Monthly Archives: August 2022

Builder Paul dropped in for a while and fitted the two large cupboard doors made by Graham Boalar to turn the chimney cavity in the “Bee room” bedroom into a clothes cupboard. He recommended I keep the old doors from the old sun porch as they were exterior doors which are quite hard to get. One will probably be the door for the new cottage pump-shed which I’m hoping will be in the style and appearance of the other buildings in the quadrangle round the big oak.

Paul rang later to say that the GIB needed to finish the dining room and do the living room is arriving on Monday. We’ll keep the living room boards in the homestead garage until we’re ready for it.

Mark came and experimented with the Grillo which yesterday was, after a while of mowing, having a problem re-starting; the blades did not go round. He’s figured its the old worn drive belt which we should be able to fix ourselves.

Mark checked the sheep and reported two more ewes had lambed: ewe #010 had ram lamb #210R while ewe #006 had twins, ewe lamb #211E and ram lamb #212R.

Much of the afternoon Mark spent picking up sticks from the paddocks, in particular where I’d pruned Karola’s micro-orchard and where he’d fed out the trimmings from the Karamu hedge along the 133 entrance.

Karola and I went off after lunch to Beryl Grayling in Havelock North for her weekly iPad tutorial. On the way we stopped in at Farmlands to pick up this years lamb ear tags. Unfortunately the numbering is wrong again, twice since 2005. On the way home we got some frozen green beans and a copy of the UK newspaper, The Express. The off to Farmers for a short visit to the underwear department to use up the $20 voucher we’ve accumulated over recent years.

Oak Avenue Weather:1.0℃—15.1℃ no rain [75.9] TdT eggs=4 Mark=4

Yuesday off for the weekly shopping. Another dozen eggs to the Hastings Food Bank – and four tins of fruit too, buying tinned fruit salad was a mistake. Mitre-10 for another dozen “cats whisker” gutter protectors which Mark installed this afternoon. Now all the ground floor gutters have leaf protection; the upper floor gutters are sufficiently high that leaf debris is not usually an issue.

In the afternoon Bangle, Karola, and I went for a walk on the stop bank as the ground in the orchard is still mostly a sea of mud. On the way we took the recycling to the Henderson road refuse & recycling station.

Mark came at noon and cleared away the firewood and slash from my chain-sawing a few days ago. He checked the sheep; all present and correct but no new additions.

Electrician Ivan came and continued with tidying up loose ends; he still has lights over the mirrors to do.

After Mark had filled the big trailer with firewood, at Karola’s suggestion, I called Henare and offered him loan of the Landrover and trailer to cart the wood off to one of his extended family. Henare and Denise don’t have a fireplace but sister Aira and others living in Hawkes Bay do. Henare’s response was to come and chat for an hour and borrow a wire strainer again – goodness knows how he keeps breaking wires at one of his hive sites.

Four Mirrors – A Reflection On The Homestead

… Downstairs Cloakroom

… Downstairs Shower And Loo

… Guest Bathroom

… Master Bathroom

Oak Avenue Weather:4.3℃—13.9℃ 2.0mm rain [75.8] TdT eggs=4 Mark=4

Long and enjoyable “Facetime” with Anna (and Dave) in Ealing this morning.

Too soggy underfoot so Mark didn’t come today.

Plasterers came and finished the upstairs GIB stopping.

HomePlus Daniel Curry came and put up the new mirrors in the homestead bathrooms.

The two young Black Doris plums are blooming as is the ancient Santa Rosa. Oaks are mostly at bud break.

Old Santa Rosa Plum In Bloom – Springtime

Oak Avenue Weather:6.3℃—12.7℃ 3.2mm rain [76.2] TdT eggs=3 Mark=0

Mid morning Peter called in response to my email yesterday and we agreed to meet for lunch at the Karamu Road Bay Espresso. Karola, Bangle, and i first went for a short walk along the Clive estuary bank and were back in good time for lunch – it’s on the way back from Clive.

To my delight we saw a mallard duck with a lot of ducklings in the Goose paddock as we drove down the drive on our way to Clive.

Peter and Charlotte described some of their exploits overseas on their trip to England and Florence to visit some of Charlotte’s family. Apparently it all went very well despite being dogged by train strikes, taxi strikes, airline hold-ups and the difficult foreign travel arrangements in Italy where “everybody knows” the ins and outs of public transport except those new to the city. The same applied somewhat even in London because things change and the locals get to know pretty quickly but new-comers can be bemused by it all.

Charlotte’s people have a grand house in central Salisbury, her mother is in a flat nearby with amazing views of Salisbury and the surrounding countryside. They also have a large property in Italy, near Florence, which is an accommodation and guided tour business in the cooler months but is used by the family as a holiday home in the summer.

Ewe #816 got herself cast since yesterday and, although her twins seemed well fed so presumably continued suckling, she was in a pool of mud and most displeased. I rolled her upright and got her to her feet and after a few minutes of staggering about she regained her confidence. Later this evening I checked and, apart from being liberally coated in manure and mud, seemed to be eating well and behaving normally.

In talking to Bridget we find she’s agreed to buy the little black Labradoodle as pictured yesterday. The name is still in doubt.

Wild Mallard Duck With About A Dozen Ducklings

More Action On The Clive Estuary

Oak Avenue Weather:8.3℃—13.2℃ 1.0mm rain [75.7] TdOx2 eggs=3

Ewe #510 has lost both her lambs with no obvious reason – it looked like they were feeding OK but the paddock was sodden with all the rain so maybe they just died of exposure. The other lambs which are several days older are still gambolling round with their mothers in the same paddock. Ewe #510 is out bleating sadly into the night as she looks for her lambs.

Bit of a grey day but a bracing walk along the Clive wetlands perked us up, including Bangle.

I did a bit more fiddling with the media wiring and controls in the homestead and so far the problem which took all our local network down has not re-appeared. I have a new ethernet switch but that was always the triumph of hope over reason; I’ve no good reason for thinking the old ethernet switch was the problem. I have been able to reproduce the interference with the picture from the UHF aerial (terrestrial broadcast) when simultaneously playing a TV from AppleTV and another from the direct over-the-air broadcast.

Due I imagine to the increased daylight hours, my seven hens laid five eggs today. That’s more like it.

Coax Terrestrial-TV Image Occasionally Breaking Up With Simultaneous Use Of AppleTV On A Different TV

Wetlands No Shortage Of Black Swans

Oak Avenue Weather:9.1℃—13.3℃ 1.2mm rain [75.8] TdC eggs=5

No Mark today, sodden ground and more rain forecast from mid morning.

In the morning Monique and Ivan were seen at the homestead but left at lunchtime before the rain and before i had a chance to talk to them.

Bridget’s family are in serious discussions about Bridget getting a dog. Has to be non-shedding so Labradoodle breed became high priority and Bridget is quite keen on the small (but not miniature) black Labradoodle puppy which might be called “Bicka”, pictured below.

I did an hour’s chain-sawing, cutting up a dead tree that had fallen over in the planting area near the sheep yards. Karola helped pop the slash and firewood into the big trailer.

“Bicka” The Labradoodle Puppy – Now Is That A Name For a Gentleman I Ask You

Was An Asparagus Field, Now Newly Ploughed – So What Next I Wonder

Oak Avenue Weather:6.2℃—17.1℃ 19.4mm rain [75.4] TdT eggs=1 Mark=0

Call from Campbell Watt, the generator man in Christchurch, to say that he has arranged for a sparkie with experience in these sorts of installations to make contact next week. Then a call from the water analysis woman who on finding out that I had not received the full explanatory package immediately sent me a copy. The upshot is that, based on the sample I gave them from the cottage kitchen cold water tap, our bore water has only about 25 grams of calcium per cubic metre of water. And they don’t consider water is hard until it exceeds 100 grams per cubic metre. So there’s no point in us getting a water softener after all.

Plasterer here again today.

Mark came and did a variety of odd jobs:

• cleaning/replenishing the chook house
• checking the sheep and feeding them another bale of pea straw
• ewe #510 had twin ram lambs last night but within 48 hours both had died, I suspect from exposure in the wet and maternal neglect)
• more mowing, although the Grillo is playing up and will need professional attention I fear

Karola, Bangle, and I went to the Clive wetlands for our walk; not crowded but there were other people cycling or walking their dogs. The walk starts on the right bank of the Clive estuary before sweeping round to follow the coast on the landward side of the wetlands. We watched a lone pair of scullers near the estuary mouth, looking across to the left bank and the pastures of Hohepa where Karola’s red shorthorn cow and calf came from when first we returned to New Zealand. Because of climate change Hohepa people have relocated to higher ground so we’re not sure what goes on there now.

In the evening I spent a couple of hours over at the homestead and managed to rewire an ethernet socket successfully, at last. I’ve had a few attempts at it recently as one of the ethernet cables inside the walls carrying signals from the control box under the stairs to the room at the top of the stairs wasn’t working. Those eight tiny colour-coded wires are so fiddly.

Scullers Out On The Clive Estuary

Black Swan Family And Passing Ducks

Suspicious Cat As Bangle, Karola, and I Walk Past

Oak Avenue Weather:3.3℃—14.0℃ 8.8mm rain [75.4] TdC eggs=4 Mark=4

Electrician Ivan, painter Monique, and a GIB-stopper were all on-site today.

In the morning had apleasant walk along the stop bank.

After lunch I accompanied Karola to her iPad tutorial in Havelock North.

Mark cleared more stuff off the homestead front verandah then checked the sheep, buried the week’s compost, and mowed the cottage lawn. With this warmer sunny weather the grass is growing fast.

Used To Be An Asparagus Field – I Wonder What Now

Oak Avenue Weather:3.0℃—17.5℃ 0.2mm rain [75.8] TdT eggs=4 Mark=4

So off we went to Emma’s dog grooming and dropped off Bangle for her six-weekly two-hour wash and blow-dry and nails and teeth. She, Bangle, has mixed feelings about it I think. Because she is so clean and silky after her grooming we did not go for a walk on the wet ground today. One walk after so much rain just would undo much of the value of that wash and dry.

Grocery shopping for the week came next then Mitre-10 for some parsley plants as our two groups of parsley died off in the autumn and have shown no signs of revival. Also some more wall hooks for Mark, so he can add strings across the high-up book shelves in the linen cupboard protecting against moderate earthquakes.

Dropped another dozen eggs off at the Hastings Food Bank

A lone GIB-stopper, or as they like to call themselves, “plasterer” turned up and spent the day doing more GIB-stopping – sealing up the cracks between and at the edges of the sheets of GIB on the walls of the homestead.

Got an email last night saying that Mitsubishi NZ regretted that their parent company had cancelled all shipments on the sailig meant to arrive t the end of November. Instead these orders were re-scheduled to the mid May 2023 shipment. I rang and cancelled my order and will get a full refund.

Our water analysis arrived by email today but without interpretation it’s hard to know its significance. Dean the plumber says he needs it to determine the appropriate level of water softener for our bore. The water analysis lab will call me tomorrow with some layman’s interpretation of the calcium content in our water.

Mark came and began by filling in various holes and trenches made while completing the work around the rainwater tanks. Even so the earth was too sticky to finish the job. Then Mark put up the strings across the three new high-up shelves in the new linen cupboard, strings which will stop the books falling off in mild to moderate earthquakes.

Most of the afternoon was spent with me clearing the homestead front (north) verandah of its clutter of timber offcuts, nails and screws and other fasteners, and the doors and windows taken from the original sun porch. These latter are mostly going into the skip.

Oak Avenue Weather:6.4℃—16.7℃ 0.2mm rain [75.9] eggs=1 Mark=4

Paul used the imported spiral balance devices to fix the double-hung sash window on the southern end of the west face of the homestead, upstairs. Monique continued painting upstairs on the balcony. I let HomePlus know we were ready for the bathroom and cloakroom mirrors to be installed – the electric heating pads are in place on the walls behind the mirrors.

John, the installer from Freedom furniture shop, came as planned and swapped the two honeycomb blinds from the homestead to our bedroom in the cottage, and put up the right ones for the homestead bathrooms.

Mark and I drenched the ten ewe hoggets with Cydectin (withholding for meat of 10 days). I heard it mentioned on The Country Programme on National radio at the weekend and it strikes without warning; one minute a healthy looking hogget or lamb, maybe a bit lethargic, and next a corpse. Mark also took down the electric fence protecting me from being bunted by the big old ram; both rams have now “left the building” so to speak. And Mark fenced off the small sea of mud round the new verandah steps from the west to the homestead french doors at the bottom of the stairs. Mid afternoon, with Mark up a ladder placing the books on the shelves, we placed a few dozen more books up out of harms way in the homestead new linen cupboard.

Bridget called and we talked about Springer Spaniels – it’s just possible that Bridget may buy a puppy this month; she’d done lots of research and it does look a good match with her; a companion for life and just adorable. As long as he/she has a regular good diet and very few snacks, and is kept well groomed and clean, a spaniel will be no more vet-prone than most other breeds.

Mark and I began moving stuff off the front (north-facing) homestead verandah so that Monique can clean and paint it.

Oak Avenue Weather:8.9℃—19.8℃ 5.8mm rain [75.8] TdT eggs=3 Mark=4

Monique came and, despite it being Sunday, taking advantage of the sun and higher temperatures, got more of the homestead outside finished.

As planned, late morning, James Russell (Jimmy Rural) came and took away the ten surplus 2021 lambs and both rams.

Somehow we’ve mislaid Bangle’s collar and although we had a spare one that we used yesterday, today we’ve mislaid that one too. So I called two of the Hastings pet shops and the second one did have the sort of collar I was looking for. we drove down to Hastings and I got two new ones; red and light blue. I also dropped in at JayCar and bought a few short ethernet cables for my trouble-shooting at the homestead.

From there we went down to the stop bank and walked along the truck road at the foot of the stop bank; it was somewhat shadey and out of the wind but under-foot was uncomfortable because of the rough shingle and many small lakes of standing water.

Rest of the afternoon was spent in reading up about pruning apple, pear, and plum tgrees on the Internet and then pruning Karola’s micro-orchard. Buds are already forming on most of heer trees and I did, as advised, prune pretty hard so we’ll see what occurs in the summer.

Oak Avenue Weather:9.3℃—23.8℃ no rain [75.9] TdT eggs=3

Clive wetlands and the lime cycle path today.

Afterwards we three went to Bay Espresso in Karamu Road for brunch; it was pleasant having eggs benedict in the garden with Bangle contentedly at our feet.

In the evening I put up another three shelves in the homestead’s new linen cupboard, about nine metres of shelf space.

Ewe #803 had ewe lambs #208E and #209E overnight

Bangle On The Beach

Oak Avenue Weather:14.0℃—23.3℃ no rain [75.5] TdC eggs=2

At last Campbell Watt visited to discuss the backup generator I want to protect us against prolonged electricity outages as the climate-change induced wild weather gets worse.

I called builder Paul and he came round so we could discuss with Campbell what he needs to do in terms of concrete pads for the generator and the gas bottles. With their help we decided on placement of both items; they need to be at least 1.5 metres apart; the generator has to be 800mm or so away from the building. So we’re going to put the generator adjacent to the mains electricity box on the outside of the west wall of the homestead garage. The gas bottles, it’s usual to have two active bottles at all times, will also be on the west wall but at the southern end for ease of replacement as the gas suppliers appreciate easy access.

Mark didn’t come today because of rain, again.

Bangle, Karola, and I had a long walk down on the stop bank where it was relatively dry and while the rain stopped for an hour or so.

Later I remembered that Karola’s repaired (actually replaced) hearing aids were ready so we popped into Hastings and picked them up, getting some more cream, tomatoes, oranges, and selotape from CountDown on the return journey. Karola desires a second pair so that she can recharge one pair while wearing the other and this is now being ordered. As it was late afternoon we stopped at Captain Salty and got a couple of crumbed terakihi fillets for dinner.

Suddenly – Peach Blossom From The Stop Bank

And Chinese Hawthorne (Chinese Photinia) At Home

Oak Avenue Weather:14.8℃—19.7℃ 1.2mm rain [75.7] TdT eggs=3 Mark=0

Another wet night and day but as much drizzle as rain so there’s no surface flooding to speak of but round the chook house and in the paddock gateways its a thick porridge of mud.

The “spiral balances” came today from UK. They are the modern versions of the sash cords and weights in the window frames of double-hung sash windows. Paul can now repair the couple of windows that are not working and have broken spiral balances.

We all had a break and went into Hastings where I stocked up on Rush Munro ice-cream, bought a new Russell Hobbs 4-slot toaster and matching kettle. One of our two toasters broke earlier in the week; we had one for gluten-free bread and one not. Now we have a 4-slot toaster, two slots each. The new kettle is very like the old Breville one but much quieter.

The real reason I wanted to pop into town was to buy a “pilates” floor mat, also known as a “yoga mat”. Nothing may come of it but I’ve noticed a programme of pilates exercises that goes with a set of exercises and recipes to tone you up a bit, and maybe I could do with a bit of that.

I didn’t see any new lambs today but all the existing ones were present, correct, and active. James Russell (Jimmy Rural) finally rang back and is now expected on Sunday mid-day to collect the ten hogget culls and two rams.

Oak Avenue Weather:__℃—__℃ no rain [75.7] eggs=2 Mark=0

Quick trot round the orchard, very muddy and tractors mulching up prunings making a pudding of it all.

More lambs today: #531 with #205R and #816 with twins #206R & $207R

Then off to Ahuriri for our hair cuts with Kim.

Too wet so Mark took a rain check.

Second walk down at the stop bank and there the willow trees are breaking into leaf which is concerning because I have yet to prune Karola’s micro-orchard.

Anna sent a couple of photos of my grandsons on holiday with their dad in Norway.

Backup generator man Campbell Watt called to say he is still on plan to be with us by mid-day on Friday.

Barney Florent In Norway With Yet Another Large Fish

… And His Dad, Marc, With His Sprat

Felix And His Step-Twins On A Hilltop In Molde, Norway

Oak Avenue Weather:12.0℃—16.6℃ 4.0mm rain [75.6] TdOx2 eggs=2 Mark=0

Scaffolding came down today which took several hours. Monique continued some last-minute painting around the end of the west verandah before she goes off for some other urgent jobs.

Ivan was here, presumably finishing off his electrical installations.

Still worried about Bangle’s lack of appetite and languor we took her to the Vets this morning. A new face, Matthew Lowe, checked out Bangle (who now weighs 19.65kg which is a little overweight) and could find nothing wrong. He suggested that we wait for a few days before getting concerned; it’s probably something she ate that disagreed with her.

Shopping, including Cornucopia for my GF bread and a dozen fresh eggs for the Hastings Food Bank. As usual picked up a coffee on the way home, and more chook food from Farmlands. Also picked up the replacement HP printer I bought last night because my trusty and very good HP 8620 stuck hard on an error to contact HP support. For $250 I have the recommended replacement printer and it installed beautifully tonight. I set it up as recommended from mobile device (iPhone) and that entailed downloading the HP app – which I really hate doing. Set up the printer then was able to create as a new printer on Mac no problem. Deleted the HP app on the iPhone and now both Mac and iPhone print happily over WiFi on local network.

Another lamb today; ewe #925 had ewe lamb #204E.

Mark mowed the cottage lawn and curtilage. We then yarded the lambs and drafted them into two groups. The five wethers and five of the fifteen ewe lambs went into the Long Acre to await Jimmy Rural while the other ten ewe lambs rejoined the other ewes, being our replacement ewes for 2023.

The wether lambs are: #102, #106, #108, #122, and #125. The ewe lambs drawing the short straw are: #104, #105, #109, #114, and #115.

In the orchard mulching up prunings and the hedge trimmings was in full noisy progress all day.

Oak Avenue Weather:2.4℃—15.8℃ 1.0mm rain [75.9] TdOx2 eggs=2 Mark=4

Two ewes have lambs today: #511 has twins, #201E and #202R. The ewe lamb has a large black patch on her rump, very distinctive. Ewe #814 had ewe lamb #203E

Monique was here still painting; Paul came too for most of the day, still fixing up bits and pieces. Graham Boalaer brought the short piece of front steps railing to replace the very rotten segment.

Meticulous Maids came late afternoon while we were out down at the stop bank although today Bangle really didn’t want to go along the cycle path so we went down on the river bank for half a kilometre or so.

Brimar Trimmers trimmed the orchard boundaries and the driveway with much deafening thrashing about.

Our Manuka West Boundary, The Orchard East Boundary, Trimmed

The 145 Ormond Raod Orchard Driveway – Trimmed

Oak Avenue Weather:.3℃—14.1℃ 0.2mm rain [75.8] TdOx2 eggs=3 Mark=4

Full walk down at the Stop Bank and delighted to see lots of lambs next to the riding arena. Ours will be arriving shortly.

Then I popped over to Taradale to attend this month’s Free Thinkers meeting. Today there were eleven attendees and the conversations ranged over many topics before we settled down to hear about and discuss the Three waters issue. Before afternoon tea topics we covered included:

• Should the NZ voting age be lowered from 18 to 16
• Raising the age of legal culpability from 11 to 14 – this was the topic but it seems the age limits are much more nuanced than this implied
• What do Russians think of Putin’s war on Ukraine (one group member’s wife has weekly contact with her sister in a Russian city.)
• local government plans for dealing with climate change (are pathetic, incredibly short-sighted and optimistic)
• iniquity of recent resource consent granting for development of new housing on the beach-front at Haumoana

The Three Waters talk and discussion explained the issue in more detail than I’d heard before. Group-member Ali got very worked up about the 50-50 Māori – non-Māori split on the RRG (regional representative groups) which appoint the four regional water service entities, called co-governance. The Government has given an assurance that co-governance will only be applied at the strategic level of Three Waters – not operational. Ali conjectures that this is the “thin end of the wedge” in a bid for Māori ownership of all water in New Zealand.

Henare and Scott called in on Karola while I was away for a coffee and chat and to check his bee hives.

Lambs Seen From The Stop Bank Today

Exterior Painting Of The West & South Faces Is Complete

Oak Avenue Weather:-1.5℃—15,5℃ no rain [75.5] TdT eggs=3

Monique came at sunrise and painted away on the exterior, up on the scaffolding.

Cold start, probably a slight frost, but very sunny day. We attempted a walk down at the stop bank but, despite it being sunny, there was a keen cold biting wind from the Antarctic so we abandoned that and just did a short walk down what Karola calls the “Stoney Chute” and under the expressway bridge and back.

As arranged this morning, Jenny and Noel came for a very welcome chat and exchange of books, leaving around 4:30pm to cycle back to Napier along the riverbank and coastal cycle paths.

Odd day for finding things. Karola mislaid her little black plastic triangle for opening her meds blister pack cells and by chance I bumped into it on the cottage verandah. And looking for something else I found in a filing cabinet drawer the little plastic handles for the honeycomb blinds. Three so far have broken off and needed replacing. I was unable, when the installer called in, to find the ones I received from the store and so he didn’t fix them but today, finding the replacement handles, I glued them to the blind and all is well. Later when looking for my computer track-pad I came across Karola’s old iPad which has eluded us for several weeks. So a good day for finding things.

Anna sent us photos from her recent trip with Felix to Boulogne where Felix’ other grandmother, Barbara Florent, lives. Karola and I had a delightful visit there as part of our UK trip in 2019.

The Busiest We’ve Seen The Arena In Months

Anna – Pas De Calais, Equihen Plage Where I Had My First Sea Swim In Decades In 2019

Anna: La Creche – where Karola & Anna Walked With Poppies in 2019

Anna: Wissant (Pas de Calais) For Waffles & Ice-cream

Anna: This year’s musical themed garden in the Boulogne Old Town (a flower orchestra)

Oak Avenue Weather:-1.7℃—12.7℃ 0.2mm rain [75.6] TdOx2 eggs=2

Paul was here early as usual; Monique soon afterwards. We had quite a crew for most of the day including GIB-Stoppers and plumber Dean. The roofing/spouting contractors came and finished their work.

Lachie TXTed to say he could do our sheep today so we got them in the yards ready. Lachie plus helper plus sheep dog arrived just before lunch. There were three groups to do: 21 in-lamb ewes, 20 hoggets, mostly ewe hoggets, and two rams.

Mark came at mid-day and put up a short electric fence to cordon off the rams from my access to the chook house; I am a little tired (and bruised) from being bunted by the big ram as I go to fetch the eggs. Mark then took down his fence from around the homestead lawn and under the big oak. The ewes have done a good job of chomping their way through the sward; they did such a good job that yesterday they didn’t even bother to come onto the lawn at all.

Karola, Bangle, and I did a short walk along the stop bank which counts as one circuit around the orchard.

Later Karola and I popped into Hastings to see if the shop Freedom Furniture would consider importing a replacement Jōtul F602 Echo wood burner for me from the UK, or Norway. It turns out that I’d thought Freedom and “4-Seasons” were affiliated but not so. When we got back home I called “4-Seasons” in Auckland and had an encouraging conversation with Ryan. I’ve sent photos and details of the Jotul we want and await developments.

Gill’s Photo Of A Full Moon This Evening Shining Across Wellington Harbour Towards Seatoun Heights

Oak Avenue Weather:1.2℃—12.4℃ no rain [75.8] TdOx2 eggs=3 Mark=4

Paul, Monique, and Ivan here for much of the day. Paul’s put up more GIB in the old dining room and helped Ivan put in four more power points in that room. This involved crawling under the house which Ivan was distinctly unkeen on; still Paul pushed him into it and he eventually got on with it, muttering all the while.

Monique was all a fluster because we’ve kept on adding to the list of things for her to paint and her brother, boss of Lett’s Paint is hassling her to do some of the other jobs that are awaiting attention. She was very relieved when I, and, independently Paul, said that as long as she finished the painting needing the scaffolding and the painting needed for the final inspection we were fine with her coming back to continue whenever she could.

Graham Boaler, joiner, came to discuss the cupboard doors in the Bee Room with Paul. Paul has already lined the chimney cavity in that room and made us a neat trapdoor for access into the roof space; these doors will turn it into a built-in wardrobe. Before Graham left we discussed his making panels to cover the old diownstairs fire places and as I requested he made some suggestions as to how to decorate the panel in keeping with the mantle-piece and existing surrounds.

As per Bridget’s electrics plan there’s to be another power point in the large second bedroom, one in the new kitchen (back-to-back with one of the new ones in the old dining room). Also another one in the bathroom for the main bedroom and, while we’re at it, another directly through the wall in the new linen cupboard.

The heated towel rails are up as is one of the heated mirror pads. We’re nearly there.

Mark took a rain check today – wet and very cold.

My cottage Internet went down and I spent much of the day trying to track down the problem. It’s within the cottage/homestead network as I can still get out via the WiFi on the Internet gateway machine. If I disconnect the homestead my cottage Internet springs back to life. I’m hoping it isn’t wiring. More investigation to do.

We went down to the stop bank at lunchtime but were driven away by strong icy winds and biting rain. Later when the sun came out it was almost pleasant and we three completed our full TdT walk. As a(nother) treat we had Captain Salty crumbed fillets followed by Rush Munro ice-cream this evening.

Oak Avenue Weather:1.8℃—10.7℃ 0.4mm rain [75.6] TdT eggs=3 Mark=0

Actually the main event of the day was taking Karola to her first iPad tutorial with Beryl Grayling in Havelock North. This is a service of SeniorNet, a New Zealand-wide organisation helping “seniors”. Karola and Beryl get on very well, Beryl is older than us, was a nurse, and now does multiple good works in addition to free tutoring of older folk needing confidence on their iThing. For example she does “meals on wheels” on Wednesdays. She has two small dogs, an older one and a puppy.

This session was enough of a success that Karola has agreed to go again in a fortnight.

A pretty wet day so no Mark and no painting for Monique. Meanwhile Paul continued putting up as much GIB as we have on the dining room walls. He had more suitable offcuts from the work upstairs than he expected so most of the walls are now done. Paul is ordering more to finish the dining room and do the drawing room too although it may be a while before we’re ready to do that.

After the iPad tutorial we dropped in at Wayne Kirk Mitsubishi to see Chris Riley (027-441-5762) and sign up for a new Mitsubishi Outlander (Next Generation) PHEV VRX, white with grey upholstery and a towbar. The boat is scheduled to arrive at the end of November for customer delivery mid-December but schedules are very unreliable at present. Chris consulted his delivery schedule and, unlike earlier in the week, found a couple of standard (Cardona) white cars still not committed so we got one of those, saving $500 off the earlier quotation.

The Old Dining Room Mostly GIBbed

Oak Avenue Weather:3.5℃—10.7℃ 0.6mm rain [75.5] TdO eggs=2 Mark=2

As Paul had said he would go back to GIBbing the old dining room today I scampered over there and took down the TV before he came.

Then it was off for the weekly shopping before Karola and I had our six-monthly ear-hoovering with Frith Gray after which I dropped in at Mitsubishi to discuss the potential new car purchase some more.

I was disconcerted when the grey interior trim, an option to the standard black described in the brochure, turned out to cost an extra $1000. And the only white vehicle in the November shipment was a special “Diamond White” costing another $500. Earlier I’d rung Campbell’s in Hastings who fit tow-bars and checked that the cost as an accessory on the new car was not much more than Campbells would charge. So that’s another $1500. Karola’s cousin Henare buys old but sound cars which cost about the same as the tow-bar assembly. It’s madness. Anyway I was so discouraged I left without signing anything.

Due to the weather, which rained quite hard most of the day, Mark took a rain check.

When I let the ewes onto the homestead lawn one ewe, #023, didn’t follow. She didn’t seem ill but wanted to stay in the Middle paddock. And today I sadly saw a still born lamb by her side.

Oak Avenue Weather:8.8℃—12.1℃ 21.0mm rain [?] TdT eggs=3 Mark=0

Lachie the shearer TXTed to say as it was unexpectedly not raining and quite dry he’d pop round and do our sheep this afternoon. So Mark and I got the sheep in the yards in preparation.

Mark then got stuck into trimming the Karamu hedge at the 133 gateway. It’s grown way too high, twice the height it should be and correspondingly all the foliage is on the upper branches leaving the hedge we want threadbare.

Rain suddenly poured down around 2:00pm, only for about 20 minutes but enough to put off any ideas about crutching the sheep today. Mark left mid afternoon.

Paul came at the usual time but Monique put off coming today, problems with one of her other jobs I believe. GIB-stoppers came and finished their work upstairs. Paul says the west verandah is now ready to paint and he’ll continue putting up all the GIB he has left in the dining room.

Which reminds me; Bridget thinks that should either of us need to sleep downstairs in the homestead, the current dining room would be a much better “downstairs bedroom” than the old front hall. I think she’s right.

Electrician Ivan came round and continued wiring up the verandah lights. He has the heated mirror pads and the heated towel rails to do as well.

Oak Avenue Weather:8.0℃—14.3℃ 1.8mm rain [75.8] TdT eggs=2 Mark=2

After a brisk walk round the orchard with Bangle we took Bridget in to the Napier airport and saw her safely board the 10:00am flight back to Wellington.

Quiet day with me pondering all that Bridget had provided and yesterday’s test drive of a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV VRX.

In the evening I put up the lamp shade Bridget brought up with her, in the homestead kitchen where it adds a splash of colour to the prevailing white.

Coiunted the ewes on the lawn and was one short. So I checked and indeed one ewe, #023, was hunkered down by the yards, not obviously having a lamb nor ill but she would not come down to join the others.

Oak Avenue Weather:11.4℃—19.4℃ no rain [75.9] TdOx2 eggs=2

Bridget had arranged a test drive in a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV car at Mitsubishi sales on the corner of Karamu road and Alexandra street. Karola, Bridget, and I took it for a spin, along Karamu road, across to the expressway, getting off at the Pakowhai round-about, back towards home where we tried the turning circle around our cottage teardrop lawn, then down to the stop bank and back to the Mitsubishi dealer. (06-873-3077)

The instrument layout and controls are a lot less conventional than the Zoe; there’s way too much information fighting for your attention on the screens; but a couple of things were quite appealing:

• The backing camera which shows not only a wide view directly behind the vehicle but also a top-down view, which seems impossible, but Bridget pretended to be an incautious pedestrian and I could clearly see her pretend to walk into harms way.
• Something I didn’t even notice until Bridget pointed it out, but there’s a heads-up display discretely positioned on the glass near the bottom right corner of your field of vision and it displays your current speed plus a coloured graphic of the current speed limit.
• Only 80 or so km on a full battery but perhaps 700km range with a full tank of 91 octane petrol – so No Range Anxiety
• Tons of room for luggage, especially with the back seats folded down – similar to the room in the Subaru
• 1600kg towing which is less than the 2 tonnes the Landrover can pull but the only load coming near that is a cubic metre of gravel and I think it’s just as easy to get it delivered by an Elms truck. Hay bales and sheep transport will be fine.
• Bridget was particularly impressed with the vibrating steering wheel indicating you’ve drifted out of lane.
• Twin sun roofs, like the Landrover

Both Bridget and Gill think having one vehicle that is thoroughly up to date, reliable, and safe instead of our melange of vehicles with different controls and increasing threat of breakdowns is a good idea. So, that’s now the plan.

After the test drive we tried to go out for lunch; not Karamu Bay Espresso because Karola, Bangle, and I went there yesterday. Went to Birdwood Cafe but they were booked solid; back to New World’s cafe – but due to staff shortages their kitchen wasn’t open. So we ended up going home. In partial recompense we had more Captain Salty’s crumbed fish fillets and chops for dinner.

I quickly finished putting up the electric fence round the homestead lawn and under the big oak; Mark ahd nearly finished it anyway; and let in the ewes.

Later, after watching another episode of Pie in the Sky, Bridget arranged for us to watch a film: Downton Abbey – New Era. Familiar faces albeit quite a lot older.

Oak Avenue Weather:7.6℃—15.3℃ 0.2mm rain [75.9] TdO eggs=3

It was such a beautiful day we decided to once again go down to the wetlands for our walk. Initially very busy (for the Clive wetland) but quickly thinned out until we had the place to ourselves. Had a substantial “eggs benedict” each at the Karamu Road Bay Espresso on the way home.

Couple of DOC workers were admiring DOC’s handiwork in making a new gateway, an obstacle to vehicles getting on the beach. However it’s not quite finished; the vehicle barrier isn’t locked and the pedestrian gate swings wide open. A work in progress.

Monique continued painting the eastern exterior wall.

Mark came and began putting up electric fence round most of the homestead lawn, leaving space for the construction works. He also helped me draft out the hoggets from the breeding ewes so that only the ewes will get the extra tucker from the homestead lawn. Mark assures me that several of the ewes looked very pregnant which is heartening.

Karola, Bangle, and I picked up Bridget from the Napier airport around 8:00pm and we shared some Rush Munro ice-cream once we got home. The ice-cream, and our dinner of a crumbed fillet of gurnard and ¼ scoop of chips each, were because, picking up the Landrover at 4:30pm, I was nearby and the temptation too much.

The bill for fixing the Landrover came in at lunchtime, over $700, mostly labour. Once the failing part was identified, a fuel pump safety cutout switch, it wasn’t expensive to source or fit.

Johno, the mechanic, also fixed some perished pipes in that area of the engine which he thinks will make it idle better. The Landrover behaved properly when I drove it away. Expenssive but nothing compared to the fixing of the Fergie at $3500 or so; the Fergie only cost $4000 but that was in 2005.

Walking Along The Clive Wetlands – On The Limed Bike Pathway

Wetlands Permanent Residents

New DOC Gateway – Dotterel Protection

More DOC Dotterel Protection

The Explanation

At The Sea’s Edge Again

Oak Avenue Weather:1.0℃—17.5℃ 0.2mm rain [75.4] TdC eggs=2 Mark=4½

Monique (painter) and Dean (plumber) arrived early.

Monique is working on the east outside walls now that the scaffolding is fully up and it’s dry. She spent several ours sanding and then began painting; it’s not going to take her long.

Dean’s main task today was to put in the emergency top-up of the rain-water tanks, connecting the cottage pump and bore supply to a pipe going up and into tank #1; there’s a simple mechanical float that opens this supply when the water level drops to within about a metre of the bottom. In this way, as long as the bore holds out, and assuming our virtually uninterruptible electricity supply is installed, we can ensure the sprinklers have water if they need it. The most likely scenario is a prolonged drought as climate changes and weather events become more severe.

Dean also took off a long copper pipe from the outside south wall; he got most of it off from the scaffolding and a short ladder but the last fastener proved stubborn so our extension ladder came in handy.

FloorMark guy was sent today by Brett person to silicone-seal the new vinyl floors in the bathrooms to the skirting. He was supposed to do the laundry downstairs as well but of course the washing machine and dryer are plumbed in, and the Miele fridge and freezer are heavy so he couldn’t get behind them without help. It’s not so important to contain water spills in the laundry; if it did happen the water would just run/seep under the house; so I may decide not to bother.

Master builder Paul took his wife Diana to the south island for the weekend; they’re talking the famous south island scenic railway journey. Dean was in touch with Paul this morning and he was still at the airport 90 minutes after he was supposed to have taken off, However Monique said the train journey doesn’t start until tomorrow quite early; they have all day to get to the start.

Mark came and spent today having another go at the Taupata hedge from the cottage to the damson tree. I asked him to take the big trailer and, standing on it cut the hedge down to a height that was comfortable for him. That way it’ll still be quite tall but I hope will thicken up lower down after the trim.

I installed the latest TV acquisition tonight, it takes a while these days.The in-wall wiring is working as it should for all three downstairs TVs but I still have interference between the terrestrial TV signal (coax cables) and the HDMI signal from the AppleTV carried over ethernet cables.

The ewes could begin lambing at any moment, given the dates they met the ram, so it’s rather late to be crutching and giving the 5-in-1 vaccine, but I contacted Lachie the shearer and he’ll come as soon as he can – but next week is supposed to be quite wet.

Multi-storey Scaffolding – A Long Way Down

Above The Homestead Garage Roof – Looking South

Oak Avenue Weather:2.8℃—16.7℃ no rain [75.2] TdOx2 eggs=2 Mark=4

Paul is off for a long weekend holiday with wife Diana tomorrow so Paul was trying to clear up loose ends as much as possible before he goes.

HomePlus brought round the glass splash panel for the kitchen and installed it. The sink bench still isn’t quite level but the gap between the bottom of the glass and the bench top isn’t really noticeable if you don’t know to look. The back of the glass is painted the same colour as the walls.

Gareth and dean worked on the storm-water work today; by the end of the day it was inspected, approved, and neatly covered in.

Mark continued with his earthquake-proofing of book shelves then made a first pass at trimming the Taupata hedge.

Scaffolders Finished Erecting Along East Side Today

Joiner Graham Delivered The Verandah Windows and They Look Right

Oak Avenue Weather:5.9℃—21.2℃ no rain [75.9] TdT eggs=1 Mark=4

Much activity today at the homestead. Dean and his boss, Gareth were both hard at it; Gareth mapped the path of the extra storm water pipe taking water from the north-west corner and the north-east corner of the homestead over to the big drain he did for us many years ago. I buried an electric fence post where Gareth put a “Y” join in anticipation of this new addition and forgot about it. But Gareth remembered and found the post, found the “Y” join.

The levels are so slight that a bubble-up is needed to get the gradient and flow we’ll need. We already have two bubble-ups for storm-water from the cottage and farm shed.

Monique was here from sunrise until mid afternoon; she still has plenty to do and said there’s so much it’s like we’ve adopted her for now.

The scaffolding team spent the day, on and off, putting up the scaffolding along the eastern side of the homestead.

Dean put in three inspection hatches in the pipes taking water underground to the rain-water tanks. They should have been done when the tanks were installed as once the underground bit filled with leaves and debris the pipes, which act like fat syphons, just stopped working. There’s a hatch in the pipe across from the homestead garage and there are two in the homestead piping.

Paul seems to have bought more kwila decking for the verandah than he needed, there was quite a lot over. I suggested he use it to line the covered-in part of the new verandah and he’s done it in traditional style, that is with vertical palings rather than horizontal planks; it looks really good.

Mark continued with securing the shelves of books upstairs in Karola’s new linen cupboard. The tarpaulin over one wall – a whlte plastic lattice, not a conventional tarp – will prevent those books tumbling onto the pictures stacked below. Most of the other shelves now have a strong nylon cord across the face, about 150mm up from the shelf and this will restrain most of the books in the event of a moderate earthquake.

Shopping this morning then I had a dental appointment – all done and dusted by 12:30pm. Later Karola, Bangle, and I took the recycling to the depot in the Subaru.

After dinner and some TV I tried to fix an ethernet cable that rats had gnawed up in the attic. Balancing on ceiling joists, trying to secure the eight little coloured wires into their appropriate slots on a connector with poor lighting – not a great success but I shall persevere, maybe tomorrow. Wsasn’t helped by finding that the rats had gnawed through a second spot, no wonder my connector didn’t solve the problem.

Storm Water Junction With Gareth’s Main Drain To The Ha-Ha From The Rainwater Tanks Many Years Ago.

The New Storm Water Drain Extension

Gill Sent This View Of Rainbow Touching Down On LOTR Site – Pot Of Gold At Frodo’s Burrow Perhaps?

The Unpleasant Roof Space Where Rats Have Gnawed Some of My Cables

Oak Avenue Weather:0.7℃—17.9℃ no rain [75.5] TdO eggs=2 Mark=4

Nipped down to the stop bank in the morning; after a frosty start the day was really rather splendid, weather-wise.

Set Mark off on trimming the Taupata hedge which stretches from the cottage pumpshed across to the ha-ha.

Karola, Bangle, and I went over to Havelock North, to the Monday SeniorNet Hawkes Bay gathering at Arohanui Church, 81 Middle Road, Havelock North, at 1:00pm.

Organiser Colleen Hamilton greeted us (Collham41@gmail.com 027-467-8938) and introduced us to Karola’s tutor, Beryl Grayling (berylgrayling@gmail.com 021-260-5144). We will meet at Beryl’s place next time, 50 Lucknow Road, Havelock North.

Mark and I began putting up a plastic netting sheet across the front of the eight shelves of books in Karola’s homestead linen cupboard. When complete it’ll provide some protection against falling books in an earthquake.

Paul continued finishing touches to the west verandah windows; Plumber Dean came and made progress on their list including addign inspection hatches in each of the underground rain water pipes feeding the rainwater tanks. He remarked that the water from the homestead garage looked clear so maybe that wasn’t the source of the tannin-tinged supply.

Ruahine Ranges

Oak Avenue Weather:-1.2℃—16.3℃ 0.2mm rain [76.3] TdT eggs=0 Mark=4