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Tuesday 23 June 2015

The Flooding in June 2015

It would seem that every winter has an interesting weather event.  

This winter it was a month worth of rain in a 48 hour period, and living on the Manawatu floodplains can only mean one thing - flooding.

Thankfully we were spared any damage or threat to life and property.  My thoughts go out to my friends in Wanganui who have suffered much worse.

I have read and heard numerous stories of fellow Manawatu residents driving their vehicles through deep water, flooded farms, close calls with water levels not quite reaching dwellings.  This is our little photographic collection of water on our road.

 It does boggle the mind, the amount of water around.  Eagle commented, "Just think, all that water was a cloud above us not long ago!"  

In the picture below to the left is the Linton Drain, designed to channel excess surface water south to join the Manawatu River near Foxton.  It is very full here with less than a meter, I estimate, from the top of the stop bank.  The water to the right is covering farm paddocks.  
Standing on the little bridge looking north up the Linton Drain.
These are the paddocks near the Linton Drain about 500 meters from our house.
Looking down the road from the little bridge.  Flooding on both sides of the road.
Trees along a boundary fence.
Water for miles.
The view from my kitchen window.  Flooded paddocks seen in the background.
Our back yard was about 20cm deep in water.
Flooding a part of the workshop shed.  
 Now that the rain has stopped, there is the wait while the water level recedes.  We have decided we quite like our new "lake" views, especially at sunset when the light reflections are very pretty!

~Lorna




May's Musings

May was a somewhat quite month.  Butterfly did have a birthday but we haven't had her celebration yet.  

This month we had a crotchet class with 2 other home educating families.  The teacher was a lovely South African lady who was holidaying in NZ with her family.
Crotchet class
One of the children was having a bit of trouble understanding place value in maths so I made this helpful manipulative.  Decimal Street is a Math-U-See concept.  
For more about Math-U-See
Bedtime stories with Daddy.
 May gave us our first cold snap and frosts.
Investigating the frozen water and frosty table.
Arrow tipping out the ice.
Looking like glass with pretty, very fine ice crystals.
Crystal and Blossom re-discovering icy car windows.  It was lovely watching them remember this from winters gone by.
Of course they had to taste the ice too!
 Our crafts of the month.
Orange skin candle holder. Instructions
Our table center piece 
~Lorna

Our Coromandel Holiday

Usually we go on a holiday in February, but this year we were delayed until April.  We always have the best time on this annual getaway because we spend it with special friends.  Here is our holiday story in photos.

On the trip up we stopped in Taupo for lunch and to stretch our legs.
Walking through the thermal hot water pools on the lake edge.
After the long almost 9 hour journey (that includes stops) we made it to our destination.  
Inseparable

Hard working lads.

So much to talk about.
So much fun to be had together.
The big children hang out.
Very tired little boys.
The older children were leaders at a holiday program.  Waiting for the bus.
Never to old for a playground!
Over he goes!
Yikes, little ones!
Cedar and Arrow in Whitianga.
Little pirates.
Blossom looking for sea life.
Starfish!
Eagle taking the little ones in a queue for food at the holiday program.
Crystal on the water slide.
Arrow on the water slide.
Blossom on the water slide.
Cedar on the water slide.
Farm life - Crystal feeding the ducks.
Farm life - Blossom feeding Mabel
Farm life - Crystal milking a cow
Farm life - Blossom milking a cow
Farm life - Me milking a cow
Adventures in the hay.

Buddies.

The blending of two families for a week.  Such memories of fun and love.
On the journey home...
Paeroa of course!
And the Hobbit House (Information Centre) in Matamata.
Gathering chestnuts and acorns to plant at home. 
Dinner stop in Taupo 
And even squeezing in a lesson in rock types while we waited for our hot chips to cook.
Dinner on the lake front.
A hot foot soak before the final leg of the journey begins.
Sweetie boy Cedar
~Lorna