February 2023 has been memorable for New Zealand, but sadly not in a good way. The northeast of the North Island, in particular Coromandel and Bay of Plenty, were first hit by a torrential rainstorm that resulted in wide-spread flooding, and then crushed by Cyclone Gabrielle. Loss of lives and damage to homes and properties was extensive and even more rain is impacting the clean-up. For us in the South Island, we totally dodged that bullet - all we got was a bit of wind and rain, and an eerie sky at dusk. Auntie Sally flew in the day of the storm and would have been significantly delayed if she'd been transiting through Auckland. Luckily Christchurch was only affected by extra workload from re-routed flights. She landed uneventfully on time and in good spirits.
As it's late summer, the gardening jobs revolve around weeding (always), harvesting, and processing. Some tidying up has happened, and generally the place is relatively tidy, though that depends where and how closely you look. Vegetables have been maturing and feeding us every day. That one prolific Lebanese cucumber plant is feeding many others too. Tomatoes are ripening and many jars of tomato sauce are filling what little freezer space we have remaining. And looking at what's left, those tomatoes have barely started. Beans, beetroot, lettuces and spring onions are abundant and I've decided to ignore the courgettes/marrows as I just can't keep up with them.
In Madame Cholet, the peppers are ready and the chillis just starting to colour up. Luckily the cucumber plants have been trained up the central tunnel house supports so just need to be tucked back in every now and then. A few melons are quietly swelling among the jungle of foliage at the back. The bloomin gourd plant is taking up heaps of space though the foliage is being nibbled by something. That's nearly a relief as there are several pretty large gourds, which is at least several more than I wanted - so it won't be a tragedy if they don't make it (I'll try and sound like I mean that, but obviously too many gourds is never a bad thing...).
Onions and carrots are nearly ready, and the leeks are fattening up. Sweetcorn and Aztec corn cobs are just about harvestable, and the many bright orange mini pumpkins are draped around like decorations. It is indeed a lovely time in the vegetable garden.
My lovely colleague and amazing weaver, Iona, created this absolutely stunning vegetable basket from harakeke/flax that was harvested in Whatamango Bay. It's been woven with the smooth side within and so doesn't scratch any contents. It was traditionally used for kumara harvests, but here it's holding my plums. Such a beautiful and precious gift that Iona says must be used. I'm very happy to oblige!
The plums were used (at Billy's suggestion) to make Roasted Plum & Honey Sorbet, which is not only a great option for an after-dinner palate cleanser, but also works well as a 'bring a plate' contribution. The small crop of greengages was also transformed into sorbet, and so have the Red Bartlett pears in the picture.
We made a decision that it was time for our 3 rams to meet their maker. 'Homekill' Bruce came round and did the terrible deed and we ended up with over 100kg of mutton (hence the reduced freezer space). That included 40kg of sausages which are amazingly delicious, and several joints that we'll have to work our way through at least on a weekly basis. We requested the fat from the butcher and the slow cooker transformed it into tallow that we'll cook with. The picture shows it in its yellow liquid form and then it's white, solid form.
Lucas offered to dig a hole for the remains, and unfortunately his spade hit the main water pipe to the house - something it hadn't occurred to any of us to consider. Peter managed to fix it the next day, and this small delay allowed Woody enough time to sneak through the fence and avail himself of some of those remains. If only we'd got a picture of him with his cute little blood smeared body. I'm sure he had an absolutely fabulous time.
Peter and George have been very busy with firewood. They've now totally cleared the wood from the site and have hired a very grunty splitter for a few days next month. Our driveway is completely lined with big wood rounds, that actually look quite sculptural. It's very satisfying to see them there as a symbol that we're ready for winter, almost a shame to split them!
I've taken on less extra shifts this month so that me and Sally could have a few adventures. We stayed in Hokitika for a few days at the start of the month. The weather didn't come to the party, but neither did it ruin the party. We had a great time in Punakaiki, Hokitika Gorge and Tree Top Walk, and around Fox. The Hokitika Beach Art Festival was just closing so we were in perfect time to check out the amazing creations made only from beach finds.
Wine has featured in our trips out (and also at home, eh Sally?). We did a wine and platter tasting at Framingham and went to The Bottling Company HQ to watch Peter and Billy hard at work. Sally heads back to ole Blighty at the weekend and we'll miss her happy company at home.
I'm still running, and still not getting any faster. I am covering more distance now though, usually 5-7kms a run, 3 times a week. Early morning is always the best time because the road is quieter and it's not too hot. And also the scenery can take my breath away more than the running.
Sad news from England is casting a shadow over our general contentedness. We're deeply hoping that Nick's remaining time is both long and positive, and very much look forward to seeing him later in the year. Kia kaha Nick from us all in Aotearoa New Zealand 💜
