October 2020

It's been a typical spring weather-wise  Some frosty mornings with low level snow on Mount Riley, hot sunny days, sporadic rain and lots of wind.  Everything's growing, lawns need mowing, hedges trimming, weeds everywhere.  The flower garden is filling itself out and hay-making is being planned.  

Sam playing in the Christchurch Air Force Museum

We had planned to be in Australia, but that course was cancelled.  Peter and me took the week off anyway, and spent a happy weekend with Sam and Molly instead, trawling the tropical fish places, quirky shops and market (we don't get many shopping opportunities in Blenheim).  The rest of the time was spent at home de-crapping, burning what was flammable and taking nearly half a ton to the tip.  Not exactly a holiday, but very soul-cleansing nonetheless.  

The veg garden also got a look in, and much tidying and preparation of the beds has been happening.  Madame Cholet is nurturing numerous vege seedlings - all are last year's seeds or older.  Contrary to usual practice, I didn't make a seed catalogue order this year and I still have plenty left for next year.  The beds that will be fallowed this season are just about ready.  They were ready weeks ago, but I ran out of pea straw and the dastardly weeds took advantage.  The antique rotovator was chimed up and it made short (though exhausting) work of them.  The planting beds have also been rotovated and are now ready to receive their vege seedlings.  Oooh, the anticipation...

                         

The horse arena raised beds have had some attention too.  The strawberry bed is being covered with decorative gravel that Karyn inherited.  It disguises the ugly black plastic weed mat. I'll need to get on with bird protection as the strawberries are already blushing.  The feijoa bed has been weeded, filled up with more soil and thick weed mat applied.  It already had some bio-degradable weed mat that unfortunately let light through, so weeds still grew and then lifted the mat.  Most of the paths are weeded and the soon-to-be grain beds are good-to-go.  I've ordered quinoa and amaranth seeds (technically a seed order, but not quite, and who's judging?) that will have a bed each.  The 3rd bed will grow corn for milling.

                            

We managed to find an old crank-handle grain mill in a Christchurch antique shop. It took 3 runs through, on increasingly finer settings, to mill last year's colourful Aztec corn.  Quite a workout but deeply satisfying.  I baked some corn bread for the first time ever, and will definitely do so again.  Probably there are other recipes worth a crack at.  

                                                   

The calves have remained delightful and are now weaned, and in the case of Attis and Apollo, castrated.  They are less tame than when they were milk-feeding, but still enjoy a scratch from time to time.  Pandora had an episode of being pathetically unwell that coincided with a storm.  Blown down trees were blocking the road out of the valley but eventually we got out and picked up some antibiotics and anti-inflammatories from the vet.  Happily she recovered pretty quickly and doesn't seem to be any the worse for the experience.

The stone fruit blossom is done, and the apples have peaked. Tiny fruitlets are everywhere, including these gorgeous Red Bartlett pears.  And the currants are cropping abundantly. Clearly they never read the memo that told them to slow up their fruiting as they age.  The sheep have been doing a good job of keeping the orchard grass down and fertilising the ground.  They never choose to go into the orchard though, which we don't understand, so they just have a few days at a time in there.  And no, still no sign of lambing.

                                               

Both bee hives are thriving, to the extent that I could probably already take off a box of honey.  The hive that needed extra varroa treatment is bigger and better than ever.  Derryn's hives were so strong she decided to split them.  Jo got one split with caged queen, and I got the other, and Jo's bees have gone from strength to strength so far.  When I opened mine after a few days there was no queen and no brood, but several queen cells.  I added a couple of frames of brood/pollen/honey from another hive and am keeping my fingers crossed that they will sort it out and a new fabulous queen will emerge.  It looks like pretty normal activity around the hive entrance, but it's too soon to go back in to confirm.  

The gourds have been the source of much pleasure (and awful dad-jokes) this month.  They looked pretty unappealing at first, covered in mouldy patches, but these scrubbed off to leave beautiful markings.  Peter drilled bird-sized holes in each, and added some drainage and hanging holes.  The seeds and dried out inner flesh were removed.  Some were left natural, others dyed with some flax dye that I already had, and the rest dyed with a wood dye.  Both dyes took, but the wood dye took ages to dry and even longer to wash off my hands.  They've now been weather-proofed with polyurethane and are ready to gift.  I'm keeping some and have hung them on the side of the studio (now officially known as the 'Womb with a View' or 'the Womb' for short.  Extra blog post about the creation of the Womb to follow).  I might also fill others with potting compost to make planters.   

                   

The native clematis that is climbing the post at the edge of the decking has started to make its way across the chain suspended across the deck.  It's in full and spectacular bloom.  The Womb now has its own evergreen clematis too, and this one has scented white flowers.  There's also a large planter against the side wall that contains a blue/white flowers seed mix - a birthday present from Derryn. The seeds are coming through nicely already.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, plans are afoot to replace the downstairs flooring and renovate the kitchen.  Slowly the bits and pieces are being gathered and are cluttering up the lounge, but everything's a while off being put together.  It'll be a freestanding rather than a fitted kitchen and we'll be doing the destruction and some of the construction ourselves, starting with removing the current flooring.  Um...watch this space I guess.  Never a dull moment, or something like that.

September 2020

                              

Spring is even more of a blessing because it follows winter.  Winter can be beautiful, but spring, with its promise of fresh energy, is always most welcome.  The land is waking up and celebrating those first flushes of youth and the spring winds are blowing away all the cobwebs.  It's a precious privilege to live among the seasons, though it's been a very strange year.  After a few weeks at level 2, we're now back to level 1 Covid restrictions, which means that normal life has pretty much resumed.

                                                      

                        

The highlight of the last few weeks has been the arrival of the adorable 5-day old calf babies.  Karyn and me collected them from a dairy farm near Rai Valley, and it's been a steep learning curve ever since.  Each of our sons was offered the opportunity of making an investment purchase, and each of them went ahead, leaving me and Peter to share calf number 4.  Lucas and Laura named theirs 'Apollo', Sam and Molly's is 'Attis', Billy has Nike and we have Pandora.  The girls are white and the boys black and white.  They have milk feeds twice a day, and have recently started to nibble on grass, hay and pellets.  Apollo drinks his milk way slower than the others (oddly very much like Lucas there!), so feed time is a juggling act to make sure that he gets his share.  They are big enough to knock me over, usually butting me like they would their mothers to get milk let-down. They are delightfully cute though, and mostly feeding time is a happy chore.  We've just allowed the big cattle access to an adjacent paddock, and uncle Poseidon is taking a particular interest in welcoming them. 

                                                 

The sheep aren't showing any particular signs that the patter of tiny hooves is imminent, but they did lamb late last year and we didn't really know until they popped out.  They seem to be hanging around closer to the calves (and therefore the house) more often.  They've had several doses of selenium in the last few months, so really hoping this will contribute to their fertility and lamb health.   

The green manure has been dug over, hopefully in enough time to break down before this year's crops go in.  The beds that will lay fallow have yet to get their pea straw blanket, but it'll happen soon.  The seed catalogues have been perused, but unfortunately, there are plenty of vege and flower seeds left over from last year, so a new seed order cannot be justified.  Well, not yet anyway.  I have all the components of seedling compost, and seed planting will start in earnest this weekend.  Yahoo, one of my favouritest pastimes.

                                                      

The 5 blueberry plants have been transplanted into one of the raised horse arena beds, and it looks like they're surviving their probably-too-late-in-the-season ordeal. There was space for 2 more, so a garden centre trip sorted that out.  The bed was well poo-nourished and weed mat has been applied.  It will also be protected from birds later in the season, so assuming that the transplant-shock isn't too bad, come summer there should be fruit on them thar bushes.

Madame Cholet has been cleared and composted, so is good-to-go for seed germination and planting (early tomatoes).  The half barrels that hopefully have live ginger and turmeric tubers are being watered.  The cuttings that were over-wintering within are now hardening up outside.  The majority of Orange Blossom, Tea, currant, hebe, teuchrium and escallonia hedging cuttings have survived. The main casualties are the Daphnes, that have suddenly taken a nose-dive.  Hopefully, some will survive.

                                                 

The non-sprouting purple-sprouting broccoli plants, that were awaiting their certain fate of being fed to the cattle, totally took me by surprise and sprouted zillions of delicious shoots.  They must have been waiting for warmer temperatures to trigger the mass production.  There are far too many to eat, even though every day has been a purple sprouting day and they are snacked on frequently when I'm out working in the vege garden.  It's lovely to have fresh and glorious homegrown vegetables in quantity at this time of year. 

                The orchard is really enjoying the balmier temperatures.  We'll have to get the sheep back in there again to keep the grass down as it's growing profusely (as is the bloomin lawn).  The big plum tree has avoided losing it's central trunk because it flowered so beautifully and someone couldn't bring herself to chop down that blossom.  After it's fruited will be the next opportunity, and I'm sure Karyn won't let me procrastinate again.  The pink ballerina crab apple in the vege garden is in stunning blossom - such a pleasure to look out on.

                                                  The flower gardens are coming alive, and most of the residual dead matter from winter has been cleared.  Some of the plants are coming away, and others are just focusing on fattening their buds.  Weeds are already in top gear.  The peas that grew from the peastraw have mostly been finished off by the frost, except for those in the little herb garden alongside the garage, which must stay warmer than everywhere else.  Those pea plants are gorgeously flowering and I'm struggling to make myself pull them up for mulch.     

                                             The giant compost bin is completely overflowing, and I've jumped up on top of it a few times to squash it down.  Unfortunately, that damaged its back wall, also the sidewall of the calf shelter, though it is still holding up.  There's another huge heap of composting materials that I'd like to add, but that can only happen when the current pile has broken down enough.  Might take a while.     

                                            

The new studio is complete, including the decking and another small shed alongside that replaces the old shed that housed the garden equipment and various crap. Just the inside 'styling' left to do.  Peter has installed a brand new all-singing all-dancing flashy fish tank with LED lights that he can control from a phone app.  He can change the colour and even create a light storm.  A rug and some seating are next on the list, but even without them, it's a beautiful space.  I'll add an extra blog with photos of the whole construction process.

                                                 7 of 9 hypnotherapy modules are complete.  The remaining two might have to wait until next year unless I can get cheaper flights.  I'll probably drive to Christchurch for them as that's the cheapest option, but does mean a delay until those particular modules are run in 2021.  That's probably not a problem because the course work that'll have to be completed in the meantime is pretty extensive.  I have started it, but it's feeling quite overwhelming right now.  Support from fellow students is definitely helping.  Vida (who runs Calmbirth sessions in Lower Hutt) has set up a Wix site and some zoom sessions so we can all connect.  She's also kindly accommodated and spoilt me in Wellington.  We breakfasted at the 'Larder', just down the road from Weta Workshop (and hence the orc photo op).

Normal working life has resumed, though lately there have been fewer extra shifts than usual, and no recent trips to the West Coast.  I'm quite enjoying this little lull, and it means that there have been no 'who's gonna feed the calves' crises.  Conversely Peter and Billy have had a few ridiculously busy weeks, including this week when they're working x5 12 hour night shifts.  They're both looking pretty knackered in the precious time they have between sleeping and working.  Sam and Molly came over for a weekend when Sam played at a concert with his old band (Marlborough District Brass Band), and they had fun playing with the calves.  Lucas and Laura are happily resigned to spending a few more months in Seoul, and we're guessing that sadly means they won't be with us at Christmas.  And with tighter UK lockdown measures just announced, it's not looking likely that we'll have any British visitors for the foreseeable either.  Guess we'll just focus on enjoying the natural pleasures of spring. 

August 2020

 

August has had its usual unpredictable weather, but luckily not too much of anything.  Some rain, some sun, some frost and a little wind - enough to keep us ticking along nicely, and enough to require the mowing of the lawn.  This stunning rainbow indicates that there may be a pot of gold in the wetland.  After digging a big sad hole for the remains of 2 cattle (Hera and Erebus), understandably no-one is too keen to do the necessary digging to check out the gold thing.  For the first time, I was at work and Peter at home when Bruce, the home-kill man came.  Athena, Poseidon and Noddy were very noisy that evening, indicating anthropomorphically, their distress at the loss of their mates.  It doesn't get any easier for me either.

                                    

You don't have to look very hard to see the tell-tale signs of spring popping up everywhere. The first asparagus spear revealed itself when its bed was being weeded.  There are a few more tiny buds at ground level too, but nothing yet from the new crowns that were added to the patch last year.  Here's hoping they're just holding out for warmer weather.  The asparagus patch has now been fully weeded, manured (sheep) and covered in a blanket of pea straw                                                         

Two of the large circular beds that will lay fallow this season have been dug over and are waiting for the green manure laid on the surface to break down before they too will be covered in pea straw.  The rhubarb bed was planted with a hebe hedge (grown from cuttings) but a few probably haven't survived.  Those that were shaded from the predominant sun by the green manure have suffered most.  Luckily there are heaps spare from the second batch of cuttings.  The raised beds that will house grains this year have been seriously manured and covered in weed mat.  The irrigation will go in closer to planting time.  

                                                  

The orchard has been pruned (except for a few large branches awaiting a chainsaw massacre), and also the fruit trees in the vege garden/horse arena.  Derryn came and got them all relaxing and dancing, relieved of their unnecessary limbs.  The original plum tree is blossoming up big time, as usual at this time of year, oblivious to the heinous plan of taking the main trunk out.  Better get on with that, before someone chickens out.

                                                 

Flowers and blossoms are popping up and giving the busy bees some pollen and nectar.  The first daffodil took me by surprise, and now there are several.  The pulmonaria (lungwort) is a stalwart and personal favourite.  So too the cheery asters and hellebores, and lovely to see the flowering quince recently planted on the driveway.

One of the raised horse arena beds has just been cleared of its woody compost to make way for the blueberries that will be transplanted there.  They are currently housed in a bed that is rife with couch grass and nettle, and where it would be very tricky to suspend bird-netting.  Their new bed will be manured and enriched, weed mat will be placed, and eventually, a bird netting structure erected in the vain hope of actually being able to eat some blueberries.  In the past, the birds have been making off with the majority, forcing me to pick slightly under-ripe ones to get any at all.  The strawberry plants are starting to look lively, and they'll also be netted this year.

                                                

The new, bigger-than-ever compost heap is now nearly full (!) and should also provide some warmth and wind protection for the soon-to-arrive babies who will be housed in the little hayshed alongside.  We're on the list for 4 very young calves who will need milk feeds and shelter to get them through their first weeks and months.  Peter has used the leftover roofing felt (from the studio) and filled in some of the gaps in the shelter sides.  There'll be hay on the ground and some hay bales around the sides providing insulation.  All the boys want their own calf investment, and though it would be lovely and practical from a feed perspective to have more, 4 is the maximum to fit in the shelter.  There's a bit more work to do to make the shelter fit-for-purpose.  Like deciding what colour to paint the walls and, I'm thinking, fairy lights.

                                                

The 23 litres of elderberry wine has been bottled, and initially showed some promise though curiously was better straight out of the demi-john than any time later.  Optimistically it'll mature and improve with time, and if not, we'll probably drink it ourselves anyway.  Yet to bottle is the feijoa wine and the mead, but they may benefit from another racking first.  I'm eyeing up the gorse flowers in the forestry land by the river.  Gorse flower wine would be a first 'petal wine' for me, but maybe I should wait a couple more months until flowers are more prolific.

                             

August is a big birthday month for us.  Mine and Peter's birthdays are a day apart - something which our kids assumed was the case for everyone's parents until they knew better.  Billy treated us to a smorgasbord of British food treats - biscuits, chocolate and sweeties - and baked a delish chocolate birthday cake with candles.  Sam and Molly created a brilliant rap and got us an assortment of gifts, including some quite unusual ones.  I've never before seen a tea infuser in the shape of an arse that sits on the edge of your cup, attached to a perforated turd, into which you put your chosen tea.  Oh, what I've been missing all my life - thankfully now resolved.  I'm truly grateful that my family appreciates the wealth of opportunities that have arisen from my poo-fetish. Lucas and Laura have literally just arrived in Korea from the UK, where they plan to stay until Australia becomes an option.                         

Having committed all our available free-time to the studio construction, Peter and me decided to keep our birthday weekend tasks to a minimum and had a lazy Saturday meandering around Picton and the Queen Charlotte Drive.  We called by Karaka Point to have a yarn with Dad and stocked up on pies from the famous Picton Bakkerij.  Sunday was a miserable weather day, so easy to bum around indoors drinking tea and eating cake.  The studio is complete, just the decking around the outside and furnishing the inside to contend with now.  It's a truly beautiful and peaceful space - amazing work Peter and Billy!!  I've been taking photos throughout the construction and will put up a separate blog page when it's finally done.  

Derryn celebrated a 'special' birthday at the end of July with a big meal out gathering (Grovetown Hotel).  She'd planned a NZ road trip holiday, but a Covid outbreak in Auckland led to their decision to holiday on just the South Island.  She's hanging out right now in Hokitika, not jealous at all.  

Happy days!  Roll on next week, the start of spring.