We came home from our travels to find that the house sitters had not been very energetic. The garden was an overgrown mess. In the house they had used many items in the pantry, which is OK, but not replaced them, which is not OK. A nice wooden bowl had been broken and many things had been moved. There are still a few possessions that we have not located, and one or two of theirs have appeared. Oh well, the house had not been left empty and the chickens had been fed. Of course we had been spoiled last year by Ted and Susan, who must be the world's most perfect house sitters.
Our bantam, Beryl, had gone broody just before we got home, so we let her sit on 10 eggs. She hatched 4 of them and we had 3 black chicks and 1 white one. They have all gone to Richard and Tansy in Christchurch and are growing well.
This year we planted only garlic varieties that grew well last season and the crop is shaping well. We had plenty of rain in the Spring, when the garlic wants moisture, and plenty more rain in the summer, when we would prefer a dry spell. Fingers crossed that we get a decent crop when they are ready to pull.
We had a visit from Viv Winterburn (nee Pezzey). Our parents were great friends and my brother, Nigel, had managed to keep in touch. When he knew Viv was planning a visit to NZ he sensibly directed her towards us. We enjoyed her visit very much. She and Eve got on particularly well. I abandoned my work for 2 days and the three of us went over the Takaka Hill to Golden Bay to show Viv Waikoropupu Springs, the seals on Wharariki Beach, and a little bit of Farewell Spit.
We have hosted our first wwoofer (wwoof = willing workers on organic farms). Miriam was from Stuttgart. The host provides full board accommodation and the worker delivers 4 or 5 hours work per day. The weather was not nice while Miriam was here, and it was Christmas holiday time, so we weren't working very hard. Eve found some indoor tasks and Miriam has achieved the almost impossible and created order and tidiness in the cellar. We have several enquiries from prospective wwoofers for 2014.
2013 was a year of granddaughters. Eve has two more, Ellyssa (born 2 May) and Leila (born 27 August). Bill is due to become a Grampa in January 2014.
One of them even joined us for Christmas dinner. Matthew (Eve's son) and Elaine brought little Leila with them. We also had Miriam, Kate from next door, Kate's mother Challis and Lee, who was living on Kate's property at the time. So we sat down 8 to dinner plus the baby. As always, the barbecue roasted the turkey perfectly.
The year ended on a sad note. "Uncle Arty's", a Washbourn family holiday home burnt down on 28 December. We aren't blood members of the family, but June Washbourn was my godmother and Liza and Jo, the next generation, are very good friends. The first holiday Eve and I had together was at Uncle Arty's in Golden Bay, so it has a strong romantic attachment for us. We were booked for another stay at the end of January. Fortunately no people were hurt in the blaze, which merited the front page of the Nelson Mail and was even reported in the Christchurch Press.
Our bantam, Beryl, had gone broody just before we got home, so we let her sit on 10 eggs. She hatched 4 of them and we had 3 black chicks and 1 white one. They have all gone to Richard and Tansy in Christchurch and are growing well.
This year we planted only garlic varieties that grew well last season and the crop is shaping well. We had plenty of rain in the Spring, when the garlic wants moisture, and plenty more rain in the summer, when we would prefer a dry spell. Fingers crossed that we get a decent crop when they are ready to pull.
We had a visit from Viv Winterburn (nee Pezzey). Our parents were great friends and my brother, Nigel, had managed to keep in touch. When he knew Viv was planning a visit to NZ he sensibly directed her towards us. We enjoyed her visit very much. She and Eve got on particularly well. I abandoned my work for 2 days and the three of us went over the Takaka Hill to Golden Bay to show Viv Waikoropupu Springs, the seals on Wharariki Beach, and a little bit of Farewell Spit.
We have hosted our first wwoofer (wwoof = willing workers on organic farms). Miriam was from Stuttgart. The host provides full board accommodation and the worker delivers 4 or 5 hours work per day. The weather was not nice while Miriam was here, and it was Christmas holiday time, so we weren't working very hard. Eve found some indoor tasks and Miriam has achieved the almost impossible and created order and tidiness in the cellar. We have several enquiries from prospective wwoofers for 2014.
2013 was a year of granddaughters. Eve has two more, Ellyssa (born 2 May) and Leila (born 27 August). Bill is due to become a Grampa in January 2014.
 |
| Elaine, Matthew and Leila |
One of them even joined us for Christmas dinner. Matthew (Eve's son) and Elaine brought little Leila with them. We also had Miriam, Kate from next door, Kate's mother Challis and Lee, who was living on Kate's property at the time. So we sat down 8 to dinner plus the baby. As always, the barbecue roasted the turkey perfectly.
The year ended on a sad note. "Uncle Arty's", a Washbourn family holiday home burnt down on 28 December. We aren't blood members of the family, but June Washbourn was my godmother and Liza and Jo, the next generation, are very good friends. The first holiday Eve and I had together was at Uncle Arty's in Golden Bay, so it has a strong romantic attachment for us. We were booked for another stay at the end of January. Fortunately no people were hurt in the blaze, which merited the front page of the Nelson Mail and was even reported in the Christchurch Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment