Struan Farm

Near Miss, #2

This could have turned out to be a serious incident, but fortunately for everyone had a happy ending. Our friend Aaron was up at the new house site at Struan Farm in his bobcat cleaning up rubble, and tried to drive up a bank that he probably shouldn't have.

John saw it happen and thinks Aaron was lucky that the bobcat just tipped over rather than rolling over down the hill. He was strapped in with a safety harness so wasn't injured, thank heavens.

His father came to the rescue with a big digger that helped get it rightside up.

Phew. Phew. Phew. The bobcat and Aaron were back at work the next day, with instructions to behave!

van Gogh would be happy

Vincent would be reaching for his paint brush: some sunflowers blooming at Struan Farm, finally.

It was lovely watching the bumble bees enjoy them too. Interesting that only the smaller varieties have bloomed this season. I'm not sure why but I'm happy to have them.

Raspberries!

The bad news is that the blueberries at Piopio Berry Orchard are finishing up for the season, but the good news is that the autumn raspberries have just started to come on!

And yes, they taste as good as they look.....

Near Miss, #1

Arrived at Struan Farm this past week to find this:

Initially we thought perhaps a meteor had landed, recent global events being what they've been. But it seems the drought this summer has affected the (non-native) liquid amber outside the front entrance, and it jettisoned a rather large branch.

Early the next morning John was on the case, with tractor and chain saw, to assess the damage and start the clean up/repair.

Lucky for us, no real collateral damage to our beautiful new green gate (one picket was knocked off but not broken), although the fence did suffer a direct hit.

The fire wood salvaged from the clean up operation is now nestled drying at the base of the tree for winter 2014:

A Tisket, A Tasket

My market basket trolley finally made it to the Clevedon Farmers Market!

This was my birthday present to myself this past year. It was made by Peter Greer of Willow Works in Onekaka, Golden Bay and purchased from Mapua Country Trading. The basket is woven from English osier or basket willow (Salix viminalis, Salix triandra, and Salix purpurea) grown in Onekaka and harvested during winter. It is then processed and woven by Peter using traditional methods.

John wants to see if we might grow these sorts of willows at Struan Farm around the pond. I'm onto the research now and will query our sources for trees locally next. I think Peter may actually be teaching some basketry classes at Mapua Country Trading, I'll put that on my list!

Repurposed Cutlery, Thanks to Mapua Country Trading

Mapua Country Trading is always on my flight path when I visit the Nelson area, although their website also allows for great shopping online from home too. The business supports those of us wanting to grow our own fruit and veggies, make our own cheese, raise bees and chooks, etc. They work with local artisans to offer practical items that are interesting too.

This time I was captured by these recycled spoons and fish knives, flattened and lettered to create garden tags for herbs and cheese knives, respectively.

Oh, there are also ones for "weeds." Of course I got several of these for use at Struan Farm, not that I need to really point them out, do I?! But I suspect the weeds will have a good laugh about these too. They're winning most of the time and I might as well give them their due, with tongue firmly in cheek. 

A Plum Assignment

Pitstop per usual at Richards Orchard Fruit Stall on the Coastal Highway in Mapua during my recent visit to Nelson. Big news, they now have both a website and Facebook page providing updates for customers!

The Akane and Gravenstein earlier fruiting apple varieties are in (latter is a Danish variety dating back to 1600's), so I came home with some of those, as well as some William bon Chretien pears (English variety dating back to 1770's).

But what were particularly interesting for me this visit were the plums. Green gage were on offer, but also "pink" and "amber" gage, somewhat rarer varieties. So of course I returned home with a bag of each. I can feel a plum crumble coming on....Plums seem to thrive in our orchards at Struan Farm, so I may need to look into where I can find trees if they are as delicious as I think they'll be.

Here are the plums before I put the crumble topping on the dish (they're a beautiful color, aren't they?), and the crumble after it was baked (topping is Annabel Langbein's crumble topping from the first Free Range Cook):

Need to start a search to see if I can find trees, fast!

 

Things to Love About Nelson

A business trip took me down to Nelson, at the top of the South Island, last week. It's one of my favorite places in NZ (except of course for Piopio!). So I stayed over Friday night to have the day on Saturday to visit the market and putter around to various local haunts.

Just a few of things I love about Nelson:

1. The hanging flower baskets on Trafalgar, the main commercial street that leads up to the Cathedral:

2. Hopgood's Restaurant, serving outstanding food, wine and craft beer, much of it locally sourced (I ate there both nights!):

3. Page & Blackmore Booksellers, offering an ecclectic mix of books and customers the option of "eco-delivery:"

4. Amazing vistas like this one from the wharf in Mapua, where there's now a little ferry to carry cyclists across from the new cycleway:

5. The Saturday Nelson market, with growers, food suppliers, artisits and artisans galore:

6. Artists, artists everywhere. This trip I discovered Neudorf Hall, which has a lovely studio attached to their B&B where they sell "french country" items crafted from recycled french oak wine barrels and grapevines from nearby Neudorf Winery, also interesting sculpture. I've shipped back a neat serving tray made from the end of a recycled wine barrel, can't wait to use it for serving food at the upcoming Embellishment Workshops with Lisa Cruse at Struan Farm.

The ceramic eels are made by well-known local potter Steve Fulmer, available at South Street Pottery. I almost came home with one, but decided not to risk raised eyebrows from John, at least this time!

It was a very short visit but this is a place that always manages to restore and ground me. And Lisa Cruse and I will be coming back for a visit in March after the Workshops at Struan Farm, hoorah!

 

Viva Vivian!

Here's "Vivian," the next Lisa Cruse hat design I've finished knitting ahead of the Embellishment Workshops at Struan Farm on March 9th and 10th.

She's ready for felting and then embellishment. Below is one of Lisa's finished versions so you can see what a completed Vivian might look like:

We're almost in a countdown mode now! I'm onto "Tatum Toque," fast and furious, although these are really quick knits.

I've found these kitsch tiki keychains, and am thinking about a "Tiki Tatum Toque," really just for fun, maybe with some other needle felted NZ motifs around them.

Could be a bit much, we'll see when my creative advisor Lisa gets here!

Lisa's Hat Patterns, Oops

I've been contacted by several faithful readers of the Struan Farm blog, wanting to know where they can purchase Lisa Cruse's knitted/felted hat patterns similar to those I've been making up over the past few weeks.

Duh, Karen?! I haven't told you, have I? We will definitely have them available for purchase at the upcoming Embellishment Workshops at Struan Farm on March 9th and 10th. But you can also purchase them on Ravelry, also via Lisa's website here.

The patterns are for the basic knitted/felted hats, not the embellishments. Best to sign up for the workshops at Struan Farm to learn those techniques directly from Lisa herself. A few spots are still open....

Oversight remedied, phew.

Done and Dusted

Managed to get the second coat of paint on the new green gate at Struan Farm's front entrance, finally!

Next steps are the sealing of the entrance itself, followed by the hedging/landscaping. The former is meant to happen in March sometime, hopefully NOT the weekend of Lisa's Embellishment Workshops, while the latter will happen shortly thereafter, once the rains start in autumn and we can plant again.

Let the Clean Up Begin

Wee bit of work happened down at the pond at Struan Farm this past weekend. John took to the weed eater, while I was down on my hands and knees pulling out river rocks and weeding/chopping back. It's the start of a major clean up/re-landscaping project.

Planting will happen in autumn when the rains come.

Tiptoe Through the .....

Tulips? Actually roses. We've had to stake the roses growing under the Perfect Pergola at Struan Farm. I grew these from cuttings, and they are thriving, so much so that support of some sort was required to keep the walkway clear.

John chopped the stakes from a stand of bamboo we've got in a paddock on the edge of the gardens.

Looks pretty good, doesn't it?

Stairway to Heaven

Yes it was a classic Led Zepplin song, but I'm actually referring to John's latest project at Struan Farm: a hand crafted ladder for the bunk bed in Jim's Hut. He's used beautiful native timber, matai, for the poles, and Japanese cedar milled from the farm's trees for the steps.

It's the perfect kind of project for John, involving good wood and precise measurement, chisels, glue, vises, etc.

I think I'm meant to be the first one to use it to make up the top bunks, once it's painted. I'm sure it's sturdy and I won't get trapped up there, but I'll report back in due course.

Zinneas 4 Ever

Earlier this season I wasn't sure that the zinneas I'd grown from seed were ever going to bloom at Struan Farm. But they have, and they've just kept going. It's been over two months now and they're still hanging in there.

Good thing, since the sunflowers have disappointed this year. I planted a serious quantity of seeds and only seven small plants have sprouted up behind the zinneas, not nearly the effusive display of 2011/2012.

Zinneas rule, summer 2012/13!

Jim's Hut: Continued

Noel and Deanna have been working away over the past week, finishing up painting Jim's Hut. Clifford stayed on to supervise.

It was great for us to arrive and walk down Coleman's River Track to see the green roof!

We'd also heard via the local grapevine that the Hut can be seen from SH3 coming up from the South, at least by those who know where to look. So we took a drive to see for ourselves, and yep, we could see it. Can you spot it?

Next time I'll bring my long lens!

Weekend Flowers

Arrived at Struan Farm to discover my sweetpeas in bloom, hurray! They're very happy growing beside the roses under the Perfect Pergola.

And they look lovely in this iridescent vintage blue vase, don't they?

My other arrangement was roses and mottled hydrangea. It's been so dry this summer that they're already starting to turn...

On The Hobbit Trail

A business meeting took me down to Matamata last week. It was great to see this provincial town buzzing with visitors coming to tour the Hobbiton movie set. The local farm used to film parts of The Hobbit movies as well as The Lord of the Rings is now open to the public.

The Matamata I-Site has been transformed into a Hobbit House, including a round green door.

Clearly this is a community celebrating its fifteen minutes of fame, and good on them!

Aotearoa Amy Beret

I am cranking away making samples of Lisa Cruse's various knitted hat designs ahead of her Embellishment Workshops on March 9 & 10 at Struan Farm! Here's the "Amy Beret" in a cherry red Cascade 220 yarn, which I've christened "Aotearoa Amy" to give it a bit of Kiwi flavor:

Obviously felting and embellishment to follow under Lisa's supervision. These are fast and fun to knit.

Here's one of Lisa's originals of this same pattern:

Next I'm onto "Vivian."

Finally!

It's been a weird summer for the gardens, vegetable and otherwise, but the tomatoes are FINALLY ripe.

And predictably, all at once. Gazpacho, anyone?

Last week my colleagues at work and I had lunch at Poderi Crisci Vineyard on Waiheke Island. The garden setting was relaxed and interesting, I snapped these photos of a tomato trellis made out of bamboo stakes:

 

I like the fact that they've used companion planting with marigolds to help keep the bugs away. May need to add this to my project list for the veggie gardens at Struan Farm, we've got the bamboo.