Spindy drifty

It dawned like a beautiful spring day. Clear blue skies and calm. So we all headed up the mountain. There were a few cars coming down as we headed up about 10.30am. Always a bit of a worry. And sure enough, there were strong Southwesterlies, which are not as warm as Westerlies and not as cold as Southerlies. But put off a great many Kiwis who are so used to great conditions. It was pretty windy on the chairlift and looked like pure ice below, but over the other side of the mountain, in The Captains Basin, it was a little more sheltered and the wind had created powder snow in places and the icy bits proved to be nothing like Scottish ice. I.e, they were perfectly ski-able. Meg and I had hired skis and it really was a pleasure to have them back on - that surprised me, but I am far more competent on them and felt like an Olympic Skier. I am well aware that that is not how I appeared, but who cares? The spind-drift swirled around us at times and looked magificent in the sunlight. Meg's skis were sometimes her friends and sometimes her enemy, and that made us enemies too as I was really enjoying the conditions, but not the teenage tantrums which were erupting in the spind-drift making her appear like she had called up the wind!! She overcame that and proved that she can ski well. A lack of other intrepid snow-worshippers only added to the fun. Spook is in the other photo.

The cat has not returned and I realise now that it is the earthquake that scared it away, not the guinea pig. She was outside at the time, and whilst we were able to rationalise (better than the uptight neighbour), the poor cat will have run and run, to try to get away from the wobbly ground, but it would have had to run to half way up the North Island. Possibly, that is where she is. Spooks workmate said that his 3 cats shot straight out the catflap, but came back the next day.

grateful for:

fun.