Shearing shed

Here's a rather fluffy bunny waiting to be sheared at the Roselands Farm Show... I'm not sure how our bunnies would react to that!

Birds on a wire

Happy as a pig...

Sheep tracks

Eye Dog

Pippi was the friendly dog on the farm stay that we visited in Waitomo. She would appear with breakfast and hang around until we headed off for the day. She seemed to know that she wasn't allowed inside the holiday cottage and would faithfully wait on the deck, eyeing us through the glass door.

Equestrian Exploits

The foal in the middle picture was just a day old when we first saw him and was three days old in this picture - he'd fattened up nicely in that short time and was much steadier on his feet. I was much more tempted by the donkey though...

The littlest bull

These are some of the miniature cattle that were on the farm - the miniature bull, top right, is just 1 inch taller than the smallest in the world.

Big Birds

On our recent trip to Waitomo, we stayed on a farm specialising in big birds and miniature beasts. The ostriches were particularly tame, the emu less so.

Grapefruit Curd

I attempted to make grapefruit curd for the first time in August 2010. It was a disaster and didn't set at all. I finally managed to put my demons behind me and tried again this week. Success!

I used a different recipe and I think that sieving the eggs might have made all the difference. And the simmer ring on our gas hob might have helped too. Plus stirring for 50 minutes non-stop.

So far, it's been delicious with pikelets and lemon muffins and toast. I'll make some yoghurt soon and stir it through for a tasty dessert.

Huntsman's Stew

From this...

...to this...

...to this! Mmm...

Fowl Play

We went to Butterfly Creek the other week and I was very tempted to tuck one of their tame guinea fowls under my arm and head home with it. Apparently they're no more difficult to keep than chickens. I'll add them to my Ag Day list...

Weedbusting

I went to a series of gardening talks the other weekend. There was a biosecurity officer from the council talking about tackling pest plants. He recommended that block owners develop a weedbusting plan rather than attempting to attack all the weeds at once. One option is to focus on just one or two types of pest plants.

We've already made a significant impact on the convolvulus - the most pernicious weed that we have. We started attacking privet last year and now it's the turn of the wattle.

This wattle had grown up since we moved in four years ago and had started to obscure our view. When the wattles flowered a few months ago, we could see quite how many there are around the neighbourhood and the more that we have, the more we will get as the seeds spread.

When J cut back the lower branches in order to fell the tree, I was amazed to see how thick the lower trunk was - surely that wasn't just four years of growth? J found older cuts at the base though - it had obviously been cut back before and had re-grown. The tree is now waiting for the next bonfire and we'll have to get some weedkiller to poison the stump so that it doesn't revive itself.

Crescent Dairy Goat Farm

Grazing

Nikau 2

Nikau 1

Toetoe

Coral tree

Magnolia

Unidentified Flowering Object

Can anyone help me identify this plant? We have several steep banks covered in it and I can't work out what it is. It's stunning when it flowers though.

Sparaxis

Daisy, daisy...

Freesias 2

Freesias 1

The Camellia Lawn

Seed pods 2

Seed pods 1

Holes

Onion weed

New growth

Rams

We had a good walk around our block last month - the first time since the start of winter. I took lots of snaps of spring arriving and will post them over the coming days.

Red sky at night

Off the back of a truck

We found this beauty at the side of the road during what was probably the last ever inorganic collection. It's in the shed for now but we have plans to use it as an entertainment centre once the rumpus room is fully fitted out...

Plum blossom

Keeping my fingers crossed for a bumper crop of plums this year...

Puriri Tree

The other treat that the arborist gave us was identifying this tree. I hadn't realised that it was a native - a puriri tree - as it's planted alongside magnolias and other exotic species. The berries are loved by kereru - the native pigeon - and puriri moths make their homes in the trunks and branches of this tree. A great addition to our landscape.

Byproducts 2

And this is the other byproduct from the felled tree - a mini-adventure playground. The arborist took it as a personal challenge to create something for our little ones to climb on and scramble over. It has bridges and steps and hand-holds and lots of platforms for jumping off. And best of all, there's an armchair for me to sit in whilst all the action takes place.

Toetoe

Byproducts 1

This is the bountiful haul from the dead pine that was felled a few weeks back - sacks of pine cones, a mountain of logs and a large mound of mulch. Should keep us going for a few years...

Timber!!!

Sadly one of our pine trees was finished off by last summer's drought and we needed to remove it to prevent falling branches damaging power lines or passing motorists.

Luckily, we've managed to turn it into a positive exercise - we now have about five years' supply of firewood, a massive amount of mulch for our borders and a natural playground for our little ones. I'll post some more pictures of this bountiful harvest soon...

Misty Morning

Bonfire

Chicken soup for the soul

Warning: this post contains a graphic (but respectful) description of the slaughter of  our three roosters. Feel free to click away now if you don't fancy reading that. 

We were lucky enough to have only three roosters from our last clutch of chicks. We tolerated the crowing and kept our fingers crossed that there'd be no more chicks. But when the three of them started fighting, we knew that it was time for them to go.

One of the other mothers at Playcentre was prepared to take them in - for soup. So I dropped them off with her father-in-law last weekend. When I arrived, I spotted a slaughter kit laid out in the shady courtyard in front of their house - a coil of rope, a single glove and a stanley knife. I popped the roosters in the shade, in their boxes, intending to make a quick exit. But I ended up bearing witness to the demise of our surplus boys and I was very glad that I did.

My friend's father-in-law sat on a stool at the base of  a camellia bush. He plucked the first bird out of its box, gripping it firmly but gently at the nape of its neck. He stretched out the bird's wings and coiled the rope slowly around the base. When the wings were secured, he turned the bird upside down and did the same with its feet. He then silently hung the bird from the lower branches of the bush.

Next he delicately plucked a few feathers from the bird's throat and took up his stanley knife. He flicked the knife slowly at the bird's throat, searching for the jugular vein. After a short time, rich red blood began to drip on the fallen leaves at the base of the tree. The bird remained quiet and still, totally immobilised but calm. My friend's father-in-law massaged the bird's throat to make the blood run more quickly before taking up the next bird.

As he took each bird out of the box, he declared it to be beautiful and treated it with great respect. The second bird died before the first and he untied it from the bush and laid it carefully on the ground. He tapped its open eye with his finger tip and the eye shut. The first bird followed and the third bird was taken from its box.

The third and final rooster, who'd fought his way to the top of the pecking order, was a little less docile. His squawking and flapping as he was handled brought the man's wife from inside the house. She told me that, at six months old, the roosters would be tender. Their carcasses would be dipped into boiling water to loosen the feathers and the wings would be the greatest challenge for plucking. Luckily they have a machine that makes it easy.

I've been promised two of the roosters in return so that I can make a hearty soup in anticipation of the birth of our second baby. I just hope that I can do them justice.

Nest eggs

As the spring equinox approaches, our hens, including last summer's chicks, have started laying in earnest. We've found clutches of eggs under the shed, in the long grass and in the hen house too, thankfully. I see lots of pancakes in our future...

Pimp My Shed

Having two retirees in residence has done wonders for our collective productivity and our shed/workshop is now better organised than at any point since we moved in. There's a wood rack near the woodworking tools, a tool rack by the door and I have some fantastic storage for all my gardening gear in the shape of old kitchen units. And, of course, the piano is all ready for hammering out a tune or two. Now we just have to keep it looking like that...

Christmas Cases

Winter always seems a good time to start thinking about Christmas, even though it's six months away. The colder, darker, wetter months are much better for creativity and crafting than those long, hot days when you need a sea breeze in your hair not scissors in your hands.

So I've started work on a fancy dress set for our daughter. I took two suitcases - snaffled during an inorganic collection a few years ago - and tidied them up with some green washi tape. Next, I added stickers to the outside to make them look even better-travelled.

The two suitcases will have different themes - one will be a dressing up box - jewellry, scarves, handbags, ties etc - and the other will contain fantasy costumes - a dinosaur, wild beasts, a clown etc. I've picked up quite a few bits and pieces at thrift shops and dollar shops already. Now I need to pick up a needle and thread and start work on the costumes that I want to create myself. Wish me luck!

Caught red-handed

At the end of autumn, I planted some bulbs in these pots. The chickens decided that the pots were actually dust baths and have been scraping and scratching at them for a few months now. I kept re-planting the bulbs but eventually half the soil was scattered across the drive and the bulbs had disappeared - perhaps squirreled away by an enterprising mouse who'd been conspiring with the chickens.

Not having learnt my lesson, I planted some herbs in another pot, close by. I thought that plants would be less tempting than bare earth with soil underneath. I was wrong. I had no choice but to chicken proof my containers. The solution came in the form of gutter guard plastic sheeting with cable ties (to fasten it into a circle) and chopsticks (to anchor it in place in the pots). So far, so good - no incursions have taken place.

I've planted up some money plants in the green pots with sedum around the base (top left - click on the collage for a bigger image) and some land cress for salads too (bottom right). If those survive, I'll re-plant the mini herb garden too.

In a sudden burst of productivity, I also planted some sprouting chokos by the compost heap (top right) and some pelargoniums close to our recently pruned hydrangeas (bottom left) - more on the pruning soon! 

Temptation

This beautiful machine is parked up in a paddock alongside one of our occasional weekend routes. Someone is very tempted to purchase it. Apparently the log splitter would be really useful. 

Full moon