Struan Farm

Third Time's a Charm

The Knitters Retreat was really fun this year. At six in total our numbers meant that Marilyn and I bunked up at the Homestead vs. the Cottage, which is Retreat Central. Once we land, we settle and get knitting.  Occasionally someone will glance out the window to watch the lambs frolicking or laugh at a group of wild turkeys roaming by.

I started a tradition of "goodie bags" from the hostess at the onset of these get togethers, assembling fun bags of knitting notions that I thought might be unusual or helpful.  I don't see these friends all that often given my busy life between town and country, so I enjoy trying to make this event special for everyone.

This year I outdid myself (if I do say so myself), ordering kits from my friend Karen Damskey at L'Atelier in Redondo Beach, CA (USA, http://www.latelier.com ) for everyone to make high end market bags with suede handles.  The pattern/kit is called "Sling It." Colorways are cool, with a mix of two different Prism yarns, "Calypso," and "Galaxy Ribbon." The latter has a touch of metallic, which ends up creating a lovely effect. With Grayson E. colored suede handles and Lantern Moon stitching stones, the finished product is for a trip to that high end country farmers market for sure, forget the local supermarket! I had seen a finished version at L'Atelier during my visit this past June.

Four out of six finished knitting their bags before we got home (the hostess ended up seriously behind since I was keen to work on one of my existing UFO's):

 

I was the lucky recipient of some lovely hostess gifts, including handmade hearts, hangers, gift basket with chocolate (latter is essential to maintain energy while knitting). But check out this beautiful hand dyed merino yarn by Nicky, dyed with Kool Aid! This technique is on my list of things to learn to do:

 
We're thinking that maybe we need to make this a semi-annual event. Everyone liked the idea of working on the same project, one that had a good chance of being finished at the Retreat.

 

 

A Spot for Tea

This past Saturday a group of knitting friends headed down to Struan Farm for our Third Annual Knitters Retreat.  Our itinerary is such that we usually stop somewhere enroute to Piopio each year for morning tea and lunch, taking our time and detouring as appropriate.

I'd read about a new Tea House at the Zealong Tea Plantation in Gordonton, which was on our flight path, and contacted Zealong via their website http://www.zealong.co.nz  to see if they would be open. Without knowing too much about what we were getting ourselves into, the ladies decided that yes, this would be a fun pitstop. I'd known from an article in the current Air NZ inflight magazine that Zealong is growing premium organic oolong tea being sold here in NZ and exported to various offshore markets.

We arrived to find lots of activity, both in terms of planted fields, new parking and info centre under construction, and the Camelia Tea House. The House serves both high tea and lunches, so we agreed upon high tea (including one gluten free option that they readily accomodated). We were given three choices for our oolong tea, "pure," aromatic," or "dark," deciding upon "aromatic."

Our server was quite knowledgeable, both about the tea itself and the history of Zealong; the fields were first planted in the late 1990's. The area grows camelias, and the company founder thought that if camelias grew well that oolong tea plants would too.  He and his son imported tea seedlings from Taiwan, propagating them in the backyard. The plantation has grown from 130 plants to more than a million.

 
It is a picturesque spot, definitely worth a visit. And yes, the tea and the goodies are excellent!

 

 

Unveiling the Knitting Studio-in-Progress

This past weekend John and I started hanging some of the vintage knitting patterns I've had framed for Struan Farm Knitting Studio.

We also have some of the furniture in the workshop room, although while John is living in the Homestead it will not be finished with everything it's meant to have.

But to give you a quick preview (excuse a crooked pic or two):

I've got two of the bookcases, which will eventually be a mix of inspiration items and knitting books. At least it's starting to look like a knitting studio, yippee!
 
 
 
 

Survivors: A Tale of The Heirloom Fig Trees

One day our neighbor and friend Ailysa came by with some figs. It turned out that there was an old fig tree on a part of the large neighboring farm, at the site of an original homestead on the property. This piqued my interest, since winters in Piopio are such that one wouldn't think a fig tree would grow let alone survive and thrive. This old variety must have adapted to the climate over many years.

I had to see this tree.

We contacted the farm manager, and asked if we could walk over the farm, locate the tree, and possibly take some cuttings to see if they would grow.

So one sunny day John and I headed off down to the river and walked along onto the neighboring farm, crossing the river via a bridge. We wandered along, trying to figure out where one would have put a homestead. After walking in a few different directions, we finally found the tree, standing alone in a paddock. The sheep and cattle obviously loved it for shade given the evidence around.

We took several cuttings, putting a few in near our veggie garden/compost heap and one in another bed in the garden to see if they'd grow.

As luck would have it, they all took off. But that winter I forgot to cover them with frost cloth, and they got badly frosted. I thought they had died, but left them to see either way.

They grew back over that next spring and summer, getting so large that I was concerned about transplanting them. I bugged John about moving them up near our orchard site, where we'll build our new house. John did as directed, but didn't take the time to put fencing around them as we'd done with our other fruit trees. As a result, the sheep mistook them for hors d'oeuvres, nibbling them down.

And yet they've come back. These fig trees are survivors. I am happy to have these hardy heirlooms, with their link to the history of the area and their determined spirit to live and grow, on the farm. Can't wait til they fruit.

 

The Greens are Really Green

We have a nice public golf course in Piopio, about 10 km up the road from Struan Farm. It has beautiful trees that help make the course rather picturesque (I think Maurie might have been involved in planting some of them years ago).

 
But the thing that tends to get the most attention from passersby (especially foreign tourists) is the course maintenance crew:

 
Suffice it to say that the greens are really green.

 

Guarding the Home Front

At the farm we have two lookout spots that were dug and used by the Home Guard during WW2 to keep watch for invading Japanese forces. At the time it was believed that there were Japanese submarines in the waters around NZ, and from the history I've read this was indeed the case.

This is one of the trenches that was dug as it looks today:

 

John's brother Carrick has erected markers at the spots so we know where they are. I have visions of a dedicated local group doing their patriotic part for the country in wartime, although it is hard to conceive of that happening on the farm today.

Trees We Know and Love

At Struan Farm we have both stands of native bush protected via the Queen Elizabeth II Trust in addition to other trees around the property, both native and non, planted by my father-in-law over his lifetime. He continued to plant into his 80's, more so natives in his later years.

John and his sisters Julie and Anna are all tree planters, this is an occupation that seems to run in the Robertson family.  When we started re-landscaping at the pond, we were careful to pick trees that would support and attract native birds.

John's favorite tree is the Kahikatea, or white pine (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides). It is a tree that enjoys damp feet, dominating wetlands, but it also grows in drier areas and is NZ's tallest native tree.

My favorite is the Tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa), really for its sculptural trunk and roots. It was used by Maori for making their long bird spears. The stout, buttressed roots occur as they grow older. The bark is smooth, and on older trees it is nearly always covered with growths of lichens and mosses.

 

 As an aside, I had these observers this past weekend while I photographed the tawas:

In the pet paddock near the Homestead Maurie planted "The Europeans," including a chestnut tree, walnut trees, oak, poplars, liquid ambers, ginko, willow, copper beech, and a swamp cyprus, amongst others. Over the years they have grown into huge trees, so that paddock, to quote John, is "park like." 

When John and I first met I gave him a copy of photographer John Sexton's book, "Listen to the Trees," since it is a beautiful collection of black and white photographic images that has always spoken to me (along with trees themselves). The book opens with the following, written by Cedric Wright:

Consider the life of trees.

Aside from the axe, what trees acquire from man is inconsiderable.

What man may acquire from trees is immeasurable.

From their mute forms there flows a poise, in silence,

a lovely sound and motion in response to wind.

What peace comes to those aware of the voice and bearing of trees!

Trees do not scream for attention.

A tree, a rock, has no pretense, only a real growth out of itself,

in close communion with the universal spirit.

A tree retains a deep serenity.

It establishes in the earth not only its root system but also

those roots of its beauty and its unknown consciousness.

Sometimes one may sense a glisten of that consciousness, and with

such perspective, feel that man is not necessarily the highest form of life.

 

We've decided to use a tree skeleton in our logo for Struan Farm. What else could we use that has such meaning, really?

 

Thanks to Sheena Smith at http://redimpressionsdesign.com for her help with our logo, we're working now on signage, website, business cards and letterhead. We'll use copper metallic ink on brown paper stock, which I'm excited about. 

 

 

New Struan Farm Logo Stamps

I don't usually post more than once a day (think daily posts are probably sufficiently excessive as it is), but today I received some rubber stamps we had made of our new Struan Farm and Struan Farm Knitting Studio logos. They were a bit of an experiment on my part, since I want to play around with stamping cards, labels, etc. My friend Marilyn has inspired me with her enthusiasm for and experiments with stamping and card making, as if I don't already have enough on my plate.

I am trying to justify this somewhat in the context of the Knitting Studio, since we'll have workshops on other crafts and plus I "need" to play around with packaging ideas.

I sent pdf files of the logos to a company called John Swan in Dunedin, who have been in business since the late 1800's http://www.johnswan.co.nz . Dave got back to me straight away with prices, sizes, and stamp options. Once confirmed and paid via direct credit, I had the stamps in several days. What fantastic service, and great product!

 

Can't wait to play around seriously and create with these!

 

The King Country Rocks

First, a bit of history on why the King Country where Struan Farm is located has its name. 

During the 1850's Ngati Maniapoto, the local iwi, were supporters of the King movement ('Kingitanga'), a movement that developed out of growing concern over the sale/confiscation of Maori land. The area thus became known as 'Rohe Potae' or the King Country, and a refuge for many Maori involved in the land wars against the British.

It was not until 1883, after negotiations were held between the government and Maniapoto leaders, that the King Country was opened up to European settlement, considerably later than many parts of the country. Access enabled the route for the North Island main railway trunkline then to be surveyed.

Our Homestead, which was constructed in 1908, would have been built quite early after this initial European settlement.

The landscape is characterized by rolling green hills, sculpted limestone outcrops, gorges, and natural bridges hidden in lush native bush. Underground, cave networks (like the well known Waitomo Caves) are home to glowworms, subterranean rivers, and waterfalls.

The farm is dotted with corrugated limestone rocks, with views of larger outcrops from the hills:

 
 
 NZ's Dept of Conservation, known as "DOC" publishes a good brochure with information on walking tracks in the area: http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/waikato/waitomo-kingcountry-walks.pdf

Basically, we think the King Country rocks.

 

A River Has Connected Us

The Mangaotaki River forms one of the borders of present day Struan Farm, although the original holding included land on the other side of the river as well.

While we've had picnics down at our sandy beach and visitors have come close to hooking fish with our ancient reel between swims, we've recently learned that it is a proper trout fishing river, thanks to John's periodontist, a keen angler.

He directed us to a website: http://www.nzfishing.com/FishingWaters/AucklandWaikato/AWFishingWaters/AWMangaotaki.htm

From this I learned that the river is suited to all forms of fly fishing, and has mainly rainbow but some brown trout (latter mostly in the lower reaches).

I also contacted Doug Stevens, whose website it is, to make sure it was okay for me to reference and link his site in this post. Well, it turns out that he grew up in Piopio, knows the Mangaotaki well, and his mother and sister both still live in town! He also remembers the Robertsons, although can't quite recall whether or not he attended Piopio School at the same time as John. 

I temporarily forgot that it is "six degrees of separation" here in NZ, where if you don't know someone you most likely will know a relation or a friend...

In this case a river has connected us.

Knitting UFO's

Most if not all avid knitters work on more than one project at a time. For a few reasons really. Sometimes you just need a mindless project to blob out with, other times something more challenging/interesting is required.

We knitters have our own language and secret handshake. Unfinished projects are called "UFOs."  Currently I have three:

A Coco Knits shawl/wrap pattern called "Everyday Wrap" by Julie Weisenberger in Rowan Kidsilk Haze. It's mindless stocking stitch in one respect, but is fine, slippy, and thus gets a bit tedious. I'm closing in on it:

Sublime's Grace Kelly cardi from book #607 in a luscious cashmere silk merino DK. I am so close to being done with this it's silly, just part of a sleeve, then the collar, button band, and assembly. I'll get it done soon, really:

  
 

Last but not least, my most guilty UFO: Touch hand dyed yarn possum merino socks for my brother-in-law Carrick, promised two Christmases ago. Pattern is Mountain Colors' Bankers Socks designed by Patty Connolly. He is far too polite and diplomatic to remind me, but believe me, I remember. I will deliver him some socks, someday. Maybe I just need to start over:

  

Perhaps I could tell him that I was abducted by aliens and forgot to take my knitting?

 

The Return of the Shining Cuckoo

At the farm the Shining Cuckoo ("pipiwharauroa" or chalcites lucidus) is often heard but rarely if ever seen. Its distinctive high pitched call arrives back on the scene in late September/early October and stays throughout the summer into autumn.

Doing a bit of research, I've learned that the NZ subspecies winters in the Solomon Islands and Bismark Archipelagos. Their song is a series of double notes--some writers call them "ascending" or "rising," followed by one or two downward whistles. It's sufficiently distinctive that once recognized you will know it again when you hear it.

They are absentee parents, laying eggs in grey warbler nests and leaving them to incubate and raise their young.

The good news is that they are back again, yet another sign that spring has arrived.

p.s. not my photo, credit to Peter Woods from the UK who took this in 2009 while on a visit to Auckland. I have never seen one, only heard them!

 

 

Waiting for Labour Weekend

Here in NZ everyone waits until Labour Weekend to plant out tomatoes in the garden. It's an annual ritual for most if not all. By the last weekend in October the risk of frost, at least on the North Island, is generally past.

I grow my tomatoes from seed in a little plastic greenhouse, starting in August (someday will have a REAL glasshouse). This past weekend I planted another batch of rocket/arugula and kale outside in the garden, and decided since the weather has warmed up to be daring and plant my bean seeds.

But I will wait until the end of October to put out my tomato seedlings. They are spritzed daily, getting ready for prime time: