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| The Early morning sun on my favourite tree and piece of real estate |
“People probably think I’m odd .... buying a loaf of bread and feeding it to the gulls”
I see some strange sights on my morning rambles ... could have sworn the Pied Piper of Hamlyn ... in fowl form .... was on my beach this morning. There was this man, walking along on the edge of the waves with a flock of gulls - black-backed gulls and red-billed gulls ... as well as the inevitable pigeons .... following along behind him like a cloud. The source of their interest became obvious as I got closer .... he had a loaf of bread that he was scattering around as he walked.
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| The Pied Piper of St. Heliers Bay |
Just out of interest .... and because I like googling completely inane information ... the collective noun for a flock of seagulls IS a “cloud” ... how bizarre!
Back to the Pied Piper
he was grinning from ear to ear and thoroughly enjoying
the birds reaction to thisimpromptu meal.
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| It's darker in the mornings so struggling a bit with light at the moment. |
They squabble with one another ... catch the pieces in mid-air .... take it out of each others mouths .... it’s like a free-for-all at the supermarket! He stopped to chat and told me he’s been doing this for a few weeks now .... on different beaches .... and it gives him such a lift - not just the reaction of the birds but the impact it has on passers-by and fellow beach ramblers. He’s been told he’s “crazy”.... “weird”..... “a whacky old man”! I thought he was quite delightful .... one of those “in the moment” souls ... an individual who’s choosing to enjoy something simple in life.
He told me a story about the young woman he’s dating, a Chinese woman .... he must’ve been older than me but there’s no telling peoples age sometimes ..... he looked to be in his mid-fifties but I guess that’s not really much older than me. He’d only met her recently and told her about his enjoyment of feeding the sea gulls and birds on the beaches ...... she in turn told him that her name in
Chinese means “bird of the sea” .... he believes karma is charting his course and he was meant to meet this young woman.
He made me smile though ..... I could see in his face the same look I see on children’s faces when they’re feeding the gulls .... wonder and exhilaration. What a gift ... to still have the
Our ramble this morning was very necessary .... the hounds missed it yesterday because both Julia and I were participating in the Auckland Anniversary Day Market in Mission Bay. It’s a huge market ... big and very busy .... so many
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| She's asking me to come and help her MOVE this branch! |
stalls and so many unusual items. We ate junk food all day ..... so many delicious goodies to try out ...... all just SO yummy!! This market only happens twice a year ..... Auckland Anniversary Day in January and Labour Day in October.
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| Our stall ... first time at an open air market using our own tables and gazebo. There's a lot we can do to make it all look more professional. |
I am in awe of the wealth of creativity and talent out there ... it makes you aware of why it’s so difficult to get sales sometimes ... there are so many people with marvelous ideas and skills that are also trying to fill a niche in the market. We soldier on .... our sales weren’t bad and the compliments and interest in our work gave us both such a boost.
We come away from these markets having learned so much ... it reinforces for me the need to always be open to new ideas, new suggestions ... new ways of doing things.
Our petition is gaining ground ... with the 20 forms my neighbour is getting signed, I have over 100
signatures already .... and we’re only just going into February. I might need to cast my net wider on my rambles though as the regular “humans with hounds” that I see on a daily basis have all signed up .... I need fresh fodder!
Thinking of the petition reminds me of the GOM ... we saw him taking photos on Saturday morning of people on the beach with their hounds after the time permitted. Auckland Council have asked for submissions on the current Dog bylaws and Policy as the regulations are set to change during 2012.
All Auckland residents have the right to submit their proposals and I would assume, from having witnessed GOM taking his photos, that he plans to object to us having our hounds on the beach at all. This could be war .... the GOM vs US!!
ps. I took photos at the same time .... of an EMPTY beach apart from the illicit “humans with hounds” .... think I might include the photos in my submission too.
2 comments:
hmmmmmmmmmm, stirring up a storm are you Mrs J. Good for you, the world doesnt need more GOMs.
Only about issues I believe stongly in Smiles ... and I do believe strongly in this one. Too many rules and regulations are prescribed because of a minority of people objecting to certain behaviours ... it's about time people like GOM realise the beaches are for everyone ... particularly before 10 in the morning when no-one else is using them.
It's interesting because even the non dog-owners I've canvassed admit they seldom hit the beaches before 10. People like GOM would rather have our beaches empty than have people with hounds use them ... it's so wrong.
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