Thanks to Karyn and one fine afternoon, the flower garden got pretty much weeded and is awaiting some horse poo and pea straw mulch or whatever else that can be found. There are still some gorgeous flowers, including colourful dahlias (Christmas present from Lucas) and these white delphiniums that have popped up. I remember planting them, but it might have been a year or two ago, or more. The Lemonwood hedge (Pittosporum Eugenioides - Tarata) is finally starting to look like a hedge and some of the plants will need a bit of trimming down to keep it in shape. 
Autumn colour is just starting to add to the outdoor palette. The tulip tree is beginning to turn yellow and autumn leaves are noticeably falling all around. The pinky crimson foliage of the bergamot is simply beautiful. The self-seeded pumpkins that are taking over the garden may have peaked too late. There are pumpkins among the reckless foliage so fingers crossed they'll have enough warm weather time left to properly mature. The one on the compost heap is particularly spectacular. Is there such a thing as 'Compost Heap Sculpture'? Every day new growth, now extending into the hay shelter and the currant bushes.
The orchard is starting to look bare and will need a serious prune soon. There are 2 outstanding crops remaining there. Medlars are prolific and large, and some inspiration is needed for them to be turned into something delectable. Working out how to 'blet' them and when they're ready for culinary purposes seems tricky as most of the suggestions relate to northern hemisphere conditions. The quince tree is having its usual bumper crop - here's hoping the neighbour's pigs like them as we'll probably only consume and give away a fraction of the harvest.
The peaches are all picked, including these wonderful black boys - the tree was a gift from some students so is very dear to me. The pears were few in number (definitely one of this year's flop crops) and the apples are now done. The giant 'peasgood nonsuch' apples have been great for showing off - Peter definitely won in the apple-envy stakes at work. A few raspberries made a brief and very delicious reappearance. I only looked for them because Karyn was picking bowls full of autumn raspberries at her place, from plants that she'd rescued from my compost heap. There is a small olive crop too, probably not worth picking but exciting to imagine what it could be in the coming years. Not all of the olive trees have fruit, and those that do aren't necessarily the biggest or the same of the 3 varietals. To be honest, I'm a bit over massive quantities of fruit and am hoping for a breather before the feijoas come on tap.
A final batch of chillies and basil have been put through Solly the dehydrator. Some of the other herbs can also be dried on sunny days as they're no longer in flower and are looking squeakily healthy and leafy. There are more chillies in Madame Cholet, that will be made into chilli relish. Some very significant weeding can then be done in there before it's wintered down. The ginger is still looking lush and healthy - here's hoping it's not disappointing when it's pulled up.
Some landscaping of the area around the sleep-out is happening. Future guests will be able to pick their own tea and grab a grapefruit, orange, mandarin or Granny Smith apple. That's the theory anyway. It does assume that frost protection will be effective. Better get on with that before the first frost catches me out. We ordered a lorry load of gravel, mainly for the sleep-out area but also to bolster up the driveway. That'll be a lovely weekend job eh? 
Trading for honey has brought me several mostly edible rewards over the years. This humungous smiley-faced cabbage was no disappointment. It's accompanied most of our dinners for at least the last week, and a big chunk is currently fermenting in its own salted juice. It should make fabulous sauerkraut in a few days. Thank you Kay - that's a very sound contribution to my bowel health!
The bees have featured highly in this month's activities. The buzz weekend was ace - lots of bee talk and new ideas to bring back. Plenty to do in the hives in terms of wintering down. All hives are now sitting on new Hive Doctor bottom boards that should allow better ventilation. Each brood box is insulated with 40mm polystyrene on each side and has its miticide strips in. The main hive has been split and the new colony sits with its new queen cell atop the original - that should help keep it warm if it manages to survive. Honey is harvested, and 8 frames have been kept aside to use for spring feeding if needed. The evil-bitch-queen hive has been responsible for several stings during this time. Many of these have been through my bee suit. The volume and aggression of these bees is pretty scary, and those stings hurt. That queen needs to go! If I can't find her easily, then I'll keep the hive compact in spring in the hope that she swarms. Not the best solution, but may have to be so. To add insult to injury, there was no honey to harvest from this hive because it was robbed. I'd disrupted the hive to replace the bottom board, position the polystyrene and miticide strips and then added the escape board above the brood, below 2 weighty honey boxes. 3 days later when I went to retrieve the honey, it was all gone. Only empty wax cells remained with numerous dead bees on the escape board. I'm as much amazed as I am pissed off. How could that have happened? The robber bees must have already been in the honey boxes when the escape board was placed. There was no way in and only one way out: through the hive. It must have been absolute carnage in there. Maybe they've suffered enough and I need to cut the queen some slack...Happily, the other hives have yielded several more litres of honey. It's not as much as I was anticipating at the start of the season, but overall it's been a good honey year.
On the family front, Billy is still returning home on his days off. Outward Bound has offered him the chance to go on one of their courses in June - lucky him. Lucas is coming home for a couple of weeks and we're looking forward to spoiling him whilst fervently hoping that there is no expectation of an 'Easter Bunny' egg hunt (will they ever grow out of that?). Sam is still gallivanting around the country in his van when he's not blowing his own trumpet. Wine vintage is kicking off and Peter is working some long hours. Maggie is gorgeous as ever and is loving accompanying me on morning runs. I'm heavily occupied with autumn harvest - picking, freezing, fermenting and brewing. It comes with that lovely feeling of abundantly stocking up for the less productive days ahead. I've worked several extra shifts but overall am still enjoying reduced working hours. All ticking along delightfully really.
Autumn rocks.
