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!