Day Three - Connection, Reflection and ... Birds (or not!)

Today's post is a little sad and reflective ... but also uplifting (literally) - and with a few photos!!

But first a statistic - todays' COVID infected numbers 451.

This morning, as I headed to the beach for a short walk, it became very clear to me why I had so keenly wanted to come up to Omaha to SISO (self-isolate) - the connection with my Mum and Dad. The essence of my late parents resides right here at Omaha in so many ways ...

They bought the section in 1972, built the bach (about the 6th one up here), and our first Christmas here was in 1974 (I was 12). We came up every single weekend, and every holidays, without fail, for years. Such good times had and so many friendships made.

Now, 46 years later, the house has recently had a major makeover (another post, with photos, I promise) and the area has developed beyond belief - but the beach retains its pristine glory. My parents loved this place and it is wonderful to still be able to enjoy this stunning part of the world today even though they, sadly, cannot.

Dad's ashes are scattered out to sea, at his favourite fishing spot off Takatu Point. It's hard to believe that it's nearly 27 years since he died so suddenly right here at Omaha on 1st May 1993, aged just 56 (younger than I am). I was 7 months pregnant with Sam at the time - who is now hunkered down in London, my second home. Sam turns 27 in June.

Some of Mum's ashes are scattered off the southern end of Omaha beach. Is it really 13 years since she left us so unexpectedly on 1st February 2007, aged just 66 (younger than Brett)?

The boys never knew their Grandpa Graeme, who would have loved them to bits and been a totally awesome grandfather, but at least they had many special times with their beloved Gran.

Every time I walk on the beach I think of Mum and Dad, and it's particularly poignant to do so in these unusual times. I would have loved debating the state of things with Dad and enjoyed supporting Mum. But, not to be ...

So, back to the present. Being Saturday, there was a vague weekend feel about things, but not much. I bought the Saturday Herald (thin) and there were a few more people on the beach, but things were generally quiet. My walk to the beach this morning was in glorious sunshine - but, in the true NZ spirit of not knowing what the next minute might bring, particularly in this climate, it started spitting as I neared home. Five minutes later the sun was out again.

I cooked whitebait fritters for lunch (see earlier post of 25th March about acquisition, and photos below of edible heaven!) Absolutely delicious and we ate out on the deck as though life had some semblance of normalcy. (Note: many say normality but I noted that Jacinda referred to normalcy the other day. Either/or is fine - and either way, we're not experiencing anything remotely normal, so who cares!)
Thanks to Gregg and Rita for the whitebait. And for those concerned about Brett's access to the whitebait, the other bag is in the freezer, in lockdown, for him to enjoy at a future date!!

Mid-afternoon I headed off to the Shorebirds Sanctuary at the end of the spit - I've been observing the bar-tailed godwits over recent weeks as they prepare to fly north to Alaska for the breeding season (see initial post 23rd March) and was keen to know if they'd all taken flight yet or not.

When I arrived around 3pm I discovered ... no bar-tailed godwits; they had indeed all taken off on their long flight to Alaska, via China. Perhaps they'd got word about lockdown and scarpered before they couldn't.
I was so glad that I'd spent some time over recent weekends watching them at their foreshore departure lounge and wishing them well for their long journey. At some time, between last Sunday and today, they took flight to the other side of the world, when humans cannot do that.
Go Godwits!

Surprisingly, there were no birds at all on the spit - usually there have been dozens of dotterels, as well as oyster catchers and terns, all summer. But today - no birds whatsoever; it seems they, too, have gone into lockdown.

Dinner was a pasta concoction with onion, garlic, ginger, pumpkin, kumara, balsamic, cream, wine, capsicum, parmesan, pine nuts and more, that I loved creating and eating!

Pre-dinner and after-dinner chat whiled away some time in a wonderful way. Talking, listening, laughing, it's all good, especially cat-chat!

SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY:
A trivial one but kinda funny and in the vein of things not being normal ...

On my way back home from seeing no birds, I stopped at the Superette to get a few minor supplies and thought I'd grab a TipTop Mega Butterscotch Trumpet or whatever it's called. With great anticipation (hadn't eaten one in ages) I carefully unwrapped the upper layers, but something didn't seem quite right. I licked away, still with a nagging sense that something was wrong. Suddenly the entire thing was melting around my being in a coagulating unsupported mess. This thing had no cone! Have you ever ...? Nope!
By now a soggy ice-cream infested mess, I hurried back to the Superette, explained and showcased my dilemma from outside the shop (they were busy with limited customers), ditched the cone-less shambles, and was swiftly delivered a fully-coned replacement. How the hell does a Trumpet get created without a cone? Must email TipTop ...
BTW, they've changed protocol at the Superette to a maximum of 3 customers at any one time, on a one-in one-out basis. There's a steady stream of people heading there to pick up this or that and I did wonder how long the one-at-a-time method would last . So great to have this on the doorstep.


The x is where the godwits waited patiently for the right time to fly. The red line delineates the bird sanctuary. The black dot is approximately where the beach house is located.




Not a bird in sight - the bar-tailed godwits have flown and the dotterels are in lockdown


Whitebait ready for frittering

Whitebait fritters - YUM!

Omaha Beach Photo of the Day #1 - looking north

Omaha Beach Photo of the Day #2 - looking south



Halt, who goes there!?

Sally Long Legs!

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