November 22nd and still lovin' it

Not quite fully unpacked, but I've allowed about 4 years for that so we're still on schedule.  Too much to do without the hassle of wondering what could possibly be in those boxes.

Spring has certainly sprung since we arrived and along with it the spring winds.  It's also been a wet spring for the region, which is very handy as we planted 28 trees around the property.  Oaks, ash and rowan among them, happily reminiscent of the green green forests of England.  They're known as 'exotics' here, which confused me for a while until I realised that exotic doesn't actually mean 'tropical'.   They're mostly planted well away from any easy water source, so fingers crossed they're quite resilient as we don't have enough hours in the day to do a full round of watering.
The veg garden is now fully planted, with different plants in groups totally without the foresight of crop rotation principles.  Next year will be much more organised (I say that every year) and I now plan to extend the plot to about double its size, add a small pond and a few ducks and some small fruit trees for a bit of sun shelter.  The plot is in desperate need of weeding and mulch application in anticipation of a hot summer.  Next weekend for that I hope...

And the orchard is overgrown, so I've strimmed pathways leading to the fruit trees.  There are new pets in there too - my very first bee hive.  It was a bit of an impulsive decision to go ahead with bees so soon, but it was too good an offer to turn down (story of my life).  I managed to transfer the bees from a box into my hive on my own, having transported them from an apiary near town.  I'm desperate to look inside the hive again but have been advised to wait a little longer for them to settle before I do so.  I didn't see the queen when I transferred them, so I hope she's there.

The garden around the house is coming into bloom.  Lots of roses and some stunning paeonies.  I've added some plants I brought with me as cuttings or divisions from the old house, and have just planted out some seedlings grown from seed.  They're cottage garden-type flowers - poppies, hollyhocks, sweet-peas, stock, forget-me-not etc.  They've been planted with love in memory of my friend Joanna, so the area is known as 'Joanna's Patch'.  She was an ace gardener so I hope she approves!  (Mental note to remember to mow the lawn before I take photos).
In addition to the bees, I have more pets - worms.  A small worm-farm, more like a 'worm small-holding'.  Not got any worm-wee to dilute just yet, but they are still alive.  It's a project that I have to do as part of my night class course 'Go-Organics'.  I do have grander accommodation than the current 2 bucket palace in mind, but I'm waiting till there are more worms than I can feasibly count before I do so.  And still on the subject of pets, I've been offered the possibility of a donkey called Katie.  The thought of owning a donkey fills me with tremendous excitement and fear.  I've wanted a donkey for a very long time, but I'm terrified I'll get it wrong somehow.  It's probably too soon, but Katie's current owner is happy for it to be a process.  I'm going to visit her next month to learn a bit more and will take it from there.  Peter wants a donkey about as much as he wants nits, but he said that about the dog (and probably the kids too).  My working theory is that he just doesn't know that he wants a donkey yet......

In the meantime the stream is keeping him happy.  He caught a 4lb trout on a line with a worm, such a proud moment.  I didn't mess up cooking it too badly and it made quite an acceptable dinner.

The hillsides around us are pine plantations and are currently being felled.  It looks different every day and it will be great when we don't have to hear the noises of the chain saws, trees falling and logging trucks.  The hills look bare and ravaged, but hopefully will green up soon.  There's an area of flat land next to us which has been felled and re-planted with exotics by the forestry folk.  Not sure why they chose these rather than more pines but I'm not arguing.  We're also planning to get pine trees on our property felled.  They're along the river bank in a military line and we'll replace them with native trees (kahikatea, totara and rimu) in clumps, and eventually a few tree ferns and other lower growing natives.  Another job for next year.

The boys are keeping happy and enjoying the delights of country living.  We invested in a farm vehicle - a go-kart.  It's designed to be a farm ATV with a bale shelf and tow bar, but is low to the ground, seats 2 with full harnesses and has a roll bar.  We're hoping that this will make it safer for boys (big and small!).  It's our very early Christmas present, and probably the most popular thing we've ever bought.  That it breaks down most occasions it's used means they can't use it all the time and that's certainly an advantage from my perspective.  Many a peaceful moment in the veg garden destroyed by the roar of the passing go-kart and shrieks of joy.

The cattle are still alive and seem to be content.  Except for the day when one boy left the gate open and we came home to one cow on the road and 2 in the garden. Not a happy moment but quickly resolved after much parental tutting and shrieks of horror.  Though they are grazing away, we still have plenty of green pasture which will no doubt be yellow pasture in a few weeks.  Some of it will make hay (must get round to finding out how to do that) and we really really need a plan about what to do with the rest.  What dastardly things will happen as a result of leaving pasture ungrazed?
We're still hoping to get some piglets and I've located a potential source for after Christmas once we're back from hols.  We're also researching turkeys and have made some preliminary accommodation preparations in the orchard.  A few extra weeks of spare time and energy would be great but, like everyone else, I'm dreaming.  But I am happily dreaming and in a lovely head-space.  Not a single yearn for city life yet.