Mother Nature unleashed an un-seasonal storm a couple of
nights ago, described by the media as a ‘weather bomb’. The West Coast copped torrential rain, and we
got the gale force winds. It was
probably the worst storm we’ve had since moving out here. No chance of sleep at all, with numerous
things going bump in the night. The tree
damage at first seemed considerable, but after some clearing up, re-staking and
finger crossing, we’ve only lost one tree so far – the black thorn (maker of
sloes). I’d recently been regretting
planting it in the centre of a keyhole bed in the vege garden as it had been
getting too big and too thorny, so all up the storm wasn’t a disaster. I took several cuttings that can be planted
elsewhere if they take. The fig tree also lost a huge limb and is now seriously unbalanced. Hopefully the stakes will support it until it re-balances itself. The corn is munted
but not destroyed, and some of the olive trees were bent over; only time will
tell if their damage was terminal. Considerable
quantities of unripe fruit (mostly apples, pears and stone fruit) were blown
off, which was gutting but could have been worse. 
Many happy hours in the vege garden have finally created
some kind of order. There are always
jobs to do, but happily it feels like I’m on top of them enough to maybe have a
day off. Cropping is starting in earnest
– lettuces, cucumbers, snow peas, kale, baby beets, beans and cabbage so far,
but plenty more on the way. The low
hedges have been trimmed and most of the beds are fully planted.
The tea gardens have also finally been planted – so far peppermint,
spearmint, liquorice, chamomile, bergamot, lemon balm and anise hyssop, plus the ginger in Madame Cholet. The
liquorice is struggling a bit, but everything else is taking off. The raised beds are being watered religiously
every day, and I’ve even surpassed myself by erecting some wind cloth, just in time before the storm struck. Optimistically there’ll be herbal teas
a-plenty in a couple of months.
There's been a noticeably bigger rabbit population and not surprisingly, some rabbit damage in the vege garden. Rabbit holes have popped up all over the property. Shortly after the disappearance of some of her brassicas, a huge hole appeared in Karyn's patch on the day of a pizza evening. There were several suggestions about how best to dispose of them, but I wasn't sure about that. Live and let live and all that. Instead I privately had a word with the bunnies and cut a deal - they can have any plant in Karyn's bed but nowhere else. Let's see how that plays out.
One spare chamomile plant ended up in Madame Cholet (in the
interests of greenhouse biodiversity) and is flowering away. The vast quantity of flowers were picked and
dehydrated using my new solar dehydrator (a Sunflair solar oven). Very exciting! Also dehydrated have been a batch of jerky
and some culinary herbs – the quintessential parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Next to try dehydrating is fruit. The solar oven cooks too. So far I’ve only tried it out with a whole
chicken. It was promising but had to be
finished off in the kitchen oven after it clouded over. 
Despite the storm, the orchard
crop is looking promising. There will be
apples and pears and heaps of stone fruit, particularly plums. Even the Flatto nectarine is fruiting – I’d
written that tree off as a weakling new variety and had vowed not to plant
anything other than robust heritage trees, but maybe it’ll prove me wrong. The cider apples number 4 in total – not a
good start to cider making, but at least I can use the Bramley apples
instead. I plan to try my hand at making
cider vinegar once there are spare ripe apples. There are nuts – almonds and sweet chestnuts
– but probably not more than a handful in total. One of the walnut trees that had looked dead
has sprung into life. The new growth may
be below the graft, so probably we’ll end up with another quince, assuming that’s
the root-stock.
On the animal front, it’s looking possible that both Hera
and Athena are pregnant. They were
inseminated and now have each had 2 cycles with very limited signs of
heat. We’ve read that this is what’s
supposed to happen, so here’s hoping! A
couple of gorgeous calves in winter would be a great tonic. The sheep are just the same, and the pigs are
porkier. They’ve been really enjoying
the extra fruit that the storm brought down.
They were already getting the falling plums from the overhanging tree in
the pig run.
2017 brings with it new life opportunities for us all. Lucas's new job is going well, Sam's progress into the army is moving forward, and Billy's getting on with kitchen work and seeking a formal apprenticeship. Peter has a new job in a brand new bottling company with old colleagues, and I'll be working for the Health Board as an educator for a couple of days a week as well as the Polytechnic work. Hope that won't get in the way of enjoying life and abundance on the land.
