Sunny Days

Southland Times, Issue 21662, 26 March 1932, Page 18

Sunny Days

“I loved the quotation in Saturday’s page; it just expresses what I’ve been feeling these days. We’ve been making the most of this glorious weather. Ou Sunday we arranged with friends to join them in a picnic at the river. We had a splendid time. We boiled our billy at about eleven and had lunch at a delightfully sheltered little bay where the sunshine was very warm and bright. Two or three kingfishers were swooping about in the trees but at our coming too near they darted away. When the tide had come in and the water was deep enough for bathing we had a swim and then went for a long walk on the beach. Wc climbed the ‘Sugarloaf,’ a funny cone-shaped hill, all slippery grass and tussocks, and had a great view from the top. It was a bit windy around at this side, and the waves were splendid. Mutton-birds were hovering over the water like a dark cloud but they didn’t appear to be diving at all. Down on the rocks was lying a great deal of kelp, so we made balls and skipping ropes which caused lots of fun. On the sand we discovered several jelly-fish, some of them queer, shapeless things, but one an especially beautiful creature. If was fairly large, perfectly round, anti of a pale transparent colour with dark red-brown spots all through it. By the time we walked back to the point again we were all hungry and quite ready for tea and sandwiches. After that we played games and then there was just time for another dip before we had to pile into the car and go home. “On Wednesday the river lured us again. My sister, cousin and I walked this time, carrying only’ our bathers and a packet of sandwiches. Tlie river was very low when we arrived and we walked across the mud flat where hundreds of little grey crabs were scuttling in and out of their holes. We found some ripe blackberries in the scrub and these made quite a delicious dessert. In the afternoon the sunshine vanished and a heavy mist came rolling in from the sea. We decided to take a short cut over the hill on our way home, but very soon the mist was so thick that we weren’t quite sure where we were. It was so strange wandering over the paddocks with the mist sweeping in grey, silent waves all over us, and dead trees looming suddenly in front of us; strange ghostly things they had become, not like trees at all. We found the right track at last and then it didn’t take us long to get to our auntie’s place which we reached in time for tea—and weren’t we ready for it! After that we began to think rather wearily of the four miles home. Four miles is a long way when one is tired—especially when the road is somewhat rough and hilly. However, we were able to get a lift part of the way and then the other mile and a-half didn’t seem so long.” —Cousin Katherine O’Brien (2 marks).