December 2021

                                           

The silly season is well and truly upon us, though for us it's considerably less silly than other years.  Parcels were done and dusted by early November, and all have arrived safely (Billy was amazed when his turned up).  The tree has been decorated and a few Christmas decorations have been strewn around a bit.  No need to make much of a fuss for just the two of us.  Christmas dinner may not be on Christmas Day and may or may not include a roast turkey or egg and chips.  Chocolates and Haribo Jelly Teddies are on stand-by, ready to be consumed when the time is right.  I'm feeling totally unstressed and relaxed and looking forward to getting into a few good books.

Peter has been out on the good ship Gladys a few times, and even managed to reliably bring fish home.  He's been able to launch and retrieve her on his own (with a little help from a bystander) and found his way back when he got lost.  It's great to see him enthused about this new toy.  No doubt there will be boat trips over the Christmas break, and I'll join him some of the time.

  I've really enjoyed crafting gifts this year.  The gourd planters and bird feeders were all snapped up by happy colleagues, and everyone loved their pregnant torso candle and Christmas Spirit (Mulled Gin) combo.  A night shift handover conversation about gin (obviously) outed some gin lovers and their secrets.  Adornments in the form of dehydrated lemon slices and rosemary are allegedly a lit thing.  Not wishing to be behind the times, I visited our lemon tree and rosemary hedge and got myself into the cool gin drinker rankings.  There was plenty to share.

  I'm reaping the rewards of my efforts to fertilise and protect the soft fruit.  The weather has done much of my watering in the last few weeks, so they've been more consistently hydrated than ever before.  The strawberries are huge and fab, and so are the raspberries.  The blueberry bed, equally productive, has a few new bushes and it has all been mulched, weed matted and netted.  Some of it has stony gravel from Karyn over the weed mat, which should eventually cover it all. Hopefully the reflected warmth will improve the ripening.   It's relatively easy to get in and out of for picking purposes.  Most of the soft fruit doesn't make it into the house, though I did manage to pack a little assortment for Molly on her birthday. 

    There are lots of goings-on in the orchard.  It's shaping up to be a great year for pears (including the perry pear tree which is dripping with fruit), apples and plums, but not for peaches.  The Golden Queen and Blackboy peach trees are looking unhealthy, even though they are fruiting.  The greengage is healthy and fruiting, though not abundantly.  The quince looks to have leaf blight and will need some serious attention.  Hmmm, might need to think about a chemical treatment as it's pretty widespread and I ignored it last year so it's been struggling for a while.  The mulberry tree is absolutely stunning and is covered in unripe fruit.  I strongly suspect that magnificent mulberries have been ripening and been immediately snatched by birds. I'm definitely losing the battle to get there before them.   

Rabbit and/or bird damage has been more than a bit destructive this year.  Particular crops are targeted, and others totally ignored.  Popular are corn, beans, beets and brassicas, which have been totally annihilated when left unprotected.  I'd crafted some mesh 'cages' to go over new plantings and removed them once the plants got established.  This has worked to an extent, but I'm guessing my chewed-up beetroot tops won't crop too well underground.  Ironically these pests haven't touched the carrots (what kind of rabbits are you...?), lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pumpkins (no sarcastic comments you pumpkin-phobes - you know who you are).  Next year I'm going to have to get my head around better protection, possibly more robust 'cages'.   Some serious rabbit-culling might help.  I do know a man with a gun who occasionally hits the target, but this would probably be the tip of the iceberg.  I suspect that we're the at the epicentre of Bunnyville City.

 

Vibrant flowers continue to nourish my soul.  The dahlias are starting to fill out, and the self-sown cornflowers are popping up in several places.  A shout-out to the beautiful native Marlborough Rock Daisy which is thriving.  The flower garden got a kind of cursory speed-weed of the most visible weeds, and it's looking quite tidy from a distance.  Black Nightshade is starting to appear - a weed that is potentially toxic to cattle - so will have to be dealt with before it makes itself too much at home.

   Garlic is ready to harvest, a task I'll tackle over the Christmas break.  Snow peas, spring onions, lettuce, and cabbage are already on the menu.  Madame Cholet is doing a fab job with rockmelons, chillis, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, and ginger.  Some remnants of turmeric in one of the half barrels have germinated and are growing beautifully.  Quite amazing as I'd been ignoring that barrel and not watering it until the tell-tale shoots appeared.  Rockmelon foliage is profuse, and I concede that I may have overdone the melon planting and may even have to trim them back.  I've been using the blue mesh drying bag in Madame Cholet to dry a few herbs.  Solly had been hitherto blocked in the carport by Gladys.  A lack of consecutive sunny days meant that it wasn't a priority to release her, but she's out now and the sun is shining.

 Several trees are waiting to be planted in the woodlot.  That's an autumn job, though they still have to be kept alive until then.  Also waiting for their forever home are the many Mexican Orange Blossom cuttings that will go alongside the driveway trees.  It's heart-warming to look out over our property at the trees that we planted that are maturing and productive.  So much life and vibrancy and colour and new habitats.  

 

I was interviewed by the local press about what birth-with-Covid would look like.  The article made the front page - must have been no news that day.  Wairau Maternity are once again the very proud winners of the best decorated ward.  The theme this year was Harry Potter and the creativity was extraordinary - there are some very craftily talented midwives around.  Work generally has been humdrum, though it was a great feeling to get my last workshop of the year out of the way.  I have some more vaccine clinic shifts planned and a couple of maternity night shifts, but otherwise am looking forward to a decent break after Christmas.      

Lucas and Laura are continuing with their plans to return home in February, keeping everything crossed that Omicron doesn't scupper the border opening plans.  A number of items, like this fridge, are turning up in anticipation of their new life chapter.  Sam is still in Auckland - one more week to go.  Billy is getting on with his Spanish adventure.  And our lovely Maggie celebrates her 112th (16th) birthday today.  She's amazing.

Merry Christmas one and all.  Mine's a pint.

November 2021

No disasters this month to report, unless you count the discovery of all the cows together in the same paddock.  We'd been keeping Noddy and the steers separate from the girls to avoid the risk of teenage pregnancy, but it looks like Noddy had other ideas.  That gate took quite a hammering - it must have been him.  Suffice to say that they're separated again, and a note made on the calendar saying 'Love Will Find a Way'.  Really hoping it didn't.

  

The afore-mentioned boat arrived to much excitement.  It's a 4.5m Marco that we've named 'Gladys' after Peter's mum.  She hated her name but we thought it'd be a cool name for a boat, and it's a lovely way to recall happy memories of 'Nana'.  Peter's boss Stefan came out with us on our maiden voyage out of Havelock Marina.  There's so many things to get right with launching, cruising and getting the boat back on the trailer, and we were extremely grateful for his experienced hand.  We feel confident go out on our own next time.  The trip out coincidentally was on Dad's birthday, so I took some flowers from the garden to scatter in the sea.

                       

The spring weather has been its usual mixed bag, though it's getting drier and drier.  Flowers of all colours are abundant.  The forget-me-not were grown from seeds celebrating our sister-in-law Linda's life.  Cheery red Flanders Poppies are popping up everywhere, and the beloved-by-honeybees bottle brush tree is having its first dash. 

  

Beyond the garden, flowers like these stunning white foxgloves and ox-eye daisies, had been lining the dog walk route to the river.  Until the logging company decided to upgrade the track that is.  They used heavy machinery to widen the track, obliterating the flowers alongside and creating huge dust banks.  They also obliterated heaps of brambles, leycesteria and broom, so not all bad.  A bridge is being re-constructed over the river, meaning our peaceful country retreat is likely to be disturbed by logging trucks again. Bugger.

  

The vege garden is looking OK and feeling manageable.  Plastic mesh netting has been bound together to protect new corn and bean plantings, and so far it seems to be working.  Round 2 Aztec corn is back in place and there've been no more seedling massacres.  The garlic is looking healthy, as are the golden cabbages in the same bed.  The step-over apple trees are fruiting away, and producing lots of leafy new branches.  Yummy raspberries and other berries are also growing profusely.  Karyn's bed is hosting carrots that I've sown.  She broke her pinky finger badly a few weeks ago so her plot has been mostly left to its own devices.  I did manage to trim the hedge, but weeding is unlikely to reach the priority list any time soon.  Better heal quick Karyn!

  

Madame Cholet is doing a great job of protecting tomatoes, peppers, rock melons, basil, a cucumber and an assortment of chillis.  More seedlings will join them when they're big enough.  The half barrel has some ginger root that has yet to germinate.

The strawberry and blueberry beds have been protected with bird netting (courtesy of Jane - I couldn't find mine so probably another flood loss).  Three of the raised beds have been planted with buckwheat and amaranth seed, and were originally protected with an assortment of wind and shade cloth.  Rabbit droppings were left on the cloth, so it looks like they may be some of the damage-culprits.  The cloths were removed once the seeds germinated, and metal mesh erected around the beds.  That should at least slow those rabbits down.  If it was quail and blackbird damage after all, then I'm stuffed.

Bees have been really busy, so I was optimistic that the hives would be thriving.  Happily I wasn't disappointed.  The 2 hives in the photo are the original one and the split.  Bee volume is similar in both and the addition of the top honey boxes was timely.  The hive at Jane and Al's is equally impressive, so it's also received a honey box.  Even the new colony that was a swarm from Derryn, is starting to build up its bee numbers.  Really exciting - should be fresh honey by Christmas.

 The gourds were drilled to make various sized holes, cleaned out (thanks Molly), dyed, sprayed with polyurethane, threaded with a leather-thonging strap, filled with potting compost and planted with succulents.  They've been dunked in a bucket of water a couple of times now, and that seems to be the best way of settling the compost and watering the plants.  The Mistletoe Market has been binned so they'll all be gifted.

Plants are taking over indoors as well.  Like many others, I'm starting to feel an irresistible urge to endlessly get my mits on houseplants.  The photo shows progress so far.  Most of the plants are young so optimistically will fill out over summer.  Karyn, Em, her partner Leo, Sam and Molly have also caught the bug, and swaps have happened.  Even Lucas wants to get some house plants when him and Laura get home.  On that note, the NZ government have announced that the borders will re-open to NZ citizens and residents from mid-February, so they booked flights pronto!  Yay, we haven't seen them for 2 years.  

Sam was hoping to have a break over Christmas, but the army have announced that the band will be staffing one of the Auckland MIQs for 3 weeks over the festive season.  Looks like we'll have to have to resort to a family Zoom on the big day after all.  Billy's Christmas parcel is the only one to have not arrived (yet), so fingers crossed the Spanish Post Office sort that out.  

Work continues for me and Peter, complicated of course by Covid.  Health workers and teachers have been mandated to be vaccinated, and a number have been stood down as a result of their unwillingness to do so.  It's a very sad state of affairs, and has added stress and general  weariness to the working environment.  Marlborough, like most of the South Island, has managed to avoid the Covid scourge so far.  Truly, madly deeply I hope that continues.

October 2021

October has seen our most harrowing lifestyle block experience so far. Our heifer, Athena, the first calf to be born on the property, who despite our best attempts, had never become pregnant. Too fat and then also too old we were told. However, one day she was behaving very oddly and we realised that she was in labour.  Noddy (pictured) must have finally succeeded where others had failed - maybe a selenium success at last. Our initial excitement turned to concern when she still hadn’t birthed hours later.  Eventually, the vet was called. She confirmed that the unborn calf was long dead and that things didn’t look good for Athena either.  Athena had become increasingly distressed and unable to stand. We faced the stark options of either an on-the-spot Caesarean, that she may not survive, or to put her down. Peter made the difficult decision to put her to sleep - she was clearly suffering and the thought of making that worse was unbearable.  Our good neighbour later came round with his digger and now she rests in peace in the paddock in which she was born. Had we got onto the selenium years ago, this tragedy might have been avoided.  RIP and in our hearts Athena. 

  

Meanwhile, the lambs continue to fill us with joy. Young Snowy pretty much weaned herself off the small volume of milk supplement we were giving her. She’s still petite compared to her siblings but she’s lively and robust. We managed finally to dock their tails after the usual rigmarole. The adult sheep also got their selenium drench and due attention was given to the clacking dags around Saul’s arse (again).  Both Skylar (white ewe) and Marie (black ewe) are shedding their wool, so they look pretty scrappy right now.  Happily, Skylar is looking less gaunt than she did soon after the birth of the triplets.  As a result of her penchant for sheep nuts, she's become quite tame again.  Maire is much more cautious but nonetheless also very fond of said nuts.

Numerous vege seedlings have been planted out. A few brassicas, more garlic, spring onions, coriander, spinach, silver beet, red and white onions, beetroot, daikon radish, and tomatoes purchased at the annual Linkwater School plant sale. Gorgeous Aztec corn, graciously germinated by Karyn, was proudly planted but the next morning was totally munted, every single one plucked out and discarded or magicked away. The thorough work of birds it seems - blackbirds or quail.  Hope there was a good reason for this massacre.  The same fate nearly befell the onion seedlings, but I noticed in time and covering with mesh seems to be a deterrent.

  

Asparagus has been prolific and awesome this year. I’ve enjoyed many a meal with asparagus in the starring role.  We have been privileged to have eaten like royalty lately, with venison and groper, sourced from hunting and fishing and gifted by friends Jane and Al from down the road. Even some presentation pizzazz eh? 

   The flower gardens are delightfully filling out.  The poached egg plant, beloved by bees, is seeding and flowering all over the place.  New plants from Linkwater are also swelling the ranks, and the pea straw is effectively mulching (or hiding) the weeds so it looks quite tidy still. The white-flowered shrub is a hydrangea, a present from Lucas a long while ago. This is its inaugural spectacular display, optimistically the first of many. 

   Elsewhere more flowers are popping up, including the beautifully fragrant wisteria by the sleepout.  Geraniums and other plants have been added to the trough outside the Womb.  Heaps of sunflower seeds are germinating, as are some very special forget-me-not seeds that were sent from the UK after the funeral of our truly awesome and much-loved sister-in-law, Linda.    

Peter has been busy on the firewood front, chopping up the logs that are littering the paddocks and the fence line.  We chopped a big log along the river bank when walking the dog one day. It rained heavily that night and the next day the chunk that we left behind had sailed away in the swollen Ohinemahuta River. Plenty more where that came from luckily.  We’re working on the ones that are easiest to access and best positioned to cut first. The woodshed is full and there’s more firewood in its extension.  It’s a great feeling to be ready for next winter so soon.  The huge huhu grub was one of many formerly resident in a large willow tree that fell down many moons ago in the wetland that Peter has been gradually working through.

Some de-crapping has also been happening, mostly burning of various piles of sticks and old bits of wood, and some of my old hive ware that’s well past its prime. There’ll be more once we clear out the carport next to the garage.  We’re hoping to put our boat in there when it arrives next week (if it fits).  We’ve been saving hard, and income from the vaccine clinics has added to the pot.  Peter is pretty excited as this is a long-standing dream come true for him. We’ll do our skipper license online and will take an experienced boatie out with us the first time at least.  More boat news next blog!  

Bees have been very exciting this month.  The split of my hive that Iwan helped with looks to have worked.  There’s normal bee activity at both colonies.  Derryn messaged one day with a photo of a swarm in her garden from one of her hives.  That colony now has a new home at Jane and Al’s place.  They are very keen on a bee ‘apprenticeship’ that I can help them with. It was a huge swarm so here’s hoping they’re happy in the valley. So far so good.

Work on the sleepout bedroom is slowly proceeding.  The electrician has sorted out the main light fitting and shifted the sockets to a better place.  Peter has filled in the millions of holes and cracks in the paintwork, and a new carpet is waiting to be installed.  Just the painting to do once the filler is sanded down.  It's coming together nicely and should be quite habitable by the time Lucas and Laura get here.  

The covid situation is still troublesome. Auckland and other parts of the North Island have been in levels 4 and 3 lockdowns for a while, and case numbers just aren’t settling yet. A single South Island case in Blenheim didn’t lead anywhere, so we dodged a bullet there, for now at least.  Vaccine rates are increasing but the country is some way off the 90% mark. New compulsory requirements for teachers, health workers and the hospitality sector to be fully vaccinated have massive implications for those who would otherwise choose not to be vaccinated.  We’re all still a little confused by the rules, and in any case, these will change to a new traffic light system soon.  

Meanwhile, Christmas is coming.  I’ve been as annoying as usual and have pretty much sorted out parcels to go to the UK, Spain, and Korea. They mightn’t yet make it, even though it’s still October. The US has just announced that they're not attempting to send parcels to NZ (and other countries) because the freight issues are too overwhelming. Maybe other countries will follow suit.  

Peter and me are potentially facing our first Christmas alone or not at home. That’s not a bad thought incidentally, though I’d hate to think that’ll be normal for us going forward.  Billy is still in Spain but his visa will run out in early 2022.  As always he has no specific plans beyond that, but as always he'll probably land on his feet somewhere perfect.  Lucas and Laura still haven't heard about Laura's residency visa yet, but they're making concrete plans for the happy day that they return to NZ (beginning with a very large TV).  Sam and Molly don't really know what they'll be working over Christmas, so we'll probably head to theirs at some point. The vaccine clinic work is showing signs of drying up, which was inevitable sooner or later.  The extra hours have worked well for me and may lead to some future work vaccinating pregnant women. I've managed to find a commitment-less week in November that I can take off - can't wait.  My Hypnotherapy portfolio is dangerously close to submission, and I've promised myself an online ukelele course when it's finally out of my hair.  A solid week off will make all the difference.