Struan Farm

Making My List & Checking It Twice

Now let me start off by saying that we haven't had anyone named Harvey, Irma or Maria land here at Struan Farm in Piopio. Everything is relative, okay? While we haven't had category rated hurricanes, we have had a very grey, very wet and very rainy late winter and spring. I can count the number of sunny days on one hand, at least the recent ones. As I'm writing this post the rain is hosing down, pouring down, heavy, heavy rain. 

As a result the gardens are a shambles by the gardener's reckoning. I'm needing to get into the "Big Spring Clean" in a major way and the weather just hasn't cooperated. We've had a day here and there and I'm making dents when there's a "weeding window" and it's dry enough to do so. 

Most recently I tackled the new garden beds at the new(ish) house, the ones that we dug up last autumn for planting. I planted roses, dahlia tubers and bits and pieces, including some perennials, over winter but the weeds have also regained some ground. In the two round beds (code named "egg" and "football") I planted white rhododendron chionoides and deciduous azaleas, along with some hellebores and a small camellia or two. The rabbits living and breeding under the house and wood shed have decided they are particularly fond of the azaleas, nipping off quite a few buds. The rabbits are not our friends.

But I've been able to make visible progress in these new beds plus the enlarged circle around and beneath the gleditsia. The rabbits munched down all of the mini agapanthus I planted around the exterior, I had no idea these were such tasty morsels. But my circle of daffodils has worked well, along with the lamb's ear. I'm hoping the agapanthus plants recover once we deal with the rabbits, since they are meant to be that evergreen element. If not I will devise a Plan B.

On the rabbit patrol front Clifford has managed to nab one, while John is putting a poison bait station out at night when it's not raining, and grabbing his gun when he sees them on the lawn. But there are lots around, not a good thing for my beloved flowers, since bunnies love tender little seedlings. I'm trying to cover as much as I can with chicken wire for now but that's not the solution.

Once I get the gardens at the house cleaned up it's down to the Homestead for me. A garden group from Taranaki is coming for a cup of tea in late October to have a look around; I've got a few weeks to get stuck into the established gardens so they are looking their beautiful, established selves. The good news is that while it's serious work for a few days, they shape back up pretty quickly. At this time of year we also do jobs like painting trellises, finish raking leaves and sowing grass seed, along with any repairs and maintenance required on the farmstay accommodation ahead of the season ramping up. We had a heated outside shower installed at the Cottage and both vintage bath tubs refurbished over winter. In the Homestead gardens John and Mike are working on some different fencing on the back edge of the Pet Paddock, and we've reduced the size of the garden near Heidi's Green Gate. I have been planting zinnias and sunflowers here over summer, but that's been hit and miss depending on the season, and the bed was looking too messy most of the time. So we've made this garden smaller and planted some flowering shrubs (rhodo, azaleas and hydrangea), leaving a smaller amount of space for seasonal flowers as well. 

Yep, I'm making my list and checking it twice. It's that time of the year!
 

Tulips Too

I'd been afraid that the rabbits would decimate the tulip bulbs I planted in the new gardens at the new(ish) house here at Struan Farm. While they did nibble some, I managed to keep them away from most of them with garlic and chile powders at a critical time. Tulips provide wonderful pops of colour at a time of the year when that's much needed, at least by me. The ones at our front entrance gate are also looking pretty good. The rabbits also had a go down there.

Counting Bees Too

I've been counting birds AND bees here at Struan Farm. We've also taken part in the Great Kiwi Bee Count. It runs until 30 September, so it's not too late to take part. This count only takes two minutes. You pick a flowering plant and count and note the various types of pollinators, logging that info on the website. It can be done by phone, tablet or your computer. 

I picked a flowering pieris next to our house, which had a good number of honey and bumblebees. It was the first sunny day and they finally came out. But I wish that I'd waited, since our awanui cherry trees have heaps of honey bees and bumblebees.

While everyone knows about the plight of honey bees, and that we should plant flowers that provide food for them, did you know that bumblebees are seriously amazing pollinators too? They beat honey bees, hands down.  I've just joined the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to try to support them too.

Lounging Lambs

The sun coming out at Struan Farm makes everyone happy, not just me.

I was able to walk up to them while they were dozing. Several mums were fretting a wee bit nearby but didn't sound the alarm since I was quite quiet. No sudden moves when stalking sunning lambs! p.s. I know, I should be WEEDING......

Random Reunions

I managed to catch up with former pet lambs Tootsie, Cookie and Ruby a few days ago. Tootsie and Cookie have been down at the river since lambing started. They didn't have lambs this year which is actually better for them. We just hadn't known if the ram had gotten to them, or not. Not.

Farmer John was rounding everyone up for a shear. I went out to feed Trixie, Alfie and Daisy at the paddock gate and had Tootsie and Cookie walk up for a quick pat! They weren't happy to see that they've been supplanted by this year's mob, and wandered off quickly. While it's easy to recognise Tootsie with her distinctive face, Cookie looks like the rest of the mob, so is hard for me to pick out. (I'm not sure where Minnie might be, she was never particularly attached to the women who gave her feeds.)

Walking around the paddocks later that day I came across a shorn Ruby with her twin lambs. The lambs didn't know what to make of me, I had to explain to them that I was Ruby's mum, their granny! It's a complicated family tree.

 

Counting Kereru

Since Friday Struan Farm has been participating in the Great Kereru Count 2017. I've been taking walks in the mornings and late afternoons to find and observe the native wood pigeons on our property, also noting random sightings. The count runs until October 1st.

The first day I was somewhat disappointed. After having seen them flying all over the place the previous week, I only counted two! The second day was sunny, and I went out a bit earlier. I came across one chowing down on one of our plum trees in the orchard again (sorry pidgee, but I'm going to need to put a stop to that with scare tape!). Then I walked up to our boundary fence behind the Cottage. There are three large willow trees coming into leaf, and historically the pigeons hang out there. I wasn't disappointed: 17! The next day I saw 15 before a hawk frightened most of them off into the bush.

Registering an observation is easy. If you let them take your location off your computer or phone, it's registered automatically in the map. Then you note day/time and basic information about where the birds were and what they were doing. You can also upload photos. The information is being used for research on these birds, NZ's only native seed dispersers.

Here are some of my pics:

That last one above isn't the best photograph, but I wanted to get photographic evidence of some of the numbers in these trees for the Count. I'm having fun doing this. Think about participating if you've got the time and the birds on your property or somewhere nearby.

 

Meet TimTam

Remember yesterday's late arrival at Struan Farm? Well it turns out that she's not a ram! Closer examination (look underneath duh Karen?) has revealed that our new pet lamb is a ewe. She's been christened "TimTam" after the much loved chocolate biscuit, and is hanging out in the Pet Pen. It looks like she will survive, she's feeding well and is quite vocal.

 

Six.feeds.per.day. Until Monday when it drops to four. I suspect this one will socialise well since she's on her own with me until she goes to the paddock. I'm already thinking we'll put her out with Trixie, Alfie and Daisy when that time comes rather than that rough scrum at the back gate.

Late Arrival

Remember how we had one extra space on that bottle drying rack for the pet lambs here at Struan Farm? Well, nephew Mike rode up on his quad bike yesterday afternoon to bring me a present:

He (I'm pretty sure he's a ram but need to double check) is a triplet and was abandoned by mum down at the river. He looks like he did get a feed from mum, but I've taken the colostrum back out of the freezer and given him a decent first drink. He's now napping wrapped in a blanket in a basket by the fire since it's been a wet, rainy day. No name just yet.

So now we have ten pet lambs. Extreme even by my standards. And here I thought we were through the craziest phase of these little darlings ruling our lives! He'll sleep in the garage tonight and then it's off to the Pet Pen tomorrow assuming all is well. Good thing we hadn't taken down the pen just yet.

From Pen to Paddock

A few days ago we moved pet lambs Trixie, Alfie and Daisy from the Pet Pen out to the paddock here at Struan Farm. We've put them in a different paddock from the other six pet lambs (Matilda, Clover, Romeo, Scout, Mixie and Dixie) to make our lives simpler with feeding for the time being.

The older lambs have just been cut back to three bottles each day; Trixie, Alfie and Daisy are still on four bottles per day for another week or so.  Alfie and Daisy are two weeks younger, and triplet Trixie, although older, has had her wobblies and I figure can use a few more bottles. She seems happier hanging with Alfie and Daisy vs. her two sisters Mixie and Dixie and the older lambs. (As someone who shared a bedroom with a sister for many years, I can relate to that.)  John moved the Pet Palace into the paddock so they had a familiar shelter, although there are plenty of trees near the gate as well. They've adjusted well to the new routine. 

I'm also sneaking a fourth bottle out to Scout at the back gate, since she's younger than the other big lambs. (You might remember that we put her out with them because she kept hopping out of the Pet Pen.)  It's a battle to swat the scrum away so that Scout actually gets that bottle, but I'll do it for another few days.

They all need to start eating grass, but won't be weaned completely until December. I know there's something called "child-led weaning" or "self weaning," a trend du jour. (NZ cookbook author Nadia Lim was recently posting about it.) The idea is that at a certain point children are happy to stop nursing. Let me just say that, based on my experience with our pet lambs, there's no such thing as "lamb-led weaning!" 

Germination Glee

I was going to entitle this post "Houston, We Have Germination," but poor Houston is too busy coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, so we haven't gone there.

The seed trays in the glasshouse in the backyard at Struan Farm are bursting forth with tomatoes, flowers, italian parsley, zucchini and kamo kamo at the moment. Almost time to prick out the wee seedling plants and pot them up for growing on. We can't plant outside until Labour Weekend at the end of October, when risk of frost is meant to be past.

Certainly some of the tomatoes are almost ready for potting. All of the seeds I saved from last season's fruit and dried on paper towels in the hot water cupboard have germinated, so I've been able to maintain Mr. V's heirloom gene pool. In terms of flowers I've started zinnia, scabiosa, marigolds, cornflowers, and snapdragons. Next I need to start basil and chiles in seed trays now that it's warming up. 

Pigeon in the Plum

John and I went for a walk around Struan Farm a few days ago to check out the lay of the land. It had been raining and we both had cabin fever. As we returned to the house I saw a huge, fat native wood pigeon (kereru) sitting on a lower branch of one of our flowering plum trees. (Of course right behind Clifford's coop!). I sprinted inside to grab my camera while John did his best to manage Clifford.

I crept closer and closer, shooting as I went. One of those special Struan Farm moments!

Awanuis, Tuis & Bees

Sunshine, finally! I wasn't the only one tired of weeks of rain here at Struan Farm, the lambs, birds and bees were with me on that one. So when the sun came out everyone else turned out too. John's avenue of flowering Awanui cherry trees through the Cottage Paddock looks beautiful this year, the trees are now quite established. (Okay, except for maybe the two at the end that got damaged by sheep, those are still recovering after John's efforts at triage.)

Interesting to see native tuis and honey and bumble bees LOVING these trees! I counted six tuis feeding on one tree.

And as for me, I've got my mojo back. I'm someone who needs to be outside playing in the dirt.

Milestones: Gumboots

Life has its various milestones, markers beside the road that tell us how far we've come.

One of those for grandchildren at Struan Farm is getting their first pair of proper "Red Band" gumboots. They get taken to the farm store in Piopio for the whole experience. It's quite a moment of pride, marching around in those new boots! And it doesn't matter if that child is a girl or a boy, it's always the same. A special day. 

We keep everyone's gumboots here at the farm, lined up along the garage wall. The edict came out after a granddaughter left hers somewhere in town many years ago now, after which John laid down this particular law. The boots stay at the farm so they can be used by the kids when they're here. It also means we've got a good stockpile for visitors and as everyone grows and changes size.

My job is to keep the spiders out, and every once in a while they get a good scrub (boots AND kids).

Pet Profiles: Introducing Matilda, Dixie & Mixie

Matilda and her twin sister Clover were the first pets to arrive at Struan Farm this season. Farmer John helped with their delivery in our wool shed, their mum had a problem. He'd thought her problems were over with the lambs being born, however she then had no milk. So up to the Pet Pen and their adoptive mum the twin lambs came.

I decided upon "Matilda" for one of this year's lambs in honour of Roald Dahl's heroine. John and I recently saw "Matilda The Musical" as well, so her arrival was timely.  While this little girl doesn't have any special powers, she is quite bright, knows her name. Along with Scout she is probably the most socialised of the bigger lambs, likes a good rub on the head.

Dixie is one of the brown faced triplets. Her claim to fame is that she was the first to lose her tail! While Trixie is the easiest of the triplets to tell apart, I still sometimes have a hard time distinguishing Dixie from sister Mixie. Right now I think Dixie has more white on her nose and Mixie more brown. Here's a closer shot of Dixie's face:

And here's Mixie. What do you think? They look very similar, same brown tipped ears too. Mixie is definitely more aggressive at feeding time.

They don't know their names, probably because I do mix them up. Hopefully they won't be scarred for life!

When Life Gives You Lemons

I've been meaning to go out and harvest our Meyer lemon crop here at Struan Farm and finally got around to it. We have three dwarf trees, two of which fruited quite well this season.The third needs some love and attention, right now it's got sooty mold, perhaps because it doesn't get quite as much sun as the other two.

I'm not sure what I'll do with these just yet. I use fresh lemon juice in my vinaigrette recipe, and zest in heaps of things. 

That being said, they look pretty lovely in that basket, don't they?

Pet Profile: Introducing Trixie

Right now I'd characterise pet lamb Trixie as a complex individual, our problem child here at Struan Farm. She's one of the triplets, along with Mixie and Dixie. She was the largest of the three at birth, but also the most frail. Upon arrival I wasn't sure she would survive, and neither did the neighbours next door. She's been out in the paddock with the larger lambs but I've just airlifted her back to the Pet Pen. She hasn't been drinking all of her bottles. She'll start drinking, but as soon as anyone bunts her, or jostles for position, she simply walks away. Stops drinking. And this is happening every feed, the other lambs are very pushy. Several times John and I have grabbed her to try to make sure she gets a proper bottle, but those sessions have turned into wrestling and force feeding matches. She's stubborn. 

I'm not sure what's happening in her head, it's almost as if she has an eating disorder. I figure right now the best thing to do is to keep her apart from the scrum until she starts drinking everything she should. Alfie and Daisy are about to leave the Pet Pen and go out to the paddock, otherwise they might cause the same problem the other lambs have. Hopefully Trixie will get lonely and decide to cooperate, or perhaps bond more with me. She can see her sisters and the rest of the mob at the fence from where she is.

Stay tuned.

 

 

Dairy Free Baking, continued

This weekend here at Struan Farm I decided to try to experiment making a dairy free version Annabel Langbein's sticky date pudding recipe, using Olivani instead of butter. This recipe is from the original "Free Range Cook," and is lighter than traditional sticky date. Pears are put in concentric rings on the bottom of the pan, topped by the batter. Looks pretty good eh?

My tasters devoured it!
 

Weekend Flowers

I ran out between downpours this weekend at Struan Farm to put together a wee jar of spring flowers to brighten up the table:

I'm liking the ones I arranged for the Homestead farmstay guests a bit better, but then it wasn't raining when I did those, not quite the same pressure.

Just glad we're getting back to flowers.

Struan Farm Innovation, continued

I've been starting to get a wee bit tired of the mess in the kitchen associated with "lamb feeding central" here at Struan Farm. The operation involves bottles, milk powder, teats, measuring cups, whisk, spoons, funnel, kitchen scale, and dedicated tea towels. It's pretty much impossible to keep things clean and tidy, spatters and flying powder happen. We'll be feeding 4x per day until late September (7/11/3/6), after which it cuts down to 3x before weaning in December. My dish drying rack has been taken over by nine bottles draining between feeds. And so I asked nephew Mike if he might be able to put together an official "lamb bottle drying rack" with upright dowels for the bottles to improve the situation. 

This is what he came up with:

It's obviously not rocket science, but it works really well. Somewhat similar in design to a gumboot rack. I'm thrilled, I've got my dish drainer back! p.s. Not sure you noticed, but there's space for one more bottle, "just in case."

Pet Profile: Introducing Scout

Named after one of the main characters in my favourite book, Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," Scout came to us courtesy of Farmer John. She was a triplet abandoned by mum who just couldn't cope. Unlike most of the mob, she knows her name, and love pats. She has a lovely brown tip on her nose and a sense of curiosity. My guess is that she will be this season's little darling. My only concern is that she has a petulant habit of kicking the person who delivers the bottles that feed her when she isn't the number one priority. The only other lamb I've seen this kicking from is Rosie, the diva pet queen, who does the same when she doesn't get her apple treats on schedule. Could be the sign of our next diva in training!