One of my first blog posts had the same title. I’m pleased to say that New Zealand has not changed much since then (January 2014, just after we arrived in Malaysia) and the sheep still graze safely. It is cause for gratitude when one hears and reads of the mayhem elsewhere in the world. But it is certainly not cause for complacency. I spent a couple of days over Queen’s Birthday weekend in Northland, where I glimpsed this valley sparkling in the sun. It made me heart lift!

I love pigs. When we lived in Ohaupo I had a dedicated bucket in which I collected all our food scraps, which I took to the pigs at a nearby farm. They would see me coming down the road and run to the fence in anticipation of a tasty treat. It used to intrigue me that they would sort through the fruit and vege scraps and eat certain things first – the blackened banana skins were always the first to go. They grunted with pleasure while eating and when all the scraps were finished, they’d look up me as if to ask is that all? I wasn’t surprised to learn that according to the Chinese zodiac, I was born in the year of the pig. The pig in the photo is a Kunekune from the Yealands wine estate, where they have introduced these cute, clean and trainable animals to keep down the vegetation between the vines (http://www.yealands.co.nz/petes-blog/2012/07/09/our-new-addition-kunekune-pigs).

As I work at editing a thesis this morning, I can hear the distinctive song of a grey warbler outside the window. This tiny bird is endemic in New Zealand and there is a huge population of them all over the country. Yet I have never seen one. Hence the use of this wonderful Forest & Bird image instead of a pic of my own. Apparently it is only the male riroriro that sings so beautifully – amazing that such a loud sound can emanate from such a small body. It is delightful to hear and a welcome accompaniment to my work.