Fibromyalgia:
Cats
Goats
Where I Live
In September 1998 my partner, Nigel, and I moved to Kaiwaka, 90km north of where we had been living in Auckland.
The property is about two acres, or 0.9 hectares, and is located just outside of the township of Kaiwaka. It's close enough to walk to the shops, if you feel so inclined, but far enough away that we're on a dirt/gravel road and zoned rural.
By arrangement with the previous owners, we started our country life with seven hens and a rather large, grey Persian cat named Joseph. To this combination, we added the cat we'd lived with in Auckland, Tabby. Unfortunately, Joseph and Tabby cannot stand each other and will not tolerate the other being in the same room of the house! Actually, I came to realise that my spoiled-brat city cat doesn't like to share.
Since then, we have added Mitzi to our family in October 2003; she was my mothers cat for 11 years, until Mum passed away. I was dubious about bringing her into our house, after all she was an elderly lady who didn't see so well, but at the time of writing this (May 2004) she is the top cat in the house. She gets along fine with Joseph, as long as he doesn't get too close, but Tabby won't tolerate her at all. (Update - Mitzi left us in October 2004 after being with us just over a year; she is missed)
These photos were taken in July 1998, before we took possession of the property, when the previous owners were still living there and maintaining it:
As you can see from the photos, the entire two acres of our place used to be mowed regularly - a five to six hour job on the ride-on mower. The novelty of that wore off pretty quickly, and we have left the grass to grow as it pleases for most of the time we've been here. Sometimes it can get up to waist-high, especially where the Kikuyu grass is growing (not a friendly species in these parts!).
A more recent photo - note the visiting cattle, here to chew down the over-grown grass! These were taken August 2004, a gloriously sunny day, compared to the overcast day in July 1998 when the first pictures were taken.
I can't believe how much the trees have grown in six years!
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