Men in trees with ropes and saws descended upon Struan Farm this past weekend! A small group from Asplundh arrived at the farm on Friday afternoon for "Arborist Camp." Signs south of Piopio dotted the way to Struan Farm:
They set up a marquee/tent in our Pet Paddock, where they also camped, although some opted to head down to Jim's Hut at the river. Friday night was an early BBQ dinner, at which John was invited to speak about the history of the farm and the planting of special trees by his parents.
They went to it on Saturday after mapping and identifying the big trees in the Pet Paddock (very useful information for us to have), climbing up into two of the huge oak trees and the Cedrus Atlantica Glauca. (One tackled a messy Liriodendron near the roadside as a favour to John.)
Even time way up top of the oak tree for a "selfie":
At the end of the day after a swim in the river we all went for a walk in some of our native bush. We learned how to tell the difference between a Matai and a Miro by the shape of the leaf, also that we have huge Hinau trees in the bush, a variety with which we weren't familiar. Last but not least, the tawa trees in our grove could be as old as 300-400 years!
John and I really enjoyed having people who love trees as much as we do come to Struan Farm, hope they come back again next year (or sooner).
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