Yes, sweet friend, if we were wise we would solve a lot of problems!!!
” Wouldn’t that be luverlee”!
No, it was one of those lovely synchronicities.. my husband had put this haiku on my keyboard, and a few minutes later i was reading a blog which was mentioning Basho. So it seemed as though Basho had put up his hand and said, me now!
those things happen at just the right time sometimes!
I’ve been feeding a family of crows for the last 12 years.
Oh Bruce, I can’t bear to think of it…will someone else take over for you….I’ll wait to read your post on them!
Lucky frog and fortunate birds, I do hope the Rimu berries return next year.
Hello Claire – thank you so much … very taken with your encouraging remark about Elizabeth’s garden… actually my book The Sound of Water is very much that sort of thing…!
You’re concern for animals is just lovely Valerie. Not everybody takes such notice of the creatures we share the earth with.
I’m so sorry about your awful drought. The climate is certainly changing … all weather seems to be becoming more severe. Storms, droughts, temps … the “unusual” is becoming the new normal. I hope you get a welcome rain, soon.
Thank you Kathie…. the outlook is not good, we’re stuck with a high for the next two or three weeks … and then who knows! In the end, rain does come, I know!
We have been experiencing an on and off again drought over the past several years, and like you, I get anxious when weeks turn into months that go by without a raindrop. Recently we’ve been blessed with buckets of rain, so much rain that it has almost erased the drought. The charts have changed from “extremely severe” to “abnormally dry,” but I worry still. I think I’ll go out and feed the birds.
We’ve had good precipitation here for the last couple years but had a big drought in the early 2000s. It was awful. I always have water out for the birds, summer and winter and we also have a pond. When it gets very dry, I see all sorts of critters in my pond from groundhogs and chipmunks to deer. I am always glad I can help them. Hope your weather changes.
Thank you Kate, the outlook is not promising at the moment… how lovely to have all those little creatures visiting your garden….lovely to hear from you..
I had not had news of the drought in NZ in a bit and was hoping it had rained recently. I’m so sorry to hear that it is not the case! Your endeavors to take care of the birds are so sweet (and frighteningly Hitchcockian at times!). During the hot summer days, I do my best to refill my bird bath as often as possible but we’ve never had such severe droughts as you have had. Wishing you, and the birds, well!
Hello Letizia, Lovely to hear from you… I’d forgotten about the Hitchcock connection! I remember reading Daphne du Maurier’s short story as a teenager, and found it so appalling that I never went to see the Hitchcock version! However I’m giving my strategy a lot of thought this time….!
I don’t blame them… it’s quite beyond their imagination when you think that some children don’t even know that milk comes out of cows!!!!
That must be so tough… how do things stay alive? Yes, people are n’t very aware are they, around water. An American student I spoke to told me how amazed he was to discover in other parts of the world cisterns like ours, with two buttons, one for an economy flush and one for a bigger flush… And yes, I’m always bucketing water to the garden….
Sigh! It is so heartbreaking to read about your horrible drought. I so understand what you say about ‘townies’ they really don’t get it, and they really never will until they live like you or I do and can ‘see and hear and watch”. You are one of the saints of the earth, of which I THANK YOU, so very few people even see the other life all around them, let alone be willing to take care of them.
I am very humbled and thankful to call you friend!
Dear Linda, what a sweet and generous comment… but you know you are the one who cares for so many creatures, including the dogs at the shelter, as well as your own.rescued darlings. And I love it that you are my friend.
Thank you, Valerie! Me too. Time will tell, I suppose.
Valerie, such a sweet yet sad post. So sorry about the drought! We just had our first day of sunshine in about five days. Downpours everyday! Part of the road just below our house is washed out and a detour provided. Sure wish I could send you some of the rain…would do it in a heartbeat! You may feel bullied but I wager a bet you will not let those little birdies go hungry or thirsty!
Hello Sharla.. oh dear, your road washed out… it’s feast or famine all around the world isn’t it? And I know there are parts of the States that are desperate for rain for the third year running. Loved your comments, dear friend, and yes, I’m working on a strategy that will work for us all this time! – I think!
How sad…will humans ever learn? It breaks my heart to see what is happening to our beautiful world. I hope it rains soon for all of you.
I keep praying that more and more people work together, because I do believe we can change things around. We sometimes forget (me included) that we are the care takers, God created us for His glory and to care for His creation. we are not doing a good job, I’m afraid.
Yes, you’re right, we are the caretakers… but I think the trap for us who care is that we start feeling responsible for more than we can do. And then life becomes a worry and a burden. All we can do is keep our own little world bright!
What could we do to enhance the consciousness of such creature sufferings? And what could we do after that?
Thank you so much for reading my blog and commenting… I feel that the consciousness of other creatures is different to ours, and no less valuable, that they have abilities often more finely tuned than ours, and I’m not convinced that they don’t have souls. I feel that humanity has never valued them or respected them as they deserve, That they give us so much service which goes unacknowledged most of the time. Love is the answer, as it is the answer to everything….
Love your perspective. What could you do to spread this perspective to the uninitiated?
I’m always trying to spread the word!!!!!
She was so horribly right of course…I read something by US Mr Justice Holmes last night, written in 1913, in which he said ” I fear we are running through the world’s resources at a pace we cannot keep”… and after many other prognostications he ends by saying” beyond the vision of battling races and an impoverished world I catch a dreaming glimpse of peace”.. a vision which I cling to !!!
3 out of 4 years without the right rainfall is tough stuff valerie, for us all. It’s a dilemma I understand about feeding the birds, but water makes a lot of sense. Hope you get the rain you need and soon!
Lovely to read your post. You give a better account of the drought situation than the news does. I overheard someone say today, that this is how summers used to be; very dry and hot. That certainly rings true with my childhood memories and those of my parents. What do you think?
Thank you for commenting, good to hear from you… the difference between my account of the drought and the news, is that I care about different things to those chaps on TV!!! As to those summer childhoods… I only have 43 years experience of NZ summers – I came here in 1970, and I remember one terrible drought in 1974 that lasted until the middle of June ( I know because we’d taken the roof off the house that day, and it poured that night!) But mostly we’d have plenty of rain until Christmas, lots of sun and summer, but also rain when we needed it! Back then we also had frosts in Auckland in winter, and I nearly died of cold having come from Hong Kong….maybe this is too much information!!!!
Thank you Gabriela… prayers and thoughts Must help! So glad you enjoyed the haiku…..
Hello celi… lovely to hear from you… I’d forgotten about sunflowers – of course…I have the perfect place for them. yes, everything else is seeding, but it’s such a tiny garden… two crab -apples for them yes – and the pigeons love the guavas… I just wish they were interested in the hips on the endlessly sprawling albertine rose and the plentiful seeds on the agapanthus!!
Yes, the garden is full of chattering birds again!
This is ridiculous… as I’ve been writing about the sparrows, two have flown in and out of the room!!!!
Roses – yes… my whole garden sprawls – no tidiness here!
Yes, aren’t they clever! I wish it was catching!
Hello Valerie, I know what you mean but I’m sure your birds will appreciate the seed you provide for them. I have just spent a shocking amount of money on various types of bird food. But this morning, as I type, I’ve counted 15 bird species and the blackbirds are collecting moss from the lawn for their nests and they’re all getting ready for this years young to arrive. So I just can’t help myself!
I know what you mean about not being able to help yourself!!! Yes, I’m back to driving half an hour to the farmers supplies to get bags of wheat etc for the little darlings. I envy you all the varieties you see at your bird table… apart from the tuis and pigeons, the native birds here hide in the forests, while the other birds were imported by the settlers in colonial days.. so we don’t have the wonderful variety of indigenous species that you enjoy…but I still love what we have!!!
I loaded this post to read on the train but was unable to reply as the train had no signal. It’s lovely that you feed the birds! So do we but yes, it is pricey! Sorry about your Hitchcock moment!
Thanks for that amazing pastry recipe and for the frangipani in the next post which I replied to before this one.
Hello Sally, lovely to hear from you…Several people have mentioned the expense – and also the joy… but It really matters for the birds in hard times, doesn’t it.
Hope you enjoy the pastry and the frangipane!
Hello again, I was reminded of this post this morning when we heard, even on our news, about your extended drought. We were also in official drought this time last year but it did end, in fact it hasn’t really stopped raining since, so I do hope you get some rain before too long.
IF you came through – so can we!!!!!