The last 'cribbed' email from my sent box for a long time!
Well life is settling down to a steadier pace now, but there are still not enough hours in the day. The weather has turned a little cooler since Tuesday and we have had 24 hours of most welcome rain. Monday was so hot I had to abort gardening at midday and retreat to the cool of the deck with a cold drink. And this is equivalent to the northern hemisphere's October!
I'm actually on night duty at present and looking after a 3 year old with ahead injury. He fell asleep at 7.30 pm and I have had hardly anything to do since. If it stays like this I would have caught up on all my correspondence by morning!
I think when I last wrote we were on the verge of collecting pigs. Well when we went to collect them, with the intention of keeping them behind electric fencing, it was obvious that they were going to need something more substantial to keep them in.They were bigger than we had anticipated and VERY skitty. We agreed to get them the following w/e and returned home to address the fencing issue. I asked Claire (our neighbour off whom we bought our house) if she knew anybody locally who did fencing and she promptly told that Ian did! He came 2 days later and put in the big stakes and Eric then finished off the job. We really didn't mind the 2 trips up to collect the pigs as the drive was beautiful. On turning off the main road we basically drove over a small mountain on unmade road. All hairpin bends through gorgeous bush. Quite lovely, definitely a 4x4 affair! Anyway Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy (which will make sense to those of you familiar with Harry Potter - if your not you should be. The HP stories are BRILLIANT), are now settled in their new home. The job of worming them was interesting! They were still not happy with being approached and I cannot guarantee that they all got their full dose but they got something (via jabs) anyway.
My next project was planting the trees we bought several weeks earlier. We put electric fencing up to stop the cows getting in to the soon-to-be orchard and Eric constructed some sheep protection out of half sheets of concrete reinforcing metal mesh so the sheep could graze around the trees. Next problem, no sheep and grass that would grow. We looked in the Loot and Eric found a small flock of 17 near Hamilton. They were the pets really, of a woman who was returning to the UK. 2 white and 15 black, including 2 older lambs. Eric looked at them and had to do 3 1hr 20min round trips to collect them all in the stock trailer. At the other end the seller was not at home but her elderly parents tried to help and just got in Eric's way. He was slightly(!) frazzled and exhausted by the end of the day. I went to bed in the morning and got up the satisfying sight of seeing some of OUR stock grazing the front paddock. The bonus came a few weeks later when a fat sheep gave birth to twins!! One was rather pathetic looking and although not prepared to hand-rear him I took occasional bottle down to the paddock and 'topped him up'. We were really unsure if we were doing the right thing and sought the advice of Alan, a retired farmer and neighbour who has really been helpful to us. He checked the little feller over and gave him the thumbs-up. Frank now leaps around the paddock full of the joys of spring (well autumn), and although he will never be as big as his sister Nancy, he'll do.
We were almost there, just needing cows now. We were determined not to rush this, and the jersey's grazing our fields are there until 1 May. We were looking at Herefords, and indeed that is our aim, but Mandy and David, our friends who emigrated out here 4 years ago, had decided to sell up their stock and turn their land over to avocados. They had several cows for sale so we bought 4 x 8 month calves and 3 x 18 month heifers. They are Angus x (with what I'm not sure) and now grace our land as well. We are planning to have about 12 cows eventually plus the 2 we've agreed to graze for the PTA's stock scheme. When I'm no longer working so many hours, ie when Eric joins the ranks of working people (as opposed to being a student) we plan to have a house cow. I must brush up on my cheese making skills!!!!!!
So the foundations are laid now and we just have to wait for our investments to bear fruit (hopefully not as long as M and D will have to!). The veg garden that I cobbled together has started to produce. We have had salad veg, runner beans, coriander and parsley and one courgette! Another few weeks and we will have leeks and carrots. I am getting lots of brassica's in for the winter/spring. I picked a Satsuma the other day. It was small, orange and bitter but it was ours and I grew it!!! Our lemons are growing and remain dark green. Not a fruit to be rushed obviously!
Eric did a brilliant job, in consultation with the planning officer(Frank), on the plans for the pool and the small extension to Alice's room. 5 days after submission Frank phoned to say they had been approved. Eric had planned on doing both jobs himself but he was so snowed under that we got a quote for the extension. Dave also built the flat and our dining room for Claire and Ian so we knew he would do a good job. The quote was good so that job is now underway. Eric has spent much of the last few days down the big hole that now occupies the area to the side-ish of the carport, and the carport is now full of boxes and tubing. I am assured that this will all come together to form a pool one day! I hope so as this whole area is currently reminiscent of Steptoe's yard! What with that at the back of the house and the building at the front, the garden is not looking it's best at present! Eric recently passed a casual, joking comment, when I was moaning about the size of the kitchen, about extending the kitchen to where the deck currently is. I thought this a brilliant idea and promptly engaged Dave in lengthy conversation as to the logistics and cost of the project!! Eric was none too impressed when Dave said it was a good idea and would cost less than we had thought (I think Eric was hoping he'd give lots of reasons why we should NOT do it). I am not prepared to loose the deck so as well as the kitchen we need to build another deck. We hope (well I hope) to eventually join this to the deck that I want to put in the corner outside Alice's room and then continue around to our and Harriette's bedrooms. If the structure of the building allows we want to put french windows or ranch sliders (patio doors) in both bedrooms. So, just a few little projects to keep things ticking over!
We have had a few UK visitors lately. First Eddie and Alan spent a few nights with us. They had tagged NZ on to a months holiday in Australia and stopped by on their travels. I think it is fair to say that they were very impressed with NZ, so much so that they left planning a return trip. It was great to see them. Next Juliet's parents were over for, I think, 6 weeks and stayed overnight with us on 3 occasions en route to and from various places. On 2 of those occasions we also had Juliet, Kev, Emma, Hannah and their 2 labs here so it was a full house! Hectic but good fun! I was also thrilled to get a phone call out the blue from my Auntie Joan in Aus. telling me she had never been to NZ but was doing a coach touring holiday and would be in Rotorua in a week or 2. With some juggling of off-duty we were able to go down and spend an evening with her at the hotel. I hope she also makes a return visit when Mom and Daddy are here. What a disaster about the rugby world cup!! That has scuppered the plans of several friends to visit.Some of Eric's mates from school and Uni. were planning on coming to NZ for that. NZ behaved appallingly over the whole affair as far as we can see. I dread to think how much revenue they have lost.
Harriette and Alice are fine. Harri continues to well at school and Alice continues to resist the valiant efforts of her teacher to push her! I have started to do my parent bit at school and have gone it to help with reading and publishing. I really enjoy it. I am also devoting next Monday to the PTA selling tea/coffee at a 'clearing sale' an auction at a local dairy farm The PTA has the 'contract' to sell refreshments and gets to keep the profits. As well as that they bill the auctioneers for their troubles - sounds a good scam to me!
As the puppies are fully vaccinated we can now get out. On Sunday we went to the bottom of the Coromandel. We stopped at Wahi Beach and thought this must be one of the best beaches in the world, then drove up the coast and found a better one at Whangamata! The girls swam at Wahi for ages so we didn't get as far up the coast as we had planned, but who cares we had a lovely day. Whangamata has a beautiful little harbour and the sea is both safe and has excellent surfing. The water is clear as you can imagine and the scenery beautiful. We are determined to take the boat up there and fish. Next time we will go further up the peninsula to Cathedral Cove and the hot water beaches. The puppies had there first experience of the sea and ran scared. Call themselves Labradors!!
Inca has found his bark but isn't quite sure what to do with it. I took them with me when I moved the cows last Monday, under duress, Inca got a fright a few weeks ago. He was following us down the drive and had not noticed a calf right up by the fence. He jumped out of his skin when she mooed. Anyway I decided they had to get used to the cows and managed to get them in then the field with me. They were very brave when I was no further than 2 foot away and ran scared if I moved away! Inca was trying to muscle up to a cow that stepped towards him. He barked and I don't know what scared him more, the cow or his own bark!! They are getting big now and have the shiniest coats possible. Mind you the cost of their food, they should be.
Well I think that is about all our news. We love hearing all the news from home, and elsewhere so do let us know how things are going.
Lots of love to you all.
Michelle, Eric, Harriette and Alice
xoxoxoxoxoxo
