July 2014

We’re currently in the midst of a cold snap, probably the coldest winter since being in New Zealand.  For several days every morning's had a frost, and more forecast to come.  There's no rain on the horizon, so little chance of clouds keeping the night temperatures up.  We've been blessed with plenty of sunshine though – beautiful crisp winter days.  The evenings are warmed by the wood-burner stove, and it’s pleasantly cozy inside as long as you haven’t hung around outside for too long after the sun goes down.  Mornings are the most challenging.  The frost doesn't lift from the shadier parts of the property until late morning.  We have to use a spade to prise the frozen lid off one of the rabbit runs to feed them.  Their glass water containers are completely frozen every morning, except for when it's been cold enough to shatter 3 out of 4 of them.  Optimistically it’s also cold enough to seriously hammer non-beneficial bugs and pests.

Happily the 2 sets of twin lambs born last week are being well-mothered.  They made a good decision to be born during the day, so at least had chance to be licked dry and fed several times before the temperatures plummeted.  The first twins (2 boys Peter and Tom - a Beatrix Potter theme courtesy of Karyn) were born a year and a day after last year’s first lamb (Hagrid) put in an appearance.  You forget what absolute bundles of joy they are, gamboling around the paddocks, vigorously shaking their little tails as they feed.  It’s great when they hang around within view of the kitchen window – that level of distraction almost makes washing up bearable.  The two remaining ewes will hopefully birth soon – one looks considerably more imminent than the other.

We’re also delighted to have rabbit babies, though we haven’t seen them yet.  Their mother built an impressive nest as far back into the hutch as possible, pretty much at the end of arm’s reach.  In the photo they're deep down in the straw, under the plucked white rabbit fur.  So far we know that it’s warm and wriggly in there, and await the new arrivals introduction to the big wide world.  Also we now know for sure that we have at least one male and one female adult.  We've put what we think is a female in the hutch of what might be a male, in the hope that we’re getting there with sexing.  One disadvantage of not being sure is that we have to separate them into individual hutches, which makes for time-consuming feed rounds (and the need for lots of water containers).

The chickens are getting more adventurous - not good news for their free-ranging longevity.  Whilst it’s lovely to see them strutting around in the paddocks and the orchard, it’s not so enjoyable to watch them scratch and kick the carefully lain straw all over the place.  They’re not beyond digging up new plantings either.  We've taken to letting them out mid-afternoon, in the hope that they won’t cause too much damage in the few hours before dusk.  The two roosters, Bob Jnr and Cornelius (pictured) seem to get along OK, and we’re getting plenty of eggs for our own consumption and for gifts.

Peter received an invitation he just couldn’t turn down – the opportunity to practice ‘Artificial Insemination’ on Betsy the (model) cow.  The company who provides our semen straws were having a stall at the Hokitika AgFest and bringing Betsy along.  It was a long but stunning drive to the West Coast.  The event was impressive and Betsy a joy.  I was relieved to be able to locate her cervix quite quickly – very similar to a human cervix, though I don’t usually find those via the rectum.  Peter managed to inseminate her efficiently too.  Maybe one day we’ll put this into practice on our own cows.

The veg garden has received scant attention in the form of straw application to a couple of the keyhole beds and the fruit bushes.  There’s still plenty more to do, but that’ll have to wait until we get more straw.  We’re still harvesting carrots (huge and oddly shaped - we've had lots of carrots with an extra appendage, but so far this is the first 'bury me in a Y shaped coffin' carrot!) and beetroots; otherwise there’s unsurprisingly very little growth of the late summer plantings.  The compost heap has also been covered in an overcoat of straw, and the old trampoline mat re-applied on top.  Fingers crossed for delicious compost next year.  In the meantime, this year’s compost has been added to river sand, fine pumice and peat to create mountains of glorious seedling compost. 

The nuttery is no longer a figment of my imagination!  The original 2 hazelnuts are now joined by 2 almonds, 2 sweet chestnuts and a walnut (with another walnut ordered).  They’re planted, staked, mulched with straw and welcomed to their new home.  They’re all grafted trees so hopefully will crop in the next 3 years.  All you can really see in the photo are the stakes and the pallet triangles around the hazelnuts.  Also added to the orchard is another small woodlot.  The area in the farthest corner adjacent to the wetland is only suitable for plants which don’t mind wet feet for prolonged periods.  Kanuka and Manuka fitted the bill, and Tagasaste is tolerant of most soil conditions.  Also tentatively planted are four Eucalyptus leucoxylon, known for its abundant winter flowers and hence nectar for the bees.  They are planted towards the back of the area in the hope that soil drainage will be better there. 

On the home front, we've finally got round to ‘processing’ one of last year’s lambs.  The other will be processed someday soon.  Peter’s boss Stefan came round with his dad and they ‘did the deed’.  Peter then went ahead with the butchering.  Voila - some joints and chops, and then the rest minced.  The sausage-maker was dusted off and delicious lamb sausages are now on the menu.

La piece de resistance for July has definitely been the arrival and installation of the tunnel house – now named ‘Madame Cholet’ after the female lead of the Wombles.  They were the original recyclers of Wimbledon Common, and quite clearly ahead of their time.  I must confess to believing that I own 6 of their singles on records, but alas no record player.  They were last sighted in a packing box somewhere.  The tunnel house is made by Morrifield in Invercargill on the South Coast, and designed to cope with challenging weather.  It’s totally fabulous and such a pleasure to spend time in.  It’s been well-pinned down, surrounded on the north east side by wind cloth, and protected by the Gin Palace to its south.  At 6 metres long and

2.35m wide there’s plenty of growing space.  So far it has a long bed on the north-facing side, created from straw bales sitting on a bed of poo and topped with vermi-compost and garden compost.  They've been soaked and should already be starting to breakdown.  Seedlings can be planted directly into the bales, until eventually it all breaks down to create soil.  Pretty clever eh?  It’s a much better (and cheaper) alternative to carting in topsoil.  Peter’s built a bench along the south side as a potting bench.  Below it is another straw bale bed.  All good-to-go just in time for spring. 

We were delighted to host a visit from the lovely Hayley, our ‘flower girl’ who I finally got to meet.  She’s Graham’s step-daughter and thus a beautiful connection to my friend Joanna.  She’s been living in Wellington, but heading back to the UK and then onto Canada shortly.  We took a mail boat ride out of Picton into the Sounds, stopping off several times before reaching Ship Cove.  Other than a slightly disconcerting tendency for the resident mail recipients to be male, bearded and wearing a blue checked shirt, it was a perfect afternoon.  Another day with animal feeding, dog walking, wine tasting and of course, table tennis, and then Hayley was off heading south to the ski fields.  Cheers Hayley – please come back sometime!

Though it’s still mid-winter, the baby animals and the fattening buds of the trees show that they’re getting geared up for spring.  This light at the end of the tunnel is a reminder that winters are significantly shorter in New Zealand than the north of England.  That’s another good reason to be here, in our little slice of paradise.  The final photo shows the Onamalutu Valley, taken looking up the valley from near the school bus stop.  Mount Riley is the jaggedy peak and Mt Sunday is to its left.  We live among the foothills of Riley.  No complaints about my work route!  In the midst of the current array of global crises, it's a sheer privilege and a profound pleasure to be in this haven surrounded by beauty.