Puddling along
New Zealand Listener|July 8 - 14, 2023
Our daily traffic has created big patches of brown ooze into which gumboots, chickens and hearts sink.
GREG DIXON
Puddling along

That Noah must have been a panicky sort. If the Bible is to be believed - and who wouldn't believe a revealed text from thousands of years ago? - the Good Lord told him H had decided to wash away a sinful wo with 40 days and 40 nights of rain. W did Nervous Noah do after hearing this extended forecast? He freaked out, and on advice from the man upstairs, built himself an ark.

Lord knows how he would have coped out here on the North Island's east coast in 2023, where it has been raining for what feels like 400 days and 400 nights.

At Lush Places, by the end of June, we had had showers or rain on 97 of 180 days - delivering about a year's rainfall in six months and there will be many more days of it before winter and the spring rains are done.

With the water table now so high, it takes little more than an hour of steady rain for big pools to form around the place. One of our paddocks has even started growing rushes, while our gardens have become watery graves.

Despite this, during a brief pause between downpours, Michele, ever the optimist, planted some celery seedlings. Ever the pessimist, she is resigned to the prospect of them floating away.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 8 - 14, 2023 من New Zealand Listener.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 8 - 14, 2023 من New Zealand Listener.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من NEW ZEALAND LISTENER مشاهدة الكل
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 mins  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024