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.
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.
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