Judging by the heavy breathing of the curtains through the open window in the early hours of this morning, 2013 came dancing in on a Wellington wind with a twirl and a shudder. I can’t tell for sure as I was deep asleep avoiding the whole midnight New Year... 
Obedience may not be the strongest characteristic of a basset hound but I still kid myself that as the pack leader in our household that I hold sway over my bassets hounds. Those moments of authority and control seem only to occur when I have food on my plate or a... 
Tinsel and santas in the shops may have started to tarnish but nature is still pulling out all the stops to keep the spirit of Christmas alive.  A cousin of the coastal Pohutukawa, the Northern Rata tree dots in our valley around this time of year bringing a touch... Passing through the longest day is always a bitter-sweet moment for me. A day to marvel at nature’s finest but knowing that we stand at the pinnacle of the year’s light and it’s all downhill from here. At least until the shortest day and we start... For all the discombobulation of Christmas in the southern hemisphere, having a spot of good weather does seem to boost festivities. After much procrastination on the part of weather forecasters, they did in the end promise a sunny day for the Wellington region which... 
