Struan Farm

Tackling the "To Do" List

It isn't always idlyllic beauty at Struan Farm. I know, hard to believe, but true.

We're slowly working our way around the property to trim up trees, re-do fencing, re-landscape, etc. etc. And then things happen that force us to go off on tangents. Trees fall over, storms come through, John decides to plant 100 native trees, Karen decides we need more fruit trees.

I've had the Old Orchard Paddock in my sights for some time. Two old chicken coops that need to be taken down, along with huge gum (eucalyptus) trees that drop major branches any time the wind picks up. This past weekend I made my move.

I warned you, it isn't pretty. I've started a burn pile in this paddock for the mess. John stepped in with his chain saw to help too.

I cleaned out this little firewood shed in the paddock that we will keep here, since gum makes great firewood and the shed is conveniently located.

This is the start of my burn pile. By the end of the day it was ten times bigger, and I was ten times stiffer!

While we've made an initial dent here, there's much work to do. One of those old chicken coops is full of firewood that needs to be shifted before the coop can come down. 

I take my victories one step at a time on this sort of project. We've made a start....

Fog at the Farm

It was one of those rare weekend mornings at Struan Farm when I woke up, looked out the window, and pulled the duvet back up! Only for ten minutes, however.

Then I was out for a walk with John, Clifford and my camera.

 We went down to the river, where Jim's Hut was shrouded in mist:

I got a bit captivated by the trees too:

And all this before breakfast!

Introducing The Owl's Nest Motel

Great to see the new "Owl's Nest Motel" officially open in Piopio Village. Overseen by Melanie Simpson, owner of Piopio's award winning Fat Pigeon Cafe, and part of her expanding empire, it's modern, clean and almost always fully booked! 

Can't wait for the adjacent restaurant to open. In the meantime motel patrons are catered to from The Fat Pigeon, but it will be great to have a restaurant serving dinner in town every night. 

In Search of Struan

John has never really known why Struan Farm was given its name by his parents, despite the farm being in the family for 60 years. Struan also happens to be his middle name.

We do know that his grandfather, Sir Carrick Hay Robertson, came from Glasgow, so clearly the family has Scottish heritage.

Struan is a village on the Isle of Skye. It is an anglicized form of "sruthan," meaning small stream or the flow at the point where a spring appears. Since there is a spring on the farm this might have relevance.

However, Struan is also a Scottish boy's name, commonly given to the chief of the Robertson clan. So the name has special meaning for the Robertson clan.

We will probably never get to the bottom of this one, but it might justify a trip to the Isle of Skye at some point. 

WIP: JP's Big Green Scarf

JP, my friends' Laura and John's son, part of my extended California family, is heading off to Dartmouth College in New England this September. He's a bright guy, but I'm just not sure he's thought through the implications of leaving warm and sunny Pasadena for winters in Hanover, New Hampshire.  I mean coats and boots are involved, alien territory for a Southern Californian native. The College's motto is "Vox clamantis in deserto," (a voice crying out in the wilderness), while the mascot is "Keggy the Keg, the Dartmouth Moose." Moose, JP. Those beasts don't exactly roam down South Lake or Orange Grove.

With this in mind, what's a knitter to do? I've known this boy since his birth, gave him a Thomas the Tank Engine lunchbox when his sister Grace arrived on the scene to help lessen that pain. Seems he needs my help and support once again. So I'm frantically finishing up "JP's Big Green Scarf." It's made with Lamb's Pride Worsted in colorway "dark pine." Thanks (once again) to Kris at The Web-sters in Ashland, Oregon for help in finding a color closest to Dartmouth Green. Pattern is "Tweed Scarf" from Mel Clark's "Knitting Everyday Finery," currently my go to scarf pattern. It's easy to knit but textured and gender neutral.

I'm sure JP will love Dartmouth, just need to make sure he stays sufficiently warm to enjoy the experience and steers clear of the moose, especially since I think I'll be staying in his vacated bedroom!

More Fencing on the Way

The truck arrived this week with more supplies for the next wave of fencing John has planned at Struan Farm. He'll fence around one side of the pond, and continue down along Coleman's River Track to the big boulders above the outlook to Jim's Hut.

Once the fencing is in I'll be planting natives around the pond and John will be planting native trees, basically extending out from one of our two stands of protected Queen Elizabeth II bush on the property. 

Yep, not enough time in the day!

The Eco Block Takes Shape

John has been talking about a toilet and shower block down at the river near Jim's Hut at Struan Farm for awhile now. He's thinking about a second hut and maybe a camp site down there eventually too, so basic amenities are looking to be essential.

Recently, after meeting an architect who lives in an eco village outside Kaiwaka, we've been exploring options to use solar water heating, lights, and a composting toilet. 

And so Struan Farm's Eco Block is starting to take shape, plans have been drafted. It's looking like the block will indeed have a composting toilet, shower, and kitchen facility, which will provide more room for guests inside Jim's Hut and keep the cooking separate from the sleeping area. The block will sit slightly downhill to the right of Jim's Hut.

 

Yes (of course) it will have a name. If not "The Eco Block" we've joked about "Loo & Chew" or "Eat & Excrete." Since the latter is a bit indelicate, right now "Loo & Chew" is the leading contender.....! 

Buddha in Seasonal Repose

You may recall that our stone Buddha at the pond at Struan Farm has been lost in the grass (for almost a year), also narrowly missed being flattened by a huge tree that crashed down during a weather bomb that hit the property. 

But he's always been at peace, regardless. It was good to see him contemplating these fallen leaves, and accepting the moss that is growing over him:

He's that kind of guy.

Smart Choices

John and I were back at Smart Plants in nearby Te Kuiti with the trailer once again this past weekend. We picked up four more "Prunus Awanui," flowering cherry trees, to finish up the extended avenue through the Cottage Paddock at Struan Farm.

John went in one direction and I went in another. My mission was to get the first wave of flax, toi toi (ornamental native grass), and cabbage trees for planting around the pond, which will be quite a major project for me. John got the bare wood cherry trees, then picked out a Gingko for the Cottage Paddock (for its golden autumn color), a "Nyssa Sylvatica" for the wet end of the Pet Paddock (for its red autumn color and the fact it tolerates damp ground), and a Golden Weeping Willow for the side of the pond.

Once back at Struan Farm the tree planting got underway.

Had to laugh at Clifford rolling around on the grass while John was working away!

My major work at the pond will start once the new fencing is in. We can't plant anything until then or the sheep will just munch it to bits.