This and that.

Today I attended the Richmond Rodeo and watched events such as steer wrestling, bareback, saddle bronc, barrel racing, and bull riding. Some events had heaps of competitors (like the bull riding) where as some (like the bronc and bareback riding) had few. I'd never been to a NZ rodeo before. The competitors weren't quite of the Calgary stampede ilk or even Agribition rodeo ilk. There were lots of misses on things like team roping and steer wrestling. A few of the steer wrestlers chased them through the whole corral and never caught up, and some didn't even try once they didn't catch them shortly out of the chute. Nevertheless, very interesting. I was most impressed by the little sheep riders, and the bull riders. Oh- and of course the 2 rodeo clowns. There weren't a lot of local competitors- this is not really cowboy country- but lots were south islanders. All in all, interesting- I'm glad I went.

My 2 kittens are sleeping peacefully- Allie is on a grocery bag, and Jasper is on the door entrance carpet. They're getting along much better now. Jasper thinks he's "all that" and pushes much bigger Allie out of her food dish. He's surprisingly bossy and "tough", given he's only a portion of her size. I took her to the vet on Friday to get microchipped and to get her desexing stiches out. They were supposed to disolve but 2 months later, hadn't. She is a large 2.4 kgs already. She's not the only one growing- even little Jasper seems to be growing into his large head.

I went for a longer jog the other day. I headed out towards town via Rocks Road and when I got there, decided to continue home via Waimea road. I wasn't quite in shape for that long of a haul. I used a great website I recently discovered to determine it was about a 13 + km run. (which turned into a walk near the end) http://www.mapmyrun.com/ What a handy little website! It also tells me my normal morning jog is just under 5 km and has an elevation gain of I can't remember what - something like 77m.
I was debating entering the buller half marathon down the coast which is only a month away- but this trial helped me determine I'm not ready. I need to aim for one that's a bit further out- and intensify the training too!

The garden is really taking off! Lots and lots of little green tomatos, blossoms on the pumpkin plant and cucumber plant too. I hope to be able to harvest them- as I'm still on a new flat hunt. This is due to the lack of insulation in this property. It's hot on a warm day, and I can't imagine how cool it would be on a winters day. Brr. It's not easy to find a rental that allows pets and is okay on the pocketbook, so wish me luck. I have until approaching winter to find something before it gets urgent.