Heh-Hem

"You ought to get yourself a nice girl so she can do that."

The words of my neighbor and friend Jack this morning as he found me sewing a tear in my sweatshirt. A perfect morning to sit and bask in the morning sun. On Saturdays and Sundays I don't have to start work until about 10:00-11:00am so I made the most of an early morning today. I was up at seven and on the front by 8:30 to enjoy a quiet morning or sewing my tares and reading while the budding spring farm awoke around me.

The morning work consisted of herding sheep and cleaning the dags from their bottoms.
Dag - a clump of dung stuck to the wool of a sheep. After Dag patrolling I spent the day landscaping a new flowerbed area underneath one of the shelter belts on the farm. A full day of work and rewarding to say the least. But they days pile like the dung into dags.

And that was last Saturday. On to this Thursday and the days between.

Some will fall back soon, but this week down under we sprang ahead. And like some sort of crowning achievement setting the clock ahead an hour started the next day with a brilliant display of Spring enthusiasm. A warm filled morning eased into bright blue skies and a bright concluding sunset at 7:30 pm!

Along with this change of season and time came the change of pace. A new week along with another continual opportunity in life to start fresh. I guess something in the week shook off the last bit of lethargy of winter. And that was withing another week.

Regardless of the dates that at times seem necessary, the days move. And from here on out is a listing of events in the past two weeks. Heh-Hem...

Three new piggies, 4 days of sunshine followed by 3 days of clouds/off and on rain, and then an additional 12 and counting of sunshine filled days, the finishing of a book and the starting of a new, a few earth quakes here and there, started working a new job a few days a week and better part it pays, one sad farm dog with an infection in her foot (I don't think a toddler could pout as good as she does), arrival of the first courgette of the year!, an evening with a live performance of Cirque du Soleil Mother Africa, finished my 28th consecutive day of Yoga (30 and counting now), opening weekend of the Ron Mueck exhibit in Christchurch, much needed skype catch up with two dear friends in Philadelphia, started reading two National Geographics a week (go ahead try me on my topics), started running 10km a day and 5 days a week not to mention(actually at the point of the run being a highlight of my day.), excellent weekend spent with a friend from my travels, countless afternoons evenings days mornings and nights of laughter, scored an awesome find of a concretion from the beach (in the process of drilling it down to find the fossil it contains, partaked in herding 1000 sheep with dogs, had my hand at sheering, sorted and picked through wool, a crazy day with a friends car overheating, fresh venison, 50kgs of free asparagus, transplanted corn, potted out 400+ various plants to sell at the soon approaching farmers market, attacked three times by Magpies two of which are now dead, started re-landscaping the back yard of the house, was put in charge of designing the veranda to be built out back (any input or ideas would help), 7 new baby chicks only to loose two now making 5, started trying my hand at woodwork, bought my 6th tooth brush of my travels, Officially have a great looking Welly Tan, Spring is in, never been so happy, remembered I came to New Zealand to smile and I am doing just that.

All that you touch
All that you see
All that you taste
All you feel
All that you love
All that you hate
All you distrust
All you save
All that you give
All that you deal
All that you buy
Beg, borrow or steal
All you create
All you destroy
All that you do
All that you say
All that you eat
Everyone you meet
All that you slight
Everyone you fight
All that is now
All that is gone
All that's to come
And everything under the sun is in tune
But the sun is eclipsed by the moon.
There is no dark side of the moon really.
Matter of fact it's all dark.

Pink Floyd
Eclipse