23 January: Monday. More rain. More reading. Finished The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. 24 January: Tuesday. Today we took a ride up the Pohongina Valley Road. This is the area Buzz served when he worked for the Feilding and Districts Vet Club (1972-74) We first stopped at the Raumai Reserve and walked down to the river. Then we drove on to the Totara Reserve and walked along the Fern Walk track. It is a well maintained, easy walk with the odd steep bit but wa...

23 January: Monday. More rain. More reading. Finished The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.  24 January: Tuesday. Today we took a ride up the Pohongina Valley Road. This is the area Buzz served when he worked for the Feilding and Districts Vet Club (1972-74) We first stopped at the Raumai Reserve and walked down to the river. Then we drove on to the Totara Reserve and walked along the Fern Walk track. It is a well maintained, easy walk with the odd steep bit b...

16 January: Monday. The day began beautifully. We drove through the Manawatu Gorge toward Pahiatua, then east on the Pongaroa Road to Akitio on the east coast to have a day at the beach. It was sunny, cool, and windy. We walked along the rocky water's edge, collected shells, and generally enjoyed the day. On the way home, we got a message that Max had had a serious skiing accident in Colorado. A flurry of phone calls, emails, and Facebook messages followed. He ha...

16 January: Monday. The day began beautifully. We drove through the Manawatu Gorge toward Pahiatua, then east on the Pongaroa Road to Akitio on the east coast to have a day at the beach. It was sunny, cool, and windy. We walked along the rocky water's edge, collected shells, and generally enjoyed the day. On the way home, we got a message that Max had had a serious skiing accident in Colorado. A flurry of phone calls, emails, and Facebook messages follo...

9 January: Monday. Another cool, blustery day, but the weather didn't bother us. We spent a delightful day with Howard and Jackie Williamson at their home. Morning tea morphed into lunch then afternoon tea. These friends, in their eighties, are full of vitality. The conversations ranged from family to politics to personal histories and then some. Jackie is still painting, and they have just published a book titled Hold Your Horses. It is a biography of Jackie's l...