Plum blossom

Last night, for the first time in months, I had to strip off a layer of bedding because I was too hot. 

There is a stream of wind coming all the way from Fiji and Tonga, instead of the Ross Ice Shelf. What a difference it makes. The daytime temperature aren’t much higher than on a sunny spring day, but we have clouds and beneath them it’s mild.

We have even had some rain. Well, drizzle. It hasn’t amounted to more than 1mm, but it’s better than none at all.

Somehow I have ricked the left side of my neck. It is very painful some of the time, despite drugs and anti-flamme, so it has been a day of light duties. 

Fortunately walking seems to ease the discomfort, so we had a long wander this afternoon, chatting to various locals on the way and catching up with the news. 

It was the kind of news I’m happy to keep up with: the soapmaker has bought a new car; S &N are having multiple bonfires on their property over the next three days; D is going to be chainsawing old tree trunks over the road tomorrow to take home for firewood.

This is stuff of interest in a small community and is much more palatable than hearing about the shenanigans of our  politicians, or the interpretation of today’s opinion poll. 

There is a NZ general election approaching and the media are falling over themselves to make new news with the analysis of the latest poll they’ve commissioned. 

I am largely avoiding any national news at the moment, and thereby I avoid shouting in frustration at the radio / TV / screen.