i wrote a while back about collecting and spreading some beach grass seeds on the beach to try and build the bank a bit higher and hopefully prevent waves from crashing right over the top of it. i was a bit late on that one. they’ve probably all been washed away now, or, maybe they’ve been washed down through the shingle and into the sand where they can sprout. that’s… no, surely a plant that’s adapted to grow only by the sea will have seeds that will survive being doused in salt water. worms don’t like sea water, that’s for sure. the little patch of lawn in the yard here that had water pooled up in it was covered in dead worms the day after, when the water had drained away. there were hundreds of them.
anyway. last thursday there were some huge waves washing water right over the beach, onto the road, down the road then back onto the beach. it’s a bit of a concern when you live next to the ocean then suddenly one afternoon it’s in your back yard. there was an actual river of sea water running down the road. normally if it floods here the water goes the other way, so that was weird. i had to put my waders on just to walk down the road far enough to see where all this water was coming from. on the higher, and dry ground further up the road there was a group of locals at a house that’s right next to the beach. all just standing there on the deck watching waves come through the back gate. there’s a lady who does some housework for the old bugger and i know her daughter so i’ve known her for ages so i went and said hi. this somehow turned into me being volunteered for a search and rescue operation. “adam! come look there’s water in the camp ground!” uhh, okay. then, “adam! look there’s water up behind that fence, let’s go be nosy.” uhh, okay. finally, “let’s go see denise, she might need help moving things.”
uhh, okay. but i’m the one with the moustache so if anyone gets to be called the sheriff on this little operation it’s me. turns out no one got to be called the sheriff. a shame.
i tend to forget how much drama goes on around here since i try not to be involved in any of it and it also turned out that denise didn’t need rescuing, i needed rescuing before i accidentally said something that got me involved. when i finally got out of there, around the corner and nearer to my house there’s two more neighbours. so again i stop to say hi. then denise’s husband drives past, mortal enemy of this new group of neighbours i’ve just ran into. and i was just at his house to see if they needed help. these are the days of our lives. what fucking mine field have i just haphazardly wandered into? if i were 12 years old this all might make sense but righto, fuckit, i’m going home. by the most direct route. even if i do get blown up.
jimmy was here with a few mates on friday night. they were all going to go whitebaiting the next morning but i didn’t see him the next day so there was probably no whitebait to be caught. the twins names are libby and billie, they’re still in hospital since they’re not gaining weight fast enough. he doesn’t seem concerned though. he reckons he doesn’t know what all the fuss is about, he’s been sleeping fine. at home. with the twins in hospital.
i visited the old bugger on sunday morning. if he calls and i ask how much firewood he has inside he says it’s fine, he can fetch some and not to worry about it. but when i do go visit there’s three pieces of wood in the wood box and a stick of kindling left. so i filled the woodbox and cut at least two weeks of kindling. i hadn’t seen him for a while so he was especially chatty. there’s a few afternoons of things to be done in the garden so i think i’ll go up later this week and sort that out. i might even zip into temuka and get some pea seeds. well, peas. since they seed from peas. anyway. peter and i finished the raised bed garden here, i’ve had the dirt all piled up ready for the wood frame to be built around it. it felt so good to rake that dirt level.
oh. ha. last tuesday the old bugger called to say he’s been to see his doctor and aside from his heart valve his health is good. blood pressure’s fine etc. so his doctor said to him that most of the aches and pains he’s experiencing are probably just due to old age and not to worry about them. unless it’s chest pain. or dizziness. so he replies to his doctor’s diagnosis of old age with, “oh, yeah, that could be it, i’ve never been this old before.” he was so proud of his joke he said he had to call and tell me about it.
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