A Quiet Week

Being able to walk out your door for a long hike just feels better environmentally than getting in a car to do it!

Week 9 starts off with us exploring the “track” at the dead end of our road. It meanders (not always clearly marked) through sheep paddocks, private property and City Council maintained trails with nice views - very cool!

There is no English class this week due to the Eid and Queen’s Birthday Holidays. Tim makes it back into the co-working space for a day, but then I tweak my back somehow and the week takes a different turn.

Tim steps up to handle the animal chores (prime objective - donkey poop) and walk Whistle on the windy, rainy, rainbow beach while I nurse my back - grumbling just a little with annoyed frustration and perhaps more than a bit of impatience. Getting old is less than desirable at times!

The experience illuminates for us how lucky we are to be doing this task heavy, multi-animal sit together. When “life” like this or something else happens, the other of us can step in.

During some stressful moments between us about communication and stubbornness (imagine that!) around the chores, two things happen. First, we look at those donkeys and their quivering lips asking for their carrots and apples, and LAUGH. Second, we take a breath, get some Queen blaring in the house, dance around and agree how, in the future, we will make sure that we each know the entire routine from the beginning of every sit.

The quiet week also gives us pause to reflect on the fact that this house sit and our entire New Zealand stay are now more than half complete. Emotions and discussions flow - about what we really want to do before leaving, about home, about what’s next, about LIFE.

There is also plenty of time to watch birds and update my list! Wild Birds In New Zealand