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.
