Monthly Archives: September 2014

Puddle Muddle

Karola said there must have been a lot of rain in the night – there’s a big puddle in the middle of the Totara paddock. Investigation found that one of the pipes feeding a sheep trough in the yards had broken and we were providing the flood ourselves.

As it was drizzling and damp underfoot we spent the morning inside; Karola reorganising her surfaces in the bedroom and the camera & batteries cupboard in the dining room. Late morning Bramble & I went to Flaxmere to get a few food items. I took a shortcut and we spent half an hour or more lost in Flaxmere. Google Maps, when asked to direct me to the supermarket just chanted “you have arrived”, but I hadn’t. Eventually I asked a Maori woman and, following her directions we were there in seconds. Bramble slept through all this.

Henare came and borrowed a trailer and took some more firewood, returning it late afternoon.

Mid afternoon I began putting up railings across the narrow end of the “v”-shaped discontinued gateway we’d recently planted in swamp cyprus, poplars, and falx (see below). All done by dinner time.

Our Own Flood

Railings Up Protecting The Swamp Cyprus, Poplar, & Flax

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—15℃ 0.1mm rain [79.8]

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Henare Came For The Afternoon

SwimGym – but only me today as Karola is recovering from her activities yesterday, helping me with railings – cold, wet, and muddy.

Then we worked briefly on Karola’s website, “WilsonsOfBulls.co.nz” before Henare dropped by. He and Karola picked a couple of bags of oranges off our old orange tree. Henare also gave us some Gisborne oranges he’d bought from a roadside stall on Omahu Road today.

We asked him to put in a couple of stay posts to support the strainers holding up the inside fence from either side of the newly reopened gateway. He then dug up one of the willows in the gateway and replanted it a little further down the planting area towards the north. karola and Henare then planted four crows-nest poplars left over from our planting of a few days ago, siting these in the planting area on the north boundary, next to the orchard drive, and intended to obscure the view of the homestead from the Cope’s house-to-be, and vice-versa.

Bramble rolled in manure, as is her pleasure, and Karola gave her a bath. I took down some 200 metres of electric fence.

Meticulous Maids came and cleaned the cottage. I cooked dinner – not lamb chops again – oh yes.

The Reopened Gateway With New Railings

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—13℃ 1.6mm rain [79.9]

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Welcome Rain

Despite the frequent showers Karola had us out carrying on with the railings started yesterday. We got the intermediate posts in and the top rail up before retiring soaked to skin for lunch. Late afternoon we put on the rst of the rails and declared that project complete.

In between times the lambs were fed and Karola amalgamated the hoggets so that all the sheep have all the Long Acre, the Middle, and the Totara paddock and all the shepter provided by trees in those paddocks. The forecast is for more rain but accompanied by bitter southerly winds.

And reading by the fire too. We’re warm and comfortable in the cottage and even Bramble with her thick coat appreciates it.

Karola Ready For Outside Work, Rain, Hail, or Shine

Drenched From Head To Foot By Lunchtime

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—13℃ 10.5mm rain [79.8]

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Just Another Day

A beautiful sunny spring day.

I awoke early, roused by Bramble barking. It was already light and, making a cup of tea, as is my wont, I noticed that the cottage lawn was covered in sheep. The little gate from the lawn into the Totara paddock had been left ajar and in they came. It had only just happened; two or three ewes and their lambs had gone over the lawn and out under the big oak. One stayed to munch on Karola’s vegetable garden greens, already suffering from the predations of lambs who are no respecter of electric fences – yet. One ewe was over on the homestead garage lawn, snacking on box hedge and other delights. I closed the road gates and shepherded everyone back into the paddock – no harm done, whew.

Later in the morning I noticed a ewe that had been lying in the same place for quite a while. On closer examination I found that ewe #007 was dead, probably poisoned by something – perhaps by rhubarb leaves. We loaded her into the tractor bucket and dumped her in Henare’s death pit – occupant number one.

After lunch Karola and I put up one side of railings in the re-opened gateway from the Totara paddock into the orchard by the big shed. We were not helped in this by the butting and biting of lambs Fawn and Boy. Bramble added to the general confusion.

Karola’s Quince And CrabApple Corner

Prospect Of The Homestead From The North

Karola Watering The Trees Planted Yesterday

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—21℃ 9.5mm rain [80.3]

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We Get The Trees In Before The Forecast Rain

SwimGym.

Lambs Fed and then we all went off to Hastings for the weekend food run.

The rest of the day was spent in planting flax, poplar, and swamp cyprus trees in the disestablished gateway between orchard drive and Front paddock.

We planted 8 flax along the orchard drive fence (see below), 6 “crows nest” poplars in front of them, and 5 swamp cyprus in two rows in front of the poplars..

Tree Planting – First The Flax

The English Beech Loses A Substantial Branch

Falling Branch Smashes Some Camelias But Otherwise No Harm Done

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—21℃ no rain [80.1]

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Really Massive Wind Gusts – But Nothing Came Down

SwimGym – slowly but I did finish.

Massive gusts of wind and irregular vicious squalls of rain. I had a fire going and spent much of the day inside in the warm watching episodes of “Nordic Noir” DVDs.

Karola had a regular medical check this morning. She also took in a couple of chainsaw chains to be sharpened and got food for the next couple of days.

Henare came round and borrowed Karola’s little trailer and took a load of old firewood home that was too big for our wood burner.

Peter Offenberger rang and offered us a free subscription to “BayBuzz” – a local magazine of news and politics.

Karola removed all electric fence from the homeastead lawn; I took down an electric fence dividing up the Totara paddock. Not just lambs but some ewes too have decided they can ignore the electric fence so we do not want to rely on electric fence to keep sheep or lambs in while we’re in Wellington this week.

I picked up the sharpened chains mid afternoon and then cut up the large oak branch that fell down last week – into logs for our fire and branches that I could move with the tractor.

Chris Ormond brought his two daughters round to feed the lambs late afternoon – a practice run for their responsibilities Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday while we’re away.

Oak Avenue Weather:__℃—__℃ no rain [79.8]

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Lamb #451E Not Thriving

Overcast and windy Sunday. Henare unexpectedly turned up and so we took advantage of that by asking him to help Karola pick up the trimmings from the topping of the Casurina wind break and then digging a few more post holes. Karola decided that the slam post – the one that Henare put in and I then moved a few inches yesterday – was too spindly, we needed a fatter one. So Henare put that in.

Meanwhile I’d put up the railings around this same gateway and Henare followed up by putting in the intermediate posts to keep the railings straight. Henare also dug the holes for the six intermediate posts ready for railings across the planting area where the old gateway is being reopened – from the Totara paddock to the big shed.

Karola put windbreak cloth round the new tree guards and they’re now ready to be deployed round the five Swamp Cyprus trees bought last week.

Karola put ewe #906 and her twins #451E and #452R in the large holding paddock so that the tiny ewe lamb could have a better chance of getting a feed. I connected up a water trough so they’d not lack water in the holding paddock. Karola gave the little #451E small quantities of milk which perked her up a tad.

View From The Re-Opened Gateway Into The Totara Paddock

In The Orchard – New Trees Mulched And Irrigation Installed

Karamu Homestead From The North

Oak Avenue Weather:6℃—16℃ no rain [78.9]

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Voting Day – Very Windy

Very windy indeed. Oak Avenue coned off with 30kph restriction – I assume because of perceived danger from falling branches – never seen that before.

After breakfast and lamb feeding we went off to vote at Twyford School. We were the only ones voting at the time and it was very quick.

Then we carried on into Napier and I bought a replacement pair of walking shoes – the old ones soles had parted from their uppers after a couple of years hard use. We returned via Hohepa (Demeter – organic) farm shop where Karola bought some cheese and fresh vegetables.

The wind gusts persisted and there were occasional very strong showers of rain slanting in from the west, coming in right across the verandah which is unusual.

I mowed the cottage lawn, getting most of it done before the first major shower.

Karola has observed one rather down-at-heel lamb and it turns out to be the last lamb to arrive, #451E, one of the twins belonging to #906.Karola gave it some supplementary milk tonight while I was feeding “boy” and “fawn”.

I moved one of the posts Henare had put in for me – just a small one, the slam post for a gateway – because the gate overlapped it by about 200mm (8 inches).

And in addition we pottered about outside, clearing / tidying as is our wont.

Henare’s Big Death Pit

Oak Avenue Weather:1℃—16℃ 0.7mm rain [79.9]

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Runty Ewe hogget #322 Died

SwimGym for Karola only again – but I’m expecting my knee will have recovered by Monday.

I moved electric fences for Karola’s sheep in the morning.

After breakfast Karola continued with creating the tree guards.

Ewe hogget #322 is poorly; Karola gave it a good drench and it promptly died.

Henare came round after work and dug us another big death pit – #322 having taken the last space in our existing pit.

I started on putting up railings near the new sheep yards.

The Front Paddock – Sheep And Geese

Electric Fence Round The Homestead Lawn

Gill’s Damson Tree In Bloom

Tuis Are Like Sparrows Round Here (Centre Of Photo – Only 3 Metres Away)

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—21℃ no rain [79.8]

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Tree Guards For The Swamp Cyprus Trees

Karola went to the dentist this morning – regular annual checkup.

Karola is making tree guards again. Eight more and five of them are for the five swamp cyprus trees bought yesterday.

I pottered round in the morning, coiling up some remaining lengths of wire from the Island fence, moving plank offcuts and coils of wire to the stump dump in the corner next to the 121 road entrance.

Bramble and I went briefly to GoldPine and bought ten 1/2-round posts – these are used for intermediate posts keeping sets of railings evenly spaced and countering their tendency to warp in the sun.

Late afternoon I re-connected the irrigation and animal trough line at the now discontinued gateway from Front paddock to the orchard drive. Of course I later found that the alkathene pipe extension I used had a leak in it. The on/off valve is way over by the homestead garage so there was some to-ing and fro-ing and help from Karola with mobile phone communications to straighten it out.

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—15℃ 0.3mm rain [79.4]

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Crash, Bang, Wallop – Another Tree Branch

SwimGym, but not for me today. I banged my knee on something metal on the tractor a few days ago and now it’s complaining- keeping me awake (and probably Karola too). I hobble about and am not interested in rowing on biking or cross-country skiing – some of the delights of the gym. Karola went for her swim.

Chris Day, my financial advisor, came for morning tea today, as planned, and we reviewed his work on my behalf over the last year.

After lunch Karola and I put battens on the short piece of fence across the now discontinued gateway from the orchard drive into the Front paddock.

As we were battening there was a loud and long tearing and crash as some large branch came down over behind the homestead. We investigated and found a large and, at the base very rotten, branch had fallen from one of the oaks behind the homestead garage, luckily doing no damage, just blocking the track through to Karola’s rubbish “bund” along the roadside fence.

I then went to GreenLeaf Nurseries and bought five swamp cyprus trees and ten flax plants. I also wanted eight poplars, of a variety that wasn’t susceptible to rust like the Lombardy poplar and the willows we planted last year, but the nursery didn’t have any.

Later I rang Appleton Nurseries in Nelson – Karola knows the owner, a fellow dendrologist – and ordered: 10 Crows Nest poplars, 5 Golden Ash, and a dozen mixed varieties of Mexican evergreen oak. They’ll be sent to us next week.

The Fallen Oak Branch

Where The Branch Came From

Flax & Swamp Cyprus Ready For Planting

Oak Avenue Weather:6℃—19℃ no rain [78.9]

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Self-Sown Pin Oak Accidentally Mashed Up

Worked on Karola’s web site “Wilsons of Bulls” for a bit then it was too nice outside so carried on with the various gates / railings / fencing bits and pieces.

This began with joining the seven wires across the closed-off gateway from the Front paddock to the orchard drive, one of the better examples of my crimping.

Then I mowed the very long grass in the to-be-reopened gateway between the Totara paddock and the orchard, near the big shed. This was to clear the way for re-hanging the gate and putting up railings. Unknown to me, Karola had been nurturing a self-sown pin-oak grown from an acorn from the adjacent pin oak and I mowed it down.

This was prelude to re-hanging the long long gate.

After that I returned to the orchard rive and began putting in the two running posts for the 7-wire fence across where two gates used to hang. The first post went in OK but while digging the second I sliced open the irrigation water pipe I’d put underground across the gateway many years ago. Karola helped me find the valve to turn off the water to that whole 250 metres of irrigation pipe and serious flooding was avoided.

The two “orphan” lambs were fed three times as usual.

Re-Hung Gate (Karola In The Background)

Wires Crimped Ready For Posts & Battens

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—19℃ no rain [78.4]

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Driveway Ngaios Get A High Trim

SwimGym – quite a struggle this morning, I think the docking and other frolics were just a bit too much over the weekend. I then slept until morning tea.

In the afternoon I collected posts and pulled out a couple of strainers remaining in the Island paddock and generally returned what was the Island paddock to become part of the Middle paddock.

Meticulous Maids came and cleaned the cottage, as they do once a fortnight. Karola took herself and Bramble off for some light shopping and to post some parcels, thereby keeping out of their way.

I took a look at the view from the homestead, both upstairs and down, now that the neighbour had removed the poplar stumps and Karola’s Purple AkeAke saplings along the other side of the orchard drive. The view is now unremittingly of the rather ugly plastic sheds that house the hydroponics. I see now how well the tall Ngaios hide them, as we had hoped and planned. So we must give up our entranceway and plant in that gap pronto.

Late afternoon we heard the hedge trimmer trimming our orchard drive – as expected after earlier conversations with Peter Fitzpatrick, our “JB Organics” orchard manager. I didn’t expect the trim to go quite so high as to catch branches of the Cedar that’s near the boundary and the road in the north eastern corner – but it did. Some branches several inches thick were slashed off but the tree will barely notice I guess. The trimmer also went along the orchard boundary adjoining the homestead but apart from a bit of manuka leaning across the fence there was nothing really to cut there. And the trimmer trimmed our side of the part of the Casurina wind break that’s in the orchard – the neightbour’s side and top having been done a couple of days ago.

As evening fell I set up the seven wire section of fence to close off the gap in the Ngaios where there had been a gateway from the orchard drive into the Front paddock. The wires are up but not crimped, nor are the running posts and battens on yet – more fun to come.

The Orchard Drive, Trimmed

The Casurina Wind Break, The Part In The Orchard, Trimmed

Setting The Wires To Close The Gap

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—18℃ no rain [78.6]

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Railing Reuse

It has been raining much of the night and the ground is again awash although by mid morning the sn was out and a strong wind was drying things off.

We arranged with Charlotte and Peter to take Annette Offenberger to lunch at Clifton Cafe but Peter rang mid morning to say Annette was struck down with a lurgy and wasn’t going anywhere.

Henare dropped in on the off-chance that we wanted to go ahead with digging the sheep pit etc but we said it was just still too wet.

After lunch I continued disassembling the entrance railings from the orchard drive into the Front paddock. I also took down the railings closing the gap between the Totara paddock and the area round the big shed. It used to be a gateway but was closed and planted with willows a while back. Now it’s going to be a gateway again because the orchard drive gateway into the Front paddock is being closed off. Closing the orchard driveway wide entrance into the Front paddock was triggered by the work next door to prepare a site for a new house and create a driveway parallel with the orchard drive. This saw the poplar stumps and regrowth along the fence line removed exposing the homestead to a direct view of next door through the gap.

The railing deconstruction involves grinding off the heads of the nails and then bashing the railings off their posts with a sledge hammer. The main effort is extracting the headless nails from the posts. These railings are destined for a piece of fence adjoining the new sheep yards.

Late afternoon I used the tractor to pull out the half-round posts supporting the railings and so we’re all ready now for the reconstruction phase.

Railings With The Nail Heads Removed Using A Grinder

Railings Removed – Posts Bristling With Headless Nails

Railings Off To Their New Destination

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—14℃ 0.1mm rain [79.4]

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Docking Of Lambs Complete

Rained quite hard in the night and on through the morning. I sent a TXT to Henare at 7:00am saying it was too wet for any work today.

Karola wanted the ewes and lambs docked yesterday to have plenty of grass so I put up an electric fence dividing the Totara paddock and the Middle paddock and, reminiscent of the Towers of Hanoi game, swapped the three lots of sheep – ewes without lambs, ewes with docked lambs, and ewes with undocked lambs – between the Yards holding pen, the Long Acre paddock, the alleyway from the yards down to the Front paddock, and the Middle paddock. Eventually everyone was in the right paddock.

Meanwhile Karola moved her portable yards from the Front paddock to the Long Acre – down near the 121 road entrance. It was just too wet underfoot to use the new yards. Finally we began docking again and in a couple of hours everyone was docked. It took a while because the ewes were getting cunning and kept running up and down the length of the Long Acre with me in pursuit.

Docked Lambs In The Front Paddock

Docked Lambs In The Front Paddock

Docked Lambs In The Middle Paddock

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—15℃ 4.8mm rain [79.0]

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Getting There – Docking In Three Easy Stages

SwimGym

Intended to complete the docking and tagging before doing the Friday shopping this morning – some hope.

I drafted out the six ewe hoggets and #150 (who’s twin lambs died this year) and put in the hoggets big tags, all except for #322 who is a sickly runt and must be disposed of soon. Karola pointed out that I should have included #218 who didn’t have a lamb this year. These ewes without lambs are going to be on hard tucker over the summer as they only need subsistence levels until mating time. I also replaced #209’s missing big tag. What with forgetting to shut gates properly and sending all the sheep round and round again, with their lambs, through the drafting race, it was morning tea time before we got our act together. We decided to let the ewes and lambs settle before the docking – of the 28 remaining lambs that is – and I went into Hastings for the Friday food shop.

After a late lunch we docked half the remaining lambs, including the “orphans”, Boy and Fawn. We discovered that we were two rubber rings short to complete the docking so decided to finish off tomorrow. We can get some more rings in the morning.

Henare TXTed me to see if there was any project we could work on tomorrow. Karola suggested that we needed another deep sheep pit for corpses as our old one is almost full – only room for a couple more lambs and no full grown sheep. She also thought that it’d be a good idea to mulch up the cuttings left from the annual hedge trimmer who did the neighbour’s side of the windbreak and the top. The tops were all flung into the Long Acre, nothing intentional, it’s just how the big trimmer machine works. So Henare and karola can do that tomorrow morning as well.

Still looks like rain so I mowed the cottage lawn and the homestead garage lawn – grass pretty long as it’s growing rapidly now the soil temperatures have risen.

Early evening Henare dropped by for a chat – we think it was to suss out what the work plan was for tomorrow.

Oak Avenue Weather:13℃—18℃ 7.1mm rain [78.8]

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Sheep Yards First Use

Pottered around in beautiful sunshine all day. Karola put up electric fence around the lawn and then declared herself exhausted.

I gently ushered the mob of older lambs and their mothers into the new yards – no problems, no fuss once I took Bramble inside the cottage and shut the door. I made the tag adjustments mentioned yesterday so that at least this first mob all have the right tags, for now.

Peter & Charlotte Offenberger invited us out with his sister Annette for a meal and a film, The Keeper of Lost Causes (Danish noir thriller). We went to the “Three Doors Up” restaurant in Aharuri, very near the Globe Theatrette cinema. We were for a while the only people for the movie but another couple turned up just before it started. Glad we booked ahead. A bit gruesome but kept one’s attention. Shades of “The Killing” etc.

Annette is back from her working and travels overseas, has completely retired and is back in New Zealand permanently. She’s based in Wellington but staying up here in Havelock North with brother Peter for the weekend.

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—18℃ no rain [78.9]

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Lamb Docking – Day One

SwimGym and the daily task of lamb feeding three times a day.

Until mid afternoon Karola and I worked on different aspects of preparation for docking. Karola put up her portable yards in the Front paddock; the lambs there are the oldest. I made an electric fence alleyway from the new yards down by the Scotts boundary over to the three gates which join the Front, One Acre, and Totara paddocks. Also went to Farmlands and got some blank button tags to complement the ones we had printed for this years numbers: #401 – #450.

We started docking around 4:30pm and finished the mob that has 24 older lambs just after 6:00pm. As the lambs are all several weeks old there was some confusion about which lambs when with which ewe leading to a few mis-labelling incidents.

The first surprise was that ewe #923 was logged as having just one ewe lamb but turned up with two. Seems she’s adopted a second ewe lamb from someone. We tailed but did not tag those two lambs.

Triplets belonging to #928 were recorded as two ewe lambs and one ram lamb whereas in fact it’s one ewe lamb and two ram lambs.

A ewe without a tag was mistakenly considered to be #245 – that was the only ewe in this mob that I’d logged as having no large tag whereas in practice another ewe, #231, is also missing her large tag. So tonight ewe #231 has a new big tag #245 and her twin ewe lambs have button tags #412E and #413E. Consequently the ewe #245 is still without a big tag and her twin ewe lambs are tagged as #405E and #406E. I plan to correct the tags on the lambs tomorrow and I also need to replace the big tag on #231 and get a correct tag for ewe #245.

Ewe #043 confused us a bit by arriving with just one ewe lamb when she was supposed to have twins but luckily the twin realised he’d been left behind and set up such a fuss we were soon put right and no mis-tagging occurred.

Ewe #108 is logged as having twin ram lambs and presented herself with two ram lambs. One of these lambs, tagged #417, later made a big fuss about joining ewe #003 who incidentally is the mother of “boy” – one of our pair of so-called orphans that we feed. Ewe #003 also indicated ram lamb #417 actually belonged to her – the lamb will be re-tagged accordingly – which leaves us with #108 missing a ram lamb and #923 with an extra ewe lamb.

We will reconcile this by assuming I got the gender of this lamb wrong and #108’s second lamb must have been adopted by #923. We will never know which of the two ewe lambs has #923 as its natural mother. One lamb will be tagged #421, the other #417.

… and that’s just the first 24 lambs; 28 to go.

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—16℃ no rain [79.4]

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Sinister Sheep

News from England – Anna’s partner Dave Moss has just won “photo of the month” from a big photography organisation called “one million photographers” (1MP). It’s a photo of a few of Karola’s lambs and a ewe in the One Acre paddock. Only the sky has been tampered with for artistic effect.

I spent the morning pulling out nails, winding up more wire etc as the old sheep yards and the Island paddock fences are deconstructed. In the afternoon Karola and I pulled out lots of fence posts, using the tractor and a heavy chain.

“Boy” and “Fawn” are only getting three feeds a day now but drink gallons.

I moved electric fence to give the younger lambs and their mothers a fresh swathe of pasture – they’d done well in cleaning up under the big oak in only two days.

Karola went to the library early evening to listen to a talk by Hugh McBain – about the Williams family

Sinister Sheep – Photo By Dave Moss

I Do Like The Old Plum Tree

Oak Avenue Weather:3℃—15℃ no rain [79.8]

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Do We Really need More Railings

SwimGym

Chris Ormond came round and cut himself and us small loads of firewood from the old apple wood piles in the Front paddock. Later he brought his two young daughters round to see the lambs.

I slept all morning – possibly because yesterday we somewhat overdid it on our sheep yard dismantling. Then I carried on with the dismantling.

Early afternoon I went to Total Building Supplies in Omahu road and ordered some new long (6 metre) railings for my plan to reopen the western entrance to the orchard just by the big shed and shut the opening from the orchard driveway to the north. The railing design is still the same, fat-thin-fay-thin-fat where ‘fat’ is 150mm (6”) x 50mm (2”) and ‘thin’ is 75mm (3”) x 50mm (2”). The 3×2 rails are not readily available in 6 metre lengths so the “man in the beany” ripped some 6×2 rails into pairs of 3×2 rails. I picked up the planks late afternoon.

In the early evening I started winding up #8 wire from the Island paddock fence using the fencing jenny I bought via TradeMe several years ago.

The Younger Lambs Grazing Under The Big Oak

“Boy” Is Growing Into A Large Ram Lamb

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—18℃ no rain [79.5]

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Finally, Battens Nailed

It’s Sunday so the morning mostly taken up with the weekly chores – although the grass was too wet to mow the cottage lawn today.

Karola let her sheep onto the grass under the big oak and by the old plum and behind the homestead garage – which they thoroughly enjoyed. The lambs are all nibbling grass now – next decent spell of dry weather and it’ll be time to dock the lambs.

In the afternoon Karola and I continued with our deconstruction of the old sheep yards and the fence around the Island paddock. We also geared up to put battens on the short new fence across the top of the Long Acre paddock – it acts as a large holding pen for the sheep yards and one of the places you can direct a sheep too from the drafting race. Karola pointed out that the gaps between the posts were unequal and so I put them in again in the right place. We then stapled five battens per gap and thereby finished the fence.

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—14℃ 0.6mm rain [79.4]

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Intermittent Drizzle – Again

Lambs checked and orphans fed.

Karola and I worked together on the slow process of dismantling the old sheep yards. It’s going to take several days.

Very mild day and the old plum tree is in full bloom.

Ewe #906 is the last to lamb with twins #451E & #452R. We think ewe #218 is dry – no lamb this year.

The Old Plum Tree

Winter Flowering Rhododendrons & Camelias

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—16℃ 2.0mm rain [78.8]

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Johnny Ormond’s Funeral

SwimGym

Then we attended Johnny Ormond’s funeral in Havelock North. Wall to wall Ormonds and their relations by marriages. Bernadette and Cyril Ormond (Henare’s brother – one of many) was there, as was Ringa Ormond from the Mahia and Val McKay from Masterton. Arthur & Nick Ormond and their children’s families – Marcus & Chris & Tom etc. Peter, Mick, Ast, and so many others we actually knew – let alone the hordes we didn’t. John Acland up from Mount Peel in Christchurch. It was a very good funeral I thought – well organised, good choice of hymns and eulogies.

Shopping on the way back home afterwards.

Picked up Karola’s roller Honda mower with its drive cable replaced – the cable Karola bought in England on her recent trip. Karola tested it and it now works.

And suddenly the day was over. Henare and Scott dropped by as planned so that Scott could copy some forms he needs for University.

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—16℃ 2.0mm rain [79.0]

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Richard Gregory’s Funeral Today

Karola had her hair done and then at lunchtime went to the funeral of Richard Gregory. His wife, Heather, gave us our geese many years ago. It turns out that John (“JB”) Bostock and Richard were close friends after they came back from university.

Bramble and I continued with fencing work – hanging gates today. Karola cut nettles for the sheep late afternoon.

Karola’s Smart, New and Very Blue Overalls

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—14℃ no rain [79.4]

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Spring Is Sprung

SwimGym

Rain eased off and stayed away all day but very wet underfoot. Sun actually peeped out late afternoon becoming a delightful spring day. Blossom on flowering cherry and now on old plum tree too. Leaves out on Claret Ash and willows and others here and there.

After ealing with lambs Karola and I connected wires and put on some battens in the changed fence.

After lunch Karola went to Flaxmere to the recycling depot and to do a little shopping. I carried on with the fencing changes.

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—15℃ no rain [79.0]

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Did I Say Wet, Did I Say Muddy

Wet, muddy and mild.

Sheep all checked and Karola did the daytime feeds.

It rained all day, mostly very fine like mist. I carried on with the fence changes needed for the sheep yards.

Rowena came to see Karola after lunch.

Did I Say Wet, Did I Say Muddy

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—13℃ 6.6mm rain [78.3]

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Fencing In The Rain

SwimGym but not Karola because of her lingering cold.

Got replacement battery cable for the tractor and it now starts again without jump-starting.

More on sheep yards despite rain, mostly light, most of the day. Henare joined me at lunchtime and we worked until dusk on the fence changes associated with the sheep yards. Henare completed the third post from yesterday and put in six more small posts.

Karola was out for much of the afternoon, shopping.

Karola’s cousin, Johnny Ormond, died today.

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—13℃ 12.6mm rain [79.3]

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