Jeremy Baker

Te Aro Park, early morning. #TeAro #TeAroPark #pōneke #wellington #mōrena #AtaMārie

A pohutukawa tree lit up with festoon lights reflected in a tiled pool of water in an inner city park

Olives and figs This years crop of figs and olives look good! #garden #produce #olives #figs #Hōkio #Horowhenua #Aotearoa

Collage of olives and figs from around the garden

Finished reading: Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo 📚

Wow. That was a ride and a half!

Last night in Carbrook, Queensland. A most delightful and relaxing week. #Family #Holiday #Relax #Recharge #Brisbane #QLD

Bright orange sunset over an aqua-marine swimming pool

Delightful dinner with Louise, Dave and Aiden at Victoria Point, Queensland. #Family #Dinner #Brisbane #QLD

family dinner at a restaurant

AIR exhibit at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. 🖼️ #Family #Art #Exhibit #Brisbane #QLD

Two people standing in a room of thousands of black paper butterfliesThree people looking at an installation of thousands of feathers, shells and other natural objects that form an ellipsis reminiscent of a murmuration of birds

Finished reading: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo 📚

Well crafted tale of magic, privilege, colleges, and the dead. Looking forward to the sequel.

Family walks ! #Bakers #Barrs #Australia #QLD #walk

Five people waling up a road, turning and waving. With a dog on a leash.

My new home for the next week 📷 #Brisbane #Australia #Pool #Relaxing #Family

An outdoor dining and relaxation area; lit with festoon lighting.A glass fenced swimming pool, early evening

Finished reading: The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan 📚

This one was fast and furious, gripping and gory. Excellent grimdark fantasy. Can’t wait for the sequel. #BookReview #Fantasy #Grimdark

Fresh produce from the Eketāhuna country garden 📷 #Eketāhuna #CountryCottage #family #garden

Leeks, multi-coloured potatoes spilling out of a hessian bag, and a cabbage on a rustic table.

Good morning from Eketāhuna cottage 📷 #eketāhuna #cottage #morning #light

Morning light streams through an open French door and window in a wooden country cottage onto chairs and a table. A garden is visible outside.

Finished reading: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka 📚

A marvel. #mīharo

Quick visit to Eketāhuna Cottage. 📷 #Eketāhuna #cottage #garden #family

Small country cottage with white walls and grey roof. Surrounded by a profusion of flowers. White clouds and evening blue sky above.

Back at Hōkio….

📷 #hōkio #hokiobeach

View of beach community. Lush greenery; blue sky.

Happy New Year! Had a fabulous evening partying with a wonderful and eclectic group of people. Such fun :)

Two friends celebrating New Year's Eve. Party and laser lights reflected on their faces.

New Year’s Day walk, Mākara Beach. #Mākara #walk #nyd2023

two people on a hill side track, by the sea

Year in books for 2022

Here are some more of the books I finished reading in 2022:

{{< bookgoals 2022 >}}

Finished reading: Fen, Bog and Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis by Annie Proulx 📚

A troubling but gloriously well written call to action to save or rehabilitate or fens, bogs and swamps.

Meri Kirihimete à tous le monde!

Sending good wishes to you all; may you have a wonderful day :) #MeriKirihimete #AtaMārie #JoyeuxNoël

Gingerbread Xmas Tree

The grandkids brought their chickens with them on holiday. We even set them up with their own ‘batch’ under the olive trees for shade. They enjoy their supervised outings around the garden as well! 📷 🐓🪴 #garden #chickens #holiday #batch #Hōkio #HōkioBeach

Chicken coop under shady olive trees.Olive trees in a garden with a chicken coop beneath.Chicken coop with two people waving. Two chickens in the foreground.Two chickens enjoying foraging under lush vegetation.

Started reading: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr 📚

I was gifted this last Xmas - and didn’t get around to reading it. It has stayed at our beach house all year, and now we are back and it seems like a good time to start. 😜

Hōkio garden bliss 📷 #garden #Hōkio #HōkioBeach #Horowhenua #Summer #Aotearoa 🇳🇿

Lush green garden with mown lawnWooden decking and stairs with garden bushes and trees Nikau palms and other undergrowth Queen palm and olive trees

Ōtaki Expressway first drive

Today I drove on the new Ōtaki Expressway from Pēka Pēka bypassing Ōtaki township for the first time. It was a great road to drive on, and despite it being only two days until Christmas there was barely any traffic. There was a very short slowdown as traffic merged back into the single lane highway beyond Ōtaki.

There has been a lot of debate about the expressways being built north of Pōneke (Wellington). I wish that these had been matched by similar investment in rail. But these roads are replacing very unsafe single lane highways, and provide resilience through a second road north out of Wellington.

Ōtaki township can now become its own centre, rather constantly jammed with state highway traffic.

The final stage of the expressways will take the modern road past Levin, where two state highways head off in different directions.

I strongly support upgrading rail between Pōneke and Palmerston North. But these expressways are also critical.

Here are some photos from traffic cameras on the new road today:

traffic camera view of a new, largely empty expressway traffic camera view of a new, largely empty expressway

Continuing exploration of shading trees in Pōneke. These are on Cuba Mall. 📷 #Shade #Trees #pedestrian #public #greenery #WellingtonNZ 🇳🇿

Trees shading a paved pedestrian mall. Trees and plants shading and filling a pedestrian mall.