Struan Farm

Playing with Autumn Colours

An article in the recent issue of NZ Gardener magazine inspired me, with a DIY bouquet of autumn leaves and berries. While we don't have the same materials used in the article here at Struan Farm, I went off to see what I could find in the gardens for seasonal raw materials. It was a good excuse, we've been so busy this past month that I haven't had any time to wander or be out in the gardens. I've been overdue to reconnect with the gardens, myself, and of course check out what might need a bit of love and attention in the process. I also gathered the last of the walnuts, picked some figs, and fed more than a few pet lambs apple treats in the process. Efficiency thy name is Karen. It needs to be!

While I was walking around I remembered the time I went out in the fields around our house and gathered a dried bouquet for my mother, picking things like seed pods, berries, Honesty, etc. Shortly thereafter I came down with a terrible case of poison ivy, the worst our pediatrician/paediatrician had ever seen. I even had it in my mouth. As a result I stopped picking dried bouquets. Sensitive skin, thy name is also Karen.

Fortunately we don't have anything like poison ivy here in NZ, so I think I can dip my toe back into the dried bouquet game. Plus I know what's around the gardens. I am wary of stinging nettles, privet, and cotinus/smoke tree, all of which tend to cause allergic reactions in many people, including me. I'm careful working with the swan plants we grow for Monarch butterflies, which are poisonous to people and stock and have a toxic sap that can blind. I've just been reading about the dangerously poisonous Phoenix palm tree, thankfully we don't have any of those here. Good news: I did find some colourful autumnal bits and pieces to play with in the gardens.

Here's what I managed to come up with:

I'm quite pleased with these, and I haven't gotten any rashes just yet, even better!

 

Committed to Kaizen

Here at Struan Farm we are committed to "kaizen," also called "continuous improvement." The theory is that small, ongoing changes can reap major benefits. And both Clifford and I can attest to this.

This week after noticing that Clifford was continuing to go into the garden beside the house, digging himself a hole in the mulch to lay where he was protected by both the side of the house and shrubs, I decided that getting him a new bed wasn't going to be sufficient. While he loves his new bed and old blanket, he seemed to be telling us that he wanted more shelter, even though he has given up on getting into his house. I suggested to John that he build a wooden box for Clifford's bed beside the workshop, providing him with sides to nestle against and a roof over is head. John found an old wooden pallet to use as the floor of the box and knocked up walls sized to fit Clifford's bed. This has done the trick, he's much happier.

And then there's my fig picker, the tin/can on the wooden stick. The edge of the tin just wasn't proving sharp enough to cut the figs as easily as I wanted. More often than not I found myself either shredding the fruit against the rim of the tin or sending the figs flying. I asked John to cut a "V" notch in the tin to make a sharper edge, making it much easier to cut the fig stems.

Yes, continuous improvements here at Struan Farm. Little things making big differences. But do you get the sense from this that I'm the only one having the ideas and John does the work? It doesn't always work that way, I promise you that!

Sharing A Guest's Vision

As previously reported, we had quite a bit on here at Struan Farm over the recent Easter holiday weekend, including quite a number of farmstay guests. One of those was New Plymouth based photographer Russ Dixon and his family and friends. Russ has been kind enough to share a few of the photographs he took around the place during his visit, and has given me permission to publish them on our blog and FB.

He confesses to have a particularly moody vision. Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

It's always interesting for us to see what others find beautiful in our surroundings. Find out more about Russ Dixon and his photography here.




 

Shadow Play

Technically this is a reflection rather than a shadow, but John noticed an interesting shape on the sitting room wall the other morning here at Struan Farm:

At first he thought it looked like a map of New Zealand, but we decided that it was closer to a bird with its long beak pointing skyward. What do you see?

Figs & Feijoas, Fast & Furious

We're now into peak figs and feijoas here at Struan Farm.

Both fruits are reasonably fragile and don't last terribly long, so it's important to use them and/or share them asap. One doesn't pick feijoas, but rather gather them each day (or twice daily!) beneath the trees. The fruit isn't ready if it hasn't dropped. Figs on the other hand must be picked once they start drooping down on their stems, before they split and the birds or wasps get to them. Figs don't ripen once picked either, so a delicate decision must be made: are they sagging down enough to be picked, or shall I leave them another day? At this time of the year I'm collecting both fruits daily.

Figs will keep for 1-2 days in the fridge before they must be used. I'm waiting for another supply of large jars to arrive by courier to make more "Spiced Figs in Brandy," so in the meantime I've been baking "Fig, Apple & Feijoa Shortcakes" for the freezer. Both recipes with links have been posted previously, but if you need them again just comment or message me. 

And then (of course) there's always some to be shared with the Piopio Community Fruit & Veg Stand!