They decided to pay us a visit this week. One of them quickly flapped off to sit in the top of a manuka stand but the other three decided to just strike some poses on the lawn.
Silo Park
10 years ago
Wednesday 31 March 2010
Pukeko Presence
After a successful breeding season, we now have at least four pukekos living locally.
They decided to pay us a visit this week. One of them quickly flapped off to sit in the top of a manuka stand but the other three decided to just strike some poses on the lawn.
They decided to pay us a visit this week. One of them quickly flapped off to sit in the top of a manuka stand but the other three decided to just strike some poses on the lawn.
Tuesday 30 March 2010
Kauri Flour Bins
The one thing that our 1960s kitchen was missing was a set of flour bins. Luckily you can find everything on TradeMe and so we snapped up these kauri flour bins to complete the picture.
The bins needed a bit of work and so of course a belt sander had to be purchased too...
Check back for the "after" pictures in due course...
The bins needed a bit of work and so of course a belt sander had to be purchased too...
Check back for the "after" pictures in due course...
Monday 29 March 2010
Afternoon Tea
I'm pleased to announce that I've finally found a use for all the pine cones lying about the place...
Sunday 28 March 2010
Pantry Pride
Someone had the bright idea of buying me a labelling machine and so I've been busy for quite a bit of this afternoon organising the pantry...
Friday 26 March 2010
Insect Invader III
Fortunately I think this is a ladybug rather than the hadda beetle, an unwanted pest recently arrived in Auckland.
Thursday 25 March 2010
Insect Invader II
The ground is so dry from the drought that these crickets are climbing out of the earth and wandering into the house in search of a more hospitable place to live. I found this one in the rabbits' hay bale.
Wednesday 24 March 2010
Tuesday 23 March 2010
Nesting Instinct II
A nest that I found beneath our oak tree, made out of sheep's wool, lichen and grass.
Monday 22 March 2010
Peacock Hoovers
When I returned home from work tonight, I caught the peacocks cleaning up some spilt food around the rabbit palace with Jasper looking on with interest.
Sunday 21 March 2010
Pest Control
Not only are there many more sheep and cows than people in NZ, there are also many more possums - about 30 million of these marsupials live in the bush, farmland and gardens of New Zealand.
And like sheep and cows, possums have a voracious appetite, munching through up to 21,000 tonnes of vegetation per night, much of it native trees and plants. They also
eat bird eggs and insects like the weta.
The possum is endangered in Australia, its homeland, where trees release foul-tasting chemicals to deter the hungry critters. In NZ, hunting of possums is allowed - encouraged, even - and merino wool mixed with possum fur is made into beautifully soft knitwear in a bid to protect the fragile kiwi ecosystem.
So as responsible landowners, we have installed possum bait stations (supplied free by Forest and Bird) in our two areas of bush in the hope of reducing the numbers of possums in the area and encouraging native birds and bush to regenerate.
We've also laid out some tunnels which will be fitted with ink pads and baited so that we can see whether we have any stoats, rats or other similar introduced pests roaming around, with a view to fitting mustelid traps if necessary.
We'll be reporting back in due course if we find anything...
And like sheep and cows, possums have a voracious appetite, munching through up to 21,000 tonnes of vegetation per night, much of it native trees and plants. They also
eat bird eggs and insects like the weta.
The possum is endangered in Australia, its homeland, where trees release foul-tasting chemicals to deter the hungry critters. In NZ, hunting of possums is allowed - encouraged, even - and merino wool mixed with possum fur is made into beautifully soft knitwear in a bid to protect the fragile kiwi ecosystem.
So as responsible landowners, we have installed possum bait stations (supplied free by Forest and Bird) in our two areas of bush in the hope of reducing the numbers of possums in the area and encouraging native birds and bush to regenerate.
We've also laid out some tunnels which will be fitted with ink pads and baited so that we can see whether we have any stoats, rats or other similar introduced pests roaming around, with a view to fitting mustelid traps if necessary.
We'll be reporting back in due course if we find anything...
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Mouse Mystery
I am absolutely certain that we have mice. We live in a big old draughty house in the middle of a field and sometimes go to bed without putting the dirty plates in the dishwasher (sorry Jennifer!). How can we not have mice?
This week I thought I'd found certain evidence of them with little black droppings appearing on the side of one of our two sinks several days running.
The slightly odd thing was that they were always in the same place and there were also droppings just beneath my herbs. Maybe it was sipping water from the plant trays? Maybe the mouse was a vegetarian gourmet?
And then a few days later we found the answer - a caterpillar! I think it's a green looper caterpillar but whatever it is, it lives outside now.
This week I thought I'd found certain evidence of them with little black droppings appearing on the side of one of our two sinks several days running.
The slightly odd thing was that they were always in the same place and there were also droppings just beneath my herbs. Maybe it was sipping water from the plant trays? Maybe the mouse was a vegetarian gourmet?
And then a few days later we found the answer - a caterpillar! I think it's a green looper caterpillar but whatever it is, it lives outside now.
Sunday 14 March 2010
Thursday 11 March 2010
Sunday 7 March 2010
Fondue-tastic!
Another trip to the local market, another piece of treasure/trash returns home with us...
...this time it was a fondue set for just $15. Roll on winter!
...this time it was a fondue set for just $15. Roll on winter!
Monday 1 March 2010
Rabbit Palace
We (he) built this fabulous flat-pack rabbit palace this weekend and then retrieved J&J from the cattery where they'd had the run of the isolation block and settled them in. They seemed quite at home and mastered the ramp in no time with their paws barely touching the wood as they leapt upstairs to see their new bedroom.
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