Central Plateau, North Island

Central Plateau, North Island
View from a friend's farm

Wednesday 16 February 2022

Today and Tomorrow

 After a long time away, I am here again.

As promised, the golden lilies bloomed gloriously, tall, golden, and so many flowers on each tall stem

       
This was the bloom on New Year's Day, 2022, early in the morning. This gives you an idea of the height and the number of blooms, I lost count.                                                                                                         
The days have been different, with Covid and Omicron cases rising to almost 1000 , there has been a huge group of protestors camped out on the grass below Parliament House in Wellington, vehicles parked illegally, blocking main streets, verbal abuse to passers by including a young student for wearing masks, protestors in other areas copying the massive protest on the border between Canada and the USA. Our Defence Force, together with the Police, will stand by the tow truck operators to start and remove vehicles very soon. The general opinion is, stop it immediately when the first tent was pitched, as slowly more and more came, the rain fell, their flags were hoisted, and police formed a barricade to prevent them entering Parliament House.I will not tarnish this post with a photo of the chaos.

Tomorrow marks a milestone in our lives, as on February 17th, 1962, Hugh and I were married in the Presbyterian Church at Papakura,. Photos will be posted tomorrow, no celebrations/ balloons, meals out or family here, as Covid has arrived to our small town, 5 so far, but that could increase any time. Flying up or down to gather together is too risky.The main excitement will be a doctor's visit, the second of 3 weekly ones, as she tries to reduce my blood pressure tablets and get the BP to an acceptable higher level.Some days it is way TOO low, what a change from 3 years ago.

Meantime the sunflowers have started to put on the usual summer show, including a busy bee determined to try each flower in turn. The stems are almost as tall as the lilies were.



The sewing and quilting has come to a halt, after we had a spell of scorching hot days, reaching a 34Celsius, then a sudden drop  to a lot lower cool spell.Now it seems that summer has almost gone, the mornings are so dark, lights are needed at 6 a.m. and curtains are drawn at night.

Quotation of the day, from Omar Khayyam

" Be happy for this moment.This moment is your life"

Greetings from Jean.


14 comments:

Jenny said...

Many congratulations to you both on your 60th Anniversary! Such a wonderful achievement. Like you, I am appalled at the copy cat protesters camped out on Parliment grounds, this is not generally the way Kiwis behave. Let's hope it ends soon. Making death threats to polititions is shocking and shouldn't be tolerated.

Out To Pasture said...

Your golden lilies are gorgeous, Jean! And congratulations to you and Hugh on your 60th wedding anniversary! The diamond, I believe. Looking forward to seeing your photos tomorrow. Like you I'm heartsick that our peaceful countries are under siege from those disrespectful louts. Sure hope fines and lockups end it soon!

Kate said...

I love the flowers, Jean. I bright spot on a cold winter's day.

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

Happy Anniversary Jean! Your flowers are beautiful and I hope your doctor's visit went well and you can get your BP to a good level. Keep safe.

Carol Mattingly Photography said...

So very very good to hear from you guys Jean. I cannot believe what you are celebrating. Oh, so many years of life together. You are blessed in so many ways. Have a fabulous day. I hope and pray they get your BP under control. I too had to go on medicine after I have covid as my BP went way up. This pandemic, the chaos it creates is so heartbreaking. All I do is pray for it to be over soon. Love, Carol

Marie Smith said...

Congratulations on this special anniversary. That is quite a milestone. I hope you have a great day.

eileeninmd said...

Hello Jean,

Happy Anniversary! I hope all goes well with your doctor appt.
Love the beautiful golden lilies and the sunflowers. Take care, enjoy your day and the week ahead!

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Happy Anniversary! Such a milestone to be celebrated, even if it can only be the two of you. So sorry that covid is increasing on your idyllic island, I things settle down soon. Your flowers are lovely.

Sharon - IN said...

Congratulations on your wedding anniversary! Your yard must be a happy place with the beautiful flowers blooming. Praying your doctor appointments all hold good news.

QuiltGranma said...

Happy Anniversary! Beautiful flowers!

Tanya said...

Congratulations on being a wonderful example of being and staying married! I hope my husband and I make it that far also.

I'm sorry to hear of all the protestors. Here in Japan we are rather united about wearing masks and being vaccinated and the only complaints towards the government is that they don't act quickly enough about putting the country into emergency mode. Our little town has had numerous cases also so we stay close to home.

Jenn Jilks said...

I am so sorry about your COVID numbers. I fear that will happen here, too. Our convoys are still rumbling around the province. What a mess.

Fundy Blue said...

I'm glad that you are back, Jean! The lilies are gorgeous! I've been away too. First because of how sick my aggressive thyroid drug medicine was making me, and second because of traveling in the last week or so. I'm trying to hit my blogging rhythm again. I'm sorry that Covid cases are going up in New Zealand. It seems to reach everywhere. The Hawaiian Islands are remaining careful and have more restrictive rules than on the Mainland. Terry and I are remaining vigilant ourselves since it's been almost six months since we had our booster shots. I do not want to get Covid! Please stay safe, my friend! Take care!

Shilpa said...

Amazing flowers . It’s always a dream for me to have a big garden or backyard . Probably soon I should have one