Local Library

How often do you use your library?

I'm pretty much there every week looking for books or some type of movie. But, mostly I am looking for audio books to listen to in the car. I usually won't buy audio books because they are just too expensive, so those I will check out at the library.

I have plenty of books to read on my shelves at home that will keep me busy for over five plus years but that still doesn't stop me from checking out other books I want to read.

Do you listen to audio books? Love to read books instead? Both? How many books do you think you read in a month?

I personally will have a book that I am reading and one in the car to listen to at all times. And, I also may be looking through a health, exercise, or self-help type book at the same time.

Aeonium cyclops , red succulent

In warm Auckland, many gardens have rock gardens where there are succulent plants.
This beautiful tall succulent has rosettes of dark reddish-bronze leaves on stems

Aeoniums are members of the Crassulaceae, a huge family of succulents that include many other popular and commonly grown succulents, including some that look a lot like Aeoniums. Echeverias in particular are often confused with Aeoniums and there are several other rosette-like succulents (eg. Dudleyas, Graptopetalums, Pachyverias and Graptoverias). One thing that sets t these plants apart is the way their leaves attach to the stem- they are wrapped around the stem with a fibrous attachment so that when a leaf is pulled away, the stem is intact with only a transverse line showing where the leaf was attached. The other rosette Crassulaceas have succulent attachments and their being pulled off the stem leaves a divot in the stem.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1058/


http://wildflowers.colormagicphotography.com/

Macro Flower Saturday
Macro Flower Saturday Macro Flower Saturday ">
http://blueberrycraftandhobbytime.blogspot.com/p/join-my-photo-challenge-flowers-on.html


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Last Monday, I went to my doctor for my flu vaccination, and came back with almost the whole shebang of things done. The most important of which is the smear test. She said I had it last done three years ago, and it was time again.

In New Zealand, not all women want this done, especially the ethnic women. There is a fear of going. Women is like the red succulent, strong but if you don't take care of yourselves, nobody will take care of us, and your family will lose someone they depend on.

http://www.nsu.govt.nz/about/what-is-screening.aspx

1. What is a cervical smear test and how is it done?

Cervical screening aims to detect abnormal changes to the cervix (the nechttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifk of the uterus or womb) before they can develop into cancer. Safe and effective treatment for pre-cancerous lesions detected by screening will prevent progression to cancer. When you have your smear you will be asked to lie on your side or your back with your knees bent up. The lower part of your body will be covered with a sheet. The smear taker gently opens the vagina with a plastic or metal speculum and carefully sweeps a sample of cells from the surface of the cervix with a thin broom or brush. It takes only a few minutes to take the smear. Some women may find the test a little uncomfortable. The test sample is either smeared onto a glass slide or placed in a liquid. It is then sent to a laboratory approved by the NCSP.

A Song Sparrow for Camera Critters

Welcome Song Sparrow,
Its been so long since we've heard your song.
Now that you're back to stay,
maybe the snow will soon go away!

Awonderful spring like message this week in Bird Alley came in the appearance of a Song Sparrow and it has been here every day since. Presently our yard is full of snow again, but we hope that Bird Alley will soon look as invitational and inviting as it has looked in the past. what can be lovelier on this St. Patrick.s Day than to recall green memories of a beautiful green Bird Alley. Have a great day everyone!

Camera Critters is a meme that features critters, any kind, any size. To see more of this meme please click on the CC logo which can be found on the right sidebar on this page or please click here.http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

It's All Go

Mr T still at home all day. I'm off to Edinburgh for a working weekend. Thank God I've got children to fill in the gaps. Dumfries and Galloway Schools Orienteering Championships today. In rain!

Skywatch Friday: Peter Hillary

Peter Hillary with his wife (red) Yvonne and Diane Harding. Diane had worked in Nepal for 2 years.

Peter talking to the children about his Dad Sir Ed Hillary and his work in Nepal.


On the 50th anniversary of Sir Ed's conquering of Mt Everest, Peter and his friends climbed the mountain. Here I took my photo from the video that Peter showed the children of him talking to his Dad. His Dad asked him if he reached the summit.


In 1992 Hillary appeared on the updated New Zealand $5 note, thus making him the only New Zealander to appear on a banknote during his or her lifetime, in defiance of the established convention for banknotes of using only depictions of deceased individuals, and current heads of state. Peter had a joke about the $5 note. My ESOL kids remember him saying," Sorry, Dad, I have to buy something, good bye."

Our beautiful sky after the talk, view of my part of my school.

Like our Sky Tower, Sir Ed is an icon of New Zealand. View from my school.

When I was 11 in Borneo, we had to cut out photos from Newspaper and make a scrap book and learn the facts of important and famous people. The hero in my scrap book was Edmund Hillary. He was the first man who climbed the highest mountain in the World, Mt Everest in 1953 just before I was born. He came from New Zealand.

Sir Ed was not just an adventuror, He was a philanthropist. He was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Following his ascent of Everest he devoted most of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he founded. Through his efforts, many schools and hospitals were built in Nepal.

As an adult, I was privileged to come to study at the university and then to live in New Zealand. Today, I was just as excited as the students of Pt Chevalier to hear our speaker, Peter Hillary. Peter is the son of Sir Ed. I was very pleased he was very obliging when I asked to take his photo for my blog. Peter by his own right is a remarkable man.

My colleague Diane Harding had organised his talk. It was Peter and Yvonne's wedding anniversary. It is indeed a great privilege to have them come to school. Diane had spent 2 years up in the mountains of Nepal as a nurse with her partner Liz who is a doctor.

Nepal, of course, has a special place in my heart. Occasionally, I blog about Ganga and Jemunah. They were the pair of con-joint twins from Nepal. In 2000, they came to Singapore to be separated. I spearheaded the fund raising in Nanyang Technological University. I felt very touched when their mum and grand dad invited me to see them while they were still con-jointed.


Peter Hillary comes from one of the great families of mountaineering and has a history of world-class achievements in climbing.

Like his father, the late Sir Edmund Hillary, who made the first ascent of Mt Everest with his climbing partner Tenzing Norgay in 1953, Peter has summited Everest and forged a new route to the South Pole. The names Everest and Hillary are forever linked, and will always be associated with high adventure.

Peter Hillary is an accomplished mountaineer, speaker and expedition leader. He raises funds for Himalayan Foundations around the world and owns the Hillary Brand, a line of HILLARY branded goods. Together with his sister Sarah Hillary, they manage the intellectual property of the Ed Hillary estate.


The last photo I show is of Auckland Sky Tower. It is the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere, just as we are proud of the Hillary name who is an icon is New Zealand, so is the Sky Tower where we can see from our school on a fine day like this morning.



Climb every mountain,
Search high and low,
Follow every byway,
Every path you know.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
'Till you find your dream.

A dream that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life
For as long as you live.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream

A dream that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life,
For as long as you live.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream.

Read more: http://artists.letssingit.com/sound-of-music-lyrics-climb-every-mountain-q47jrxt#ixzz1pFhQtIdg
LetsSingIt - Your favorite Music Community

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Food for Thursday's Challenge

I am putting an avian curve on the topic of the Thursday's Challenge for today of food. while sitting watching my bird feeders on this snowy day I became aware how important bird food was to the little and big birds during a day of hostile weather. A bird feeder presented bird seed readily available and there were plenty of birds taking advantage of the offered feast as you can see below.Above, this male Purple Finch is turning over a striped sunflower seed in its strong beak which was designed for crushing. Look carefully and you will see a tiny seed on top opf the sunflower seed!, yum , yum!
Blue Jays loves peanuts! Oh yes, they do!, no matter what kind of weather day it is!

This little Tree Sparrow has selected the tiniest seed offered.
Another little bird who prefers tiny seeds is this Pine Siskin shown above. got Bird food?, Watch to watch some delightful viewing? Buy a bird feeder and fill it with birdfood and hang it outside your window. enjoy and grab your camera during your viewing session. Both you and the birds will have an enjoyable time. Feed the Birds!

Food is this week's photographic theme for Thursday's Challenge. To view more photos posted on this theme, or to join in on the fun yourself, just 'click' on the highlighted name.

My best birdcam picture so far

I have recently purchased a Wingscape Birdcam 2,0 and I am very pleased with the quality of the pictures I have been getting. Please doubleclick on the photo above to see the finer details of this picture as well as its lovely colour. and distance the cam caught.
We have been experiencing freezing rain and snow for the past couple of days, and although the birdcam is weatherproof, I am not so I haven't been venturing outside much recently.

and , 'yes' the birdcam will take pictures of othercritters roaming around your yard, Here I am ( above)walking towards the birdcam to change the scan disc memory card that I use in it. Most days I have over 100 or so pictures to download and enjoy viewing. the fun of it is to see what bird or other visitors the camera has photographed! On my first day using it I was pleased to see we had a male Purple finch and a |Pine Siskin in our yard. I hadn't seen a Pine Siskin for ages.
the following photo has been cropped and photo shopped but it was taken with the birdcam shown above: a male Purple Finch, an American Goldfinch and a Pine Siskin
Have a great (snowy day! ) everyone!

A slate-coloured Junco for World Bird Wednesday

Juncos have been very scarce in Bird Alley this winter. I don't believe I have seen a one, until this morning that is. Welcome little bird! I do hope you enjoy your visit and find lots to eat This ;little species always looks so light and fluffy. I have always compared it in my mind to the lint that I remove from my clothes dryer., grayish in colour and very light and soft and fluffy to the touch. I call them dryer lint birds. |Please drop by again little bird!


Got pictures of birds you would like to share? Why not post them on Worldbird
Wednesday? http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/To
find out how, please scroll down the right hand side of this page until you come
to the worldbird logo, click on it and follow the directions from there

Water for Thailand

This past Sunday at Mt Albert Baptist Church, I manned the EFTPOS terminal, New Zealand's electronic transfer machine. Handling other people's money is stress ful to me. On Sunday, it was extremely stressful. I had a lot of business. My church was selling shares to help build a well in Thailand. We were selling token water. I was amazed that people paid above value to the share values.


http://www.cbcthailand.blogspot.co.nz/


Here is an email from my pastor, Jonathan Dove.

Dear Church



Just a reminder that this Wednesday is our ‘Water Wednesday.’



This past Sunday we explored how healthy churches engage with the needs of people on the margins through both the spoken message and strategic action. As part of our application, we launched Project Thailand, a 5-year initiative to come around a range of needs and people groups within Thailand (check it out at www.mabc.org.nz/project-thailand). This year’s focus is bringing clean water, sanitation and health education to a village that (right now) has none of these.



So, what do you do on Water Wednesday (14th March)?



1. Abstain from all liquids except water for the duration of the whole day: No coffee. No tea. No milk on the weetbix. Just water. For the whole day.



2. Every time you want to have something other than water, take a moment to be grateful to God for the water you do have (and for the bountiful choices normally available to you).



3. Consider what it must be like for people in Northern Thailand (and others parts of the world) without access to safe running water. Reflect on what you can do to help.



4. If you purchased a water share bottle in Project Thailand, carry it around with you for the day. Look at the project sticker through the clean water you have and what we’re enabling others to enjoy. Speak to others about the needs and opportunity.


5. Share your reflections with your family, flat-mates, and small group. Together, reflect on the statistics at the end of this email or check out the upcoming world water day at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/campaign.html.



This Wednesday, let’s appreciate anew what God has given each of us and consider what we can do to help those on the edges.



Journeying Together

Jonathan Dove
Lead Pastor



P.S. Here’s some figures to reflect about:

• Globally, diarrhea is the leading cause of illness and death, and 88 per cent of diarrhea deaths are due to a lack of access to sanitation facilities, together with inadequate availability of water for hygiene and unsafe drinking water. (Source: JMP).



• Today 2.5 billion people, including almost one billion children, live without even basic sanitation. Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of poor sanitation. That's 1.5 million preventable deaths each year. (Source: Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC))



• Nearly 1 out of every 5 deaths under the age of 5 worldwide is due to a water-related disease. (Source: WHO/UNICEF).



• Half of the world's hospital beds are filled with people suffering from a water-related disease. (Source: United Nations Development Programme).


http://www.mabc.org.nz/project-thailand/


http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

http://rubytuesday2.blogspot.co.nz





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http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/

My spring Duck Quest wish fulfilled yesterday!

We started birdwatching in the year 2000 and ever since I had learned that male Goldeneye ducks could be found at Hoyt in the early spring I have made it my goal to search for them there every year in late winter or early spring. Yesterday I found four male golden eye ducks there in the water as I had hopefully anticipated! As they were a fair distance away I was concerned that their distinctive white facial dot wouldn't be visible. but it was!!! "Oh Happy Day"! Just double click on the photo below to see the white dot! I think these ducks are handsome!
My husband , David is sometimes bit inattentive to my often repeated plea, " You have to look at this picture". Yesterday his reply was, "Not unless its a two-headed duck!"" Ha, Ha, I had the perfect picture to show him!!!!! The reflection in the water in the picture above indeed showed him a picture of a two headed duck!!! I loved it!
Below I have included a picture from my photo archives of a male Goldeneye taken on March 31st., 2008
Its golden eye is clearly shown as the source of this duck's name. Otherwise some might have named it, the polka dot duck!

Red berries and a male Purple finch for Ruby Tuesday 2

We have been watching these red berries for several weeks now.Every year these berries are devoured by Bohemian waxwings, hundreds of them! So every week when we see these berries are still there we breathe a sigh of relief for we haven't missed them yet! these berries are not in our community but a distance away, about a half an hour'd drive away.
I was delighted tosee this male Purple Finch when I downloaded the pictures from my birdcam yesterday morning. this is a bird seldom seen by us this winter, so the birdcam had a surprise for us!
Ruby Tuesday 2 meme features photos with red of any subject. To contribute to this meme please go to;
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or just click on the Ruby Tuesday 2 badge at the top of the column on the right hand side of this blog page.

Birdcam Fun!

A birdseed feast and many little finches accepted the invitation to the birdcam party!

above: Blue Jay posing for the Birdcam A handsome male Purple Finch dropped by, A welcome visitor!

above: a female Purple Finch caught on my Birdcam this morning.

I had been making a few mistakes with my Wingscape bird cam; such as : forgetting to turn it on, not securing the memory card in tightly, getting too advanced in my programming Its really so easy, you just turn it on and set it outdoors. I was making things too complicated So I checked for my results quite early this morning. And how pleased! and surprised! I was! to see a Pine Siskin visitor. Its been a long time Pine Siskin! Where have you been?And also a colourful male Purple Finch stopped by. Welcome handsome fella! and also lots of Goldfinch this morning. about 12 in one picture!this bird cam is going to be fun, I am already quite pleased with the results I am getting, .I like the way these three little birds shown above lined up for my camera.

They're back!, : Raccoons

This is not good picture quality but, it was still dark out when I saw the familiar rounded back shape silhouetted on a table where I had placed a pile of bird food yesterday in hopes of enticing a few birds to drop by thus activating my recently purchased bird cam which I am experimenting with. I have made a lot of errors with my bird cam, YesterdayI had not secured the scan disc memory card in tightly and so it was empty and I had watched a lot of birds visiting my food table too, including a pair of Purple finches. ( How disappointed I was) Oh well, hopefully I won't make any more mistakes today. However yesterday I did have a few pictures on the internal memory of the bird cam and I was very pleased with the clarity and colour of the pictures the birdcam captured like this Blue Jay picture shown below. The Raccoon viewed the pile of bird food as an early morning invitation to breakfast I guess.