January 2021

                         The new year was welcomed at home in party-style.  Our fellow poms are all sharing that common ground of gratitude that we live in this corner of the earth, and no longer in ole Blighty that is currently blighted by Corona.  That, and the weather.  We had a hot run of days in the middle of the month, and the forecast is for another blistering run this week.  That'll reduce the number of available gardening hours.  Luckily there's plenty of painting and other kitchen tasks to be done inside.  New carpet for upstairs will be here soon, so lots of de-crapping and furniture moving ahead.

            We also had a belated Christmas celebration with Sam and Molly, who rolled up in a campervan in early January.  We travelled with them to lovely Picton for a couple of nights, for a spot of fishing (at Karaka Point), mini golf, shopping and eating.  We got stuck into decorating the Christmas Cake and had a crack at distilling hydrosols in their new still that travelled here with them.  Pine and rose water worked pretty well, but the pear brandy, distilled from some of my dodgy bottles of pear wine was less successful, though distinctly alcoholic at around 70%.  Probably we have a little more to learn about this distillation business.

                I had an extra summer break, courtesy of my old mate Roz, in Wanaka.  I was there with the express intention of absorbing her fine wisdom and depth of knowledge about hypnobirthing. I stayed at her place, enjoying fabulous views of Lake Wanaka and its surrounds.  We got out and about in Wanaka too, including a number of walks around the lake.  It was a relaxing tonic, and productive in terms of learning.  

We're celebrating the arrival of a new lamb, born yesterday (23rd January).  It's a white ewe lamb we're calling Holly (yep, still doing the Breaking Bad theme) who is being lovingly tended and nourished by her mum.  That brings the sheep tally to 3 boys and 3 girls.  Sometime we'll have to make a decision about which ram stays and which goes.  But we can procrastinate on that for a while yet.

A storm while I was away in Wanaka unleashed the Grannie Smith apple tree outside the sleep-out from its stakes.  It's been down before, so undeterred it was propped back up again and re-secured with extra baling twine.  Then there was another storm, and this time it fell to the ground in the opposite direction.  Bugger. I've propped it and secured it back up again, but with somewhat of a heavy heart.  It'll have to be made of seriously tough stuff to survive.  I've given it a Karyn-style prune and am keeping my fingers crossed.  

                       The orchard has fared much better in the stormy weather, though there's lots of fruit on the ground.  No pigs to feed this time, so alas most of it will rot where it fell.  Happily there's heaps still left on the trees.  Maturing nicely are loads of pears, nashis, damsons, apples, plums, and others I've forgotten. The greengages are just about ripe and this lovely specimen was the test sample.  As stupendous as ever.  I'll give them a few more days then swoop.

  Vegetables are on tap and it's forever a pleasure to go and pick fresh for the table.  The broccoli is mostly all harvested, blanched and frozen.  I've had a bash at pickling beetroots using my own apple cider vinegar and they're absolutely delish, especially with feta cheese.  Mmmm.  There are zillions more so I'll definitely preserve again.  Garlic, peppers, beans, greens, peas and zucchini are also on the menu, and it won't be long before they're joined by tomatoes, cucumber, leeks, sweetcorn and caulis, and whatever else is out there.

                       Madame Cholet is doing a fine job of nurturing rockmelons.  The hot temperatures seem to ramp up their growth and I even managed to get round to pruning back the lengthier vines.  Now there are several fruits forming.  Raspberries make flavoursome snacks when I'm gardening, and occasionally some blueberries and strawberries even make it into the house. 

                            

The grains are progressing well too.  The buckwheat is flowering beautifully so I'd better get on with working out how to process it.  The Aztec corn in the raised bed isn't doing as well as the excess corn planted in the supposed-to-be-fallowing keyhole bed.  I guess the proof of the cob superiority has yet to be determined.

                

The bees are buzzing away and a further 2 boxes of the best honey in the world extracted using our new all-singin all-dancin electric extractor.  More wax was filtered using the high-tech solar oven process.  The photo shows the gradually-solidifying layer of wax that forms on the surface of the water in the pan.  It's a beautiful process to watch.  The newest bee colony, courtesy of Derryn, is thriving, and optimistically even has its first honey box.  The top bar hive, that was moved to a more sheltered site behind Madame Cholet, is queen-right and getting on with the business of expanding itself.

      

Flowers continue to delight and nourish my soul.  Kniphofia, dahlias and roses are particularly joyful right now.  Wild viola and vibrant red poppies are sprouting everywhere, and I struggle to pull up those that have rooted in the paths.  The poppy flower buds are mesmerising.  They kind of give birth to their flowers, slowly dilating until the red petals emerge.  One day I'll get round to some time-lapse photography.  

                                               

The silky oak is in flower and has recovered from its severe haircut.  It has a lovely form that has created a relaxing shady zone around the pizza oven, also providing some sun protection for the flower bed beyond.  Maggie likes to linger out there when it's hot.  We suspect she has an assortment of buried bones to keep her company.

  

The school summer holidays are nearly over, and we're not anticipating many more Airbnb guests for a while.  It's a shame to have the sleep-out unoccupied, but we're lucky that's all it is.  We're grateful that life's normal for us, even though that remains tentative.  Better get on with the day and get prepared for this heatwave.  Happy days.