Struan Farm

Emergency Triage for Woolly Joe

This could have been much sadder news to report but all is okay. Our pet lamb Woolly Joe has been getting a wee bit too adventurous for his own good at Auntie Anna's, jumping up into her trees to eat the leaves. And apparently on one recent day he took this too far, climbing up into a tree and falling, breaking his leg. Initially we all thought he would need to be put down, which would have been very sad indeed, but emergency consultation with a number of more experienced farmers indicated it was possible to splint his leg with tape and chicken wire to provide support and allow it to heal, phew!

So he hobbles around the paddock with Curly Sue for now, to coin a Kiwi phrase, fat as. He's scheduled to return to Struan Farm to wander with the rest of the mob soon. Hopefully he's learned a lesson about keeping all fours on the ground.

 

Weekend Civic Duty

National elections were held this past Saturday, so John and I went off to the local polling place in Piopio to do our civic duty.

The polling place was our local primary school, which in Piopio continues to be one of those traditional, rather iconic, NZ schools. I guess this helps us keep the next generation in mind as we go off to tick the boxes.

When I looked more closely at the wooden figures along the front fence and realized they were distinctly different, I also saw that each had a name painted on the feet--the children had painted self portraits for this display at the school entrance.

And of course, this is New Zealand, there always has to be an All Black in the mix:

 

 

 

We Brake for Donkeys

Awhile back I wrote a post about the practice in New Zealand of keeping goats tethered by the side of the road to eat weeds. I pictured a lovely goat that we drive by along SH3 in Piopio every week, who sits seemingly happy atop his house, but I also mentioned that it's a bit controversial from an animal rights perspective:

John and I took a detour on our drive down to Struan Farm Friday for a quick lunch at HuHu Cafe and quick Christmas shop at HuHu Gallery at Waitomo Caves. On the drive in we couldn't believe it, but we saw donkeys being used for this same purpose.

Donkeys!

They were friendly and calm, but I hope these little guys aren't out here all the time, they look way too close to the road.

 

Let the Strawberries Begin!

It's one of my favorite "seasonal moments" to drive into Piopio and see the banners flying at Piopio Orchard, announcing they're open for the season and the berries are ripe:

Down the Old Road

Clifford and I took a walk down the Old Road at Struan Farm. I was meant to be on thistle duty, but the camera won out over the thistles.

The variety of ferns on this part of the property continues to amaze me, I need to get the fern guide out to catalogue them:

My dog took a swim:

And while we both savored the peaceful afternoon light through the pines:

at a certain point I was told it was time to head home for dinner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Weekend's Flowers

We're starting to get into the most amazing time for flowers in the garden at Struan Farm, although we do manage to have something interesting blooming all year thanks to John's parents.

This weekend there was an unusual bright pink rhodo at peak bloom, along with our brilliant orange rose:

Despite its wild color, this shy rose hides out behind Maurie's workshop, so it's nice to bring it out and show it off.

Plus early green clusters of dogwood:

I wasn't so sure about combining hot pink and bright orange, but I think it worked.

Back to Baking

We've been so busy working outside on our landscaping projects at Struan Farm the past few weeks, and I've been so exhausted physically, that my baking has been shelved temporarily along with my knitting. Hard to believe but true.

But I've been saving up recipes to try, including one for a Lemon, Lime and Almond Cake from a recent issue of NZ's Dish magazine that looked easy and interesting:

 

Definitely a keeper. Eggs, caster sugar, lemon and lime zest and cooled, melted butter are whisked and then combined with self raising flour, ground almonds, and sea salt. This mixture is then put into a greased pan lined with baking paper and baked for 30 minutes at 180 degrees C. After this time a topping of melted butter, caster sugar and slivered almonds is scattered on top, and the cake baked for 20 minutes more.

Dusted with icing sugar and served with whipped cream or yogurt, it's a great addition to the repetoire. Also a good excuse to deploy my depression glass cake plate and  vintage Crown Lynn "Hotel Nelson" dishes....

John is happy I'm back in action. Now for some knitting! 

This Gardening Thing

In between weeding stints I've managed to plant some ferns and hostas on the shady garden bank at Struan Farm. This was the area we recently cleaned out below a number of older camelia and magnolia trees and pongas (our native tree ferns). It's also beside a larger bank of established trees that serves as a windbreak for the Homestead.

While we did buy a plant or two at the nursery to kick this landscaping off, John pointed out to me that it was going to be less expensive, and far more practical, to transplant ferns from other areas of the farm. They're all over the property. In fact, there were some to be rescued from the Old Road where the digger had been working to clear out drains.

So John, Clifford and I set off for the Old Road with the tractor, trailer and spades. It was quite the successful mission.

We returned a short while later with a number of ferns to plant; I decided not to go overboard but rather to wait and see how these get established first. I also split a number of hostas from other parts of the garden (not something I've tried before) and stuck those in. 

Seems I'm starting to find my way with this gardening thing.

 

Baby Flattos!

John and I walk up to check the orchard regularly at Struan Farm to make sure the sheep haven't misbehaved or insects aren't damaging the trees. Imagine our surprise to see immature flatto peaches forming on our new tree! Since it's the tree's first season, who knows if these will last the distance, but very exciting to see them and see the tree thriving.

I do notice here that someone has been munching on the leaves, will need to explore what to do about that. We don't like to use sprays if they can be avoided.

First Roses of the Season

While we were suffering from a late spring cold snap that brought snow to the South Island, it was great to arrive at Struan Farm and see the first roses of the season:

The red rose above I've been told is called "Dublin Bay," and literally pops out against the freshly painted white trellis, while the beautiful little pink roses below are hidden away in the back of a side garden, growing up a trellis that has yet to feel the love from a coat of fresh white paint:

Work Happens

Sometimes John and I think we know what our respective work projects at Struan Farm are going to be. But then, when we least expect it, the universe intervenes:

This past week a liquid amber in the Pet Paddock decided to drop a major branch, again. On our boundary fence, again.

So John diverted, with chain saw in hand. Work happens.

 

Daydreams Past

Growing up there was a huge lilac bush outside my bedroom window. I still can recall daydreaming on my bed on sunny, spring days looking out on fragrant clusters of lavender flowers. Then I didn't know that lavender lilacs are the symbol of the first emotions of love. Who knows what I was going through as an adolescent at the time!

In Greek mythology, the nymph Syringa (lilac's botanical name) found herself being chased by Pan, the god of fields and forest. To escape his pursuit, she turned herself into a fragrant, flowering bush.

Last year I managed to find a small lilac bush for sale at Charlie Smart's nursery in Te Kuiti. Lilacs are not all that common in NZ.  I planted it on my garden bank amidst the thriving hydrangea as a bit of an experiment, along with two peonies I am nursing along (another experiment and another story).

This past weekend John and I were at Charlie's again picking up some plants and trees for our various landscaping projects. He had flowering lilacs for sale and I couldn't resist picking up another, particularly since my lilac had yet to bloom.  Charlie mentioned that it wasn't all that easy to get them to bloom, that they prefer sustained cold winter weather.

Returning to Struan Farm I planted the new bush and went to see the first. To my utter astonishment, it too was budding and about to flower. Happy Days!

When I went to photograph both bushes, I noticed that the cluster of flowers on the new bush was heart shaped:

Messages from the universe for sure: love abounds at Struan Farm, no need to daydream.

Lunar Update

Further to my previous post about planting according to the Moon Calendar, after one week it's interesting to see that the kale (okay, technically "cavalo nero") has sprouted, the pumpkins are visibly larger relative to the ones I'd planted before the new moon, and the tomato plants are growing away quite happily:

Hmm, despite my initial skepticism, I'm beginning to think there might be something to this after all?

 

 

 

 

The Latest from Piopio

Lots happened this past week in Piopio:

Sanity Check Please?

Frequent readers of this blog will know that both John and I get stuck into things, mainly work projects at Struan Farm. 

Recently we were working like mad preparing for guests. But what do you do when the weather doesn't cooperate?

Below is my dear husband, out on his ride-on lawn mower doing circles in the Pet Paddock in the pouring rain:

Later when he accused me of being slightly mad for weeding in the rain I supplied this photographic evidence in my defense. Not sure about our respective sanity either way, I'll leave that one to the professionals, but clearly a case of the pot calling the kettle black! That issue aside we were both pleased that the Pet Paddock was beautifully mown for the guests.

 

Moonlighting

A Piopio friend, also named Karen, is a keen veggie gardener and operates according to the moon calendar. She wrote an article about it in the latest issue of "Bird Talk," Piopio's community newsletter. When I bumped into her recently she instructed me to hold off on planting my veggies until after the new moon on Oct. 27th. (Traditionally everyone in NZ plants their tomatoes Labour Weekend, which this year would have been the 22nd/23rd.)

New Zealand Gardener Magazine has a monthly column on gardening by the moon calendar as well. The current issue was consistent with Karen as to when to plant for October, so I've decided to test it out. The theory is that fertility rises when the moon is waxing and declines when it is waning. Certain indigenous cultures speak about women's fertility in a lunar context as well.

On Oct. 29th I dutifully planted my tomato seedlings, beans, kale, and more pumpkins.

 

Let the summer veggie garden grow, by the light of the fertile moon.

Karen vs. Weeds: Adjusting One's Perspective

Crazy, I know. Taking a week off work to weed the gardens at Struan Farm. I did manage to make a dent, note the first of several trailerloads:

But the gardens are extensive and the weeds more so. At a certain point reality sunk in, and I had to tell myself to stop and smell the flowers. Even if some of them are technically (or practically) weeds!

(Don't get me wrong, Forget-me-nots in small doses are fantastic, I love them. But when they self seed and turn up everywhere they become weeds in my book. In the gardens we have a number of good things gone out of control and this would be one of them.)

Okay for now, but I will get them some day....