Struan Farm

In A Previous Life

A few days ago John had me thinking about my "pre-New Zealand" life, and encouraged me to share some of that. He thinks most people view me as a bit of a mystery, something I can assure you I'm not!

After growing up on the East Coast of the USA, where I attended university and started my professional life, I lived in Southern California for many years. In 1992 I started coming to New Zealand annually for holidays, after an initial trip a few years before that. I became a rather serious nature photographer, spending most weekends outside in the wilderness somewhere. I published a series of notecards (these were the days when people still sent cards), even had some images published in several magazines, including "Birder's World," "Nature Photographer," and the National Wildlife Federation's "Your Big Backyard."

This was in the prehistoric days of film. And while I've made the shift to digital photography now, life has intruded on my time. I've never not yet spent the time needed to learn either my Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera or any editing software properly. I pretty much "point and shoot" as a result. Maybe someday that will change, although I appreciate the actual amount of time it would take to do that, and do it seriously.

Here are some images from my previous life, at least those I have in a digital format. They were all shot with a Nikon F4 camera, mostly on Fuji Velvia film (except the birds).

"Along Bishop Creek," Eastern Sierra Nevada, California.

"Elegant Terns at Bolsa Chica," Huntington Beach, California.

"Lake Rotoiti," Nelson Lakes National Park, South Island, New Zealand.

"Roadside Barn," near Motueka, New Zealand.

"Roadside Ferns," Fox Glacier, South Island, New Zealand. 

I was almost an artist, once. My eye has always been drawn to "pieces" in a wider landscape--line, texture or colour. I'm someone who misses the forest for the trees, sees beauty in often overlooked details. May that long continue.

 

 

Salad Days

Given all the greens I've got growing in the glasshouse here at Struan Farm, we're into salads at the moment.

Last night we had rocket/arugula with fresh figs from our tree, slivered almonds, avocado and grilled haloumi. I make an easy vinaigrette with fresh lemon juice, River Estate extra virgin olive oil, a bit of honey and salt & pepper. While I also roasted a chicken, we easily could have eaten just the salad for dinner.

(Thought the salad photographed better in the low inside light without the haloumi on top, and it's easier to see the figs, but it tastes amazing with it!)

Another Recycled Shed....

Go ahead, you can laugh!

My dear husband John is taking his penchant for reuse and recycling to the extreme on this one. The old wash house from our rental property up in Papakura wasn't moved off with the house a few weeks ago to make way for construction of a new medical centre. It was destined for the dump as they work to clear the site. John came up with the bright idea of putting it on the trailer and bringing it to Piopio. Surely we could make use of it at Struan Farm for something or other. Seems we don't have enough old sheds, do we?

That being said, Karen doesn't have a shed for her gardening tools, etc. up at the new(ish) house. I've been running stuff up from the garden shed at the Homestead as/when needed, although we do have a rack for spades and rakes in the garage. This little shed could fit the bill on the edge of the tawa grove in the backyard, subject to considerable refurbishment to get it up to my exacting standards.  Yes, already thinking about paint colours, so watch this space!

 

Possums for the Taking

It's been a week of pest patrol once again here at Struan Farm.

More rat poison under the house (we know to do so when we hear the gnawing again in the middle of the night...), rabbit shot in the paddock, three possums caught down at the Homestead and one in our back bush. 

Waikato Regional Council has been poisoning possums every few years in our area, hiring contractors to put out bait stations with follow up surveys to monitor the success or lack thereof of the control programme. This has made a major difference to possum numbers around the farm. (For years John's parents couldn't grow any fruit trees, they were completely decimated by possums.) The Regional Council is about to start another round of bait stations shortly, a very good thing from our perspective. As a result our efforts have shifted mostly to trapping and poisoning rats, since both possums and rats are serious threats to our native birds. 

Possums are migratory, however, and when/if we see evidence that they've been around we jump on the case. Last week John saw one at night down at the Homestead. He set a trap and caught one, then a second, then a third. A few days later we caught the first one in a long time in our back bush reserve. The dead possums are delivered to Clifford, who was a possum hunter in his younger days but hasn't been patrolling the property due to his bum back leg. The first one got buried somewhere, Clifford likes to "season" things. The only problem with this is that sometimes he forgets where he's put them, and I stumble across putrid rabbit and possum carcasses in my flower beds when I'm weeding. "Ick" to say the least!

John decided to have a bit of fun with dead possum #2. Apologies for this "rural humour" if it offends you, and please note that this is a dead possum that was killed humanely in a trap:

Clifford doesn't like us to know where he hides his trophies. He sneaks off to bury them. So I quietly stalked him. This one was stashed behind our hedge along the drive, good to know it's not in one of my flower beds:

And here's number three, not sure where that one got stashed or number four:

Given that we've trapped four over several days, we will now set several traps in both locations and check them daily.

 

 

Pumpkin from the Garden

John has accused me of growing pumpkins here at Struan Farm simply because I like growing and looking at them, the idea of them. They are quite sculptural, so I can't disagree with him on the latter point. But they are rather a pain to grow, sprawling all over the back lawn. So I'm not sure he's right on his first point.

Be that as it may, I decided we needed to start eating some in order for me to justify the crop. I deployed John with his machete to the workshop to cut the first one up, and we're having it roasted with grilled lamp rump dusted with ground cumin and coriander and a rocket, fig and haloumi salad. Sounds pretty good, eh? Trust this repast will silence the critic.

p.s. it even looks pretty cut and raw in the bowl, doesn't it?......

 

The Final Slice

Technically it's a "blondie," but that's a minor point.

This week is the final week the contractors are staying at the Cottage here at Struan Farm, at least we think so. And so end my weekly baking adventures (hmmm, maybe yes, maybe no). What started off as a four week project on the nearby Paemako hillsides turned into 13 weeks.  Both they and we got into a weekly rhythm. They now seem rather like family, particularly the messier ones.

The recipe is Phyllis Grant's "Brown Butter Blondies" on Food52. I had challenged myself to bake something different every week, which I managed to do. This recipes requires you to melt and brown butter, something I hadn't done before. It's rather cool--butter is melted in a saucepan and left to sizzle. When it finishes sizzling brown bits form and you're done. I had never taken butter quite this far before, it then starts to foam (which made it somewhat hard to know when the brown bits had formed, and I didn't want to burn it!). The warmish butter is mixed with brown sugar and then flour, salt, eggs and vanilla. Semi-sweet chocolate chips are added before baking. Apparently you can melt the chocolate bits for a swirled effect if you don't cool the butter down as much before mixing the dough, I'll try that next time.

I think the lads appreciated the treats, they were something to look forward to, and in fact, devour asap. Reports from the office team were that I'd spoiled them so much that they didn't really want to go home!

Settled Down for a Long Winter's Nap

It isn't "The Night Before Christmas" here at Struan Farm, but the line seems appropriate.

I've been working flat out to get the gardens ready for their winter naps, especially the veggie gardens. They've been cleaned out, weeded and treated with sheep pellets and blood & bone, except those with veggies straddling the seasons (carrots, beets, parsley and chiles that keep on giving).

The raised bed near John's workshop is getting trailer loads of fresh topsoil, compost, and leaves, along with, yes, sheep pellets and blood & bone. We're filling it gradually as time permits. I should be able to plant tomatoes again there this next season given all of the fresh planting media.

Nephew Mike has been working away on the new extended bed in the backyard. Once he got the bed turned over with the rotary hoe, and paving stones laid along the glasshouse side, I went out and popped in this year's crop of garlic and shallots. The bed has also had the requisite sheep pellets and blood & bone, but lime as well, which I've read is good for garlic and onions. In late October I'll plant tomatoes here since I need to start rotating where those are planted. John is meant to lay out a stepping stone path down the middle, it's on his "to do" list. (The stones are sitting there as a wee reminder in case he forgets, I'm not known for being subtle.)

 

We've made a few more wooden planter boxes to grow salad greens and herbs in the glasshouse over winter, the ones I've planted are doing really well. Salad greens are expensive at the moment because of all the rain, so we're happy to have a bumper supply. I'm testing spinach next.

Last but not least for those napping gardens: a nice blanket of pea straw. It mulches down and provides nitrogen to the soil.

As for me, it's planting the new gardens and weeding at the Homestead. I'll try to sneak in a winter's nap or two when I can, but that's our little secret, 'kay?

Up a Tree, Down a Tree

We've had two teams from Asplundh back at Struan Farm recently for more training in the trees. During Arbor Camp last month they'd checked out a compromised red oak tree that John wanted to fell in the Pet Paddock given its proximity to our favourite Dawn Redwood, two huge oak trees and the Cedrus atlantica glauca. We'd started to worry it might topple over and cause all sorts of collateral damage.

Team one arrived on a day that featured both wind and rain, but fortunately there were periods of clear weather that allowed for some work to get done. The tree got a major prune ahead of a decision the next day on whether or not team number two could drop it. 

And they did! 

Now we've got just a bit of clean up to do, firewood to chop. Oh goodie, MORE FIREWOOD! 

Welcome to Winter

Seems like we were just embracing autumn last week here at Struan Farm, which we were. We have very short seasons here, except, it seems, for winter. And the winter rains and frosts have started in earnest. This past weekend we had rain, sun, hail and frost! 

The rains and frost remind me it's time to dust off Charlie's unfinished needlepoint Christmas stocking, my stockpile of reading material, and knitting projects. Perhaps I should re-read that book on "hygge." Good thing we have heaps of firewood!

Buried Treasure

You will know that we recycle/repurpose/reuse quite a bit here at Struan Farm. We're starting to dig and border the new extended vegetable bed in the backyard right now. Nephew Mike has just finished paving stones on the glasshouse side of the bed. John decided that the bed was so wide that it might be a good idea to have a walkway through the middle to be able to access tomatoes, corn, whatever we plant here (it will be garlic, shallots and tomatoes this first year). Of course I agreed! 

So then the hunt was on for what to use for the walkway. We're running low on recycled bricks, those are needed to finish the new garden beds on the front lawn. It happened that I was down at the Homestead cracking into autumn cutbacks of dahlias, etc. etc. I remembered that we had quite a number of round stepping stones in the lawn where the old clothesline used to be. Excavation ensued:

Yep, buried treasure! More than enough for the walkway through the new veggie bed. Of course we'll fill in and re-grass those circles in the Homestead lawn "in due course." I've already planted garlic and shallots in a section of the new veggie bed, it's that time of the year.

Poor Pet in the Pink

A few days ago here at Struan Farm I noticed that pet lamb Tootsie had an oozing, droopy left eye when she came up for her daily apple treat. We're still seeing some symptoms of "pink eye" in the sheep, pets included. Mickey had had it a week or so ago but recovered without an injection.

I rang Farmer John, who came over with the injection kit to see if we could wrangle her. I was able to call this year's four pets into the house paddock with a tempting wave of the bag of apples, but Tootsie wasn't about to be captured. (It's funny, but they're quite wary of lurking men, which I guess we all should be!) The working dogs were then deployed to round up the four pets and take them down to the wool shed. Tootsie has now had an injection and should be on the mend.

While she's a bit miffed with me over the ordeal she'll feel better for it.

Blame it on the Turkeys

Clifford is now hopping around Struan Farm on three legs. Don't worry, he's not in pain. He just blew out a ligament in a back knee barrelling around the Pet Paddock a week or so ago, chasing a mob of wild turkeys. John saw the chase and said it was a major run with jumps over fallen trees, etc. He tried to call him off but Clifford just wouldn't listen, he was in the zone. John held me off a trip to the vet for several days, thinking Clifford had either gotten a chestnut burr in his paw or broken a toe perhaps. But seems it's a bit more than that. 

The vet advises that he ruptured a ligament in his knee. And when a dog is 13 years old (91 years in people terms) they don't operate to repair that, even if he's in great shape for his age and still behaving like an adolescent. He's taking short term anti-inflammatories to get things to calm down, then will be on a monthly anti-inflammatory for the rest of this life. He's been resting and has started to put a bit of weight back on that leg. But he'll never be entirely right and we need to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid to harm himself further. Like chase rabbits/possums/turkeys/cats/geese (pick your target), or go flying off a retaining wall into the paddock a la super dog. That will be easier said than done. He certainly can't jump up into the car by himself now, has to be lifted up.

 

So yes, we've all got our aches and pains now here at Struan Farm. We're doing our best not to moan (okay, maybe not John...), and I'm doing my best to look after everyone..

Shaggy on the Lawn

I looked out one morning this week and saw that a "Shaggy inkcap, Coprinus comatus,"  had popped up on the front lawn at the new(ish) house here at Struan Farm overnight. They're so distinctive you can't really miss (or misidentify) them! Usually we get them down the drive under the redwoods or at the bottom of the paddock bowl in front of our house.

This is the first time they've decided to venture so close to us, but of course they're welcome. They don't last that long, they "autodigest" and deteriorate fairly quickly.

The Hidden Life of Our Fig Tree?

I'd almost given up hope that we'd get any ripe figs this year beyond the random few already picked, but I was wrong. Fortunately for us I misjudged the impact of the weather, and I definitely overestimated the birds, including the mob of turkeys mulling around the Pet Paddock here at Struan Farm. They were more interested in gorging on acorns under the oak trees, much easier pickings than hopping up precariously on a young fig tree laden with fruit. Other birds must have enough other food around the property and haven't gone searching. For some reason this particular fig tree's leaves seem to camouflage its fruit. I'd like to think it's thanking us for nurturing it along from a wee cutting from the heirloom tree across the river, but who knows? (Yes, okay, I've been reading "The Hidden Life of Trees.")

I walked out to the Old Orchard section of the Pet Paddock and came back with this:

Definitely enough to do something with. Hopefully about the same amount to come if we continue to have some warm days. For storage I've used a tip picked up from NZ Gardener magazine, recycled egg cartons.

Now to move quickly to use this unexpected gift. Thinking perhaps Rowan Bishop's "Spiced Figs in Brandy"....normally I'd use them in a salad with rocket/arugula, grilled haloumi, pickled beetroot and toasted nuts of some sort (or fresh pears instead of the beetroot). Roasted figs with honey and blue cheese are also quite good. Don't want to get too complicated mulling over options here or they'll go soft on me! So "Spiced Figs in Brandy" it is, with a few spare for salad.

Embracing Autumn

Over the past week the leaves have finally started to change noticeably here at Struan Farm. But with all the rain they're also starting to fall! It's one of those seasons. I'll be getting the rake out shortly to tackle the windfall for the compost bins, mulch and burn piles.

Beautiful late afternoon light over the weekend prompted me to drop gardening tools, grab camera and go out and about. We've already had a few frosts, so we need to embrace autumn while we have the chance.

This Week's Slice

We're into week 11 with the contractors staying at the Cottage here at Struan Farm. They're still working hard to reinforce those unstable Paemako roadside cliffs.

I'm starting to run low on different slice/bar/cookie recipes, have pretty much exhausted my standard repertoire. I sent out an SOS to my friends at Piopio's world famous Fat Pigeon Cafe, who generously shared their "Snickers Slice" recipe. I'd tasted it in the cafe and was rather blown away by how delicious it is. Although it is the sort of thing you don't want to have sitting around the house asking to be eaten, or at least I don't. It's far too tempting and indulgent!

While relatively easy, this is not a quick recipe. It has a number of steps with the various layers involved. A crumb base is made with two types of flours, coco, coconut, brown sugar, melted butter and peanut butter. While this is pre-baking the caramel is made, then poured onto the cooled base. (This is pretty standard protocol for most types of caramel slice.) When the slice comes out of the oven and is still hot peanuts are sprinkled on top. This then cools before the dark chocolate icing is made and spread on top. Then everything must set until firm--I put it in the fridge to make sure it was solid to cut.

So far the guys have liked the Chewy Fudge Brownies, Coffee Walnut Slice and Caramel Oat Slice the best. But word came back that this one was voted #1 by them all!

Going Around in Circles, Again

It's time for serious work projects in the gardens here at Struan Farm. Planting, seasonal cutbacks, etc. One of my recent jobs was cleaning up and planting garden circles around some of our feature trees in the gardens at the new(ish) house. Two down (the two larger trees), two to go (the two smaller trees).

We'd had one small ring of small agapanthus ("eco-friendly" agapanthus "Lapis") around the gleditsia above, but realised that the tree needed a much larger garden around it for ease of mowing. While this should grow into a large tree, its weeping habit requires a larger garden around the base. So I planted a second outer ring of the same agapanthus with a few "Stachys Bella Grigio," a new type of lamb's ear. I also popped in clusters of daffodil bulbs between the outer ring and the lamb's ear. It was a bit of work but should look good in time.

While the silk tree above will also become a large tree over time, we've kept the circle smaller since it should be easy to mow underneath. I planted the same easy care agapanthus and daffodil bulbs for a pop of spring colour here too. Two smaller "cercis" await their circles. Several new garden beds and pathways much be dug first to be able to gauge spacing first. The rotary hoe is coming this next week!

 

Acts of Love

This morning someone cut the hard bits out of my kiwifruit before serving them for breakfast. This after I'd left chewed, mangled pieces on the edge of my bowl yesterday. Without getting too mushy, acts of love and kindness when you least expect them make life special. Test some out some today.

Over the Edge on Hedges?

Just a few autumn projects on the go here at Struan Farm. This past weekend I managed to get another group of black currants ("Magnus") planted along the orchard edge next to John's workshop.

This new bed has been tidied up with some mulching bark, so it does look smart. I'd wanted more black currants for jam and baking. We'd thought about putting more bushes in the backyard, but decided on the side of the orchard instead. John has a hard time mowing along the edges of the retaining wall, and we don't always enlist nephew Mike with his weed whacker on a timely basis. This solves that problem.

But you know where this is heading, right? More black currants will be planted on the leftside of the pergola entrance to the orchard now. We've got the same problem with the retaining wall edge there, plus it will look more balanced.

Black currants won't be planted all the way along the top down the drive. They're deciduous and require pruning.  But another type of hedge will be planted continuing on from this next instalment, creating two tiered hedging along the drive. While you may think we're going over the edge, trust me, we're not. This is all about John not tipping over on his ride-on mower. More often than not he gets nervous and doesn't mow the edge, so it looks messy. A hedge along the top will be tidier for Karen and be safer for John.

Once the next instalment of black currants is planted we will decide on the type of hedge plant. We've got plum trees planted not too far from the retaining wall edge, so it can't be anything too large. Corokia perhaps, but stay tuned....

 

Last Gasp from the Gardens

It's definitely a time of seasonal transition in the gardens here at Struan Farm. Thought I'd share with you a few final bursts from the flowers, including echinacea, nigella, dahlia. The late marigolds self-seeded next to the purple salvia in a riot of colour, while that bright green grass grub did get smooshed after I took his photo on the magenta echinacea (they're terrible pests, sorry!). 

I've started the autumn cutbacks and clean up, but it's nice to see some things holding on, just.