Michelle’s Weekly Pet: European Goldfinch Up High

Here is my entry this week for Michelle’s Weekly Pet Challenge:

https://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/weekly-pet-share-round-up-and-start-of-new-week-75/

An European goldfinch.  As with flowers I am not so good and identifying birds.  So I googled birds of New Zealand to find out what this beauty is called.  A European goldfinch.  I love it’s colours. Actually it is the same bird (not exactly, but you know what I mean) the I showed a couple of weeks ago bathing at Cornwall Park.

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Michele’s Weekly Pet Challenge: Abbey and Socks

Good morning from a very hot Hastings.  Here is some proof of how hot it was at 2 PM yesterday.

This was only 2 PM.  It got hotter and hotter. Even last night at 8 PM it was still 27 degrees.  It is hard to sleep as well.  Very stifling.

Anyway since my daughter is leaving us next week we went and spent the afternoon at my parents.  We had a lovely time just chatting and enjoying both Abbey and Socks.

Socks is getting into everything and climbed up the curtains which promptly ripped and made him fall.  The curtains were over 20 years old so they had to be replaced.  It was hard for me to see that my mother can’t use a sewing machine anymore.  I took my machine over and sewed the curtain for them.  My two children are very tall so they put the curtains up.

But is nice to see Mum enjoying the company of both Abbey and Socks.

https://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/weekly-pet-share-round-up-and-start-of-new-week-74/

Michelle’s Weekly Pet Challenge: Pukeko

Good morning from a grey and wet Hastings.  Finally after threatening to all day, it started to rain.  A good wetting rain, if that makes sense.  A soft rain that won’t run off, but will be absorbed into the dry ground.  It should stay around for a couple of days.

 So, after all the hype about this super snow storm, I hope those affected are okay and are warm and cosy.  I know what it is like to be snowed under. One year in Austria we had a foot of fresh powder snow each day for a solid two weeks.  That was ok if you didn’t need to go out.  But I found myself really craving the sun.  It was so dark.

This week for Michelle’s challenge I found these pukekos – a purple swamp hen.  Here is some info from Wikipedia.

Pūkeko is the common name, derived from the Māori language, for the purple swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) of New Zealand. The subspecies occurring there is Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus, which is also found elsewhere in Australasia, including, in eastern Indonesia, the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands, as well as in Papua New Guinea and Australia.

A recent arrival to New Zealand, pūkeko have thrived in an environment that now contains introduced predators such as cats, rodents and mustelids (Brunin and Jamieson, 1995). They live in groups of 3–12 individuals and are known to group together and shriek loudly to defend nests successfully during attacks by Australasian harriers. When unsuccessful at repelling predators, they may abandon their nest sites.

In Māori culture

The colour red was associated with nobility and power by Māori, so the pūkeko was held in high esteem because of its red beak and legs.^[8]

Māori metaphor

Pūkeko are known for their bold scheming and determination. In times past,– they raided gardens for kūmara (sweet potato) and taro. A stubborn, annoying person was compared metaphorically to the bird, and was said to have pūkeko ears (taringa Pākura).^[9][10] They are known to steal eggs from each other and this is an indication of their character.

Māori mythology

In New Zealand, the pūkeko is mentioned in the Māori myth ‘How the Kiwi lost her wings’ in which several birds of the forest are asked to come down from the trees to eat the bugs on the ground and save the forest, but all give excuses except the Kiwi who is willing to give up his colours and the ability to fly. The pūkeko’s excuse is that it looks too damp down there, and he does not want to get his feet wet. The pūkeko is punished for his reluctance and told he must now live forever in the swamps.

By one account, the pukeko is the spawn of Punga (the ancestor of sharks and reptiles – enemies of the people) but was claimed by relative (and high chief) Tawhaki. Tawhaki cut himself while cutting timber and so daubed the pukeko’s forehead with his own blood to signify their bond. So the mischievous pukeko gets his character from Punga and his noble badge from Tawhaki.^[10]

Hunted by Māori

In a written account given over 100 years ago, Māori were described as trapping pūkeko (near lake Taupo). They would choose a suitable place where pūkeko were known to feed, and drive a series of stakes into the ground. These stakes were connected by a fine flax string. Hair-like nooses (made from cabbage tree fibre) were then dangled at the appropriate height, from the flax string, to catch pūkeko as they fed after dusk, in the low light conditions.

Thanks for visiting.

https://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2015/01/27/weekly-pet-share-round-up-and-start-of-new-week-73/

Michelle’s Weekly Pet Challenge Week 72: Socks

Good morning from a grey Hastings morning. This is only the second time since before Christmas that we are having any rain.  The grounds are drying out and we are now having water restrictions along with the fire ban.  Actually the night before we moved it rained.  But it had stopped just in time for us to move.

So here is a new addition to the family.  Socks.  Just before Christmas I had posted my last photo of Missy, my father’s cat.  She was suffering from cancer and a couple of weeks ago they had to make the heartbreaking decision to put her down.  My father was devastated.  So the next day they went to the SPCA and came home with Socks.  He is sooooooooo adorable and a bundle of energy.  It is a big change from the sedate Missy.  So much personality.  But then again, they have forgotten what it is like to have a kitten around.  He has helped my father in particular to get over the loss of Missy and really entertains them.  I have noticed an improvement in my mother as well.

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Michelle’s Weekly Pet Challenge: Feathered friends

Good morning from a bright and sunny New Year’s Eve here in Hastings,

Yesterday was a weird day.  I have found a place to live which is the right price in rent that I could afford.  It is nothing flash but there will only be my son and I, it is a sunny house but no garden.  That was okay.  But then in the evening I found out that the rent is likely to go up as the landlord only dropped the rent for Christmas.  So it is at the lower rent for 3 months and then it will go up.

Just before I left to go and look at this house ex-hubby turned up in violation of his trespass notice.  I didn’t see him but my son did and told him to leave as he was violating the trespass order.  All he wanted was to go out for a cup of coffee and catch up with our news.  As if that was going to happen.  Then later in the day he drops of a letter for me with a small handwritten note on it basically giving the police evidence that he has been to visit.  So I am in two minds – should I go to the police and he is in deep trouble and really ruin any chance of our divorce ending amicably or just let it slide and move without giving him our address and get on with the divorce negotiations.

The last straw was finding out that my disability support will drop drastically now that my son turns 18.  He now has to apply for a student allowance in order for us to even be able to eat.

So all in all a great way to end this year.  So my motto is onwards and upwards for next year.

Anyway onto this challenge by Michelle.  We have a lot of bird life around this house and this blackbird is always in the front lawn so I grabbed a few photos.

Then one day I was walking past the back door and looked over to find this fantail flitting around the car and just managed to grab the camera and catch a few rather grainy photos of it.

https://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/michelles-weekly-pet-challenge-roundup-and-start-of-new-week-69/

Thanks for visiting.

Michelle’s Weekly Pets: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Good morning from another muggy Hastings morning.

I thought I would be ahead of the crowd and do my shopping this morning at 7 AM.  Well so did everyone else and the carpark was already fill by the time I arrived a few minutes after 7.  I just did my normal, every week shopping which I do every Wednesday so that my trolley was nearly empty compared to all the other trolleys.  My one extra for Christmas was to get some cherries.  All around me everyone was frantically filling up their trollies like the shops would be closed for a week.  Bedlam.

Anyway it is good to get that chore out of the way and just chill out for the rest of the day.

So a Christmas theme today for Michelle’s challenge:

https://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2014/12/23/michelles-weekly-pet-challenge-roundup-and-start-of-new-week-68/

When I took my son to do his last minute shopping I wandered around town taking photos as I do.  This and the silver so called trees in the fountain are the only decorations we have.  So Scrooge is alive and well in our local council.

Just something a bit different today.

All the very best to all my blogging friends around the world.  Enjoy your festive season.

Thanks for visiting.

Michelle’s Weekly Pet Challenge: Turtles at the Park

Good morning from another grey Hastings morning.  The weather looks set to close in today and the long range forecast for Christmas Day isn’t good for us either.  But I would rather have a bit of rain, than a drought.  It is nice to see the hills surrounding us green and feeding livestock and brown and barren.

A change today.  I was going through my photos on Flickr and found this photo taken at Cornwall Park. I would go to Cornwall Park a lot but didn’t realise that these turtles lived there as well.  I must go back and take some more photos.

Here you can find out more about this wonderful challenge by Michelle:

https://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/michelles-weekly-pet-challenge-roundup-and-start-of-new-week-67/

And I just love this gorgeous Christmas cat.  He looks so handsome – thanks to Steve.

I Want To Be A Santa Cat…

Michelle’s Weekly Pet Challenge: Week 66 – Missy

Good morning from a wet warm muggy Hastings.

Here is an update on Missy, Dad’s cat.  Mum has Abbey to dote on, while Dad has Missy, a calico cat.

The problem with calico cats and others with white hair is that their ears  and noses are prone to skin cancer.  Dad had her ears and nose tattooed to see if that would stop Missy from getting cancer.  But I am afraid it didn’t work and last week at her checkup my parents were told she had cancer. Missy is now around 10 years old so she is getting old by our years.

So it is nice to have some photos of her to remember her by. This time she didn’t mind the camera.  Normally she turns away when she sees the camera.

https://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/michelles-weekly-pet-challenge-roundup-and-start-of-new-week-66/

Thanks for visiting.

Michelle’s Weekly Pet Challenge: Abbey

Good morning from a cool but sunny Hastings day.

Last week my children and I went to my parents house to do a working bee in their garden as a Christmas present.

Of course the camera went with me.  Actually Dad wanted me to take some photos which you saw on Monday.

I wanted to get some new photos of Abbey and Missy.  Today is Abbey’s turn.  She is getting old now, 13 years in our years so that makes her really old.  Her left shoulder is now twisted as you can see and she is going blind but is still devoted to Mum.  Mum just dotes on her.

My apologies to all those who leave lovely comments if I don’t get back to you.  I do appreciate them all.

https://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/michelles-weekly-pet-challenge-roundup-and-start-of-new-week-65/

http://irisgreenwald.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/michelles-weekly-pet-challenge-roundup-and-start-of-new-week-65/

Michelle’s Weekly Pet Challenge: A model cat

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Good morning from a warm muggy Wednesday here in Hastings.

Yesterday we reached 27 degrees celsius – don’t ask what that is in fahrenheit but it was hot and muggy.  Today it is expected to get to 30 degrees celsius.  Just as my children and I will be going to my parents to clear up their garden which is our Christmas present to them.  They have everything they need, and anyway I can’t afford to buy much so a working bee is always a good thing.  We did this last year as well.  I will be hunting Abbey and Missy for more photos for this challenge.

This beauty lived on a corner property and always looked out for me when I walked past.  This particular day it just sat on a small shed and just posed and posed.  I took a lot of photos that day.

https://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/michelles-weekly-pet-challenge-roundup-and-start-of-new-week-64/

Thanks for visiting.