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Today, a handful of images: more reminders of my retreat from the Earthquake Zone.  A physical retreat; yes, but also a time to overcome the panic associated with city streets and high walls, (although I have not thrown caution to the wind).  A time to ponder whether I still want to make a garden; restore a house.  A time to recognise that loss of any kind is also an opportunity to follow new paths.

But when I visit Wellington, as I did last week, I have many favourite paths to re-visit.  This tortoise - or is it a turtle - always calls to me as I follow a particular route through the Botanic Gardens. He is stamped into a terracotta roof tile, a trademark. 

I cannot tell if he also marks each tile on these rooves close by in Kelburn.  Many of the pantiles, which grace 19th and early 20th century buildings in Australia and New Zealand, served as ballast in sailing ships. I have one, which is clearly marked with its Marseilles trademark. Houses, structures, human endeavours, may not stand up to Nature's Chaos, but an engine like the Foxton Windmill is worth celebrating while it lasts. After all, this Dutch-style mill has been resurrected with dedication and commitment by a band of local enthusiasts. Grain is milled here and can be bought in the mill shop.

And while the great millstones turn in Foxton a thousand hairy babies are hatching at Auckland Zoo.

An Arapawa ram shares his Hunua farm with busy wasps.

I know now, after visiting the familiar and the novel, after spending time in places of contemplation and of overcrowded intensity, that I still want to be here, keeping Lady Mondegreen company  - and making something of my cracked dreams.

Morris Dancers at Foxton: Photo by Glen Adams

Driftwood at Makara Beach: Photo by Andy Lawton