Struan Farm

Crisp, To Say the Least

When the night skies are full of stars, and we can see the Milky Way stretching overhead, we know this means frost at Struan Farm. We just don't know how hard until we wake up that next morning.

Saturday we awoke to some fog and heavy frost, heavier than last week. And while it's tempting to stay warm and cozy under the down duvet, I do jump up to go hunt out those sparkling, frosted leaves glistening in the morning sun. Even before I have my coffee!

It's invigorating to start the day by seeing the beauty that's out there around us.

Roma's Rose: A Rose by Any Other Name

We're in luck. Both family friend Christine Nelson and sister-in-law Anna have remembered the proper name of Roma's Rose.  

It's called "Souvenir de Madame Leonie Viennot," and is known as a vigorous climbing tea rose. Turns out Christine too had cuttings of this same rose from the Ronaldsons in her gardens in Mahoenui.

Can't really find any information on who Madame Leonie was, but I have learned that tea roses originated in China. The name "tea" either came from their fragrance, which was thought to be similar to boxes of tea, or a nurseryman whose name was Tee.

Horticultural legend either way from the sounds of it, and this particular Piopio rose is clearly a legend in its own right given the various offspring it has spawned around the district.

Hole in Middle Earth?

Sometimes strange things happen at Struan Farm, and this would be one of those times. (New Zealand is Middle Earth, after all!) Walking up from the pond recently we saw this plume of steam/smoke rising up from the ground:

We've had burn piles here in the past for fallen trees and leaves, etc. John thought the smell was of steaming compost perhaps, given all of the organic matter decomposing below the surface, which we've now grassed.

But who knows, maybe it's Bilbo sending us an SOS?

Reflections

John and I were down at the pond at Struan Farm this past weekend, strategizing about landscaping that needs to get done. It's definitely the time of year to plant, it's really just about us making executive decisions and then having the time to do the work.

But we did stop for a minute to smell the roses (so to speak), when we saw these amazing reflections:

The good news is that we've sorted out where the fencing is going, and also where I can start planting around the sides.

Yes, More Trees

It's that time of the year. Yes, we're planting more trees at Struan Farm.

In addition to the apples, quince, plum and hazelnuts trees I've got on order for planting in July, John had pre-ordered 12 "Prunus Awanui," flowering cherry trees, to plant along the drive going through the Cottage Paddock at the farm. They'd arrived at Smart Plants in Te Kuiti and are bare root, so needed to get planted as soon as we'd picked them up.

You will recall that John is very precise about this sort of thing, so I took my spade and went off down to the pond to plant some flax...

We think they'll look beautiful once established, with pale pink flowers in spring and yellow/orange leaves in autumn. Just ordered four more to extend the avenue a wee bit on both ends, those will get planted next weekend.

I also managed to sneak two bare root pear trees into the trailer: "Winter Nellis" and "Pear Doyenne comice." Couldn't plant just one, a cross-pollinator was needed. There was some grumbling about the fact we're "running out of room," if you can believe that, but it was good natured, since we haven't planted any pear trees as yet. I need cooperation on all this given the fences that have to be put around the young fruit trees to protect them from the sheep.

I'm quite happy for us to be fruitarians in our dotage, think we'll be well supplied!

Frosty Morning in Piopio

We woke up on Saturday to Matariki and also our first weekend frost of the season at Struan Farm. 

It wasn't a particularly hard one, but we were expecting rain. So it was a bonus to wake up to clear, crisp weather and be able to get out to wander the property and plant trees. (Yes, more trees!)

A Big Weekend in Celestial Terms: Matariki

In New Zealand, "Matariki" is the name of the Pleiades star cluster and also for the season of its first rising in late May or early June.  This past weekend John and I celebrated Matariki for the first time at Struan Farm.

In Te Reo Maori the word means "eyes of god" or "little eyes." According to myth, Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatuanuku, the earth mother, were separated by their children. Tawhirimatea, the god of winds, angered by this, tore his eyes out and threw them up into the sky. The central star in the cluster is called "Matariki."

Matariki connotes the beginning of the new year, a time to remember those who have passed over the past year, but also a time to celebrate new life and prepare for the next year.  So we celebrated the recent birth of our granddaughter Freya, and to whatever the next year might bring given lots of projects at Struan Farm, including the solar powered eco-building John is busy developing down at the river near Jim's Hut (toilet, shower and kitchen facilities).

Also called the "Seven Sisters," the cluster of stars was important for navigation and seasonal transition in many cultures around the world. In addition to Maori, it was important to Aboriginal, Persian, Chinese, Mayan, Aztec, Sioux and Cherokee peoples. It is mentioned in numerous ancient texts, prominent in the winter in the Southern Hemisphere sky in the constellation of Taurus (summer for the Northern Hemisphere).

In Greek mythology the Seven Sisters were nymphs who committed suicide saddened by the fate of their father, Atlas, who was condemned to stand at the edge of the earth, supporting the sky on his shoulders. Zeus, ruler of the gods, immortalized them by placing them up in the sky.

All in all, it was a big weekend in celestial terms and it will be an exciting next year at Struan Farm for sure.

Oreo and Sooty, Fleeced

Very exciting to get two bags of fleece from our black lambs Oreo and Sooty thanks to farmer John. Now it's off for washing and carding, after which it will get spun. Here's a wee bit in a basket on the deck at Struan Farm, it's hard to see but I can tell you that it's slightly pungent...

Everyone gets shorn before too heavy with lamb. Those are coming August/September!

Calling Carlos Castaneda: More Fab Fungi

John sighted these and dragged me down to the river at Struan Farm, knowing a good blog photo op when he sees one!

We have seen these colonies of bright red toadstools under the pines at Struan Farm in previous years, although we never know when they're going to pop up. I have since learned that they are Amanita muscaria, a non-native species of fungus introduced to the Southern Hemisphere with pine plantations. Apparently they grow where pines do, are "symbiont."

While generally considered poisonous (and they look it, don't they?), I've read that in certain cultures they are parboiled and ingested for their hallucinogenic properties. John and I have decided not to test this out either way. Yes, despite having read Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan!

Next with Next Nellie

Hooray, managed to get my next version of Lisa Cruse's "Nellie Crush" hat design fulled (felted) over the weekend at Struan Farm. I'm calling her "Next Nellie."

It takes hours to felt in our washing machine, it's just the way it is with this particular machine. So next time I am going to do several hats at once to be more time efficient. (I don't have to keep re-filling the washer, so water usage isn't an issue either way, it's just the time involved.)  Hopefully I've remembered to shape it properly after Lisa's firsthand lesson during her visit to NZ.

It seems to fit and I think I got the shape right....

Next weekend I'll start auditioning some embellishment, can't wait! I've got wool to use for embroidery and different beads to play with. For some reason I'm thinking about a daisy chain, we'll see if this Nellie likes that or not. These hats speak to you and tell you what they want eventually.

A Trifling Matter?

I tested out a recipe this weekend for "Sweet Sherry and Spiced Apple Compote Trifle" from the current issue of Dish Magazine. I'd planned to make it for our recent dinner party, however one of our guests couldn't eat anything with gluten so I regrouped and came up with another option for dessert that night.

A "trifle" refers to something inconsequential, although I definitely wouldn't use this word to refer to this dessert, it is quite the opposite!

References to trifles in cookery books date back to the 1600's.  They are made by layering custard, sponge cake, fruit, and whipped cream in glass bowls. Most if not all contain alcohol such as sweet sherry, madeira or port, in which the cake (often stale) is soaked. 

In this receipe diced apples and pears are cooked until soft with brown sugar, currants, and sherry, then cornflour (corn starch) is added to thicken the mixture. This cools while the custard is made. Layers are placed in the glass bowl starting with custard, cubes of sponge cake sprinkled with sweet sherry, followed by cooked fruit and repeated. The bowl is topped with softly whipped cream and grated nutmeg. This trifle can be eaten warm but keeps for five days in the fridge. Flavours improve with time.

Definitely over the top for John and me. We had a taste, but this is really a dinner party dessert in my book. Not something to be trifled with!

 

Misty Morning at Struan Farm

It's the time of the year at Struan Farm when we wake up to chilly, misty mornings. This was our view from the sun porch at the Homestead over breakfast, looking out to the Pet Paddock:

After breakfast it looks like John took the ewes for a stroll.

National Fieldays

This past week "Fieldays" were held at Mystery Creek outside Hamilton (New Zealand). It's the first time I've attended this national rural event, and it's huge! It's part rural trade show and part state fair, with competitions like tractor pulls, "Rural Bachelor of the Year," and activities for kids.

 

 

 

All things dairy dominated the event given this industry's importance to the NZ export economy. I was actually surprised at the relative underrepresentation of sheep and wool, was a bit dismayed to see this. I did find a few alpaca breeders and also Mohair Craft, who brought along two beautiful angora goats who calmly surveyed the crowds:

They were the high point of the day for me!

Roma's Rose

We find that most things come full circle at Struan Farm.

In this case I've just planted a climbing rose in the rose gardens below the Perfect Pergola at Struan Farm, grown from a cutting of a rose in Papakura. That had been grown many years ago from a cutting taken in Piopio. That rose had been a favorite of John's mum, Rosemary, grown from a cutting from her friend Roma Ronaldson.

It's known as "Roma's Rose." A rose that has made the rounds, clearly. Can't wait to see it grow up and over the Perfect Pergola this summer.

Light on the Leaves

There wasn't much time for photography this week at Struan Farm, but I'm always amazed when something special captures my eye, like the late afternoon light filtering through these liquid amber and magnolia leaves.

Mae Mae Found, Amidst the Delphinium

This summer I posted about planting delphinium again in the gardens at Struan Farm, after learning from John that they were once quite a feature.

Various family members could recall a picture of their maternal grandmother "Mae Mae" in a blue dress standing amidst the extensive bed of blossoms that John's parents planted at the time. However no one could locate the photograph, despite my SOS.

Recently Anna came up with the goods, which I had scanned:

So Mae Mae has been rediscovered. And while everyone seems to have remembered Mae Mae in the blue dress with the blue flowers, it seems they forgot about little blonde Louise standing beside her. Perhaps because the flowers were taller than she was!

Closet Druids

John and I have gotten into the habit of researching various things on my ipad during our journeys to and from Struan Farm. It fills the time in the car and we almost always learn something new.

This past weekend the discussion took off after I mentioned reading A.T. Mann's The Sacred Language of Trees, where he talks about the Celtic Tree Alphabet and a house protected by a circle of special trees: oak, willow, ash, hawthorn, holly and hazel, likely planted by Druid priests. I was thinking perhaps that we might plant and form a special circle of trees around our new house at Struan Farm.

John liked the idea, but wanted to know more about Druids and their connection to trees. The English word Druid is derived in part from dru-'oak'. The Druids played an important role in pagan Celtic society, and were responsible for organizing worship, divination and judicial procedures. References to them date back to Greco-Roman times, although there are also contemporary "neo Druid" groups in existence today. This then led us into Celtic tree worship, where we learned that trees have special powers, oak, ash, thorn, apple, hazel, alder, elder, holly and willow in particular. Druids made their wands from yew, oak and apple, all trees we have at Struan Farm.

I also learned that contemporary sacred groves of Druid trees have been planted in Auckland and Nelson (!), places I will look to visit.

So yes, yew, ash and oak will be planted for certain around the new house at Struan Farm. Apple is already there, and I have just order hazel (hazelnut trees). 

We both like the idea of being protected by special trees, Druid or otherwise.

Cake, Chocolates & Cake Plates

Our weekend dinner party at Struan Farm gave me the chance to use the two new ceramic cake stands I bought on my recent trip to Nelson at Mapua's Cool Store Gallery.

One I used for a fabulous gluten free orange cake, made by simmering two oranges in water for an hour, then blending the quartered fruit with ground almonds, sugar, eggs and baking powder in the food processor before baking. Cake is then topped with baked candied oranges and a sugar syrup. It was easy, moist and delicious served with either whipped cream or yogurt.

And then of course everyone needs a bit of chocolate with their coffee and tea, don't they? These are handcrafted NZ chocolates from Bennetts of Mangawhai, not the sort anyone can resist:

Dinner Guests at the Farm

It was a busy weekend at Struan Farm, with eight for dinner on Saturday night. Given the transitional season in the gardens, I ended up buying flowers for the table arrangement (shock, horror, gasp!). Almost unheard of really, but they looked great:

This was the calm before the storm, but fortunately I was organized. Menu included peppered eye fillet (beef tenderloin) with rocket, roasted red pepper, toasted pine nuts and herb vinaigrette, served with fresh asparagus and a good Central Otago pinot noir. A post on dessert follows tomorrow, but a good time was had by all. It was a late night, not something we do all that often!

Smoked Fish from Kellys Bay

John was up in remote Kellys Bay in Northland recently for a community meeting, and was lucky enough to be given a beautiful freshly smoked fish. Caught in the bay and smoked with manuka (tea tree). 

<Of course> I forgot to photograph the fish, which came home wrapped in newspaper, but I think I did it justice.

Okay, not maybe with the photograph given the low light in the kitchen at Struan Farm! But this recipe from New Zealand Woman's Weekly magazine made with spinach and bechamel sauce with a poached egg on top was amazing, thanks to my friend Glen Davenport.