Valley View

We're departing for Lancashire today so I shall leave you until the New Year with this parting shot...

Peacock Invasion!

These peacocks are making Skene paranoid by keeping him under close surveillance!

Spot the Kingfisher!

Self-Sufficiency Bunny

The latest creation from Skene's crochet needle...


Made from raw wool from Sheepworld and smelling somewhat of sheep, this rabbit is stuffed with kidney beans and does not disapprove.

Up, up and away

I was surprised to see this hot air balloon just across the paddock. But not as surprised as the tiny horse below it.

Hydrangea Avenue

A little reminder of Dinckley...

Day Lilies

One of the previous owners did a fantastic job of planting up the garden and we have a stunning display of day lilies at the front of the house...

Our latest acquisition...

...a horse truck-cum-house truck. Not really ours though - we're just lending our drive to a neighbour... It gives us a surprise every time we drive up the road.

The View from the Deck III

The View from the Deck II

The View from the Deck I

Skene's Skink

I found a friend in the garage this weekend when I was clearing out some of the cardboard. He's a copper skink and very common - not like one of these rare ones found at Christchurch airport on Sunday.

Peacock Prowling

Christmas Post

Just in case any of you were wondering where your Christmas cards would end up here's our postbox, guarded by two patrolling pukekos.

Pukeko Paparazzi

Look! Exclusive photos of the pukeko chick!

Bunny Overload!

Biltong Box

Greetings from your food correspondent. I've realised that almost all of my posts on this blog relate to my efforts to fill my face. I recently went to particular lengths in an attempt to reproduce South African Biltong.

I fell in love with this snack, which is similar to beef jerky, when we visited Durban and the surrounding KwaZulu-Natal last year for Jo's sister's wedding. Following instructions found here, I constructed my own Biltong Box (basically a cabinet with a lightbulb for heating in the bottom).



This was a fantastic project to do in the shed, which made me feel really manly. I haven't produced the perfect biltong yet (the first batch went a bit moldy - I ate it anyway, amazingly without ill effect), but I am gradually refining my technique...

Eeyore's Thistle Patch

I think we're going to need a donkey to sort out all the thistles that we have at the top of our paddock...

The good news though is that I've found lots of budding blackberries. Mmm...

A new perspective

Here's a view of the house from the paddock - one of the better views given how little you can see of it.


The concept plans are being drawn up this week so we should start making progress on renovations soon...

A bunny adventure

I'm not quite sure why this rabbit is so intrigued by the roof rack on our truck.

Maybe it's planning a trip...

Kiwi Pizza

New Zealand has an odd relationship with pizza. On the one hand, private ownership rates of pizza ovens must rival Italy, and pizza stones, which simulate a pizza oven by providing a nice even heat for your pizza are readily available in the shops. Here's ours at work:



On the other hand, maybe kiwis love pizza a bit too much, because they never seem to be able to resist adding 'just one more topping...', or trying to combine their favourite flavours. This results in abominations like Kofte Lamb pizza, or seafood pizza with Mary Rose sauce (neither of these are made up). In comparison, we were positively restrained with this olive and artichoke number. I wonder though, would it have been improved by a light sprinkling of chocolate fish...

Baby Bunny

This baby bunny was found during strimming this weekend. It was crouched at the base of a tree trunk but ran off before the tips of its ears could be trimmed.

We found it again in the same place a little later and this time it stayed put for a photo.

California Dreaming

We've seen Californian quails dashing about our garden several times but this was the first time that one of them paused for long enough for me to take a rather blurry photo...

Going, going, gone

The new sport around here is chasing the peacocks off our land.

Here's one disappearing over the fence and back to the right side of the road...

Prancing Peacocks

These pesky peacocks have us surrounded. On the deck, on the grass, looking through the bedroom window, knocking at the front door. We're beginning to feel quite paranoid.

Our Inaugural Barbecue

Yellow eyed mullet, mussels, pipi, snags and late season asparagus. Mmm...

Uplighters

Shame we haven't got higher ceilings at home otherwise we might have been able to re-create this vintage lighting arrangement...

Native Flowers

I've yet to be convinced that there are any native New Zealand flowers. All the flowers on our land seem to be from the Old World - buttercups, dandelions, daisies, cow parsley and so on.

Fortunately the trees more than make up for the lack of activity at ground level as our cabbage tree is demonstrating at the moment. Here it is in front of a stand of manuka (tea trees).

Sceptic Septics

We went to a Lifestyle Expo up the road today. It wasn't very impressive - just some trade stalls in a field - but we did learn all about Wiltshire Horn sheep (they shed their wool and so don't need shearing) and we found a couple of Midlanders who were willing to come and service our septic tank.

They were not very impressed that we didn't have a clause about the tank in our land agreement - apparently we should have assisted on vacant possession for the house and the septic tank.

Life and Death

There's always lots of death and killing around the farm, or so he tells me as he decapitates another wasp or obliterates another white-tailed spider.

Unfortunately it seems to be true of our birdlife. We've found a pukeko carcass in the field and now a silvereye with a broken neck, just below our bedroom window. I'm pleased to report though that there are still plenty of the pretty little birds hopping around our coral tree.

Spot the Difference

Study this picture of someone constructing raised beds in their gumboots and black singlet...



...and then see if you can spot the difference by comparing it with the footage of Wallace Cadwallader Footrot in the opening moments of the classic Kiwi cartoon, Footrot Flats...



...yus! You got it. The only differences are the hat and the waistline! Kiwification complete!

Pine Cone Pyramid

Ten Brown Bottles...

Well, it's been a while since I sat down and wrote on this blog. What can I say? I've been drinking.



This is in fact only one (1) of two (2) brewing projects. The other is grapefruit wine, made from our homegrown grapefruits (which we originally thought were oranges, never mind). However, at approximately 12 months (with a further 6 to 12 months recommended for bottle conditioning), the wine takes a bit of a long time to prepare, so more immediate gratification was required.

Fortunately, homebrew seems to be very popular over here. I think it chimes with the Kiwi love of DIY. A range of kits are on sale in the supermarket, and several shops provide the necessary equipment, including the bottles shown above, which are apparently specially designed to cope with pressure. It's the contents that help me cope with pressure.

By the second batch I'd managed to brew a clear, sparking and very palateable lager. My daily happiness is no longer the possession of sinister Belgian brewing concerns.

There are a number of other advantages. I reckon that it costs about 25% as much as buying bottled beer. It is more environmentally friendly, as the bottles are reusable. Finally, when cracking open another bottle, you get to enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done, instead of the usual vague sense of shame.

Tall Boys and Low Boys

Our prison issue furniture is now installed in the master bedroom and the place is feeling quite homely now.

Rosy Outlook

We have a rose at the front of the house which taps on the windows on windy nights. It's producing lots of blooms at the moment but wilting too. I'm told that Auckland isn't quite the right climate for roses - not the best plants for sub-tropical weather. Will just have to enjoy it while it lasts.

Likin' Lichen

If it wasn't November, I might have taken this lichen for frost.

Sheepish Looks

Went for a wander in the paddock tonight. Still haven't managed to bond with the beasts. They watch us like hawks as we walk around and stay at a respectable distance.

Wildflower Meadow

The slope behind the house is a little steep even for the John Deere and so a lovely wildflower meadow has grown up with the sun and the spring rain.

Light Lunch

Our first lunch guests today and so we put together a special summer menu of gazpacho, spinach tart and strawberries. Fortunately the weather co-operated and it was a lovely day.

Avian Visitor

We had a new avian visitor this evening - a peacock from across the road. He was a bit troubled by the hawk that was circling and even more concerned when I went outside to take a closer look. He ran right up the drive, tail wobbling behind him, leapt up to the lawn, frightening a rabbit as he trotted by and then disappeared over the fence.

So you'll have to make do with this shot through the window...

Stocking Up

Staying at an alpaca farm for Labour Weekend hoping to get a bit of inspiration about what beasts we might recruit for our little lifestyle block. I'm quite tempted by these crazy crias but he's not so keen...

Impulse Purchases

We went to a local market today and made three impulse purchases. A ukulele, two chilli plants and the answer to our gumboot storage problems, a macrocarpa boot stand...

Grass Hopper

Cottontail