I am a bit behind with my blogs. I did not have the best internet while traveling on the ship, and disembarked in Auckland, New Zealand just this past Saturday (it’s now Saturday, February 3rd here). Getting used to the time change has been interesting. I just look at the world clock to ensure I’m not contacting anyone at home in the middle of the night.
Currently I am in the far northern part of the north island in a smaller community called Kaitaia. I cannot put into words exactly how beautiful this part of the world is. I am slightly delayed leaving here, but how could I complain when surrounded by sunshine, bright beautiful water, and harbors. New Zealand people are pleasant and cheerful. It’s lovely to learn more about the Māori culture and meet some people descended from the original inhabitants of the area.
The topic for week #3 is “Favorite Photograph”. Last year, I wrote about my great-grandfather Pelz, and the picture of him with his two brothers. They look so dapper in that photograph! This year, I’m going with the other side of the family.
This is a favorite picture of my mother. She was a young child when it was taken. Her hair is very curly (rag curls, I would guess since her mother would do that to my hair as well!). She is out back behind the barn my grandfather built when he moved the house to his land. She has her little watering can with her, and she looks so happy! It must be early in the planting season since she has a coat on. We usually would start planting around May 15th, although it can still be chilly without risk of frost on the ground.
In the background to the left, you can see my grandfather’s garage. He was a jack-of-all-trades, and truly a excellent mechanic and carpenter. He enjoyed doing that type of work. He liked to grow food for us to eat, but never expressed any regret we did not have a large farm for him to work on. He had grown up working on his grandfather’s 100-acre farm, as well as a great-uncle’s property. He much preferred to work on cars, tractors, lawnmowers.
That’s my favorite picture for this year. Next week’s topic is “Witness to History”. 