June 2012

Winter’s well and truly here - many frosty mornings and even once some snow.  A neighbour tells us snow hasn’t settled here for 10 years.  If you have brilliant eyesight, in the photo above you’ll see 2 pukekos by the lake that formed after heavy rain.  Very exciting - it’s the first time we’ve seen them here. 

The house keeps toasty warm as long as the fire's lit.  I was almost hoping it'd be a crap fire so I could really justify that wood-stove.  I'm having to work on a bit more justification, but I think I'm nearly there.

Our cows arrived safely and have settled well, inseparable now from Butch and Woody.  And what’s really nice this time is that these ones are unlikely to end up in the freezer.   Aphrodite* and Persephone** are 10 months old, a bit older than the steers but not that you’d know it – they’re way more petite.  Billy remarked that “they must be girls because they’ve lied about their age!” They’re Galloway cows (aka Teddy Bear cows) so not  Greek Goddess-like at all.  Maybe they'll grow into thier names.    They should be the right age for insemination at Christmas, so optimistically we’ll have Speckled Park X calves around September 2013.  At least that’s the plan.

The sheep have also settled and have now been named.  There’s a rugby theme to their names, even though they’re female (at least we hope so!).  There’s ‘Nonu’ (Ma’a Nonu), ‘Israel’ (Dagg….think about it), ‘Tate’ (for England player Matthew Tate) and finally ‘Fitzpatrick‘ (Sean).  You really didn’t want to know eh?  Billy and Peter reckon they know who’s who – but I can’t tell them apart.  Hope that doesn’t count as ‘sheepism’.  Anyway, they’ve done a fine job of mowing the orchard – you can even see where the new fruit trees have been planted (and now staked).  We’ll move them to another paddock at the weekend for a change of scenery and pasture.

Fighting between the 2 turkey toms (and excess turkey poop around the house) led to a reduction in their numbers.  One male and one female were processed, leaving 3 females and a tom.  Since becoming leader of his pack, this turkey tom has turned his attention and aggression to his next rival – me.  Apparently it’s not unusual for turkeys to attempt to be dominant like this, but frankly it’s a pain in the arse.  He displays constantly and stalks me, snapping at the back of my legs.  He stamps and makes angry wheezy sounds, and tries to follow me into the house.  When I open the curtains…..he’s there, like a scene from a horror movie, waiting to torment me.  Sometimes it’s quite entertaining, mostly it’s infuriating and a bit of a concern that he might go for someone else.  When he really gets on my nerves I find myself childishly gesticulating a cut throat and declaring: “into the pot you turkey”.  To think, I used to be a vegetarian.

The chooks, on the other hand, are being delightful.  5 eggs most days thank you very much. Several of these are double-yolkers, as you often get with young birds, and there was even a triple-yolker (hope you enjoyed it Karyn!).  They started to lay them in our firewood box just outside the front door.  At first we tried to persuade them to return to their nest boxes in the hen house, then we realised that being able to pick up clean eggs from by the front door is a truly fantastic concept.  Peter took the wood out and replaced it with hay, and we created a second ‘nest’ – a hay-lined cardboard box on the other side of the firewood box.  Voila!! 

Not long now for Smoko and Supper, who now look absolutely huge.  Interestingly they've begun to fight with each other, which didn't happen when there was 4 of them.  They mostly come to blows over food, taking it in turns to be push the other away.  We haven't cleaned out the pig house in the whole time we've had the pigs - it hasn't been necessary as it's remained squeaky clean.  All we've done is added a few extra haybales, mainly for warmth.  We've decided to see how long the meat from 3 pigs last us before deciding when to get more piglets.  I've enjoyed them, but they are quite time-consuming in terms of feeding - I'm looking forward to a break.

There’s no real change in the wetland in the last month, except for some clearing up of willow branches and 130 native plants ordered.  The council has agreed to cut down the tallest willow which could bring down the power lines if it fell the wrong way - Murray didn’t want to go ahead for that reason.  It’ll take 3 months before it gets to the top of their list, but won’t stop us being able to begin planting.  I’ve earmarked the 2 week July holidays to get on with planting, and am hoping to have some volunteers to help out.  I’m also hoping that we’ll make some progress with clearing more of the rampant willows before planting begins.  There’s been quite a lot of rainfall and the water level is the highest it’s been.  Hopefully it’ll be high more often once the willows stop sucking it out. 

The vege plot is also unchanged, though the green manure is growing well, and I’ve tentatively drawn out some plans for mandala beds in the new fenced-off area (and eventually to replace the existing oblong beds).  It’s the first draft so very likely to change several times before I settle on something.  I’ve included a pergola in the middle next to a small pond.  Not a priority of course, but knowing me it’ll probably be one of the first things that goes in.  After all where else am I going to sit and drink my beer/sloe gin/vanilla vodka?

My Go-organics course has come to an end (once I’ve finished the assignments) which I’m quite sad about.  We had a great group and our fabulous tutor, Chris, is totally motivating and inspiring.  I only wish I had a fraction of her knowledge and skills.  She’s mentioned the possibility of a further course in propagation which we’d all be up for.  And being able to propagate natives would bring down the costs of re-vegetating the property.  We had our final session / social right here, and it was great to show off the place and get everyone’s ideas.  The top tip came from Chris for suggesting we use the gravelly grit from the horse arena for paths in the new vege garden.  Genius.  What the hell else are we going to do with it?

TIme to sign off now and go and do something useful.  Firewood stacking, fencing, sorting out willow branches, housework (yeah right) etc.  It's BIlly's 12th birthday tomorrow so we're out bowling and having a sleepover tonight.  One more year then they'll all be teenagers.  No stop, I'm not even going there.  In the meantime it's a stunning sunny winter's day, after a serious frost  again this morning.  Sigh.....life's sweet.




*Aphrodite: Greek Goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation.  She was born when Cronus cut off Uranus' genitals and threw them into the sea, and from the sea foam (aphros) arose Aphrodite. Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus.
**Persephone: Queen of the underworld.  She's the daughter of Zeus and the harvest-goddess Demeter.  Also known as Kore (maiden / vegetation goddess)

May 2012

As I’m flicking through my photos for May’s blog, it’s apparent that winter has seriously arrived since April’s blog.   We’ve already had some stonking frosts, and the trees in the photos are now leaf-free.   We’ve also reduced our cattle number by 3 and our pigs by 2.  Only Butch and Woody, and Smoko and Supper are not in the freezer.  

Yesterday day we picked up 4 Wiltshire lamb ewes from a farm near Ward (18kms down a windy unsealed track to the farm – quite a drive), and today we took temporary possession of a ram.  He’s on loan from a friend and I’d say he’s quite a catch.  We’ve nicknamed him ‘Rambo’ and the girls were already interested as soon as he arrived.  We’re a bit worried they’re too young, but that all depends on whose advice you take.  If their hussy-like behaviour is anything to go by, we should have lambs by the end of the year.

Peter’s ordered 2 young Galloway cows.  He wants to breed ‘Speckled Park’ cattle which are a new and therefore very expensive breed.  He’s learned that they were developed from Galloways, so hopes to set up a breeding programme and eventually end up with what would be classed as pure Speckled Park.  You can buy Speckled Park semen straws, and he believes that, as a midwife, I should be able to perform the artificial insemination.  Just a case of long plastic gauntlets and cervix location apparently (yeah right).   Having cows also raises the possibility of milking at some future stage.  Then I’ll definitely have to give up work.  Here's Peter constructing a small shelter for any animals that need a cosy home.

The veg garden is enjoying its green manure, and my happiness was complete when my new and carefully constructed compost heap began to steam one chilly morning.  Peter’s extended the fencing of the veg area so I can create some new beds.   The dividing fence is still up, so there was somewhere contained and close to the house for the sheep.  Once the sheep settle I’ll be able to get started.  I’m feeling thoroughly inspired by the Permaculture course I’ve just completed as part of my Go-Organics evening class – so it’ll be a mandala system (circular beds) with wood chip paths. 

The wetland is looking quite bare now – partly because it’s winter and partly because Peter’s mate Murray (ex-logger) has been round and chopped some of the whopper crack willows down.  We’ve kind of abandoned the drilling-holes-and-inserting-Round-Up approach in favour of the lop-them-all-down method.  We’re planning to do the Round-Up thing when new growth comes up from the stumps, in the hope that we won’t need half as much Round-Up.  There is already a mountain of twigs, branches and trunks to be sorted.  We’ll use what we can for firewood, some of the straighter logs for building stuff, and hope to hire a big wood-chipper for the rest.  That should provide enough woodchips for the veg garden paths.  Just like that.  Another 5 minute job then. 

Bob’s discovered his ability to cock-a-doodle-doo very loudly at sunrise, and the chickens have finally started laying.  Quite amazing really, since it’s winter and I’d assumed they would wait until after the shortest day next month.  What’s also amazing is that they shunned their own nesting boxes - lovingly-prepared and lined with soft wood-shavings.  Instead they found their way into the bathroom in the garage - used by the teenagers – and laid the first egg there.  They haven’t been back since, and I’d like to think that they were pretty shocked by the level of hygiene of the place, and sought superior accommodation. 

The turkeys are becoming much braver, and wander around by the house where there’s a chance they can pinch food from the chooks or the pigs.  They all roost together on the gate, which is quite a sight when the car headlights illuminate them.  They produce large volumes of poop, and gobble loudly whenever there’s a noise.  That means every time a vehicle passes, every time we open the box (creaky door) where the stock-food is contained, and every time we gobble at them.  They (usually the females) also scrap with the chooks.  Bob usually has the upper feather in any dispute, but not always.  Quite entertaining at times, and frustrating at others.  We’ve pretty much decided that the turkeys will end up in the freezer soon too, and we’ll probably not continue keeping them unless we get round to building a very large run which contains them.  I’m hoping that ducks will be less trouble and produce fewer poops (what do you mean - ‘yeah right’?).

The soldier-pines are still there, but probably not for long.  The property will be really bare once they’ve gone, and I’m itching to plant more trees.  I’ve added a few fruit trees to the orchard, which is really filling up now.   The inedible remains of Breakfast and Dinner are buried under them.  I have managed to eat some of our pork, but it wasn’t an enjoyable experience.   Somehow it’s easier to distance the origin of beef from my mind, but not the pork.  Probably it’s because I spent a lot of time feeding the pigs.  Anyway, I’m the only one on the house who dwells on it; everyone else just eats up and enjoys.

Roll on the frosty nights and sunny blue-sky days, and the endless days of leaping onto an inflated tractor tyre as it's being pulled by a go-kart.  Of course I've had a go too, and have to admit it was pretty darn cool.  The boys reckon they were kind to their old ma and didn't go fast enough to throw me off.  Or maybe I clung on too well?

Fingers crossed the sheep are still here in the morning...

April 2012

Hard to believe that I'm doing April's blog on April 7th.  It's a sure sign of acute task-avoidance behaviour.  I really don't know just exactly when I'm going to get round to completing that assignment from my diploma.  I just totally know that doing my blog has to be a priority.

Life on the farm contines to keep us happily busy.  The pigs are still getting bigger, enjoying yet more windfall apples as well as other autumnal excess crops.  Many times I muse over the possible reasons why they have not yet attempted to escape.  Their enclosure has no barbed wire or electric fence - we'd planned to add those as required, and so far there hasn't been a snort of wanderlust.  Is it because they know they're onto a good thing on the food front?  Is it because they can root around, play in the mud and be entertained by the chickens?  Or is it that they're waiting until I get really, really smug, then they're going to make a run for it?  I worry that maybe they are over-fed, then I worry that we'll run out of feed for them.  Clearly I'm not really sure what to be worried about.  Maybe I'll just try to stop worrying.

The turkeys are one (male) down.  Since we had no idea how much they'd weigh, it seemed like a good idea to, er, 'process' one.  When I say 'we', obviously I mean Peter.  He did the deed, then  we had the inaugural momentous occasion of eating meat from an animal we'd raised to eat.  That turkey was 3.5kg and provided 3 meals-worth of meat for us all.  I definitely had mixed feelings about going ahead and eating it.  The men of the family had no such qualms.

The wetland has had some attention and is now a few willows short.  And we have several large piles of firewood so we'll keep toasty over winter.  We've sold the pine trees which border the boundary of the property to a local man who sells firewood.  He plans to come and take them all down in June, and we're going to ask him if he could also chop down the really big willows in the wetland.  Hopefully he'll have a gargantuan chainsaw to do the job.  I've priced up and made a few tentative plans for re-planting in natives, and hope to get on with this fairly soon.  I'll start once the wetland is fenced (staked out and some posts dug in today), optimistically with a few helpers from Renwick School doing a community conservation project.  Nothing wrong with a bit of child-labour in the interests of saving the planet eh? 
The next project in my head is how best to replace the pines - I'm thinking woodlots, fruit and nut trees, trees for birds and bees, trees for cattle and more natives.  Happy thoughts....

This photo of the veg patch was taken from the balcony.  It shows some of the pines in the background which will soon be no more.  We've also staked out the fencing for the veg-extension area to the left of the current patch.  This will double the size of the veg area (meaning we'll be able to grow even more spuds, some maize and grains), and will also provide a small fenced paddock close to the house in which we can accommodate any animal who needs to be separated - sick or giving birth or too randy.   I have desires for ducks in among the veges somewhere - they are seriously, seriously cute, and apparently duck eggs make great cakes. 

Talking of eggs, the hens are not yet laying.  Though they are adorable of course.  Bob is honing his early-morning crowing skills, but has yet to penetrate the teenagers' sub-consciousness on a school morning.  The chooks like to gather round when anyone appears, particularly if they have a bucket-in-hand.  They are especially partial to the sprouted grains that we feed to the pigs.

And still talking of eggs, for Easter this year, we had a go at making our own eggs.  The marshmallow bit worked really well:

But the chocolate coating was a bit hurried, so in the end they looked pretty dodgy but tasted great.  We used this recipe from 'nz girl'.

We're still cropping reasonably well, though it's pretty much only pumpkins, carrots and tomatoes left.  I've blanched and frozen several bags of leeks and beetroot (phenomenal crop which is also feeding the cattle and pigs).  The potatoes are all dug up, and most of the ground is nearly ready for its green manure crop.  There'll be just one bed of brassicas remaining over winter, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that purple sprouting broccoli (my very favourite veg) will actually sprout.  Lots of leaves so far, but no heads yet. 

The spuds include the purple Maori potato which has been delicious.  And since they hold their colour when cooked, we can make purple chips and purple mash.

Beyond the farm, I'm in the process of resurrecting my 'biker-chick' image (Peter has just queried that I actually ever had one - whatever...). I rode to Reefton with a group called 'Babes-on-Bikes'. They meet twice a year, travelling from all over the South Island to a pre-selected location, and like to party. I couldn't measure up to the Harley/Ducati riders - pootling along on my 250cc bike wearing bright yellow PVC trousers, but they took me under their wings nevertheless. Much appreciated, and yes, I think one day I'll be back.



The grape harvest (vintage) is beginning in earnest, though is much later (by about 3 weeks) than previous years as a result of a lousy summer.  Peter will begin his long hours on Monday (12 hours a day, seven days a week) so we won't be seeing much of him.  And probably not much extra will be done on the farm, though I will be able to indulge my planning - always a bit scary.  Sheep have now moved into the research phase - probably Wiltshires or Dorpers as they shed their wool.  Peter won't be home in daylight hours for a few weeks, so perhaps I should re-visit the donkey concept....

Sweet dreams.





March 2012

7 turkeys gobbling

6 chickens clucking

5 cattle mooing

4 piglets  troughing

3 boys a-playing

2 parents nagging

And a lovely dog.

There’s a song in there somewhere.  And a mental note to stop acquiring more animals. 

We couldn’t resist checking out 2 Friesian X Texan Longhorn calves.  6 months old, recently weaned, with beautiful markings.   They’d been raised by their mum until the week before.  I’d decided that our next cattle would have spent their calf-hood with their mum rather than the (albeit cheaper) week-old boy calves which are the unwanted by-product of the dairy industry.  I’d read it’s really distressing for both mother and newborn to separate them at this stage.   Herein lies the dilemma – how much am I applying human values to cattle?   Or am I just subconsciously supporting breastfeeding for cows?   I can offer them a happy life even if they have to leave their mothers – or can I?  What do I know about cattle-care anyway??   

Blah blah blah.  

So along came Woody and Butch.   We were advised to put them in with the other cattle straight away.   ‘Strangely’ hassled them, so Woody jumped the gate and 2 fences to join our neighbour’s herd across the river for most of the day.  Butch kept calling him back, and eventually Woody was duly retrieved by Peter and the boys.  Since then he’s managed to stay on the property and seems to consider himself at home with the others.   It’s such a pleasure to see them all calmly munching and milling around the paddocks.   With a lesson learned in herd-mentality.

The other new residents are the 5 Rhode Island Red hens.  They’re accompanied by Robert the Rooster (aka ‘Bob’).   They seem quite contented in their new accommodation, and will be released to free-range in a few days once they’re familiar with ‘home’.    They’re all about 12 weeks old, so we’re not expecting eggs for a couple of months, or maybe longer as the shorter winter days are soon on their way.   Bob’s particularly attractive (for poultry) and seems to be proudly in charge of his harem.  Rumour has it that rooster ‘Rhodies’ can be quite aggressive.  The advice is to act submissive if he tries to assert himself above you.  If you retaliate, he’ll up the stakes and get more aggressive.  Whereas if he believes he’s top of the pecking order,  you won’t be a threat to his ‘girls’.  I have mixed feelings regarding chicken psychology in general and rooster obedience in particular, but maybe it’s worth a try.   Just exactly how are you submissive to a rooster??

Meanwhile the pigs grow and grow and grow and grow.  Might be because they eat a lot.   They have warm porridge and manufactured pig nuts in the morning, and sprouted grains and scraps/fruit later in the day.   And they have turned over most of the ground so have added roots, bugs and a fair measure of mud to their diets.  They are endlessly entertaining, though it’s becoming more of a mission to get inside the pen.  They’re so keen to eat they knock whatever you’re carrying – soon no doubt that will include knocking me over too.  I have to be one step ahead of them and plan distractions.  I end up covered in mud every time. 

I have a 5 bucket system going on for the grain-sprouting.  I use a mix of barley, oats, wheat, maize and peas.  On day 1 they are soaked in water with a pinch of salt for 12 hours.  Thereafter they are drained and then rinsed twice a day.  By day 3 the sprouts are coming through, and at day 5 they’re a tangled mass of roots and shoots.  I’ve read that this way they are more nutritious and easier to digest.   And the pigs love them. 

The turkeys have definitely declared themselves as 3 boys and 4 girls.  The boys must be reaching puberty because they’ve started strutting around, feathers fluffed, gobbling loudly and picking fights with each other.   We’re not sure whether it’s wise to keep 3 males (toms).  We would like to hear the pitter-patter of tiny turkey feet at some stage, so maybe a decision has to be made soon-ish.   Hmmm, I’ll work on that one.

The worms are amazingly still there and more plentiful.  They may be rewarded for staying alive against the odds with new, improved premises.  It seems, happily, that they enjoy a combination of overfeeding followed by neglect.  Better not gloat too soon though – winter’s on its way.  The bees are still buzzing and there’s honey, but alas no brood.  Maybe something happened to the queen?  Apparently it’s not a good time of year to re-queen, so I’m waiting to see what happens.  Optimistically a new queen will appear, and pessimistically I’ll lose this colony and have to get another in spring.  I’m not sure what I can learn from it though, as it’s a bit of mystery.

The veg garden is still pretty much over-run with weeds, though it remains productive.  It’s feeding us with carrots, onions, tomatoes, leeks and some greens.  And it’s feeding the animals – corn, marrow, pumpkin, gourd and greens-going-to seed.   I put the veg in a boil-up for the pigs, adding windfall apples.  Looks disgusting, but apparently tastes great.  I just chuck the greens over the fence for the cows – they lurk nearby, gazing with their big, brown eyes, when I’m working in the veg garden.

Peter’s done a lot of work getting the electric fence so it zaps effectively.  A storm brought down a tree which pretty much earthed it.  There are other places where weed growth is affecting it, and our electric lawn edge trimmer just wasn’t doing the job.  A noisy, petrol-driven brush-cutter with 3 blades is much more effective, and a real man-tool.   Fingers crossed it doesn’t go the usual route of most of our power tools too soon.

The advice we got about the wetland essentially involves getting rid of the rampant willows.  They are non-native ‘crack willows’ which mean they drop branches off or keel over, then re-grow from several new shoots.  Their roots have made a mesh on the ground, and their canopy is very dense – blocking out the light.  We’ve stopped the area being grazed, so that if there are any native seeds they have a chance, and we’re in the process of drilling the willows and injecting them with neat round-up (as advised).  They’ll need to be cut down in about 3 months after this treatment.  Not exactly an organic approach, but the alternative will require decades before any impact is made.  We can apply for a protective covenant for the wetland area, so that future occupants of the land have to maintain it.  Probably we’ll do that when it starts to look a bit more like native wetland.  Native plants, grown from local seed, can be bought cheaply, and I’m thinking of approaching the local school to see of any kids want a planting project.  There's already optimisim that it won't be too difficult to promote wildlife - this native forest weta was found (unwisely) trying to get into Lucas' school bag (left outside):

In the meantime the rest of our lives roll on.  I'm really hoping that at some point I can reduce my working hours to spend more time on the farm (the term 'farm' has surreptitiously pushed out 'lifestlye bock', which I'm not keen on, and 'smallholding' which I am keen on but is just too pommy).  I have no idea how that could possibly happen, so am holding onto the thought that things sometimes just work out.  It's a good feeling to be providing our boys with the chance to experience farm-life before they fly the nest.  There are definitely times when they think we're nuts, but they do succumb to a kind of infectiousness that it's good living.  And there has yet to be a visiting friend who fails to return home proudly muddy and bruised.



February 2012

I've been waiting for this day to update the blog.  Today is the day we collected our very first piglets.  They're a little over 6 weeks old - 2 males (spotted) and two females (white).  And they've been named - Breakfast, Dinner, Smoko and Supper.  We're raising Dinner for some friends who had already chosen his name before we got them.  The boys will become 'porkers' and the girls 'baconers'.  At least that's the plan.  Today has been one of the hottest days for ages (28 degrees) and they had a rough and exposed ride home in a trailer.  Thankfully they soon settled in, ate, drank and scrapped with each other over a marrow (not dissimilar to the kids, though to be fair, they haven't actually ever come to blows over a marrow).  Fingers crossed they're still there in the morning.  The pig-proofness of their enclosure has yet to be tested...



 

The turkeys continue to grow and show no obvious sign of superior intelligence.  They've been moved to a new residence - formerly the chicken run.  Despite the area being fenced, including a hot wire, they managed to escape from day 1.  Luckily they're unbelievably easy to round up, so we returned them each time.  Now we just leave their gate open so they can come and go as they please.  However it seems they feel obliged to exit the enclosure over the fence, and re-enter through the gate.  Maybe they like the buzz from the electric fence.  When they're out and about they spend alot of time in the wetland. 

 



The Council have been doing some mapping exercises and restoration of wetland areas remaining in Marlborough.  We're expecting a visit from the guy who is coordinating the wetland project in the hope he can give us advice (and as a very long shot - possibly even funds) for managing it.  Once the cattle are gone in a couple of months, we can start to look at fencing and re-planting.  Our wetlands are fed by a natural spring somewhere, and stay wet for pretty much most of the year.  It'd be really great to restore them; a lovely way of honouring this land.

The veg garden, despite mammoth neglect on the weed front, is actually quite productive.  I've never grown such big carrots (eat your heart out Karyn - feel the carrot-envy).  Tomatoes, leeks and corn are OK, beetroot fantastic, beans stunning.  Spuds probably would have been more plentiful with an occasional water.  The courgettes and pumpkins are also thriving (should be some spare for the pigs) and the gourds are prolific.  I'm hoping that those pigs will develop a taste for gourds because I couldn't bring myself to plant just one or two.  The extra seedlings were just too gorgeous to compost and there was space. 

Once I get Lazy Mazy the caravan glammed up (looking like next year at the earliest), we'll take her for a weekend to the Onamalutu Domain.  Less than 2 kms down the road, it's a picnic area and DOC campsite.  Some of the original NZ pine trees (Kahikatea, Rimu, Totara) which the valley is famed for remain and create an utterly beautiful and tranquil zone around the river.  There are some fabulous swimming holes, well-shaded by the giant trees.  It's a really serene and special place, and a favourite day-trip destination for many Marlburians.  The photo shows Billy at the base of one of the huge Kahikatea trees.



Whilst we're all back to work and school now, we have very fond memories of the summer holidays.  Grannie-Annie joined us in January (always a real pleasure) and was subject to the usual harassment - monopoly, cards, cricket, buying more lollies, going to the swimming hole etc, plus a few others, like a trip to the hot pools of Hanmer Springs.  The photo shows her at stunning Karaka Point in the Marlborough Sounds where we scattered some of Dad's ashes 3 years ago.  We've been lucky enough to see orca and dolphins there before.



We are increasingly contented with our little slice of paradise, even if it is scruffy and overgrown.  There's a limit to what we can achieve with limited time and money (and no tractor), and we want to enjoy it without feeling resentful of the time it takes.  I'm hanging out for getting there bit by bit.  The alternative is town-living, and it's hard to imagine we'll ever do that again. 

And finishing on a sleepy note......aaaaaaah







December 2011 / January 2012

Like most other folk we've had a busy few weeks.  This is only one of my excuses for a belated December entry.  Another plausible excuse is the the hay baler took out our internet satellite just after Christmas and we've only just got our connection back.  Combined with a very patchy cell phone signal we've had a quiet time on the technology front
.
However, farm and garden progress has been made.  The photo above shows the current status of 'Joanna's Patch'.  The area extends beyond the photo and includes a range of flowering plants.  There are seahorse windchimes and a bird bath, and the wooden sign reads 'Joanna's Patch' - carved by Christmas visitors, the talented Geoff (Jif) and Rachel (thank you poms!).  Scattered around are favourite rocks and shells which will be added to over time.

The hay was baled the week after Christmas - found a very local haybaler who cut it first, then came back to turn and bale a few days later.  Peter, Geoff and I popped (2.5 hour drive) home from our camping holiday in Golden Bay to stack it before the rain.  Rea, Mark and Ruairi who were cattle-sitting for us helped out too, and a total of 248 bales are now proudly stacked in the hay shed.  Hope we can sell them as that's about 245 more than we need.

And we did get round to turkeys!  8 white turkeys aged 3 weeks arrived in early December, one died soon after (not unusual for baby turkeys I believe) and the remaining 7 are now growing (and eating)exponentially.  They've been moved from the shed, where they refused to keep inside the enclosure, to a run in the orchard which is secured to protect them from predators.  Peter and Geoff built the enclosure using an assortment of netting and wire from around the farm.  It's very DIY but is appealing and the turkeys have given it the claws up.  From being very cute baby bundles, they are now looking more like turkeys.  Opinion is divided on their intelligence, with most favouring the 'completely stupid' rather than 'quite bright' verdict.  I'm still on the fence but I have seen more evidence for the former.







Pigs are still a twinkle in our eyes, though we have friends queueing up for a share if we do get them.  Peter's been working on converting part of the garage into a bedroom and bathroom, but pig fencing/housing is definitely on our list.  The bees are now in 3 storey accommodation and they are happily buzzing around and making honey.  I'm not sure if we'll get any to keep this year, but in my (totally uneducated) opinion, it's looking promising.  My friend Derryn, who also got a beehive, found queen cells at the bottom of a frame and is working out a plan B for if they swarm.  She's also checking her hive for Varroa mite using a cereal box and icing sugar.  All sounds a bit technical but she's confident she knows what to do.  I'm trying to read up as much as I can about bee-matters - very easy to do as it's so fascinating.  Apparently some beekeepers clip the wing of their queen bee, like you would a chook, to prevent swarming (though this may only happen in America!).  How the heck do you do that?

We're going to need lots of wood to keep warm over winter, so have begun to gather it.  There's plenty around, it's just a case of cutting it and stacking it, and we've got a long way to go.  If I can justify the expense of putting in a wood-stove (heating, hot water, cooking - what more justification??) we're going to need even more.  The novelty of log-splitting may not be altogether sustainable, though I think that chain-sawing is likely to retain its popularity.  We are now the proud owners of a tatty old ute (purchased after the sad demise of the Toyota Starlet - enough said) which is perfect for the wood-transporting job.  We would never have managed to stack the hay without it - you can't get that many bales into a Starlet.  The Ute is also a popular form of transport around the farm, holding and bouncing several boys at a time.









The cattle are growing and are becoming cheekier.  Peter was adamant that we didn't name them, but seems to have developed an understanding (or maybe even a close relationship...) with the most feisty, who he refers to as 'Strangely Brown', or just 'Strangely' for short.   In my book that's a name. 

And the vegetable plot has been sadly neglected.  It got to a point where I put off even thinking about weeding because it was too overwhelming.  I have made considerable progress since, and some vege plants (like pumpkin) seem to have thrived with the weed competition.  Some onions and carrots are lost though.  I've decided to heavily mulch with hay for a couple of months to try and reduce the most invasive weeds, then sow some green manure before it gets to cold for them to germinate.  That's the plan anyway.  The orchard is also totally overgrown, though the fruit trees are coming away, as are the herbal leys around them.  The pigs will most likely go into part of the orchard so I'm hanging out for them to sort out the weedy growth.  Probably not a great plan really.

Here in the Southern hemisphere we still have plenty of summer holidays ahead.  Three more weeks until the boys go back to school.  Rachel, Geoff, Sam and Joe are on their kiwi travels of the South Island, with Joe sporting his latest, and very cool, scar.  A go-kart accident (yes, it turns out it is possible to roll it over!) thankfully resulting in no broken limbs.  Another visitor who felt the need to try out the ED at Wairau Hospital.  And at the weekend we're expecting the gorgeous Ann to pop over for her hols from Sheffield, who at this point has no idea what we have planned for her...
The photo above is this year's Christmas cake.  The year's theme was 'our new home', with features made from coloured marzipan (not easy to get hold of in NZ - thanks Rea!).  We also created a gingerbread house with a twist - it was actually a 'ninja-bread' house and was scoffed in one relatively violent sitting.



And a final word on the meaning of Onamalutu - it's fabulous and if I wasn't already here, I'd have definitely chosen to live in such an intriguingly-named valley.

From: Te tau ihu o te waka by Hilary Mitchell & Maui John Mitchell

Onamalutu is a small valley on the north bank of the Wairau River in Marlborough.  The name often elicits queries, as the letter ‘l’ is assumed to be absent from the Maori alphabet.  According to Rangitane informants, the correct name of the valley is O-Hine-a-Mahuta, an abbreviation of Te Tete o Te Hine a Tane Mahuta, meaning ‘the pubes of the daughter of Tane Mahuta*’.

In pre-European times, the valley was covered in very dense bush.  The easy way to travel to and from the valley was to wade along the stream Te Mimi o Te Hine a Mahuta (the stream of urine of Te Hine a Mahutu) through a ‘tunnel’ over the dense forest ahead (her pubic hair).  To the tangata whenua the geography and ambience of that densely wooded valley has been captured in a series of graphic sexual images as given in the name.

Apparently the present name arises from a process of laundering of the sexual images conveyed in the direct translation of Te Tete o Te Hine a Tane Mahuta by shortening the name to Ohinemahuta, thereby avoiding giving offence to Victorian niceties.  The second step was due to a …”well-known and respected negro living in Ohinemahuta and the nearest he could get to pronouncing it was Onamalutu, so out of respect for him the local Maori accepted his pronunciation”.

*Tane Mahuta was the eldest son of Tanginui-e-tu-nei and Papatuanuku and god of the forests.