Travel Blog

Well, the wind dropped out, the sun shone, and it was gorgeous.

The house overlooks a valley (the one that I keep painting). Apparently, it's reclaimed land. There's a small creeklet that flows out to the ocean through a culvert in the dike. The birds just LOVE to hang around, especially when there is lots of standing water. With all the recent rain, they're in bird heaven.

The main suspects are the Pukeko (the geeky, gawky, chicken-like character in the Aug. 12 blog), Lapwings, and gulls. These all have one thing in common: They are definitely not songbirds. They SCREECH. Loudly. Whenever they are disturbed, such as when a Harrier comes along. It ain't pretty, but it sure works as a warning system to everyone in the neighbourhood!

Boy, did it blow yesterday! Some gusts were upwards of 40 knots, and the rain was blowing sideways. But it was warm. Go figure. The garden furniture got blown across the yard, and a lot more fruit self-picked from the citrus trees.

I was a weather refugee, driven indoors by the wind. Wind is one of the main triggers for my migraines, so there was no way I could venture out. There weren't even any good clouds to paint. So I made up for it today, painting skies. I'm really struggling with these. Partly it's my failure to 'see' and remember the shapes and the colours of the clouds, and partly it's my not having the necessary watercolour painting skills. For example, I don't know just how long to let any particular layer dry before I bleed in a bit more colour, how to soften edges without getting washback, etc. (I really should have taken Clive Powsey's course at MISSA.) But that's what practice is all about, eh?

There was an accident just south of Warkworth yesterday. My Beloved was being treated to beer at the venerable Puhoi Pub, and he and his host got caught in the traffic hold-up on their way home. Shades of the Malahat Drive on Vancouver Island - just one road heading north and south, and any glitch can stop the traffic dead in its tracks.

Another indoor day today. Not that I don't get outside. I did go for a walk, but when I got home I had to hang my raingear, shoes and hat near the fireplace - after they'd done their dripping in the laundry room. Thanks to my Beloved for having a beautiful fire going.

Then I tried a sketch from a photo I had taken at Scandrett Park. We've been there a few times, but it's so exposed that if there's any wind at all, it's next to impossible to work en plein air. Not only do I have to worry about triggering a migraine (bane of my existence), but I don't know how many times I've had the watercolour paper flip over or even blow away entirely. (Remembrances of standing out in a field in Metchosin, holding the canvas on the easel with one hand as I painted with the other). Thing is, when the paper moves, it usually collides with the paintbrush, and I end up with lots of unintended marks. On the other hand, working from photos is just not the same. You can't see the subtleties of the colours. It's too static. And you aren't surrounded by the smells and sounds that somehow add so much to the piece.

All of that having been said, I have been wanting to paint the folds of the hills at Scandrett ever since I first saw them. So, here goes, in abesntia:

Scandrett Park

TODAY'S TIDBIT

It seems that table salt here comes in two sizes: large, coarse grains for salt mills, and very, very fine grains for salt shakers. I keep undersalting or oversalting. It's surprising how hard it is calculating the amount you need when the grains are not the usual size.

Dreary day today. The driz started early and gradually evolved into a pretty steady downpour. Definitely not a day for doing field sketches. That was OK, because I had a failure from yesterday that needed to be tried again.

Aside: I woke very early (3-ish) and couldn't get back to sleep because of monkey brain. Now, if I were back home, I'd probably crawl out of bed, lie down in front of the woodstove (remember, it's winter down here) and do a round of relaxation yoga. That usually works at sending me back off to dreamland. But there's no way I can do that here in this house. I'd freeze. So, instead I lie there and let my mind race.

Now, you'd think that with all the upheaval in our plans lately (Cornwall on; Cornwall off; France on; France off; new Cornwall on?; France back on agenda?; etc.), that I'd be lying there fretting about where we'll be in a few months. But NO! Not this time. This time, I was lying there thiking about painting! This is HUGE. The whole point of this daily practice of sketching has been to get me back into 'art' head. And it's working!!!

So, anyway, this afternon I tackled the scene yet again... and again. And, third time lucky, I guess, I can live with the last one. It's 'pretty', rather than the dramatic rendering that I'm looking for (my ongoing curse), but at least it's acceptable.

The Bach at Pakiri*

TODAY'S TIDBIT:

*That wasn't a typo. A vacation home here in NZ is not called a 'camp' or a 'cottage' or a 'cabin'. It's called a 'bach' (rhymes with 'latch').

What a difference a day makes. Today, we went to the beach. Pakiri Beach, north of here, very close to Goat Island Reserve.

Pakiri Beach

(Goat Island in the background)

Miles of beautiful white sand, only a few surfers and a couple of Oystercatchers. Oh, and the gulls of course, gathering around as we nibbled our sandwiches.

After the ups and downs of the last couple of days - having plans fall apart, things being totally up in the air, and having to wait for information from Canada - we needed to get out of the house and clear our heads. Well, Pakiri Beach was the perfect place. I painted while my sweetie explored, then we walked until the beach ran out. We came home whole again, ready to make decisions and looking forward to the next leg of our journey.

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Back to the roads. OMG! As My Beloved remarked while we crawled along a gravel mountainside track (marked as a main road on the map), "We have roads like this in Canada. We call them logging roads.". But it was worth the drive!

It was a better day today. No huge disappointments like yesterday. There was even some sun this morning, and the house heated up very nicely. We met a couple more of the neighbours and their aging dog. We watched the Harriers hunting over the valley and getting harassed by the magpies. Just a quiet, more hopeful day

More clouds, of course

I read Felipe's blog (Caminoheads). He was picking corn for his guests. Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful to have fresh corn on the cob right now!!! Mind you, I did use kale from the garden to make an eggy dish to have with roast cabbage. Yum.

TODAY'S TIDBIT

The cuts of meat have different names down here. I'm totally lost. At least at the butcher's they can translate into North American for me.

We had a big disappointment today. We had lined up a wonderful housesit near Toulouse in France. Great homeowner, two nifty looking dogs, and 30 acres of 140-year-old forest. A land art project in the woods. Plus the use of a car.

This morning, it all fell through. Well, actually, it had been starting to topple for a few days. Since we'd necessarily be in the 'Schengen Area' (EU) for more than 90 days, we'd need visas. This requires an amazing amount of documentation, but that's OK. We could put it all together, bit by bit. The catch is that we can't apply from here. We have to do so in person in Vancouver after we get back to BC on October 11. Our prospective homeowner needed to make her reservations and could not wait until then. So we mututally decided that she would have to go ahead and plan to use some other housesitters. We are all quite disappointed. And talking now about maybe next year...

Just after our Skype conversation, I looked out the window, and the dark clouds mirrored my mood. How appropriate!

Gloomy Morning

Bummed out in Scotts landing. Will go for a long walk to get my head sorted.

Back to clouds, both weather-wise and in art. There wasn't much colour in anything, so I did a drawing in graphite. Used one of Jude's pencils, and it turned out to be a 2H. Hmmm. Oh well, gray sky.

A lot of stuff going on in the background. Considerable stress. More later when it all resolves.

The Olympics are a big deal here in New Zealand. And well they should be. The Kiwis are doing very well indeed! With a population about the same size as that of BC, they're ahead of Canada in the standings (fewer medals overall, but more silvers rather than bronzes). Not that Canada should be ashamed. I think we should be proud of our athletes even if they're not all gold medallists. They've worked their butts off for years and years to go there and represent us, and good on them!

The Kiwis have done particularly well in water sports (five medals today alone). It's not surprising when you see all the boats at anchor, all the dinghies parked in yards, and the boat ramps everywhere. Speaking of which, here's another take on that launching ramp down at Scotts Landing:

TODAY'S TIDBIT:

I think I'm running out of first impressions. Maybe because we've been here five weeks now, and we're starting to get used to things? But, here goes one last one - and a bit of a grumble at that. A lot of NZ drivers are jerks - just like a lot of drivers in Canada, though I'd have to say we Canucks are generally moe courteous and patient.

Another gorgeous day today. Spent the morning sorting through the beginnings of obtaining a visa for France. (Maybe it's because of the horrendous attacks, but France is getting very demanding when it comes to visas. Good on them, but it does make for an awful lot of paperwork on our part.). Treated myself to an afternoon of sketching in the park at the end of the peninsula. Warm sun, turquoise water, Oystercatchers working the beach... what's not to like?

Launching Ramp, Scotts Landing

I'm trying to be. more watercoloury... Hmmm.

TODAY'S TIDBIT

A couple of times each morning, just before the news, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) plays the call of the 'bird of the day'. Now how's that for making your listening public more aware of the natural world around them?