Reading a headline on Stuff reminded me that just over a year ago, to avoid inadvertently buying garlic from the USA or China, I started buying direct from Te Mata Garlic (https://tematagarlic.nz - other garlic suppliers may be available). They have different kinds of garlic - with different flavour/heat profiles and keeping times (from 4 to 12+ months) - and they sell garlic and shallots for planting too. I now get all my garlic from them rather than the supermarket. 🧄
Remote
cameraobscura
@cameraobscura@mastodon.scot
mastodon 4.7.2Writer, interested in poetry, history, jazz, Lakeland terriers.
(Admin note: have been making use of hashtags to follow issues such as privacy, avoiding AI, Covid-19, and NZ politics - as well as my interests. I've generally set posts to delete after 1 week.)
*Currently off-grid for a while*.
81 Followers
82 Following
11 Posts
Joined January 08, 2025
I'm now 6 months+ into writing a poem every day (my #StaffordChallenge commitment - though I stopped taking part in the initiative per se in March; no shade on them, just one of the USA-based things I'm no longer willing to be part of, because politics).
So far, this practice has yielded several 'keepers', plus some nice lines and sketches to work on.
The main benefit tho has been turning up each day to spend time writing. Doing it every day, it's become something I just do every day.
Took family member to A&E last night on recommendation of Healthline. Family member - now fine - was there for 11 hours. As ever, nursing and medical treatment was good and caring, despite the service being overburdened. Family member particularly struck and worried by the mental health presentations - people who clearly had nowhere else to go.
It was a cold wait in the car with dog. Highlight: hearing kākā nearby in the wee hours - https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kaka/ - partying in near-full-moon.
Replying to
@exlibrarykris@cloudisland.nz One of the great things about it has been that it just happens, like any daily activity - it's just part of my day. I don't have to have any thoughts or judgements about it, or what I write - I turn up and write, and that's job done.
Different story with my current 'writing project' which needs longer, scheduled chunks of dedicated time and about which I have very many thoughts!! But I'm hoping the daily practice is developing attributes that will serve the project.
Also while cooking dinner, heard Starmer on TV and was struck by how much he sounded like Count Binface, without the policies, wit or conviction...
'The Minister of Foreign Affairs appears to be making things up.' David Farrier has been following the case of Everlee Wihongi, NZ citizen with a USA green card, currently in an ICE prison. His latest post challenges Peters' assertion that she was in the wrong and it's all her fault, nothing he should do...
This week's edition of The Secret Diary features a bull in a china shop.
It begins 'An Auckland businessman with no experience in china has opened a china shop in Wellington.
Christopher Luxon said the Coalition China Shop was aimed at an upper-end market. [...]
“New Zealanders deserve fine china,” Mr Luxon said. “To that end I aim to deliver a set of deliverables that will take root and come to pass.”'
(The ending is pretty good too.)
https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/05/02/the-secret-diary-of-a-bull-in-a-china-shop/
Was just cooking dinner and found myself singing Gomez' famous song 'Get myself elected'.
Listening to the song again (it has been a while) I realise I was also mis-singing 'I'm immobile man' as 'I'm a noble wreck', though that has less to do with the current news cycle I suspect.
Replying to
@exlibrarykris@cloudisland.nz 'Who are you wearing? “Ourselves!” they said back in unison.'
Go the protestors!
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026/may/04/jeff-bezos-amazon-met-gala-protest-fashion-show
Enjoyed John McInnes's blog post today on 'wild sound', and Bernie Krause. The impact of 'selective logging' on the biophony of Lincoln Meadow was particularly interesting - the area *looks* as though it's fine, but the soundscape shows that it has never recovered from the logging.
https://quidditynz.weebly.com/blog/whats-it-sound-like
#WildSound #BernieKrause