Where the heck did December go? I’m starting this blog entry on Christmas Day night (OK, technically it’s Boxing Day right now) so I’d better get on with it before the month runs out altogether. It has been a lovely month, with Auntie Sally’s visit being a big highlight. Then the gradual return of the (occasionally) prodigal sons for Christmas itself. There’s been rather a lot of rain, but also some glorious sunny Marlborough days. The photos were taken on Christmas Day - the rainbow appeared at around 9pm after the weird burst of sunshine on the opposite hill.
The deck is complete (apart from the pergola and bar that have been proposed but are either forever virtual or a very long way off) and awaiting its preservative application at 4-6 weeks old. It’s really added another dimension to the house and to outdoor living. Such decadence. Billy gifted us an outdoor couch for Christmas, and Peter has built a huge table/bench set with some of the leftover wood. The shade sail is up, and the living Christmas tree, incorporated into the deck design, is now resplendent with festive lights and decorations. One day we’ll have to chop it down, but hopefully it’ll see a few more Christmases out. The extended flower and native garden beds are starting to fill out a bit and mowing the lawn is an absolute efficient pleasure – only a few minutes all up. 
The bees have been busy, and one fine day there was the unmistakable sound of a swarm in the vege garden. The most likely source of the bees was the Queen Bitch Hive. I’ve long cherished a hope that the Queen Bitch would exit her hive and disappear (a much less stingy solution than finding and replacing her), but in the moment I found myself wavering about whether to try and capture the swarm. Soon enough the decision was made for me. The swarm found an empty hive box and settled itself in. It was just a case of shifting this box onto a new hive base and voila – another colony! And only my untidy self to blame if we still have an aggressive colony in the garden.
The vege and horse arena gardens have continued to be woefully neglected. This seems to have affected aesthetics way more than production, and I’m optimistic that a few days over the next couple of weeks between night shifts will enable that to be dealt with. The photo is included to shame me into some kind of weeding action before next month's blog. Potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, lettuce and garlic are on tap, and tomatoes are beginning to blush. Herbs are a-plenty, but a combination of not enough time and not enough sun when there was time, have meant that minimal dehydration has happened. Solly is still stuck in the car port, looking a bit miserable. The orchard feels a bit like a no-go zone. It's so overgrown that it's practically impenetrable, and I'm avoiding going in too deep in fear of depressing myself with the volume of work required. Hopefully the fruit trees will be thriving on this neglect. There seems to have been plenty of rain and sun at blossoming and fruiting times. I'm hoping that it's not too deluded to imagine that magical fruity things are happening in there without being witnessed. Hmmm, sounds a bit like the old philosophical chestnut: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
Madame Cholet has actually had a bit of a tidy up. The tomatoes and apple cucumber had taken over and watering could only be done by jet hose from the door. The tomatoes are now kind of bunched together and loosely tied up around a couple of extra stakes, and the cucumber is draped over some plastic mesh. I’ll think twice about growing another apple cucumber next year. It’s like a giant alien mass with tendrils everywhere. If only it could be trained to consume rabbits. And snails. That'd be some biological control huh?
The pigs are doing their piggy thing and getting bigger. Voldemort escaped one day, and for a brief moment I thought it was Maggie snorting around in the flower bed. Luckily there was plenty of man-power at home to return him to the run and secure the breach in the boundary fence. He was obviously unsettled without Dumbledore and Snape and, like all pigs, responded to the lure of food.
Auntie Sally spent several happy days with us before heading back to Hong Kong. Mostly the weather gods were kind and we were able to squeeze in a few trips to some favourite places, like Nelson market, Lochmara and Lake Rotoiti. We were able to ply her with alcohol most evenings, and this included a fair volume of newly-bottled mead. The Creamed Honey Mead had stopped bubbling and was perfectly drinkable. It filled at least 30 bottles, so plenty to go round.
Sally was also able to join me in attending Molly’s graduation ceremony. She actually completed her wine-making degree in July, and has been working at a winery since then. The event was at the Marlborough Convention Centre, with drinks afterwards at a local hotel. It was a lovely ceremony.
Lucas and I dropped Sally off at Christchurch airport and went home via Hanmer Springs, home of the famous warm pool complex and (less famous but equally popular) Lollipot Sweet Shoppe. Sam had booked an army house for a couple of nights and he picked up Molly and Billy in Kaikoura before joining us in the pools. It was a lovely couple of days and a stunning drive home along the outrageously beautiful Kaikoura coast. We made the obligatory stop at 'The Store' at Kekerengu for refreshments. It's wonderful that this incredible place has made a successful come-back after the Kaikoura quake. 
The Christmas cake theme for 2018 was ‘China’ and, as usual, there was a very high standard of decorative marzipan. By popular request, we had that full-on traditional Northern Hemisphere Christmas turkey dinner with all the trimmings, and an old-fashioned trifle desert. The last time we went traditional was in 2006 – our first NZ Christmas. Fortuitously this year it rained most of the day, so an indoor hot dinner worked out OK after all. It would be great to have the sun back now though! Oh, and whilst I'm wishing, a 2019 garden fairy would be equally great too. Any offers please?
