In which I encounter wee beasties

So here's what happened at home:





Then I went out for lunch and met a nice kitty named Trulia at the cafe.  She sat on my lap and purred while I ate.

After that I went to the beach and these things happened.

Mama, I made you something

It's a bit hard to read the second pane, but the entire message reads, "I heart you very much."  Aww.
 

I'm not sure what I'm more scared of...

...the peppers* themselves,

or the pests in my yard that are apparently capable of nibbling on them.

*Alongside a regular sweet pepper for comparison are three Ghost Peppers, the world's hottest chili:  400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce and used in India as wild elephant repellant.
 

They went thump thump thump

This is our feijoa tree.

And this is a feijoa.

I've decided they taste like strawberry-citrus pears to me.  I've been enjoying buying bags of them for a gold coin from neighbours who have unmanned fruit stands with honesty boxes at the end of their driveways.

But I won't need to do that for a while!  I went out and gave our tree an experimental little shake.  Here's what came tumbling down.  The biggest one is the size of a goose egg.

A quiet walk along the stream

I took myself off for a little explore the other day.  I started at the big sculpture that catches the sun.

There were feathers embedded in the path!

They were part of a neat story.

And there were fern-themed motifs too, because, it's New Zealand.

I walked past some horses.  Why isn't that big brown one wearing a coat?

I called him over and asked, but he wouldn't tell.

Their paddock was actually part of a cool equestrian centre.  Maybe the jackets were part of their post-workout cool-down.

I also passed a vineyard in the setting sun.  Which gave me a good idea for how to relax at home.

For a while, they were called Kangaroo Eggs in our house

Kinder Eggs are the best things in the world.  They aren't available in the US for safety reasons (small parts are choking hazards).  But here we throw caution to the wind.

They're foil-wrapped hollow chocolate eggs.

With little yellow capsules inside.  They open with a satisfying pop! to reveal toys.

Arram assembled a robot from his!

And Amiri made a wiggly hologram scene!

The pounce

I press the button and the garage door rolls up.  Its sound alerts the beasts and they burst through the door to sight their quarry.  I park the car and silence its engine.  The beasts interpret this as the signal to make their final approach.  Small hands grasp the door handle and wrench it open.  

Before I can defend myself they've swarmed the car and then they're on me.

I never even stood a chance.

The big cross-country race

All the kids competed in a cross-country race this morning.  It had been delayed from last term due to rain.

Here are all of the kids sitting on the new turf.  They are wearing their brightly-coloured pod t-shirts.

Then they walked onto the court.  See Amiri in the red?

They lined up, and then they were off!

We ran across to meet them as they rounded the front of the school.



After that they had to run around the school, loop around the neighbouring park, and then down the hill.  It was a kilometer, all told.  Four or five big kids ran with each of the younger groups as chaperones, to ensure that no one got lost.  While they were doing that, we scurried back down to the finish line.



After that great finish, I went out to give him a high-five.  I was so proud!

 

Is that the place with the gumboot?

We had fun farewelling the School Holidays with a trip to Kiwi Valley.  And yes, it IS the place behind the big gumboot on the hill.

We arrived a bit early and got to have a coffee before entering, which was a great way to get the adults properly fortified for the adventure.  Kiwi Valley is a working farm (you can even buy eggs on your visit) filled with sunshine, happy animals, and genuinely stoked-to-be-there teenage workers.  The first stop is the petting zoo, where you can hold bunnies and rats.  Amiri and Arram were not so sure about that, so after approximately 0.0001 seconds of arm-twisting I volunteered my lap for holding purposes and the children clustered around to pet my new little friends.

Then the Fabulous Five went for a tractor ride.

We drove through a field with cows, ducks, and a big warren of wild rabbits.  There was a great view. 

Then we did the big labyrinth.  In addition to finding our way out, which was enough of a challenge, we had to also locate the birdcage, the goat barn...

and the hidden man-made cave, which had a waterfall inside it.

Then we went out on the farm walk.  There were more goats out there.

And I thought it was funny how the sheep left clumps of wool on the fences.

There were lots of chickens and I simply HAD to hold a little chook.  He nibbled snacks out of the boys' hands.

And then it was time for the PONY RIDES.  They got their helmets on and lined up.

Amiri was an old hand at this, a seasoned cowpoke from way back.  (Notice how the pommel has a little horsey on it.)

Arram was a little more cautious and had some quiet psych-himself-up time before the big ride.

I accompanied him at first, but he excused me after we rounded the first bend and he explored the rest of the track on his own.

And because we had so much fun, then we did all of those things again.  And we patted the cow and the loud donkey on our way out but only waved goodbye to the pigs, because the sign said they bite.