Monthly Archives: August 2013

Mixed day, quite cold and very damp underfoot. Just pottered around, mostly on computer while Karola polished the wooden floor – it looks wonderful – and made a superb-tasting dinner of lamb shanks (not our lambs).

The ear tags arrived today – small ones for the new lambs and large, visible ones for the hoggets that were chosen to stay.

Ewe #003 had a lamb, #319R, today.

The Grafting In Karola’s Orchard

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—13℃ 6.8mm rain [82.0]

SwimGym. Rain was forecast and rain came.

Relatively speedy shopping around lunchtime – it still took me 20 minutes to do the food shopping at New World..

Ewe #113 had twins #317E and #318E(?). Half the flock have now lambed in less than 10 days.

This evening we went to Cinema Gold in Havelock North to see “Red2” with our friends Peter Offenberger and Charlotte Jackman, “the Offenbergers”, They invited us back for cup of tea afterwards.

Anna’s Felix, my oldest grandchild, is about to start at Merchant-Taylors’ (sic) – here he is in his school suit. I think he looks more and more like his mum.

Oak Avenue Weather:6℃—12℃ 5.5mm rain [82.2]

Henare, as planned last night, arrived just after 8:00am and after a cup of coffee and chat we continued working on the front gate railings replacement. Henare left to go and coach badminton around 1:00pm.

Ewe #934 had twins #315E and #316R – we’re almost half way.

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—15℃ 7,0mm rain [82.9]

SwimGym

Karola and I independently went round the sheep with Bramble firmly on a lead.

New lambs: ewe #108, lamb #311E; ewe #917, lamb #312R; ewe #009, twins #313R and #314R.

I had an enjoyable day programming – web stuff for UK friend Geoff.

Evening and again it was weekly dog training and Bramble did better walking-alongside and one really good sit-stay for over 30 seconds.

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—20℃ no rain [83.3]

Quite warm and sunny. Karola spent the morning going round her sheep – this is going to be a daily occurrence now lambing is in full swing.

I updated the sheep records, including the lambs recently sold, and now have all the numbers tallying plus a list of the big ear tags for the ewe lambs that have joined the breeding flock. As for this year’s lambs, I think 40 will be enough button tags, assuming around half the births are twins.

Karola spotted that ewe #40 was about to lamb and indeed over space of 20 minutes she had triplets. Ewe #40, lambs #308E, #309R, #310R.

Jenny and Noel Hendery popped in to pick up the keys for the Days Bay flat as they’re going to Wellington for a few days beginning this afternoon.

Henare and Scott have just left after a quick call to describe Scott’s latest badminton exploits.

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—16℃ no rain [?]

SwimGym, but for me only this morning. Karola went carefully round her sheep,making sure everyone was accounted for.

Ewe #150 had lamb #307R today and, sadly, ewe #128 had a ewe lamb that was dead on arrival.

Mark has dug a nice big hole for us nearby the previous one and we’ve started it off with a dead blackbird and a dead rabbit – now a lamb. I realise I haven’t ordered any ear tags for the lambs yet – must get onto it.

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—17℃ no rain [83.5]

Bridget, Chris, Natalie and Alex all came out to Days Bay and we had brunch together at Chocolate Days.

We finished packing up and took a leisurely drive back to Hastings. As we were taking the trailer back we also took a small table and a bed – base, ends, and mattress.

I began the drive and hoped to go up the Eastern Hutt for a change, away from the Western Hutt expressway but in so doing I took a wrong turn and we had to go all the way up and over to Wainuiomata and back – gosh it is a long steep hill.

There was much blossom en-route, both coming down and going back. Karola spotted some native white Clematis in bloom on the eastern side of the Wainuiomata Hill, on the Western Hutt road, and four clumps just beginning on the Rimutakas.

It was dark when we arrived home but I saw there’d been another lamb while we were away, ewe #121 with lamb #306R.

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—17℃ 0.1mm rain [?]

As arranged we went out to Whitby and picked up the little trailer Karola bought last time we were down. Cyclone Pup circa 1974, WOF and licensed, $550. We went on from there to Leacroft tree nursery on the Paikakariki hill road but the plants were pricy and not quite what we wanted so we bought nothing.

Back to Wellington over Haywards Hill – going on the motorway past Porirua or the Haywards Hill route – there seems little in it. Mid afternoon we visited Mary before returning to Days Bay and having a light supper. Then it was off to The Pavillion – all of 100 metres away – to Margaret Thompson’s 70th party. Lots of people who had grown up in, or were associated with, York Bay. Geoff and Felicity Rashbrooke were there. The evening entertainment was a play written in 1931 by Margaret’s grandfather about ghosts and tramping. We think ewe #922 had lamb #303R today and ewe #133 had twins #304E and #305R.

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—18℃ no rain [?]

SwimGym then shortly after that we set off for Wellington. Down the eastern route this time and over the Rumatakas with an excellent brunch at Latitude 40 South in Waipukurau.

Oak Avenue Weather:3℃—14℃ 3.0mm rain [?]

Always a bit sad when the lambs need to go off to become “lamb”. Mark came over in good time and we got the 17 lambs into the landrover and set off gingerly across sodden paddock – I thought we’d get stuck but rain held off until just after we’d got back, luckily. Two lambs wouldn’t fit into the trailer so Karola looked after them in the back of the landrover – which amused the meat works staff no end.

We celebrated the final 2012 lamb sales with lunch at Pernels Fruit World – there’s a new chef there now but we had our usual lunches. Karola has fish chowder or pie and I have a B.L.A.T but swap the bread for chips. B- bacon, L-lettuce, A-avocado, T-tomato.

On the way to lunch, to my surprise and cause of much crowing by Karola that she knew they were due already – we saw a ewe with twins under the Macrocarpa in the Front paddock. Ewe #101 with lambs #301E and #302R.

A few more exercises for Bramble but otherwise a quiet afternoon.

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—14℃ 1.3mm rain [82.6]

SwimGym

Karola not only got praise from Peter and Diane Arthur for her draft article on Larnach Castle but Margaret Barker, the owner and past Vice President of the NZ branch of IDS, said it was excellent.

Digby Philip arrived at 9:00am and looked through the 22 lambs (not the eight reserved for breeding stock) and marked 19 of them as suitable for Progressive Meats this week. Two wether lambs and one ewe ram were too small or thin so the two wether lambs (#250 (notag) and #211) become The Ram’s friends for the foreseeable future and the ewe #245E was just kept with the breeding stock.

Casting her eye over the remaining ewes Karola thought ewe lambs #224 and #231 were too good to sell so, in light of the recent deaths of #604 and #019, she added them to the breeding flock.

That left, destined for the works tomorrow: #206E, #207E, #208R, #214R, #215R, #216E, #217R, #221R, #223R, #228R, #232R, #234E, #235E, #246R, #247E, #251R, #253E.

Mark Hendery has agreed to come over and help getting the lambs to the works tomorrow morning.

Bramble’s dog class this evening – “curates egg” time again.

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—14℃ 1.3mm rain [82.4]

Late start but Karola, with help, polished her draft article on Larnach Castle and sent it off to Margaret Barker, the owner, for comment.

In the afternoon Karola began polishing the cottage timber floors and finished the living room – it does look good.

Cottage lawn mown as dusk settled – even though it was still quite wet in places from the recent rains. More rain is forecast.

Digby Philip rang to say he’s coming to look at Karola’s lambs tomorrow.

Bramble had training homework late morning and again late afternoon.

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—15℃ 0.1mm rain [82.8]

SwimGym

Karola moved her sheep around and did some deburring of her lambs – they get burrs in their wool and it’s the devil to remove them.

Karola went for another fitting with the hearing consultant and then to see Jenny Hendery also in Napier – she’s only just returned and its mid evening already. Karola bemoans how she hears more clearly but only things she’s done without and is happy to continue doing without – such as hearing herself eat – but seems pretty wed to the “sound shells” now.

I listened to yet more podcasting with David Sparks and Merlin Mann. How come all the Mackintosh pundits – also “paperless office” pundits and “getting things done” pundits, are in the USA – perhaps the UK people are too busy actually doing stuff.

Oak Avenue Weather:6℃—15℃ 1.2mm rain [83.1]

Heavy rain overnight again and sunny skies for most of the day. Henare came and had a look at 9:00am but agreed it was just too wet underfoot to do more with the railings.

Karola spent the day revising her first draft on Larnach Castle; I continued listening to and reading about “personal workflows” – tools on computers to help get things done. The overriding message of todays research was “for goodness sake don’t spend all your time finding out about and tuning these tools. Do try and actually do some work. Otherwise it’s pointless”.

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—15℃ 9.1mm rain [83.0]

Heavy rain overnight but mild sunny day.

Karola finished the first draft of her article on Larnach Castle for the International Dendrology Society magazine.

I spent most of the day researching computer productivity techniques and programs.

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—16℃ 7.4mm rain [82.8]

SwimGym

Starting to get back into the good habits, so SwimGym at the usual time. Late morning some more shopping – do we ever do anything else?

Mid morning John “JB” Bostock dropped in to tell us his plans for some civil unrest against the water restrictions imposed by the Regional Council – 1000 tractors he said, through Hastings. He bubbled with enthusiasm as usual and left in a rush for his next appointment.

Around 2:30pm the cottage shook gently for several minutes. As always, fearing that it’s an echo of “the big one” in Wellington I tried to call Bridget and then Gill – phones not working. Bridget very kindly sent me a TXT saying they were all right – Chris and the girls because Chris was hoe with a touch of the flu. Later I sent Gill and then Ben a TXT and Ben replied saying they were both fine and in fact Gill was with Mary in Sprott House when the earthquake hit. Gill called later with chapter and verse. There have been lots of aftershocks, some quite strong, but none as strong as the initial quake which was initially registered as 6.7 but downgraded to a respectable 6.2 when it was determined to be a shallow quake, only a few kilometres beneath Shannon at the northern tip of the South Island.

Late afternoon Henare dropped in – he’d been minding the place while we were away and may come at the weekend to do a bit more on the 133 entrance railings.

Oak Avenue Weather:6℃—15℃ 20.9mm rain [82.3]

Karola ventured out to shop and I spent time sleeping and listening to rather boring computer “podcasts” about “getting things done” – which Karola finds highly ironic. Bramble seems in good spirits.

Oak Avenue Weather:3℃—18℃ no rain [81.8]

In the morning it was sunny with a gentle breeze. Kirsty and Bruce showed us round their house and big garden – beautiful views over bush and out onto the Otaki plains to the sea far away. We set off late morning and arrived back here around 3:30pmBramble was glad to be back – she got out and rolled and raced around. And then, forgetting her experience with electric fence when a young pup, she squeezed through an electric fence round the cottage lawn. The long grass was wet and the wire hung down low. Usually there’s enough space so that the wire barely touches her back and the ground is dry anyway but this time WAM SQUEAL SQUEAL. And Bramble panicked and shot off out towards the homestead. We searched and we called and we searched some more. I cancelled “dog training” for the evening for lack aof a dog. Karola called the neighbours and I went up and down the road and round the orchard – no sign of her. It got dark, still no sign. We went out with torches calling and whistling and Karola rattling a bucket of sheep nuts. Finally, finally, at quarter to seven, Bramble emerged from the undergrowth over near the Eucalypts seemingly none the worse for wear.

Oak Avenue Weather:1℃—16℃ no rain [?]

Late morning Gill and Ben met us at Mary’s Karori flat and from there we took a few more things over to Sprott House; it’s only about ten minutes drive away. Mary was cheerful and seemed to be settling in well. We hung a few pictures and moved things around a little now Mary had had time to see what arrangements she preferred.

Mid afternoon Karola and Bramble and I returned to Days Bay and set about packing for the return journey. I made us late by clipping the tiny lawn and cleaning out the small ditch behind us so after 4:00pm we set off over Haywards Hill towards Otaki, just as the rush-hour started. We were heading for Kaitawa Road near the Otaki Forks where Kirsty Faulkner and Bruce Utting had invited us to spend the night in their new (to them) architect-designed house 10 km inland from Otaki on the steep steep banks of a tributary of the Otaki river.

But first we stopped in at a house in Whitby, north of Porirua to negotiate the purchase of an old small trailer, a “Cyclone Pup” – Karola has been after one of those for years ever since she borrowed Jenny and Noel Hendery’s Cyclone trailer one Christmas, while they were on holiday. Karola agreed to buy it and offered a cheque – only to find that she’d left her cheque book back at Karamu. Not to worry, as long as no-one else offered, we’d just pay online once we got home (which we have). We’ve arranged to pick it up when we go down again for Margaret Thompson’s 70th at the Pavillion, Days Bay on 24th August.

Then on toward Otaki, about an hour later than planned. Karola got petrol in Paraparaumu and we arrived to find Bruce a bit cross and hungry, waiting to finish cooking his chicken casserole meal. I gently reminded him that I was gluten intolerant but he’d forgotten and already basted the chicken in flour so no chicken for me. But anyway I then got a phone call from bank saying Karola had left her credit card at the petrol station – so I drove back and got it – 30km each way and, as it had been all the way so far, intermittent squalls and driving rain. By the time I came back everyone was calm and cheerful and we had a very comfortable night in their “guest wing”.

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—15℃ no rain [?]

We, Bridget, Gill, Ben, Karola and I, all met up at noon at Mary’s flat in Karori. It’d been raining quite hard all morning, of course, but backed off to intermittent showers in the afternoon.With Bridget’s help we made several trips in the Subaru and got the few pieces of larger furniture ferried across without incident and without getting wet. After Bridget left for her appointments at 2:30pm we made a couple more trips with boxes of stuff – books, pictures etc. Rather miraculously I plugged in the TV and the computer and both worked using the Sprott House Sky TV dish and the in-room telephone line. Mary was quite calm considering, although obviously it was all pretty confusing and stressful for her. Five of us coming and going and several Sprott staff taking endless details and demanding choices. Mary weathered it well.Monday night Bridget’s Chris came back from a Christchurch business trip and, at Natalie’s request, we (me. Karola, Chris, Bridget, Natalie, Alex) all had a rather good meal at Wagamama as Natalie’s family birthday party. Karola parked in the wrong place though and we got an expensive parking ticket despite it being a wet cold winter’s evening and after 7:00pm.

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—13℃ no rain [?]

Today, Sunday Karola went in to Mary’s and she and Gill did lots of labelling (all clothes and furniture etc) while Bramble and I stayed peacefully at home in Days Bay.

The view from the flat is ever changing – out into the harbour and across to Soames Island. The weather is mostly bracing and walks along the beach with Bramble most enjoyable. Also, every day down here Bramble and I walk up the steep zig-zag behind us and down the gently sloping path through the bush on the other side of the ridge, along past the duck pond and behind The Pavillion, and home, a good 20 minute walk.

Oak Avenue Weather:9℃—13℃ 7.6mm rain [?]

Bramble has had a little scratch on her right cheek for a couple of days and I thought it was getting better. It’d been a small scratch earlier in the week, probably from scrambling through a fence, but looked quite nasty this morning so we took her to the Vets – she was due at Kennels at 10:00am – and he gave her an injection and course of antibiotic pills. We cancelled the Kennels and took Bramble with us in the car to Wellington so I could give the pills morning and night.

We took the west coast route and avoided the bad weather down the east side.

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—14℃ 21.7mm rain [?]

SwimGym and the rest of the day spent preparing for our trip to Wellington tomorrow.

Karola stacked the firewood I cut yesterday and also tied down her recent 17 tree guards using lacing wire – we hope this will stop the ewes pushing them up and nibbling the trees inside.

Karola let her ewes graze the cottage lawn for the afternoon – pity just to mow that good grass and by the time we come back the rain will have washed away the manure – we hope.

I’ve finished preparing Natalie’s Macbook Pro – the old one I replaced recently. It’s been erased and he operating system reinstalled ad we’ve found the original box it came in too.

This evening I assembled the second flat-pack cupboard and we popped them both into the store room for now.

Oak Avenue Weather:6℃—18℃ 1.3mm rain [83.0]

Nice day – languid really. Much work still in the orchard – they’ve at least one more day of hacking down the old apples to grafting size.

I have assembled the first of two cheap flat-pack cupboards – the result was as disappointing as expected but it’ll do to keep papers in in the store room.

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—21℃ no rain [83.4]

SwimGym

Just as well we got the sheep and electric fences out of the orchard last night. Big team arrived this morning and were hard at it by the time we returned from SwimGym – and didn’t stop till it was getting dark at 5:30pm tonight. With multiple chain saws, ladders, trailers, tractors etc they were cutting the existing trees back so that they can be grafted with different varieties of apples, in line with the highest value organic apples demanded today.

I popped into town to get the chainsaw looked at; no oil was getting to the blade and chain. I cleaned it with petrol and ensured there were no visible blockages but still none seemed to get through. Of course it’d started behaving by the time I got to the chainsaw repair shop.

Karola put fence round the big oak and let her ewes in for a nibble as the grass there is a bit longer than the grass in the paddocks now.

I chainsawed up a large fallen branch from the Himalayan Cyprus near the big oak – filling the little trailer with firewood and kindling – mainly kindling.

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—19℃ no rain [83.1]

Peter Fitzpatrick called in. He’s orchard manager for several of John Bostock’s organic apple orchards, including ours. They will start work in the orchard tomorrow after their winter break.

Karola planted her third Tupelo tree.

Henare called in just after 2:00pm. He’d come from his mother’s half-sister’s funeral. He worked with us on the railings util just before 6:00pm.

As dusk fell Karola gathered her lambs in from the orchard into the One Acre and Front paddocks where they’ll stay until we return from Wellington next week. They Karola and I wound up the seemingly miles of electric fence and pulled up the posts so that the orchardists can have free reign tomorrow.

Karola helps with assembling the second panel of railings

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—19℃ no rain [83.3]

SwimGym. Very misty start to the day but by lunchtime it was sunny and, in the sun, warm.

Only outside work today was more on the railing fence. Meanwhile Karola bought some more trees and planted two Nyssa Sylvatica (Tupelo), which have bright crimson leaves in the autumn.

Yesterday’s trip to the estuary included seeing a Royal Spoonbill with Pukekos

Une Spatule Ne Fait Pas Le Printemps

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—18℃ 0.2mm rain [83.1]

It being a bit dull and wet today we burst outside mid afternoon and Karola took Bramble and me for a walk down on the estuary at the mouth of the Clive river. It could have been England – misty with rain squalls. We walked for a couple of hours along the public cycle track. Saw a man with a small combustion engine strapped to a standard road bicycle chugging along. He was careful to turn it off as he approached and passed us – he said they’d ban him for sure before long. (Next thing it’d be motorcycles – I can see their point). Saw a solitary white spoonbill and numerous aquatic species of bird, a few early lambs, and some bedraggled chooks. Went as far as the sewage outfall and back on a wide flat lime-surfaced path. Bramble was delighted to stretch her legs.

Looking back along the access road at the foot of the stop banks

The marshes just inshore of the wild shingle beach and the Pacific ocean

Not-So-White Swan, Common As Mud Down Here

Wild, Wild East Coast

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—13℃ 15.1mm rain [83.1]

Rain threatened but apart from some light drizzle didn’t arrive. Henare came around 9:00am and we all worked on the replacement railing project all day. By the end of the afternoon we had the gate and its two posts installed.

Gateway At The 133 Entrance

His Raised Bed – Greens Pecked To Bits

Her Raised Bed – Delightful Medley

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—15℃ 14.4mm rain [82.6]

SwimGym

Showers but not cold.

Inside sort of day. Henare dropped in after dark and we persuaded him to come and help with the railings project over the weekend if the weather stays clear enough.

Karola is up to 6 hours a day using her new hearing aids.

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—14℃ 2.0mm rain [82.6]

Gloomy day but we did get the rest of the railings painted with wood preservative.

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—14℃ 1.5mm rain [82.7]