Our holiday marathon started with the Piopio Christmas parade on Christmas Eve. And believe it or not, Piopio Community Fruit & Veg Stand's float in the parade won a first prize in the "Family, Friends & Whanau" category, woo hoo!
We had three lovely little bunnies munching away on artificial carrots and real lettuce, while the scarecrow they christened "Zack" napped above them. Walking alongside with me were mums Lulu and Jo, dressed as a carrot and a watermelon. I was attired in denim overalls and a big hat, carrying a garden trug full of flowers and veggies. (Can I just interject to say that I hadn't worn overalls since high school? They are very comfortable but seriously unflattering, John has made me put them away.) The float was driven by John on our vintage David Brown tractor. And while it did shower on and off before the parade started, we didn't get rained on during the parade.
After the parade the planters full of homegrown, beautiful lettuce went to our local Fat Pigeon Cafe, while scarecrow Zack has found a home overlooking one of my tomato beds here at Struan Farm.
Christmas Day here is almost entirely about getting ready for Boxing Day--I cook while John mows and sets things up at the Homestead. Although we did find time for a reasonable Christmas dinner. Acceptances for Boxing Day totalled 45 this year, with the possibility of farmstay guests joining us, so I wanted to make sure we didn't run out of food, dishes, or cutlery. John's brother Carrick kindly made his mum's delicious dinner rolls. The actual number of people who came ended up lower by 11 due to illness (3) and no-shows (8), so we seriously over-catered, and have been working through the leftover ham, salmon, salads and baking ever since.
The kid's archery competition ended up being quite the contest, with the leader choking and a come from behind victory in the over 9 age group. The Axten brothers triumphed on the croquet lawn. We also had a reunion of sorts amongst John's Robertson cousins, and the launching of the HMS Maurie down at the pond.
It was a good day. Along with the leftover food the leftover flowers were enjoyed too.
We've now cleaned everything up and recovered, mostly. John has been out rolling grass seed with the tractor and spraying, while I've had a session in the glasshouse potting up 200+ basil seedlings. The sort of things one does to relax and ground oneself here at Struan Farm!
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