August has had its usual unpredictable weather, but luckily not too much of anything. Some rain, some sun, some frost and a little wind - enough to keep us ticking along nicely, and enough to require the mowing of the lawn. This stunning rainbow indicates that there may be a pot of gold in the wetland. After digging a big sad hole for the remains of 2 cattle (Hera and Erebus), understandably no-one is too keen to do the necessary digging to check out the gold thing. For the first time, I was at work and Peter at home when Bruce, the home-kill man came. Athena, Poseidon and Noddy were very noisy that evening, indicating anthropomorphically, their distress at the loss of their mates. It doesn't get any easier for me either.
You don't have to look very hard to see the tell-tale signs of spring popping up everywhere. The first asparagus spear revealed itself when its bed was being weeded. There are a few more tiny buds at ground level too, but nothing yet from the new crowns that were added to the patch last year. Here's hoping they're just holding out for warmer weather. The asparagus patch has now been fully weeded, manured (sheep) and covered in a blanket of pea straw 
Two of the large circular beds that will lay fallow this season have been dug over and are waiting for the green manure laid on the surface to break down before they too will be covered in pea straw. The rhubarb bed was planted with a hebe hedge (grown from cuttings) but a few probably haven't survived. Those that were shaded from the predominant sun by the green manure have suffered most. Luckily there are heaps spare from the second batch of cuttings. The raised beds that will house grains this year have been seriously manured and covered in weed mat. The irrigation will go in closer to planting time.
The orchard has been pruned (except for a few large branches awaiting a chainsaw massacre), and also the fruit trees in the vege garden/horse arena. Derryn came and got them all relaxing and dancing, relieved of their unnecessary limbs. The original plum tree is blossoming up big time, as usual at this time of year, oblivious to the heinous plan of taking the main trunk out. Better get on with that, before someone chickens out.
Flowers and blossoms are popping up and giving the busy bees some pollen and nectar. The first daffodil took me by surprise, and now there are several. The pulmonaria (lungwort) is a stalwart and personal favourite. So too the cheery asters and hellebores, and lovely to see the flowering quince recently planted on the driveway.
One of the raised horse arena beds has just been cleared of its woody compost to make way for the blueberries that will be transplanted there. They are currently housed in a bed that is rife with couch grass and nettle, and where it would be very tricky to suspend bird-netting. Their new bed will be manured and enriched, weed mat will be placed, and eventually, a bird netting structure erected in the vain hope of actually being able to eat some blueberries. In the past, the birds have been making off with the majority, forcing me to pick slightly under-ripe ones to get any at all. The strawberry plants are starting to look lively, and they'll also be netted this year.
The new, bigger-than-ever compost heap is now nearly full (!) and should also provide some warmth and wind protection for the soon-to-arrive babies who will be housed in the little hayshed alongside. We're on the list for 4 very young calves who will need milk feeds and shelter to get them through their first weeks and months. Peter has used the leftover roofing felt (from the studio) and filled in some of the gaps in the shelter sides. There'll be hay on the ground and some hay bales around the sides providing insulation. All the boys want their own calf investment, and though it would be lovely and practical from a feed perspective to have more, 4 is the maximum to fit in the shelter. There's a bit more work to do to make the shelter fit-for-purpose. Like deciding what colour to paint the walls and, I'm thinking, fairy lights.
August is a big birthday month for us. Mine and Peter's birthdays are a day apart - something which our kids assumed was the case for everyone's parents until they knew better. Billy treated us to a smorgasbord of British food treats - biscuits, chocolate and sweeties - and baked a delish chocolate birthday cake with candles. Sam and Molly created a brilliant rap and got us an assortment of gifts, including some quite unusual ones. I've never before seen a tea infuser in the shape of an arse that sits on the edge of your cup, attached to a perforated turd, into which you put your chosen tea. Oh, what I've been missing all my life - thankfully now resolved. I'm truly grateful that my family appreciates the wealth of opportunities that have arisen from my poo-fetish. Lucas and Laura have literally just arrived in Korea from the UK, where they plan to stay until Australia becomes an option. 
Having committed all our available free-time to the studio construction, Peter and me decided to keep our birthday weekend tasks to a minimum and had a lazy Saturday meandering around Picton and the Queen Charlotte Drive. We called by Karaka Point to have a yarn with Dad and stocked up on pies from the famous Picton Bakkerij. Sunday was a miserable weather day, so easy to bum around indoors drinking tea and eating cake. The studio is complete, just the decking around the outside and furnishing the inside to contend with now. It's a truly beautiful and peaceful space - amazing work Peter and Billy!! I've been taking photos throughout the construction and will put up a separate blog page when it's finally done.
Derryn celebrated a 'special' birthday at the end of July with a big meal out gathering (Grovetown Hotel). She'd planned a NZ road trip holiday, but a Covid outbreak in Auckland led to their decision to holiday on just the South Island. She's hanging out right now in Hokitika, not jealous at all.
Happy days! Roll on next week, the start of spring.
