2025 peaked early with Sam and Molly's fabulous wedding on gloriously rugged Stewart Island (more later). Back home there've been lots of work challenges (including a rescinded resignation) that have impacted on free time and head space, so I'm lucky to have land and gardens to heal my weary mind. And it's great to have leisure plans going forward. The vege garden is kinda manageable as long as I ignore the untidiness. Hedges need trimming and there are seriously weedy zones, but mostly its vibrancy and productiveness are charming enough.
We've had a sheep tragedy this month. One of our ewes separated herself from the flock and we noticed she had swollen lips - a massive trout pout and a sore on the back of her neck. We put her in the small paddock behind the house where she was pathetic. The vet diagnosed 'Scabby Mouth' - a very infectious viral condition that's unpleasant but not life-threatening. Other animals like cows and dogs are also susceptible to it, so we had to move the cattle and limit where Bracken could roam. We got some soothing spray for her sore bits but a couple of days later she sadly died. 3 of the other ewes also contracted Scabby Mouth but they have recovered. We don't know where it came from, but there is a connection with thistles and we still have the adopted lambs who may have brought it with them (unlikely as they're all fine).
Calypso has been keeping Peter busy. Billy noticed she was lying oddly on the ground, and that she had a massive flesh gouge on her front knee. She'd got through the wire fence one night and we're guessing she damaged it somehow then. The vet recommended antibiotics and painkillers which Peter collected and I injected. She improved, but no sooner was she back on her feet, she repeated the injury on a different fence. Today he found her stranded on her back wedged under a fallen-over willow in the wetland. He had to chainsaw some branches to release her, and while he was preoccupied doing that, Nike and Helios thought they'd come through the hole in the fence that he'd created to enable her return. 
Peter has new pets, pre-ordered months ago. He won't know for many years if they've decided that it's worth staying on the property, but whether they do or not, our neighbours will probably also benefit. Dung beetles are not endemic to New Zealand but they've recently been introduced. The ones he ordered were selected for their suitability to our region, and are bred according to demand. When the customer before us canceled their order, it was added to ours so we got double dung beetles. Peter inserted half of them into cow pats according to the instructions. We shared some of the remaining ones with our neighbours, Shona and Craig, and Peter set up a nursery for the last few. 
The bees have been busy and behaving as I'd expected. I did a quick hive inspection and found 2 out of the 3 colonies had full honey boxes. The 3rd colony is healthy and buzzing but yet to make stores. I've added extra honey boxes and will insert escape boards soon, then extract honey in a few days. I'm really looking forward to my own honey again!
Work has begun on the horse arena in anticipation of the eagerly awaited fruit cage. It's been cleared and the salvaged soil is stacked on an assortment of ground sheets. My back is still complaining about the hefty wheelbarrowing. Peter has since been busy creating the IBC and blue barrel self-wicking beds. Several have been placed in their positions and work is in progress to create their reservoirs and drainage. Most of the fruit plants that were dug up will be composted. The raspberries were wild and infiltrated with couch grass. The blueberry roots didn't cope with being above the hardcore of the horse arena and were stunted (also explains why they didn't fruit well). The 3 feijoa trees did root really well and were a nightmare to remove, but I don't need so many feijoas so they were never going to be replaced. The white currants were hopefully rescued - they were dug up and re-planted in a vegetable bed along with a rogue gooseberry that popped up in the apple and raspberry bed. 
Elderberries are go and it only took a couple of trips to gather 5.6kg of them, enough to make 20 litres of wine. Some came from a tree on the other side of the orchard fence, and the fruit ladder was the perfect, solid structure to reach them from. They're in the freezer but I'll get them started very soon. Molly and Sam and their friends JJ and Dan are coming for the Marlborough Wine and Food Festival next weekend. The NZ Army Band is playing so Sam will be occupied. Molly can cast her professional eye over my amateur wine production and give me some robust feedback. She's also going to bring her Air Still so we can make a quick batch of gin, and I can decide if I really really really need to buy myself a home still. I think I may already know the answer to that conundrum...
Billy is contracted to work the regional grape harvest / vintage, likely starting in the 2nd week of March. Meanwhile, our own grapes are having their most productive season yet. At least, there's a good volume, though the quality is possibly dubious. Peter's going to try netting them again in the hope that it doesn't prevent us from getting at the fruit whilst allowing the birds free access. It'd be good to use our own grapes for wine one day. 
We're eating lettuce, beans, peas, tomatoes, kale, courgettes, spring onions and peppers, and I've chopped up and pickled some of the large gherkins that were hiding among their foliage. There are several other veges that will be ready in the next few weeks - sweetcorn, silverbeet, beetroot, brassicas, pumpkins (various) and onions. One of the watermelon plants in Madame Cholet is pretty much dead, maybe from the low night temperatures that we had a run of. It's a long shot to actually get watermelons, but I'm trying anyway. I've got some more young lettuce seedlings to plant in the Verdia, which has been an excellent source of greens generally, and also tomatoes and sneaky strawbs.
We decided to take the financial plunge and install a fast charger for the car. As there was no outside socket, the only way to charge it had been to park in the porch and stretch the cable from the lounge. The was pretty inconvenient and painfully slow, and meant that the front door had to stay open and the house filled with flies. We got the electrician to install an outside socket too, so we're feeling quite upmarket. We had to chop down the large Hebe next to the porch and decided to dig up and re-route the hedge so that we no longer have to clamber over shrubs to reach the charger or outside hose. Whether the hedge plants survive remains to be seen, but so far so good.
January 6th was the Wedding Day. We arrived the evening before on the same flight and they met with their celebrant, Sue. We'd met Molly's friend JJ at Invercargill Airport and she was on a slightly later flight. Sue took us for a drive so they could select their wedding location, and they were very happy with the first beach (Butterfield Beach) we came to. We had fabulous Fish and Chips from the Kai Kart - also run by Sue - and spent the evening playing cards (Scrub). 
On the morning of the nuptials, we donned our wedding attire. Molly looked absolutely gorgeous making a grand entrance from their Motel bedroom. We piled into Sue's car and headed to Butterfield Beach. The ceremony was short and extremely sweet and celebrated with champagne and Chinese spirit from Molly's parents. I nearly forgot to shower the happy couple with the confetti I'd made by drying rose petals. Shortly afterwards, we all changed into our hiking gear, loaded the rucksacks and set off for the Rakiura Track.
We were joined by another of Molly's friends, Aviva, and took the road out of the small township of Oban, heading west as we were walking clockwise around the track. The weather was glorious for the wedding and the sun continued to shine that day. We hiked to our first camping spot near North Arm Hut. We pitched the tents and walked to the nearby bay. It was spectacular and Sam even nearly landed the decent Kawahai he hooked. JJ had her dad's fishing rod but had never fished before - Peter showed her the ropes. We learned from other campers that kiwis were often spotted in the area. We heard them in the night but collapsed to sleep too early to catch a glimpse of them.
The next day it mostly rained though it remained fairly mild. It was hard walking - lots of up and down, clambering over roots and heaps of bogs. The landscape is so unspoiled and much of the route is sheltered by trees and ferns and other bush. It was a big relief to reach our next campsite at Maori Bay. When we finally dried out, Peter finally managed to light the fire despite dampish wood. It was another amazing location with a beautiful sunset and there was happy camaraderie among campers.
The next morning Sam, Molly and JJ tapped on our tent to say goodbye around 5:30am. They were on the 9:30am flight (another wedding to get to) so had to get moving. Aviva and us had the relative luxury of a 7am lie-in before making tracks back to Oban. The walk took us along the coast for much of the way, eventually reaching the road into town. We trekked along Butterfield Beach and found our way to the Kai Kart in enough time for another feed of those fantastic fish 'n chips before the flight back. We'd flown to Invercargill via Auckland (!) but via Wellington on the route home.
Bracken is growing fast and keeps Peter on his feet. He's growing out of his bitey phase and still has his mad monster moments, but generally he's getting easier to manage. He's a delightful bundle of energetic fun and is totally charming when visitors come. It's good to have a dog in the house again.
Lucas had his 30th birthday on 13th January, so now we can tease him about being old, though can't hide the fact that that makes us truly ancient.
Sally arrives next weekend, and I've managed to get a few extra days off work to spend with her. We'll be heading to the Christchurch Dramfest in early March, and soon after up to Auckland and Coromandel to meet Rachel and Geoff and catch up with Shena and Doug. And we've booked Rarotonga flights for my special birthday in August - really looking forward to getting back into a bit of snorkeling again, among many other delights the island offers.
It's been a weird summer so far - not much sun but not much rain either. Hoping there's an Indian summer around the corner for Sally to enjoy 🌞
