Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Bring back the Takaka Singing Dog Comp!

Monito has discovered his musical side and is going to be 'the next big thing'. Marty's band will employ him as their front man and the music execs will go mad!

Check him out!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

2009 aka Busy

This year is going to be monumental! Not only have I decided to start eventing again but I have also enrolled to start a diploma in vet nursing (and then on to a bachelor of vet science, all things going to plan). And still work as an interpreter and keep the farm going as well. I will have to take a page out of my mother's book and learn to love never-ending activity.

Last weekend we headed to the capital for a bit of fun in the sun (and wind). The moment we arrived we stocked up with supplies and spent a lovely afternoon in the gardens and then back to Upland Rd. There was much dancing, poker and general fun had to the detriment of my liver possibly.



On Saturday we of the hungover species headed to Maranui for breakfast and some more wind. The enormous breakfast was maybe not wise in such a fragile state but it seemed like a good idea at the time.


It was also Renata's birthday that day so went up to Wadestown for the afternon and for dinner. A nap sorted me out while the boys watched the rugby. Irena and Michael came over for dinner as well and it was a lovely night all round.
When we got back to the farm it seemed as though we'd been away for weeks! Somehow, once again, all the plants had tripled in size and there was a red tinged tomato on one of our 'cherry tomatoes'. We have since eaten it and it was super yum. And we had 2 ears of corn which were delicious as well. Now I am worried about the tomatoes because I know as soon as one ripens all the others will follow at great speed and we will be overrun with the buggers. I shouldn't say that as it is actually all my fault for planting so many in the first place. But still... buggers they will be.
Our chillies are doing really well. We picked the first of our sweet banana chillies and the wildfire are days away from being ripe. I think we will dry most of them to keep for later use.
This weekend Mum and Richard are up and there has been a massive effort put in around the Solomon Seals. There is a walkway being constructed and views are being developed around the garden. As Mum and I wandered around to look at the fig tree earlier I saw something jump and plop into the water. It was a frog! his name, of course, is Kermit. He is awesome! Who knows where he's come from but he is here and that is all that matters. I will get some more tadpoles so we can keep the frog population going. I'm not sure how he'll fare during the icy winters up here but he's obviously survived so far so I'll leave him to it.
Anyway, we have just watched the Hurricanes lose to the Waratahs and it was quite disappointing. The Super 14 is off to a bad start. Grrr...
Ok, chau,
K :)

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Back in Action

The continuous stream of visitors has come to an end for now. This week is oging to be busy for me with work and then this weekend we will be in Wellington. It's been a while since we've been down so will be nice to have some time away.

Since my last post a few things have happened. Marley has been shorn and looks like a completely different sheep, Dino has been working really well (minus a run in with some cows that he wasn't happy about), all the ruminant animals are in the same paddock and the goats keep escaping and Mono and the pheasants are still growing rapidly. And, yesterday, Marty found a sick magpie in the back paddock which we took in and it is now well on it's way to a full recovery. It's pretty vicious now and we've been warned to wear sunglasses around it and, in my view, some heavy duty gloves. He's going to be releases tomorrow morning but eh bird rescue centre said we should keep him over night again just to make sure he was ok. I think he is fine. He is now destroying the laundry bathroom and eating soggy puppy food.

I think Marley is quite relieved to have her masses of wool removed. She was bounding around like a new lamb the other day. The 4 legged bounce which was a bit gammy because she's too big to do that now but it was quite amusing. Marty is going to make a 'simple canvas jacket' lined with Marley's wool. I am looking forward to seeing the final product.
Before...

And after...

Mono has been enjoying the hot weather particularly because it has turned the ground to dust so it was easier for him to dig. There is obviously something exceedingly interesting just under our front step because there's no stopping him. I think he may be trying to dislodge the house from its foundations.

We've had a resident hedgehog snuffling around in the evenings as well. He's got a sore back leg and I actually haven't seen him in the last few days so I hope he's ok. He likes potatoes. He's very cute. Tiny little thing...

And the big living room smells like a brewery at the moment because I am in the process of making my first batch of cider. It's only been there for 2 days and it's already frothing away. So far all I've done is pulp the apples and put them in water. I haven't added any sugar or anything yet so the result could be quite potent. I will let you know how it goes. And I'm going to get an alcohol measuring gauge so at least we will know if it is drinkable!

The amount of apples is astounding. And eggs. For the past couple of weeks we've been getting 40 eggs a week and the apples are being used for various things. I successfully sun dried a whole lot of apple slices over 2 days and Marty made apple crumble. And a significant amount have gone into the cider. The rest we will probably puree and freeze for winter puddings. I'll dry some more as well to have as snacks. Very yummy. The horses have had their fair share too. They have also eaten half our almond tree, I noticed today. Luckily it hasn't done anything this year so they didn't destroy any produce.

I have resurrected my diary as well so I'll try and keep that up as well as the blog. Often I find myself repeating things though which diminishes my motivation but I will try.

Our mini white and crystal apple cucumbers are all producing now and I picked a jar of gherkins the other day. The canellini and borlotti fire tongue beans are almost ready and the tomatoes are steadily swelling. The 'Tiny Tim' tomatoes are not what they say they are - they are now almost like Beefsteaks rather than cherry tomatoes! I need to pull up the albino beetroot and goive them to someone because neither Marty nor I like them. Silly to have planted the really. Maybe we'll try one grated into a salad. And we need to start planting our winter veges. I'm excited about parsnips!

Dog has gone crazy and is moments away from electrocuting himself on the computer cord so I better go.

Chau!