Monthly Archives: May 2013

SwimGym

Moved lambs to One Acre, shutting the gate from their to the orchard in the nick of time otherwise they’d all have got mixed up again.

Moved ram from Goose paddock to Island paddock. Chris Jones came over from Janet Scott’s orchard and chatted amiably if sadly about how we’d not accepted his boss’s lease proposal.

Henare arrived at 9:00am and went to work on the fence. Having moved the ram I was now able to peel back the netting fence between Goose paddock and Middle paddock so that Henare could string up two wires between the end strainers of the new fence.

Chris Day and Sumita Paul arrived at 10:00am from The Guardian Trust. Sumita (09-486-4173) is my replacement financial adviser at the GT, based in Auckland; Karola’s trust will be administered by someone from the Napier branch.

Henare helped (ie did most of the work) in loading the six lambs ready for the works, and the unloading down the road at Progressive Meats. Lambs sent: #242R (notag), #243E, #204E, #220E, #225R, #238E.

After lunch Henare carried on with the fence while Karola, Bramble, and I went briefly into Hastings for the weekend shopping. It being Queens Birthday long weekend the place was buzzing.

Another Cold Start

Oak Avenue Weather:0℃—17℃ no rain [83.3]

Cold cold cold – quite a frost this morning.

Stage II of the root canal this morning all over in 30 mins. New crown in six month’s time.

Henare arrived just after I returned – good timing – and went off to dig some very deep strainer-post holes.

Craig and Shane and a gang of workers arrived in the orchard (a bit early – the lease doesn’t start till 1st June) – but it means they’re enthusiastic to get started which is very good. Karola and I talked to them independently and:

• The sheep can stay in the orchard for now, no problem.
• Shane is after firewood for his family so will be cutting up the condemned peaches at weekends
• Karola and I have enough firewood and were only cutting some peach trees up because otherwise it seemed such a waste, so the only wood we know want is some of the thinner peach trunks that can be sawn up after the trees are uprooted. We need thin trunks; Shane prefers thick ones; so this will work out well.
• The gang spent the day collecting the sprinkler heads and rolling up the peach tree irrigation pipes – waste not, want not.

Digby Philip, sheep buyer, came to see Karola in the morning and they decided six lambs were plump enough to go now, the rest would fetch more with a bit more fattening up. We take the six in to Progressive Meats tomorrow morning.

Shane Hay came in the afternoon and cut up three tree branches that have been waiting round because they’re too thick for my little chain saw.

In the afternoon Karola took her car in to have damaged wheel bearings in one rear wheel replaced (under warranty). Now they say one of the front wheels has a similar problem and they plan to replace that next week, after we’ve been to Bulls and Wellington at the weekend.

While Karola was out I got the Honda mower started – turning on the petrol valve seemed to help – and mowed the cottage lawn.

Henare completed the two main strainer post installations for the new fence. Next comes the wire.

Western End Of The New Fence Line

Oak Avenue Weather:-1℃—15℃ 0.1mm rain [82.3]

SwimGym, but for me only – well it was pretty dark, cold, and crisp this morning.

Henare unloaded the posts and wire from the fence dismantling then we moved the southern end of the Island paddock – a temporary netting fence about ten years old – northward clear of the planned fence creating a new paddock along the southern boundary. We then put up a single wire from east to west marking the passage of the planned fence and marked out where railings and a agte would go at the eastern end. Then Henare started digging holes for the strainers.

Meanwhile Karola put all the breeding stock (except the ram) into the orchard and put the selling stock under the big oak surrounded by a hastily erected electric fence. Oh and with Karola’s permission two more ewe lambs were promoted to breeding stock, #227 and #229, chosen at my request by Henare. That leaves 28 selling stock.

Shane Hay came and mowed the lawns – the grass has bolted in the last two weeks.

Late afternoon Karola went off to Mr Fear’s Closing Down Sale of interesting kitchenware – we both like his shop and many of the things in it.

After dark it was time for Bramble and Karola to attend dog training – in fact we all did but I got to stay in the warmth of the car and to buzz off and get fish and chips for dinner before Karola and Bramble finished.

Oak Avenue Weather:-3℃—12℃ no rain [83.0]

Henare came a bit earlier than expected, sensibly thinking it might rain later so best to start early. He quickly got the wires of the remaining side of the Orchard paddock and began digging up the five strainer posts.

John Bostock turned up late morning with his son George (Tom is eldest, then George). John and Karola signed the lease. There won’t be any activity until July as the man who will do the day-to-day management of the orchard is on holiday for a month. His name is Peter Fitzpatrick [021 336 582] (who works for Craig Treneman [021 494 390] who works for John “JB” Bostock [06 873 9046]).

When the signing had finished I went back to helping Henare and we pulled up the remaining posts and strainers with a short break for lunch.

Another moment of excitement in the morning was when Henare spotted a man and a dog striding along by the big shed. I gave chase and caught up with him as he was almost running down the Scott’s fence line towards the avenue. He stopped when he saw me in pursuit and came back to meet me. He said he was police with a police dog and I guess, given the dog was a black alsatian and he had a military style combat suit on covered in small police labels, he was. He was looking for a man in a dark hoodie (jacket with a hood, like a Gregorian monk). A couple of hours later a police can came up the orchard drive and a young policeman chatted briefly to us – asked if we had seen the hooded villain.

The almost-new Mac Mini came today – intended for Karola so she has a grown-up computer with same Apple software at same level as on my machine where she can compose documents – the iPad is a bit fiddly for that.

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—9℃ no rain [83.4]

SwimGym

Henare arrived before 9:00am expecting to work on the fence deconstruction. However, I had other plans. Henare had passed on a request from his niece whether we had any spare firewood her family could have; apparently she’s finding it hard to make ends meet with a couple of young boys and very little money. So, Karola and I helped Henare fill the big trailer with some rather old but still useful firewood we’d had cut for us several years ago and then sent Henare off in the Landrover with the wood. Henare returned at lunchtime to say it had been ecstatically received – so that all worked out well.

While Henare was occupied I mowed the leaves and iris in the Goose paddock.

There are three fences, two gates, and some railings that need to come down. We deferred lunch and tackled the shorter end fence next to the big shed. Henare got to work pulling out the staples on the fence posts – he’d done all the battens yesterday. I filled in the time winding up electric fence in the orchard. Then together we wound up the seven wires and pulled out the posts using the tractor.

After lunch we went through the same routine with the longer side fence. As darkness fell we disassembled the railings across the north-western corner of the paddock. I had already dismantled both gates – taking out the gate hinges. That just leaves another short fence to do along the orchard drive.

Karola spent the time working with her lambs – deburring many of them that had somehow got covered in large sticky burrs, and removing the worst of dags from some mucky ones.

Highlight of the day was an email from John “JB” Bostock who is ready to sign the lease for the orchard covering the next 17 years and converting to organic apples.

Wood Bound For Henare’s Niece

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—19℃ no rain [83.6]

Cold start to a sunny day.

Henare came before I’d got started and talked to Karola. When I did emerge he offered to come round after lunch and start dismantling the fence round the Orchard paddock – take the staples out of all the battens. Five hours later he’d finished – whew, not the most riveting of jobs though, as he said, it was easier because of the rain we had last night moistening the battens.

Karola planted some trees purchased earlier.

I did my Sunday chores and late afternoon did some extra mowing in the Totara and Middle and Island paddocks – to break up the autumn leaves on the grass and to knock back some of the Iris.

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—18℃ no rain [83.5]

Quite cold last night. We don’t realise how warm the cottage is with the heating on until we venture outside – coming back in, then we see the difference.

Bramble and I went for a walk round the orchard. Alan has taken his bits and pieces away including now his set of disks so that’s everything.

Karola had a meeting to attend this afternoon: Federation of Graduate Women – Hawkes Bay branch.

Late afternoon I mowed most of the Middle paddock – trying to mulch up the covering of large leaves that are suffocating the grass.

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—15℃ 17.6mm rain [83.1]

SwimGym after which I was sufficiently exhausted I napped until almost lunch time, to Karola’s thinly disguised disgust.

Then Karola and I finished the peach firewood gathering – the 33 trees that have been reduced to stumps, mulch, and logs that will be seasoned for two years before being cut into logs for our wood burner. In addition, as we agreed with potential lesee John Bostock, we cut down the two sapling walnut trees in the planting area, behind the tractor in the photo below. Walnut trees are notorious for harbouring codlin moth.

Which reminds me of the old saw: “When is half of something worse than the whole? When it’s a codlin moth in an apple you’re eating.”

We had lunch at Pernel’s Fruit World and then dropped into Hastings for bread, milk, and some autumn raspberry plants.

Thirty Three Peach Tree Stumps

Oak Avenue Weather:-1℃—14℃ 0.1mm rain [83.5]

Ah yes, the dentist’s appointment was today alright. First of two to do the root canal and then in six months time possibly a crown. All quite expensive but very reassuring.

Karola drafted her lambs today, with some help from me and from Bramble. She’s decided which six ewe lambs to keep for breeding. Keepers are: #209, #213, #218, #227, #229, #233, #241 and #249. The rest of the lambs will go to the works either soon or after fattening up over the winter.

I did a little more sawing – the 33 peach trees inside our “exclusion zone” in the orchard have been stumped and there only remains a few branches to saw up and some mulching of the twigs.

We sent the draft of the new lease to “JB” John Bostock by email today. He’s said he’ll look at it when he gets back from South America.

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—16℃ 0.1mm rain [82.7]

SwimGym – somewhat reluctantly. Then we had a meeting with our accountant in Hastings at 9:30am. Believing I had a dentist appointment at 10:40am we zipped round there afterwards only to find that the appointment was for tomorrow.

Arthur Ormond and son Chris came in the afternoon and sawed up a load of old apple firewood for us and another for themselves.

Karola, Bramble and I went out again mid afternoon. Karola bought a few more plants and we then went to TeMata Vineyard and discussed how best to get a selection of wines to relations in Sussex in England.

I cut down another four peach trees and loaded the pre-trimmed main branches onto the trailer leaving the hard part – sawing and trimming the upper branches into logs – for another day.

Dog training at 7:00pm.

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—19℃ 0.9mm rain [82.3]

Taking stock after the rush of the weekend in Wellington.

Arthur and Chris Ormond came round this afternoon and cut themselves another small truckload of seasoned apple firewood, and also filled Karola’s trailer to the brim.

Karola mowed the cottage lawn and it’s come up nicely.

I cut down another five peach trees and began trimming them for fire logs.

To my delight, with some overnight help from Geoff Robinson in England, I’ve now set up Mary’s computer so that it automatically lets me know what its network address is and I can use that to manage her computer remotely if/when she gets into trouble.

I liked this image – friend Bruce Utting thinks it may have been a flying daredevil who couldn’t resist making the point. Another friend thought it might be some very skillful use of PhotoShop.

Oak Avenue Weather:6℃—16℃ no rain [82.7]

Every day this weekend we’ve taken Bramble on the beach and over the hill, through the bush. Lucky dog.

We packed up and then went in to see Mary after her lunch at 12:30pm. I did some work on Mary’s computer while Karola dropped some cards off at Jane Pearce’s (also in Karori) and went for lunch to Bridget’s in Khandallah. I had most of the work on Mary’s computer finished by 3:00pm and we set off homewards up the Hutt valley and over the Rimutukas. We hoped to have dinner at Latitude 40 South but, it being Monday, it was closed. Instead I bought steak from the Waipukurau New World and we pushed on.

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—17℃ no rain [?]

Continuing unsettled weather in Wellington.

Coffee with Felicity Rashbrooke, Madeline, and Gwen and her two daughters in the morning. Geoff is still away in Fiji on business. Gwen chatted knowledgeably about this and that, including real estate in Auckland and Muslims in general.

The weather was too miserable for Bridget and company to come out to Days Bay for the beach so we went to their place for the afternoon.

Karola suggested the Turkish restaurant in Petone, Kalim, for dinner. Then back to another fireside evening.

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—20℃ 15.8 rain [?]

Karola went shopping with Bridget, Chris, and the girls at the Lower Hutt Westfield mall. I sensibly stayed home with Bramble.

As planned, early evening we went out to Silverstream in Upper Hutt to The Silver Spoon restaurant to celebrate the dual birthdays of Karola and Bridget’s mother-in-law, Annemaria More.

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—18℃ 1.8mm rain [?]

SwimGym but for me only.

I had annual diabetes checkup later in the morning – all splendidly on target (120/70 again). There was a power cut most of the morning and so we delayed our departure just to see that everything came back online OK.

En route we picked up a couple of bottles of Lime Rock Pinot Noir 2011 from the Lime Rock vineyard owners in Waipawa. Karola had ordered them many weeks ago. Then on to Waipukarau for lunch at Latitude 40 South. It rained much of the way from there to Mary’s place in Karori – we came through the Manawatu Gorge and down the west coast.

After visiting Mary and sharing a grilled fish and chip supper we went on to the Days Bay flat to relax by the fireside and have an early night.

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—18℃ 6.3mm rain [?]

Another rather overcast day and cold to start with.

The morning spent on more mulching and sawing until Tony left for Hamilton and I went in to the dentist just after lunch. I apparently need a root canal, hence not surprising I found chewing steak last night quite difficult. Antibiotics prescribed and the dental work booked for next week, after we come back from Wellington.

Then Karola emptied the mulch out of her trailer and stacked the logs with the others under the Eucalypts in the Front paddock. And we continued sawing and mulching for about 90 minutes. By then we’d sawn down a total of 25 peach trees and mulched up all the offcuts and stacked the logs, leaving the area remarkably tidy.

We nipped into Stortford Lodge for a paper and to get my antibiotics and were back home in the cottage as night fell.

Henare dropped in briefly for a chat and for any last minute briefing concerning his caretaking while we are away in Wellington over the weekend.

The Peach Tree Logs

The Mulch

The Remaining Stumps

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—17℃ 0.2mm rain [82.7]

SwimGym

After breakfast Tony and I unjammed the mulcher then we all went off to the orchard to cut down and mulch more peach trees. Karola made a lunch of salmon and mashed potato and salad. After which we carried on with the peaches-to-firewood programme.

Late afternoon we spruced ourselves up ready to go out. As planned, in the evening we went out to dinner with Tony, and Peter and Charlotte Offenberger. We intended to go to the Corn Exchange in Stortford Lodge but it was closed so we went on to Vidal’s in Hastings. It’s been redecorated and we had a very pleasant meal and excellent conversation. After the main meal we came back to the cottage and Karola provided pudding. We retired to bed exhausted around 11:00pm.

Tony Fletcher Supervising Bramble

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—20℃ 0.1mm rain [82.9]

After breakfast I mended the gate at the far south-west corner of the orchard, between us and the Scott’s orchard. It has been bashed and bent by machinery but, after I’d reattached it onto its hinges, it still works well enough.

Just over 30 minutes to rush into town for chops for tonights dinner and a bottle of wine – after all it is Karola’s birthday.

Ken and Linda Thomas came round and gave Karola two nice wooden plates – a bread board and a cheese board – made out of pieces of an oak branch that fell down several years ago.
Mid afternoon Tony Fletcher arrived from Wellington for his 3-day/2-night visit. We then all went out and cut up another 7 peach tress into logs that will be further sliced into firewood in a couple of years time.

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—18℃ no rain [83.1]

SwimGym

Then I did a quick dash into town for more chainsaw chain oil and mince for Bramble.

Meanwhile Willie Thow was trying to get hold of us for our meeting about the lease, postponed from last week. Karola and I went down the avenue to his office at Matipou Orchard and we had an amiable chat though as ever he keeps trying to pull a fast one. Funny because at same time as he says apples are terrible business he’s dying to show off his own affluence and how his business is really booming.

Then Karola and I cut a couple of Eucalypt branches so she could make a wood pile for the peach wood out of the way in the Front paddock. Afterwards I gathered up all the rolls of used orchard alkathene irrigation pipe from under the Macrocarpa in the Front paddock and also in tangles where orchardist Allan had left it behind the big shed. It’s now laid out, though still multiple coils and tangled, in the Orchard paddock in case the new lessee wants to reuse it.

I borrowed some big old damaged apple boxes and set them down by the big heap of cottage builders waste in the Orchard paddock as Karola wants to salvage many of the offcuts of old Kauri, new weatherboard, and Kwila.

Late afternoon I stumped another 7 peach trees then retired exhausted for a hearty dinner.

Oak Avenue Weather:9℃—23℃ no rain [83.1]

Sunday – cold start, warm afternoon, brilliant sunshine – like a glorious winter’s day.

Karola put up lots more electric fence and, after drafting out the ram (and #150E who is currently an admirer) she put the ewes into a large piece of the orchard.

I stumped five peach trees with chainsaw. Exhausting. There are 6 – 8 lengths of bough about 1.5 metres long, suitable for firewood, on each tree.

At last I replaced the broken central mulcher blade and changed round the other two (by now very blunt and chipped) blades.

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—19℃ no rain [82.6]

We worked on the proposed orchard lease, having agreed our changes to the draft given to us by JB yesterday. Ready for a lawyerly review I think.

Adam Ladbrook was up in the orchard cutting up some of his logs for firewood as part of their gradual exit from the orchard.

Karola mowed the cottage lawn with her old but very good UK mower, a Honda.

I spent an age this morning replying to one of my friends with whom I am having an occasional discussion about Islam and Islamists. Got myself a free online translation of the Koran to check some things he said. Seems like it’s at least as vitriolic against unbelievers and prescriptive of believer behaviours as the Old Testament and Muslims don’t seem to have the equivalent of the enlightened New Testament.
Karola put up some electric fence and let her lambs into the smallest block of peaches near the big shed. Bramble and I shooed them back into the Orchard paddock late afternoon.

Tony Fletcher called and he intends to come up for a few days next week. Meanwhile we plan to go down to Wellington next Friday, soon after Karola’s birthday.

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—14℃ 0.6mm rain [82.3]

SwimGym

Then off for Friday shopping and appointments. Annual diabetic blood test for me. We also picked up the second mower sent to The Stihl Shop for a service.

In the afternoon we had a last bash at pruning and mulching the Ngaio finishing, exhausted, around 4:00pm. As we set off to begin we bumped into JB’s orchards over-manager, Craig, having a look at some of the trees. It’s possible that they (assuming we do sign with them) can avoid pulling out all the trees and instead graft the younger ones for a faster route to apple production.

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—18℃ no rain [82.8]

We took Bramble in for vaccination and health check. She’s 12.5kg and vet said she looked in fine condition, she’s fully grown now.

John (JB) Bostock came round in the afternoon. We’d been working hard on the draft lease agreement which is now in quite good shape. JB agreed with our suggested additions and all is going ahead towards signing late May. JB is off to Chile and Peru next week. Wife Vicki Bostock is off to China on Tuesday with her second-eldest son. Vicki is not a well woman as we learned last week; the China trip is to get more medical treatment both natural and the latest high tech forms.

Karola and I went out before dark and did another hour of pruning and mulching Ngaios.

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—17℃ no rain [82.7]

SwimGym

Chris Jones and his boss, Robert Sykes (027-273-0889) of Orchard Investments Ltd (OIL), came round at 10:00am as expected and we discussed their possible leasing of Karola’s orchard. Robert Sykes and his uncle David Sykes own OIL; Robert is also Production Manager for “Mr Apple”. The discussion was very positive and they do want to lease and develop the orchard. We expect a firm proposal by the end of the week.

Meanwhile Willie Thow is moderating his demands for “rent holidays” and help with development costs and he plans to come and discuss his proposal on Friday.

John Bostock sent a draft of the proposed lease for turning Karola’s orchard into an organic apple orchard for our review this evening.

Shane Hay came and mowed the lawns. Karola picked up and stacked all the pieces of Ngaio pruning too large to go through the mulcher; I did another 30 mins of pruning.

Dog training tonight followed by a Grouper steak & chips dinner courtesy of Hawkes Bay Seafoods.

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—16℃ 0.1mm rain [82.5]

Very quiet, hardly any traffic on the Avenue. Occasional showers.

I put electric fence round the lawn and the lambs are enjoying the longer grass although there’s a heavy cover of large leaves fallen from the Lyriodendron. Mower man Shane Hay will come in a few days time and mow up the leaves to ensure the grass doesn’t die.

After lunch Karola and I did another 90 minutes of mulching/pruning of the Ngaios. Only another 15 metres to do.

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—14℃ 0.2mm rain [82.3]

SwimGym

Chris Jones called to make an appointment for him and his boss to look round the orchard. Wednesday 10:00am.

Willie Thow sent an e-mail about leasing the orchard and we responded. He might come and see us tomorrow.

John Bostock and Peter Fitzpatrick, one of his orchard managers, came to look round the orchard. Peter is the guy who will be our day-to-day contact if we do lease to John Bostock.

Karola and I did another exhausting stint of mulching; Karola then went into Hastings for food.

Five of the original “carpenter” locks from the cottage went to Michael Brown, (027-305-3035, info@heritagebathware.co.nz) in Christchurch to be repaired and renovated. They returned today.

Five Cottage Door Locks – Refurbished

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—15℃ 9.0mm rain [83.1]

Henare dropped in mid morning for a chat and to retrieve a pair of grass loppers.

Just before lunch John and Vicki Bostock (Vicki Glazebrook) called round as planned to meet us and talk about the orchard. We are enthusiastic about John leasing the orchard and creating an organic apple orchard from it. So far so good, we’ll now work on the details to see if we can reach agreement.

Rest of the afternoon spent pruning / mulching:

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—20℃ 5.0mm rain [83.8]

We made a concerted effort to get more of the Ngaio pruning and mulching finished and have completed maybe half of it by the end of the day. We are only just in time as the Ngaios have overshadowed the other tress in the planting area and several of the trunks are too thick to mulch and crash down heavily on the other trees but so far without any permanent damage.

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—19℃ 0.2mm rain [83.1]

SwimGym

Karola invited Frank Wilson to come and see the cottage today when she spoke to him at his talk yesterday evening. He and Marina dropped by and we had morning tea.

Later Karola, Bramble and i went food shopping and picked up one lawn mower from servicing and dropped off another one. In the afternoon Karola mowed the cottage lawn while I did a bit more Ngaio pruning and mulching along the orchard driveway.

Karola planted the remaining four holly trees.

I talked to Chris Jones as part of our activity to find out who might be interested in leasing Karola’s orchard next month. Chris said quite likely his employer(“Mr Apple”) would want to lease the apples but NOT the peaches. So we expect offers from:

• Brain Cope / Frank Haywood (neighbour)
• Jim Bostock (organic, 38 orchards, 13 leased)
• Willie Thow (subleased the apples, local packhouse)
• Chris Jones (neighbour-ish)

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—19℃ no rain [82.2]

Karola planted another two holly trees.

Mike Halliday brought round the 6″ x 1″ (150mm x 25mm) boards cut from one of the three large sections of Liquid Amber trunk and he and Karola stacked them up to dry (12 – 24 months) in the big shed.

Karola went to the Hawkes Bay branch of the International Affairs Society held at EIT where her cousin Frank Wilson was giving a talk on China. Karola was the guest of Marjory and Brian Cobbe.

I did a little Ngaio pruning.

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—19℃ no rain [83.1]

SwimGym but only for Karola today. A mild lurgy laid me low so I skipped it and focussed on the rest of the day.

We both had haircuts this morning – bang goes over $100. And I then had a dental appointment – 5 fillings – $825 (gulp) – 4 of these due to breaking fillings from an earlier time.

Karola planted another two holly trees.

Peter and Diane Arthur called round mid afternoon to collect Hickory Nuts and hear about the IDS Christchurch trip.

First session of the next Dog Training course at 7:00pm – Karola is doing the training this time – followed by rather good grilled schnapper and chips.

Can This Be True – Glad We Stuck With Schnapper

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—18℃ 0.4mm rain [?]