Despite their total yumminess, there are only so many that even I can consume every day. Marcus reckons that greengage wine is a thing, so 10 litres are currently bubbling away in demijohns. They were first steeped in hot water, tea, sugar and yeast in a fermenting bucket, that after 3 days looked like someone had puked into it. I'm used to homemade wines going through that kind of phase, so was quite reassured that things are probably on track. Elderberries are also fruiting, so there's a batch of 2019 elderberry wine on the go too. 
The little damson tree is heaving with fruit. 4 litres of gin are already turning that beautiful purply pink, and there are heaps more to go around. One of the tree's branches had broken under the weight. Alas the same fate has also afflicted other trees - Bartlett pear, nashi and Hawera plum in particular. A combination of too much fruit (yes I should have thinned them), too much wind and too dry ground, so can't totally blame myself. At least the pigs have benefitted from the windfalls. And there are still millions of pears.
We have mutton from two sheep in the freezer. Bruce, the home-kill man, is coming for the pigs at the end of the week, and then the steers next week. It's truly a sad time and an event that doesn't get any easier. I tell myself that it's more ethical to eat animals that I know have been cared for in a way that respects their well-being and their natural behaviours. They're not pets though, and we keep them for a purpose. Steers Hermes and Heracles have been with us for more than 2 years. They've been a real pleasure to get to know. Though the pigs have been here much less time, their personalities and the intensity of caring for them has meant they've found their way into our affections too. I shouldn't have favourites, but Voldemort is a pig after my own heart: he loves his fruit and stays out of scrapping with his brothers. It'll be a quiet old place for a while.
Flowers have been cheerily colourful, and now include severalhappy dahlias. The extended flower garden and the native bed have been regularly watered and most plants are surviving or thriving. They're a way off looking established, but so far so good. The new woodlot is also being watered twice a week. So far only 2 tree losses (from over 40) - a manuka and a maple that died pretty early on. The tiny oak trees are very much enjoying spreading their roots. One of the expensive sweet chestnuts also turned up its toes, but to my relief, resuscitated itself after a good watering. It's now covered in lovely fresh leaves, and I got the message to water more often.
Peter's been putting his woodwork skills to use again and has built a bench alongside the pizza oven. He's added a box underneath so that pizza oven trays and utensils can be stored outside. It's known as Karyn's Coffin (long story of potential dismemberment). Unfortunately, we can't use the oven at the moment because there's a total fire ban. We're in pretty serious drought and the fire risk is plain to see. Nelson has had a massive bush fire, extending over several hundred hectares and necessitating mass evacuation. It's been burning for around 3 weeks now and is finally under control. The whole country is expecting rain at the weekend - fingers crossed it reaches Marlborough in significant volumes.
Vegetable production has slowed up, though nothing has died off as a result of the drought. Sweet corn is ripe, tomatoes and courgettes are still abundant. Carrots are yet to be investigated. Brassicas are mostly done, except for Brussels sprouts that probably won't come to anything (again - probably the climate but I keep trying) and one single purple-sprouting broccoli that I don't remember planting. And pumpkins are, of course, magnificent! I'm hoping that the giant pumpkin in the picture will exceed my previous record of 25kg. There's another pumpkin plant that's nurturing more edible pumpkins too, and I'm holding out for gourds by the end of the season.
The transplanted citrus plants from the horse arena seem to be enjoying their new home nearer the sleepout. They'll need to be frost-protected again this winter, but hopefully they're now mature enough to survive with organic frost spray, rather than frost cloth that has to be taken on and off (and therefore reliant on me remembering). The original lemon tree that was seriously pruned by Karyn is being watered more regularly and is rewarding us with large fruit. There's also 3 ruby grapefruit ready to pick. The tea plantation is coming away, though it'll be a while before it actually looks like a tea hedge.
Magical things have been happening in the kitchen, not only alcohol-related. There are batches of plum jam, crab apple jelly and tomato relish - all completely delish. They'll mostly be provided to guests in the Airbnb. We've been well-booked out since spring, and there's no sign of let-up yet. We get good guest feedback about the little home-made jams/relishes, so it's definitely something to continue with.
It's been a magnificent honey season. The 2 producing hives have provided more than 45 litres of the best honey in the world, and the main hive has been visited multiple times by a number of fascinated guests. I haven't been brave enough to take them to the Queen Bitch hive, but whoever's currently in charge is less aggressive than the previous incumbent. Not a lot less, but enough to slightly reduce my fear factor. Honey has already been traded for olive oil and quail eggs, and naturally, some of it will end up as mead.Weeds have been having free reign for some weeks now, though have been hindered to some extent by the lack of rain. Managing the harvest has taken up most of my available free time, and another planned trip to the West Coast will delay or scupper the tidy-up. Though it's messy, it's been great to watch plantings survive the drought, and when we do get eventually get rain, that'll free up some watering time to do other things. Peaches and pears will have to be processed over the next few days and weeks. Some of the pears will end up as wine, and maybe even reach 'Thunderbird' standard - pear wine of our youth that played a significant role in our marital status.
Many of our recent guests have been openly envious of our lifestyle and that warms the old cockles. For us it remains a fantastic blessing that we can be so beautifully connected to the seasons and land, and everything it comes with. Happy days...
