Monthly Archives: December 2017

It was hot and so we spent most of the day in the cool and a few hours listening to some of Anthony Price’s penultimate David Audrey novel, A Prospect of vengeance.

Late afternoon, and until way into the night, I researched our solar generation and export since we got it in April 2015. This was fuelled by nagging doubts that the “electric car charging from solar overnight, using batteries” story made sense. Slouched off to bed at 2:30am.

The Finished Hay Shed

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Oak Avenue Weather:14℃—26℃ no rain [73.8]

I had a long lie-in this morning after breakfast at the usual time around 7:00am. Karola went into town briefly – not much going on there.

Karola helped with the final touches to the hay shed in the afternoon and evening. East-facing tarpaulin now in place, east-facing farm gate hung. Feels like we should get more hay now, the 22 bales look lonesome.

Turned on the drip irrigation for the bay trees and special manuka, the five swamp cypress, and the runner beans. It may have rained – intermittent showers – but the ground is dry and getting dryer. I gave my sick Swamp Cypress a strong does of seaweed fertiliser and put a bucket of water on a couple of Karola’s “Five Finger” trees that look pretty dead.

Took Bangle round the orchard.

Oak Avenue Weather:9℃—23℃ no rain [73.8]

SwimGym with Karola

Karola did the weekend shopping so I carried on with the hay shed.

Took Bangle round the paddocks and the orchard – lots of wild life about. Today I’ve seen maybe the sixth clutch of tiny quail chicks darting hither and yon in the cottage garden or on the driveway. While walking with Bangle we almost trod on a female pheasant and her chicks – keeping very still. The Welcome Swallow family keep us amused by the four chicks perching on our plastic outdoors chairs and clamouring for mum and dad to feed them first. The youngsters fly quite well but hang around for the food. We believe there’s a nest off mynahs under the solar panels on the cottage kitchen verandah roof, but no sign of fledgelings yet. Still lots of pukeko old and young all over the paddocks and quite close to the cottage too – sometimes coming into the garden and often walking along the driveway just outside. A few rabbits chasing each other round. And my new Manuka saplings are all doing well at present, all 28 of them. One of the Swamp Cypress five is looking very sorry for itself – gone very yellow instead of vivid green like its siblings.

Karola helped with the hay shed today. We put old roofing iron on the north side, matching the south that I did yesterday. We also put up the tarpaulins on the west side and we put up the chain netting gate as well. That leaves the east side to do – tarpaulin and gate – and a few catches and hooks.

Last Of Karola’s Grapefruit, First Of My Runner Beans

Pheasant Mum And Chicks

Buggered Off And Left Me Behind, They Did

Oak Avenue Weather:9℃—19℃ 0.5mm rain [74.5]

While Wellington has had rain every day since we left, we have only had a few brief showers, although we are sharing the winds and the drop in temperature from the southerly.

I started the day by putting up the plywood lining on the south side of the hay shed.

Karola went shopping after breakfast and when she returned I went out with Bangle in the Landrover to Mitre-10 in Hastings. We bought another 3.0m x 2.4m heavy duty dark green tarpaulin and some lengths of 2×1 pine – all part of the hay shed rebuild.

Much time wasted in the middle of the day going to and from Mitre-10 in Hastings, and one trip to Mitre-10 in Napier. The second tarpaulins turned out to be someone else’s return; I suspected that when I saw the packaging had been resealed and upon inspection found an eyelet was missing. So I took it back and swapped it for an undamaged one. I was also looking for screw-eyes and carabiners for attaching the tarpaulins to the shed when unfolded. The Mitre-10 carabiners were very expensive, I found them for half the price at Fast-Trade in Omahu road – used to be Bull&Hodgins. On the other hand the eyelet screws were very cheap at Mitre-10, pity that the Hastings store only had three. Hence the trip to Napier where they had 73, according to their computer system. I got the sixteen I wanted.

I took Bangle round the orchard; she seemed very much to want to resume her almost-daily walks round the orchard after the enforced stillness of the long car trips and being crated overnight at Annemarie More’s in Silverstream.

Late afternoon I put sheets of old corrugated iron, originally on the roof of the cottage, on the south exterior of the hay shed. Tricky work by yourself and with fiercely gusting winds and cold hands.

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—17℃ 0.1mm rain [74.1]

SwimGym

Mid-week shopping

Later I went back into town, in the Landrover to Mitre-10 in Hastings. I took back an unused sheet of roofing iron and bought a 3.0m x 2.4m heavy duty dark green tarpaulin. I planned to use tarpaulins to protect the sides of the hay shed in times of really bad weather, but most of the time the sides will be open, protected from sheep by a chain-netting gate either side.

We got a strange Christmas card in the mail, from Emma Sutherland, an English woman with three children and a husband, Martin, now ex-husband who we met in Connecticut in late 1990s. Karola and Emma got on well, Karola babysat for Emma’s children, George, Florence, and Findlay. The letter was strange because, although it was addressed correctly, it had no stamp, wasn’t franked, and was unsealed. The envelope and the card inside, including the personal message from Emma, were identical to one we’d received with a stamp only a couple of days before. I’ve contacted Emma and we wait to see how this happened. We don’t think she’s secretly living at the bottom of our garden.

Janet Scott called round for a chat.

I continued work on the hay shed, framing up the south wall for its plywood lining. It proved waterproof while we were way, there were some showers.

Karola took Bangle round the orchard after dinner.

Late evening I got a call from Phyll Kingdom-Hockings. Friends from my days in Winchester at IBM, Mike was an engineer then. They now live in France near-ish to Paris, and have been in a house they own since late 1990s. In 2004 they became official French residents – which I guess is a sort of citizenship. It was just a social call and we swapped family progress, dog talk and the like.

Not Two But Three Welcome Swallow Chicks

Make That Four – And They Can Fly Too (Parents Off Getting More Grub)

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—18℃ 0.3mm rain [74.6]

A busy day today. We packed up and left Annemarie in Silverstream around 9:30am and set off for the Rashbrooke’s senior in York Bay. There, as arranged and after morning tea, Karola went off with Geoff to try out their new all-electric car, a Renault Zoe. Karola drove over to Wainuiomata and back. Max and Madeline were staying with their parents for Christmas and they made a fuss of Bangle who thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next it was a lunch for the Rashbrooke’s senior, Gill & Ben, and Annette Offenberger (Peter’s sister), at the Pavillion in Days Bay. All very pleasant, Then we set off for Hastings via the Wairarapa again. Lower Hutt, usually a good choice of route to get over to the western Hutt expressway, was very congested. Apparently the Boxing Day sales were very enticing this year and there were lots of families getting over their excesses of Christmas Day with a little retail therapy.

We got home well before dark and were surprised to see Henare’s red car parked outside the homestead. It turned out he expected us a day later and was just checking the sheep.

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—23℃ 15.8mm rain [?]

Annemarie, Karola, Bangle and I set off for Bridget’s place in Khandallah, arriving as requested about 10:00am. We went straight into present giving, a small mountain of presents under the tree. Then we had a hearty snack for brunch before settling down to await the grand meal. Late morning our time, and Christmas Eve for Anna’s family, we had a video chat (FaceTime) with our Ealing branch, Anna, Felix, Barney, Dave, and a visiting black woolly poodle. In the afternoon there was another video chat with Chris’s brother Greg and his family in Melbourne.

Among my presents was a photocopy of the Otago maths problems for 2017 – 20 questions that was the final in a New Zealand wide quiz to find the smartest mathematics schoolchild. Natalie gave me the photocopy; she knows I like that sort of thing. And Natalie got a prize for being top of the heat run at her school, Marsden College.

Bridget produced a mammoth feast late afternoon piles of beef and lamb and vegetables, extra dishes provided by Annemarie, and then pavlova and other dessert delights.

In the evening we watched a film on their 50” screen, “Interstellar”. Very loud, lots of science about time and time travel. I preferred “Ender’s Game”. And I preferred “Arrival” to either of those. And “Blade Runner 2049” better than all those others.

When we got back to Silverstream for another night with Annemarie some neighbours set off fireworks which upset Bangle, but thankfully it all died down after an hour or so.

Oak Avenue Weather:13℃—26℃ 0.6mm rain [?]

We packed up and set off for Wellington at 1:00pm, aiming to be in Silverstream with Annemarie before 5:00pm.

I had underestimated the travel time but also not taken into account how far Silverstreasm is out of Wellington central. But, despite having a 20 minute break at Anzac Park (just north of Norsewood) for afternoon tea picnic and Bangle to stretch her little legs, Mrs Google assured bus we would arrive at 4:53pm, which we did.

Annemarie had booked a table for us at the Silver Spoon and we had another very nice meal there before collapsing to sleep – Bangle in her crate in the laundry.

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

Karola finished her latest tree guards, rushing to get it done before packing for Wellington tomorrow. She also drove over to Kirsten’s orchard and bought cherries. As luck would have it Brian Cope, who promised us some of his cherries a week or so ago, turned up with four kids in tow and with two punnets of cherries for us. And Karola returned just as he was about to leave, walk back to his place next door. So we have ample Christmas cherries.

Also during the day Karola helped me put the corrugated iron roof on the hay shed. In the evening I constructed the north wall of the hay shed – the inner wall of plywood on a frame of 4×1 boards (100mmx25mm). This took rather longer than I anticipated, well past dark, so I set up our halogen work lamps and the generator and toiled away until well after midnight. Just before 1:00am I stacked the 22 pea straw bales off the big trailer into the now waterproof hay shed. Had a shower and collapsed into bed, leaving the clean-up until tomorrow.

Oak Avenue Weather:15℃—20℃ no rain [?]

SwimGym

Then, with Bangle and driven by Karola, the weekend shopping etc. I think it was today that, while retrieving a freshly cut homestead back door key that didn’t quite work from Gxxx Security, I noticed a sign on the footpath “Kimberley is here”. It was the mislaid hairdresser that Karola likes – and she works from a different salon called Ambience Hair Studio in Market Street, near the Hastings BNZ. Kimberley takes bookings on her mobile number 021-255-6810.

Continued with the hay shed for the rest of the day. A lot of two-steps-forward, one-step-back stuff. The roofing iron we wanted to use would just fit, just, if there were no overlapping of sheets, but of course that is impractical and so, just as Mitre-10 were closing, I dashed in and got a shiny new 3.6m sheet.

Five sheets were replaced on the homestead garage after a big branch fell on the end of it a few months ago. Four of the sheets were only slightly crumpled but the fifth sheet had a large hole gouged out of the middle. It looked like I could salvage about half the sheet, length-wise as the gouge in the middle was only on one side. But by mocking up the finished roof it was clear this wasn’t enough. Another way to salvage some of the sheet – which is painted and matches the other sheets – is to cut off a bit from the top and bottom. These combined with the new sheet will give us a full width fifth stripe of roofing, sufficient to make the roof while. And from the ground only the salvaged top and bottom of the composite sheet will be visible. We’ll try to do that tomorrow.

After dinner Karola helped begin laying wire netting over the hay shed roof, in preparation for adding a moisture membrane under the roofing iron.

I took Bangle round the orchard at lunchtime.

Karola continued her endless tree guard maintenance and I banged in a few standards to help.

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—19℃ no rain [73.8]

In the morning we picked up Karola’s car after its insurance-job repair of the front bumper – mostly a re-spray. Then on to Taste for lunch after which Karola had a hair appointment and I did some shopping for stuff for the hay shed rebuild and went home. I remembered on the way home that I’d left the house back-door key to be duplicated at Goddards so called in there and picked the them up – the master and two duplicates. One of the new ones works, the other doesn’t – the lock is rather temperamental, they know this and will not be surprised when I call in tomorrow to get the bad key adjusted.

Got the rafters on the hay shed and half the purlins. Bought coach bolts to tie down the rafters but unfortunately they were thinner than expected and so I had to go back and exchange them for fatter ones. All well in the end.

Hay Shed – Rafters Ready To Be Rebated and Fastened

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—23℃ no rain [73.8]

SwimGym

Then a little shopping including some wire netting. Karola has suggested that the roof of her hay shed should be lined with “tar paper”. Well these days a strong black plastic sheet is used, but it is still laid over a skin of wire netting for support, directly under the roofing iron. We have some of that plastic membrane left over from building the farm shed so, now I have the wire netting, will use that in the hay shed. It may channel condensation out of the building I guess.

Rest of the day spent on the hay shed. Following meaningful dialogue with the future user of the hay shed I have changed the roof line to provide headroom – raised the roof by about a foot or 300mm.

Karola took Bangle round the orchard.

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—22℃ no rain [74.5]

Economics coursework in the morning, hay shed rebuild in the afternoon, film with Peter & Charlotte Offenberger in the early evening.

Took Bangle round the orchard before it got too hot.

Having removed the iron yesterday, today I took off the rafters and purlins. Karola then helped saw the very heavy 8×1 and 6×1 4.8m planks to size. We balanced some of them in place to get the idea of how high the storage space will be. I measured the height of the six main pole supports and found that the two eastern end ones were about an inch taller than their partners to the west, so I chainsawed them to the same height as their two adjacent neighbours.

We went to Events cinema in Joll road in Havelock North for the 4:30pm showing of a new New Zealand film, Human Traces. The wild scenery was spectacular, the plot did twist and turn most satisfyingly, but the film really did not take advantage of the opportunity to say anything about conservation and why ridding an isolated of introduced pests might be a good idea.

Hay Shed: Old Roof Off, Beginning On New Roof

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—25℃ 3.7mm rain [73.8]

SwimGym.

Then took Karola’s car in for insurance repair – mainly paint job but expensive and has been a long wait to get it done. Landrover as the back-up vehicle. We did the Monday shop and had a coffee in Mitre-10’s cafe, dropped in at Cornucopia to make sure I could get my special gluten-free bread over the Christmas and New Year periods. All good.

Meticulous Maids came and cleaned the cottage mid afternoon.

I bought a whole lot more wood for the hay shed. Karola has decided that the roof need major changes – it needs not to leak. In fact the hay must not get wet (and go mouldy) every year. So a new roof is now in-plan. As the big trailer is still laden with the pea straw I borrowed GoldPine’s trailer to fetch the wood.

Took Bangle round the orchard. Picked a small handful of raspberries from my runner bean patch.

After dinner took the existing old and very leaky corrugated iron sheets off the hay shed roof, ready to rebuild the entire roof structure and reuse spare long-run roofing iron – five sheets making a roof 4.1m x 3.6m.

Fresh From The Raspberry Canes Today

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—23℃ 6.8mm rain [73.6]

Decided I needed to start on the hay shed floor again so took all the planks to the homestead garage where, with Karola’s help, I cut them to length using our mitre saw. Having run out of landscaping screws I toddled off to Mitre-10 and got 3 boxes of 100 of exactly there right length.

Henare came after lunch and mowed the homestead lawn – the pieces that will not be grazed by the sheep. He brought strawberries and cream so we had a small afternoon special tea late afternoon.

I relaid the hay shed floor and screwed down all the boards. Karola has ideas how the roof could be waterproofed using the damaged (but not very) sheets of long-run roofing iron from when the homestead garage was winged by a large falling branch.

Took Bangle round the orchard.

The New Hay Shed Floor

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—23℃ no rain [73.3]

The priority this morning was to get to the seller of hay before his short Saturday window closed so I was there, with Bangle and big trailer, just before 9:00am. First I measured the dimensions of the old, leaky, damp hay shed up in the trees by the western fence of the Middle paddock, intending to work out how to give it a floor and make the roof more water-proof.

In preparation for this sallying forth I had grabbed Karola’s farm cheque book and also made up three six-metre ropes from some 10mm sisal-like synthetic cord I’ve had for years, sealing the ends with matches. I’ve been meaning to do this for ages.

A different old codger from the familiar usual one arrived on a bicycle just as I did and chatted pleasantly enough while he helped load up 20 bales of pea straw. By that I mean he went up a ladder and threw the bales down while I stacked them on the trailer.The bales were pretty light this year so he gave me an extra couple gratis. Pleasant enough chap, today’s old codger. He said the regular old codger, who is not as ancient as today’s codger but, I noted, much less agile, is visiting his relations.

Today’s codger shocked me when bemoaning the state of the world as one does, by asserting boldly that Zimbabwe was a mess because the niggers are dumb and always will be. I was speechless and embarrassed, but maybe that generation still harbour their racist convictions. What does one say in response, knowing that it won’t change him and will just sour our friendly conversation. I think I looked embarrassed, muttered “well, I don’t know” and generally lost the plot. Karola said she would have reminded him you were not allowed to say things like that any more.

The proprietor, Dave Nelson, arrived as I was tying down the bales, not an old codger but in his sixties I think – pleasant bloke. On the way home I realised that Karola’s cheque book had OLD inscribed on the cover, which led me to realise it was an old cheque book for the National Bank that had long since been merged with and consumed by ANZ bank. Ooops. I left Dave Nelson a voicemail of apology.

Dropped the big trailer outside the cottage and grabbed another trailer and rushed off to GoldPine to get wood for the hay shed make-over I’d promised myself to do so that Karola had the dry, convenient place to store her pea hay she’s asked about for many months. I was after three 6-metre 6×1 and 30 3½ metre 4×1 rough sawn planks, and some big, tough, self-tapping “landscaping” screws. Nice chap I’d dealt with several times before was helpful. I got three 6-metre 8×2 instead of 6×2 as these were more rot resistant and a tail-end lot going for a bargain. And he cut them in half for me. The 4×1 was only available in 4.8 metre lengths but I can use the scrap for making small gates and other things so that’s not a problem.

The load was too heavy for the small trailer I’d brought so I borrowed a GoldPine trailer, zipped home, unloaded, returned and dropped off their trailer while retrieving my own, and back to Karamu in time to bundle Bangle into the car and zoom off to the airport to pick up Karola. The plane landed just as I coasted into the pick-up area. It was good to see Karola again, and Bangle agreed.

After lunch Henare came, as planned, and we embarked on the hay shed project. Using the 8×2 planks as joists we laid the groundwork for the floor. Then, as it was getting late, we raised the high end of the sloping corrugated iron roof to overcome the warp in the rafters which formed a basin mid-roof that made the hay rather damp. Henare suggested we use the tractor to lift the roof off it’s supporting tall poles, which we did, and he added a block adding 4 inches to each pole along the high side. Henare wired these up so that tsunami and raging winds will have difficulty in blowing off the hay shed roof.

As Karola cooked a special homecoming steak meal I took Bangle round the orchard.

Big Trailer With 22 Bales Of Pea Hay – Note The New Ropes

Hay Shed – Almost Ready For The Floor Boards

Oak Avenue Weather:14℃—25℃ no rain [74.1]

SwimGym

Then weekend shopping

Then walk with Bangle round the orchard before it got too hot.

Mowed the grass in the cottage garden and curtilage.

Worked on the economics course in the afternoon. Early evening I spent 2½ hours putting up electric fence round the big oak and half the homestead lawn. I shall move the sheep off the One Acre and onto the lawn tomorrow.

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—22℃ no rain [74.0]

Rained intermittently throughout the night and today – but not very heavy. I worked indoors all day on my economics online course.

In a break in the showers I took Bangle round the orchard. In fact each time there was a break of an hour or so the ground quickly dried off so Bangle didn’t get wet in the grass. I picked and ate four fresh raspberries.

Late afternoon I took down the electric fence forming the long corridor along the west side of the Totara and Middle paddocks, so I can mow the strip and stop it shorting out the wires.

After that I dug up the few Iris in the Totara paddock and was surprised how the ground a few inches down was bone dry and rock hard.

The Coral Tree In Bloom

Almost Enough Firewood

Goose Bath

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—21℃ 2.0mm rain [73.4]

SwimGym

I nipped into town for the Monday food, dropping in at Mitre-10 on the way for more face masks – to protect against the dust and seeds when I’m mowing with the tractors. On the way home I dropped in at Farmlands for another bottle of Vigilant weedkiller and happened to notice piles of wooden pallets near the gate. It turned out that a couple of the piles were free to anyone who wanted them so I went home and returned with the Landrover and trailer and took away a few. Some had boards missing so I took enough to cannibalise a couple for missing boards.

Later I drove down to Caltex on Omahu road in the Landrover and bought 24 litres of diesel and a bag of apples for Bangle.

At lunchtime Bangle and I went round the orchard and the paddocks. The sheep were all present and correct, 30 in the One Acre, two in the Long Acre. Ate a couple of raspberries off my canes in the runner bean enclosure.

After lunch, my main meal of the day, it was quite warm so I spent the afternoon inside on computer under the cooling influence of my Dyson fan.

Around 4:00pm Hadyn from Bay Electricians arrived as planned and he determined that the Honeywell controller, not the relay in the switchboard, was faulty. He will look for a replacement and come and fit it in a few days time.

As the temperature dropped I ventured outside and, with the little tractor, re-mowed the path of the electric fence round the homestead lawn and the big oak. I do need to get the sheep back on the lawn soon as the grass has gone to seed and is drying out, becoming less and less palatable. I also mowed the verges of the 121 driveway and the lawn behind the homestead garage. Just as I was finishing it started to rain gently. It rained for about 15 minutes which was enough to create a few small puddles.

It rained again much later, but still not enough to do much lasting good.

Big Slow Drops Of Rain

Oak Avenue Weather:14℃—27℃ 6.1mm rain [73.1]

Bangle and I went round the perimeter of the homestead block turning off the three watering systems that had been on for 48 hours: the Bay hedge and special Manuka, the runner beans and raspberries, and the five Swamp Cypress. I also gave the ailing Swamp Cypress another dose of seaweed Seasol. I took a bottle of Vigilant with me and zapped about a dozen young Scotch thistles as we walked round.

It was rather warm so I spent the afternoon indoors. When it got a little cooler I disassembled the electric fences separating the five grazing cells in the Middle and Totara paddocks. We shall want to use them again early next year and the grass has grown thickly along the lines of the fences so needs to be mown again.

In the evening I mowed the Goose paddock again with the blades a little lower and it looks much better and has knocked back the Iris harder.

Took Bangle round the orchard as darkness fell.

Goose Enclosure With Geese

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—28℃ no rain [73.6]

SwimGym

Then a morning of watering: 3 x tubs containing parsley, 3 x Norfolk Island pines, 29 Manuka in the along the west boundary. The took about 2 hours or so, I also gave another shot of Seasol seaweed fertiliser to my ailing swamp cypress. Kill or cure I expect. The 29 Manuka each get a bucket of water. I take a couple of long garden hoses up to the orchard side of the hedge, join them and connect to taps at either end and in the middle of the 300m or so hedge. At full stretch from each tap in turn the hose makes a convenient filling point.

I took Bangle up again this time and she fossicked around in the undergrowth. I got fed up with taking the tractor and trailer around with the hoses and having to then fetch Bangle separately. She won’t follow the tractor reliably and anyway Karola gets most anxious after Brambles fatal accident. So I just stuck her under my feet on the running board of the tractor and she was a bit rattled but slowly calmed.

The sheep were all arrayed along the north fence of the One Acre, mostly in the shade and all in the slight cooling breeze with temperature in the shade over 30 degrees.

Janet Scott called in with a bag of fresh Tamarillos.

I took the scrap metal stacked on the big trailer to theHawks Bay Scrap Metal merchants and at last got rid of it. They gave me $12. Last time I only got $7.

Late afternoon I worked on the economics online course, made some headway. Then, as dusk descended I walked with Bangle round the orchard. When we got back to the cottage Henare was there filling bottles from our chlorine-free supply.

Kanuka In Bloom Along The South Boundary

Watering One Of Karola’s Norfolk Island Pines

Sensible Sheep Found Shade And Cooling Breeze

“Jaws” Makes Quick Work Of Unloading Scrap

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—32℃ no rain [73.4]

Ewes and lambs let back into the One Acre. They rushed in, delighted to be given access once more to their tasty plantain, lucerne, and red clover. They still have the corridor along the west end of the Middle and Totara paddocks for shade, water, and roughage.

At Karola’s suggestion I put a heavy stump in the middle of the track leading to the old rotten logs park – that should stop casual picnicking and fly tippers.

Heard rustling in the bay tree hedge and saw several tiny quail chicks rushing about. Later the proud parents paraded the entire squadron along the drive, 8 – 12 of them I’d say. Moved too fast for me to get a photo.

Karola and I accompanied Bangle round the orchard.

Late afternoon I drove Karola to the airport, had afternoon tea, then she boarded just after 5:00pm. Alex, Bridget, and Karola all sent messages saying that Karola arrived safely – at Wellington airport and then at Bridget’s place, 34A Izard road.

I turned on the irrigation for the Bay hedge & special Manuka, the Runner Bean & Raspberry enclosure, and the five Swamp Cypress. I expect to water them for two days.

I got grilled tarakihi for dinner on the way back from the airport, at Snapper Jacks in Napier.

Glimpse Of Quail Chicks

Twentyfour Pukeko In The Totara Paddock

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—29℃ no rain [73.1]

It’s been an exhausting day outside in 30ºC warmth.

I raced to finish the clearing away of logs from under a favoured fir tree – not the Wellingtonia which was the focus of the previous several weeks. The heavy logs were done yesterday leaving a couple of piles of stuff that I could lift, just. Had a mental block that Karola was returning at lunchtime but remembered in time it was 9:20am this week and after lunch next week. Anyway, I got what amounted to four heaped big trailer loads of stuff out from under the fir tree before I rushed to airport arriving at entrance at 19 mins past the hour. And had to wait – oh for ever – at least 20 seconds before Karola emerged from terminal – whew.

Henare came mid morning and with his cousin Tony, and later his nephew Rangatira (he of the nasty experience with bare legs and our nettles) took the wood off in the big trailer pulled by the Landrover. Henare did one load last night and three more with his mates this morning.

Henare returned with the unladen Landrover and trailer in time for the fish & chip lunch I’d got from Hawke’s Bay Fish Supply.

After lunch Henare took the two very heavy metal gate frames – too heavy for me and Karola to make use of – to his place in Flaxmere. He wanted to use them on the farm up at the Mahia.

Then we tackled the horrid job loading the scrap metal – much wire and netting’s – burned in the big bonfire of last month. I flattened the netting by driving over it with the old tractor – but the fine ask dust rose in clouds. When sifting through the ash for hidden bits of metal I actually wore a protector Japanese style because of it. Henare stacked the scrap on the trailer and tied it down – very satisfactory.

During this activity I happened to notice one of Karola’s sheep on its back foaming at the mouth, really foaming (too much information I hear you cry), which is not generally a good sign. It had been on its back for perhaps 24 hours. To my delight and surprise, after I summonsed Karola and Henare and poured cold water over it and got it to stay right-side-up for 20 mins, at Henare’s prodding it suddenly lurched to its feet. An hour later, after several long drinks, it was grazing as if all was normal. Was it sunstroke, was it bloat, was it simply cast on its back from over-eating – we shall never know.

Karola, with a little help from Henare, put up a tree guard round one of her Liriodendrons near the gate to the big shed in the orchard. Karola had moved all the sheep, including the cast one, #534, into the Middle paddock under the trees on the west side having first put the ram & wether back in the Goose paddock and shut innumerable gates – then she suddenly realised that the sheep were making a bee-line for her unprotected Liriodendron. Like a crayfish, the Liriodendron was moulting – exchanging a smaller tree guard for a larger one, and it was, for the moment, unprotected.

Henare left with Karola’s lawn mower so he could mow the lawn at home, delighting Denise, we hoped.

Karola noticed a dead branch hung up in the fir tree and so after dinner I used the little tractor to pull it down. Then I used the wonderful “kindling cracker – jumbo size” to split a small remaining pile of “rings” into firewood we could use.

As darkness fell Henare returned with Karola’s lawn mower, mission accomplished. He was just in time to split up the four large rings that were too big to fit in the kindling cracker so, using the headlights of the little tractor, we finished the job.

All Scrap Loaded Onto the Big Trailer

Bonfire Site Bereft Of Scrap

All Clear Under The Fir Tree

Removed Yesterday …

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—30℃ no rain [73.1]

SwimGym – Karola is in Wellington still.

After a hearty breakfast of the usual two boiled eggs and a single piece of toast I mucked about answering emails until mid morning then rushed off to get the weekend food. Also picked up a Wolf gardening fork, the one that would match a trowel, and some Roundup paste. I saw that in the UK a few years ago and now it’s available here too – very hand when attacking weeds that are closely involved with plants “in the right place”.

So it wasn’t until after lunch that I returned to the major project while Karola is away, the clearing of the wood under the fir tree next to the farm shed lean-to. it took a long time to stack the firewood we could use – not too long or knobbly – and throw the rest into the big trailer for Henare’s local relations. I did fill the big trailer well and also one of the Cyclone trailers and then moved all the large logs to the parking spot near karola’s bund. Just as I was finishing that Henare turned up – he’d been hard to get all day – and took the Landrover and big trailer off to one of his siblings.

Bangle and I walked – well I walked and she frolicked – round the orchard as usual and Henare returned with an empty trailer just as I got back to the cottage. I’ve arranged with Henare to come and get more loads of wood tomorrow as i attempt to clear under the fir tree before Karola gets back at lunchtime – forgetting that she will be back before 9:30am tomorrow morning. Oh well.

Another Apple Box Full Of Firewood

Full Load Of Wood For Henare

Absence Of Large Sections Of Trunk

Almost Clear Under East Side Of Fir Tree

Oak Avenue Weather:15℃—26℃ no rain [73.4]

A troubled night last night, including waking after 2:00am and realising that the homestead garage door was open – so I got up and went out and closed it. Didn’t need the key to do that, but then, after I’d closed it I found the office door was unlocked so had to go and fetch the key for that. Was so wide awake by then that I had a decaf coffee and piece of toast before returning to a restless, dream-laden night.

Began one of the tasks I hope to complete before Karola returns on Saturday afternoon – to move the logs and firewood from under the fir tree next to the farm shed – taking the logs to the same parking spot where the stump dump logs have gone. First I shooed the geese and the ram and wether into the Middle paddock so I could leave my pathway from fir tree to log park clear, the gates open.

Got a bit bored with that so thought I’d do some mowing with the tractor. It, the mower, was making a funny noise so I took the mower off the tractor, cleaned it a bit, and put it back on. Another hour slips by. First I mowed round the homestead lawn and big oak ready for electric fence erection in next week or so. Then I thought I might as well mow the 121 driveway verges, and then the Goose paddock – which took care of the morning.

Mail came quite late but included my magnets and the two plastic rectangular 2” x 1” caps for the rear arms of one of Karola’s Cyclone trailers.

I ordered the magnets from the usual place, Magnets NZ, I’ve ordered from them before in 2009 and 2014. An hour or so after I’d paid Karola squeals with delight, she’s found the three strong bar magnets I bought in 2009 clinging securely to a pot she hadn’t used for some time. They are really strong, but as nothing compared to the ones that arrived today. I bought three different sizes and they came in pairs, stuck to each other. I had real difficulty separating them. But the wind won’t blow my stuff off the fridge ever again.

The Cyclone trailer Karola was given by the Henderys has two short arms that stick out horizontally at the back. The tail gate rests on these box-section arms, extending the tray, flat and level. But these two arms look menacing, ending in unyielding open box sections, waiting to take a chunk out of one’s leg. The rectangular caps should reduce the hazard.

Found that my belt was too big so punched an extra hole in it. Karola thinks I’m just doing that to show off.

Bangle & I went round the orchard.

Neodymium Countersunk Rings – Six For $90 – Very, Very Strong Magnets

Beginning The New Pile Of Logs – This Time From The Fir Tree Near The Farm Shed

Oak Avenue Weather:13℃—23℃ no rain [73.8]

SwimGym with Karola.

Later a quick trundle to the shops, took just under an hour. Did the mid-week food and picked up the sharpened auger-bits and at Mitre-10 got Karola more yellow builder’s string, she uses it to fasten the windbreak cloth to the wire of her tree guards. Also got some Seasol seaweed fertiliser for the yellowing Swamp Cypress and some lawn grass seed for hot and dry conditions.

Took Bangle round the orchard and then Karola & I clipped her long toenails. It’s not the cost – a few dollars by one of the vet nurses – but the organising a visit and getting to and from. So I clipped them with the sheep foot clippers after spraying them with anti-biotic.

Then took Karola to the airport for her 1:00pm flight – we had a coffee and a cake while waiting.

More work on my economics course until late afternoon, then mowed the cottage and curtilage lawn, by which time dusk was falling.

Karola TXTed – Marsden prize-giving was at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington’s CBD, and Natalie got a prize.

Summer Lawn – All Stalks & Seed Heads

Lawn Trimmed For Another Fortnight

Oak Avenue Weather:16℃—26℃ no rain [73.4]

James Russell arrived around 9:00am and before that Karola got her 14 lambs in the yards ready for inspection. One or two of the lambs were in prime condition,the others hovered between ‘prime’ and ‘store’, except for the two late lambs of ewe #218 which were really under-size. Still, at $100 each for the 12 and $50 each for the two small ones it wasn’t a bad deal.

I then went out in the rapidly heating morning sun and emptied the big trailer and tractored four more loads of old wood from the stump dump to the parking spot near the bund. I also cleared a strip from the parking spot along to the homestead garage, making somewhere to put the logs under the fir tree near the farm shed – including the trunk and branches of the Liquid Amber we had cut down a few years ago.

I took the big trailer, A613F, to the VTNZ testing station and renewed its WOF. On the way back I picked up 25 litres of diesel.

In the afternoon we rested except for banging in some standards for another changed tree guard, this time for a Liriodendron due west of the cottage, where the old sheep yards used to be.

We went into Napier in very good time for Karola’s 6:15pm appointment with her cardiologist, Miles Williams. Afterwards we went to Kilim, a Turkish restaurant chain, for dinner. Arriving home just before dark I fed Bangle and then trotted her round the orchard.

Fourteen Ram Lambs Off With “Jimmy Rural”

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—28℃ no rain [73.5]

SwimGym

Karola drove me in to do the Monday shopping and also to drop off my electric drill augers at The Saw Doctors to see if they could sharpen them, in particular the long auger used for putting gate gudgeons right through 170mm diameter strainer posts. I also got a duplicate of Bangle’s crate, for Bracket.

I took Bangle round the orchard.

Spent the morning in the shrubbery, inside the wooden wall and up to the ha-ha, cutting and poisoning Scotch Thistles – 105 of them today and many of them in flower. Only saw six that had escaped into seeding.

Meticulous Maids came and cleaned the cottage.

I got in a few more hours on the CORE economics course, The Economy.

Also filled the big trailer with more old rotten wood to take from the stump dump.

Now Bracket (Arriving in January) Has A Crate Just Like Bangle’s

Typical Of The Thistles I Attacked This Morning

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

Somewhat shattered from the endeavours of yesterday, it was a relief that Henare wasn’t coming today.

Apart from walking round the orchard and environs with Bangle nothing much happened this morning. Karola put the ram lambs, ram and wether in the yards and I shed the ram and wether and put them in the Goose paddock, with the geese.

Karl & Wendy came an hour earlier than expected but the ram lambs were ready and waiting. Karola rushed over when we spotted the shearing van and chatted with Wendy. Apparently K&W had a frustrating morning with sheep not penned up or straying so ours were a well organised delight. Karol did an excellent job and the lambs do indeed look a lot more presentable for when Jimmy Rural comes on Tuesday to buy them.

It was very warm in the afternoon so we stayed inside and read and wrote. Late afternoon Karola & I had a bash at hanging the gate between the Long Acre and the Holding paddock. I made several mis-starts but gradually the tricks to getting it right came back. Henare turned up at a convenient break point so we retired for afternoon coffee and Henare chatted with Karola while I fielded my usual Sunday phone call with Harry.

After dinner I went back and hung the gate. This time it all went smoothly and so I finished before dark.

Oak Avenue Weather:11℃—27℃ no rain [73.5]

The days work was almost exclusively moving the old wood from the stump dump to the new parking place under the main canopy of oaks by Karola’s “bund”. I moved wood and Karola did a lot of raking and disposing of debris.

I also, around lunch time, unloaded the fir tree mulch from one of karola’s Cyclone trailers, putting it round the sunken bath used by the geese.

Bruce Richardson rang to say Karl would be round to crutch Karola’s ram lambs tomorrow – so they look tidy for the on-farm sale to “Jimmy Rural” (James Russell) on Tuesday.

Henare called in to say he was driving Ira up to Wairoa tomorrow so wouldn’t be able to help us this weekend.

After dinner we walked with Bangle round the orchard and paddocks – still searching for my missing first pair of Bunnings work gloves.

Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia or Sellingtonia) Freed Of Old Logs Round Its Base

The New Parking Spot For The Old Logs

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—25℃ no rain [73.8]

SwimGym with Karola.

Karola drove me into town for the weekend shopping – no lunch at Taste this week, it’s too tempting.

Managed to get some work done on my economics course in the heat of the day.

Late afternoon I continued with moving wood from the stump dump. Had to jump-start the old tractor again. I think it’s the generator that isn’t working, Karola has a default response – it’s the battery. She may be right. I mislaid my second pair of the nice gloves I got from Bunnings Warehouse. It was getting dark when I realised I’d not got them so maybe we’ll find them today.

Karola, despite being somewhat worn out by her weeding round the bay tree hedge yesterday, continued today and finished. Her raspberries are doing their usual thing of spreading vigorously in all directions and are also covered in the beginnings of this season’s crop. The hedge still looks a little bedraggled as my interplanting of the bay trees with lavender, Escallonia (Apple Blossom) and Osmanthus fragrans add ground cover.

Karola Weeds The Bay Tree Hedge

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—23℃ no rain [73.6]