Monthly Archives: April 2023

A little more activity in the homestead in anticipation of the English tgravellers arrival late afternoon. Two more heaters unpacked. Heaters on in bedrooms, upstairs TV room, and kitchen, just to take the chill off.

I took Bangle for a walk in Pakowhai Country Park but remembered almost t once that I’ve been meaning to bring some tools to fix the broken handrail on the farthermost bridge across the Rapaure stream. So I went back and picked up tools, returned and fix the rail, “helped” by a passer-by who was offering to help but then kept telling me how to do it. Meanwhile his dog slobbered over my knapsack containing the tools. Afterwards picked up three tubs of ice-cream for pudding.

Chooks have all appeared during the day but they’re not laying in the house nor sleeping there as far as I can tell.

Picked up Anna, Dave, and Felix at Napier airport. It was such a delight to see them and they don’t seem any older thanwhen we saw them last in the flesh, in the UK in 2019.

Rail Split After Cyclone Gabrielle – Pakowhai Country Park

I Mended This Today

Oak Avenue Weather:12.6℃—18.8℃ 0.6mm rain [77.5] TdP eggs=0

Bought more food as we anticipate the three world travellers tomorrow.

Otherwise a very languid not to say sluggish day – no idea why except maybe for a binge watch of the last half of TV series The Bay series 4 that ended around 1:30am.

Late afternoon Tessa Wier and her daughter Ashley dropped in for a chat and to look around at the changes made to the homestead. Ashley is over here to participate in national gymnastics competitions. Today she got two medals, one a gold. Tomorrow she may get a gold ribbon, a highly prized medal.

Ashley Wier (Tessa’s Gymnast Daughter) Trying Out The Stair Chair

Oak Avenue Weather:11.6℃—16.6℃ 0.6mm rain [77.0] TdP eggs=0

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

This morning I was pleased to see seven hens and the rooster wandering round. Late afternoon I moved the chook house to its permanent position behind the rainwater tanks. It still needs some levelling up but that’s maybe for the weekend. This evening, after dark, I only found three black hens and the rooster and one of the hens flew into my face effecting her escape, for now. The others were carried to the chook house.

Only two geese have been visible today and I wondered if the third one had died until I saw it in the Front paddock. It had ob viously jumped down the ha-ha and got stranded. After dark I attempted to reunite the geese and at one point the lone goose thought it was cornered so it flew at me and knocked me flat on my back. My solution for tonight was to chase the two geese into the Middle paddock where the lone goose was. We can worry about getting them out of the Middle paddock tomorrow.

Another gate mystery today, two gates shut near the Damson tree that I intended be open. The gate from the Middle paddock into the Front paddock, and the gate from the Middle paddock into the One Acre. Other gates joining those paddocks were still open so it didn’t achieve much.

Karola, Bangle, and I went off for our walk soon after Mark arrived mid morning. First we stopped at Fast Trade to pick up the “captive nut” clips I’d ordered for the Grillo.

Then we stopped at Harris Pumps & Filtration. I showed them a jar of water from the cold tap and they agreed they’d not want to drink it. Also arranged for one of their people to come and change the ultra-violet lamp in the homestead pump shed, it zaps all biological contaminants in the water from the rainwater tanks. Harris’ advice is to disconnect the main rainwater tank from the others, drain and refill with bore water and go from there.

Coffee and sandwich from BP’s Wild Bean Café then on to Pakowhai Regional Park (aka Country Park) for lunch then a short walk. I noticed and oddly named energy drink at BP. Of course the full contents name is AURINE – GINSENG but “aurine” is hardly an ingredient to inspire.

Mark continued mowing the lawns so it looks nice for Anna, Dave, and Felix. Late afternoon he and I tried to fix the homestead garage broken roller door. By the time he left we’d got rather grease-covered hands and figured out what we should have done.

Henare came round to borrow back his strimmer so I co-opted him to help with the garage door. We got the chain back on its sprockets but then nearly broke it big time as the door tried to close several feet below the ground. Then the one of the turnbuckle threads came out of its body which meant starting over again. We figured that theplastic fitting where the door strut engaged with the wire needed to be positioned so that the door shut completely and opened fully. Our next attempt had the door stopping about 300mm short of the floor. Finally we got it so that the door stops less than an inch from the concrete floor. Henare and I declared victory and joined Karola for a coffee before dinner.

Melatonin-Rich Power Drink At BP – Not For Me

Oak Avenue Weather:8.4℃—17.5℃ no rain [77.6] TdP eggs=1 Mark=4

This morning Karola, Bangle, and I popped down to MYLK shop and bought some fresh meals ready for Anna et al, arriving on Sunday. In the fridge they’ll keep until Tuesday so even if the travellers crash out on Sunday evening we can have them on Monday. MYLK shop is over half way to Havelock North so we carried on to see how much of the Tainui dog-walkers path was finally re-opened after cyclone Gabrielle. We found it was open and pleasant for all the first section up to where it begins to get steep so that suited us well.

Campbell Watt and Aaron Wakeford (electrician) seem to have lost the battery Campbell said he’d sent to Hastings, the battery being necessary to see whether the generator survived the cyclone once we’d dried it out. So on the moring trip to Havelock North we called in and sure enough I spotted the battery sitting in a corner. Advised Campbell and Aaron and early afternoon Aaron and apprentice turned up, installed the battery, tested the generator – it was fine – and tested the automatic switch-over and back in event of a power cut. All now working as intended so I can arrange a crane to come and lift the generator so we can put builder Paul’s wooden platform under it to avoid floodwaters in the future.

Mark came and did some more bonfire work then he and I moved the chook house from its spot in the goose paddock onto the lawn under the big oak. This is a temporary position as we move the chook house to a new permanent place near the rainwater tanks. However the bad news is that tonight not a single chook was sleeping in the house even though I’d fed them at the new spot and put food on the ramp and up into the house.

Later I went searching for the chooks and found five black hens perched on railings. With much squarking in the dead of night I put them in their chook house but that leaves the rooster and more hens still AWOL

A beeping from the homestead pumpshed means that the ultraviolet bio-zapping bulb needs replacing.

Leonie, our new cleaning lady, spent her three hours in the homestead sweeping up more cluster flies and cleaning surfaces and the mirrors Bridget and I put up in the bedrooms yesterday.

To my surprise I saw that the lambs had been let into the paddocks with the ewes and ram. Strangely the gate from the Long Acre to the Holding paddock was shut and one of the gates from the Holding paddock into the Middle paddock was ajar – maybe not latched and pushed open. So some of the ewe lambs may end up with lambs themselves this season.

Chook House En Route To New Temporary Position

Aaron Testing Out The Backup Generator

Oak Avenue Weather:6.0℃—17.6℃ no rain [77.8] TdJ eggs=0 Mark=4

Today Bridget has several stints of remote working with her Wellington colleagues. Meanwhile I had a reguar meeting with my ophthalmologist, Dr John Beaumont. Karola and I got up late and rushed to be in time, arriving just two minutes before the appointment. The rest of the morning was spent in interminable waiting, first for the practice nurse to give some routine and boring tests, then again before Dr John finished with the two patients before me. He was two patients behind and it was barely past breakfast. Anyway we were all done and back home before 11:30am but without doing any of the weekly shopping I’d hoped to do.

There were a couple of very noticeable earthquakes mid morning, both quite close to Hastings and not very deep. A 5.8 magnitude then a 5.4 magnitude quake and I gather these were felt by people all over new Zealand.

Dr Beaumont told me he is retiring in July and that his replacement is Dr Baswati Sahoo who hails from India, was trained in the Indian Air Force and is a glaucoma expert. Karola really liked her when we were getting second opinions for her eyes after her cataract operations.

A van from Acorn, the stair chair people, came and collected a small set of collapsable steps left here accidentally by the installer, Dave.

Campbell Watt (“Generator Man”) TXTed to say he couldn’t find the battery he had couriered to Hastings.

Mark came but it began to rain after an hour so he went home.

During a break in her remote working Bridget and I put up three mirrors in three bedrooms in the homestead. She also helped me reorganise upstairs in the cottage now i have a “stand desk” for my iMac.

Later Bridget, Tux, Bangle, and I went round the orchard and got some apples for Bridget to take home. Then Bridget and Tux set off for home and Karola, Bangle, and I did the weekly shopping which is typically done in a morning. The fresh fish was really fresh having just come off a fishing boat an hour or so before. I purchased two oil-based electric heaters as Bridget suggested so that there’s a heater in every bedroom in the homestead.

It being very dark by the time we got home, at Karola’s suggestion we nipped down to Captain Salty’s and bought dinner.

I was also late collecting the eggs and so saw inside the chook house after dark. One of the original six Black Orpington hens is missing (presumed devoured).

Oak Avenue Weather:6.8℃—20.3℃ 1.8mm rain [78.0] TdO eggs=2 Mark=1

Bridget did a prodigious amount of sweeping and cleaning after taking Tux for an early morning walk. Late morning she took us in her car for another walk. We took coffee and sandwiches to Pakowhai Country Park and had brunch on a concrete table and benches in the park; Bangle took the dogs for a walk.

Bridget and I tidied up the packaging from the new furniture and the standing desks.

Having moved my “stand desk” to upstairs in the cottage, today Bridget helped me complete the upgrade to a desk that lowered below 72cm. Then we moved the TV in the cottage living room to the wall shared with the bedroom, putting up the TV wall mount we bought yesterday.

Bridget And Tux Enjoying An iPhone Moment

Plaque On The Concrete Picnic Table – Pakowhai Country Park

Bangle And Karola

Oak Avenue Weather:1.7℃—19.9℃ no rain [77.9] TdP eggs=0 Mark=0

Got a call this morning from Mainfreight saying they had two furniture items to deliver and would be arriving in about two hours time. The only thing I could think of was the small sofa and matching chair that Bridget suggested we buy for the cottage in the Farmers Christmas sales. However that was a sale item, heavily discounted, that wasn’t expected to arrive until June.

Quickly we finished getting up and cleared a path for the items to be placed in the cottage living room. Bridget then took us, and Tux, down to Lappuccino’s for a quick brunch. We had coffee and BLATs and, to my surprise, were back well in time for the delivery.

The items squeezed into the living room in their big cardboard packaging.

Bridget was engaged in remote working with her colleagues in Wellington for much of the afternoon.

I first finished making the slatted bed for the second single bed frame upstairs in the homestead. With Bridget’s help we got the bed ends, rails, and the new slatted base upstairs and assembled. Bridget also put up the three special light shades that arrived some time ago.

Late afternoon Bridget unpacked the sofa and chair – there is an awful lot of cardboard and plastic – and we disassembled the very old, uncomfortable sofa replaced by the new one. The old one was bought by Karola back in 1983 while we were on assignment in Old Greenwich, Connecticut in an development called Riverside if my memory serves.

Afterwards, and while it was still light, just, we popped into Hastings and bought a TV wall mount for the cottage living room TV that we’re relocating due to the new sofa. Then on to Pakowhai Country Park to exercise the dogs and finally to Captain Salty for our F&C dinner.

Oak Avenue Weather:6.7℃—15.2℃ 0.4mm rain [78.0] TdP eggs=2 Mark=0

Bridget was up early walking Tux. She then set off the nine insect “bombs” I’d bought which are advertised as giving six month protection against flies and cockroaches and the like. Once activated it is unwise for humans to re-enter the spaces for three hours.

Bridget had tried vacuuming up the myriad cluster flies last night and said that our household Electrolux vacuum cleaner was broken so today we set out to buy a replacement.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Miele appliances and so we bought a bagless, filtered, corded Miele. Not the top of the range with an especially strong suck but the next model down and ⅔ the price. Prudently we went from Godfrey’s – the house of vacuum cleaners – to Harvey Norman and checked prices. Harvey Norman were about ⅓ more expensive so we went back to Godfrey’s and made our purchase. Bridget likes it and we’re sure that Leonie, our cleaning lady, will too.

Whilst in town we bought 100 35mm wood screws to fasten the bed slats to their runners. Bridget also bought Tux some more food and a few vegetables for our dinners.

On the way into town, at the cattlestop, we noticed that the roots of the big cedar that used to stand on the outside of the corner by the cattlestop were still smouldering giving off a delightful smell. I was less amused at seeing my Light Sussex rooster outside the gate on the opposite side of the road. For much of the day I was unable to find the rooster or six of the eight black hens – I searched all along the road fence area and in the orchard opposite. I was very relieved when I saw that they’d all re-materialised at dusk, scratching away amongst the leaves in the Goose paddock.

Bridget and I also found time to swap over the “entry level” legs of the “stand desks” with the newly arrived “essential” ones, the ones that go lower and higher than the “entry” ones and in particular go below the 74cm height of a conventional desk.

We ended the day with a rather good MYLK beef casserole dish to which we added green beans and new potatoes.

Oak Avenue Weather:11.8℃—20.3℃ 0.2mm rain [78.3] TdP eggs=0

Awoken to Bangle barking at 8:00am. It was postie delivering the two replacement legs for the stand desks. Thank goodness we don’t need to disassemble and re-package up both desks to return them, we only need to send back the old legs and controller.

Very overcast but not cold. Karola had a boiled egg for breakfast. We listened to the Country Life programme on national Radio.

After our pleasant walk in Pakowhai Country Park, by mid afternoon the sun had come out and it was quite warm, we ad an iced coffee each at Rush Munros. These are not coffee with ice but coffee with a single scoop of ice cream, added whipped cream and boysenberry syrup. Not very calorie conscious but in one fell swoop fulfilled Karola’s serial requests for: an ice-cream, a coffee, and a cold drink.

Late afternoon Karola and I cut the bed slats to fit a single-sized bed.

Soon after 9:00pm Bridget and Tux arrived having driven up from Wellington after they saw Natalie onto her plane back to Canterbury University – it being the end of her Easter break.

Watching Bridget’s car zoom along the highway on my iPhone I was surprised at the speed she was going – but I checked with her and she says she was only doing the regulation 100kph.

Pakowhai Country Park – Well Treed Verdant Walkways

… Looking Upstream (Above) & Downstream (Below)

And Up On The Adjacent Ngaruroro Stop Bank

Christopher Robin & Pooh?

Oak Avenue Weather:15.8℃—22.4℃ 1.6mm rain [78.1] TdP eggs=1

Lie-in this morning but up in time for Mark’s arrival mid morning. Mark noticed that the beautiful Caravaggi mulcher/chipper that I’d left out under the eucalypts for ages had water inside the main chamber. So today he opened it up and cleared the drain-hole and got the water out of it. I popped down to the garage and got some vegetable oil and Mark used that to spray around inside the mulcher. Mark then went back to mowing the homestead lawn.

Picked up the belt for the Grillo deck although the damaged one has been going on and on so far so the new one is, for now, just a spare. Also got a set of good quality screw drivers and now have to think where is the strategic place to put them – I have a set of screw drivers on the wall in the homestead, the cottage garage, the homestead garage, and the farm shed but the ones used frequently have worn badly and I seem to have mislaid some.

Jason from HomeBase came and installed the loo roll holders and one hand rail they missed.

Oak Avenue Weather:12.7℃—22.1℃ 2.6mm rain [78.2] TdO eggs=2 Mark=4

Mark came mid morning, as is now usual, and he got the Grillo back together after I’d failed to replace the old deck belt last night – a bit too much brute strength needed and some dexterity. He then spent until noon moving branches to the site of the bon fire and afterwards began mowing the homestead lawn.

Jill Drew from Hawks Bay Hospital, well from one of its groups monitoring older people, came as planned and spent a cople of hours quizzing Karola and offering advice and taking notes as she assessed how we were coping on our own out here. I think her impression was that we were coping pretty well. She did make the point that Karola, Bridget, and I should have enduring power of attorney sorted out. We need tthat for financial and property decisions and separately for personal and health decisions. Bridget has said this several times so we’ll try to make progress on it when she comes up next week.

We’ve started with our new cleaner now that Meticulous Maids are no more; Leonie is her name I think. She’ll be coming 1:00pm – 4:00pm every second Thursday.

Measured up for the slats for the two single beds in the homestead and Karola, Bangle, and I popped down to Mitre-10 and bought them late afternoon.

Oak Avenue Weather:14.0℃—24.1℃ no rain [?] TdO eggs=1 Mark=4

Doctor’s appointment, annual check, for Karola this morning. At MYLK I bought prepared meal for this week and for when Bridget is with us from Sunday next week – Tuesday is ANZAC Day and there’ll be no shopping that day.

Grillo is back from its service at Outdoor Power. I took off the deck belt and ordered a new one from ATI Engineering in Omahu Road.

Mark cleared more branches.

Jan Talbot called; she has arranged a cleaning woman for tomorrow afternoon. DHB’s Jill Drew had to be rescheduled again – to tomorrow morning.

Spoke to Justin (Small Farm Services) and he’s put me in touch with someone to spray the One Acre to get rid of the Californian thistles. Plan is to have that paddock back in lucerne next spring.

Oak Avenue Weather:15.9℃—24.5℃ no rain [78.7] TdP eggs=1 Mark=4

Another week, another shopping Tuesday. That included attempting to post a small package to Harry, my brother-in-law and Karola’s brother. As part of the morning’s frolics I dropped in at the Stortford Lodge pharmacy which contains the local post office. But, they explained, they could not accept my parcel because they’d run out of the sticky labels to use on parcel post that will deliver to post boxes. I can try again in a few days or go to another post office and hope they’re not in the same situation.

As part of this saga I’d called Harry’s daughter Tessa and asked how to post parcels to their place. It’s a farm a few miles north of Bulls; it’s a factory in Bulls on the road to Whanganui, and it has been PO Box 19 for decades. Least complicated and lowest cost is to use the PO Box. Good luck with that (see above). Annyway Tessa and her daughter Ashley are coming to Hawkes bay at the end of the month and will drop in to see us on 29th April.

Jason Curry from HomeBase came this afternoon and we surveyed the places to put up handrails in the homestead and cottage – showers and loos. His worker Sam fitted them while Karola and I were out at Pakowhai Country Park with Bangle.

Mark did a couple of hours moving tree rubbish to the site of the bonfire and then he and I brought some old Kauri planks, demolition rescue wood, from the orchard shed to the back door of the homestead. It’s for Paul to make the linen cupboard shelving with.

Beautiful Tall Gums In Pakowhai Country Park

Oak Avenue Weather:10.7℃—20.3℃ 0.2mm rain [78.1] TdP eggs=1 Mark=4

Karola and I got the Zoe in to Napier for its WOF and service. They lent us a huge Kia monster for the day – petrol – and the controls were pretty baffling. Lots of visual feedback, some in a HUD (heads-up display) at the bottom of the driver-side windscreen.

I went to a meeting with Hannah Blow and others in Hastings for a lecture on caring for people as they got older. Mildly interesting and some of the other attendees were obviously having a very rough time with their aged partners.

Got a MYLK meal for tonight. Also dropped off one of the belts I’ve bought for the Grillo – turned out to be the wrong one, again.

Mark did more branch clearing and then moved heaps (shelves, actually) of books from the linen cupboard/room to the shelves we put up in the room at the top of the stairs. Mark had a ride on the stair chair.

Returned the Kia loaner and picked up the Zoe before taking Bangle for a walk at the Pakowhai Country Park.

Oak Avenue Weather:10.0℃—19.1℃ no rain [78.1] TdP eggs=1 Mark=4

Quiet morning and pleasant walk in Pakowhai Country Park in the early afternoon. Later I spent a couple of hours moving stuff – books and pictures – out of the linen cupboard, upstairs in the homestead, preparing for builder Paul to install wide linen shelving.

Pakowhai Country Park: Native Trees

Linen Cupboard – Clearing Ready For Linen Shelves

Linen Cupboard – Still Lots Of Books To Shift

Oak Avenue Weather:11.6℃—19.6℃ no rain [78.2] TdP eggs=1

Autumnal day, couple of showers. not cold.

Recycling is piling up so we did a run to the recycling station. Then a pleasant walk along the Clive river stop bank which curves right to become the walk along the wetlands. Talked to old sea dog tending his chickens behind the sea wall. He too has trouble finding the eggs.

One Of Several Black Swans

Three Spoonbills

Cyclone Driftwood

Snapper Fishermen

Cape Kidnappers

Oak Avenue Weather:13.0℃—18.9℃ 3.0mm rain [78.5] TdP eggs=2

Mark took a raincheck today so we really do have three days of peace and quiet, nothing to be on time for or think about.

Ben has been up and about Waikanae with his fabulous ornithologist’s camera and sent me a snap of a friendly black swan, after some food we’ll be bound.

So the stand desk installation is going well and I’ve tried out the big one, demonstrating how high and low it can go. I was a little puzzled that I could not get the desk to drop below 720mm from the floor. Today I checked and my desk in the cottage is 740mm above the floor. The reason for buying these desks was to use them a few inches lower than my current desk. I called the distributor and asked if there were any way to lower the desk further, to perhaps get shorter legs. Nothing doing. She pointed out that only the cheapest version was constrained to 720mm; the more expensive ones went down to 620mm.

I rang Bridget and explained. Didn’t we check before we ordered? Yes we did. Bridget has one of these desks and before we bought online we checked that the desk went down far enough. So this is $2000 mis-spent.

Somewhat alarmed at my error I called the distributor back and all id sweetness and light again. She’ll send us two desks the same size but the next model up next week. We can use the packaging to package up our current two desks and then when she gets them back she’ll give me a refund. Whew! A few happy hours putting up the current desks but otherwise not real harm done.

Dodo On Waikanae Beach?

Oak Avenue Weather:14.0℃—17.9℃ 3.8mm rain [78.3] TdO eggs=1 Mark=0

Into town to buy a couple of MYLK meals for tonight. Meanwhile David Robinson, who had driven down from Hamilton yesterday put up the new stair chair. When we got back he demonstrated it and explained its features.

Electrician Ivan turned up and we got a TV cable pulled through the cottage living room wall so I can try the TV on the southern (bedroom) wall. Ivan also determined that my upstairs landline phone was not working because I’d forgotten to plug it in – I must have unplugged it as part of him fixing the dead cottage phone lines problem after the cyclone.

Mark came and spent a couple of hours moving slash to the bon-fire site. We then mucked about trying to see if the front Grillo drive belt was broken – it wasn’t. So the Grillo is booked for an early service on Monday when I hope problems will be resolved. The rest of the afternoon was spent in beginning the assembly of Bridget’s stand desk.

Jen Talbot of Miranda Smith Homecare came for a couple of hours late afternoon. She is the manager of the Hawkes Bay branch. Having read their prospectus I could see there were elements that could be very helpful to me and Karola (and Bangle) now and even more in the future. An excellent discussion and we decided to begin slowly with three days a week and see how it goes. Finding the right person is both crucial and difficult, I anticipate. In addition to some fortnightly house cleaning, replacing the now defunct Meticulous Maids, the companion/carer might come for three hours beginning with a walk with Karola and Bangle, then cook us dinner, and be around to chat afterwards. Early Days but seems hopeful. I think of it as an antidote to virtual “lockdown”.

The New Stair Chair Installed Today

Oak Avenue Weather:10.3℃—23.2℃ 0.8mm rain [77.6] eggs=1 Mark=4

Haircuts for me and Karola this morning; Lachie came whilst we were out and did his shearing tasks. He looked at the limping hired ram but couldn’t see anything wrong. He tidied up the ram’s feet and tonight it had stopped limping.

Karola and I finished assembling the big “stand desk” upstairs in the homestead in the room at the top of the stairs.

Mark did mowing until the Grillo began playing up and trailered some more “slash” to the site of the bon-fire.

Frisky Lambs After being Shorn

Large “Stand Desk” Assembled – Lowest Point

Large “Stand Desk” Assembled – Highest Point

Oak Avenue Weather:11.4℃—24.6℃ 0.4mm rain [78.3] TdO eggs=2 Mark=4

Fish – Groceries – GF Bread – Cash – Laundry – Sandwich & Coffee. In other words the usual Tuesday except that while waiting for the BP Wild Bean Cafe coffee (one large latte, single-origin, one medium flat white – single origin) we popped close by to Farmlands and bought 25kg of kibbled maize and 25kg of whole maize.

Mark came mid morning and began by pulling more branches onto the Front paddock’s bonfire. He then helped me with the assembly of the larger flat-pack standing desk until just 20 minutes before knock-off he and I tried to get the sheep ready for Lachie’s shearing visit tomorrow. Lachie wanted the sheep penned up tonight, intending to come and shear them tomorrow morning. I was hoping to keep the ram in the One Acre but he was having none of it and charged me, on the gate, to stay with his harem. I noticed he had a pronounced limp anyway so I’ve asked Lachie to have a look at that while he’s here tomorrow – so maybe staying with the ewes is better.

Pakowhai Country park – Good For Dogs

Oak Avenue Weather:11.0℃—25.7℃ no rain [78.0] TdP eggs=1 Mark=4

A beautiful day, could have been mistaken for summer. Especially so in Pakowhai Regional Park where we went with Bangle. Almost too hot in the sun but under the trees just right.

I started assembling one of the standing desks Bridget suggested I buy. There’s a desk for me and one for her and they’ll be in the room at the top of the stairs.

Autumn Day – Seatoun Heights (courtesy Gill Brackenbury)

The Tranquility Of Pakowhai Regional Park

Oak Avenue Weather:13.4℃—26.5℃ 2.8mm rain [77.9] TdP eggs=2

We finished creating, re-creating the shelving that used to be in my office – the big bedroom adjacent to the master bedroom. Now i have somewhere to begin putting the books in the linen cupboard as I need the linen cupboard clearted so that Paul can outfit it with lots of shelves wide enough for storing bed linen etc.

Top Of The Stairs – Simple Wall Bookshelves Now Installed

Oak Avenue Weather:12.1℃—20.8℃ 0.4mm rain [78.5] TdO eggs=1

Quiet day, cold and overcast, almost like winter.

Did a bit more on the book shelves and Karola and I listened to the second of two Morse stories as audio books.Both good.

Had a MYLK meal tonight, tuscany beef with new potatoes and peas. Karola said it was really rather good.

Oak Avenue Weather:10.5℃—15.0℃ 0.2mm rain [78.4] TdP eggs=1

Heavy rain for a while in the night.

Got a call mid morning while I was dozing from the FIKO restaurant in Havelock North. Could I confirm booking for five this evening. I couldn’t remeber making any reservation so assumed it must be something I’d arranged for Bridget who, for a while, was coming up here so Chris and I could attend the Rod Stewart concert at the Mission tomorrow night. It was not to be as Bridget is still testing positive and the forecast is for rain which makes standing on the grassy slope at the Mission not so desirable. So I cancelled the booking and called Bridget to check. No it was not for her … and then I remembered, it was for Peter & Charlotte and their guest David Greig. We’ve done this before when David stays with P&C for a couple of nights although last time it was Peter’s favourite Indian restaurant, Namaskar. So I called back FIKO and reinstated the table.

Spent time upstairs in the house assembling the kitset book shelving in the room at the top of the stairs while Karola and Bangle relaxed on the small green sofa Bridget got for that room, a combined office/TV room for the future.

Karola and I set off for FIKO around 6:00pm and met up at the restaurant with P&C and David. Again I found it rather too noisy but the food was good. We adjourned for coffee and orange cake at P&Cs. A pleasant evening and a very welcome night out with friends away from Karamu.

Oak Avenue Weather:10.3℃—16.1℃ 15.4mm rain [78.1] TdP eggs=1

Mark came and spent today dragging branches over to the bonfire pile.

Karola, Bangle, and I popped into town because Karola is due her annual cholesterol blood test and I had to post some items max Rashbrooke had left at Karamu back to him in Wellington care of his parents in York Bay. We dropped in to the Plaza Pharmacy next to K-Mart and both got our Covid booaster and annual flu vaccine. Then we went down St Aubyn’s Street and bought MYLK meals, one extra for the long weekend and picked up last week’s laundry before going home for lunch.

Shortly afterwards we took Bangle to her grooming session with Emma – the session postponed from Tuesday.

So we dropped off Bangle at 1:00pm, returned home then picked her up again at 3:00pm all clean and silky. It won’t last. No walk today because it’s such a shame to immediately get her muddy and dusty.

Oak Avenue Weather:11.1℃—23.5℃ no rain [78.4] eggs=1 Mark=4

Catching up on emails today, still a long way to go.

Mark made up some weedkiller, a small spray bottle of Versatil for Karola and half a knapsack of Roundup. Mark sprayed the drives and round the edges of the buildings; Karola expects to take on some local spots of Californian thistles.

Later Mark and I began reinstalling my technical book shelving in the room at the top of the stairs. It used to be in the big bedroom adjacent to the master bedroom. There are five shelves 3 metres long and another five shelves 1.9 metres long.

Karola is still recovering from the excitement of the weekend and so skipped her visit to Chatham House today.

Having seen that the pakowhai Regional Park was reopened a few days ago we went there for Bangle’s walk this afternoon. It’s still showing the scars of cyclone Gabrielle – mud, dead shrubs, very silty water flows and so on – but the main paths are clear.

I took a look at the work Paul has been doing recently. The french doors all work properly now so I look forward to when Monique paints them. The leak from the balcony may be fixed now. As per the photo below, Paul has covered the rat hole and silicone-filled the board gaps between the last three boards.

Western End Of The Homestead Balcony Floor

Damaged Packaging Just Noticed On The Standing Desk Flat-Packs

Oak Avenue Weather:4.6℃—22.4℃ no rain [78.7] TdP eggs=2 Mark=4

A good quick morning’s shopping. Emma the dog groomer TXTed last night to say she had a stomach bug and so Bangle’s grooming had to be cancelled.

Paul came and knocked up a very strong wooden platform for the generator so it’ll be 500mm above ground level. Now I have to arrange the crane to lift the generator while Paul puts the platform in place. Paul also investigated the leak into the homestead sun porch from the balcony. Turns out that the last two boards of the balcony floor are not, unlike the rest, tongue-and-groove so there’s a gap for water to run down. There’s also a rat hole through the boards which would not help. Anyway Paul ahs plugged the rat hole and put a grey silicon sealant into the gap between the boards. Paul also investigated the downpipe which I’d seen spraying water over the back porch roof. That downpipe is blocked with leaves even though it’s two stories up. There’s no good substitute to regualr, say annual, cleaning of the gutters, even those on the top floor.

Mark came and finished the little electric fence across the Long Acre so that, I hope, the lambs will be kept up their end. Mark also mowed behind the homestead garage and along the driveways as far as the fallen trees will allow. Just before he left for the afternoon Mark helped me get the two white arm chairs down from the upstairs TV room back into the living room.

Keith and Peter sawed some more of the fallen trees and also spent much of the afternoon splitting rounds of oak for firewood for Peter.

The Stihl Shop called yesterday and I returned the call this morning. Apparently the spare part to replace the broken chainsaw handle is maybe two months away but apparently I can continue using the loaner chainsaw until I’ve finished with it or my chainsaw is fixed.

Tried to book the dual vaccinations for Covid and flue but apparently the Covid vaccine hasn’t been received by Hastings Health Centre yet.

Electrician Ivan came and put the power point under the stairs ready for the stair chair installation. He also fixed the problem with our land line phones. The cottage underground line had a fault which we circumvented by using the unused twisted pair in the same cable. The homestead and cottage phones then all worked except that they were associated with a strange phone number 06-651-1417 which Ivan says is one of the numbers allocated to Internet connections – 06-651-xxxx. Ivan has attempted to fix a strange recent problem with the proximity detector from the laundry doorway into the kitchen. The kick-board lights used to come on as you stepped across the threshhold but recently it hasn’t triggered until well inside the kitchen.

Peter & Keith Using Keith’s Log Splitter

Oak Avenue Weather:6.5℃—19.7℃ no rain [78.5] TdO eggs=2 Mark=4

Sound of chainsaw as peter Wiffin continues getting firewood, cutting up the branches of the cedar that fell into the Goose paddock from the outside of the corner of the 121 driveway, near the cattlestop.

Strung a little electric fence across the Long Acre just beyond the style and let the lambs in for a bit more tucker. They are not very fence-aware so some may get through but I’m just trying to stop them binging on the leaves of the fallen ginkgo so not too worried.

Builder Paul expects to come tomorrow so I pulled out the railings offcuts i thought he could use for the generator stand – a 400mm high stand to ensure that next time the generator doesn’t get flooded.

Oak Avenue Weather:8.9℃—20.7℃ 0.2mm rain [?] TdO eggs=2 Mark=0