Monthly Archives: July 2021

Thick Mists Close In

Well, a cool night but not freezing and in fact what confronted us upon opening the back door was pervasive mist saturating the kitchen verandah and other covered but outside spaces. It wasn’t so much thick as being everywhere. Tonight as we toddled round the orchard with Bangle the mist descended once more.

Much of the day spent on emails and catching up with online information.

I did spend too much time and energy on attempting to shut down a constant dripping of emails to Karola from Facebook when, as my friend Geoff Robinson remarked, best just to ignore them and get on with life – it’s nothing personal, it’s just what they do and the less they’re aware you actually take notice the better for you.

Oak Avenue Weather:6℃—13℃ 0.2mm rain [76.070] TdT TdO eggs=2

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New Zealand – Brilliant Bolt-Hole

Felt very cold overnight and until mid-day.

Hair appointments in the morning.

Mark not coming today.

Debbie came for couple of hours in the afternoon – we all walked / cycled down on the stop bank then Karola and Debbie picked us some lemons.

Anna’s Dave sent me a link to a Guardian article, copied below, which suggests that New Zealand is one of the best bolt holes within which to survive global catastrophes. Yes, I can understand New Zealand, Iceland, Tasmania but am unconvinced about Ireland or the UK. Is this the best justification for BREXIT perhaps?

Thanks to Dave for sending me the Guardian link. I noticed related article in our local Hawkes Bay Today paper this morning, attached below.

PS: Maybe Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Antifragile book has a point.

New Zealand rated best place to survive global societal collapse

Study citing ‘perilous state’ of industrial civilisation ranks temperate islands top for resilience

New Zealand, Iceland, the UK, Tasmania and Ireland are the places best suited to survive a global collapse of society, according to a study.

The researchers said human civilisation was “in a perilous state” due to the highly interconnected and energy-intensive society that had developed and the environmental damage this had caused.

A collapse could arise from shocks, such as a severe financial crisis, the impacts of the climate crisis, destruction of nature, an even worse pandemic than Covid-19 or a combination of these, the scientists said.

To assess which nations would be most resilient to such a collapse, countries were ranked according to their ability to grow food for their population, protect their borders from unwanted mass migration, and maintain an electrical grid and some manufacturing ability. Islands in temperate regions and mostly with low population densities came out on top.

The researchers said their study highlighted the factors that nations must improve to increase resilience. They said that a globalised society that prized economic efficiency damaged resilience, and that spare capacity needed to exist in food and other vital sectors.

Billionaires have been reported to be buying land for bunkers in New Zealand in preparation for an apocalypse. “We weren’t surprised New Zealand was on our list,” said Prof Aled Jones, at the Global Sustainability Institute, at Anglia Ruskin University, in the UK.

Jones added: “We chose that you had to be able to protect borders and places had to be temperate. So with hindsight it’s quite obvious that large islands with complex societies on them already [make up the list].

“We were quite surprised the UK came out strongly. It is densely populated, has traditionally outsourced manufacturing, hasn’t been the quickest to develop renewable technology, and only produces 50% of its own food at the moment. But it has the potential to withstand shocks.”

The study, published in the journal Sustainability, said: “The globe-spanning, energy-intensive industrial civilisation that characterises the modern era represents an anomalous situation when it is considered against the majority of human history.”

The study also said, that due to environmental destruction, limited resources, and population growth: “The [academic] literature paints a picture of human civilisation that is in a perilous state, with large and growing risks developing in multiple spheres of the human endeavour.”

Places that did not suffer “the most egregious effects of societal collapses and are therefore able to maintain significant populations” have been described as “collapse lifeboats”, the study said.

New Zealand was found to have the greatest potential to survive relatively unscathed due to its geothermal and hydroelectric energy, abundant agricultural land and low human population density.

Jones said major global food losses, a financial crisis and a pandemic had all happened in recent years, and “we’ve been lucky that things haven’t all happened at the same time – there’s no real reason why they can’t all happen in the same year”.

He added: “As you start to see these events happening, I get more worried but I also hope we can learn more quickly than we have in the past that resilience is important. With everyone talking about ‘building back better’ from the pandemic, if we don’t lose that momentum I might be more optimistic than I have been in the past.”

He said the coronavirus pandemic had shown that governments could act quickly when needed. “It’s interesting how quickly we can close borders, and how quickly governments can make decisions to change things.”

But he added: “This drive for just-in-time, ever-more efficient, economies isn’t the thing you want to do for resilience. We need to build in some slack in the system, so that if there is a shock then you have the ability to respond because you’ve got spare capacity.

“We need to start thinking about resilience much more in global planning. But obviously, the ideal thing is that a quick collapse doesn’t happen.”

Hawkes Bay Today. on Friday 30th July 2021, page 11

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—15℃ 0.4mm rain [76.320] TdT TdO eggs=3 Mark=0 Debbie=2

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Heat Pump Install Next Week – Probably

Grayson Allen from Peak Plumbing TXTed to say that all bits needed to install our heat pump in the cottage were ready and he proposes to do the job next week.

Ordered a book I read online via the Libby app, Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club. After I’d read it there was a long review of the author, Richard Osman, in the Listener. Karola subsequently asked me to get a paper copy as she can’t abide reading books online. I hadn’t made the connection but of course Richard Osman is the rather tall comedian I’ve seen several times on Would I Lie To You, a TV panel game.

Oak Avenue Weather:0℃—17℃ no rain [76.183] TdT TdO eggs=2 Mark=4

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A Little Light Chain Sawing

Thought I’d have some scrambled eggs for breakfast as the hens are laying well now. Got distrac ted and Karola smelt them burning – burnt scrambled eggs is not my favourite breakfast. Luckily the little ScanPan pot cleaned up OK and Bangle wolfed down the eggs. I changed to my home-made tuna and mayonnaise spread.

Fed the doves and chooks as usual. Today I also changed their water and put straw in the two nest boxes behind the perch. Now that Mark has relocated the perch just 100mm (4”) nearer the middle of the house no droppings fall into those nest boxes any more.

Had a look at the work Mark has been doing, trimming the lower branches of the Casuarina wind break. Today he finished all he could do with the shorter “step” ladder at full extent. Next he’ll need the big ladder to get the big knobbly branches higher up. The idea is to concentrate on the north side of the windbreak, giving room for Karola’s Kanuka which are doing well, mostly taller than the Casuarina hedge. There are six or so gaps in the line of Kanuka.

Exchanged emails with Tom in Dunedin (deskt@xtra.co.nz) – I, after much searching, found the invoice for the Jōtul F602 CB wood burner bought in August 2011 and Tom confirmed that the model number I had for it was a USA/Canadian one and in NZ it would be called a Jōtul 602 ECO.

I cut up a fallen eucalypt branch, some of which will make good firewood. Mark collected the firewood and scouted around to pick up smaller branches from around the paddocks for later mulching.

Henare’s four hives of honey bees are busy out gathering winter food; he’s put them in the fenced off triangle in the north east corner of the Front paddock.

A Few Of Cousin Henare’s Bees Wintering At Karamu

Photograph Of Our Jōtul 603 ECO – Outside

Photograph Of Our Jōtul 603 ECO – Inside

Oak Avenue Weather:0℃—17℃ no rain [76.383] TdT TdO eggs=4 Mark=4

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Bangle Smooth & Silky

First thing we whisk over to Havelock North over by the coast to get Bangle to Emma’s Grooming Salon for her four-weekly groom by 9:00am. The plan is for Bangle to have a full groom every eight weeks and just one wash and brush between times. Then we tootle home and I make the shopping list.

Then off to Hastings for the week’s shopping at New World. On the way we drop in at the pharmacy in Stortford Lodge for more sleeping pills and drops and swing by Animates to get more dog treats. By the time I’d finished shopping it was time to pick Bangle up so we did that and came back into Hastings to complete the shopping namely my GF bread at OMG, coffee and cakes from Artisan, and some cash from the BNZ.

By now it was time for Mark to begin so I TXTed him and agreed he had plenty to be getting on with. Got back home around 12:30pm quite whacked.

Mark continued with his major project, the serious pruning back of the Casuarina windbreak come shelter belt along the southern border.

Stop Bank View – Out With The Old …

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—16℃ 1.2mm rain [76.678] TdT TdO eggs=2 Mark=4

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Woodburner Advice

Mark didn’t come today, a cold overcast day but with little wind.

Meticulous Maids came mid day and so we went for our daily exercise down at the stop bank. They were still cleaning when we finished so, at Karola’s suggestion, we went to Lappuccino’s for lunch.

The woodburner expert from the Stihl Shop in Greenmeadows called in the morning and arranged to come and take measurements for a quote this afternoon. You’ve never heard so much tut-tutting when he saw our cranked flue going through the wall and up the outside wall inside the sun porch. As he saw it the entire fire and flue would need to be replaced to meet current regulations and he was not happy. However he did give us the name of a South Island online store that imported appliances and parts for popular overseas models, Retail Links Ltd.

Later I called them and bought the side burn plate for our Jōtul F602 CB. It was the last one in stock and Retail Links no longer import Jōtul parts. Later when I checked the part number against the images of the side burn plate I found that sadly it was the wrong one so I’ve tried to cancel the order. So our best hope maybe to get the current plate straightened locally. We’ll also need to get a local engineer to make us a baffle because that too is bent and twisted.

Overall it’s really not worth getting a new wood burner because, compared to the Jōtul 602, it’d be ugly, expensive, and would need a completely new flue. Oh, and according to today’s visitor, new resource consent. He said that as we have consent for the existing woodburner installation we’d best not open that can of worms.

The woodburner guy also said that he’d recommend putting a heat-deflecting plate on the ceiling above the crank, the bend in the flue, as there were signs of heat distortion of the paintwork. Not immediately dangerous but worth doing as a precaution.

Jōtul F602 Needs Replacement Side Burn Plate And Air Chamber (Baffle)

Winter Lamb Fattening On The Maize Paddock At Carrick Road

Oak Avenue Weather:9℃—15℃ no rain [76.733] TdT TdO eggs=2 Mark=0

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All Quiet In The Orchards

Very quiet day, cold. Inside on computer (me) and reading (Karola) most of the day.

Young black cat photographed 24th – 28th June and young tabby cat from 18th – 23rd July. All photographed using Bushnell surveillance camera aimed at a food bowl which I put a slice of cat roll in every night. Photographs are poor so I just included the best four of dozens.

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—14℃ no rain [76.888] TdT TdO eggs=3

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Relaxing Into The Weekend

A quiet Saturday inside, interrupted only by our walks down on the stop bank and around Karola’s orchard.

For many years there have been a couple of very hardy clumps of gorse growing on the lip of the big drain that runs outside Karola’s orchard boundary fence from south to north. It has been chopped out and/or poisoned several times but keeps coming back. I thought after its severe poisoning last year when all of it turned brown and dead that I would not see it regrowing again and I am happy that it is; I like gorse.

Gorse – A Master Survivor – On Orchard West Boundary

Across Big Drain On West Orchard Boundary – Horses Have Appeared

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—15℃ no rain [76.607] TdT TdO eggs=2

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Bridget’s Fleeting Visit – Lexi Pulls It Off

Karola, Bangle, and I went into town this morning in search of non-synthetic pyjamas and underwear for Karola – her wardrobe generally is in tatters as befits a serious land owner, betrayed only by the quality and newness of her shoes – two pairs of All Birds. Anyway it was fruitless even though I did track down Karola’s favourite lingerie shop in downtown Hastings. Might have better luck online says Karola.

We got back to find Mark had come an hour early – he’d ferried his son Wolfgang to a meeting in Hastings mid morning. Having finished the orchard railings repairs he was back on windbreak trimming. I asked him to water blast the concrete apron between the cottage and its garage before Bridget arrived. The geese had invaded the cottage garden a few days ago and left their squishy messes.

Mark and I mended the 133 letter box; the lid had become mis-aligned and wouldn’t shut. We pop riveted the sides back into place and Mark actually cured the problem by bending the base straight with his bare hands. Soemoen had whacked it pretty hard on one side of the top.

I got the homestead ready in case Bridget and lexi wanted to stay for the night. Water in the cistern and a bucket for flushing the loo and oil heater on to warm up the bedroom.

Debbie came this afternoon and made another almond and orange cake. She then joined us on our daily walk/cycle on the stop bank.

Bridget and Lexi came up from Wellington for Lexi’s participation in the national orienteering championships held this year at Hastings Splash Planet. They went and registered and then came here until it was time for lexi’s age group to compete. Lexi achieved her personal best today, coming 36th out of a field fo 60. Afterwards they picked up Rush Munro ice-creams and fish and chips and we had dinner together. They left for home soon after 6:00pm and TXTed us to say they’d got back safely soon after 10:00pm.

Mark’s Railing Repairs In Karola’s Orchard

Oak Avenue Weather:3℃—14℃ no rain [76.602] TdT TdO eggs=3 Mark=4 Debbie=2

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Date Set To Begin Homestead Alterations

Archaeologist Elizabeth Pishief relayed her conversation with Heritage NZ this morning and she says her contact there, Christine Barnett, the woman in charge of the Archaeological Authority process, agreed they had no legal right to put in the stuff on the cover page saying what they did or didn’t like about our overall plans; Christine’s jurisdiction is only the archaeological aspects. So we can ignore comments about what Heritage NZ approve or don’t approve in that cover letter.

I rang builder Paul and he has been pretty busy with little jobs he says – which is a relief – and he is willing and able to begin on 12th August. Cross fingers.

Today Mark finished mending the orchard broken railings and continued with more windbreak trimming. While he was doing that Karola, Bangle, and I went over to Greenmeadows to The Stihl Shop and discussed wood burners. We returned through Hastings and got more groceries from Countdown, specifically the ones we need to get from there occasionally because New World doesn’t stock them: Beyond Meat patties, Freedom gluten free cornflakes, Angus prime beef mince. And we picked up Colombian coffees from BP’s Wild Bean Cafe at Stortford Lodge.

Mark did a bit of rabbit shooting in the evening – which Karola really doesn’t like, especially near her sheep which will soon be lambing.

From The Stop Bank – Burning Apple Tree Prunings

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—20℃ no rain [76.506] TdT TdO eggs=4 Mark=4

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Chimney Sweep Swept

Chimney sweep came today, John Orringe (06-842-1219). He calls every June/July and arranges to sweep the cottage flue. He did remark on the deterioration of the inside of our Jøtul woodburner – which I have been ignoring for months.

Karola proposed that she and Mark clean the east side windows of the cottage, he cleaning the outside while she cleaned the inside so they could figure out on which side any stubborn marks were. Rather than just using water I suggested it’d be easier to use a spray bottle of glass cleaner and might reduce residual streaks. Karola also asked for a new pit for her compost. Mark dug the pit and also, as we’d discussed a few days ago, began making gaps between the bund composting vegetation and the trunks of the big trees in line with the bund.

As we needed a second spray bottle of glass cleaner Mark began fixing the orchard broken railings while Karola, Bangle, and I went into Hastings.

In Mitre-10 we got the spray bottle of glass cleaner and spare batteries for my small carriage clock (a gift long ago from IBM for deeds unknown). We also looked at wood burners to replace our little cottage Jøtul. Then off to Fourth Element in Karamu road where we looked at a couple of woodburner models. We expect quotes from each place within a few days.

Our Archaeology Authority came through today from Heritage NZ. So we’ve been given the authority but it comes with extra conditions and delays. In the covering letter it stated that Heritage NZ agreed with re-piling but did not approve of any change to the 1870s fabric. As far as I can tell this is just grumbling that we got the earlier Heritage NZ ruling on our proposed changes overturned (at a cost of a mere $10,000 and delays of over a year) by engaging probably the most respected conservation architect in New Zealand who said that he didn’t know what all the fuss was about and he didn’t think we needed to be as dogmatic about preserving the past of the utility (back) side of the building as Karola is – let alone the idiocy of Heritage NZ.

So we have a signed Archaeological Authority accompanied by a “we don’t agree with what you’re doing” covering letter and, more annoyingly, various conditions inserted into the statement of Authority that encumber us with a lot of supervision and require ANOTHER DOCUMENT which has to be agreed upon and approved by Heritage NZ. Opportunities for weeks more delays and expense. Our archaeologist, Elizabeth Pishief, will talk to Heritage NZ, and if necessary the Heritage NZ lawyer, to find out whether some of the conditions are even lawful.

In a way it’s a pity they granted the Archaeological Authority at all as I am resolved not to do any more appeals or jump through any more hoops but just ready to abandon the whole project.

Mark’s Latest Compost Pit Dug For Karola

Oak Avenue Weather:4℃—16℃ no rain [76.778] TdT eggs=2 Mark=4

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Henare Brings Some Bees

Shopping day already – bang goes another $260 – New World must be delighted. Then there’s the OMG bread at $11 and coffees with a cakelet next door at Artisan, another $20. That’s where the money goes, well if I ignore the achingly huge $17,000 annual insurance premium I paid last night – gulp.

Mark moved the perch in the chook house before continuing with his trimming of the windbreak for the rest of the afternoon.

Henare called late afternoon and arranged to bring four hives here. They are being attacked by wasps so he wants to relocate them. I lent him the Landrover and he did the relocation after dark with a cousin, grandson of Aunty Gwen, “she who must be obeyed” for the Māori attendees at the Ormond Reunion in 2005.

Now That’s Uncomfortable Nesting Place, Surely

Over-Friendly Young Ram Wanting Share Chook Food

Sand Pit For Adults Opposite Riding Arena

Now Five Lambs A Leaping Next To Riding Arena

Oak Avenue Weather:0℃—16℃ no rain [77.086] TdT TdO eggs=2 Mark=4

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Middletons Return To Wellington

Iain & Gaylene joined us for breakfast and then packed ready for the drive back to Wellington. They are going to take Martin Hoffman-Marriottand his daughter Amalya back with them where they will catch a flight back to their home in Dunedin. Martin and Amalya were first shown round Napier this morning; Karl then ferried them to us and we all went to Lappuccino’s for lunch. In Karola and my case this was our main meal. All except Amalya had keto meals, four of us had the Keto Chuffles.

The visitors finished their meals and then embarked on their drive down to Wellington. Gaylene rang around 7:30pm to say they’d delivered the Dunediners to their flight safely and on time.

Mark meanwhile arrived while we were down the road at Lappuccino’s and got on with more windbreak trimming. The reciprocating saw battery needed recharging, so Mark Grillo mowed the 121 driveway while waiting. He finished his first pass along the windbreak, the branches he could reach using only the step ladder.

Throughout the day we got news of flooding – flooding on the west coast and the northern end of the south island, flooding in Wellington, and flooding in Germany. Lexi ent photos of some Wellington flooding.

Lexi says “around the back of our house (leaking into our house)”

Lexi says “Our downstairs as water had started leaking into it”

Lexi’s Friend Grace’s House In Wellington

Railings In Orchard needing Fixing

Railings In Orchard needing Fixing

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—16℃ 0.6mm rain [77.212] TdT TdO eggs=3 Mark=4

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Basic Income NZ – AGM At Karl’s

After breakfast Gaylene and Iain set off for Taradale ready for the BINZ AGM at Karl Matthys place in Taradale; I set off shortly afterwards.

There were eleven attendees at Karl’s house and a further couple on Zoom. The morning was spent with presentations by Terangikaheke and two women joining us on Zoom. This was followed by the AGM and then a delicious lunch provided by Lorraine, Karl’s wife.

I left after lunch and came back to do the daily Tour de Twyford before forecast rain. Iain and Gaylene returned soon after dark and we all enjoyed soup and toast supper before settling down to the last episode in the current series of Brokenwood Mysteries.

At the weekend Iain Middleton and his wife Gaylene were up here from their home in Linden/Tawa for a Basic Income meeting, staying with us. Iain regaled us with an encounter with a Giant Wētā at home. He felt this tickling on his neck on one side, then his ear on the opposite side. Upon brushing the tickle he dislodged a large wētā that he suggests was about eleven inches long including antennae and ovipositor.

Cook Strait Giant Wētā

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—20℃ 0.5mm rain [77.541] TdT TdO eggs=2

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Middletons Arrive

A quiet day after a windy night. We kept in touch with the Middletons as they drove up the west coast from Tawa. The Saddle road was closed due to the bad weather and so they took that Pahatua track crossing over to the east coast. Iain dropped off Gaylene at Karl & Lorraine’s place in Taradale; she was joining a party going out for an evening of music and food at what was called Clifton Cafe and is now called Hygge. Iain then joined us in demolishing one of Debbie’s cottage pies.

Gaylene was dropped off late evening and we all chatted until well after midnight.

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—20℃ 0.4mm rain [76.893] TdT TdO eggs=3

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Very Strong Winds, Gale Force Gusts

Another hairdresser appointment for Karola and we did some multitasking as I went to Briscoes and swapped the large glass jug I bought on Wednesday for one that didn’t have a wobbly bottom. I was lucky in that there was one of the same type of jug left, only one. Then on to Mitre-10 which is close by to get a blade for the electric (battery) reciprocating saw better suited to cutting branches – with big teeth. I succeeded and Mark has found this a really good option for the 6” (150mm) thick branches near the top of the Casuarina trees in the wind break. A chainsaw is too dangerous and the pruning saws are good but it’s still hard on the arms.

On the way home got three coffees – including one for Mark – I really am a soft touch.

Mark came at noon and spent a while trying to anchor down a runaway roll of building paper that is protecting the stack of building timber sitting on the gravel at the back of the homestead waiting for the go-ahead to work on the additions and alterations. Anyway the wind is strong and gusting at gale force so the end of the roll of building paper span off down the drive. Mark stabilised it with a few fence posts and got it rolled back up again.

Meanwhile Bangle, Karola, and I went down to the stop bank and I walked Bangle three kilometres in the wind. Not sure she liked the fierce wind in her face but even less so when it was at her tail, still she trotted along quite amiably. The wind was so strong that I could not hear the voices through my earphones so missed today’s episode of yet another detective story. hope it’s less windy tomorrow.

Mark and I discussed a problem with the chook house that he rightly suggested could be solved by moving the perch a few inches. He also went into the orchard and measured up to replace the broken railings along the southern boundary. Tractors sometimes misjudge when they turn and break battens or, in this case, railings.

Debbie came a 2:30pm for two hours. She and Karola made up the bed in the homestead main bedroom ready for the Middletons this weekend. Then Debbie did a thorough clean of the fridge now gracing the cottage kitchen.

On Wednesday I bought two “universal bath plugs” of different sizes. To my surprise it was the smaller of the two that fitted and so today I replaced the original plug in the bath now alongside the cottage pump shed and filled the bath with water. Will it still leak? We shall see.

Oak Avenue Weather:14℃—18℃ no rain [76.558] TdT TdO eggs=2 Mark=4 Debbie=2

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Cottage Internet Restored

Lots of trouble last evening and again tonight because something went wrong with the cottage network and although I did finally get the basics running again last night I found that the Envoy solar panel controller was no longer connecting to the Internet, both upstairs wireless printers were offline, and my scales had ceased transmitting my weights. However by the end of this evening everything was back working again.

Mark continued trimming the windbreak.

Mark’s Trimming Letting In The Light (Right Half)

Vigorous Apple Tree Pruning In Karola’s Orchard

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—17℃ no rain [76.490] TdT TdO eggs=3 Mark=3

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Fridge Swap

Bit of a frost leading to a sunny cold day.

Mark came and continued his trimming of the windbreak; as he said, it’s certainly letting a lot more light through to the neighbouring orchard.

Mid afternoon Mark and I moved the fridge/freezer from the cottage kitchen to the cottage garage, swapping it for the fridge-only unit in the garage. We were very cross with ourselves that we forgot to take photos of where the shelves and drawers went in each fridge and we’ve ended up with a couple of bits that we don’t know where to put.

In the evening i intended to watch the first episode of A Village In France, a series or several series recommended by Gill. But my Internet connection which has become very very sluggish in the evenings gave up the ghost and it took until bedtime to reconfigure and restart various bits which finally caused it to begin operating properly again. I did get the first episode playing but alas too late for tonight.

Oak Avenue Weather:-2℃—14℃ 0.1mm rain [76.610] TdT TdO eggs=2 Mark=4

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Shopping For The Week Ahead

Oh it’s weekly shopping again today. Farmlands to buy working trousers as their range may not be stylish but they are warm and hard wearing with deep pockets unlike the ones costing much more in Mens Tailors shops. The other unusual shopping today was at Briscoes to buy a replacement waste bin for the kitchen and a universal bath plug for the old bath behind the cottage pump shed. I should not be allowed in stores without a chaperone, and especially Briscoes where everything is marked as being 50% off or 40% off – irresistible. So I also bought a bamboo spatula, a large wooden fruit bowl, and a large glass mixing jug.

No Mark – too cold and wet. Fires morning and evening.

Myriad Sparrows Eat Dove Bird Table Left-Overs (Bangle Looks On)

Oak Avenue Weather:0℃—9℃ 9.5mm rain [76.850] TdT eggs=2 Mark=0

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Sharpest Chisel In The Box

Rain on and off and quite cold but not wind to speak of. Mark TXTed to say he would skip today as too wet and cold; maybe tomorrow.

Tour de Twyford which today comprised a brisk walk by me and Bangle (1½km there and 1½km back) while Karola read the latest Listener in the Landrover. Then we went and retrieved two sharpened chisels from the Saw Doctors near the hospital, also filling the Landrover and getting a couple of coffees from the Stortford Lodge BP petrol station.

We had a fire in the afternoon and evening which kept the cottage warm.

Meticulous Maids, well a single maid, came and cleaned the cottage in the afternoon.

The Ormond Road Horse-riding Arena – Busiest We’ve Ever Seen it

Oak Avenue Weather:5℃—10℃ 9.1mm rain [76.930] TdT TdO eggs=3 Mark=0

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Free Thinkers – Second Sunday In The Month

Late morning I took Bangle on a trot round the orchard before preparing for this afternoon’s meeting of the Free Thinkers at Karl Matthys place in Taradale. Karola kindly picked her last eight un-ravaged persimmons for me to take to the meeting this afternoon. Tui and other birds have pecked the remaining persimmons to just ribbons of skin; they and Bangle enjoyed the ripe persimmons very much.

Off to Taradale just after noon. A dozen of the group attended, the total group is less than twenty and they’re all retired or nearly so – retired in age but mostly very busy with their after-retirement agendas. Lorraine, Karl’s partner, was delighted with the persimmons and decided to keep them aside rather than dish them out.

The usual round-robin update on issues of the month was followed by afternoon tea and then a discussion of the topic of the day. Today it was about the future of work in the light of increasing automation.

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—11℃ 1.0mm rain [76.823] TdO eggs=2

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Expected Dates For Lambing

Quiet day, cold and sunny.

Karola and I rounded up the ewes and split them into two mobs, the eight ewe hoggets not due to have lmambs until next year, and the 23 ewes we hope will produce lambs this season.

The rams were out from 7th March until 5th April so, according to the breed gestation times, lambs can be expected from 31st July until 4th September.

Oak Avenue Weather:1℃—13℃ no rain [76.829] TdT TdO eggs=3

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Friday Afternoon With Debbie

Debbie and Karola went to town and Debbie helped choose some clothes as much of Karola’s wardrobe is falling to pieces with age. They came back with, among other unmentionables – some warm cotton PJs in soothing combo of white and pastel blue.

Mark had a mowing frenzy – the cottage lawn and surroundings then under the big oak. The leaves have now all fallen and mostly been blown away so this should be the last mow before spring.

I took all five Silky pruning saws to Saw Doctors and young lass there checked them all – said they were all good for now, didn’t need sharpening. In case that was so I took a couple of chisels for them to sharpen anyway – they’ll be ready lunchtime on Monday. So Mark will not be short of sharp saws when he continues with trimming the southern boundary windbreak next week.

New Zealand Bolt Hole

I read a news item today talking about Google’s ‘hypocritical’ remote work policies which have angered employees. Employees were already stirred up over opaque policies on remote work. Then a senior exec announced he’ll be working from New Zealand in what some workers consider special treatment. The senior Google executive, one of the founders of Google, said:

Hi everyone,

After three decades in the US, my wife and I both felt it was time to consider a new location. We’ve decided to spend a year in New Zealand and see how we like it. To be clear: I am not retiring, just changing my location! We’re considering this an experiment; if things go well, we may decide to stay longer but with moves like theses, it’s to keep an open mind! 🙂

Despite its geographical remoteness, New Zealand is only offset 3-5 hours from California depending on the time of year, so I’ll continue to work in my existing roll. I’m a early riser, so this won’t be a big adjustment and I’ll continue to work on California time. As things open up (travel to NZ is still complicated by their quarantine), I expect to be in the Bay Area on a regular basis so you will continue to see me around in 3D.

Since many of you see me on GVC and might be wondering about my new home office background, I wanted to be transparent about my move ahead of time. I’m looking forward to this adventure and to sharing the results of our relocation “experiment” with you.

Kia pai tō rā [have a nice day],

-Urs

Oak Avenue Weather:3℃—15℃ no rain [76.193] TdT TdO eggs=3 Mark=4 Debbie=2

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First Lambs Of The Season Spotted

A cool sunny day, bit of a frost. Mark continued on trimming the southern shelter belt. I experimented with using the electric reciprocating saw to cut larger branches, way too slow. I then tried with an old wood saw, one of those saws shaped like a ‘D’ with big teeth – again very slow. It turned out that our Silky pruning saws are the next best thing to a chainsaw.

Anna TXTed me to say that Felix and his dad, Marc, were off to Wembley for the big soccer match today. England versus Denmark for a place in the football European championship final. England have not been in the final since 1966 I’m told. Anna and Dave watched on TV at home.

Felix ecstatic at the win for England; Anna just exhausted – it went from one cliff hanger to the next.

Felix At Wembley

Twins Spotted From The Stop Bank, Next To The Equestrian Arena

Oak Avenue Weather:1℃—15℃ no rain [76.491] TdT TdO eggs=2 Mark=4

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Post Vaccination Somnolence

Some rain on and off all day. No Mark due to the wet. I slept almost all morning and afternoon, imagined reaction to the 2nd jab I suppose.

Anna’s Dave sent me this which surprised us a little. Maybe there’s not been so many frosts but we wouldn’t say it’d been a warm month.

New Zealand experiences the hottest June on record

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Fully Vaccinated

Shopping for the week ahead all done by 11:00am.

Mark came and continued with the trimming of the Casurina windbreak on the southern boundary.

Karola and I popped into Hastings to the race-course again, for our second shot of Covid-19 vaccine. It was slightly more organised and took a little less time on this occasion.

Patrick’s video of an EV conflagration at the charging station has caused interesting feedback from colleagues – mostly suspecting it was slightly false news.

From Patrick Cooney In Perth Today

What you see in this video is an electric car at a charging station with a shorting cell setting off all the rest. It’s a chain reaction from the first to the fiery end of the car. Bet they eventually lost all the cars in that charging line.

Note the time it took to destroy 3 cars, 1.15 minutes. The first car was destroyed in about 38 seconds.

The fire cannot be extinguished with water. No fire department will approach a burning battery-powered car because of the toxic gasses produced during the fire. No recycling place will take the car’s remains because of the toxic chemicals the batteries contain.

Battery Fault Incinerates Cars In Seconds – Maybe

An Even Heavier Frost Today

Another Orchard Make-Over As Apple Tastes Change

Oak Avenue Weather:0℃—17℃ 1.0mm rain [76.738] TdT TdO eggs=2 Mark=4

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Decent Frost

So cold this morning that we lit the fire and huddled indoors until lunchtime.

Mark came and with Karola brushed up the bits of broken fibre board and some bird droppings plus a whole lot of straw from birds historically nesting on top of the big shed lavatory which is a cubicle accessed from outside with its own ceiling – the big shed roof is open gable about four metres high.

Mark then began on his next project which is to trim back the south boundary Casurina windbreak. Now that the Kanuka trees planted in front of the Casurina hedge are about the same height, 4 – 5 metres, the mechanical trimmer can’t trim our side of the Casurinas without damaging Karola’s Kanuka trees.

Ben mentioned that he and Gill spotted falcons in Seatoun on five days last week. He says they like the perches kindly provided by the Power Board – every power pole a potential perch. We ha our own falcon news in Hawkes Bay Today today (see below).

Ben believes the falcons nested on the ridge at the south end of Seatoun, probably in the pine plantation there. There was one “dancing” on the roadside power pole after rain last month – it looked as though it might be getting a mild electric shock sensation as it was very wet. The bird soon flew off to join a second one further down their garden.

First Decent Frost This Year

Hastings Falcons In The News

Oak Avenue Weather:-2℃—12℃ no rain [76.876] TdT TdO eggs=1 Mark=4

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A Glorious Winter’s Day In Hawkes Bay

Bits and pieces. Re-glued the little plastic tab on the expensive honeycomb blind nearest the kitchen. Karola and I checked out the overflowing gutter at the front of the big orchard shed. Yesterday Mark took a look and said the drainpipe was clear. Twice in rain I saw water cascading over the end of the gutter above the downpipe so perhaps someone from the orchard staff saw it too and cleared it. Karola and I put water from garden hose into the gutter and it flowed just fine into the red metal tank. Then I filled the tank with the hose up to the top; no leaks and the overflow system works. The tap below the tank works and water gets to the concrete trough 50 metres away; push down the ballcock and the water flow stirs up the silt. So, right now it seems all to be working.

Karola Strolls Across Paddock …

… Her Fan Club Looking On

A Glorious Winter’s Day In Hawkes Bay

Oak Avenue Weather:-3℃—14℃ 0.1mm rain [76.822] TdT TdO eggs=2

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Clive Wetlands Walk In The Sun

Instead of the stop bank tour, today we went to the wetlands at Clive. Lingered at Bay Espresso on the way home and had brunch – coffees and, for Karola, a “bacon & bree wrap” and for me a ½-order bacon eggs Benedict. Bangle had a drink of water.

Got the first episode of the UK Channel 4 series The Border downloaded and converted for loading onto my iPad and then showing on the TV downstairs. As Anna recommended it’s atmospheric and engaging.

The Clive Wetlands From The Lime Cycle Path

Paw Prints In The Sand

Looking Out To Cape Kidnappers

Clive Estuary Boating

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Debbie Bakes Another Cake

Debbie came in the afternoon and baked us six little orange/almond cup cakes and a companion small orange/almond 150mm diameter cake. We didn’t have castor sugar nor oranges so I was dispatched to Flaxmere New World to get them before the baking could proceed.

Mark spent the afternoon finishing plugging of holes in the inner wall of the lockable bay at the big shed up in the orchard. I was up at the shed for a while and Craig Treneman drove by, stopping for a bit of a chat. Craig is Peter Fitzpatrick’s boss; he has a team of orchard managers each of whom, like Peter, run several organic apple orchards. Altogether they run about 60 orchards in Hawkes bay, or so i believe.

After wrestling with the Channel 4 UK “on demand” system for viewing old TV programmes, I hoped to watch “The Border”, a quite absorbing Polish spy/detection drama with English subtitles, I gave up and instead watch a Netflix series called “Borderliner”, also with subtitles. Nordic noir from … Norway. I was hooked and spent the next six hours watching the full eight episodes. Ending wasn’t brilliant but overall I’m glad I watched it.

Afterwards I found this review which is pretty accurate in my view. So maybe I wasn’t the only one who found the ending unsatisfying. Was it worth a 6½ hour binge watch, probably not. Like a fly caught on sticky paper, the more the “good cop-ish” struggled, the more he was mired in stickyness. That was what engaged me. And as the review says, the woman cop could have become the focus, she was the most appealing character and kept on almost tripping up the central character, that’s where a lot of the tension came from.

Review of Nordic Noir Police Thriller

Norwegian police thriller Borderliner is the perfect example of how to take an interesting premise and squander any ambition with a questionable ending, clumsy pacing and incredulous character logic. Early on, Borderliner holds a lot of promise and the story works well; the cat and mouse game between Nikolai (Tobias Santelmann) and Anniken (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) is intriguing enough to keep you watching, helped along by some impressive cinematography. It’s a shame then that Borderliner slips up multiple times, leaving big plot holes in its wake as the story quickly spirals out of control.

Straight and narrow police detective Nikolai is the main protagonist here and early on we see him stand up for what he believes in, testifying against a fellow colleague. After being called to a crime scene down by a murky lake, mystery surrounds the death of a man tied up by rope around his neck made to look like suicide. Convinced foul play is afoot, Nikolai sets out with his colleague Anniken to investigate further before stumbling on a key piece of evidence to back up his theory. When Nikolai’s brother Lars (Benjamin Helstad) confesses to the crime in private, Nikolai decides to protect him and what ensues is a game of cat and mouse as the two brothers work to avoid the police closing in on the real suspect while Nikolai keeps a brave face at work and tries to steer the investigation away from his brother.

As a thriller, Borderliner certainly has its moments and each episode ends on a cliffhanger too, enticing you to keep watching through to the next episode. There’s a good array of characters here although the deeper into the series you get the more frustrating it becomes to watch Nikolai and Lars jump from one incredulously illogical decision to the next to try and throw the police off their scent. This could almost be forgiven if Nikolai wasn’t such a focal point through the series, throwing some serious questions up whether it may have benefited Borderliner’s integrity by switching the perspective to spunky Anniken instead.

Her character is by far the most compelling and although she does nail a lot of the conventional tropes you’d expect from a police detective in a series like this, she’s by far the easiest to root for as she tries to get to solve the murder case under the anxious, watchful eyes of Nikolai. Within the thriller format, a homosexual sub plot is nestled within the episodes although at times it does feel more contrived and ham-fisted into the narrative than it perhaps should be.

With numerous plot holes, a clumsy pacing and a truly woeful ending, Borderliner is a disappointing police thriller to say the least. The illogical character actions don’t help either and large stretches of this Norwegian series feels dragged out unnecessarily. A couple of episodes less and a switched perspective to Anniken as the main protagonist may well have benefited this series, especially given the slickness to the camera work that graces large stretches of this 8 episode series.

Whether there’ll be more of this story to come in the future is anyone’s guess but based on what’s here, Borderliner ends with far too many unanswered questions making it a difficult one to recommend, even if the journey to the finale is mildly entertaining.

Oak Avenue Weather:2℃—15℃ no rain [76.335] TdT TdO eggs=1 Mark=4 Debbie=2

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Month Of Midwinter

I’m spending quite a lot of time trying to understand our finances held with Forsyth-Barr and talking to our financial advisor Chris day. Need to make sure that in the event we do start the additions and alteration to the homestead this year we have the funds available. I am completely mystified as to how despite the economy-wrecking pandemic the shares keep on thriving. It was explained to me that it’s because all over the world investors need to make and hold investments and there are few alternatives to stocks and shares.

Mark began his project to cover the holes in the fibre board wall dividing the end bay, the one which has a roller door and can be secured, from the other three open-plan bays. Birds have already been in and caused quite a mess so Karola’s request to get the holes covered is very necessary.

Peter Fitzpatrick (Bostock manager for Karola’s orchard) drove through the orchard today and stopped for a chat. Apparently Bostock’s haven’t grazed their own sheep in orchards for a long time; they only tried it for a couple of years. And Jim Cornes is still the man grazing our orchard – though I think it’ll be someone working for Jim these days.

Big Shed End Bay: Mark Installing Plywood Sheets Over Holes Letting Birds In

Karola’s Orchard – 145 Driveway Ngaio Hedge Trimmed Today

Karola’s Orchard – Manuka Hedge On East Boundary Trimmed Today

Oak Avenue Weather:__℃—__℃ no rain [76.067] TdT TdO eggs=1 Mark=4

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