Monthly Archives: February 2013

Ngaio Pruning Overdue

An overcast start to the day and, tempting fate, I planted my 6 seedlings each of: pea, silver beet, leeks, dwarf beans and butter beans. I’d watered the raised beds all night and kept a light sprinkler on the planted seedlings until it cooled down for, of course, as soon as I’d planted them the sun came out and temperatures soared.

Shane Hay came today because, even though there is no grass on the lawns to mow, Karola suggested he could do some strimming (“weed eating”) down the sides of 121 driveway and then prune the Ngaio hedge up the side of the orchard drive. This is an important task, overdue as the Ngaios have grown so fast they’re overshadowing the other trees in the planting area along the drive (but on the homestead side of the fence). Shan has now completed about a quarter of the cutting back the Ngaios where they’re overhanging the planting area. Karola carted these branches in the Land-rover trailer across to the Goose paddock and we mulched them all up before dinner. Hard work all round.

Janet Scott (neighbour to the south) dropped in briefly for a chat with Karola and to give us a bag of fresh runner beans.

And there’s a census next week; the national census of households postponed in 2011 due to the Christchurch earthquake. A car arrived while we were mulching and dropped off the forms.

Oak Avenue Weather:__℃—__℃ no rain [82.8]

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Dog Training Class

SwimGym and then a relaxed day punctuated only by Karola’s sheep escaping again and, later, Dog Training class.

I was reading inside when a yell indicated that Karola’s sheep had yet again broken out from her latest electric fence under the oaks between the 121 drive and the Avenue. Bramble and Karola and I managed to stop any sheep going on the road or eating anything they shouldn’t although it took best part of 20 minutes to get some determined ewes back into their paddock.

Later Karola went out for a meeting of the local branch of Federated University Women Graduates, a fast dwindling coven of under a dozen aged members. She enjoys it. I took Bramble to Dog Training and Bramble was pretty good.

Oak Avenue Weather:13℃—24℃ no rain [83.5]

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All Taxed Out

Well, that’s done for another year – barring anticipated few questions from the accountant.

Karola and Bramble had an exciting time with the sheep. They put up some electric fence under the oaks between the drive and the road – so that the sheep could hoover up the many acorns there. Unfortunately the sheep ate these all too quickly and then broke out but together Bramble and karola managed to get them all back into their paddock.

Bridget and family are skiing at Copper Mountain in central USA – we got a montage of their first days activities – plenty of snow and they’re all very well covered with thick protective clothing and ludicrously large sun glasses.

We had a chat with Anna in Ealing. Felix did well in his exams – with a lot of help from his mum – and he was offered entrance into two schools. He’s accepted a place at Merchant Taylors’ public school for boys where many of his friends will go also.

Wikipedia quotes the Good School’s Guide in 2011:

The Merchant Taylors’ remains a school for boys only and accepts pupils based upon an entrance examination, which the boys sit when they are either 11, 13 or 16 years old.
The 2007 Good Schools’ Guide noted that:

The school has the feel of an Oxbridge College with that same air of unhurried calm and timeless beauty. ..The school’s philosophy is about achievement without pressure – it’s a place to breathe and experience a childhood.

A note which it sustained in its 2011 review of the School:

Ideal for the curious free-thinker with a deal of self-motivation. A rare breed, an academic school with a wonderfully cool feel; understands there is more to academic excellence than great exam results but achieves top notch performances anyway. Provides a truly rounded, high-octane education in a friendly, unstuffy, and surprisingly stress-free environment. Allegro not andante, hits the high notes with ease, in a lively-paced, vibrant setting; tingling with team-spirit, sparkling with wit, infused with emotional intelligence.

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—23℃ no rain [84.0]

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Who Let Those Sheep In Here

SwimGym

Big excitement of the day – I must have left the cottage garden gate unlatched last night and mid morning the sheep found their way in, first one or two then a flood. Karola quickly put up an electric fence along the bay trees and kept an eye on them. Within a couple of hours they’d grazed it lower than I’d intended with the mower.

I am doing our tax return input for the tax year 2011/2012 which has to be in to the accountant ASAP as they have a deadline of the end of March.

Meanwhile Karola went out and about and in between times Steve of HB Tree Surgeons came and they discussed some remedial tree work here which will begin in a few weeks time. My contribution was to ask if the tall “Liquid Amber” tree was safe – it has massive distortion and decay a few metres up the trunk. Apparently not – so it’ll come down as part of the exercise. I was concerned mainly because if it fell inconveniently it is tall enough and massive enough that it’d demolish much of the cottage – a pity as we’ve only just finished rebuilding it.

A stranger and his wife wandered in and took photos of the homestead while Karola was out. Bramble alerted me and I wandered out and asked them who they were – no idea, they were just taking some pictures of the avenue and a neighbour suggested they come in and take some of the house. Not sure I’m too keen on that.

Grass Hoovers At Work

Oak Avenue Weather:__℃—__℃ no rain [83.3]

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Hastings Farmers Market

Bits and pieces day. Karola, Yvonne and Kay went off to the Hastings Farmers Market after breakfast.

Later Karola put up fencing and let her flock onto the 121 driveway to enjoy the acorns.

Oak Avenue Weather:13℃—25℃ no rain [?]

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Yvonne and Kay Come Over For Mission Concert

Karola entertained Yvonne (Kaz’ widow) and her friend Kay who came over from the West coast to go to the annual Mission concert in Napier.

Otherwise just a day of quiet recuperation from the holiday in Wellington. No rain fell here while we were away.

The owner of Latitude 40 South in Waipukaru and his wife came after lunch and dropped off Karola’s handbag – and she gave them a big bag of lemons.

Later Henare dropped by and we thanked him for looking after the animals while we were away.

Oak Avenue Weather:9℃—23℃ no rain [?]

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Return to Karamu

… end of our short holiday in Wellington. We packed up and set off – having given Bramble several brisk walks to prepare her for sitting still for 5 – 6 hours. As planned we went to Margaret Thompson’s bach in Pukera Bay and had lunch with Margaret and with Derin and David Groves. The Groves lived next door to us in York Bay back in the early 1970s – just before we emigrated to England. They had four children and one daughter was called Anna. Despite a most enjoyable lunch I cannot remember them from 1970s at all – not a thing. Apparently they visited Karamu once, and they rented our house in York Bay for a while after we went to England.

Fast and uneventful drive back, stopping for dinner in a rather nice, bright airy cafe in Waipukurau, “40 South”. I had a (tough but delicious) steak and Karola a venison hamburger.

All the sheep seem to be happy – and Henare had watered our raised beds again so they are indeed ready for some planting soon.

Late evening I got a call from the owners of Latitude 40 South. Karola had left her handbag there and they offered to bring it round tomorrow as they were coming to Napier to shop on Saturday anyway. At that stage we hadn’t even realised it was missing. Quite a shock but then a relief that someone was keeping it safe for us.

Oak Avenue Weather:14℃—21℃ no rain [?]

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The Dozen Fat Lambs

We got the time right this time. Went to Nimmon Baling at 9:00am and bought 20 bales of fresh pea hay – 19 on the trailer and one in the boot at $12 each plus GST.

After lifting them onto the trailer and then stacking them up when I got home I was fairly done in – and the professionals do this for hundreds and hundreds of bales, many much heavier than these. Makes you tired just to think of it.

Mid morning Karola and I discussed our local International Dendrology Society (IDS) annual conference trip in mid April. This time down in Christchurch. We decided to fly direct and then hire a car for an extension of the trip down to Dunedin. Margaret Barker, current leader of the NZ branch of IDS, and founding owner of the Larnach Castle gardens, has invited us (ie Karola and “trailing spouse”) to Dunedin to see her gardens. I booked flights and car online.

The other event of the day was taking the twelve fat lambs to the works late afternoon. This, with help from – and all the heavy lifting done by – Mark Hendery went smoothly and quickly. We have only a rudimentary ramp to get the lambs onto the trailer so each lamb has to be wrestled up this ramp and into the crate. At the other end, Progressive Meats, which is only 1.5 km away, the ramp, intended for big sheep trucks, stops a foot higher than the trailer at its lowest extension so again individual lifting is needed.

Lambs To Works Today

  • #201
  • #202
  • #205
  • #210 (pure Texel)
  • #212
  • #219 (pure Texel)
  • #222 (pure Texel)
  • #226
  • #236
  • #237
  • #240 (pure Texel)
  • #244

Afterwards Mark helped Karola reassemble her portable yards in a new location, at the southern end of the Island paddock.

In between times we just gently did a few things towards being ready for our trip to Wellington tomorrow.

Another Twenty Bales Of Pea Hay

The Pea Hay Is Appreciated

Ripe For The Picking

Amazing What A Spot Of Irrigation Can Do

Oak Avenue Weather:__℃—__℃ no rain [82.7]

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Raised Beds Bedded In

SwimGym then, before I had even changed, we were feeding out pea hay to the ewes and then moving the ram from the Island paddock (which contains the current permanent sheep yards) to the Orchard paddock, out of the way, where he’ll stay until we come back from Wellington on 21st.

After a short breather for some breakfast I put up an electric fence corridor across the top of the Totara paddock and we moved all the ewes and lambs from the Front paddock into the Island and into the yards.

We drafted out the ewes and ewe lambs leaving only the 26 wether lambs and #699’s ewe lamb in the yards ready for the buyer to come at 1:30pm. Meanwhile I again fixed the hose pipe leading to Karola’s favourite concrete water trough in the Totara paddock.

The buyer, Digby Phlip (06-871-5453 or 027-444-1033 digby.philip@leanmeats.co.nz), arrived and chose 12 lambs to go to the works tomorrow, easing Karola’s grass shortage. We expect to cull the older ewes and send some of them off when we come back from Wellington – again to cut down on hungry mouths to feed.

Afterwards Karola and I put the stock crate on the trailer, ready for tomorrow, and enlisted mark Hendery to come and help us.

I took down the corridor electric fence and put up one to separate the Totara paddock and the Middle paddock so that while we’re away they can have first just the Totara paddock for a coupe of days, then that plus the Middle paddock for another couple of days, and finally those two and the Goose paddock. This plus a bale of pea hay a day should see them right until we return.

One of Karola’s many Maori cousins Henare Ormond dropped in afer a difficult day picking apples – they weren’t actually ready and so the pickers picked very few bins and got paid very little. After a cup of tea he agreed to move the compost for the heap on a tarpaulin into the six raised beds. It took him 3 hours in the heat of the afternoon. Photo of the raised beds filled with compost and being watered follows below.

Karola and I left Henare with the compost and we rushed over to Nimmon Baling, 10 mins or so away, to buy another 20 bales of pea hay, only to find that they were shut. They don’t answer the phone, have no email and so are pretty hard to pin down, but they do have good quality hay – pea hay, lucerne hay, meadow hay – to suit the many “lifestyle block” folk in these parts.

We rushed off to Dog Training at 6:30pm. There are only three dogs in this class so we get plenty of individual tuition. Bramble was her usual quite-good self.

Raised Beds Bedded In

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—27℃ no rain [82.9]

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GST Completed Early

It soon got a bit too warm for much outside. Better in the evening. The 4 cubic metres of compost arrived as planned at 9:00am delivered by Roger from Grocom in Hastings (06-878-7000). We’ve started barrowing it from the heap on a big groundsheet nearby into the six raised beds.

I at last finished my Sunday chores – swept the upstairs. Amazing how a little dog can shed so much hair. Also did Karola’s GST and got it into the post box in record time. And began on preparing our taxes.

Karola did more Wysteria pruning in the shade and the sheep got one bale of pea hay morning and night but they’re still getting very skinny.

Karola contacted our buyer for the lambs and he’s planning to come over tomorrow lunchtime to see what he thinks. Karola would like to sell most of the large male lambs right away, even though the price is not good at present, because at $13 a bale they soon out-eat their welcome.

Watching the very last episode of “Lewis” tonight. However my UK friend tells me we can look forward to another series of “Foyles War” and a series of “Endeavour” later in the year.
The Compost

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—25℃ no rain [82.5]

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Compost Composed

SwimGym then a rush to get to my 9:00am appointment with the Ophthalmologist. I have decided not to take his various potions but to continue to have checkups at regular intervals. He, without a lot of pushback, agreed. The potions were annoying to administer and had no appreciable beneficial effect. Now my eyes are less sore and inflamed.

Karola took me to the Ophthalmologist in case, as is usually the case, I have difficulty seeing clearly for a few hours after the visit. She took the opportunity to do a bit of the weekly shopping. On the way home we stopped at the Garden Centre on Pakowhai road and bought a bale of their pea hay – it’s only a dollar more per bale than Karola paid at Nimmon Baling and it’s a lot closer so if the hay is acceptable to the sheep we can use them as our local emergency hay supplier.

I rang a couple of garden supply businesses looking for supply of compost for our new raised beds. After talking to “The Green Door”, where Karola first saw and bought two of the raised beds, we decided to go with Growcom in Hastings and they are expected to come with 4 cubic metres of compost tomorrow morning ($332.50 including cartage).

When we got back I mowed the cottage lawn and the homestead garage lawn and put water sprinklers on both – things I had planned to do yesterday. The afternoon was pretty warm so Bramble and I rested and Karola did some gentle gardening in the shade.

Later I used the tractor to move some of the topsoil dug out while making the gravelled area for our vegetable garden – so that the compost truck can get nice and close to the raised beds.

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—25℃ no rain [82.4]

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Fun With Filing

I spent much of the day filing and collating in preparation for finally doing my and Karola’s tax for 2011/2012.

Rowena and friends dropped in for a while mid day.

Henare called in late afternoon.

Oak Avenue Weather:14℃—25℃ no rain [82.4]

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Ram Abuses Trust, Bad Ram

Good edition of Country Life on National Radio this morning.

Karola allowed the ewes on the lawn, under the big oak, and down the 121 driveway today and they chomped away happily all day. After the ewes and lambs had been returned to their paddock I incautiously let the ram out to have a bit of a nibble – he’d been watching them jealously all day. Unfortunately, not as before, he decided, after a decent snack, to wander over to the ha-ha and survey the ewes from there. He was bracing himself to jump down when Karola came out and rescued me. Using the ewes and lambs as enticement she took them into the Orchard paddock out of the Front paddock and so defused the jumping-the-ha-ha moment. We got him into the Island paddock where he’ll stay for now.

Before and after the “escaped ram” incident – mainly before – I rolled up the electric fence Karola had used for the ewes. It was a very long fence.

A stranger wandered up the drive – part curious, part wanting some casual work – and Karola talked to him for 30 minutes while Bramble barked off and on.

During the day I worked in Karola’s office, giving my filing system a thorough spring-clean because there’s a lot of paper to file but the system was full to bursting. I’m almost ready to file the un-filed having made plenty of space for the next five years.

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—25℃ no rain [?]

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Quarterly Checkup

SwimGym then a restful day after my normal quarterly “diabetic” check with the GP in Hastings. All still well, though slightly less well than last time. Karola went shopping while I went to the surgery.

Karola put her ewes on the homestead lawn for a few hours and went off to see her friend Rowena and take her some fruit.

i took Bramble for her usual evening walk and sampled a peach from the orchard. I’ve been doing this for ten days now, picking the early ripeners. They are very large and juicy.

Oak Avenue Weather:9℃—22℃ no rain [83.3]

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Pea Vine Straw

Another warm sunny day. Mostly just relaxing for me while Karola got stuck in to her filing out in her office (the end room on the homestead garage block). Before that however she went over to Havelock North and bought 15 bales of pea vine straw for her sheep – to carry them over the dry month ahead we hope.

Oak Avenue Weather:13℃—23℃ no rain [82.6]

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Dog Training Tonight

SwimGym

Karola spent much of the day shepherding her flock along the length of the northern headland of the orchard – to their delight as they sampled fresh grass, clover and numerous tasty weeds. Meanwhile we anticipate some grass growth in our main paddocks due to the rain yesterday.

I completed assembly of the six vegetable garden raised bed “allotments”. Apparently we are to tend three each and can begin as soon as we’ve got the composted soil to fill them with.

I also completed the last little segment of the Bay tree planting along the cottage railings – pictured below.

I also adjusted the wooden gates – the one shown below had to be rasped along its closing edge as the two gate posts have moved a little in the savage summer sun. The little gate out west had been raised up an inch or so to avoid dragging on the lawn and mulch, and its latch has been tinkered with to make it close more reliably. The twin white gates into the cottage go-between were jamming so I’ve also rasped the outer edges of them – again due to post movement – and now they pass each other without touching.

We went to the first of this term’s Dog Training and Bramble was uncharacteristically obedient, thank goodness. Can we keep it up.

The Last Six Bay Trees Planted At Last

“The Allotments”

IMG_1090

Oak Avenue Weather:9℃—20℃ no rain [82.8]

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Rest Of The Raised Beds Ready Today

Late morning, when Karola returned from an appointment in Hastings, we set off with Bramble in the Landrover pulling the big trailer. We first returned the hired garden roller to Mitre-10 and then set out for Waipukurau. Lunch at the new Waipukurau cafe Latitude 40 South then on to Kiwi Backyard, a woodworking factory that makes, among many other wooden things, the raised bed kitsets out of untreated Macrocarpa. Our four were waiting and after loading them we set off back to Havelock North hoping to find our hay merchant, Nimmon Bailing, open. They were not although their sign said they should have been. Back to Karamu, Bramble sleeping most of the way under my feet while Karola drove.

Gentle rain had fallen since the early hours and there was a cold southerly wind. The rain is very welcome.

Karola laid out the first layer of her six raised beds and made weed-mat mats for each, to stop the compost bleeding out of the bottom. Meanwhile I read a random collection of web articles about herbs and vegetables. It was so chilly I put the heating on for a few hours.

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—14℃ 3.0mm rain [82.7]

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9 J(udges) on the S(upreme) C(ourt) B(ench)

SwimGym – and we swapped notes with Jonathan and Jude on the 26 question test where each question is a phrase with some words missing except for their first letter: 26 L of the alphabet, for example. Jonathan and his wife did well. Jude added one of her own, “9 J on the S C B”.

Henare came and spread two trailer loads (cubic metre per load) of finer gravel. I hired a roller from Mitre-10 for the day and he rolled it all as seen in the photos below.

Karola let her sheep graze a bit of the orchard headlands adjacent to the northern boundary and they especially enjoyed the Fat Hen and Mallow.

I mowed the little lawn outside the homestead garage and set sprinklers going on it and on the southern half of the cottage lawn.

The Gravel Area For Karola’s Vegetable Allotments

Henare Ormond and Bramble, Putting On The Finishing Touches

Now It Is Finished

Oak Avenue Weather:13℃—30℃ 11mm rain [82.9]

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“Quartet” – A Nice Film

Had a chance meeting with Alan Ladbrook, our orchardist, up at the big shed. He was uncharacteristically in an upbeat mood – uncharacteristic that is for a Hawkes Bay orchardist.

As we came back from the big shed in the Landrover, turning in at the 133 entrance, Karola spotted a couple of Californian quail running around on the drive. We stopped and watched and suddenly the ground around them was buzzing with little fluffy chicks, the size of large bumble bees – there must have been at least a dozen. We backed out and went down to the other entrance.

Karola helped finish the removable railings in the gateway into the cottage garden and she’s pleased with the result. It’s unlikely to be used very often so having to undo 10 large carriage bolts before lifting the rails out of their slots won’t be a problem – and the removable rails look very much like the rest of the railings.

Karola’s sheep had another few hours along an L-shaped piece of grass in the orchard being the Southern (Scott’s boundary) headland for the peaches and between the first row of peaches and the fence from the Scott’s fence to the big shed. The sheep polished off the fresh green grass and weeds in no time. Later Karola moved them to the Orchard paddock and One Acre paddock and doled out a last bale of pea straw. There’s barely any grass but they like a change of scenery anyway.

It was a hot day and we decided to go to Cinema Gold to see “Quartet” and luxuriate in their air conditioning. Lots of humour and familiar and well liked actors: Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Tom Courtney, Maggie Smith, and more. The location, Hedsor House in Buckinghamshire, is spectacular. The small cinema was packed with “senior citizens” – there were five seats left when we got there.

The Removable Railings Spanning The Gateway

Oak Avenue Weather:15℃—28℃ no rain [82.9]

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Wellington “Sevens” Rugby Today.

Henare came before 9:00am and we worked on the gravel area for the morning.

First Henare and I went off and got half a meter more of the cheap base-course metal called AP40. On that trip we also filled up the Landrover and got 30 litres of diesel for the tractor, and a couple of treated 2×3 (50mm x 75mm) planks from Goldpine to finish off the railings gateway into the cottage garden.

After that I finished off the edgings while Henare did the shovelling. Henare expects to come back on Monday to put the finer top-course metal on.

Karola reminded us to put the electric fence feed from the pump shed under the gravel and out to the railings.

We had grilled fish and chips for lunch. It was too hot to do anything energetic in the afternoon.

Oak Avenue Weather:13℃—27℃ no rain [82.5]

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Karola Bottled Up

SwimGym then I rushed off to get another trailer load of gravel – Henare was here and waiting when we got back from SwimGym.

It turned out that we didn’t unload the gravel today but instead:

  • I had an idea to put edging along the railings side of the gravelled area in addition to the lawn side – to make it much easier to get the resulting surface reasonably level.
  • Karola wanted the end of the railings by the pump shed to have a more substantial terminating post so we took out the old one – very warped by the sun as it happened – and made one three planks thick instead of two.
  • We needed to saw up some of the heavy planks I’d been saving but as Karola also wants removable railings put up in the gateway next to the septic tank – instead of a gate – in the same style as the rest of the railings – we cut the planks for this first before making the new end post.

This took all day.

Karola is still deep in bottling – plums today – and in rearranging the fridges and cupboards in the cottage garage yet again.

Oak Avenue Weather:14℃—26℃ no rain [82.3]

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