March 2019

 It’s been a busy old month on the harvest front.  And a busy old work month too - not a great combo.  A long stint in lovely Westport meant an 18-day stretch all up.  It’s safe to say that the farmlet got a little abandoned, and all of a sudden, Autumn is knocking at the door.  Much shorter days but still lots of heat.  It was 28 degrees again at the weekend, making it unpleasant to work outside even when there was time.  The drought persists, but some rain on the horizon.  At least that’s what the weather-folk are saying.

Westport was busy but not frantic.  Peter joined me for the first weekend, and I got to show him some of my favourite places, including Granity beach where he's posing.  I was staying in a lovely studio attached to the house of a fellow health worker, right on the Orowaiti estuary (pictured top).  Absolutely gorgeous, and a real tonic after working.  By the end of my locum time, and including the last Westport trip in January, I’d caught two-thirds of the babies born at Kawatiri this year. 

The home-kill guy came for the 2 steers and 3 pigs on the same day.  Our neighbour Craig hired a digger and came over to bury the innards and carcases.  It would have been a massive task to have done this as we usually do - ourselves by spade - especially with the dried-out concrete-like ground.  A very sad day though.  Hera and Athena were cowering in the corner of a paddock when we got home, so Peter went and had a kind word. 

In the meantime, Peter had been eyeing up cows on the internet again, as is his wont.  He was drawn to the sale of a Speckled Park bull calf that was for sale somewhere near us (according to the phone number).  Sure enough, it was down the next valley (North Bank), and we knew the seller.  John came many years ago to chop down the curtain of pine trees that bordered our property.  He was also advertising Speckled Park heifers, but these had already sold.  In the end we bought the young bull calf and 2 Black Angus steers.  Billy was keen to invest in his own calf, so he owns one of the steers.  In keeping with our naming theme, he named his steer Poseidon.  The other Angus is Erebus, and the Speckled Park bull is Kronos.

 

Kronos seemed OK when he arrived, but within a few days we were noticing that he was staggering and shaking.  Dr Google diagnosed Grass Staggers, and the vet agreed when Peter spoke to him.  The only cure is to take him off grass, and feed hay until the staggers pass.  The trouble is that we don’t have a grass free area, so we put him in the tiny paddock at the back of the house, where at least the grass is limited.  He seems to be getting better, but not there yet.  He was being knocked around by the other cows (particularly Poseidon), so he needs to build himself up a bit before re-joining the herd.

We’ve been doing a little research into the likely cause of stock infertility, and the number 1 suspect is selenium deficiency.  Drenches often contain selenium as well as their active ingredient, and we haven’t drenched.  Other than the infertility, our stock animals are healthy, hence the decision to avoid parasite drenches.  Peter bought some selenium-drench, and the sheep have had their first dose.  Graham borrowed Walter again (another shagging holiday) so we had to round them up to load him into the trailer.  It was a good opportunity to check them out as well as drench them, and Graham is experienced at drenching.  We’ll repeat the process in a few weeks and dose the cows too.  Here’s hoping that Kronos gets big and strong pretty quick, so that he’s able to service the girls before they get too old!  
     

We’d pretty much given up on the shii-take mushrooms, but luckily they hadn’t given up on themselves.  A glorious crop of delicious mushrooms, ready for picking.  Such a lovely surprise, and hope the upcoming rain will trigger another sprouting.

The Blackboy peaches were dropping off the tree in vast numbers when I got to them. 

Initially I was gutted to lose this volume of crop, but happily there were loads left on the tree.  Sam happened to be home and he helped me pick them.  We could be really fussy about quality as there were so many.  It’s a shame they have such a limited shelf life, but there are several packs in the freezer.  They also made great gifts – everyone loves a Blackboy peach!

The peachcots were also in the millions, and I got to them late too.  Some of those left on the tree had been nibbled at by birds.  The eventual crop wasn’t huge, but way more than we can eat, and I managed to get some into the freezer.  Meanwhile the pears were ripening and needed picking.  Apparently they’ll store in the fridge for several weeks, so that’s what I’ll do with those that I can’t give away.  Oh, plus a quadruple batch of more pear wine of course.  Just waiting for them to get over-ripe before I start that off.

The cider apples were a flop crop this year, but all are quite young trees.  Next year will likely be a significant crop, and I still have cider left over from last season, including the ‘damcider’ that’s so potent I’ll only drink it when I’ve got a week off work.  The eating apples cropped OK, except the giant Peasgood Nonsuch that lost most of its fruit in a storm.  The delicious and nutritious Hetlina apples are all picked (Peter enjoyed climbing the tree to get them) and I’m going to have a bash at storing them (and the Bramleys) in a box, the old-fashioned way.  They’ll need wrapping in newspaper and layering up, then will be put in one of the old non-functioning freezers.  It’s worth a try.  If it’s a disaster, I haven’t lost much as I won’t get around to cooking and freezing them.

Distracted by the pears and apples, I nearly missed the peaches.  There are 2 trees of Golden Queen (probably – not sure as the trees were already on the property) and I’d thought it was a relatively small crop.  The peaches must have been well-camouflaged on the trees, and it was in the nick of time when I finally noticed the branches heaving under the weight of fruit.  Peter and me picked as many as we could reach, generously leaving the fruit on higher branches for the birds.   Loads have been gifted, and those that remain should find their way into the freezer too.

The vegetable garden beds are at their worst in terms of tidiness, though are still productive.  Weeds everywhere, and hedges and pathways seriously overgrown.  Having decided to plant green manure crops instead of using pea straw as mulch, this is a task that needs attention.  If delayed too long, it won’t be warm enough for the green manure to germinate.  I tackled 2 and a half beds at the weekend and will sow lupin seeds when it rains.  Another 3 and a half beds to go, and the other beds to tidy up, so the pressure is on.  The photo shows one bed ready for sowing, and another that is more than a tad overgrown.  There are numerous fabulous carrots hiding in there somewhere.  

The weeds and hedge clippings are being used to create soil in the new bed by the pizza oven.  Wool shearings and vermicompost have also been added, as will any organic matter I can get my hands on.  I'll probably end up transplanting weed seeds, but I'm figuring it'd be worse to transplant someone else's weed seeds from bought topsoil.  Hopefully the lesser of two evils, and at no cost except for a couple of $2 bags of horse manure to kickstart the composting.  In spring I'll have the pleasure of getting more flowering plants to add to the bed.  The peach tree that started as a peach stone seedling tree, is protecting the plants around it from the sun and wind, but will eventually be chopped down as it'll get too big.

The extended flower bed in the garden continues to fill out nicely and colourfully.  Karyn will help transplant some of the plants from the back of the bed to the front to balance it all out.  This will include the beautifully scented white azalea that currently resides under the Tulip tree.  It was very leggy and Karyn pruned it savagely a while ago.  She’ll do so again when we move it.  Once everything is in place, the whole bed will be thickly mulched with peastraw.  The native bed will be too, and maybe a few more plants put in before winter.

Next year I'll have reduced working hours.  I'm regretting taking on the extra undergraduate work, though it is only for this year.  My earnings with basic part-time DHB hours plus clinical locums last year were similar to what I'll get this year.  I enjoyed the freedom of being able to choose what I did over and above the basics, and the extra stress and hassle of the extra regular work just isn't worth it.  I'll stick it out, but be kinder to myself on the work front next year. It's gutting to spend time and energy preparing the land for produce, and then not being around enough when it all comes to fruition.  The clocks change in a couple of weeks (eeek).  The preparations for winter on the land are really satisfying, and I'm looking forward to being obliged to do something other than work outside in the evenings.  Soon enough I'll be holding out for longer days again.  The pleasures of the seasons are always humbling and contenting, and I'm blessed to have this 'happy place' to call home.   

February 2019

Greengages,oh greengages, where have you been all my life?  I have recently knowingly tasted my first greengage and OMG.  It's leapt straight up to number one in the fruit parade.  I have a theory that it's a deliberate ruse to give a boring name to a boring-looking fruit, so that those in the know don't have to share.  The greengage tree was here when we arrived, but we didn't really know what it was because it hadn't fruited.  I took out a huge central branch (by chainsaw) last year, so that must have triggered the mass fruiting.  

Despite their total yumminess, there are only so many that even I can consume every day.  Marcus reckons that greengage wine is a thing, so 10 litres are currently bubbling away in demijohns. They were first steeped in hot water, tea, sugar and yeast in a fermenting bucket, that after 3 days looked like someone had puked into it.  I'm used to homemade wines going through that kind of phase, so was quite reassured that things are probably on track. Elderberries are also fruiting, so there's a batch of 2019 elderberry wine on the go too.  

The little damson tree is heaving with fruit.  4 litres of gin are already turning that beautiful purply pink, and there are heaps more to go around.  One of the tree's branches had broken under the weight.  Alas the same fate has also afflicted other trees - Bartlett pear, nashi and Hawera plum in particular.  A combination of too much fruit (yes I should have thinned them), too much wind and too dry ground, so can't totally blame myself.  At least the pigs have benefitted from the windfalls. And there are still millions of pears.

We have mutton from two sheep in the freezer.  Bruce, the home-kill man, is coming for the pigs at the end of the week, and then the steers next week.  It's truly a sad time and an event that doesn't get any easier.  I tell myself that it's more ethical to eat animals that I know have been cared for in a way that respects their well-being and their natural behaviours.  They're not pets though, and we keep them for a purpose.  Steers Hermes and Heracles have been with us for more than 2 years.  They've been a real pleasure to get to know.  Though the pigs have been here much less time, their personalities and the intensity of caring for them has meant they've found their way into our affections too.  I shouldn't have favourites, but Voldemort is a pig after my own heart: he loves his fruit and stays out of scrapping with his brothers.  It'll be a quiet old place for a while.

Flowers have been cheerily colourful, and now include severalhappy dahlias.  The extended flower garden and the native bed have been regularly watered and most plants are surviving or thriving.  They're a way off looking established, but so far so good.  The new woodlot is also being watered twice a week.  So far only 2 tree losses (from over 40) - a manuka and a maple that died pretty early on.  The tiny oak trees are very much enjoying spreading their roots.  One of the expensive sweet chestnuts also turned up its toes, but to my relief, resuscitated itself after a good watering.  It's now covered in lovely fresh leaves, and I got the message to water more often.

Peter's been putting his woodwork skills to use again and has built a bench alongside the pizza oven.  He's added a box underneath so that pizza oven trays and utensils can be stored outside.  It's known as Karyn's Coffin (long story of potential dismemberment). Unfortunately, we can't use the oven at the moment because there's a total fire ban.  We're in pretty serious drought and the fire risk is plain to see.  Nelson has had a massive bush fire, extending over several hundred hectares and necessitating mass evacuation.  It's been burning for around 3 weeks now and is finally under control.  The whole country is expecting rain at the weekend - fingers crossed it reaches Marlborough in significant volumes.

Vegetable production has slowed up, though nothing has died off as a result of the drought. Sweet corn is ripe, tomatoes and courgettes are still abundant.  Carrots are yet to be investigated.  Brassicas are mostly done, except for Brussels sprouts that probably won't come to anything (again - probably the climate but I keep trying) and one single purple-sprouting broccoli that I don't remember planting. And pumpkins are, of course, magnificent!  I'm hoping that the giant pumpkin in the picture will exceed my previous record of 25kg.  There's another pumpkin plant that's nurturing more edible pumpkins too, and I'm holding out for gourds by the end of the season.

The transplanted citrus plants from the horse arena seem to be enjoying their new home nearer the sleepout.  They'll need to be frost-protected again this winter, but hopefully they're now mature enough to survive with organic frost spray, rather than frost cloth that has to be taken on and off (and therefore reliant on me remembering).  The original lemon tree that was seriously pruned by Karyn is being watered more regularly and is rewarding us with large fruit.  There's also 3 ruby grapefruit ready to pick.  The tea plantation is coming away, though it'll be a while before it actually looks like a tea hedge.

Magical things have been happening in the kitchen, not only alcohol-related.  There are batches of plum jam, crab apple jelly and tomato relish - all completely delish.  They'll mostly be provided to guests in the Airbnb.  We've been well-booked out since spring, and there's no sign of let-up yet. We get good guest feedback about the little home-made jams/relishes, so it's definitely something to continue with.

It's been a magnificent honey season.  The 2 producing hives have provided more than 45 litres of the best honey in the world, and the main hive has been visited multiple times by a number of fascinated guests.  I haven't been brave enough to take them to the Queen Bitch hive, but whoever's currently in charge is less aggressive than the previous incumbent.  Not a lot less, but enough to slightly reduce my fear factor.  Honey has already been traded for olive oil and quail eggs, and naturally, some of it will end up as mead.

Weeds have been having free reign for some weeks now, though have been hindered to some extent by the lack of rain.  Managing the harvest has taken up most of my available free time, and another planned trip to the West Coast will delay or scupper the tidy-up.  Though it's messy, it's been great to watch plantings survive the drought, and when we do get eventually get rain, that'll free up some watering time to do other things.  Peaches and pears will have to be processed over the next few days and weeks.  Some of the pears will end up as wine, and maybe even reach 'Thunderbird' standard - pear wine of our youth that played a significant role in our marital status.  
Many of our recent guests have been openly envious of our lifestyle and that warms the old cockles.  For us it remains a fantastic blessing that we can be so beautifully connected to the seasons and land, and everything it comes with.  Happy days...

January 2019

After several hideous days of hot and blustery winds, we’re about to move into the next phase of weather - extreme heat, courtesy of Australia.  Starting today, we have a solid week of temperatures above 30 degrees forecast.  Lucas sent us a screen shot of Melbourne weather yesterday – a record 44 degrees!  Here’s hoping that our predictions won’t be revised up, as that would completely floor me.  I can barely stand to be outside, let alone keep up with watering right now.  I can only hang onto the sincere hope that the plants, including the relatively new ones, can tolerate the heat better than me.

Just when we’d given up hope of having lambs, Peter heard the unmistakable sound of a youngster bleating on January 3rd.  It came from a gorgeous little black ram lamb – no doubt about who sired him!  The next day he was joined by a tiny and skinny white ewe lamb, who very sadly was dead the next day.  We can't decide if they're very early or very late lambs.  We've usually had lambs in July, so it could be either!  Happily, Junior (son of Walter in ‘Breaking Bad’) is thriving, watched over and cared for by his very protective mum.  It’s a shame for him that he’s an only child in the flock, but he does give us hope that we may be able to address the fertility issues.  And it keeps the ewes alive for now at least.

The pigs are fattening up well, no doubt helped by the excess fruit from the orchard, and from various external sources including the holiday programme at the stadium.  We’re starting to think about home-kill timing – maybe a couple of months before they become hams and bacon.  Peter is hobbling because of damage to the cruciate ligament of his right knee, and we’re wondering if our pig version of Voldemort has cast a Cruciatus Curse on him.  Could there be any other explanation??  Moo ha ha.

Our hay was cut and baled by our good-natured neighbours in early January.  Just 2 paddocks but 105 bales, which surpassed our expectations.  We already had lots of hay left over from last year, so have put the new stuff up for sale.  There’s lots of hay around so it’s a slow selling process, but we’ll just keep re-listing it.  We also asked one of the neighbour's (thanks Pete!) to cut the grass in the remaining paddocks – this reduces the fire risk and cuts down some of the nasty weeds like thistles.  The cows always enjoy hay, so now have copious extra supplies under-hoof.

The pink strawberries are reproducing themselves in rabbit proportions (surprising that the rabbits haven’t intervened here) and are also producing fruit.  It’s relatively small but perfectly fine, and good to know that they taste good as well as looking good.  I’ve started to pot some runners up so that they can be given away at a plant stall next year.  I did manage to get around to weeding the entire horse arena / herb zone, which was a monumental but very satisfying task.  This has left extra space for all the strawberries to spread their runners even further and wider. 

The new bee hive didn't appear to be very busy, but a quick check revealed a small but productive colony.  Lots of brood and a few stores.  The colony previously known as the Queen Bitch Hive appears to still be the Queen Bitch Hive alas.  Probably it wasn't this queen who swarmed after all, unless she was replaced by a queen of similar temperament.  Immediate aggression met me when I opened the top honey box and was treated to 4 stings through my bee suit whilst putting an escape board on.  The next day Peter helped take off the very hefty full depth top honey box.  Along with 5 frames from the original hive, 15 litres of fabulous honey was extracted.  So the Queen Bitch lives to sting another day...

The sheep were temporarily put in the orchard for a few days.  The idea was that they'd benefit from the shade and possibly enjoy some of the pasture plants, such as the comfrey.  They weren't terribly interested in the comfrey, but they did enjoy pruning any fruit tree branch within nibbling height, including the Hawera plum with its numerous draping branches.  They stripped off all the leaves and stamped the fruit into the ground, and for that they were duly evicted from the orchard.  The elephant heart plum tree, that has produced several bumper crops, grew less fruit than previously, though still a fair crop.  The endless winds blew down a fair proportion of this crop, as well as hundreds of fledgling Bramley apples.  Most of the pear varieties withstood the windy onslaught so its still looking like we will be peared-out this year. The Red Bartlett branches in the photo may need some support for their phenomenal crop as it gets bigger and bigger.  The relatively new Perry pear and Slack Ma Girdle Cider apple trees are establishing themselves nicely. 

The cucurbit family are having a bumper kind of year - maybe they're particularly enjoying the heat.  The apple cucumber is still triffid-like and taking over Madame Cholet.  Also in there is a watermelon plant that is nurturing at least one beautiful fruit.  And outside in the vege garden, courgettes and marrows are go, and 2 pumpkins are poised to trip up and engulf any unsuspecting gardener.

The sweet corn cobs are fattening up, and tomatoes, beetroot, cabbage and greens are en masse.  Early potatoes are dug up and their bed is awaiting a green manure lupin sowing at the next rainfall. Carrots and leeks are looking promising.  Flop crops are onions, peppers, peas and beans, and I'm not sure what went wrong there.  The usual suspects of rabbits, slugs and snails have certainly contributed to their demise, but I'm hoping that it was maybe just a bad year for them.

Flowers of many kinds have been gorgeous and uplifting (yes, even the roses. There, I said it).  The widened flower and native beds are very slowly establishing themselves, though with pretty frequent watering.  Most of the annual self-seeded flowers (poached egg, echium and poppy) are over and will be cleared out after this heat spell.  The young escallonia hedge is growing well, almost too well.  Hopefully it won't need trimming too often in the long run. Peter has cut an old wine barrel in half to make two planting containers, one of which will eventually house a lime tree.  The couple of terracotta planters from Auntie Sally are on the deck and planted up with spinach and kale, to be used in morning smoothies.

The deck got its coat of staining preservative and is looking stunning.  The shade sail had to come down in the wind, but is back up now and probably helping to keep the living room cool.  It feels very much like part of the house, like it's always been there.  Mowing what remains of the lawn is easy and so very smugly satisfying.  

I ended up in Westport again for a long weekend.  Work-wise it was really quiet for a change, and I discovered yet another amazing beach near the lighthouse.  That I was totally alone there added to its sense of rugged wildness.  A number of small and colourful sea-worn West Coast rocks were collected to keep as mementos of this magical place.  I'll definitely be back.




And finally - a photo of Karyn's beautiful arse.  It's been a while.  Despite several opportunities, I keep forgetting to photograph her in the garden.  She has been known to comment that she's relieved that the latest blog had not included her backside, so this shot was obviously entirely necessary.  Eh Karyn?  

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December 2018

Where the heck did December go?  I’m starting this blog entry on Christmas Day night (OK, technically it’s Boxing Day right now) so I’d better get on with it before the month runs out altogether.  It has been a lovely month, with Auntie Sally’s visit being a big highlight.  Then the gradual return of the (occasionally) prodigal sons for Christmas itself.  There’s been rather a lot of rain, but also some glorious sunny Marlborough days.  The photos were taken on Christmas Day - the rainbow appeared at around 9pm after the weird burst of sunshine on the opposite hill.

The deck is complete (apart from the pergola and bar that have been proposed but are either forever virtual or a very long way off) and awaiting its preservative application at 4-6 weeks old.  It’s really added another dimension to the house and to outdoor living.  Such decadence.  Billy gifted us an outdoor couch for Christmas, and Peter has built a huge table/bench set with some of the leftover wood.  The shade sail is up, and the living Christmas tree, incorporated into the deck design, is now resplendent with festive lights and decorations.  One day we’ll have to chop it down, but hopefully it’ll see a few more Christmases out.  The extended flower and native garden beds are starting to fill out a bit and mowing the lawn is an absolute efficient pleasure – only a few minutes all up.   

The bees have been busy, and one fine day there was the unmistakable sound of a swarm in the vege garden.  The most likely source of the bees was the Queen Bitch Hive.  I’ve long cherished a hope that the Queen Bitch would exit her hive and disappear (a much less stingy solution than finding and replacing her), but in the moment I found myself wavering about whether to try and capture the swarm.  Soon enough the decision was made for me.  The swarm found an empty hive box and settled itself in.  It was just a case of shifting this box onto a new hive base and voila – another colony!  And only my untidy self to blame if we still have an aggressive colony in the garden.

The vege and horse arena gardens have continued to be woefully neglected.  This seems to have affected aesthetics way more than production, and I’m optimistic that a few days over the next couple of weeks between night shifts will enable that to be dealt with.  The photo is included to shame me into some kind of weeding action before next month's blog.  Potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, lettuce and garlic are on tap, and tomatoes are beginning to blush.  Herbs are a-plenty, but a combination of not enough time and not enough sun when there was time, have meant that minimal dehydration has happened.  Solly is still stuck in the car port, looking a bit miserable.  The orchard feels a bit like a no-go zone.  It's so overgrown that it's practically impenetrable, and I'm avoiding going in too deep in fear of depressing myself with the volume of work required.  Hopefully the fruit trees will be thriving on this neglect.  There seems to have been plenty of rain and sun at blossoming and fruiting times.  I'm hoping that it's not too deluded to imagine that magical fruity things are happening in there without being witnessed.  Hmmm, sounds a bit like the old philosophical chestnut: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Madame Cholet has actually had a bit of a tidy up.  The tomatoes and apple cucumber had taken over and watering could only be done by jet hose from the door.  The tomatoes are now kind of bunched together and loosely tied up around a couple of extra stakes, and the cucumber is draped over some plastic mesh.  I’ll think twice about growing another apple cucumber next year.  It’s like a giant alien mass with tendrils everywhere.  If only it could be trained to consume rabbits.  And snails.  That'd be some biological control huh?

The pigs are doing their piggy thing and getting bigger.  Voldemort escaped one day, and for a brief moment I thought it was Maggie snorting around in the flower bed.  Luckily there was plenty of man-power at home to return him to the run and secure the breach in the boundary fence.  He was obviously unsettled without Dumbledore and Snape and, like all pigs, responded to the lure of food.

Auntie Sally spent several happy days with us before heading back to Hong Kong.  Mostly the weather gods were kind and we were able to squeeze in a few trips to some favourite places, like Nelson market, Lochmara and Lake Rotoiti.  We were able to ply her with alcohol most evenings, and this included a fair volume of newly-bottled mead.  The Creamed Honey Mead had stopped bubbling and was perfectly drinkable.  It filled at least 30 bottles, so plenty to go round.

Sally was also able to join me in attending Molly’s graduation ceremony.  She actually completed her wine-making degree in July, and has been working at a winery since then.  The event was at the Marlborough Convention Centre, with drinks afterwards at a local hotel.  It was a lovely ceremony. 

Lucas and I dropped Sally off at Christchurch airport and went home via Hanmer Springs, home of the famous warm pool complex and (less famous but equally popular) Lollipot Sweet Shoppe.  Sam had booked an army house for a couple of nights and he picked up Molly and Billy in Kaikoura before joining us in the pools.   It was a lovely couple of days and a stunning drive home along the outrageously beautiful Kaikoura coast.  We made the obligatory stop at 'The Store' at Kekerengu for refreshments.  It's wonderful that this incredible place has made a successful come-back after the Kaikoura quake. 

The Christmas cake theme for 2018 was ‘China’ and, as usual, there was a very high standard of decorative marzipan.  By popular request, we had that full-on traditional Northern Hemisphere Christmas turkey dinner with all the trimmings, and an old-fashioned trifle desert.  The last time we went traditional was in 2006 – our first NZ Christmas.  Fortuitously this year it rained most of the day, so an indoor hot dinner worked out OK after all.  It would be great to have the sun back now though!  Oh, and whilst I'm wishing, a 2019 garden fairy would be equally great too.  Any offers please?