Sorry....

Life's pretty active here at the moment with no time to blog or read blogs. I expect things will ease about the end of the week. I am not stopping, just trying to keep ahead of commitments. Catch you all soon. - Dave

Balloons over Waikato

.

This is how we saw some of the balloons as they flew over our suburb this morning. I wished I could have captured some of the more interesting ones, but today they never came our way.

.
There was also a flyover of three groups of three aeroplanes, each group flying in it's own formation. Of course they were above the height of the balloons!

Click to enlarge the pictures.

.

I received this by e-mail today and thought others might enjoy it too.

TO: God.com

Dear Lord,

Every single evening

As I'm lying here in bed,

This tiny little Prayer

Keeps running through my head:

God bless all my family

Wherever they may be,

Keep them warm And safe from harm

For they're so close to me.

And God, there is one more thing

I wish that you could do;

Hope you don't mind me asking,

Please bless my computer too.

Now I know that it's unusual

To Bless a motherboard,

But listen just a second

While I explain it to you,

Lord. You see, that little metal box

Holds more than odds and ends;

Inside those small compartments

Rest so many of my friends.

I know so much about them

By the kindness that they give,

And this little scrap of metal

Takes me in to where they live.

By faith is how I know them

Much the same as you.

We share in what life brings us

And from that our friendships grew.

Please take an extra minute

From your duties up above,

To bless those in my address book

That's filled with so much love.

Wherever else this prayer may reach

To each and every friend,

Bless each e-mail inbox

And each person who hits 'send'.

When you update your Heavenly list

On your own Great CD-ROM,

Bless everyone who says this prayer

Sent up to GOD.com

Amen

Leonardo Da Vinci
.
The real term above means Leonardo from the town of Vinci, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. He was born on the 14 April, 1452. His real name was Leonardo, son of Piero, from Vinci, or in Italian, Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci.

.
Leonardo was not only a brilliant artist, but was also a man with mathematical and scientific skills.
.
As an inventor/designer his designs were brilliant, with documented instructions on building things such as flying machines, screw and chain drives for machines, wooden bearings, war machines, human motivated machines like bicycles and a four wheel machine, a military tank, and a rapid-build bridge for an army to put together to cross rivers.

.
There were many more machines not mentioned here, and many were built in recent times by a variety of constructors, and today I went to see a comprehensive display of nearly sixty of these which had been built up by many different people and were on display at the Waikato Art Museum in Hamilton, NZ. Many were not allowed to be touched, but there were still several one could try out. Leonardo’s machines were amazing considering the times in which he lived.
.
Unfortunately I am unable to show these as one is not permitted to take photos inside the museum, but if this display comes to your town I do recommend that you go to see it.
.
Addendum: Leonardo was also curious about the workings of the human body and used to sneak into morgues at night and cut open bodies and sketch what he saw inside them. His drawings were the first available diagrams that physicians of the day were able to learn from about the internal organs. Only a diagram of this was available to see today.
.
For more about Leonardo Da Vinci see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci

.

Shop window display and reflection, Christchurch

Peanuts and Jalapenos

.
As a keen gardener I am always willing to try growing something new or unusual.
.
This year I tried two new things, for me. One was jalapeno chillies and the other was peanuts.
.
Because I enjoy jalapenos occasionally with my food I decided to grow some so that we could preserve them, which Jill and I did. As I only grew five plants we had enough to fill ten medium sized jam jars – see the photo above.
.
I also bought some raw peanuts and decided to also have a go at growing these, but instead of putting them in the garden I decided to grow them in a plant tub with a mixture of potting mix and sand, just in case they overgrew the garden and became a weed.
.
The peanuts grew, dubiously at first, but then became quite strong little plants about one foot high and about nine inches across. Towards the end of the season the leaves began to go spotty so I pulled them out, and found peanuts on the bottom under the ground. They looked quite healthy but felt a bit soft and immature so I placed them on the shelf of the shed window in the sun to dry up. The photo above is the result, and the peanuts inside the shells taste nice, just as the parent ones did before planting.
.
So this year experimental growing was successful.

.
Now who can advise me on growing root ginger…?

.

.
Carved bird
.
This carved bird stands about 3 to 4 metres (yards) high in the front yard of a house in Cambridge, not far from Hamilton.
.
It rose from the remains of a Japanese cedar tree which was badly damaged when a small tornado went through the property and damaged the cedar and another tree.
.
The owner felt that instead of removing the remains of the tree, he would get an expert to have it made into the shape of a New Zealand bird. The job took two days to do and here is the result.
.

Pictures of people

.

People are always interesting to see and watch in public places. Here are some pictures I took just for human interest at the Waikato Vintage Machinery Expo on Saturday.

.

It's interesting to note that many of those attending perhaps fit the category of vintage - myself included! It was nice to see so many elderly people there showing an interest. It was nice also to see so many children there.

.

Click for a larger view.

(For some reason the first two photos won't enlarge)

.

).

An early school classroom

Large coffee mugs? :)

Early milking equipment including cream separators

An Early icecream making machine
.

Wives' collections of memorabilia

.

The two top photos were of memorabilia collected by wives of the men who renovated the variety of tractors and other assorted machines. These displays were in another building and don't show the complete collection.

.

The last two photos were in the general machinery displays but as they may be included in the 'home' categories I have placed them here.
.
A click on the photos should enlarge them.

.

.
Antique Machinery Displays
.
Today I attended a display of antique machinery at the Claudelands Showgrounds, Hamilton. Most of the machines, tractors and other vehicles, have been lovingly restored by farmers, engineers or hobbyists and these were on display today

Click to enlarge photos.

Large machines were not the only ones on display as many smaller farm-type machines had also been restored, and were on display in running condition.
.
Some of the restorer's wives were also displaying antique items which I will show later.
.

A walk beside the Waikato River

.

These three photos show the walking and cycling path that runs for about four kilometres along the western side of the Waikato River, from the south to the north of the city.

.

The name Waikato is Maori meaning "flowing waters" and the river means everything to Hamilton people as it is a major feature of our city and we are very proud of it. I used to frequently go for long walks along these paths and enjoyed the peace and serenity one experienced.

.

The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, and upstream from here are a series of eight hydroelectric power stations that generate electricity for the national grid. The waters in both the free-flowing sections of the river and in the lakes formed by the hydro dams are also used for many things including water supplies for cities and farms, and boating and other recreational purposes. Due to climate change long, dry summers mean heavy demand for water so that the authories who control the river have had to strictly control the quantities and ways which the water from the Waikato River is used.

.

At other times the river can flood and cause other problems, but these are rare as the hydro dams along the upper river provide excellent flood control except when conditions are extreme.

.

Hamilton is the hub of the dairy-rich Waikato Region, which takes its name from the river.

.

.
Structural Angles
.
A study of angles of the buildings at the Waikato University, Hamilton, New Zealand.
.
I have tried to make this photo as stark as possible by converting it to black and white and darkening it up.
.
Just another attempt to be smart with my photos... Does it come across as successful? I don't know...
.

Psychedelic Surfing

This photo began life as just a normal photo of a surfer standing on rocks with his surfboard watching another surfer riding a wave. During my attempt to improve the quality of the photo it accidentally looked like this. I liked the result so here it is. Taken at Raglan, on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand.

Toe Toe flag grass

.

Toe Toe is a Maori name meaning 'thatch of rushes" and is often mispelled as 'toi toi.'

.

This restful picture was taken beside the Waikao River as it gently flowed northward.

.

This plant was commonly called 'cutty grass' by us when we were kids because the leaves had very sharp saw-like edges and could cause a wound if one was careless.

.

Once the white feathery flower was pollinated, probably by the wind, the feathery white parts, containing seeds, fell out and probably were scattered by the wind to begin another plant elsewhere, probably some distance away.

.

.

These feathery flowers are sometimes used in flower displays by using food colouring to make them pink, or green or whatever colour one chose. Their vase life was probably as long as most other flowers.

.

No time to blog this week.
.
I am busy these last few days trying to teach myself how to print labels in the MS Word program. I have figured how to do it but am having trouble trying to figure where to put the names and addresses – how to file them, as I do not use MS Outlook and am not familiar with how it works. This is where the names have to go, or so I understand.
.
After working on the computer most of the afternoon and evening I am now fed up with it!
.
Can’t the computer be a boring and annoying friend sometimes? Yeah!

.

Old Hamilton Courthouse
.
When the courthouse was opened in February 1931, at a cost of £29,000 (pounds), its arched windows and a Corinthian portico gave it the status of 'the most modern and equipped courthouse in New Zealand'. It suffered major fire damage in 1974 with the main Magistrates court being wrecked and the adjoining Supreme Court badly damaged. The building was refurbished following the fire.
.
It has since been refurbished again after standing unused for ten years and a new courthouse complex has been built to the left of this site and adjoining this building.
.

The site has hosted a courthouse since the 1860’s, the very early days of Hamilton City.
.

Relaxing on an old garden seat

This person looked quite relaxed here in the sun on a pleasantly mild day.