Not for the faint hearted, the story of the ghastly smell.

It starts with Paul the builder coming and fixing up the weatherboard around the house back door. On 7th November he covered over an area above the door and down the left side which had been open to the elements for many months. The week before, on the right side of the door, he’d replaced some tongue-and-groove inside boards with weatherboard

Over a week later Gill & Ben visited and stayed in the house. No mention of a particularly pungent bad smell then, thank goodness. However, in retrospect, Gill did mention a terrible din as a possum danced on the roof all night below and outside her window. I should have taken more notice.

Yesterday Karola & I independently noticed, were near overwhelmed by, a terrible smell that seemed to be in the kitchen area. I was accused of having ineffective rat traps where one had been able to run off and die behind something – the fridge or stove – or in the wall. However by keeping various doors shut for a while we pinpointed the smell to the back door lobby only.

I hoped it was a starlings nest as there had been starlings nesting in there, above the door and inside the wall cavity, for a couple of years. Karola was sure it was a rat. Bridget and family are expected for Christmas and so it is important we track down and remove the source in case it otherwise lingers on through December. In any case, the most likely explanation for the animal demise was that it got trapped inside when Paul boarded up the openings.

Today I got serious. The strong smell was still confined to the back door lobby, but it wasn’t clear whether from the floor, ceiling, or walls. Yesterday I took off the long white board to the left of the doorway, intended to stop future vermin getting in that way. I put this back and then carefully removed the three new weatherboards above the door.  The starlings nest was a couple of feet down just to the left of the door and I removed the four addled eggs, but they were not the source of the putrid smell.

In fact there wasn’t much of the smell at all coming from the exposed cavity although there were major rat gnawings up under the roofing iron on the right. So I lifted a couple of sheets of the iron but all was (relatively) sweet and dry in there. While up on the ladder I happened to notice a few flies idly circling round the opened cavity on the right. Closer inspection showed that the board level with the top of the door had been gnawed completely away, leaving a sort of “chimney” down the right side of the door.

There was no obvious easy way to get access to the bottom of that “chimney” so I bored some 25mm holes in the bottom board intending to jigsaw between them to make a hole about 150mm square.  To my disgust, out of the top hole crawled a maggot – “golddust”, we’d found the source of the smell, surely.

Yes we had, and it wasn’t a mouse, it wasn’t a rat, it was a possum. Karola, always trumps in a crisis, pulled the carcass out and disposed of it. I then washed the “chimney” out with a hose. Bridget’s visit is saved!

We replaced the boards, nailed down the iron, applying copious silicon sealant to the tears made by the old nails, and rejoiced. We will let things air out for a few days and then put a thin metal plate over the hole at the bottom of the “chimney”.

Rest of the day was pretty subdued, in retrospect. I mowed some thick grass along the top of the ha-ha, where the sheep had been grazing, and boiled the tractor again. Again the grill was covered in debris. Later I noticed that the right front tyre was flat, the one without the inner tube. I tried to remove the wheel but the wheel nuts on this side would not budge. Luckily Henare & Scott came for un-chlorinated drinking water and, seeing we were stuck, Henare came back later with the right tools to get the toughest wheel nuts off.  Karola planted the remaining Rangiora so all nine are now in place, with individual tree guards, and well watered.

Searching For The Source Of The Smell – Above The Door & Under The Roofing Iron

Suspicion Centres On The Right-Hand Side “Chimney”

The Hell Hole That Is Decaying Possum

“Chimney” Washed Out From Above

Video For The Strong Of Stomach

Oak Avenue Weather:13℃—25℃ 0.1mm rain [73.8]

We both went to SwimGym this morning. As we fly back to Wellington on Thursday afternoon we’re doing the SwimGym on Tuesday and Thursday this week.

I turned off the irrigation for the Manuka by the farm shed, the Bay tree hedge, and the Runner Beans. I also gave a much needed drink to the four remaining Kanaka up near the Runner Beans, and the Totara and Five Finger nearby.

Jeff Rencontre came and spent much of the day on repairing the cottage window and door sills where Bramble had sunk her sharp little teeth in, in annoyance at being unable to join in chasing the sheep, or in fighting the lawn mower.

Chem-Wash man came and cleaned the solar panels which were thick with pollen and which I therefore assume haven’t been doing us much good over the last few months.

I moved the possum trap from near the farm shed to a new spot over behind the house garage where I’ve recently heard a lot of possum screeching.

Karola reported that lambs were jumping through the electric fence along the ha-ha so I bolstered the fence with extra posts. I also soldered the earthing pin on Karola’s fence electricity meter and tested the fence. 6KV which is good, shows that there’s little shorting-out.

Karola has only two of the nine Rangiora to plant now.

There’s a nasty strong smell of dead rat inside the house by the back door. We can find no corpse inside so I took off some of Paul’s boarding-up around the back door and removed four starling eggs that would surely smell soon enough if left there. No sign of a dead rat though – and the smell persists.  Not a good omen for Bridget’s family visit for Christmas.

Oak Avenue Weather:15℃—24℃ no rain [73.9]

No SwimGym today – slept in, weary after the, for us, hectic weekend.

In fact did very little outside today except mow the cottage lawn etc. Checked the irrigation but everything seems to warrant another night so didn’t turn it off. Wrote various emails to our Wellington friends.

Karola continued planting her Rangiora; she planted two last week and another three today.

Annemarie called and said she did now have access to our family weblog.

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—22℃ no rain [73.9]

Left Annemarie’s in Silverstream and motored down to Ngauranga and onto the old Hutt road, stopping at La Cloche, a restaurant opposite the Ngaio Gorge turn-off. Gaylene & Iain Middleton arrived shortly afterwards and we had brunch, talking all the while. An hour or more later we decamped to the Middleton’s house in Tawa, actually in a large suburb unknown to me on the right side of the Motorway. They have quite a large house built on a sloping section with large lawn and mature trees. Peaceful & welcoming. We stayed and chatted until after 1:00pm and then set off up the west coast for home. The winds had kicked up a violent surf visible from the shore-side highway before Paekakariki. Karola drove all the way home, getting us back around 5:00pm despite a break for a sandwich and drink at Shannon.

Henare and his son Scott came round for a chat and to get more un-chlorinated water. They were in the red Mazda Henare had bought for Scott last week.

Scott Poses Beside His Red Mazda Car

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

Slow start as quite exhausted by the drive down yesterday.

Karola & I set off for Ngaio late morning, arriving at 97 Simla Crescent soon after 11:00am. Peter & Navina Clemerson (he of the recent PhD at 76) welcomed us and introduced their long-time friends Pradip & Rashmi Manchanda. Navina had prepared a delightful lunch accompanied by convivial, animated conversation.

Afterwards we tootled back to Silverstream in time for afternoon tea before returning with Annemarie to Khandallah, Bridget’s place. There Alex suggested we watch a “sci fi” film on their large TV, and we did. Ender’s Game is full of fights and explosions so Karola really disliked it. I found it all a bit too noisy and the plot was a collection of borrowed themes, but it did include Harrison Ford so that was something. On to Taste, just up the road, an excellent restaurant in Khandallah village. Natalie & Alex were patient and well behaved, the antithesis of the usual restaurant behaviour of their cousins in Ealing. Later we drove back to Silverstream for one more night.

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—23℃ 0.1mm rain [?]

SwimGym for me only.

I spent the morning making the Farm Shed ten-stall tool rack for shovels, rakes, hoes and other long-handled garden tools.

Then we finished packing and set off for Wellington via the Wairarapa. Arriving at Annemarie’s house in Silverstream just in time for  a relaxed settling in and then off to The Silver Spoon for dinner. Very nice food, as usual.

The Ten-Stall Long-Handled Tool Rack

Oak Avenue Weather:14℃—23℃ no rain [?]

Took a big trailer load of mulch to the sheep yards and spread it in the race, crush, and some of the yards, as Karola requested.

Using Henare’s orchard loppers and the chainsaw I cut up a medium-sized branch that fell next to the sheep yards on the day we shore. Also a few small but solid branches off the Cyprus in the north-east corner – thankfully they just missed Karola’s Mexican oaks.

Popped into town to Mitre-10 for bits and bobs including some alkathene and accessories so that Karola can irrigate her nine Rangiora she’s planting along the 121 driveway in between the Titoki (Alectryon excelsa) trees on the west side of the drive, adjoining the Goose Enclosure. Also got some Gisborne oranges to take to Wellington tomorrow, they may not look much but they are delicious.

Later I made a tray out of unused weatherboard to hold the wire strainers and associated accessories. It slips neatly beneath the work bench.

Sturdy Weatherboard Tray With Sliders

Karola With Rangiora To Plant

Colourful Display In Karola’s Raised Beds

Chippings Destined For The Sheep Yards

Sheep Yard Race & Crush Now Mulched

Continuing the theme from yesterday …

Dave Mitchell Loaned Us An Expensive Kite – For several Years

Example Of What Dave Mitchell’s KAP Can Do

Geoff Pounding In Posts With The “Widow-Maker”

Dave Moss – Fixing One Of Ian’s Early Laptops

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—33℃ no rain [73.2]

SwimGym.

Opened my 20kg bag of fine sand. Unfortunately it’s a bit damp so not ideal for diluting grass seed. Made a 5kg mixture of grass/clover seed and sand and broadcast it along the two One Acre fence lines adjoining a planting area. I weed-sprayed round the One Acre fences last year and again this year so the foot (300mm) between the cultivated area and the fence is bare. If it does rain on Friday then perhaps my seed mix will sprout ahead of the weeds.

Finished the electric fence making the house lawn into three little paddocks. Quite a hot day. Buzzed into town to pick up the unmendable ladies fork. Trouble is that the steel for the prongs is very high grade and will not weld satisfactorily. I was asking to repair an inch I broke off an inner tine. In testing whether they could fix it Saw Doctors broke off another four inches. Ho hum. Karola’s favourite fork, of course, it had to be.

Fitted two locks to the vet cupboard, they fasten to the inside of each door and you drill a hole for the key to engage it. Not secure but it will stop the contents falling out in an earthquake. I need to do the garden poisons cupboard too. Put up a trial garden tool holder, slot at about floor level and a piece of 2” (50mm) alkathene split down one side as the upper keeper. It does seem to work.

Emailing three of my UK friends today I explained about the overheated new tractor. Today I display photos showing their kindness in humouring me by driving the old Fergie when last they were out in New Zealand.

Dave Mitchell Takes A Break From His KAP (Kite aerial photography) – October 2009?

Geoff – A Safe Pair Of Hands – October 2006

Dave Moss – In Training (No WiFi) – December 2013

Firstborn With The Hammer Down (Anna, Dave’s Partner) – December 2013

Front Paddock A Sea Of Waving Grass

One Acre Paddock – Lucerne, Plantain, & Phalaris (Mainly)

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—33℃ no rain [73.8]

Up late, that is I returned to snooze after breakfast, as the hours of spraying yesterday were a bit OTT for me.

Karola went off to see her GP and shop. I mowed under the trees in the Middle paddock, catching the growing iris just in time, before it got so big that mowing would be a very slow business, probably having to go over and over again. Anyway, it all went fine. Also picked up the fallen pinecones and then mowed the nettles under the Canary Island pine.

In preparation for having the sheep on the house lawn, now our visitors have gone, I re-mowed the strip along the upper edge of the ha-ha slope so that the electric fence didn’t short out. That same electric fence goes the length of the ha-ha and then sharp left and across to the orchard drive fence. I re-mowed that bit too but, as I neared the fence there was a nasty burning smell and clouds of smoke came from under the bonnet of the new tractor. That happened before, after some mowing of thick grass that followed an hour or so of chipping/shredding. Boiling noise from under the hood and temperature gauge very quickly going up off the scale. I left it to cool off and had lunch.

A few hours later I gingerly opened the hood. There was an oily substance on the grill and around the front of the engine – it had spilled, been boiled out of – a coolant reservoir sitting in front of the radiator grille. Whew, not engine oil then. I think that what I heard boiling was this plastic box of coolant and maybe I caught it in time, again. There was also a thick, several mm thick, layer of dust and grass totally covering the radiator grille – no wonder it got hot.

I pealed off the mat of dust and grass from the grille, filled up the radiator and coolant bottle with water, and carried on. Re-mowed the parts of the house lawn where I plan to erect electric fence – I only did it a week ago and it’s already grown an inch or two. No more tractor problems. I have a theory that when Power Farming did a modification for me, to make the mower a mulching mower rather than chucking the cut grass to one side, they may have made the mowing job a lot harder on the engine – still I’m sure the gunge blocking the radiator grille is a major factor, the engine should be able to run for days at PTO speed (20 hp at 540rpm) driving either the mower or the chipper/shredder.

Around dinner time I erected part of the electric fence for the house lawn. Tomorrow we’ll be able to put the sheep on a part of it- sort of break-feed it so they don’t have too much at once.

Not As Bad As It Looks

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—22℃ no rain [73.4]

SwimGym, alone. Karola stayed behind to wait for the truck driver taking her wool to the wool stores.

At last, a day with almost no breeze at all, so suitable for spraying. So I deferred other things I was hoping to do today and spent the morning spraying – 3½ 10-litre tanks-full of “Roundup”. This covered the area outside the cottage garage, the house garage, and the big gravel area outside the house back door. Also I zapped all the thistles I could find in all the paddocks, marking each Scotch thistle I sprayed with yellow marker paint to avoid duplication. There were large patches of Californian thistle too, mostly on the fringes of my last blitz on Calis. The previous spraying does seem to have been effective.

Gill & Ben set off for Havelock North at lunch-time; I paused the spraying briefly to see them off.

Late afternoon I had recovered enough to do the Monday shopping. After which I turned off the tree irrigation – they’ve had a couple of days of trickle which, despite the strong drying winds, should keep them happy until next weekend.

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—23℃ no rain [73.2]

Up early to a bright, sunny, cool morning. After breakfast listened to “Hymns on Sunday” as usual. Checked the irrigation of the runner beans, the coloured Manuka, and the Bay tree hedge and decided to give them another 24 hours. Replaced one dripper on the Manuka that was blocked.

Mowed the cottage lawn and associated small areas of grass – under the washing line and along the east side of the cottage, and then it was time for the birthday lunch at ClearView. We set off again in Ben’s Volvo and met up with Peter & Charlotte again as well as Peter Arthur, tree mn & bookseller (retired) and founder of NZ’s IDS branch and of Tree Croppers HB branch. Delicious meals and entertaining chat, we arrived for 12:30pm and left around 4:30pm.

After a bit of a rest for us all, Gill hopped back on the little tractor and continued filling the big trailer with mulch destined for the sheep yards.

We had a light supper then watched the final two episodes of the 1991 TV Series Sleepers. An excellent day, an excellent birthday.

Gill On Little Tractor

Oak Avenue Weather:6℃—25℃ no rain [72.4]

Started the morning by attaching the doors to the cupboards and fixing the cupboards to the farm shed wall. Mission accomplished except perhaps for fitting some lockable latches as the cupboards are intended for vet supplies (red) and garden poisons (green). It took a bit of sanding and fiddling with the hinges to get the doors shutting properly.

We all, Gill & Ben, Karola and I, set off in Ben’s Volvo for Birdwood Cafe on Middle Road in Havelock North, arriving just before noon. Peter & Charlotte were already there along with our guests Charles & MaryAnn Daugherty. The menu was off-puttingly brief and the ordering process was a bit shambolic but the food was delicious. Afterwards we strolled in the Cafe gardens, very peaceful and green, and continued chatting. Charles & MaryAnn took their leave and the rest of us came back to Karamu for more discussions and some test driving of the new tractor. Everyone was given a short guided tour of the new farm shed – none of them had been here since building began.

Gill cooked us a lovely pork casserole, she’d brought the main ingredients with her from Wellington and Karola provided the vegetables. Then we settled down to watch episode two of The Sleepers. Undemanding but entertaining fare set in 1980s in England.

I turned on the drip irrigation for the Manuka by the farm shed, the Bay tree hedge, and the Runner Bean (and raspberry) enclosure. I noted that Karola’s six Totara and two Five Finger trees are alive and perky, as are the four Kanuka she salvaged from my lot of 30. Of my 26, only two show any signs of life. The One Acre has plenty of green shoots now, Plantain, grass, clover and, I hope, some lucerne. But it also has some thickets of small Californian Thistle.

The Farm Shed

Gill Zooms Off On The Little Tractor

Gill Loading Mulch Onto The Trailer

Runner Bean Enclosure Perking Up

Posts For Artificial Windbreak In The Orchard – North Boundary

On The South Boundary

One Acre Springing Into Life

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—26℃ no rain [72.4]

SwimGym as usual on a Friday, though an hour later than usual.

I did the lightening Friday shop mid morning. Checked the traps in the house: no rats, no mice caught.

Gill & Ben reported their progress up through the Wairarapa, arriving here around dinner time. Meanwhile I bought fish & chips for tonight’s meal. Gill has brought up a pork casserole for tomorrow night. After dinner we relaxed to the first episode of a TV series called Sleepers – just right.

Somewhere in there Karola and I agreed where to put the two farm shed cupboards. I painted their tops, two coats, and finished de-painting the chandlery before starting to put it back on. Not far to go now.

Roughly How It Will Look

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—19℃ no rain [72.6]

I was fairly exhausted by yesterday’s stuff so dozed until after morning tea time. Karola & I started the form-filling needed to get her heart work covered by our medical insurer, Sovereign. Today I received an email saying that a colleague of mine, David Mounce, ex-IBM literary chap, has died suddenly. Also today the broad extent of serious earthquake damage to buildings in central Wellington became clear.

Painted the two farm shed cupboard chassis at mid-day and then again after dinner.

In honour of our visitors this weekend, Gill & Ben, I set multiple rat & mouse traps in the house, just to be sure.

Karola went out shopping for much of the afternoon. She collected my reading glasses, mended under warranty again. Karola also got a bag, the last bag in the shop, of local oranges. They are very sweet and juicy. While she was out I cleared the small inner sheep yard of Iris – I did the other yards yesterday while waiting for the shearing to be done.

Henare came round late, around 8:30pm, to get more drinking water.

Inner Sheep Yard – Before

Inner Sheep Yard – After

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—21℃ 7.9mm rain [73.5]

SwimGym but not Karola today.

Karola prepared for the shearing this afternoon; she has the sheep all penned up ready including the ram and wether.

There is no fridge in the house so Karola found a second-hand one in the local paper and we went to Flaxmere and bought it. I insisted it be given a good wash with disinfectant before we took it inside. Karola tested it’s ice-maiking capabilities and it works just fine.

I mowed a path through the very long grass on the house lawn so that Gill & Ben can drive round to the front door. That mowing plus raking up the grass afterwards and re-mowing the path of the electric fence for when the sheep are let onto the lawn too most of the morning. Karola used some of her portable yards to protect her planting of flax, kowhai, ake-ake inside the railings on the edge of the lawn.

Shearing began mid afternoon, Karl & Wendy whom we like. After the ewes, ram & wether were shorn, Karola & I gave all the sheep and lambs a good dose of Magnum (withholding for meat, zero days) to deter fly-strike for the next three months. There was a great deal of bleating after shearing because many lambs didn’t recognise their mothers without wool.

After dinner I finished sanding the two cupboards intended for the farm shed and washed them ready for painting tomorrow before reuniting them with their colourful doors. Using a little electric sander, not just a sanding block and elbow grease, I hasten to add.

The Second-Hand Fridge

Grassway To The Front Steps

Shearing 23 Ewes Plus Ram & Wether

This Season’s 18 Lambs

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—24℃ no rain [73.5]

The Severe Quakes On Monday Night

https://www.geonet.org.nz/quakes/felt

There were 6 quakes rated severe within a couple of hours  – and many more smaller ones. I was writing up the farm journal when it started just after midnight and as it went on – upstairs in a wooden cottage the window frames groaned and clattered and the place swayed like on a yacht – I quickly typed that there was a big earthquake and pressed “send” in case that was the last email I got to send. My blog posts go via email to my site in Texas or New Jersey so as soon as out of NZ would be saved for posterity.

We are about 400 Klicks from the epicentre and the main quake, the only one we felt that night, was just a rolling sensation, not a sharp jolt as usual, and it went on and on getting stronger. I had time to wake Karola and get her out on the verandah in the doorway before it died away.

Just as it was ending I got a TXT from daughter Bridget in Wellington just to say they were OK – shaken and stirred and two granddaughters very frightened but no damage beyond a few shelves emptied. TXTed my sister Gill, also in Wellington. Like Bridget she lives up on a hill so no tsunami action, and it was strongest quake she could remember since 1970s.

Telephone systems eg TXTing stayed up despite the huge load as everyone tried to find out if their F&F were OK. Not so good that the emergency service hotline 111 (like 911 in USA or 999 in UK) went down for 30 mins mid crisis. Bridget had a close friend who was evacuated with her family from Petone around 2:00am because of tsunami risk.  Apparently the tsunami risk here was only for coastal dwellings and civil defence kindly went and knocked on all their doors rather than setting off the sirens and causing a general stampede for the hills.

Places like Clifton and Kaikora in the South Island were pretty much flattened and there was quite a lot of damage to city high-rise buildings in Wellington. Adding insult to injury, Wellington had rain and flooding and earlier today all roads out of Wellington were closed due to floods.

One feels very sorry for the South Island people, especially in Christchurch and further north.

Karola’s Heart Checkup – The Results

Over two months ago ago Karola arranged to have her heart checked. Her father, brother Kaz and cousin Rab died of heart problems so there’s a family history that made having a check a prudent thing to do. Today we got feedback, a debriefing of Karola’s CT Coronary Angiogram of several weeks ago, from her heart specialist Miles Williams. Karola does have coronary disease and needs a couple of stents – this is not at all uncommon these days.

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—26℃ no rain [73.4]

SwimGym in two cars so that immediately afterwards we could drop off Karola’s car to have its air conditioning fixed. Of course watched news about the earthquakes on breakfast TV first, we got off very lightly here this time.

Pottered around in the farm shed until, needing some supplies from Mitre-10 and getting a TXT saying Karola’s car was ready, we trundled off into Hastings where karola picked up her car and I did the food shopping and the Mitre-10 stuff. Continued sanding the cupboards for the farm shed and later installed the workbench engineering vice and unpacked and assembled the electric grinder – I’ll fasten it to the workbench once the cupboards are up and I see how much room I need for comfortable grinding.

Oak Avenue Weather:16℃—20℃ no rain [73.2]

I slept much of the day due I imagine in part to the hours of mulching and mowing yesterday. Still anguished about Bramble of course. Karola has told me and others that if I want another dog I can have one but she will not be part of it as it’s just too painful – losing Bicka and now Bramble so suddenly.

As planned the antique cars came mid morning, parked in the Middle paddock, and the drivers and passengers gathered round the front of the house and looked inside downstairs.

Later I completed my cottage anti-swallow work, putting the wire deterrents pointing upright and cutting bits of wood to screw into the outside wall

Hawkes Bay Antique Car Rally Called In At Karamu

Nest Nestling In Mass Of Manuka Blooms

(The earhtquake started just on midnight and although not very severe it went on and on so eventually I went and woke Karola and we went out on the cottage kitchen verandah. The sheep were disturbed, light over table was swinging and the windows were groaning but nothing broken. I then got a TXT from Bridget to say they were OK – that it was a big earthquake to them, shook the house but no damage. I TXTed Gill and she said ditto – biggest she’d felt for a long time but no damage. It was centred in South Island north of Christchurch registering 6.6 but people felt it from Dunedin to Auckland. Poor, poor Christchurch, would really put them on edge. Now we can expect aftershocks of course.)

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—18℃ no rain [73.6]

Didn’t start to rain until nightfall but we’re hoping for a decent soaking.

Karola did weeding on the west side of the old Wash House which has been very bedraggled for months. She also, kindly, picked up my tarpaulin covered in weatherboard offcuts and stored them in the house garage. Meanwhile I did much chipping and shredding (aka mulching) that took all morning. Henare came around 1:00pm and re-mowed round the circle in front of the house, we’re hoping it will look suitable for a few of the 60 antique cars to get photos in front of the house tomorrow – rain is due to stop around 3:00am. I, using the new tractor, mowed along the driveways and then, using the recently fixed Honda self-propelled mower, did the usual cottage lawn and adjuncts.

We are still pretty distraught about Bramble – hard to take it in and there are so many reminders. It’s the only time I can remember being kept awake for hours due to grief for a loss. Only to be expected but Karola is pretty fragile too.

I joined TOP today, Gareth Morgan’s new political party. I cannot remember ever reading the objectives of a political party that resonated so strongly with ideas I believe important, and which seemed to have sensible, achievable goals. We shall see.

Oak Avenue Weather:9℃—23℃ 10.6mm rain [73.5]

SwimGym

Friday shopping and then gardening, mainly tidying up and mulching for the antique car procession on Sunday and for Gill & Ben’s visit the following week.

Then, late afternoon, Bramble’s fatal accident occurred.

Bramble died this afternoon and Karola and I are pretty distraught. I was driving the Landrover pulling a little trailer along the drive when we think she tried to grab a trailer tyre and it broke her neck. Dead quickly but one hell of a shock for us as she’s been such an integral part of our family in residence for years. Henare came over fortuitously late afternoon and kindly dug a grave and Karola is going to plant a Kauri over it.

We are going to miss her constant companionship and attention-seeking very much.

In Bramble the corgi we had a household animal convincing us of her empathy, and she was part of our daily routines: breakfast (Karola give bit of toast), lunch (Karola gives bit of cheese), (me) fetching the mail from the gate, (me) getting up to quieten her when she hears a possum and gets over-excited, barking the place down, going out in the car & always trying to get in the front and better still the drivers seat, and on and on. Honestly an almost constant companion. I reckon she helped significantly in humanising this old codger. And now, suddenly, she’s gone. Kipling wrote:

Henare Dug A Deep Grave For Bramble – Karola Will Plant A Kauri Here

Mulching Continues

More Branches To Be Chipped & Shredded

Oak Avenue Weather:17℃—24℃ no rain [73.2]

Called Power Farming re the problem with using the chipper while having someone always in the driver’s seat. Ben/Dan came round and showed me how to turn the operator presence sensor permanently on. Later I made a short cable to connect the two terminals that plug into the sensor, since when I’ve mulched happily by myself.

Karola took her car to an auto air-conditioning repairer and later we found out that the associated radiator, which sits in the engine compartment in front of the regular radiator, has been hit by a stone and has a leak. For $300 it can be welded. Karola will take the car for this work on Monday.

On the way home we went via HB Tractor Dismantlers in Barnes Place up Omahu road a couple of klicks. I spoke to Kerry and explained about the 60 antique cars expected at the weekend. Just after lunch the tractor silently disappeared.

I mulched the remainder of the trimmings from the 133 Karamu hedge early afternoon and then mulched the pile in the Goose Enclosure comprising mainly the smaller pieces of the fallen branch of a conifer near the farm shed.

After dinner we went to Napier, to the Aquarium to hear Charles Daugherty speak about “Cat Wars” – the reasons hat New Zealand needs much better cat management at the national and local council level, and by the owners of cats.It is estimated that there are around 3.5 million cats, domestic and feral, in New Zealand. It is not known whether cats suppress rat & mouse populations long term – there just is no scientific data but lots of anecdotal data from cat lovers. Feral cats lead short, miserable, hungry, diseased lives. Charles is a fellow of the NZ Royal Society and is well known and liked by Ben & Gill. He has retired from academic life at Victoria to live in Hawkes Bay.

The “Operator Presence” Cable

Short-Circuiting The Operator Presence Sensor

Hawkes Bay Tractor Dismantlers

Second Trailer-Load Of Mulch

Mulching Fallen Branch From Conifer In Goose Enclosure

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—22℃ 1.3mm rain [73.4]

SwimGym, we both made it today albeit 30 minutes later than usual.

Put another coat of grey on the edging of the workbench and lowest shelf. The farm shed is beginning to look inhabited at last (see below).

Set the irrigation going for about three hours on the bay tree hedge and the five new manuka shrubs. Unloaded the big trailer by stacking the portable yards in the Totara paddock, against railings near the Canary Island palm. Then transported the two large 17mm plywood sheets bought but not needed for the farm shed workbench into storage in the house garage. Unloaded two of Karola’s trailers of their firewood into old apple boxes next to the new possum trap. The old high-sided one is good for receiving the mulch produced by the Caravaggio chipper/shredder. Replaced the WOF sticker on one of Karola’s Cyclone trailers and fixed the brand new number plate onto the rear of the new tractor.

Late afternoon I trimmed the hedge of Karamu shrubs along the inside of the railings at the 133 entrance and Karola and I then used the new tractor with the chipper/shredder to mulch it up. One unexpected thing, the Kioti tractor turns the engine off if it is in gear (High or Low) or if either of the PTOs is engaged. So, how is one supposed to operate any standing equipment driven off the rear PTO? Our very temporary solution was for Karola to sit in the drivers seat while I stuffed the chipper. The new tractor delivers only about 19 horse power to the rear PTO (the tractor engine is rated at 26hp) and so we were relieved when it seemed to cope OK even though the chipper specification requires 20hp or more.

Hacked Into Shape – Karamu Hedge At 133 Gateway – RHS

Hacked Into Shape – Karamu Hedge At 133 Gateway – LHS

First Mulching Outing For The New Tractor

Farm Shed Looking More Lived-In Now

Note The Grey Bench Edging

Oak Avenue Weather:13℃—24℃ no rain [74.5]

Around lunch time, out of the wind in the farm shed, I applied a second coat of yellow, red, and green – but the green still didn’t come out right so I did a third coat after dinner and am happy with that. Also, in the afternoon I undercoated the edges of the work bench and the main shelf, painting it the planned grey when dry, after dinner.

Karola went out shopping for much of the day. The wind was fierce and it really wasn’t any fun doing outside work, including Karola’s tree guards in the cottage go-between, so shopping was a good option. Karola got the plan for fixing the Subaru air conditioning sorted out.

Acting on Karola’s suggestion I made a short length of irrigation, with five separate sprinklers for the five Manuka along the railings next to the farm shed. Although there was rain last night it still wasn’t enough so the cottage garden and Manuka will be irrigated tonight. Also fixed the cottage bay tree hedge irrigation pipe which had sprung a major leak.

Karola wants a bit of a step, wooden, outside the person-door into the farm shed so I got an old 100mm x 100mm post and attached it. We shall monitor its effectiveness; without it the high lip on the metal door frame is easy to trip on.

Oak Avenue Weather:3℃—21℃ no rain [74.5]

SwimGym, both of us, and both cars, immediately followed by taking Karola’s Subaru station waggon to the garage for its WOF (warrant of fitness).

I put most of the paints and oils and other liquids into their new homes in the farm shed and checked to ensure I wasn’t about to buy something we already had – there are a slightly disturbing number of repeat purchases now on display. Then I trundled off into town for Monday & Tuesday  food (Salmon as main protein on a Monday, this Tuesday it’s lamb chops) and to pick up the sharpened chainsaw chain, chisel, and two augers from the Saw Doctors. Also went to Mitre-10 to get two Prostrate Rosemary plants to replace the two of ten that perished, four more storage boxes for the farm shed, and some gloss paint for another try at getting the desired effect on the farm shed cupboard doors. A dark green, a red, a yellow, and a grey – and a litre of undercoat. The undercoat & grey is for the superstructure of the workbench and shelving – the bought timber is stained pink.

Paul the builder came in the morning and completed our project to make good the homestead back door surround, vermin proof and much less of an eyesore.

That was the morning gone so after lunch we went back to pick up Karola’s car and she carried on into Napier and environs for the afternoon. Meanwhile, after a long nap, I woke to find that the promised rain had started. I hastily donned raincoat and went out and planted the two Prostrate Rosemary and then put up electric fence in an ‘L’ shape in the Middle paddock so that the sheep could get under the trees and in the Totara paddock but a large rectangle of the Middle paddock was barred to them. That way the antique car enthusiasts can park without fear of recent manure soiling their tyres and shoes.

Put the first coat of gloss paint on the two pairs of cupboard doors and the peg board. Needs two coats, and at least four hours between coats, so next coat will be tomorrow.

After dinner Karola helped me re-assemble the anti-swallow pronged barrier above the cottage kitchen verandah french doors, this time with the prongs facing upwards. I’d have preferred not to do that as it requires making holes in the metal sheet flashing above the doors, but they are set back so far from the weather that it hardly seems relevant..

Anti-Swallow Barrier In Proper Orientation

Mr & Mrs Swallow Very Annoyed

Paul’s Improvements Today

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—20℃ 4.9mm rain [73.5]

A lovely day, cool start. Using the extending ladder I, long overdue, removed what I could see of the vegetation growing out of the gutters on the house garage and the cottage. As the ladder is obviously for outside use I made it a new home in the farm shed hanging it horizontally on two hooks I bought a long time ago for the purpose. The gutter-guard comprising strong plastic mesh glued and screwed to the gutters does keep out the leaves but is a real pain because stuff then grows in the gutters and you can not get at it to remove it. At best you can lop off the tops. If I poison the plants then that’ll go into our rainwater tanks or stay in the gutter to make more fertile breeding ground for more weeds.

Sanded and painted the two pairs of cupboard doors using Resene “test pots”, one pair red, the other green. Not happy with the result so will try again and I think it needs to be gloss whereas the test pots are semi-gloss at best. Translating from the Resene colour chart squares is proving very difficult. Also brought all the things to do with paint and all the oils and fuel containers, and all the weed killers and other gardening poisons into the farm shed this evening. The shed is starting to look as if it’s a farm shed at last.

The organisers of next weeks event visited just to check on the logistics. The event will be pretty much a drive-through quick look as part of a much longer trip for about 60 cars and their proud owner-operators. Karola decided to have them park in the Middle paddock rather than on the house lawn which is long grass reserved for her sheep. Henare came round early afternoon and continued mowing so that the circle and pathways around the front of the house are mown for the antique car event. The newish self-propelling Honda mower is still with Honda Hawkes Bay for repairs. Karola’s Vectra has intermittent frighteningly loud surges of power so Henare tried it for a while but then decided it would damage itself if he continued. I cleaned spark plug & air filter of Karola’s old English self-propelling Honda roller mower and got it to start. Unfortunately the grass was just too long and thick for it, so Henare went home and got his own mower and finished the job. Henare bought his mower for $100, the Vectra cost less than $1000, and the two Honda mowers were expensive, probably around $2500 each. I never learn.

Having just deconstructed the ugly wires across the tops of the cottage kitchen verandah doors and windows, today I put up the ultimate in perching bird deterrent, springy stainless steel wires. Karola thinks they are the worst looking attempt yet.

Defn: PVR means “Plant Variety Rights”, basically a New Zealand patent on a specific variety of plant – like all the modern apple varieties, Eve, Jazz, and so on, like the golden kiwifruit, and like many ornamental cultivars of garden plants, including the Manuka variety Leptospermum scoparium “Electric Red”.

Latest Attempt To Ward Off The Welcome Swallows

Oops

Painting Farm Shed Cupboard Doors – Red For Vets & Green For Garden Poisons

No Sign Of My Runner Beans Yet

Neither “Red Damask” nor “Burgundy Queen” – Perhaps It Is The PVR “Electric Red”

New automatic possum trap from GoodNature seems to work. Good for the birdlife, for sure

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—25℃ no rain [73.8]

Long overdue for a haircut so Karola booked me one at her latest salon in Taradale – unprepossessing stylist Heather but she seems to know her stuff so it wasn’t entirely a bad idea.

Then I went out to Hastings for some more paint test pots – red (Pursuit), green (Tree Frog), and a different, stronger yellow (Turbo) because the one I tried yesterday (Wild Thing) seemed a tad too green and acidic. Also got a few more bits of food and the papers, of course. I always use the self-checkout now at New World and am hooked.

Over-painted the peg board with the new yellow and, after dinner, put the peg board up. There actually is a difference although it doesn’t really show in the photos below. Much of the afternoon spent on preparing the two old wooden cupboards (that used to be in the cottage garage as a vet cupboard and as Karola’s tool cupboard) for painting and installation in the farm shed. I have the fittings removed and have sanded two of the four doors.

Late afternoon I moved the map cabinet, lovingly painted and varnished by painter Jeff Rencontre, into the farm shed. With Karola’s help I up-ended it and put on four stick-on slider buttons. Up-righted it slid quietly under the lower shelf near the back of the shed.

Before dinner I dug the five holes for the new colourful Manuka shrubs; after dinner I planted them. Leptospermum scoparium varieties “Blossom” and “Burgundy Queen”.

The Short Drift Of Colourful Manuka

Peg Board Yellow (Wild Thing) – The First Attempt

Peg Board Yellow (Turbo) – A Richer Hue

The Magnificent Map Cabinet

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—21℃ no rain [74.5]

SwimGym for me.

Then, after breakfast, it was time for the quarterly diabetics checkup with first the Practice Nurse and then the GP, Richard Jamieson. All’s well there. Then Friday shopping including 50 plastic A4 copy jackets and 500 wire crimps for Karola. The jackets for saving her news clippings in and the crimps for her numerous tree guards. I also order a couple of 50 metre rolls of 1.83m tall shade netting for her online and that’ll be here in a couple of days.  On impulse I visited the Resene Colourshop in Hastings and got three of their little “test pots”, one for ¼-pearl lustre, one for ½ pearl lustre, and one for a yellow called Wild Thing. I had this notion of painting a plank in the two versions of pearl lustre, the better to match our alterations to the homestead with the existing colour, a faded pearl lustre applied in the 1990s. The yellow is for the peg-board in the farm garage.

I returned the two 18V Makita battery clones to the TradeMe vendor in Auckland. We’ll see if the replacements behave differently – I would be surprised.

Rang Te Horo Ornamentals in Otaki, following a tipoff from the counter of The Garden Depot in Pakowhai road yesterday. Yes they are indeed wholesalers for the “Electric Red” variety of Leptospermum Scoparium (Manuka), yes they have sold out. No, there will not be any available from other growers because this nursery owns the patent (PVR – plant variety right) on “Electric Red”. No wonder I was quoted $30 a plant. Later on I decided I wouldn’t wait and pay the high price but get something close to what I wanted, so I went back to The Garden Depot and bought three Manuka “Burgundy Queen” and two Manuka “Blossom” – both have double flowers but have a good colour contrast, one deep red, one mostly white, both with black centres.

Paul the builder arrived mid morning and replaced the internal match-lining, where the house used to connect to the cottage, with weatherboard (see below). He has to make up a corner post to complete the proper external appearance of the no-external piece of wall. He’ll also replace the angle-cut boards above the door next week.

Caught another possum – our third in the new trap.

Painted the peg-board “Wild Thing” yellow – maybe a bit too much green in it. Moved the contents of the cottage garage vet cupboard, Karola’s tool cupboard, the sheep-stuff cupboard, and Karola’s gardening stuff cupboard to the farm shed where it needs sorting into current useful stuff, rubbish, and things in-between.

Another Good Possum

Paul’s Weatherboard Fix Up

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—19℃ 1.5mm rain [73.8]

Pottered about all day it seems. And that included going to Mitre-10 and buying another ten plastic coloured storage boxes for the farm shed plus one more zinc bracket for the bottom shelf, a bottle of cloudy ammonia cleaner, and a small peg-board panel with some hooks. I dropped off a chainsaw chain, a chisel, and two wood augers to be sharpened at HB Saw Doctors.

Our new automated possum trap from GoodNature in Wellington has trapped two possums. The first one we never saw, but the counter registered a hit. The second one, last night, has incremented the counter and left a dead possum (see below).

One of the plates holding the chainsaw bar in place has broken and I took it to the chainsaw shop in Miller Street. In the past they have been able to fix it when broken, but not today. They are fully occupied for two weeks and think it unlikely they can get a replacement part even if I did leave the saw with them, so I took it back home. The apprentice who served me agrees that I can probably just put the plate into position and tighten the housing and it’ll work just fine. A new chainsaw similar to the one I have would cost over $900.

While out I called Greenleaf Nurseries to enquire about Electric Red manuka trees. Dan said that the supplier, despite confirming availability last week, now says they don’t have any. That cultivar, a relatively recent one, has sold like hot cakes this year. Later I called in at The Garden Depot on Pakowhai road but, while they had a great display of flowering Damask Queen manuka, they didn’t have any Electric Red. The Damask Queen has a double flower while Electric Red has only one ring of petals.

The cloudy ammonia is for attempting to scare off the Welcome swallows perching above the windows of the cottage kitchen verandah. I’ve taken down the wires that were intended to discourage them and scraped off all the guano but that still leaves a very visible mark. The ammonia has a pungent smell and I wondered if, as well as softening up the remaining guano, it might frighten off the swallows. I checked after dark and that did not work so I will have to deploy the spiky wire strips, as expected.

Paul the builder called me and said he would come tomorrow to put up the spare weatherboard, left over from the farm shed, onto the section of house wall that used to be the go-between to the cottage. He expected to drop in later today just to check he had everything he would need on Friday. He came while I was out and spoke to Karola and they agreed he’d do the fixing up of the outside wall where it was likely to be permanent, to the right of the back door, but not worry about the wall immediately next to the back door because that will all change when Karola gets on with her renovations anyway.

Karola has two old Adirondack wooden folding chairs which she recently retrieved from the archives. Eight nuts are crucial to holding the chair components together and these have all become very loose so I anointed them with lock-nut liquid and tightened them up. They now provide superior, if uncomfortable, seating on the cottage kitchen verandah. Karola likes the fact that they have arms which will hold a coffee cup, and they’re Maine “traditional” design.

Henare dropped in and spent a couple of hours mowing the long grass inside the circle round the Ginkgo in front of the house. First we set him up with the newish self-propelling Honda mower. That broke down. Then we tried the very old but similar self-propelling Honda mower. It would not start. Finally we tried Karola’s Vectra mower and that did work.

Late afternoon I got a bit more done in the farm shed. The shelves along the eastern wall are complete and I am well onto hanging the peg-board in a little frame to the right of the rear windows.

A Good Possum (is a Dead Possum)

Oak Avenue Weather:6℃—22℃ no rain [74.5]

SwimGym

Karola has a favourite lemon tree, a Lisbon lemon, not the common Meyer lemon. It is fruiting abundantly and several branches have broken under the weight of the fruit. Karola wants the protection round it – currently five panels from Karola’s portable yards – to six panels to enclose all the branches. I took the Landrover and big trailer and picked up all the pieces of the portable yards, adding a sixth panel to the lemon tree surround. Karola is mulling where to store the rest of the yards.

Later Karola went shopping while Bramble and I got on with the farm shed shelving. We took Karola’s advice and used some of the many pieces of kit-set shelving brackets for the top two shelves so only the first shelf, 400mm wide, is built to the initial plan. Getting close to finishing by the end of the day despite an alarming number of mis-calculations and mis-cuts. Looking forward to moving the vet cupboard and Karola’s tool cupboard from the cottage garage to the farm shed in next day or so.

Hope the pigeons, finches, and mynahs leave some seed in the One Acre – they are industriously harvesting the grass seed as we watch.

Henare came after work and I sent another email on his behalf to ACC – The Accident Compensation Corproation. Henare needs the reports on earlier mishaps so that his doctor can prepare a case for Henare getting a hip replacement.

Oak Avenue Weather:6℃—23℃ 2.3mm rain [73.9]

Karola’s nine Rangiora arrived today, as did my two pairs of batteries for the 12v and 18v Matika tools. The 12V ones work well but the 18V ones work erratically and I wonder if they are too powerful for the tools. I will investigate. I got the Makita compatible batteries from TradeMe but they seem to be from exactly the same Chinese manufacturer as the ones on offer at Alibaba Express.

Whipped down to Mitre-10 to get some steel brackets to hold up the 400mm-wide shelf running along the east side of the farm shed. Also returned some extra packets of screws where I’d over-equipped myself. Also got ten little sturdy coloured trays that will be useful for segregating small loose stuff in the farm shed. Ended up with Mitre-10 paying me $10.

On the way home I called in at Tony’s Tyre Service – no, they don’t fix tractor tyre punctures, even small ones. I also called in at Power farming and Aaron suggested i try Bay Tyres in Wilson road. They were busy but suggested I call back mid afternoon. I did and they diagnosed the slow puncture as beading leak. They tried to fix it but without success so now I have one small front tyre with an inner tube, and no slow puncture.

Karola cleaned the set of drawers we brought down from the big shed yesterday and decided it’d be best suited to being in the summer house – so there it now is.

After lunch I continued with the farm shed shelving, completing the first, bottom shelf.

Farm Shed Workbench and Bottom Shelf Completed

Karola’s Two Five-Finger Saplings Waiting To Be Planted

Karola’s Two Calla Lillies Waiting To Be Planted In The Octagon

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—19℃ no rain [74.4]