December 2024

                       
Marlborough is particularly gorgeous in spring and early summer - the image of the backdrop of the Richmond Ranges is classically Marlborough and even more ethereal in real life than the image suggests.  More tidying up at home has happened, but it's barely keeping pace with the spring growth.  I'm focusing on the vege garden beds that are planted and trying to ignore the rest.  The horse arena is particularly scruffy, but it will get plenty of input once we get started on the fruit cage.  The orchard will need a good prune at the end of summer, but there should be plenty of fruit to keep me in smoothies for another year.  The stone fruit isn't as abundant as it's been previously but happily there are some greengages, and more than enough damsons to keep Clare's gin happy.  Looks like there'll be heaps of apples and pears for cider and perry too.

             

Flowers continue to provide a vibrant, joyful palette to the garden.  The dahlias are in full bloom and share the limelight with roses, aquilegias, geums, geraniums, hydrangea, and Marlborough rock roses.  There are plenty yet to come.  The flower beds still have most of the thick straw that Karyn applied, so minimal maintenance only is needed.

                                                        

Every year I think the Abutilon has been got by the frost, and every year it pretends to be dead for a while and then pops up to surprise me.  When it grows new leaves, they look dried up and crinkly at first before stretching out into their typical leaf form.  It spreads too - there are about 5 plants that have emerged around the parent plant - not sure if that's from roots or branches rooting - but they're all very welcome.  I'll have a crack at digging one up and see if it'll take off elsewhere in the flower garden. 

  

                                 

Nike started showing some characteristic signs of imminent birth, and her beautiful son Helios was born on Christmas Eve.  He's the image of his mum and his cousin Calypso - bright white with black points and gorgeous fluffy ears.  Nike is a lovely and attentive mum as usual and still looking out for Aura who is a bit put out by the arrival of her brother.  Peter and Billy have the dubious task of steering him, poor little guy...

                                                            

Triton was next on the home-kill list and we decided to go ahead sooner rather than later to save on ever-rising grocery costs.  Sam and Molly took a quarter, and we opted for the luxury of our remaining meat being pre-packed at the butchery.  This saved us several hours of painstaking bagging, which would have been very tricky with Bracken around.  I managed to make a few kgs of burgers and meatballs before the mince went into the freezer.

                                                      

We've acquired 3 lambs who just turned up on our property, liked it, and stayed.  We advertised their presence here on the Onamalutu Facebook page and made some enquiries but no claimants so far.  They haven't joined our mob yet, and we're trying not to encourage that in case someone does come to retrieve them.  They're not Wiltshires so will need shearing at some point if we do end up keeping them.

                                                        

Bees are buzzing from the 3 colonies that all started as splits or swarms.  I gave them all a second brood box and a honey box and have been leaving them to get on with their buzzy lives.  They're about due an inspection and hopefully there'll be a little early honey harvest to share when I get round to that.  Jane is busy with her own colony and has also starting to keep a hive or two at her work.  She's using Oxalic Acid as a control for varroa - something I've been meaning to do for years, so I'll be bending her ear about that.

                                     

The raspberries are completely overgrown and will need some significant tidying up when they've finished fruiting.  The higgledy-piggledy manic growth has the bonus of hiding the raspberries from the birds - a brief rummage through the foliage reveals numerous berries, many of which are huge.  Redcurrants are similar - those visible on the outside have been nabbed, but there are plenty within the dense greenery.  The blackberries are fattening up nicely too.  I doubt many of them will make it to the freezer, but it's great to have fruity snacks when I'm out in the vege garden.

                                                     

Madame Cholet's roof repair is holding and she's now nobly protecting several aubergines, Carolina Reaper chillis, peppers, water and rock melons, and tomatoes.  Also, some companion basil and marigolds.  The thick layer of pea straw that I added before leaving for Aus is still mostly intact and adds to the delightful earthy aroma.  It's always a pleasure to spend time there, especially when it's a bit chilly outside.

                                               

The annual Christmas cake decorating event was a bit different this year.  Partly because I hadn't baked a cake, but mainly because Billy kept sending us boxes of sweet treats from Australia.  They kept arriving - jelly babies, licorice allsorts, assorted lollies and chocolate, marzipan (had to have its own shelf in the fridge) and 3 traditional Stollen.  More than enough to shake a stick at even with everyone being home for Christmas.  We decided to just do the marzipan decorations without the cake, and 'Sea Creatures' was the theme.  Rachel and Geoff agreed to be the judges.  For the first time ever in a creative competition (and therefore grounds to be smug for a very long time), my entry 'Pingu' took out the win.  Whether penguins are technically 'sea creatures' was hotly debated, but the judges' decision had to be final.  Billy's turtle claimed the silver.

  

    

                   

Billy flew back into Christchurch from Western Australia in perfect timing to cadge a lift with Lucas, Laura and dogs Woody and Charlie.  Sam, Molly and Lexie arrived the next day.  It was a shame I had to work for some of the time they were here, and unfortunately the weather wasn't good enough to take Gladys out for a spot of fishing.  So it was just a chilled few days with too much good food and drink.  Bracken absolutely loved having canine company, especially playful with Charlie.  Peter got his drone out for the family snaps.  Such a joy to have all the family and furry grandies here at once.   

                                          

                   

The sleepout is looking pretty sharp after a big clean up before Lucas and Laura arrived.  New curtain rails and working WiFi were the latest additions - just a sideboard for the TV screen needed before it's AirBnB-ready.  It'll be a while before we list it as we're expecting Auntie Sally in February and March.  Also sharp is my new car that I promised myself when I returned from Aus.  I intended to wait a little longer, but Billy needed a car for his return and wanted to buy my old Demio back (previously belonged to me, then Laura, then Billy, then me again - talk about keeping it in the family!).  I took advantage of a sudden clearance sale in Nelson and am now the proud owner of an MG EV.  We'll be getting a fast charger installed so we don't have to continue driving it into the porch to be painstakingly charged over 16 hours.

I'm very much hoping to reduce my working hours over the next few months.  I'm accidentally working more hours than I'm contracted for (long story), but very keen to drop to 3 days a week and then add a few weekend shifts for a bit of variety.  I will have a week off next week when we head to Stewart Island for Sam and Molly's wedding and the Rakiura Track Walk.  We're gathering camping gear and keeping everything crossed that we're fit enough for a long-distance walk.  Bracken will be minded by his mum and her family - a very kind offer from them that we're very happy to take up.

Goodbye 2024 - it's been a challenging but interesting year.  Lots of time outside my comfort zone but also lots of new places and experiences and a very happy homecoming.  Welcome 2025 and all that you'll bring 💜   

 

November 2024

I said goodbye to Port Hedland with some sadness and a little regret.  I was torn between making a proper impact with my work and following my heart home.  In the end the decision was made in favour of a return home, with staying a close second.  The photo shows the last Indian Ocean sunrise from our balcony.  The photo of me shows the best of my tan, already nearly gone of course.  I've started work at Wairau Hospital, coordinating the Community Midwife service 4 days a week.  Not exactly what I wanted and more hours, but early days yet. It's a massive pleasure to be back on familiar territory, amongst my mob.

 

                                                        

The first of the four flights home was into Perth.  Happily, Amanda was available for a lunch date, so that very pleasantly took care of some of the 10 hours wait for the next flight.  Alexander joined us too, and plenty of good food and cheer was had.  The family are soon moving inland to a Benedictine Monastery in New Norcia where Dimitri has found work.  That'll be an interesting adventure for them! 

                

We've been planning to get a springer spaniel puppy when we returned to NZ, and when a litter popped up in Blenheim, we decided to take the plunge straightaway.  Bracken was born on 24th September and was just over 7 weeks when we picked him up.  He's a bundle of joy, curiosity and menace and is keeping us on our toes day and night.  Peter is taking on the lion's share of his care and is probably more exhausted than I am, maybe a touch of postnatal depression eh Peter?  He is making some progress with toileting and basic commands, but very inconsistently.  He has zoomie times when he has to relentlessly chew everything, in particular our clothes.  He balances that off with cuddly snuggly episodes that are totally endearing.  

          

Also new to the property is Calypso, Pandora's calf who was born a few days before my return.  Pandora didn't have a good track record with her offspring, so no surprises when the feeding didn't happen and Peter had to intervene.  However, that sorted itself out and at a week old, Calypso no longer needed any supplemental feeds from us.  Those few days contributed to her being quite at ease with humans, and she's still partial to a scratch behind the ears.  Kratos was dispatched before I returned home, and yesterday Triton also met his maker.  So it's an all-girl herd right now.  We hope to find a bull calf for sale locally for future calves, but in the meantime the girls will probably appreciate a rest.  

         

Spring is such an uplifting season, despite the weather being unable to make up its mind.  The spring colours are just so fresh and vibrant.  It's been a pleasure to re-acquaint myself with all the plantings and gardens.  Karyn and Billy have kept up the maintenance beautifully and it's been relatively easy to complete the remaining tidying up jobs, many of which are the result of spring growth anyway.  The pics are some of my favourite views of the property.

                                                    

And talking of Karyn, it's been a long time since there was a decent shot of her arse.  She doesn't share my enthusiasm for this, so I do have to be sneaky unless a golden opportunity arises.  Here she is planting the first crops of the season - sweet corn that she raised from seed.  A worthy moment for an arse-shot I reckon.

                                 

Tending my vege seedlings is probably my happiest happy place, and fortuitously I arrived back in the nick of time to plant a vege garden.  I will leave some of the beds covered in weed mat for another year to keep my workload down.  At some point I'll gravel over a couple of the beds permanently too for the same reason.  The main planting beds have been fallow for a good year, and optimistically that's a good thing for soil health.  I've loosened the surface soil with my new forksta (broadfork) and added some blood and bone - that should be enough for this season's plantings, and I'll sow green manure seeds after harvest.  Once the berries have finished fruiting, I'll be erecting a large (7x5m) fruit cage in the horse arena to house all my soft fruit in the hope of not totally feeding the birds with my crops.  That's a big project that I'll need some energy and headspace for, hopefully it'll be fun to get on with later in the year. 

                                     

I'd been looking for a tower planter that incorporated a worm farm for ages and had only found a US product, until I came across the Verdia planter whilst doom-scrolling - made in Wellington NZ and with impressive eco-credentials.  Derryn was interested and her enthusiasm was infectious.  She should be on the Verdia payroll for the number of followers she's influenced.  The planter is also self wicking - once established it'll just be a case of topping up the base reservoir every week or so.  There's about 3 weeks between the first and second photos, and even more since they were taken.  I'm already eating greens, spring onions, celery, water cress and sorrel, and the plan is for these to be available for AirBnb guests when we get back started with that. 

                                          

I remembered dad on his birthday by sending flowers from the garden down the Onamalutu River to the ocean.  He'd have been 87 on November 21st.  He'd have loved our little rural abode and I'm sad that he never got to see it. 

                                       

Birds are singing their hearts out everywhere, adding to the ambience of spring time.  The tui in the bottle brush is a frequent visitor, as are bellbirds and gold finches.  Wekas have been around en masse and are very much enjoying digging through the peastraw on the flower beds and kicking it onto the path.  Sometimes they argue noisily and have a go at each other.  I'm suspicious that the sweet corn massacre (in the 2nd bed that I planted) was weka-work.  Every single corn seedling laying nearly dead on the ground the day after planting.  This has happened before and I've blamed rabbits or quail, but maybe it was wekas all along.  Or maybe that's a gross miscarriage of justice.  Good job they're cute.  I'm attempting to revive the sweetcorn seedlings but alas it's not looking too promising. 

          

                                                             

Spring flowers and blossoms are popping up everywhere, more each day.  The tulip tree is in full stunning bloom, as are the manuka trees in the woodlot.  Peonies and dahlias are showing off, as usual, and these fab forget-me-nots are self sown.  A great advert for not keeping too tidy a garden! 

                                                              

The biggest job was tackling hedges.  I've trimmed them so aggressively that there's more on the ground than the plant, so they're looking a bit bare in places, like a bad hair day Karyn-style.  There's one more teuchrium hedge in the vege garden that will meet the hedge trimmer one day soon, but otherwise they can lick their wounds before regenerating. 

                            

Peter has been stocking up on firewood from golf course jaunts with George.  Billy had also been gathering old vines that make great fire starters - we're probably ok for a few years.  Just a whole heap of splitting to do, and that's a huge job.  It gets harder to split the longer it's left, so  there's pressure to get on with the job.  We've indulged the luxury of more fires than we need, and therefore more baths to use up all that hot water.  It's also provided opportunities to make char in the new bio-char kiln.  I'm stockpiling it for now and will bio-activate it for the garden next season.  Bio-char is highly regarded as a natural plant fertiliser so it'll be great to have this addition going forward.   

Our daily beach walks have been replaced by dog walks along the Ohinemahuta River.  Beautiful wildflowers are blooming everywhere.  Heaps of ox-eye daisies, purple vetch, monkey musk and fox gloves (charmingly re-named as Boxing Gloves by Rhi's son Rhys when they visited).  We're gradually increasing the walk lengths to try and wear Bracken out, and they're a great tonic for me after work.

No more red dirt for me for the foreseeable.  I'll just have to settle for lush, green and mountainous.  Home sweet home 💜