These photos were taken at Takapuna beach, north of the Auckland business district, across a big bridge. We went out and test drove a boat a few weeks ago.
We also had fun last night at my company's Christmas party. Yeah, it was on a Tuesday night, in November, and no one bothers calling it a "holiday" party. Whatever. We had to leave unexpectedly (9 pm, we'd had 3.5 hrs of visiting and food and drinks, so that was enough anyway). Barb called to say Fargo was missing. I thought I was going to puke when she told me this, because this is very unusual for him. My Rottweiler is very attached to people, and never just takes off for the hell of it. My immediate assumption was that he had left the property, somehow getting past the gates, and been hit by a car. Or, someone driving by picked him up (he is friendly and handsome). Those were the only possible scenarios. Why else would he be gone that long, and not come when called? Barb and Eric alerted the neighbors, walked up and down the hill and neighborhood, calling him, and had no response. They must have been worried sick. To think that my dog had come all the way across the Pacific, into the opposite hemisphere, on the other side of the earth, to go through 30 days of isolation, only to end up roadkill- this was horrifying.
Barb called back shortly after we started our drive back home to tell us he was back! What relief I felt! Eric found him on the property next to theirs. He'd been hiding in a shed because he got shocked by the electric fence, ran away in fear and pain, and didn't know how to get back across the fence. Fargo is attracted to the other side of the electric fence because there are cows there, which he's very interested in, but we've kept him away (hooves and horns, you know). Fargo was out alone after eating his dinner, so no one saw what happened. The yard is fenced but there's no physical fence where the electricity is, just 2 wires running horizontally.
So you would think we could safely retire to bed with the cats and dog then. But no, we had another shock- one of the cats had peed on our new mattress. UGH UGH UGH, Why? That has never happened before. I had just changed the litter. The mattress has a wool pad on top, you can't take it off to clean. I had to change the sheets, Darin rotated the mattress, and I used some enzymatic cleaner on the spot. After work today we bought a mattress protector pad. I'm so pissed at myself for not doing it sooner. Today Darin let the cats spend more time outside the bedroom (they've been confined mostly), and there was no repeat performance. Instead, Jazz managed to pick a fight with and chase Eric's cat Aqua. I don't think anyone got hurt. Just 2 more weeks, kitties, and we'll move you into our new house.
The chicks are getting bigger. There are just 5 of the 7 left, as two escaped the cage and were eaten by Pukekos or falcons. The turkeys have taken up residence across the street on the neighbor's land. We don't have any way to confine them to B&E's land, as they are tame but still free range wild turkeys.
