I am grateful for ... strong winds :-)

I haven’t done a lot of photo taking this week, it has been a bit of a bumper week actually. And as always I have so much to be grateful for … just wish I was able to capture it in a photo this week.

Let me start by saying that Dolly Parton once said “if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain”

This could not have been more true for Taranaki this week, as winds of 120km/hr cause chaos and mayhem across our beautiful city. But amidst all the debris, fallen trees … even the poor truck and trailer blown clean off the road .. the wind also bought about a rare and unique sight to our Mountain (Volcano), the cloud formed over it like a beautiful puffy duvet had been beautifully laid on top … is it not just a sight to behold?

These photo’s were taken near my house, the whole photo looks so calm and serene, the reality was me standing in the middle of the road against the fierce wind trying to take a photo J

What was even more beautiful is that as the sun set against it the cloud turned a beautiful golden colour. By this time I had popped out to a friend who was helping me out. I didn’t have my camera on me but managed to find my 5yr olds el cheapo point and shoot camera in the car, the photo itself is shocking! Taken through a dirty windscreen of my car on max zoom as this poor little point and shoot can go but can't deny it is view that leaves you in awe

I could not resist snapping the sky in all it’s glory, the sunset, the clouds, the wind …. It all made for the most magical spectacle (yes me up to me sunset / sunrise pics again)

So I AM GRATEFUL FOR the ferocious wind that battered us for 2 days, it may have caused damage but with it bought an ever changing and very interesting cloud formations which held my gaze all day, and beautiful blanket for our mountain, and a spectacular sunset!!

Once again notice how calm and peaceful everything looks, when the reality of it was realy something else :-)

I also have to share a funny story, well it wasn’t funny at the time but I can at least smile at it now looking back. The worst morning of the windy abuse I was taking the kids to school, my friends little girl is a real petite little thing, cute as a button, and when I picked her up and out of the car and put her on the pavement she literally almost blew away, the poor angel, I got such a fright, just can’t begin to imagine where to start in telling my friend that her child blew away … LoL … the kids of course thought it was great fun and laughed their hearts out!!

(and since her mum is also a photographer, and a very talented one too, I am sure she will agree that it would have made a wonderful photo opportunity, just don’t know what the grateful tag line would have been? Any suggestions?)

My other of my several grateful moments was competing in my first mountain bike challenge, the Mountain to Sea bike ride, a 40km mountain bike challenge from the base of Mt Taranaki to Opunake beach. I was feeling a little anxious about it since I hadn’t really trained properly, and the morning of it was pear shaped which is not always a good start to any challenge! I didn’t get to take any pictures before / during or after, but I did finish!

I AM GRATEFUL FOR surviving ! The view of course is stunning, it is after all part of my “back yard”, the challenge was tough going and after the first 10km I was almost ready to throw in the boot, but my DNA dictates that I am too stubborn for quitting and pushed through to the end. Not only did I survive it, I enjoyed it and I actually did pretty good time too.

I lost my phone along the way though but I AM GRATEFUL FOR it not falling into one of the endless mounds of cow poop that had inevitably splattered up my leg and on my water bottle and caked onto my bike, and was in fact picked up and handed in … that kind of honestly is not common. So to the rider who picked up my phone: BIG thank you.

I didn’t get any photo’s on the ride, I was too busy clinging on my bike getting my butt bounced and beaten around my bike saddle to take pictures, but I am hoping to get a couple from the organisers (non of me thankfully) and will post them when I do.

My appetite has been wet for more MTB challenges now and I am already browsing around for the next one J

In closing and with these pictures taken with Leah’s El Cheapo special I want to prove a point a camera does not make a good photographer! Don’t let anything hold you back!