It's Vuzhí Day Again!

And you know what that means? Rain! ... Or is that snow out my window?! Nah. Couldn't be. It's the Holy Day of Vuzhí, Goddess of Life, after all, which means that springtime is finally here.

Celebrate! Dance! Sing! Plan your wedding four months hence! Better yet, plan mine!

No more snow. Curses upon Rívorí, Goddess of Global Warming! Or, um, Goddess of Wildfire, but it's all about the same, right? Uncontrolled heat? Death, destruction, devestation? I'm sure She is Who all the Algoreites are worshipping. With Algore as Her conduit, of course.

UPDATE: Now it's definitely snowing. Big juicy flakes mixed in with tiny rain. I guess I have to credit Vítí, the Defender of Global Cooling!

When It Feels Okay to Untuck Your Shirt at Work

Monday - after 5 p.m.
Tuesday - after 4 p.m.
Wednesday - after 3 p.m.
Thursday - after 2 p.m.
Friday - after 1 p.m.
Weekends - always

Feb 1 evening

So here we are in Dunedin. Drove to the end of the Otago Peninsula to catch a 6:45 tour at the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Reserve. Curvy road down the shoreline. We arrived (sort of) a couple minutes late. Actually, I didn't think the sign was the sign so I drove past. I gave up on penguins and went to the Albatross Centre instead.

(Chunlin's photo above)

Didn't get any photos of flying albatrosses. Hmph. Fun to watch them soar and dwarf the gulls though.

Those birds are big. Saw a few in flight. But not enough wind over here for more to be playing in the wind by the cliffs. Saw some warming their eggs/hatchlings. ... Now at KFC, after we checked in at our motel. I tried to pack too much into today.

Feb 1 afternoon

(Chunlin's photo above)


(Chunlin's photo above)


(Chunlin's photo above)


(Chunlin's photo above)

I'm tired of curvy roads. Especially round-gravel-covered curvy roads. A few (twenty) km of such roads in the Catlins, going to Slope Point. And then it was so windy that neither of us felt like walking to the point itself. But we did at Waipapa Pt, earlier. Saw a few sea lions and the lighthouse and waves crashing fifty feet ashore by the wind. Strong steady wind that made Mt Luxmore look like a broken ceiling fan.

Feb 1 morning

Good morning! Rained last night, wind blew hard. Still having gusts & showers, but also quiet time. Seven o'clock, my stuff is all downstairs. We can see the lake already, so it's bound to be a nicer day than yesterday.

Down the hill w/o too much rain. Some sun, even. Left top at 7:45, got to the beach at 9:25. ... Rainbows are a dime a dozen in these parts.

Stopped for a delish steak pie by the lake before dropping off our sleeping bags & walking back to the B&B. The boat driver offered to drive, but we declined. Unloaded/reloaded into our car, a couple hours drive and now we're in Invercargill having lunch.

Jan 31 evening

(Chunlin's photo above)



(Chunlin's photo above)

Lord Almighty! It's windy up there. Seriously, I'd say 70 mph w/ gusts up to 100 mph. Blow-you-over windy.

Now you can see forever in all directions. Snow-capped mountains to the west, or else we'd have a good ocean view, no doubt. Almost can see it to the southeast. Did I mention it was windy?

It's pretty windy back here at the hut, too... Quite an exposed location, now that we can see. ... Dinnertime.

Jan 31 afternoon

The rain stopped about three and we went for a hike (after a short lie-down) up Mt Luxmore. The clouds lifted as we went.

(Chunlin's photo above)