloe garden! I seem to be leaving my brown thumb behind (or am I commenting on that too soon! :-) Long live the Aloes!

Ive got several griselinia, fuschia and pittosporum cuttings planted too. Fingers Xed :-)

Im wondering if roses grow well from seed - so Im off to read about it - yes, they do grow, it sounds rather tricky though!
There is such a vast world of seed around us, free too, some of it, but Ive never bothered with it before... Ive always purchased the *easy* seeds, or bought plants.
I think seeds are going to become very important to those who can utilize them as the economy fails, food prices will rocket... If you can plant seed successfully, it gives you a very valuable skill - perhaps skills will become our currency...
This is why I try to keep learning about new skills I guess. I keep telling my teenagers (2 boys) to keep reading to learn new things - How can you say you are living fully if you arent learning new things to pique your interest?
Unfortunately, though they are healthy, intelligent teenagers, the playstation calls... or the computer... oh dear!

DID YOU KNOW -

Aloe is about 96% water!

Aloe Vera can aid in keeping the skin supple, and has been used in the
control of acne and eczema by rubbing the gel on the skin, and drinking the juice.
Aloe taken internally is said to relieve arthritis and joint pain.