computers again

Welllll!   It is now almost two weeks since my hard drive gave up the ghost.  my computer experts have been working very hard at it, but computers seem to have their own personalities.  They DEFINITELY sulk; they practise Go Slows; they are mischievous in their actions because you   t h i n k  they are mended and then something totally different and completely unexpected comes up and you cant work the gadget at all.  

I now realise that a computer is actually quite important in life at the moment!   but also am aware that it can dominate, so have to be careful not to let it!

I have put this lovely photo in just to restore the balance in life between machines and nature.  This is in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, and I go there a great deal from Richmond Hill Bed and Breakfast.

Computer crashing.

My computer crashed a week ago, here at Richmond Hill Bed and Breakfast, which was not helpful.  I have been thinking during this time how essential or inessential a computer is.  Am I dominated by a machine?   The answer seems to be that in actual fact other than the emails, where I went to a dear kind neighbour, I did not miss it much.   I have to admit though that I had just finished all the most important projects I had been doing, or otherwise I think it would have mattered a great deal more.

I read an article recently which said that people are dominated by the web and their computers.  I do know one particular person who seems to zero in on the computer as often as possible, and relentlessly, to the detriment of human communication.   This has to be harmful to the human spirit eventually, because we are human and no matter how wonderful and helpful a computer is, we cannot allow ourselves to be dominated by them!

Cycling

We went down to Scarborough beach the other day from Richmond Hill Bed and Breakfast and saw these cyclists en route.   Cycling is really popular in this part of the world, and frequentley you can see them cycling up and down the hill tracks.  Whew!   I am not fit enough for that but am full of admiration for those who do.

Aren't these views of the bay around and beyond Lyttelton beautiful????   Spring in this area is breathtakingly beautiful.   We drove through the little town, and on round the wiggly road right round the bay, and ended up half way down the other side at Orton Bradley Park.  This was one of the early settler's homes, and has some huge old trees, including Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), and a huge Horse chestnut (Aesculum hippocastum) with giant 'candles' flowering.   There is a beautiful Rhodendron walk, which is in full bloom, and some of them have the most glorious perfume, so there we were ooohing and aaaahing and smelling every flower we could.  Some of the plants are very tall.  In between are lots of the Himalayan Mountain Lily, (Crinodendron giganteum) in various stages of growth.  They will look beautiful soon, when the Rhodies are mainly over.  

There are various buildings with farm related  items in them, and are museums, and if you are technically minded which we aren't, you would find it fascinating.  There were people in there lost in wonder at it all.

It is very hot today, and at Richmond Hill Bed and Breakfast I am catching up on lots of paperwork, but had a lovely walk on the beach with a friend this morning.

We drove over to Lyttelton on Sunday from Richmond Hill Bed and Breakfast .   This view is only a ten minute drive from us, driving up Evans Pass Road, and wow what a view when you get to the top!   You look down into the ancient volcanic caldera.  On the left of both pictures is out to the open sea, and to the right this wonderful huge natural protected harbour, which is why Lyttelton is the Port for Christchurch. The second photo is looking at tiny little Diamond Harbour, and a ferry potters across all day long backwards and forwards from Lyttelton.  Sometimes you can see dolphins as you motor across,playing in the water.

It was such a glorious warm, sunny Spring day, and we spent the whole day looking at the views en route, and going for a picnic, and then to She, which is a great little restaurant in Governors Bay, which specialises in chocolate.  We are both chocoholics! 

On to the next job....

Sea and Sky at Sumner

The sun is shining, and it is a wonderful warm pleasant temperature here at Richmond Hill Bed and Breakfast and I can hear the sound of the waves coming into the shore.  I LOVE that sound.  As a child I lived near the sea on various occasions, and perhaps that is why.   I also love looking at the sea, in all weathers.  Living here is so special because I am so near the sea, and all I have to do is look out of my sitting room window and out of my kitchen window and out of the bedroom windows to see it.  It can be comforting and daunting, peaceful or roaring, but it is always the most wonderful presence to be near.

This photo is actually of Scarborough beach at high tide.  Scarborough beach is one half of Sumner, and Sumner beach is the other half, with Cave Rock in the middle, and at the far end of Sumner beach, Shag Rock.  Pigeons nest there, and not Shags, or if there are, I have never noticed them.  The Shags are amazing as they fly into the Botanic Gardens and nest there!

lots of jobs to do so must go.