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John and I went down to the Mangaotaki River here at Struan Farm this afternoon, just because. I wanted to check out the native orchids near the rapids to see if they've opened further. They have!
And the sound of the rapids is almost always relaxing, especially after a hot day working in the gardens.
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Hooray! Sharing the joy here.
The first fruit has appeared on one of the two pear trees planted in the garden here at Struan Farm. Two pears to be exact, so we won't have a major celebration or pop the champagne corks just yet. But it's a start. We planted the trees 3-4 years ago now, Pear 'Winter Nelis' and 'Doyenne comice' given the need for a cross pollinator.
I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know for sure which variety has fruited. I keep tags in my gardening journal but haven't drawn maps. I think it's 'Winter Nelis' given the apparent russet skinned fruit. We'll sort that out 'in due course.'
I won't show you #2 since it looks exactly the same!
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This past season I've been able to introduce some different flowering perennials into the new garden beds at our house here at Struan Farm. I'm striving for variety as well as flowers that support pollinators and butterflies and can be cut for arrangements for farmstay guests. These would be classified as "vintage" or "heirloom" by gardening fashionistas I'm sure.
Below are several that are thriving. I've hunted them down from nurseries selling online, purchasing them directly from growers, including Wake Robin, Ravenhill Nursery, Heirloom Perennial Nursery, and Blue Mountain Nurseries. There are others out there who also ship directly to gardeners, and sometimes the better garden centres test the odd unusual plant. The courier costs for internet purchases can get silly, especially for rural delivery, but I suppose it depends on financial constraints and how badly you may want something. Volume helps that to a point. I save seeds, take cuttings, and/or divide plants when and where I can to spread them around the gardens.
Veronica longifolia and 'Blue Finger'
Astrantia 'Star Bush' and major 'Rubra'
Echinops
Gaura 'So White,' with thanks to the Auckland Botanic Gardens for inspiring me.
I also planted Eryngium gourgatii and Eryngium Planum 'Blue Cap,' Monardi (Bergamot 'Prairie Fire'), and several interesting types of Aquilegia, all of which have finished flowering at the moment.
"Variety is the spice of life." Did you know that this well-worn phrase dates back to 1785, and the poem "The Task," by William Cowper? Despite my quest for variety I didn't know that until now.
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I have to laugh when I hear John telling me not to "overdo it" as I go out to tackle the gardens here at Struan Farm. Sometimes my eyes roll heavenward involuntarily too. I know he says this because he cares. He doesn't want me to exhaust myself, particularly on hot summer days. But realistically that's what the situation requires sometimes, in fact most of the time.
I've confessed to John that I get more work done when he isn't around monitoring me with glasses of water and enforced rest breaks. When I'm on my own I do stop for water and meals, but I also tend to go over the edge and collapse in a heap at the end of the day. Which is fine. Physical exhaustion is sometimes a positive state, especially when you can see the results of what you've accomplished. It's also great for deep sleep.
The roles do reverse, the shoe can be on the other foot. Mister Bad-Back-Bad-Knee goes off spraying blackberry on the hillsides, reporting to his concerned wife "he's fine, just fine." Until the middle of the night when he gets up to pop two Advils. Every night for a week. The chiropractor has asked me to monitor him and intervene as required. Yea, right.
Seems it's easier to worry about someone else overdoing it than yourself. Funny that.
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Lately I've been thinking about aging, after finding myself pleased to get a senior discount off hotel rates in California for an upcoming trip this winter. The discount made the decision easy to stay there for three rather than just two nights before heading off to stay with friends. I wasn't embarrassed to declare my age, which is below 65 but over 60, so within the scope of eligibility for the discount.
This situation was in sharp contrast to my tantrum two years ago when a check out clerk at New World market in New Plymouth asked me if I had a Gold Card, which the NZ government issues to senior citizens 65 and above. I contacted the store manager to suggest to him that it wasn't good marketing to be accusing ladies of being considerably older than they were! He apologised profusely, and they actually stopped the practice. Smart decision.
But times change as do we. While I'm not keen to depart this life any time soon, there is an inexorable march in a certain direction whether we like that or not. But I also don't want to limit my activities or world just because of a number. John and I have been having this conversation quite regularly. We both have aches and pains (and actual injuries) from working outside. His are "man pains," so much more severe than mine, and as a result his moans are louder. Unlike me, who bailed on the corporate world years ago, he is still involved in several professional commitments. These have very different stresses and strains to my work in the gardens and the farmstay at Struan Farm, I appreciate that. But I can also sense that he's starting to limit his thinking, a slippery slope. When people start telling themselves they can't do certain things because of their age they start buying into that. I am not suggesting that we do things we shouldn't and risk injury, this is more about head space, mindset. Being positive rather than negative.
On the other hand I worry about friends and fellow baby boomers who are trying to deny their ages and aging. For men the issue seems to be about virility and strength, for women it's their appearance mostly (hair colour, skin, body shape, attire, make up). Too many of us look like we are trying hard to hold onto something that is slipping away. At a certain point when taken to extremes that becomes rather pathetic. I know that 60 is the new 40, but 70 simply cannot be the new 50. We need to stop that and practice acceptance of who and what we are, be content and happy. And maybe that's the nut of the issue, are you happy or not? I'm not suggesting anyone stops colouring her hair and go grey if you don't want that, or let yourself go to the pack. Taking care of oneself is important. But it's the thinking behind why you're doing it. And p.s. don't look like a tart, that actually ages you more than you think.
There remains quite a disconnect between how we view ourselves and how others view people older than 60, especially in the media. When John got his Gold Card we had a laugh about the photographs on the brochure, which pictured a guy who must have been 80. The brochure instructed people turning 65 to make sure they ate a healthy diet, saw the doctor about medical problems, got flu jabs, duh. The message hasn't gotten across that people in their sixties aren't elderly the same way people were twenty years ago. We have discretionary income to spend. But no, we don't want to be sold funeral insurance!
So we shouldn't limit ourselves or allow others to limit us. But we can't pretend we're forty anymore, that just doesn't work. Have I made any sense?
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As reported, we've had some rain last week here at Struan Farm and are ready for more. I had fun walking around with my camera between the showers to see what I can see in the gardens. Drips can be quite intriguing, don't you think?
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The situation with the monarch butterfly caterpillars started to get somewhat critical over the past few days here at Struan Farm, as they've munched their way through our huge swan plant.
Yesterday morning their numbers were starting to dwindle visibly, with only the seed pods were left as food, and those were disappearing rapidly. The pumpkin pieces I'd put on the ground weren't really getting any takers.
Since yesterday was my day to foodshop, I headed into Mitre 10 Mega in nearby Te Awamutu, where much to my relief I found small SWAN PLANTS. I bought twelve to try to get as many caterpillars as I can through to chrysalis. I'm also balancing this with my need to tell John what I've done, since he will be rolling his eyes over all this-- Karen is now buying food for caterpillars, can you imagine?
Returning home I immediately unloaded the plants, popped them next to the swan plant, and started picking caterpillars off and onto the new food. I also saw several chrysalis have formed--seven so far!
The butterfly chips will now fall where they may, but I think we have made a wee contribution to the monarch cause.
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I've recently expanded the repertoire of what we do with our heirloom tomatoes here at Struan Farm to include bruschetta.
When John and I are up north in Auckland we normally eat at one of our favourite neighbourhood restaurants, Volare. When we lived in the area we ate there all the time, the owners and staff still know us well (in fact they still remember my usual order and favourite wine!). If we have a starter with our meal we will most likely share bruschetta. Given the looming tomato surplus, I decided to try making it; turns out it's really easy.
Chopped fresh tomatoes are mixed with a tablespoon or two of good olive oil, one teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, a clove of garlic (or two) crushed, basil (preferably fresh but dried will work in a pinch), salt and pepper. Mix ahead of time in a bowl but leave at room temperature for best flavour. In the meantime, brush rounds of french baguette with olive oil and toast under the grill or on the BBQ, turning so both sides are toasted.
I've been putting them out on a beautiful wooden serving board that John gave me for Christmas, made by Tamaki woodworker Henry Bernard of recycled native timbers from old houses. If you want to check them out his number is 020 4039 9939.
A few final words of wisdom on bruschetta. The tomato mixture doesn't keep overnight, it gets mushy, so just make what you're going to use that day. I also wouldn't put the tomato mixture on the toasts ahead of time for that same reason, the toasts will get soft. It's easier to put out a stack of toasts with a bowl of the tomato mixture and have everyone make their own.
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I've been working to get variety and more unusual flowers and plants in the flower gardens here at Struan Farm, searching out nurseries that grow different types of perennials that one can't typically buy at garden centres. Particularly ones that attract and support pollinators.
One such plant is "echinops" or "Globe Thistle," although I hesitate to use the word "thistle" without shuddering and thinking of weeds. Echinops is not a weed. The name means "hedgehog" in Greek. The plant is attractive to butterflies and bees, and is quite striking, don't you think? I'm enjoying the contrast of colour and texture, especially next to echinacea but also in flower arrangements. Florists use them quite a bit.
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We have a special surprise in the gardens at Struan Farm this year: heaps of monarch butterfly caterpillars on the swan plant! I planted a swan plant last year in an effort to support monarchs in the area, since we've often see one or two floating through. Like most things at Struan Farm, the swan plant has thrived. This year we've had two-three butterflies around the flower gardens at the house every day, enjoying the nectar of the echinacea flowers in particular.
It turns out they've also been busy laying eggs on the swan plant! Right now we have what must be 50 caterpillars (or "larvae") stripping the swan plant of its leaves and flowers. I'd been looking out for them, but it was John who discovered them wandering in the garden.
I'm hoping most will make it to the chrysalis or pupa stage before the food runs out. There's a bit of a swan plant crisis this year: not enough plants for all the people trying to help these butterflies. Lots of people communicating online to share when they do find plants available. In our instance I'll let Mother Nature guide this situation, although I have cut up some pumpkin and dropped it below the swan plant, having read that it's a possible alternative if the situation gets dire. I'm going to save seeds from the round pods that have started to form on the plant to see if I can grow some next year.
Apparently monarchs made their way to the Southern Hemisphere in the late 1800s. They didn't arrive in NZ until their food source, swan plant or milkweed, was introduced by accidental importation. These butterflies follow their food, and watching the caterpillars munch their way through my huge plant I can understand why!
These are the seed pods with the eggs on them.
As you can see I'm quite the caterpillar paparazzi at the moment.....
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It's a rainy day here at Struan Farm today. No grumbling, we need the rain.
John is getting some office work done while I'm in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. First I made Kathy Paterson's "Summer Fruit in a Buttermilk Loaf" for a late morning tea. I saw this recipe in the Herald "Bite" supplement a week or so ago and thought it looked good, so stocked up on buttermilk, fresh Central Otago apricots, and raspberries.
It's delicious. We sampled it warm from the oven. If you were eating this cold I think it would need a dab of yogurt (or cream if you're John).
Next I cracked into making tomato soup for the freezer. The tomatoes are starting to accumulate, but they've been reasonably kind to me so far, have paced themselves. They may be rewarding me for staking them properly this year. I use BBC goodfood's recipe. I don't add much if any stock to the tomatoes (and carrot, celery, onion), although I do usually add a vegetable stock cube or two. I'm at the point with this soup where I can wing it, looking at the consistency of the soup after it's pureed in the food processor and adjust accordingly with stock as needed.
One more batch to make today and I've had enough of time in the kitchen!
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I'm keeping an eye on the nectarine tree in our orchard here at Struan Farm. It's laden with fruit this year, I just want to make sure the fruit is ripe before we pick it. Stone fruit (nectarines, plums and peaches) do not ripen once picked, although they do soften. The fruit is ready to be picked when it comes off the tree easily.
John brought this tree home from Dargaville a few years ago when he was commuting north for a governance gig in Kaipara. For many months he stayed several nights each week at the Awakino Point Boutique Motel, and the owner June gave him a wee self-seeded tree to take home to Piopio. At the time John told me it was a peach tree, which it isn't. No fuzz. It's planted near several other peach trees and the Luisa plums. It's very happy here as you can see.
My cunning plan is to pick the fruit before the birds notice it, but who am I kidding, the birds are doing the same thing that I am-- waiting for ripe fruit!
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Clifford has taken to hiding himself under the vintage wooden rowboat John is refurbishing outside the workshop here at Struan Farm. It's a cool spot on hot days, and Clifford thinks we don't notice him there. He would be wrong.
The boat was made many years ago by John's dad, Maurie. It was given to a family friend many years ago (20?), but recently returned to us when they stopped using it. We didn't think it was a loan, but it seems they considered it as such. It's well made, but quite heavy. John decided to strip and repair it, he enjoys this sort of project. He's thinking it may end up floating in one of the ponds on the farm as rustic scenery. I'm not entirely sure about that. Who's going to empty the water out of the boat after it rains? I'm worried her name may be Karen...
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It's not the best time of the year to be away from the gardens at Struan Farm. But be that as it may, I was up in Auckland for a few days this week for some scheduled appointments.
I've returned home to rain (hooray), ripening tomatoes (hooray) and giant zucchini (oops). Yesterday afternoon I went out in the downpour and picked the ripest tomatoes; I didn't want them to split in the rain as they're wont to do. I also picked the zucchini so they didn't get any bigger.
I'm pretty much over zucchini at the moment, it's been such a great season for them. However I just realised that I haven't stuffed any blossoms as yet this year. So that may be my next zucchini project, assuming the blossoms survive this rain.
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I picked the last of the ripe blackcurrants in the backyard here at Struan Farm a few days ago, and decided to crack into making a batch of jam. The Edmonds recipe calls for 1kg of fruit, fortunately I had enough plus several cups to save in the freezer for baking later on. The newer plants that we put in as a hedge by the orchard this spring haven't fruited just yet; once those come on next season I should be overwhelmed with fruit. It's quite tart but very good for you. And yes, I know, sugar has now been labelled as "dangerous" by certain food police, so jam might not be the healthiest option for a very healthy fruit. While I do make jam for farmstay guests, John and I actually don't eat all that much of it. So I think we should be okay if the food police were to come by for an inspection.
The good news is that one batch came out with seven jars, hooray! And five of them popped, hooray! Only two to put into the fridge for storage.
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You've made zucchini bread but you then remember to get out the spiraliser to make "zoodles." Not sure why they didn't come to mind earlier when the zucchini tsunami started to crest here at Struan Farm, but they didn't.
I use zoodles as a main dish in substitution for pasta, but also as a side dish. They're a perfect light meal for me when John isn't here, fast and easy. I blanch them in boiling water then saute the drained zoodles in a bit of olive oil or butter then toss in whatever I have on hand. Don't limit your imagination here-- the zucchini is quite bland so zoodles can carry (and need) other flavours: toasted pine nuts, crumbled feta, sun dried tomatoes, olives, marinated artichoke hearts, spring onions, red and yellow peppers, different types of pesto to give you a few ideas... Think about crunch and flavour. If you're feeling lazy you can always get out the pasta sauce and call it a meal.
This time I chopped up a tomato from the garden, red onion, fresh corn cut off the cob, shaved parmesan, italian parsley, toasted pinenuts and black pepper.
John will be getting zoodles as side dishes this week, so I better keep the inspired combinations coming!
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For some time now we've been wanting to confirm the type of conifers that are in a cluster on the knob out from our house at Struan Farm. John and nephew Mike have been working to clean up this area so that the trees are more prominent, and the view more open. Recently we had an arborist come in to take down a huge redwood tree and limb them up as well.
But it was sister-in-law Julie and her husband Scott, visiting from Canada, who were able to identify the trees for sure: they are Douglas Firs. Julie also told me there's an interesting legend about the cones. The tree sheltered mice during a great forest fire, and you can see the mice hiding in the cones. I can see them, can you?
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You may know that Struan Farm is located in New Zealand's Waitomo District, home to the major international tourist destination "Waitomo Caves." The district is generally known for its underground limestone landscape. "Wai" means water, while a "tomo" is a sinkhole.
Tomos and caves can be found throughout the area. As a child John went off caving for hours. (Note: these were the days when parents didn't worry all that much about their children being outside exploring, or micromanage their activities. Kids went off, played, and came home for meals.) John had a rope ladder, and remembers going into large caves on parts of the old farm across the road. But he also remembers going into a smaller cave on our existing property, just down the Old Road. Recently sister-in-law Julie went off with torch in hand with grandson Charlie off to explore it. They came back reporting seeing "hundreds" of native wetas.
As you might expect I'm relatively unenthusiastic about crawling around caves. Dirt, spiders, wetas, tight spaces, the possibility of getting lost in the dark--not so sure about all that. But I decided that I should go check out the cave with John so that I know where it is and what's there.
Well guess what? It's really cool, to quote one of our granddaughters. There are indeed wetas, glowworms and stalac-tites and -mites. It's not large, and is relatively dry. There are multiple branches that can easily be crawled into. The wetas are cave wetas, read more about wetas here.
These photos were taken with John's phone. I'll be going back soon with my camera to spend some time taking better images, especially of those wetas! So if you can't find me, I'll be down the Old Road, venturing underground. I'll be home in time for dinner.
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The only difference is that these particular flowers aren't meant to be eaten!
When the ewes are in the house paddock here at Struan Farm several of them can't resist nibbling my flowers beside the fences. The dahlias and roses in particular. John accuses my former pets of being the worst offenders, and while I try to defend them, I have caught both Cookie and Pepper munching away. To make matters worse, they pay me absolutely no mind when I try to shoo them away!
Pepper. Once a problem child, always a problem child. Her story was that she was helping me deadhead those dahlias.....sigh. And to add insult to (real) injury, when I was out trying to shush her away in my bare feet I got stung by a bee. I disturbed it on the nepita below. My fault, but ouch!
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A few nights ago John left me to my own devices at the dinner table here at Struan Farm. We'd finished eating and he went off to stalk two large rabbits who have been wreaking havoc in the flower gardens. Yes, again. They usually come out at sunset and play around in the paddock in front of the house before heading into the Garden of Eating. (Cutting to the chase on the rabbit front, they lived to wreak havoc another day.)
But while all that was going on I grabbed my camera and played with the evening light on the flowers on the table. They're intentionally out of focus--for me it's about the colours and shapes, the sense of flowers rather than flowers in sharp relief. Hope you like them.
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