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 💜
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