April 2021

This blog is being written from the absolutely beautiful Whatamango Bay, where we're having a mini-break.  The photos were taken when we arrived, and there was no rain in the forecast.  The Sounds can't have got that memo because the next day was quite a wash-out.  Peter had a crack at fishing off the jetty before the wind joined the rain and stopped play, while my little jaunt around Picton shops wasn't affected.  We had a very relaxing break nonetheless, and the view that took in Karaka Point, was amazing whatever the weather.  

Some tentative steps to winter-down the gardens around the house have finally started with a hedge trimming and some weeding.  There are peastraw bales lined up (at great expense $15 each - eeek - supplies have been limited this year and I didn’t get in soon enough).  Just the flower beds to weed now, which hopefully won't be too bad.  It's been a while and the weeds are pretty big, but that usually makes it easier to pull them, unless it's grass or clover. The art of optimism, eh?

 The first frost finally happened last night.  The citrus received their first organic ‘frost cloth’ spray in the nick of time.  It was a decent frost that killed off the gourd plant foliage, and thereby revealed the full extent of the crop.  A whole tableful of prime, scrumptious gourds now need to be dried for several months.  Some are huge and heavy and I'm hoping a plan to suspend them will materialise quite soon.  In the meantime it's totally soul-nourishing to look out over them, as a proud gourd-mama.  As usual, a glorious day followed the frosty night.  Perfect gardening weather meant that the process of weeding and tidying one of the vege beds was a happy task.  Now I've made a good start, I'm hoping that'll create a momentum for continuing with the tidy up. 

It’s been a lovely autumn, though we could have probably used a bit more rain.  Can’t really argue with bright, sunny days that are not too hot to work in. There have been the usual misty, moody sunrises, including the one in the photo, where the sky seems to be mirroring the colours in the garden.  

 We made a decision to dispatch our two rams, Walter and Junior.  That leaves us with ewes Marie, Skylar and Holly, and ram lamb, Saul. It’s filled up our freezer too.  Bone broth was made, and for the first time we had a go at rendering the fat to make mutton tallow.  It was an easy process in the slow cooker, so we now have heaps of clean, white fat for cooking.  The jars show the tallow when it was still liquid - oily and yellow.  The tallow can be used to make candles too, but I have enough beeswax for that.  

No sooner had we decided on the fate of our rams, my old pal Liz messaged to ask if we wanted their ram.  We got our very first ram, Rambo, from Liz, so very much déjà vu.  She’s decided not to do lambs next year, so their ram had to go one way or the other.  We were keen to change the genetics of our flock, and Hank will do the job nicely.  He’s a white Wiltshire breed and mostly sheds, except for a Mohican strip down his back.  He was straight into hassling the girls on arrival, so (hopefully) cue cute lambs later this year.  Young Saul seems to be keeping his distance from the flock - perhaps Hank is pushing him out a bit.

I’ve re-discovered our spiraliser and now have several bags of spiralised carrots, beets, broccoli stems, butternut and kumara prepped in the freezer.  They are versatile and cook quickly so are handy after long work days.  And I’m fairly sure I had way more fun than I ought to whilst spiralising.  Obviously that means I got a bit carried away...

The kitchen is nearly done and continues to be a joy.  Just the fan to wire in and the tiling behind the oven left.  The central bench is where everything happens and it’s the perfect height and size for working on.  The oven is now fully functioning and has seen its first of Peter’s Yorkshire puddings.  The gas burner is a bit of an adjustment as things cook much faster than we’re used to.  The central plate holds a wok perfectly and it’s been great to have it back in action.

 The buckwheat has been threshed and the grain separated from the chaff, using a very technical set up.  Pouring from one container into another in front of a fan blew away the light-weight chaff and husky debris.  A stronger fan might have done a better job, but the result wasn't too bad.  Next up - bribing Billy to grind away the husks and then finely grind the flour kernel within.  Then a small cushion can be made from the husks.  A very small cushion... 

 Fire restrictions have eased, so Peter took the opportunity to burn the old kitchen units and some other crap lying around.  That's created some space in the carport, in addition to space in the garage that appeared when the new kitchen stuff was shifted into the house.  Lots of old carpet and underlay will need to go to the tip, along with the old kitchen appliances that aren't worth passing on.  Some of the carpet has already been put aside to use as weed mat.  

No change on the home front, though we have booked a trip to Aus in September to do the Spinning Babies Practitioner course in Sydney - COVID pending.  Peter will join me at the end of the course and we’ll spend time with one of his old mates who emigrated there decades ago from Yorkshire.  I’ve had my first COVID vaccine and just about completed my vaccinator certificate so will be able to help out in the clinics.  Right now those clinics are absolute bedlam for the limited clinicians who staff them.  It’ll mean weekday hours for me, so that’s a big tick.  

Lucas and Laura are still planning to come back to NZ later in the year, before heading back to Melbourne.  They’re hanging out for quarantine-free travel because of the prohibitive cost of MIQs.  Sam had a trip to Stewart Island with the band, where they were warmly welcomed by the 400 ish total population.  He saw kiwi and heaps of other wildlife.  Hopefully I’ll get there myself one day - it’s on my bucket list.  Billy is hoping that my vaccinator status will mean a slightly earlier vaccine for him, and there’s a chance he may be right.  The vaccines are made up in batches, and any left at the end of the clinic are offered to health staff first, and then any family member who can get there on time.  He doesn’t have any definite plans other than to return to Europe when he can.

My hypno portfolio is still coming along, albeit in fits and starts.  It’ll be cool to officially be able to add the Spinning Babies content to my future classes later in the year.  That does mean I’d actually have to start the classes first, and I don’t have a specific plan there.  I definitely want to get the lion’s share of the hypno diploma completed before I launch into another pretty big project, and I’m trying to work on a bit of life/work balance and reduce the number of juggling balls in the air right now.  I’ve started the Autoimmune Protocol diet in a bid to curtail some rheumatoid arthritis symptoms that are shouting louder.  It’s very restrictive and means that much time is spent preparing food.  Not a bad thing in itself, but still needs accounting for. 

Our winter hay and firewood supplies are well stocked, so we’re feeling ready for winter when it really bites. Bring it on. "What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness" (John Steinbeck). 

March 2021

before...

...after (kinda)

Much of our available time in the last month has been spent shifting downstairs furniture and stuff here, there and everywhere. It’s all been very much worth it as the house is pretty much transformed. The living and dining zones are nearly done, but I’m allowing about 4 years to complete the gazillion little finishing off jobs in the kitchen. Still, it’s looking great and functions perfectly. And we’ve finally got our new toy - a dishwasher.

I’ve been away for several days this month. A work training event, a hypno weekend (my last official one though I’ll do some repeats) and a gin tour. The latter was a trip to gorgeous Reefton on the West Coast, the home of a gin distillery that produces ‘Little Biddy’s’ and with grand plans to distil whisky. I went with a group of nurses/midwives and appropriately we stayed in the Old Nurses Home, currently being converted into holiday accommodation. The trip was likely the first of many gin-associated adventures, and I’m hoping that Reefton may have recovered by now...The photo shows the ethereal sunrise over the Lewis Pass en route to Christchurch.

Work on the land has been minimal, but that’s not been too much of a problem at this time of year. It’s quite a mess (distinctly an understatement) of course, but that’ll all be cleared up once the cropping is done. Preserving the abundant fruit and vegetables is always a time-consuming task and one that I sometimes have to let go of. The Bramley apples have been grossly under picked, and a fair chunk of the massive pear crop has also been left to rot. The peaches, including the blackboys, cropped very poorly this year, and that was almost a relief. There are still plenty of eating apples remaining, and these will be made into Apple Cider Vinegar just as soon as I get one of those round tuits.

  

There's still plenty of production on the vegetable front.  The photo shows one day's pick of stuff that just couldn't be left any longer.  Polly, our neighbour's pig, is still troughing on the fantastic marrows that continue to balloon, often cleverly hiding away among the lush foliage.  There can't be too many more days before the first frost, and then all will be revealed.  The same goes for the gourds too, but in their case, I'm hoping there'll be heaps of them waiting to be discovered.  Last year's smallest gourds that were planted up with succulents have been much admired, so I'm planning to make heaps more with this year's batch.

   

Peter's spuds are still feeding us, and we've started to stockpile acorns for our next pig project.  We don't have specific plans for more pigs, but we can't seem to completely let the acorns go this year.  We pass a number of oak trees on Maggie's daily dog walk and just can't resist gathering them up.  Interestingly some of the oaks have hardly any acorns on them, and others are reasonably laden.  I did manage to stop myself picking the elderberries this year, which is a tiny bit heartbreaking, though I did gather some for a friend who makes elderberry jelly.

 

The Aztec corn is stunning and likely to be ready to pick soon.  Those planted in one of the raised beds are a total disaster, and I won't make that mistake again.  The ones in the keyhole bed that was supposed to be fallowing are absolutely amazing - very tall and robust.  Can't wait to get a look at their colourful gems.  The buckwheat and amaranth, both also planted in raised beds, have done quite well.  The buckwheat is harvested and drying indoors, and the amaranth is maturing nicely (though hoping it either gets on with it or it's not frost tender).  The few quinoas that germinated in the second germination attempt are also maturing in one of the keyhole beds.

The citrus are all doing their usual trick of having the fruit of varying maturity at the same time.  There are heaps of new grapefruits, lemons, oranges and mandarins coming through, that'll need to be protected within the next few weeks.  The lemon needs another Karyn-style prune, but it may be a while until that becomes a priority.  

The fruit and veges that have been frozen for breakfast smoothies have finally been amalgamated, re-packed into mixed bags and returned to the freezer.  This is quite a major task that has been a painstaking process in the past.  This time I had a brainwave and cleaned and bleached the bath.  The fruit was efficiently dumped therein, mixed and re-packed in a fraction of the usual time.  Very satisfying indeed, and great to be set up for the next few months with a healthy start to the day.  

The dahlias are continuing to show their joyful longevity, and there seem to be more flowers than ever.  I'm very happy with this mini take-over, as it's as practical (at keeping weeds down) as it is beautiful.  One of these days I'll get round to picking up some straw mulch and winter-down the flower bed, but as long as the dahlias are displaying, there's time up my sleeve.  

The beehives will also need wintering down soon...actually very soon.  Eeek another priority.  There was another 45 litres of honey from the 3 hives that were extracted one very long day.  Oh boy, was I ever totally over honey and being sticky by that evening.  The new extractor certainly sped the process up, but still a heap of work.  It's all in buckets and will need bottling soon, in case it's fast-granulating like last year's.  The smallest bucket is full of honey from the newest colony - the one gifted by Derryn in spring.  Amazing that there was honey to take off such a young colony, let alone a whole super-full.  This honey is much lighter in colour than that produced by the other hives.  I've seen this difference before, but it's still pretty incredible that the honeys from the same tiny apiary can have this level of variety.  Such clever bees. 

Lexie

Billy is now officially 'between jobs' and hoping to get his Covid vaccination sooner rather than later so he can get out of the country and head back to Europe.  Lucas and Laura are planning to come over from Seoul later in the year to spend some time here before returning to Australia.  And Sam and Molly are staying put near Christchurch for now.  I've been very happily staying with them and greyhound Lexie when I attend the Christchurch hypno weekends.  Peter has been very busy both at work and home, sorting out the renovations.  He's hoping that the anticipated wine bottling lull will actually happen and he'll have a bit more energy when he gets home from work.  This year's grape harvest in Marlborough is very light (about 20-40% down) so vintage should be over by the end of the month.  No change for me, and I'm delighted to report that I'm actually getting on with my hypno portfolio - thanks to motivation from friends Vida and Roz.  England is finally making good Covid progress, but international travel without isolation costs feels a long way off.  

In theory, the small volume of life-sentence block work that has been undertaken this month should translate to a much shorter blog.  But somehow I still manage to ramble on and on.  Um, sorry about that.  It's not like there's nothing else to do, eh?   Autumn is yet to really show off its best colours, and that flippin lawn still needs mowing again.  Ain't no place like home :) 

                                                      

February 2021

Late summer harvest is in full swing, its processing hampered as always by lack of time and those dastardly weather gods.  It's 30 degrees today, far too hot to spend more than a few minutes at a time outside.  The nights are cooler, so at least the day's heat takes a while to peak.  We have had some cooler days too, and even some rain this month, so can't really complain.  Watering has to happen in the mornings and evenings when possible, and I can't help but come to the same conclusion as always, that the weeds protect the soil, and therefore the crops, from the temperature extremes. Go you weeds!! (no, I'm only pretending I mean that dammit).  Some progress has been made on weeding and it kinda feels manageable most of the time, until I venture into a zone that has been ignored for a while.  Then the sheer volume of work strikes, along with that familiar sense of being overwhelmed.  It's at these moments that I try to convince myself of the privileges and joys of living on the land.  How lucky am I that I can spend time outside, that I can grow my own food and firewood, that I can wake up to beauty every day, and that I have no neighbours? 

Peter has just started digging up his (quite impressive) spuds, around big sessions of stocking up the firewood.  He's been taking down some trees on the property, including willows that look to be beyond our boundary, but which are in fact are still on our land albeit on the other side of the fence.  He's planning to fill up the new shed completely, and then we can work out how much firewood we get through over winter.  We've been pretty ad hoc about this up to now, so it'd be good to know an approximate volume.  The dead possum on the balcony was shot by Peter in the middle of the night.  We were being woken for several nights by the loud activities of possums just outside our bedroom window.  This was the 3rd possum he shot, and the only one to die on the spot and not run away like they usually do.  I took this photo the morning after, and when I sent it to Peter saying he'd left something behind, he accused me of putting it into the recovery position and pointed out that wouldn't work! 

 The calves are doing great, and are mostly an utter pleasure.  When they break into the vege garden, twice, then they are much less so.  They found their way through an unlocked gate one fine day, and had a ball munching the peas.  They were swiftly evicted, but the next time the opportunity arose, they pushed hard and broke in through the gate.  This time they weren't spotted immediately, and had an even better ball working their way through the vege beds, occasionally depositing some compost on the paths.  Grrr.  The sheep and lambs have remained angelic, this month at least. The girls even asked to be let into the orchard one day, and then out the next.  We daren't leave the gate open in case the cattle decide there are rich pickings worthy of breaking in and entry.  Both lambs - Saul and Holly - are robust little critters that are growing rapidly.  We might replace our genetic stock with a new ram and bid a fond farewell to the current boys.  When we get a round tuit.

  

Vegetables are magnificent and abundant.  I have more jars of pickled beetroot than you can shake a stick at, and still there are more in the garden.  A big bean pick is the next priority when it cools down.  Saucing tomatoes are blushing and some are huge.  They are a mix of varieties that came from a pack of seeds from Koanga Gardens - a company that sells heirloom seeds, gifted to me by my beekeeper friend, Jo.  There are a million peppers in Madame Cholet, and those delicate pink flowers in the photo are a promising start to the aubergine crop.  There are marrows for Africa, most of them gifted to Polly, our neighbour's pig who happily adores them.  The broccoli is about done, but there are still heaps of cabbage, kale and caulis.  Lettuces, onions, leeks and cucumbers are ready too.  

  Aztec corn planted in the horse arena raised bed is clearly well out of its comfort zone.  It's barely reached my knee height.  The extra seedlings that Karyn germinated and I couldn't bear to part with, were planted in one of the fallowing beds and are magnificent specimens, standing proudly taller than me.  Such a relief that we won't be without Aztec corn this year, and that my saved seeds can continue to create another generation.  A clear demonstration that my 'can't-bear-to-part-with-anything-growing' tendency does occasionally play out beautifully.  Hopefully I'll feel the same when the gourd crop, that is taking over the world, eventually matures.  I've trimmed some of the ends of the vigorous creepers in the hope that they'll focus on growing their currently tiny fruits.  There are too many to count, and it would be gutting to lose them to a rogue frost one night.  It might also be a bit gutting to have to deal with 99 mature gourds, but I'll cross that bridge if it arises.

  On the fruit front, I'm eagerly awaiting the ripening of the rock melons, of which there are several, and the first of the limes.  The plums are now done, heaps in the freezer waiting to be bundled into smoothie packs.  There were some greengages, but nowhere near enough.  That's 2 consecutive years of poor cropping, so keeping fingers crossed for Greengage 2022.  

   Pears are coming on tap, and it turns out that dehydrated nashi pears are stunning.  I'm having a bash at Red Bartlett pears in Solly today, and they're joining the elephant garlic that was sliced and put in the dehydrator yesterday.  The pear crop is phenomenal this year, so some will also be frozen, and the bulk gifted.  Apples and peaches aren't quite ready, but it doesn't look like we'll be suffering from a shortage of either. 

  Alcohol stocks are being sustained.  Rhubarb gin is bottled, and elsewhere damsons are soaking in 3 litres of gin.  In the demi-johns is 10 litres of finest peapod wine.  Yes, I finally did get round to that.  It smells absolutely heavenly.  Earthy rather than specifically pea-like.  There are heaps of lees already, so I'm guessing it'll take a long time to clear.  The online reviews for the final concoction are mixed, with some claiming it's fabulous and others much less complimentary.  No doubt it'll be like most of my wines - the first glass a bit iffy, but by the end of the bottle, undoubtedly the classiest wine ever.  

  The bees are very busy indeed, and I'm planning a venture into all 4 hives this weekend to see what spare honey they have.  The top bar hive looks to be going strong too, even one of the vines is trying to gain access.  I've solar filtered Jo's wax using the usual technique, and have added to my wax stash with another 10kgs bought from Putake.  Half has been sold on to Shona, and the remaining chunk will be made use of in any of the silicon candle moulds that have all arrived.  Just need to sort out a 'Candle-making and Gin Day' and invite a few friends round. 

Indoors, the tatty old stair and upstairs carpet has been replaced.  Not only does it look great, it feels fantastic underfoot.  So bouncy and so quiet.  Most of the downstairs painting is complete, and the final piece of kitchen furniture has arrived.  We have a March date for the downstairs flooring, so will have to put aside some considerable time to clear everything out.  Coincidentally, Billy's work contract finishes at the end of the week before, so at least he'll be able to sort out Maggie while the contractor is here.

   

The stalwart dahlias are still flowering their little hearts out and providing a rainbow of colour outside.  Other flowers are joining the party and it's quite a vibrant riot.  The stunning sunrise was taken en route to work one morning, one of many that we have the pleasure of waking up to.  NZ had another Covid in the community scare, that took us to level 2 and Auckland back to level 3.  It lasted 3 days and was reversed when it had been contained.  The vaccination programme is just getting off the ground, so hopefully travel and overseas visitors can eventually happen.  In the meantime, there's a whole autumn to enjoy.