Day 80, Level 1: Lazy Sunday, fried eggs and ham, test cricket, busy beach, and clouds

Another leisurely morning at the seaside. Doors wide open. Alas, wind still blowing. Being from the south it has a definite and annoying chill.

After lolling around for a bit, we had fried eggs and friend ham for brunch (ham sizzled up with relish, tropical juice and honey to give a tasty glaze) served with mushrooms, fresh locally-grown tomatoes and avocado. 

A tad too windy to eat outside on the deck but no matter, it tasted good nevertheless. And the sun was shining. 

The cricket test continued - I have to say I am now fully engaged in this test cricket match and actually do care about the stats and tactics - even though I'm still not fully clear on how test matches operate - it remains a conundrum for me, and will do so for all time. It's the skill I'm interested in as much as the result. There are injuries, nasty ones. Today there was a shin hit with a ball flying at high speed (Pakistani fielder in agony on the ground), a dislocated finger (NZ fielder tried to catch a ball, missed and had sideways finger - he tried to smash it back into place himself as he lay prostrate on the ground - with the cameras on him. Ghastly. And it didn't work. St John's personnel to the rescue). I've seen more dreadful injuries in international cricket than I ever have in international rugby. Gruesome. Nasty things those cricket balls. 

Mid-afternoon, Michael went off to his mate's place - a whole bunch of them are going to a local music festival. Held every year at Matakana Country Park estate, it's a haven of music and dancing and all the youngies (and no doubt a few oldies) get along for a bit of a rave. I don't know too many of the music acts but Michael and his crew will enjoy it all.

Brett headed off to do a walk along the new(ish) cycle/walking trail into Matakana. It's about a 7-minute drive by road but the cycle/walkway goes cross-country and takes about 1.5 hours on foot and is quite a hike. Too far for me and my bung knee to cope with. 

Instead, I headed to the beach. It was the busiest I've seen it since lockdown. There was a breeze but the beach was pleasantly sheltered. Loads in swimming, people paddle-boarding and whatnot. Also someone on a wing-surfer thingy. The water was really warm - in fact, it was warmer than the air temperature. I hitched up my skirt and went in up to my thighs. If I'd had togs on, I just may have gone in further for a proper dip!

There were gannets swooping overhead, plummeting like little rockets into the sea every so often, right in front of me, to grab a fish. The water was an opaque blue/green tone and the waves were small but useful for water play on the high, but outgoing, tide. 

Highly pleasant. I stayed awhile and then headed back to base, cracked a beer and got writing on my laptop. 

Busy beach day!

Wing-surfer thingy!

Over this past week I think I have cracked the absolute solution to my kids fantasy/fiction book that I started in 2002 and that I've grappled with over the years, trying to nail a piece that was still adrift. I thought I'd cracked it recently, and resumed work during lockdown, but it still had this sticky bit. With a bit more time, thought, foresight and big picture thinking, and in a whole new world of just about everything, I now know exactly what I need to do with it! It's a shift sideways if you like, which doesn't signal a huge leap forward - but it actually is. I now feel ultra motivated to get on with it, to get (re)writing and complete it as soon as I can. The bones have been there for two decades, it just needs a new perspective, a few (rather major) tweaks and a whole rewrite. But that doesn't feel hard, in fact it feels positively inspiring! Watch this space!

Watched the film "Lion" tonight - I've seen it before and it's good enough to watch again. Bit of a tear-jerker, especially as it's a true story. Nice film, touching story. Dev Patel is great. 

SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY:
Clouds and moody skies ...

I'm a bit of a cloud fan. An overcast day may not be so attractive but it keeps things cool. And on a sunny day, with a blue backdrop, the white puffs create beautiful patterns across the sky. A dark moody sky is entrancing. Wispy pink clouds at sunset or sunrise are mesmerising. Black clouds bring rain - and we need a bit of that with a mooted long dry summer coming. 

Clouds are under-rated. 

This evening the clouds put on a bit of a show. 

A big billowing cloud, taken from our deck. It looks like the head of a giant hammerhead shark or similar. The flag across the road is the Air Force flag. Taken looking to the south-east.

Taken at the same time, looking further north. 

And later ... a lot of cloud cover tonight so no hope of seeing the Jupter/Saturn conjunction. In fact, when I went out around 9:30pm it was raining. Poor Michael and his mates would have got wet - but they won't care. I could hear the music pumping across the estuary. It's one of the most popular one-night-only music festivals in the country and it's right here on our doorstep. 

Half an hour later, by 10:00pm, the sky was clear and the moon and Mars were shining and the conjuction had dipped below the horizon.

It was freezing. Truly. So cold. Icy cold. This weather is all over the show. As usual!

I've just read that someone died at the music festival tonight - I texted Michael, he is all good. There are some very dodgy drugs doing the rounds this summer apparently. The government passed a hasty bill just prior to Xmas to allow testing of drugs at these music festivals (there are many up and down the country over summer) - even though they're illegal drugs, better that people can get them tested before taking them, rather than ingest toxins that are creeping into the drugs by creepy hideous freaks who pad them out with - bath salts this year apparently. It's disgraceful. But it's happening. Best to stay well away. Maybe this death, if it is to do with nasty drugs, will alert the young people to stay well away. 

The sky looked quite amazing between 9:30 and 10pm - and menacing at the same time. Inky blue/black with orange hues and pastel blue behind giving a real 3D effect.

Looking south-south-west. Shame about the neighbour's tv aerial! Photo doesn't do the colours and mood justice.