A week ago I was travelling back from my Spring break in Mahia.  It doesn’t seem like a week ago so much has been happening since. Good job I have all my digital memories and this blog to rekindle the fun experiences.

It was a truly special week to be able to spend time with my best buddy.  We talked, we laughed, we talked, we ate, we talked, we laughed, we talked …… get the picture?

We also took lots of pictures.  To wrap up my reportage of my break to Mahia, here’s the pictures that bring special memories for me.

The top picture was sunrise on our first morning.  Yes, I know what were we doing up for sun rise?  With two bassets in a strange place and two women of an age where we do early mornings rather than late nights, what can you expect.

Here’s a shot of a typical view when we were walking on the farm hills.  I love the way you can see the contours of the land.  It really does look like something out of Lord of the Rings!

Sticking with the landscape, here’s a shot of the cleared farmland butting up against the native bush.  The bush is now protected as a conservation area.  Now here’s the thing.  The rest of the land will have been native bush but the original settlers to New Zealand would have cleared the land for farming.  Can you imagine how much work that must have taken?

Fortnum and Mason really enjoyed the countryside too.  They would sit for hours and watch the world go by.  They’d have sniffed every blade of grass and grain of sand if we’d let them.  it was their holiday too after all so there’s nothing wrong with them taking the time to take it all in.

Fortnum loved to look at the hills and sea

Mason loved the sea too and would spend ages resting his chin on the veranda rail. Perfect basset height!  Having the sun shining on his face was an added bonus – he loves to bask in sunshine!

I love this view – the way it frames the end of the Mahia peninsular.  Shame I failed to get a shot with the goats posing on top.  It wasn’t that I didn’t try!

My final top pick for landscape shots.  This tree sat lonely on the hillside but cut a really awesome view.

As you’d expect my funniest recollections are of the bassets who settled into their new home and routine without too much fuss.  They thought they were kings of the castle keeping a watchful eye from “their” veranda on anything passing by.  This of course included the farmer and his dogs.  Now you have to understand that these dogs are working dogs – obedient, hard working, live outside and they earn their keep.  The complete opposite to the basset hounds.  Every morning and evening as they passed by our paddock (and the bassets on the veranda) Fortnum and Mason would jump up and look out for them, usually running down to the fence to see them off.  You could hear the thoughts of the farm dogs “softie, city dogs – got your toys to play with?”  I’d like to point out that my bassets are in fact country dogs, they are hard nut sniffing hounds, and, oh, OK they did have one or two toys to play with.  So what’s wrong with a fluffy bone between friends?

Here’s the farmer and his dogs heading up the lane.  You have to look close to spot them all!

Here’s Fortnum and Mason checking out what’s going on.  I told you Mason loved the veranda rail – just the right height for putting your paws up on to make yourself look taller than you really are!

Here’s what the boys got up to on an evening.  Can you imagine the farm dogs getting this sort of treatment?  Do you reckon they’ve got a fluffy soft cushion to lie on, a fire to keep them warm and such a close relationship with the other dogs that they’d sleep nose to nose?  Can’t see if myself!

The only work my boys tried to do whilst they were away was help Naomi put out some washing to dry.  Help, trip her up maybe?

They did work hard at being photographed though!

And taking walks with me!

Or just being a beach bum, sniffing the sand till it sticks to your nose!

All this.  And it was only a week ago.  Seems like much longer given I’ve been back to work, MT has returned home and work outside on the land at Domestic Executive HQ has restarted.  But more on that from tomorrow.  Hope you enjoyed my postcards from Mahia.