Golden Mornings and Silver Linings

Summer has come, and summer has made its exit, to cooler days and warmer sweaters, warm fires and the dark nights of fall. Autumn, more than any other season, is a literal season of change, a lifelong practice of watching the leaves turn from green, to yellow, to red, before falling to the ground in an eventual blanket of white.

Here in New Zealand, the leaves tend to stay green year round, but the feeling of change associated with autumn remains palpable. Cooler weather, darker nights, and reflections of summer days past linger in the air.

Last year, I wrote about an endless summer, one that lasted until April, and ultimately ended in a country wide drought. It was, in the opinion of many kiwis,  the perfect summer, full of  long days of sun, smiles, and beautiful memories.

This year, instead of perfection, this summer brought us a calamity of hot sunny days, cool grey rain, and cloudy skies full of silver linings.

Our sun sure did shine in the first week of the year. After a surprisingly hectic Christmas week, Trent, Huff and I made our great summer escape, heading north, to a country side cottage in Lake Taupo, a popular summer getaway in the middle of the North Island. By some miracle, I had managed to book an amazing pet friendly place just outside of the main town, only weeks before Christmas, When we arrived, we found ourselves staying in a small piece of heaven. The 'Bird Cottage' was located on a small hobby farm stay, and came complete with three large cows who lived just outside our doorstep, several local chooks, and a beautiful orchard chalk full of fresh blueberries and raspberries that the owner, Lynne encouraged us to pick and eat daily. The cottage was small and quaint, with French doors opening up out from the bedroom to a sunny deck, a hammock on the patio, and a swing stung up on a big tree, not to mention the hot tub in the back garden.

Huff absolutely loved it, as this was the first real vacation she had taken with us. She was thrilled not to be spending the week in a kennel, but instead roaming around this beautiful property, rolling in the grass, hunting the local a rabbits, barking a the cows, and sleeping in the sun.

Huff ensures our safety from the less than threatening cows


Huff contemplates New Years Eve Dinner

We spent our days hiking and discovering some fantastic walks in the Taupo region. Huka Falls, the Waikaito River, Lake Taupo, and Mount Tongariro (an active volcano) served as amazing backdrops to the memories we generated hiking through this beautiful inland region. The weather gave us sunny warm days and cool nights. We spent the nights cooking, reflecting in the year past, and the new one to come, and relaxing in the hot tub. It was one of those true relaxing vacations, where you enter feeling frazzled and finish feeling refreshed and settled. It was one of my favourite weeks that I have spent in New Zealand, full of simple, quiet time spent with my two loves, surrounded by the sunny greens and blues of the kiwi landscape.

Hiking in Taupo

Mount Tongariro (an active volcano!)

The Waikato River

The next week we stepped back into reality and into the new year. Our sunny days started to feel a bit grey as we ran into more and more noise problems with our less than savvy next door neighbours. After several months of putting up with their consistent need to play loud music at all times of the day, we had finally had enough, and decided it was time to move again. In what became on of the fastest turnarounds in our relocation history, we made the decision to move one day, and by the next day we had signed the rental papers for a new place!  I remember sitting in the car after signing the papers looking at each other in disbelief and asking " did we really just do that?"

Sometimes, the universe has a way of making sure you end up exactly where you are supposed to be at the right time. Our cloudy skies began to fade, and reveal a beautiful silver lining in the form of our new place. As quick as our decision was, we know it was the right one. We love our new place, It is a bright, warm, and modern three bedroom house settled in the green hills of a suburb called Whitby, which is twenty minutes outside of Wellington, and twenty minutes from Paraparaumu Beach, where we used to live. Now, instead of being on the beach front, we are nestled in the green space of the hills, not far from the ocean. Moving here has meant we have both cut down our daily commutes by a significant amount, it now takes Trent only 30 minutes to get to work (compared to a former 60 min) and I have cut down my 25 minute commute to a quick and simple 5 minutes door to door. On top of the extra time we have gained, we have also found ourselves discovering  all sorts of new walking trails nestled in the green forest and waterfront, as well as enjoying the amazing peace of a quiet neighbourhood.


View from our newest walking trail in Whitby

Settling into our new place, we spent the first 18 days thinking only of gold, silver, and bronze, as the Sochi Winter Olympics settled into our half unpacked living room, and made itself comfortable. We found ourselves stuck to the TV during early mornings and late nights, watching live, recorded, and replayed footage of some of Canada's best athletes perusing their Olympic dreams. For two weeks in February, I remembered what it felt like to be Canadian. To stand up and cheer, cry, hold my breath, and feel a part of the Canadian experience again. These Olympics reignited a magical level of pride I have not felt since leaving Canada. It is this pride that found tears streaming down my face watching Team Jacobs, 4 guys from my hometown, fight their way to Olympic Curling Gold, even though they were considered the underdogs in the event. It was the same pride that had me sitting at the edge of my seat as the women's hockey team  scored that unforgettable goal to tie the gold medal game, with only seconds to go, even though I already knew they would go on to win the game. And it was undoubtedly the same red and white maple leaf pride that saw both Trent and I crawl out of bed in the early hours of the morning, after running a half marathon, to make sure we were a part of that golden morning when the men's hockey team so gracefully brought the gold medal back home where it belongs. Those golden mornings and silver sparked nights reignited the passion I have for being Canadian; for being a part of a country who prides itself not only on owning the podium, but on playing fairly, and helping those in their time of need, whether it be with a broken ski or with peacekeeping during the time of war. And let's be honest, nothing quite matched the joy of watching live hockey after a two year hiatus.

As the Olympics came to a close, life seemed to quickly pick up and take speed. In March, life hit the 'go' button as our calendar began to quickly fill up. The first stop in our agenda was at our very first Kiwi wedding. We met Heather and Josh last year in a local dog park. Their dog Stanley, and our dog, Huff quickly became friends, and more importantly so did we. Our relationship grew over weekend morning dog park visits and coffees to follow, during which we had the privilege of watching their beautiful daughter Elsie grow from Heather's belly into a gorgeous little human. Josh and Heather decided to make their wedding a fun, country themed affair. Set outdoors at a nature reserve, they transformed the space with hay bales for seats, a cool folk band that played all night, and a general country feel in every touch if the day. They encouraged their guests to dress the part, and everyone got into the mood, pulling out their cowboy boots, straw hats, and checkered shirts. Kapiti turned out the most stunning summer day and we celebrated long into the night, dancing and playing in the photo booth. It was one of the most beautiful and fun weddings I had ever been to.




The beautiful Bride and Groom and their daughter Elsie

photobooth fun

more photobooth fun!

Coming off the fun of Josh and Heather's wedding, we decided we both were hanging out for a little weekend getaway, a little time away from routine we had been living for the past few months. In the middle of March, we headed over the winding, hilly, Rimutaka Mountain range to Martinborough, a local wine region that produces some of New Zealand's best wines. We rented a beautiful little cottage that allowed Huff to come along, and spent a weekend just letting go. We ate cheese and drank local wine by our fireplace, discovered new scenery walking with Huff, and hired bikes to cycle our way around the vineyards sampling Martinborough's best wines. Along our way we ran into a Canadian couple who were living in New Zealand for three months, and spent the day chatting and enjoying wine with them. The last few month's had been a calamity of activity, and being able to step away from routine and get back to the simplicity of enjoying nature, good wine, and fantastic company was exactly what we needed to supercharge us for the next few months to come(stay tuned for the next blog!)


Martinborough farm beauty

we found this dog in the field we were hiking in and brought her home :)

Beautiful Pond on our walk with Huff

Huff has also had a jam packed couple of months. After moving to our new place, Huff met Justine, a fantastic woman who runs 'The Dog Park' a local doggy daycare service. Justine has created a cool, fenced in Dog Park with outdoor and covered play areas, play structures, doggy pools, and lots of attention for the dogs who use her service. Rain or shine,  Huff waits patiently for the dog bus (a van driven by Justine) to pick her up each day for an afternoon of fun and play with her friends. She generally comes home around dinner time, full of energy and stories to tell from her day, then promptly crashes about an hour later. Since starting with Justine, we have seen an amazing change in Huff. She has become a happier, more playful and energetic girl. Her tail wags more and she is more silly than she has been in a long time. Thank God for amazing dog people!

Fun at the Dog Park on Brown Dog Day :)

Huff waits patiently for the Dog Bus to come

 

As we head into the depths of our last New Zealand winter, it is guaranteed that we will see more grey clouds and rainy days. We know we must live through the clouds and rain in order to truly appreciate the sunshine that will shine to lift us up into new opportunities.  The past few months have shown us that every cloud has a sunny sky beneath it, and that that every grey cloud is often worth it's weight in gold.

So, we move forward, scarves and raincoats on, hoping for a forecast of silver linings and golden mornings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swings & Roundabouts

This blog is dedicated to my grandmother, Joan Walker, who loved to read and inspired me to. My blog exists because of her love of reading, which she passed down to her daughter, my mother. Without this lineage I would never have discovered my great love for words, and would never have been inspired by other writers to pen this blog.
Though she didn't have Internet access, My grandmother loved to read the printed copies of my great New Zealand adventures.

On October 31st, Grandma lost her battle with cancer and we were asked to say goodbye to this beautiful woman.

The week that followed was one of the toughest weeks I have had in New Zealand. I struggled to find a way to meaningfully connect with my family to honour her memory. Through the brilliance of modern technology Trent and I were able to Skype into her funeral, finding some solace that we could be present in some sense to say goodbye. I sat alone in a country I loved, but did not call home; and it was then that I realised the fault in our plan; you can travel far and wide, but in the hard times, no one beats your family.

 

 

It has been that kind of winter, one of true ups and downs, a mirage of challenges and highlights, highs and lows, swings and roundabouts.

This winter was different than the last. We were prepared. We expected the wind, the rain, the cold homes and offices. In fact, we even were prepared for the rain induced malaise, the occasional homesickness, and the lack of snow.

But what we didn't expect was the earthquakes.

No, what arrived on an unsuspecting Sunday night in July would end up shaking the rest of our winter in a way we were unprepared to deal with. As I stood in the kitchen of our little beach home, only moments after kissing Trent as he left to walk Huff, I was suddenly knocked off balance by the ground below me, and found myself and heading for a door frame for refuge. As I stood alone in our tiny home, watching the bookcase sway on and off the wall, and hearing the horrible noises that an earthquake will torture out of a home, I not only feared my own safety, but wondered about the safety of Trent and Huff. They were out on the beach, and I was hoping that this quake was not big enough to encourage a tsunami to follow in its tracks.

Trent and Huff returned home, but so did the aftershocks, for days and weeks later. There was limited structural damage, but the damage on many peoples nerves could not be rebuilt with bricks and mortar. What was left was the damage of the emotional earthquake. Suddenly, every vibration became a threat; the  train passing outside the clinic, to the wind shaking a building, and worker doing construction in the street all became potential earthquake possibilities.

I will be open and honest that the earthquake shook me in a way that I was uncomfortable with. In fact, I had no idea how to deal with it. I had no previous experiences to tell me how to lightly walk away from something that shook my entire body and moved some of the heaviest things in my house. There was nothing to shovel away or clean up, other than a bucketful of nerves that the aftershocks just kept topping up.

But we did move on, with caution and hope that the worst was behind us. Our month of refuge was August. I will always remember the month of August 2013 as the month that pulled us up  and out of an earthquake induced state of uncertainty.  Our  plans for the month of August, made randomly months before, ended up giving us a fresh start on spring and a new faith in the ground below us.

On the 31st of July, Trent headed  home to Canada, on his first visit since leaving home in November 2011. The next day I set out on a different journey, flying to Perth, Australia for a road trip that I would not soon forget.

Both Trent and I had largely different experiences at our vastly different locations, the only way we could honour both experiences was to write a separate blog of about our individuals trips. We encourage you to read them, they will be posted in days to come. Some great moments and adventures lie within each.

 

What I can say about my Aussie road trip was this, spending time with one of my dearest friends, Lee, and her baby Toby, in Coral Bay, one of the most spectacularly pristine and beautiful places in Western Australia, gave me a renewed perspective. The trip not only changed my direction for a week, but ultimately changed my direction and motivation for the next 4 months. What the earthquake had stolen from me emotionally, I rediscovered somewhere on that trip, and was able to carry back with me to New Zealand.

One week following my return, the earth kindly reminded me that it was yet done with us . A second earthquake hit on a Friday afternoon in August, smashing the confidence that many Wellingtonians had begun to muster up.

This earthquake, however had a different spin for me. I had come back from Aussie confident, feeling more prepared for emergency, and on my own, as Trent was still in Canada. I vowed that there would to be no emotional carnage for me from this shake up. This helped me to stay calm, stay strong, and move on.

The swings of the earthquakes shook us, but the roundabouts of spring managed to renew our love for this shaky country. Revived from our respective vacations, Trent and I set out to find a new, more positive balance.

First, we decided it was time for a new place. For 18 months we had been living in a cute, tiny, rustic two bedroom Bach (cottage). While the property was beautiful and the location ideal, we were starting to feel like we were quickly outgrowing the small space. At the end of September, we moved down the street, and around the corner to a larger, roomier home. It has taken a bit to get used to all the extra room, but we are really enjoying our new home, and having our first little herb and flower garden in our sunny back yard.

October also had another treat in store for us. Back in February, we were lucky enough to secure tickets to see the highly acclaimed World of Wearable Arts Show, or WOW.  The concept of the show is "wearable art", essentially costumes, and dresses created using any material imaginable (the less mainstream the better). Some of this year's examples included pieces of car tires, keyboard keys, kitchen scrubbers, tiny mirrors, and antlers.  Most of the costumes are so intricately and carefully constructed, that you often cannot tell what they are made of until you consult the show program, or get up for a closer look. Each costume enters the stage set against a backdrop of lighting, effects, music, and dancers that whisked you off to a mystical theatrical world. What started as a small show in a Nelson gallery 25 years ago,  is now entirely deserving of its WOW Status, as it now plays to over 40,000 people over 2 weeks each spring. Simply put it is one of the most interesting and entertaining artistic shows I have ever seen. (www.worldofwearableart.com).

 

Huff has also seen her share of ups and downs this winter. We have spent more time and money at the vet this year than both the two legged and four legged members of our family would have preferred. First, she rolled over on her front paw while chasing a bird in the park. This lead to a sprained paw which put her on the injured list for the next several weeks. Limping around, she wasn't allowed to go for walks, go to the beach, play with her mates, or go to agility school. All that was left to do was eat, sleep, and look sad and bored. It was a tough couple of weeks for everyone, but we are happy to say she is back to being a boisterous catahoula.

Next came the eye injury. During a particularity windy walk on the beach, Huff got hit by what we think must have been a shrapnel of sand or shell, making a small cut on the superficial layer of her eye. Overnight, this went from being a simple cut, to an eye that was so red and inflamed that she could not keep it  open. She required a dose of corticosteroids, which knocked the inflammation back, but also turned Huff into a very thirsty, elderly version of herself. She  lost her energy for walks and play, and even looked a geriatric as she walked up hills. After a small flare up, the cut seems to have healed and the steroids have been discharged, giving us back our 4 year old version of our peppy energetic pup.

 

 

 

This spring we also decided to enter another kind of roundabout, making an important and challenging decision about our future. After months of debate, emotional ups and downs, and reviewing pros and cons, we have finally come to  the decision that 2014 will officially be our last year in New Zealand. The decision is bittersweet, as we truly look forward to returning home to our friends and family, but we also look forward to completing our kiwi bucket list over the next year. Our plans will see us leaving New Zealand in December 2014, heading home via a Christmas stop over in Finland to spend the holidays with the family that hosted me as an exchange student over a decade ago. For those of you in Canada, we look forward to seeing you soon, come January 2015!

 

Making this decision seemed to lift a heavy weight off of us, and helped us to feel lighter and more confident in the direction of our future. In fact, spring has felt like a season full of renewal. Whether it was the return of the sun and warmth, a relaxing weekend together on an a yoga retreat, a trip to Melbourne for shopping and learning, getting back  onto the golf course, or signing up to complete my yoga teacher training in 2014, things felt like we were finally on an upswing towards a great summer.

As we drive around the seasonal roundabout, it is with great prospect that we take the next exit towards summer. Winter may have had some undesired pit stops, but each played a role in teaching us some important lessons about resilience and family that we may not have otherwise learnt had we had the opportunity to drive on by. Summer knocks at our door with a promise of warmer weather, travel, new adventure and learning experiences.

As the traffic light turns from red to green, we accelerate, knowing that will be more swings, and perhaps even a few road bumps, but that they are all a part of life on the road.

As hard as they try to slow us down, or change our direction, we know now that they will not stop us from jumping back in the driver's seat to see what the next exit has to offer.

With our lessons packed, we buckle up.

It looks like it's going to be an interesting ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Endless Summer

This month, we turned back the clocks to embrace fall. Which means, sadly, summer in New Zealand has officially come to an end.

And what a summer it has been. The best apparently, since 1975, or 1982, or 1996, depending on who you talk to and what special summer memories they might harbour from years past. But in our opinion, as far as the New Zealand summers go, the summer of 2013 was the best as they come.

The past few months have been good in so many ways, but could not have been quite as amazing if it had not been for the weather. This summer made up for winter's rainy doom and gloom, by giving us endless days of  sun, sand, and warmth. Not a drop of rain fell between the 4th of February and the 17th of March. Each day was as perfect as the next, long days filled with sun and long evenings spent enjoying the warmth of the patio.  While the sun worked its magic on the soul of New Zealanders, it also wrecked havoc on the landscape. Green fields turned to yellow and rivers started to dry up. We moved into the end of this endless summer in a state of country wide draught.

But before the drought, summer showered us with bounty of activity and fun.

It was no sooner we said goodbye to Christmas, that we said hello to our first guests here in New Zealand. Until this year, my parents have never set foot off of North American soil. A trip to New Zealand was easily the longest and biggest endeavour in their travel careers.

And they rocked it.

For years, my parents have happily seen my brother and I off on several international flights, and been at the other end to welcome us home after many of our great adventures. This February, for the first time, I switched places with my parents and happily greeted them at the gate of Wellington International Airport, following their first big transcontinental flight. In that moment, as my parents walked out of the gate, with confident smiles on their faces, and the hours of international flight under their eyes, I was more proud of my parents than I have ever been. They had stepped well beyond their boundaries of comfort and confidence, and had boldly stepped into a new world of discovery and adventure that they had never before experienced in their 60 years. I could not wait to help them embark on their new, unexpected journey.

Mom and Dad ascending over Queenstown

We let them settle in for a few days before putting them back on a plane. My work schedule allowed us exactly one week to expose my parents to the rest of this country and its hidden gems. We ran a tight schedule of travel around the South Island.

The first lag of our trip saw us flying from Wellington to Queenstown, for what would turn out to be the last day of rain and wind for a long time. We landed in Queenstown to unseasonably cold temperatures and thick fog. Unfortunately, this meant that the wonderful mountain and lake landscape that makes Queenstown so majestic was lost somewhere behind a thick layer of grey and cold. I could not have been more disappointed, we had come to one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand, and it was nowhere to be seen.  Luckily the next day, the fog began to lift, much like a curtain, and dramatically revealed the stunning Queenstown landscape to my parents unsuspecting eyes. By the time we were sitting at the top of the Skyline Luge bar with wine glasses in hand (and everyone had gone down the luge track!) the sky was clear and the view was spectacular.

Mom luges like a pro

 

Racing down the Queenstown luge. I won.

 

Mom and Dad prepare to luge

We left Queenstown the next afternoon, on a flight headed to Christchurch. In February 2011, the city of Christchurch was hit by a major earthquake that damaged much of the city centre. To make matters worse, in December of the same year, Christchurch experienced a second, slightly smaller earthquake that sealed the deal in terms of damage to the local infrastructure. We landed in Christchurch a few short weeks before the second anniversary of the first quake, and found a city still in a state of disrepair.

What a shock.

Moving from scenic Queenstown to the rubble of Christchurch, we began to understand the true impact that the earthquake had on this city. We walked around the perimeter of the red zone in astonishment. Two years later, so much of the city still looked as though the earthquake had happened yesterday. Major sections of the central business district were cordoned off by wire fences, the storefronts empty, naked mannequins stripped of their clothing, and awkwardly placed in the windows. Signs of store owners removing as much stock as they could, as fast as possible, before the area had been cordoned off. It was creepy, sad and SO quiet. It was as though someone had placed a silent ghost town in the middle of what was supposed to be a busy city. As you moved away from the downtown core, things worked on the inverse,  the noise became louder, the stores, people, and traffic more populous. Here you could forget about the silence, the lives disrupted and the ruins. For a few brief seconds, Christchurch felt like a normal city again.

 

Christchurch CBD

Mannequin left in storefront window in the red zone

The start of a new Christchurch. A small business area of shops developed using brightly coloured shipping containers

The day we spent in Christchurch brought our focus back to the reality of disaster and how lucky we all were. As sobering as the day in Christchurch was, I believe that the experience gave us new perspective on the rest of our trip, and know that we would not have appreciated the beauty that lie ahead of us in the same way, had we not stopped here first.



The next day, we headed out on a great railroad adventure. In the early hours of the morning, we climbed aboard a Kiwi Rail train and set out on the Tranz Alpine Journey. The journey headed west from Christchurch, climbing through the stunning scenery of the Southern Alps towards the town of Greymouth. For the next four hours, we were immersed in a breathtaking world of mountains, rolling hills, and braided rivers. Travelling by train, we were able to take a journey that was not accessible by car. It was as though we were travelling through a world that no one else knew about, which seemed to intensify beauty of the scenery around us.

Braided Rivers running through the Southern Alps

View from the train

 

One of my favourite shots from the trip. The classic kiwi camper van in a classic kiwi landscape

 

We disembarked the train in Greymouth, a town on the West Coast of the the South Island. Here we rented a car and headed north up the stunning, curvy, craggy coastline towards the Pancake Rocks. The Pancake Rocks are a geological landmark made of large limestone rock formations. The limestone has heavily eroded, creating a layering effect in the rock. These huge rocks look like pancakes stacked upon each other. Set in the sea, these large formations form caves where the water splashes up and creates blowholes at high tide. We spent an hour walking around and taking in this stunning natural creation before settling down for the night in the town of Westport. The next day we headed back towards Greymouth to board the return train journey to Christchurch.

The Pancake Rocks

Hanging out at the Pancake Rocks

The Watson family hangs out at the Pancake Rocks

Running along the coast in Westport

Trent in Westport

We did not touch down in Christchurch long before jumping back on another Kiwi Rail train. This time we were headed north along the east coast of the South Island, destination Picton. The Coastal Pacific journey took us through coastal vistas, rolling farm land, vineyards, and salt lakes. We arrived in Picton, a small town at the northern tip of the South Island. We were lucky enough to spend few hours here before boarding the Interislander ferry back to Wellington via the Cook Strait.

Trent and our train

Views of the Pacific from the train

Vineyards of Marlborough

This lake is pink because it is filled with salt deposits

With that, our trip was complete. In one short week we had covered a large part of the South Island by train, plane, luge, and car. We had discovered places of hidden beauty, and were able to unearth the heart of the country in both its most glorious views and saddest states.

On Monday, I not only went back to work, but started my new position as the clinical manager with TBI Health in Mana. The next few weeks would be a calamity of adapting to this new role and ensuring my parents enjoyed the rest of their stay. Back in Paraparaumu, they enjoyed the relaxing lifestyle of beach walks, spotting orcas on the beach, beautiful summer weather, and hanging out with their grandog, Huff. It seemed as though they had only just arrived before we were saying our goodbyes. Three weeks in a new country saw their attitudes change from nervous travellers to confident and excited ones, ready to look forward to the possibility of future travel experiences. After all they had done to help me to cultivate my love for new discovery and travel, I was so honoured to help them to discover their very own travel bugs.

We spent the rest of our summer basking in the sun and rediscovering our own goals. First, we signed up for a race. As many of you may know, in Canada, Trent and I spend several seasons training for half and full marathons. Partly due to injuries and other interests, we had taken a break on running since arriving in New Zealand, completing just one half marathon when we first arrived last February. We had been talking about wanting to get back into running, and felt a 10km race was the perfect way to do it. We signed up for the Round the Vines Race located in Martinborough, a wine region about 2 hours from home. The race was set amongst the vineyards, running through the vines and landscapes of six vineyards. Each vineyard had  its own "hydration stop", a table full of wine samples (and water too..) for the runners to sample and enjoy. The race is not only well known for its love of wine, but love of a good time, handing out prizes for the best costumes. Leprechauns, fairies, basketball players, and a variety of animals made their way through the vines that day, reminding us again how much fun it was to be in a a community of runners.

Getting ready to run

Hydration stop!!

 

 

 

 

Better than Gatorade

 

 

Along with sparking an old love, I also found a love for something new. In late February, we enrolled in a 16 week course at the Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club, to learn how to golf. Trent has golfed for many years, but it was a new challenge for me, and one that I had been wanting to try for a long time. The golf course is literally in our backyard, less than a three minute drive from our house, making it the perfect location to get started.  We have just reached the halfway point of our lessons, which sees us move from working in the practise areas, learning swings, chips and putts; to moving out onto the course for 9 holes. We now play 9 holes every Sunday in small groups from our class, with our lovely, bubbly instructor Mary in tow. While it is a challenging at times, I am really enjoying this new game. Trent is loving being back out on the golf course, and Huff is working on her caddying skills.

 

On top of caddying, Huff is becoming quite a keen agility dog. After a summer full of practise, she has finally mastered weaving through a series of six weave poles, one of the harder skills in agility. She is catching on to the quick turns on the courses that our instructor creates, and is finally ready to enter at the beginners level of a competition! It is hard to believe that the same dog that was apprehensive about running through a tunnel six months ago, is now confidently working her way through an agility course full of twists and turns. She has settled into the change of seasons with a new energy which has been difficult to tame. Last week, she headed out on an afternoon walk with our dog walker and insisted on taking her plastic pork chop toy with her to the beach. She is full of energy, wanting to play and be silly well after her evening walk. There is no shortage of Aroo roo roo's at our house lately.

Huff snuggles in for a lazy Sunday morning

 

Hiking through Otaki Forks, a location used in the filming of The Lord of  the Rings movies

As we unpack our warmer clothing and begin to prepare for the winter ahead, we are able to use this season of change to reflect on the summer that is fading in the sunset behind us. It is with gratitude that we move forward into autumn, thankful for the fantastic weather and memories that will forever remind us of this endless summer. This week, we watched in horror as runners just like us, were attacked at the Boston Marathon. In just a few brief seconds of evil, the lives and bodies of those runners and spectators changed forever. This sad emotional day served as a shocking reminder of how quickly things can change, and how important it is to acknowledge the good in each day.

As the rain begins to fall, washing away the traces of drought on the landscape, we give thanks for our able bodies and beautiful surroundings, taking neither for granted.

Instead, we keep jogging forward, one foot in front of the next; seeing, feeling, and loving each day of this endless adventure.