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
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This is why I do it all...Right here.

Here they are....

We played, I took photos, they giggled and ran, rough-housed, played with the Cat-people, and generally lazed in the sun.

Wrestlemania at the Lazy A

Swinging Away

Friendly Cat-titude!

Mr almost-15

SMILE!

They are my reasons for everything I do... I love them.

Forgive me my sentimental post, its late at night...
theyre all asleep - the cats, the kids, and boy is it quiet!...
Tucked up small, or stretched across the length of a bed...
they have each found a nook or cranny to cuddle into.

Zander!

The Twirly Dress... Pwetty!

Look Mum! Im Earthquake Girl...

Does my camo work in this bush Mum?

Drama!

And thats it for tonight...
Thank God for the Littles!
For all you put in, you get so much more back...

Love and Blessings!

Whirlwinds and Beans... Fresh and Hand-picked!

Woo hoo! It is Friday again. Another week slips by.
I have to say, its been a real whirlwind this week (see the dog above)!
It went so quick, Im sure I didnt blink. Its been a low-energy, no motivation week unfortunately. Well, we all have days/weeks/months where things seem static.
Heres how it went...
It rained some days, big drops... The washing pile expanded... I looked  the other way and did some gardening...
I admired green tomatoes, of which we have plenty growing - all tucked up in their little green leafy nests... I oohed and ahhed over the non-acid tomatoes growing, theyre orange - transitory stage til red, Baby! So thrilling to think we will be eating our own toms soon! And another success story is our Scarlet Runner beans - a handful a day we pick. Theyre awesome. Im trying to decide which way to store the beans... At present we munch through them cooked as a stirfry... The kids like their crunch.

On Wednesday, We, as a family, walked on the beach... I had a hand or two and we collected some seaweed and made seaweed food for the Garden... Im sure I heard the capsicums singing as they soaked up their seaweed goodness! I love the way plants look when theyve just had some water/fertilizer. Its like they *perk up* and stand up straight :) Basil plants are delightful to grow. Their pretty green leaves gently pucker, like someone did some sewing and pulled the threads to gather their leaves... And the bonus is, they smell heavenly.

Pic From HERE

Theres a new resident on the Echinacea plant.
The plant has some broad leaves at the top, and under one of these leaves, there is a preying mantis. It was out on the top yesterday as we sat there weeding (I weed, Miss 4 sits on my knee) ...
The mantis caught a fly - a green bodied fly. The noise was terrific. A real battle til the death, of course the mantis won.
We watched, dear darling daughter was horrified at the ferocity of the mantis. *Let him go*, she said. *Let him go! ... Awww, youre awful* she said to the Mantis... who was sucking the innards out of the fly relentlessly. Hehe.
He didnt let go, he wasnt listening, and as we watched, one of the fly's wings fell off onto the leaf. Miss 4 couldnt look away. I have to say, it was quite interesting, but it lead to a few questions... Why?... Where?... When?... But Why Mum?

I spent time digging in boxes trying to find coloured paper and glue, so I scrapbooked with my darling daughter...(She loves glue and is very good with scissors around shapes!)...
I have yet to sit down and actually get working on any particular craft project, but Im picking up some ideas from ONE PRETTY THING which is one of my favourite places to visit online at the moment...
Also, there are places like Crafty Tart , Better Scrapbooking and Absolutely Crafty  that I spend time drooling browsing over.

Im planning to do more scrapbooking this year. I have a *To Do* list...I really enjoy the headspace I get to when Im creating something, and Id like to spend more time with Arlais in an enviroment that she enjoys too, and I love the way she picks up on new skills... She isnt interested in writing her name or counting, though we do spend time with those skills, we are both happier when colour, paint, glue or paper is involved... other skills will come from that too Im sure...

To my surprise, I found myself channelling my Mother this morning, and it wasnt to growl :-) ... My Mother loved to sing and she had a lovely voice. This morning while Arlais got dressed, we had a cuddle and I sang to her, she nestled in, which doesnt happen often, and I remembered songs that my Mum used to sing. It is now part of me, that part of her.
It makes me happy thinking about the times she and I spent together when I was little, though she has been gone for... wow, almost 14years! I want to create times for Arlais to remember of her and I, and our times together, so she can recall them when she is an adult. I hope that doesnt happen too quick. I like being Mummy to a little girl, confusing and cute, curious and annoying and all the other things that go with it.
I can hear Mum saying * She is so like you...* And that might not be an altogether good thing :-)

Two little Dicky-birds sitting on a Wall,
One named Peter,
 One named Paul...
Fly away Peter
  Fly away Paul...
Come Back Peter,
Come Back Paul...

 

graphics from HERE
 
The Pre-teen is happy. Still happy with his new class. Finding new friends... Discovering old friends from last year. The friends thing is getting confusing. Boys - friends. -Girls - friends. Boys and Girls... argh!! We are just discovering that some boys dont like it when their mates get friends that are girls, and who want to *hang out* too... Its just *that age* I think...And hes a good lad. We started homework last night... He did well.

So all in all, I think it is fair to say, its been *One of Those Weeks*...
Looking forward to the Weekend...
Family time, Shopping, Gardening, Sleep-ins... Even Sunday.

Love to Your Heart From Mine.
PS Dont forget your Valentine...

EButterfly
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Good Stuff...

Gee, the Good Stuff has Begun..It is DECEMBER finally! (or the Crazy Season as some refer to it!)
Im running around like everyone else no doubt, getting *Organized* (dislike that word, so foreign to me!), knitting furiously - which I enjoy, designing some new outfits for the girls baby dollies - the surplus of which is getting sold online... After waiting almost half an hour to post parcels (serves me right for waiting til the weekend along with everyone who cant get there midweek!) we invested in a sprinkler for the garden *yeah right!* - The children claimed it, and I swear, its the best $10 Ive ever parted with, they LOVE it.
I love seeing them having so much fun, gotta say, the shrieks are tremendous. Nothing like it, happy squeals! Still no camera, but I ll get some pics when I can...

HAPPY 60th Birthday my Darling 
Mr Earth Butterfly

I dont tell you often enough how dear you are to me.
Without you I would be just the empty candy shell of the M&M - you are my Chocolate centre.
You know how much chocolate means to me, so *grin* you'll *get* that.
Im sorry I cant buy you jewels or offer you riches,
just smiles, cuddles and all my love.
 Love you - in so many ways, for so many reasons!
We love you ... xxxxxxx

After a little Nana nap this afternoon, I wrote this to my beloved Mr EB
 *.....I bought an old knitting pattern for dolls clothes last week

its just arrived (in the post). As expected, its an excerpt from an old magazine... but its really cool. It also tells you about the doll that is used as a model in the pattern -, very very cool! From July 1958 --- complete with advertisements, and old stories. Very cool :) Life was simpler then ? LOL Just got up, got a sore throat which is annoying (seeing as though its Summer, and its almost Christmas!). Just wondering if Im actually in for a cold, or the stark truth of it is.... I was snoring?????? HAHAHAHAHAHA. hmm....*

Im really looking forward to knitting this pattern, let me see, here tis

Excerpt from Womans Weekly, July 26 1958

Last night we ate our first fill of Home-grown goodness! We planted some Silverbeet - *Bright Lights* which has coloured stems of orange, white, red and yellow. It has had six weeks in, and already it is substantial enough to pick a couple of leaves from each plant. I remember Silverbeet as being cold and soggy after having had the goodness boiled from it, but Im wondering now, if it tastes better when youve nutured it yourself?
The children ate it, without a fuss - most impressed, as I remember balking... green was never my favourite colour!

Our beanstalks are growing nice and curly and tall, the oak trees are tall and straight, and the other greens like our buttercrunch lettuce arent far from being ready to be used too. We have parsley plants that look like theyre growing nice and healthy, and tomatoes that have flowers on them, and are standing up nicely... despite being constantly untangled from the beans... Yes, we have a menagerie in our garden, but theyre doing ok!

How I love seeing what has grown from one day to the next, the children too, which is cool. I cant remember being interested much as a child, - I guess that is what happens when Mum and Dad own a Grocery store. Everything comes in a box, bag or crate...

Other things... not alot to report, the roses are beautiful, the scent of the numerous Elderberry blossoms springing up is gorgeous, especially at night after dark when Ive forgotten to water the garden in the daylight... it is my favourite time of night - kids in bed, quietly, quietly I creep out to my Garden with hose in hand ... Oh and not to forget the new Sprinkler (Sprindar Miss 4 calls it)... Even the cats bear with me at this time of night, they chase each other and watch nervously for the hose :) I can see the Southern Cross in the sky from my house at any time of night - beautiful. It makes me wish I were out on a spread far away from anyone, lying on my green paddocks, looking up at the night sky... one day, I promise!

Lots of thoughts on where to put the Christmas tree, so thats our next mission - decoration and location unknown at this stage, but I love how their minds work... it will have lots of lights, colour, tinsel, tinsel, tinsel oh and a star!

Our new favourite to add to pikelets, Hagel Slag - aka Chocolate Hail

Yum! Hot Hagel Slag Pikelets for a Hungry Tribe.

And that is it for this post. Back to the reality of What Must Be Done.
Wet soggy togs, dishes and floors to sweep... so I can creep out later to my favourite place - The Garden!

Blessings to all,
EB
Til Next Time, Be good! 
Oh and if you cant Be Good -- Be Careful! 
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Scone Boy Strikes again!

Its been a good day, here at the Lazy A. The baker - or Scone Boy, as we refer to him, was up (not early) baking to his wee hearts content!
Ok he tells me he has a big heart... about the size of his biggest scone~!

Gordon *Scone-boy*

We ate bacon, cheese and onion scones mid morning, I felt like a blackbird who had gorged herself on fat worms, they were GORGEOUS - dripping with butter and big and light... yum! I cant make scones like that, so I leave it to my second-born. Hes good like that, and he will make someone a very good husband... (He mentioned hes single, but seriously, hes just 14, plenty of time for that!)

We have had a good relaxing holiday day - about an hour ago, the children found a parcel on the front door. Being home all day, we didnt hear a thing and there it was!

We are totally stoked and thrilled -- very grateful for the parcel of goodies we were given...
THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I gather, talking to neighbours, that most of our street received a parcel, - Bless the Salvation Army & Westpac for thinking of us, and the tireless work they do around our Community at the moment!

We will be making sure that we give back, or paying it forward, how ever we can  - we have our clothing bag ready for the Cancer society on Thursday, but Ive been thinking for a while of how I can be of service to my community.


So... Some ideas please - if youre reading this - What do YOU do for your community?
I wish my teens were more service minded, but I gather that goes against the grain - do you take your teens with you, or do they work, do things for others off their own bat?

Well, I just popped in to share our good fortune, Im going to enjoy the things we wouldnt neccessarily purchase for ourselves - bath foam & dark chocolate and Latte mix!!
 It is really nice to know that there is support, when things seem tough...

Love and Blessings
EButterfly & The 'Pillars 

Daylight Savings & School Holidays...

What an awesome idea, Daylight saving.

Sitting on the raised pavement beside the damaged footbridge on Avonside Drive

Like anything you enjoy, I wish it were longer!

Tonight the children and I wandered alongside the Avon river. We werent alone, this is the first weekend since the EQ that Avonside drive has been open to walk through, and this patch of beautiful weather & extended daylight has meant people in the neighbourhood were all out doing similar.

On our part, it was a little about seeing how our wee neighbourhood has fared, but also to take in the gorgeous sunset, enjoying the great weather to its very last sunbeams at sunset, which given the Daylight savings, it was an hour later - the kids love it.

Nice to catch up on progress, as this suburb has been one of the more badly damaged parts of town  still suffering since the Earthquake - residents along the riverside on Avonside Drive have lost their footbridge, and still have no sewerage in places,  port-a-loos still take their places, dotted along the landscape, like guards in guard towers beside gates.

It makes me sad to see rude slashes left by chainsaws where graceful riverside trees once stood. Some of the trees have been here for longer than the road or the housing, as in this area, Canterburys first farms were tilled long  before the very first housing was built. There are oaks from that very early era along the river, mingling now with huge tortured willows and elms that soar into the skyline. The occasional Kowhai tree adds some playful colour against the greens of the bigger trees, in Spring, and as Ive said before, when its as good as this, it is pure Beauty on the Avon!

Sunset and the pixies are out :)

We have missed the duckling season, or so we thought. Tonight we found several small clutches of just two or three ducklings, which is a joy. Theyre so cute and fluffy, we all love feeding them and watching them grow.

Its really nice to have all this good stuff happening, and be in Holiday Mode.

The children have just finished their third term at school for the year, and it is two weeks holiday until they start again. We love the break in routine, to spend mornings lazing and chatting, watching cartoons, playing in the sun, bouncing on trampoline, walking and talking, planning... Movies are on the cards, we have baking planned, and there will be the usual arguements and differences of opinion, long showers, messy floors, lots of dishes, junk food and not enough sleep...

But I have to say, I love it all.
I love having my children around me. I like them, and they make me proud.
Roll on Holidays, not too quick please, let me just enjoy watching them grow...

Signing off for now,
From My Hearth to Yours,
Love
Earth Butterfly
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