Struan Farm

Central Otago Cherries: Remembering Spanish Class

Eliza had Dr. Dolittle with "the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain." I had my Spanish teacher, Miss Gutierrez at Morristown High School, who had us recite "the cherrrries are verrry rrrripe" to learn to roll our "R's" properly, and I thank her for that.

So what brings cherries to mind? My colleague Mike shipped us a huge box of Central Otago cherries as a belated Christmas present when he was down on the South Island visiting family. My idea of the perfect gift!

Just picked and shipped, perfectly ripe, I can't even begin to describe their taste and lush, juicy, deep color. Certainly not red. Burgundy?

After a quick pass around the team at the office (they politely restrained themselves, after all these are Kiwis), the cherries headed home to be made into pie for John and jam. I spent several hours one evening halving and pitting them, it was messy but satisfying and somewhat meditative.

I found recipes for both jam and pie on the internet. Jam here and pie here. (The jam is good, the pie was incredible.)

The especially good news is that I know now about Coal Creek Gardens in Roxburgh, where we Kiwis can email Glenys and Michael Roche to order cherries, raspberries, strawberries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, and plums (including green gage) in season directly from the grower. I have already been in touch to place an order for Moorpark apricots for jam, and they will be shipped when picked. Email is: [email protected].

The other cherry related fragment that floated up from my memory banks was a folk song and nursery rhyme, the lyrics of which include: "Can she make a cherry pie, Billy boy, Billy boy? Can she make a cherry pie, charming Billy?"  I found You Tube versions of this song but they were a bit tedious so I'll spare you all that.

This was actually the first cherry pie I've baked, so it has been confirmed that I can bake a cherry pie too provided I have perfect fruit!

 

Tuis: Town & Country

We see and hear tuis all the time at Struan Farm, but never have I seen them at our house in Papakura. Never say never? This past week I looked out and saw a tui feeding on our protea plant in the evening, at which point I had to grab the camera:

 

While I think this bird needs to relocate to Piopio with us in due course for a happier life, it seems he's coping with urban life! He came back the next night. I might try putting out a bowl of sugar water for him, something we do in the garden at Struan Farm.

He's picked the right house.

And meanwhile, down at Struan Farm the tuis dive bomb John to let him know when the bowl of sugar water is running low. Other than that they seem to ignore us entirely:

They've picked the right farm. 

 

Musing on Sunflowers

This winter we took out a small garden on the edge of the Pet Paddock at Struan Farm. But we did so at a time that was a bit too late in the season for grass seed. What to do?

As an interim measure we ended up weeding, bringing in a little more soil, and planting sunflowers. It's been a success, quite a talking point with visitors. We've used a cutting mix sold by Kings Seeds and planted a few series on a staggered basis.

The flowers (of course) bring to mind Vincent van Gogh, and his still lifes painted in  Arles in 1888-1889 to decorate a room for Gauguin. The flowers originated in the Americas as a food source, but are also a symbol of both longevity and adoration.

We're enjoying our little plot of sunflowers and may revisit grassing this area as a result. My only question is: what do we plant here in the offseason?

 

 

 

 

 

The Boys and the Deck Chairs

Weather permitting in Piopio, John and I have breakfasts and our morning and afternoon tea breaks on the deck out from the Homestead sunporch, looking out on the Pet Paddock at Struan Farm. We love the feature trees and that ever changing view.

Awhile back I ordered some kitset Cape Cod chairs for the decks, anticipating that these would work well despite some skepticism within the ranks. They took time to assemble and paint, but with thanks to family and friends they are comfortable and do work well.

I laugh to see my boys, John and Clifford, relaxing on this deck in and around these chairs, respectively. Clifford prompts us when he requires a scratch by putting his paw on our feet, a move that is sometimes tolerated, other times not.

Isn't this the life?

One Shed Per Summer

You may recall that we cleaned out and renovated John's Hut at Struan Farm last summer so that it might be redeployed into a usable garden shed. That happened.

This year I thought that John was going to tackle Jim's Hut during the Christmas holiday break. Instead he opted for the old garage where the lawn mower is kept given its proximity both to the Homestead and to what we now call the Garden Shed. I couldn't argue that it didn't need doing, it definitely was unsightly!

Progress has been made:

The rack of old wood has been removed, structure water blasted, and roof repaired, brushed and primed for painting. Nephew Mike led the project team, so our inclination is to rename this shed "Mike's Hut" in his honor. Paint to follow in due course along with landscaping. We'll transplant the ponga/tree fern and extend the hedge.

While John's mantra has been "one hut/shed per summer," Jim's Hut has also been emptied, and I suspect momentum could lead to the mantra being changed to "at least one hut/shed per summer" to include initial work on renovating Jim's Hut. It needs it, we just haven't decided its ultimate purpose at Struan Farm. It's got interesting native timber floors and a high ceiling, might be remodelled into a nice rustic bunkhouse or fishermen's cabin and relocated to a more scenic part of the property.....

Any thoughts either way?

Happy Chinese New Year

Today is Chinese New Year welcoming in the Year of the Dragon. Upon being told about this I also learned that I was born in the Year of the Sheep, and that I am a "Wood Sheep."

This explains my affinity for knitting and all things sheep: it was simply destined to be.

 

"Bespoke" Candlelight

Some posts ago I wrote about "bespoke" being the new word du jour. I've decided to use it referring to this project, which is, indeed, bespoke.

I made a neat soy wax candle using an "Old Flame Candle Kit" from Mapua Country Trading and a vintage glass creamer. The creamers are widely available in ops shops here in NZ for several dollars, but you could also use an old china tea cup. The kits are made by Enlighten Candles and include wax, an adhesive wick and instructions. The wax is easily melted in the microwave in a bowl and poured into whatever vessel you might have available. Once the wax is cool and hardened the wick is cut to size.

 

! Farm Eggs: In Anticipation

No chooks on the scene at Struan Farm as yet, nor hen house/chicken coop (to be christened "Chateau des Chooks"), nor actual eggs. But the good news is I've made an egg sign modelled after the one I drive by (and lust after) in nearby Te Kuiti.

I used stencils for the letters. One minor planning problem meant that I'd forgotten to factor the "S" into my spacing before starting to draw the letters, and needed either to repaint, cut the front of the board, or improvise. I chose the latter. Enter the exclamation mark.

John was somewhat dubious of my improvised solution but I think it's growing on him. Next I'm thinking "Organic," "Free Range," and of course "Chateau des Chooks." Colors to be decided.

Rainy Days in Piopio

We had some decent rain over the recent holiday period at Struan Farm. While both John and I will stay outside working in light showers, I head indoors when it starts to pour down, that's just me.

As a result I managed to get some batches of strawberry and blueberry jams made plus bake some chocolate chip cookies, bonus!

 

 

Extreme Weeding

The weeds in the roadside wooded garden at Struan Farm had been warned: I'd get to them eventually. So my recent holiday was taken up by what I now call "extreme weeding." There isn't a better phrase to capture the scope of the work and the commitment required. (Although perhaps it should be "X-treme Weeding?") 

I forgot to take a true "before" photograph, subconsciously must have been too embarrassed to do so. But I can tell you that the weeds covered all of the rocks, rocks that hadn't been seen for years, and surrounded the bases of all of the trees. 

Some of the plants I removed (like luminaria and forget-me-knots) are lovely in a controlled environment, but when left to grow unrestrained take over. I feel myself channeling my late father-in-law at his grumpy best, since I now understand his intense dislike for garden plants that menace the bush and paddocks.

There are people out there who would resort to chemicals to deal with this sort of situation, and to each his/her own. I prefer to dig things out when possible. And my fingernails have paid the price!

But the good news is that now we are able to see what trees need pruning or replacement along with gaps to be filled. A massive order for spring bulbs will be placed shortly to supplement the bluebells and daffodils sleeping dormant below. It was a satisfying vacation work project for me, one where the results are clearly apparent.

 

Wind Chimes, In Situ

We managed to get the new Magnolia windchimes from Ngatimoti hung in one of the dogwood trees at Struan Farm in time for Boxing Day:

The kids enjoyed clanging them, and everyone else enjoyed looking at the dogwood in flower, this year spectacularly so.

 

 

Hydrangea Hill

The bank of hydrangea planted from cuttings over a year ago at Struan Farm has flourished and looks pretty amazing at this time of the year. I've taken to calling it "Hydrangea Hill" (what else could we call it, really?) and will work to fill in the gaps with different varieties as we find them. 

Hydrangea were always my mother-in-law's favorite, and now I find myself adopting them too. 

In Honor of Carrick

My brother-in-law Carrick is teaching overseas in the Philippines for two years, so missed this year's holiday celebrations with the family. We did manage to speak to him briefly via Skype on Boxing Day.

When he arrives at Struan Farm he can be relied upon to get out the water blaster to clean decks, paving stones, walkways, etc. Also to edge the lawn and pathways like no one else can or does.

With his absence this year I took these matters into my own hands, thinking of him. I tackled this little path of stone tiles near Maurie's Workshop. It used to lead to the laundry line but right now leads to nowhere in particular:

The effort (albeit a rough one on my part) was more than justified when I saw one of our granddaughters hopping from one round stone to the next, laughing when she got to the square one at the end. 

So you were at the farm in spirit, Carrick!

Boxing Day, Belatedly

Happy New Year! We had a great holiday break at Struan Farm, one that included our annual Boxing Day celebration for the extended family. The gathering allows everyone to get back to Piopio, catch up, and introduce the next generation to the farm.

Fortunately some boys have arrived on the scene over the past year to improve the family gender balance. We're anticipating even more fun next year as a result.

A rather scruffy Santa flew in to distribute some late gifts to the true believers:

This year's archery challenge took a decidedly more professional turn, thanks to Mike:

And once everyone was well fed and having fun, I started to relax!