Monthly Archives: November 2009

Ben went off to his conference in Napier starting at 8:30 am. Mark arrived around 9:00 am with his wife Cass who took herself off on a bicycle to Hastings Library for the morning. Mark and Karola planted the twenty Ngaios. During that activity Karola took me to and from Stortford Lodge for a neck massage (two trips). Mark and Cass left for home around 1:30 pm; lunch for us all and Bicka at the Clifton Cafe out near Cape Kidnappers. I had a mid afternoon walk round the grounds with Ben and Gill pointing out this years finished projects. Intermittent showers all day.

Baywide Dingo employee came and levelled off the earth along the top of the ha-ha – reasonable job but it took him a long time.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 13°C—19°C; 3.7 mm rain [78.7]

Hot sunny day allegedly around 30 degrees. Much eating and lying around until it got cooler. Gill and Ben went to the local Hastings Farmers Market in the morning. Mary and I joined them, with Bicka, for a walk along the Napier foreshore (but not the seabed – NZ “joke”) late afternoon including afternoon tea at the swimming pool spa cafe on Marine Parade, all except Ben who went to register at a conference he’s attending for a couple of mornings this week.

While we were out strolling on the promenade, Karola cooked a big roast lamb dinner and marked out where the Ngaio trees are to be planted tomorrow – Mark is expected around 9:00 am.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 12°C—30°C; no rain [78.2]

More with the computer; still trying to recover but finding hurdles at every step. Tonight I think I’ve solved most of these and can connect with my database of passwords and IBM e-mail once again.

No rain here despite torrential rain further south.

Gill and Ben and Mary arrived mid afternoon and we had a thorough;y convivial evening with a splendid dinner.

Another 30 mm of rain in Mary’s rain gauge since 10th October.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 11°C—25°C; 0.1 mm rain [78.3]

Mike Croucher came this morning and mowed the lawn so it’ll be nice for when Gill, Ben, and Mary come up tomorrow to stay until Wednesday.

Karola completed her cutting and weed spraying of the Taupata hedge and we have the leaky pipe irrigation now operational.

I spent most of the day trying to mend parts of computer system that have suddenly stopped working and also attempting to make the main machine work as a personal video recorder and creator of DVDs from TV programs – the new video tape. I’ve just burned my first recorded program, “Foyles War”, and it plays on the DVD player downstairs without a hitch.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 14°C—22°C; no rain [78.0]

Karola tended her Taupata hedge along the edge of the lawn between the pump shed and the ha-ha. First it was eaten by rabbits, then sheep, then accidentally mown by Garden Groom – however almost all the double row of trees have some glossy green leaves so Karola has released those that need it from grass and weeds and is laying leaky pipe irrigation to coax them back to strong growth. We nipped briefly into town (Hastings) this afternoon before rehanging the blinds in the store room – necessary because our installation of the shelving units overlapped the window blinds by 50 mm or so.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 7°C—26°C; no rain [77.9]

There are many more quail around this year; they seemed few and far between for the last 3 – 4 years but there’s several pairs reconnoitring around the house and drives.

We went into Hastings this morning; me for my six-monthly eye checkup and then to get the car washed and pick up dry cleaning etc – the time just whizzes by.

Karola got two single mattresses made for when the grandsons come at Christmas and these arrived today. Now I have to make room for the two beds in our study, Karola’s study has been made over to a bedroom for the two granddaughters.

Karola spent several hours organising things in the garage and store room; we’re almost at the point where she can reclaim space in the garage for her car.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 11°C—25°C; no rain [78.5]

Karola got up early and continued with preparing the hedge of ngaios – putting in 60 metres of leaky pipe irrigation and removing three trailer loads of long grass and weeds before it got too hot.

Otherwise a quiet day for me reading and catching up on some computer work.

Karola entertained a woman and her mother who were predicting imminent armageddon, the end of the world when we all would be saved, for morning tea, she went to Hastings in the afternoon.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 7°C—26°C; no rain [78.1]

Mark came over and helped Karola clear the thick grass in a band about 600mm wide along where the ngaios are to be planted. They found that more of the frosted ngaios from last year were still alive than I had thought but all except two have only very tiny leaf bunches down at ground level. Mark also dispatched the lamb with the non-working back legs, it wasn’t getting any better and Bruce the shearer said it had an incurable back problem, he’d seen it before. Mark wanted the meat for his dogs, so not all is wasted though truth to tell Karola is a bit upset over losing #920R.

Brien Mahoney (Guardian Trust) came round late afternoon to discuss Karola’s trust; we suspect he’s going to retire completely soon, he’s one of those who retire and then go back part time or on contract for a few years before deciding that being free and doing what you prefer is indeed preferable despite the drop in income.

I transported more books and files out to the store room, otherwise not much activity today.

The fourth plover chick was there this morning but gone after lunch. I hope that all four chicks are safe in the long grass, the parent plovers are still around and diving at us if we go anywhere out in the Middle or Totara paddocks.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 12°C—21°C; no rain [78.0]

Karola moved the electric fence to the next tranche of grass in the orchard paddock; it takes about two hours to do the move.

We then spent most of the day sorting out books and other stuff in the store room, populating the new shelving. Late afternoon we took Bicka for a walk on the Napier foreshore and we then had dinner at the Westshore Fish Cafe.

Late evening we installed the last of the nione assembled shelving units, not without some difficulties – we found a power point would be covered up and so we had to change the position and then the window blinds were slightly overlapping so we have to move them across a bit – but in the end all satisfactory. Also, in the process, much stuff has been put up on the shelves.

Plover nest which I thought was abandoned has hatched – there were four eggs and when I looked this morning I was harried by the parents, a good sign, and saw three chicks plus one as yet unhatched egg – no sign of the other egg shells. The chicks were motionless, one still in the nest and the others a metre or so away in the long grass.

For the record, although birthdays are not of much consequence these days, my birthday is two days before the anniversary of the assassination of JFK; GWR’s birthday is a couple of weeks earlier on the anniversary of the falling of the Berlin Wall, 9th November 1989.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 12°C—17°C; no rain [77.3]

Steady progress today, we installed another three of the shelf units in the store room. In addition Karola continued her programme of house cleaning in preparation for Christmas.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 14°C—26°C; 0.3 mm rain [77.7]

In between her lamb duties Karola and I battled with the store room, moving three bookshelves into the office and sorting out a few hundred books into “keepers” and “binnable”. Also moving the books I shed from my upstairs study last winter from the cottage bedroom to the store room. Lunch at Pernel Fruit World and the first fresh cherries of the year from the farm on Evenden road.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 8°C—26°C; no rain [78.0]

Shearing today, it was moved up from 1:00 pm Friday to 10:00 am today – and then Bruce actually arrived at 9:30 am which threw things a little. All 28 mature ewes were shorn along with the wether #630 and “piglet” the ram, #104. In addition the 32 oldest lambs were drenched with CombiTape (withholding meat 10 days) leaving us only 15 lambs to do ourselves.

The trouble with ewe #677 is bad mastitis which is really only visible if you turn her over, as happened when she was being shorn. We’re glad we didn’t send her to market with the other culls.

Karola spent a few hours in the afternoon weeding the mountain flax along the casurina shelter belt. She also put the windbreak netting skirt on another of her tree guards and helped me install another three of the store room shelving units.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 9°C—19°C; no rain [78.3]

Some rain overnight, and I should know being up most of the night with the aching neck from the fall I had several weeks ago. Pills didn’t make any difference. But fortuitiously I had a theraputic neck massage booked for this morning. After 45 minutes of back and neck massage with Bridget McFarlane (trading as “Bridget’s Fingers” – I even got a pensioner’s discount) it was much relieved. Needless to say, with the wet weather, the shearing has been put off till 10:00 am tomorrow, as long as the sheep are dry (Karola to call Bruce first thing and say if the wool is dry or not). So not much else achieved outside today.

Ewe #677 is continuing to behave strangely, hiding away in the shade alone; that can be a sign of sensitivity to sunlight caused by facial eczema, but there’s no sign of it on her face. Still, I think she must be pretty crook with some lurgy.

We have had some savage winds over the last few days, initially from the north and then from the west and south west, and still Dave Mitchell’s kite remains lodged high in the Liriodendron tree.

The sheep sent to market fetched:

• 3 cull ewes: $63
• 1 two-tooth ewe: $73
• 4 ewe lambs: $106

Hawkes Bay Weather: 7°C—21°C; 6.6 mm rain [80.0]

Karola spent the morning putting extra chicken netting along the sides of the sheep yards so that tomorrow the lambs can’t get out. I did more mowing – the Middle paddock and the Island paddock.

The plover’s nest in the uncut grass in the Totara paddock has no plover today but the pair are not far away; the nest, well camouflaged, contains four large speckled olive green eggs.

There’s a nest full of noisy blackbird chicks in the wysteria on the front verandah near the front door; noisy nests of starling are in the roof space of the sun porch and by the back door of the cottage.

A large branch fell from 20 metres or so up a Douglas Fir tree as I watched – over in the north east corner close to the big Wellingtonian; no real harm done but it made an impressive crack as it broke, the a woosh as it fell, and a thud as it landed.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 13°C—22°C; 2.8 mm rain [79.0]

Karola got up at 7:00 am, fed her lambs, and went and collected Mark Hendery from his home in Napier. At 9:00 am we loaded up the five #800 lambs and the three ewe culls (#206, #405, #678) and took them down to the Stortford Lodge sale yards. One of the lambs was actually a two-tooth -I’d missed that even though I penned them up yesterday and checked – must have checked one twice and missed the two-tooth. Anyway, the four lambs fetched $106 each.

Karola and Mark then tackled the remaining 11 spans of battens finishing around 2:00 pm. So that fence, along the orchard drive from the Vernon’s boundary to the big shed, is now complete. Karola and I took Mark home again.

I spent a few hours mowing the Totara paddock except for a circle round the Canary Island Pine and a large triangle on the north east side because there was a plover sitting on its nest in the middle of it.

Karola suspended #920 from the old washing line using a couple of collars and bungy cords. #920 danced around like a puppet on a string; this was intended to be therapy for his not-working back legs; he certainly kicked about so he has the use of his legs but just not strong enough to take his weight I fear.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 11°C—21°C; no rain [79.5]

We went to the Farmers Market in the morning – at Hastings show grounds – and Karola ordered Christmas ham and venison rack.

I replaced the three numbers on the mailbox post; this time I added wood screws in each corner of each letter, complementing the glue which apparently was easy to just peel off.

In the afternoon Karola tended her sheep and I completed installation of the first shelving unit in the store room.

Shylo and a couple of mates from the Flaxmere Mongrel Mob came and asked if they could have some wood for a hangi. I demured at giving them my precious apple tree trunks but said they could have as much as they wanted of a pile of old oak and other fallen branches. They took a couple of loads in their ute. It was for a hangi for a 1-year old birthday and celebration for a 50-year old, so in a good cause.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 12°C—23°C; no rain [78.5]

Got 20 litres of diesel and filled up the Fergie. Then spent several hours mowing. This included the goose enclosure and along the main drive, being careful not to zap any of the titoki trees, now five years old. Managed to forget that there was some #8 wire along the goose enclosure fence line and so I wrapped several lengths around the mower blades and the tractor but luckily no injury and I untangled it in less than half an hour. Also mowed along the stretch of orchard drive where we’ve twice had bad luck with young ngaio trees getting frosted – we need to clear the area, put down some mulch, and plant the 20 new ngaios currently sitting in a plastic trough with water at their feet by the back door. Karola also had me mow the tranche of the orchard paddock that the sheep have just finished grazing, to see if cutting it down to an inch or so helps with more vigorous regrowth.

Went to Colin Nagel’s 80th birthday celebration; on the way home I noticed that someone had removed the reflective numerals from the side of the post for the letter box. No other vandalism apparent; how odd – but as they were only glued on maybe they came off easily.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 12°C—19°C; no rain [78.9]

More thistles for Karola, and of course her lamb rearing and flock movement. Also Karola cleaned up (dagged) three of the eight sheep going to market next Monday. I watched and fixed a gate latch. Hmmm.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 7°C—22°C; no rain [78.9]

Karola and I moved a kilometre or so of electric fence in the Totara paddock, ready for Bruce Richardson (Mobile Shearing) to come next week. Brien Mahoney and Chris Day (replacing Heather Hawkes) of the Guardian Trust came for a financial meeting at 3:00 pm; we entertained them until 5:00 pm.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 4°C—20°C; no rain [79.2]

The 20 ngaio and 10 coprosma lucidia arrived by courier in two cardboard boxes from Taupo Native Tree Nursery.

Mike Croucher (Garden Groom) came and spent the afternoon getting the lawns back under control – they’ve been growing very quickly in the warmer weather while it’s still not too dry.

I checked the teeth of the five texel cross lambs we’re going to sell next Monday and yes, they still have only baby teeth so are technically still lambs.

Karola chopped a few hundred thistles – Laurie and Enid had also chopped a few hundred two days ago – and there’s a few hundred more to go. I put up electric fence so that the sheep could begin their rotation across the orchard paddock once again – the rye grass is luxuriant and the sheep were delighted.

In the evening Karola and I made a start on installing the shelving in the store room.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 1°C—21°C; 0.4 mm rain [79.3]

Trips to town – appointments all most satisfactory, and Bicka had a short run on the Napier foreshore. We also ordered two mattresses for the beds to be used by the grandsons at Christmas.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 6°C—17°C; no rain [78.4]

We had nine sheep for sale today; six Romneys, last year’s lambs (#800s), and three ewes (#703, #707, #710) a year older that Karola decided to cull now that their lambing prowess was clear.

Karola picked up Mark from Napier around 8:15 am and we three loaded up the nine sheep for the sale yards. Our new Williams & Kettle rep. is Will Maxwell, (06-878-6113), a young and efficient stock agent. Our five Romney lambs – still lambs though born in 2008 – sold for $90 each. The one lamb that had grown its first adult incisor teeth (a two-tooth) fetched $69; the three two-year-old sheep fetched $70 each.

Karola and Mark stapled up battens on six of the remaining 17 lenghts of fence between posts before rain stopped play. Meanwhile I moved the electric fence back to the start of the rotation in the orchard paddock and opened the gate for the main flock to come through. It was raining so hard by then that the sheep and lambs had retreated wisely to rest under the macrocarpa tree in the dry.

Laurie and Enid came in the morning and kindly chopped thistles till lunch time.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 4°C—15°C; 3.2 mm rain [78.3]

Cooler overcast day.

Lamb #920R surprised us both when Karola saw it actually drag itself on all fours and totter a few steps. For a lamb that has been floppy from the waist down for several weeks and only able to crawl short distances using its front legs I was sceptical that it’d ever walk properly again, but now there’s hope – a reward for Karola’s weeks of nursing and feeding.

Karola and I spent the afternoon clearing a way through the store room and space to begin installing the new shelving. It was odd to see so many boxes marked “books MBR” and similar, meaning these were boxes of books sent put from England in 1999 and not opened since.

We also changed the Landrover trailer socket from the UK one (now faulty) to one used by New Zealand trailers; we can stop using the converter cable which was always in danger of falling apart.

I replaced the Land Rover right-hand wing mirror with the one bought from Landy Heaven recently; and likewise the back of the jump seat that Bicka, as a puppy, seriously nibbled.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 5°C—17°C; no rain [77.7]

Apart from the usual feeding of animals and physio for Karola’s big ram lamb #920, there was not much done today although it was a beautiful day, particularly so from the vantage point of the hammock on the balcony. Karola and I did get the 11 two-tooth etc in from the Island paddock and check for fly strike once more – nothing new that we could see. I also mended one of the drafting gates in the yards and moved a water trough into the Island paddock – hardly a full day’s work.

Karola, mindful of the Nash’s visit at the beginning of December, and the possible visit of Gill, Ben, and Mary later this month before the deluge at Christmas with Anna and family and Bridget and family for Christmas, has been cleaning and tidying and reorganising most of the day. She also groomed and showered Bicka who thoroughly appreciated being a sleek, clean, dog.

I’m hoping we can go down to Wellington with Anna early in January.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 6°C—24°C; no rain [77.8]

Main chore today was Karola’s dagging of several of the sheep due to go to market on Monday. Not the most relished job. Of the six romney two-tooths (well, last year’s lambs) and three four-tooths (a year older), only four needed attention and only one had fly strike – luckily only a few maggots so maybe we caught it at very early stage. It’s amazing how quickly a few days of warm, damp conditions bring on the ills of summer.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 4°C—21°C; no rain [78.4]

Late start, rising to a summer’s day so summer clothes it was.

In the morning Karola moved sheep about, preparing for this evenings drafting (see below).

After a few hours shopping Karola returned to mow the Front paddock. I started the tractor and set up the mower, doing a trip round the edges so she wouldn’t need to go near the fences or into the ha-ha. Grass had gone all stalky and now if there’s a rain or heavy dew we’ll have a paddock of bright green new growth.

The drafting consisted of separating out the eleven ewe hoggets and six ewes which haven’t got lambs from the rest of the main flock. They will be on shorter rations for a while; Karola is talking of selling most of them.

Around 7:00 pm Karola was out feeding her two lambs when a police car drove slowly up the drive with lights flashing. Apparently there’s a sheep rustler about, working in the area, and he was part of a team trying to catch the rustler. Karola was holding a lamb and a bottle and dressed in my old uni lab coat so was obviously not a rustler. Maybe someone in the know reported the loud baaing from our yards when we were drafting out the hoggets earlier.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 9°C—25°C; no rain [78.1]

Phone call at 8:30 am told us that the lamb ear tags were available at Farmlands so we went in and got them and then tagged and docked the outstanding lambs. We have one tag left (#949) having used 48 tags. One lamb died of course so we’ve only got 47 live lambs and two of those are walking (or not walking) wounded so to speak. Still, it was nice to do some sheep work with lambs small enough to be caught and held comfortably – Karola did most of the catching and holding but I did the nasty ring and tag application so that’s probably fair.

In the afternoon Karola carried on with her tidying and cleaning in the outside sheds. She found a nest of rats in one 44 gallon drum full of bamboo stakes; three ran out and two were left trapped inside. When I found out I tipped them out and let them go; cats and hawks will probably get them anyway but starving or poisoning them inside a steel prison seemed unkind. I must be getting old.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 14°C—26°C; no rain [78.2]

Main event today was a heroic cleaning out of the chook house by Karola – without help. Chooks are happier, I am happier.

Next door’s (Craig Vernon’s) cat seems to be coming here more frequently.

Our cat has been dispatching rats and mice quite frequently recently but this is partly because there are so many rodents around the back of the house and the sheds.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 6°C—21°C; no rain [78.4]

We were in town much of the day, appointments and so on. Meanwhile Laurie McDermott came over and chopped some thistles for us.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 6°C—23°C; no rain [78.5]

Sunny day; Karola checked the ewes and lambs; all present and correct.

Hawkes Bay Weather: 4°C—18°C; no rain [78.2]