Visiting Family and Pets

Over the weekend we stayed with our caravan club buddies at Mt Lees Reserve, a beautiful place surrounded by native forest.  But we did wonder where this elusive mountain was.  Mt Lees has an elevation of only 95 metres, barely noticeable as you drive around, and I couldn’t really find any info on why the area was named Mt Lees. The reserve was created by Ormond Wilson, who inherited 320 hectares of what was part of Ngaio Station.   The homestead was built first, then he set to and planted a huge number of trees.  In 1972 he gifted the land to the Crown.  There are walkways through the extensive bush, self contained camping is permitted, toilets and water are available.  Eight vans from our caravan club enjoyed a weekend here in the lovely setting.  In the Spring the grassy paddock where we were camping is a mass of beautiful daffodils.

Weekend camping at Mt Lees Reserve

We had lunch out  on Saturday with my daughter Nicky.  She hasn’t been at all well lately, so I was pleased that she is now looking so much better than she did before.

Nicky and me at lunch

Then we drove back to Nicky’s home to catch up with grand-daughter Emma and see the new kitten.  They call the kitten PK (Physco Killer) as it was from a feral litter and still has some wild instincts, it seems.  The kitten spent some time trying to kill her cuddly toy dog, and doing quite a good job, biting the poor doggy's face with all her might, and lashing out with her back paws.  Seems the hunting instincts are well ingrained.

Emma and PK

The family dog Noodle was a little apprehensive of us visitors and spent some time hiding under the table.  When we first arrived he barked and growled, being his protective best, and finally settled down

Noodle the dog

Then we had to go and meet the chickens.  They have a nice big fenced area to live in, with plenty of bushes and grass  to scratch under, and a chook shed where they hopefully lay their eggs.

Here, chook, chook

Back inside the house I spotted a stitchery cushion I had made Nicky for an earlier birthday.  She is very fond of growing herbs and veggies so I thought the pattern was just right for her.

Birthday cushion

It was so nice to get to spend the afternoon with Nicky, and catch up on all the family news.  On the way back to camp we spotted some purple wrapped hay/silage bales, so had to stop the car and get a photo.  Around New Zealand, hay bales in pink, blue and purple are increasingly common thanks to different initiatives designed to raise money for charities. The coloured wraps cost farmers about 10 per cent more than the standard mint green ones.  The pink silage bale wraps support Sweet Louise, a  breast cancer charity while the blue ones raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. And the  purple wrap is part of a worldwide project launched to support children's charities, which includes Starship Hospital.  Such a great idea, and some of  these were adorned with smiley faces too.

Supporting Starship Hospital