The first frost of the year on April 12th was quite a rude end to summer. Hermes and the other cows didn't seem too impressed. Luckily the frost cloths were in place over the citrus and tea plantation, and they seem to be hanging in there nicely. The tender growth on the grape vines twinkled delightfully in the morning sun, as did the pumpkins and zucchini, even though they subsequently turned up their toes.
Once the pumpkin plants succumbed to the frost and keeled over, it was easy to spot the 17 pumpkins that were strewn around the vege garden. Given that I didn't plant or pay any attention whatsoever to the plants, that's a pretty cool deal. Self-sown, self-nourished pumpkins for free - how lucky is that? Probably I won't manage to eat all 17 on my own, even if they last several months. They'll make great gifts for the clever pumpkin-lovers of the region. 
I'd forgotten about the humble fig when I was working out what fruit remained last month. That poor old beleaguered fig tree has managed to crop despite its tragic past. Transplanted and then blown down in a storm, it's a real stalwart. The figs aren't as big as I hope they'll be one day, but delicious nonetheless. They should dehydrate well - that can go into next year's plan.
I finally got round to planting out the gifted new cider (Slack ma Girdle) and perry pear trees in the orchard. The pear went into the gap vacated by a very young Granny Smith tree that was destroyed by the sheep. Both trees have been staked and protected by a triangle of pallets, and lovingly and tenderly encouraged to grow strong and prosper. Close by, the young persimmon tree has managed to crop this year. 4 fruit is probably not a bad first attempt. It's a very attractive tree, so can have its place in the orchard whatever it produces, but let's hope next year will bring many more delicious orange persimmons.
The quince is a glorious tree that crops religiously and abundantly every year. It's a shame that I really only need about 6 fruit a year, and even that's an exagerated take on the term 'need'. At least our neighbour's pigs have benefitted. I couldn't bring myself to make quince jam/jelly/compote/paste that would sit looking pretty in the pantry. Quince wine was an option, but I've set my heart on feijoa wine this year. It would have been a crime to have not made anything from them though. Yep you guessed, another 2 litres of quince vodka is happily steeping away.
There are ridiculous numbers of carrots and leeks. Zillions were planted in the hope of dehydrating them to sell as soup packs along with the onions, beans, corn and zucchini. That plan is stalled indefinitely, leaving us with the problem of what to do with this abundance of beautiful, organic veges. The leeks do need fairly urgent attention as they're just starting to bolt. Hopefully, the carrots will store well enough in the ground. I'd like to close down the vege garden beds over winter though, so have made a start on picking, prepping, blanching and freezing them. I fear it will be a long drawn out affair, but check out the size of those carrots (eh Karyn!).
The ginger in Madame Cholet is looking green and lush, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed it'll not be a disappointment when it's dug up. It's not showing any sign yet of dying back, so all the more time to fatten up its roots. We've had lots of sunny, warm days, but those colder nights will inevitably chill the tunnel house in time. Madame Cholet's beds are all weeded, covered with generous amounts of horse poo and compost, and topped with a thick layer of pea straw. There is a 2nd half barrel in there that next year will accommodate turmeric. Peter had been using it as a fish-holding tank but has decided he can do without it.
Work has begun on wintering down the vege beds, and a couple are even are fully weeded. Even Karyn's bed isn't as much of an eyesore (!). I've heaped a number of bags of horse manure on the cleared beds. They were bought at huge cost ($2 each) from the 'Riding for the Disabled' place that's just across the road from the hospital. Grass cuttings and clippings from the low circular hedges are getting chucked on too - all good organic material. Last year's compost heap has created plenty of crumbly compost that's also been applied. Those old compost heaps need to be cleared to make space for the next round of weeding in spring. It's a great feeling to be closing the recycling loop with homemade compost - very permaculture. All we need now is some humanure! Mental note to put 'building a composting toilet' on the to-do list.
I've spent some time working on the magical West Coast and this rainbow over the Orowaiti River greeted me as I arrived Westport. Unfortunately, it was mostly too busy to get out and absorb the energy. I'll be back a couple more times over the next few weeks and hope to correct this. I did manage a day-time trip to Greymouth - the photo shows the sun setting on the Tasman sea just south of Punakaiki.
All the boys converged here over Easter. Lucas came for several days, Billy was off for a few days, and Sam was here for about 24 hours. It still feels a bit weird (and more than a bit lovely) to look across the table at grown-up sons, rather than kids. But it is liberating to be released from the 23-year tie of day-to-day childcare. Amazingly we paid our mortgage off on April 17th. We'll need the extra money we'll save as this year will also see Billy's 18th, Sam's 21st, Peter's 60th and our silver wedding anniversary. Quite a count - some celebrations on the horizon. In the meantime, we'll keep on enjoying autumn.
