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.