Work on the driveway is really getting underway. Our neighbour Craig has dug our most of the old hedge stumps and started shifting the topsoil to bed the gravel extensions. The whole space at the front of the house is looking very open. The remains of the pittosporum hedge will be lopped down to about 6ft, and the lengthy gap where the hedge had died will be replaced by an assortment of shrubs and small trees, yet to be decided. Shopping for plants? Well, someone has to do it. 
The total persimmon crop was 3, and that’s thanks to our furry possum friends. They’ve feasted in our orchard this year, for the first time. They are quite evil-looking creatures with a very ugly cry. They occasionally turn up on the balcony and make a heck of noise climbing up and around the roof. If they continue to be such a pest next year, we’ll have to work on mitigating their damage somehow. As if the rabbits weren’t destructive enough.
All the medlars have been picked and are happily bletting away. Such a weird fruit that totally suits its French name ‘cul du chien’ (dog’s arse). Some have been gifted, and the rest will be transformed into Medlar wine, which is a thing apparently. And so is Medlar Vodka. I’m dubious but intrigued.
Three of the 5 small raised iron beds for herbal teas are in place and planted up. The remaining ones should go in over the next few days, using the driveway topsoil. The old beds will need digging over to remove the bulk of the mint roots - it's on the to-do list but it’s a nasty job that I’m guessing will keep being overlooked. The old lemon balm bed will, unfortunately, need another dose of weed spray, and that needs to happen soon (note to self).
Peter’s fabulous compost construction is the size of a king bed and the perfect zone to chuck heaps of woody prunings. They’ll provide an aerating base layer for future weeds and would have been a pain to get rid of elsewhere. Building the compost structure has also focused some attention on that previously unkempt area of the vege garden. The little pond has been moved and rocks added so that the bees have places to land when they drink. More gravel is needed to finish it all off, and that will come from the driveway order (whenever that happens).
The olive trees have had a very decent short back 'n sides, and have been weeded. Each has the best part of a whole bag of horse manure at its base and will get a layer of pea straw when the manure has broken down a bit. I’ll eventually get a replacement Frantoio olive tree for the one that died years ago. Better add that to my plant list wahoo!The pigs are no more and the process doesn’t get any easier. At least Peter was home on the day of doom, and I was out. Billy was struggling too and kindly messaged to delay my return home. 3 of the pigs are now in friends' freezers, and one is in ours. Dwelling on their fate doesn't change anything for them obviously, hopefully, time will lessen the guilt...
The bees have been wintered down and insulated, and all 3 colonies look to be going into winter reasonably strongly. The miticide strips were removed, but a single mite was visible crawling over the back of a worker bee (spotted by my friend and colleague Jo and her husband Mike, wannabe beekeepers who came along for the ride). I need to get advice about this, as it may mean that I'll need to re-treat. It was hard to disease-check the top bar hive because the main brood zone was tightly sealed with propolis. Too much leverage risks disconnecting the comb, but I managed to prise it apart enough to see. Yep, definitely need to re-visit some books and get advice from someone in the know.
The green manure remains magnificent and is definitely doing its job of weed-suppressing. The mustard is a particularly beautiful spring-green that looks stunning in the early morning light. They have yet to flower, but when that happens they'll be chopped down. The beds that will lay fallow next season will then be covered in pea straw, and those that are to be planted will eventually be loosely dug into the top layer of soil.
The hot water tank cupboard in the hall is full of a variety of brews, including 23 litres of elderberry wine, 15 of mead and 20 of feijoa wine. I hadn't planned to make any of the latter this year, but last year's feijoa wine was bottled and so delish that it would be a crime not to make any more when we're overcome with volumes of fruit. I've ditched the beetroot wine plan (ate too many beetroots oops) in favour of the medlars. And 23 litres of beautiful Apple Cider Vinegar have been bottled.
We're lighting the woodstove most days now, and this brings an abundance of hot water. Baths and candles are in, and - boy what a bath! Such a perfect shape and depth in which to relax, a place where hours can be wiled away in blissful navel-contemplation. Hypnotic even. Oh yeah, gotta love these chilly seasons.
Billy is actively seeking work, and in the meantime doing quite a bit of relaxing himself. He has been more than helpful with outside jobs, and has got our old Wii working again. Peter and me seem to have somehow lost our previous high level of competence (whatever), and he's thrashing us at every turn. Too many 'old people' jokes to count, eh Billy?
Mother's Day was appropriately acknowledged with love and gin. This time it was Cannabis Gin - no HTCs so totally legal, but actually also pretty lethal. It's a gorgeous, cheerful and earthily-delicious green spirit that belies its ability to remove legs. Not that I'm complaining of course. But as a gift from my offspring, I am wondering about the implications for my parenting. Mother's Ruin and all that. Let's not go there. Instead, let's celebrate all that's good about Aotearoa, including its Covid-19 response, and wish upon the rest of the world that one day they may too dispense with egotistical stale, pale males, and replace them with leadership of our current calibre. Thank you PM Jacinda Ardern and all those who've helped to keep us safe and proud of our collective achievements.
