“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ”

― Norman Vincent Peale

Pohutukawa - NZ Xmas tree

This little quote is one of my favorites and it helps take away some of the drama that seems to envelope most families at this time of the year.  Many questions can make Christmas stressful and not exactly the most enjoyable of holidays. "Have you got the presents organized and wrapped",,, "are the cards posted in time",,, "have we missed the overseas mail",,, "do you think this will be the right size",,, "have they already got one of these" ,, "can we afford a turkey that big or will we get a large chicken",,, "watch out, she's eating the decorations" ,,,"what do you mean THAT wrapping paper is for birthday's only" etc, etc.

I LOVE Christmas, because it gives us a chance to think of family and friends and to look forward to all those familiar Christmas habits that have developed over the years. I used to look forward to the Christmas Carols, but in recent years these have been broadcast in the shops from the end of October and they lose some of their magic. I was in a choir in my youth and we enjoyed singing the old favorites at the end of the school term, but then you wouldn't hear them again until Christmas Eve. Lyn and I have agreed that of all the most recent offerings, "Snoopy's Christmas" is the best commercial offering and tells us that "Christmas is not far away".

 I personally have always enjoyed "White Christmas" but only if it is sung by Bing Crosby and it has been a tradition in our house that the old carols are to be heard on Christmas Eve and in the morning before the traditional lunch time feast is started. In recent years I have enjoyed listening to Josh Groban and his rendition of "O HOLY NIGHT" which has become an annual favorite. There is a clip taken at the Vatican http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx0C5ZDi1rs and there are others.

I have often wondered what it would be like to have a "WHITE Christmas" although the weather this year in some parts of the world coming up to the holidays, leaves a lot to be desired. TV news has shown us storms and bad weather in many Northern countries and the idea of freezing cold temperatures, heavy snow and rain with transport delays in the USA and general mayhem would not be a nice way to start the holiday season.

A White Christmas

 Our New Zealand day is often very sunny and quite warm as it is early Summer, but that doesn't stop us from sending cards with lovely snowy scenes and Santa riding a sleigh through a white wonderland. I love the old traditional card scenes with Carolers wandering the streets or gathering under flickering gas lamps to sing their carols, wrapped up in thick jackets and scarves and with brightly lit windows in the background with a roaring fire visible from the street. I guess it is the tradition that I like, mainly because I remember Christmas when I was a child, when these were the norm  for cards.  Christmas Eve was always a difficult time to go to sleep and excitement reigned supreme! We woke on Christmas morning to check our pillow cases on the end of our bed, sometimes accompanied by a  nylon stocking with a few edible goodies such as nuts in the shell, but ALWAYS with a nice orange at the bottom of the stocking. When we were young the family wasn't terribly religious, but as children we attended bible school and when I was a Cub and then a Boy Scout, we were involved with groups at St Mary's Anglican Cathedral in Parnell, so the full meaning of Christmas was well known to us all. As a baptised Catholic later in life I really enjoyed the church rituals and Midnight Mass was quite an experience, but as I was extremely busy during the Christmas period, I was usually very late getting home and fairly exhausted!

Waipu Cove@ Xmas

Another feature of Christmas that I enjoy, is watching little children participate in the family rituals, be it helping to decorate the tree, or on the day itself, opening presents. It makes me smile when I see expensive presents pushed to one side while the recipient spends more time with the wrapping or the container the present came in. As my own family grew up, we spent alternative Christmas's visiting the farm at Waipu, where it was common to have 19 seated for lunch! I remember one year when we purchased a remote controlled plane for my eldest son and my Father in Law, Henry, who was a keen model maker insisted that he show Gary "How to fly the plane properly once assembled" Oh what a hilarious time (which I managed to capture on video) as Henry assembled the plane quick smart and then proceeded to head for the house paddock to show us how it worked. He managed to get the plane off the ground and flying in a circle, but because the plane was tethered to the controller, it meant Henry had to follow the plane as it whirled in a circle above his head. He was last seen whirling down the hill until he got so dizzy he fell over! What a delightful memory!

If we had Christmas at home in Henderson, it was an early morning ritual before the regulation bacon & eggs to extricate a red vinyl plastic record and put it on the turntable. This wonderful Christmas collection of old and modern popular music hits is still in my keeping and I might just play it for old times sake this year, as long as the ancient gramophone player works.

A Kiwi Santa

As I get older, each Christmas becomes a period of reflection and a time to think of family members who are no longer with us. Recently we lost the Matriarch of our family who passed away following a short illness in September. The year will be the first year Auntie Ngaire won't be sending a card or having a conversation on the phone on Christmas Day and we will miss her terribly. I hope that this year our Christmas will be filled with laughter and memories to add to my collection and I look forward to sharing it with my family and their families. I hope all my friends will enjoy Christmas as much as I do and will endeavor to generate the warm feelings of Christmas throughout the following year! 

Merry Christmas everyone!

UPDATE# Pouring with rain tonight. The Annual Christmas Parade in Waipu (possibly the only one in NZ on Christmas Eve) is probably cancelled.

A Fiery Start to Summer

Fire!

Summer officially started in Waipu on the 1st December, but it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. I had been working on the front paddock clearing away branches that had overgrown our electric fence system causing a drop in the effective power being carried and also because of any annoying click on our phone line that picked up the fence shorting out. As I was finishing this job, I noticed a large amount of smoke appearing from further down the highway and at first I thought it might be dust from a large cattle truck maneuvering up the unsealed road that runs off the highway or perhaps a neighbour had started burning some foliage that had accumulated in the paddock. (we are expecting a district wide ban on open fires this month as it has been quite dry)

More water arrives

To my horror I heard a loud bang and then the smoke changed colour to a dark grey. I started back to the tractor and suddenly a fire engine came racing along the main road, so I knew it was bigger than I thought. No video camera handy, but I hopped in the car and drove down the highway. As I came around the bend about a 1km away I could see a house burning fiercely and two appliances in attendance. There was a group of people including children outside the gates and I could see that they were distraught at what was happening while a number of volunteer firemen were running hoses from two fire engines.

Fire taking hold

By this stage the flames were very fierce and had broken through the roof and a couple of loud bangs were followed by more flames. The two appliances ran out of water very quickly and it was obvious that the house was going to burn to the ground if more water didn't arrive. Then I heard more sirens as other district engines arrived along with a milk tanker filled with water and the fireman started to gain control of the fire.

Once we had ascertained that all the family had managed to get out, I began to think how quickly a fire disaster can happen and it was a reminder that although we love living in the rural countryside, it comes with a warning that without sufficient water close by it doesn't take long for a house to be reduced to rubble, especially if it is a timber house (as this one was)

Fast moving traffic

One of the really appalling sights, was the speed of the traffic on the highway, especially as the smoke at one stage was very thick and covered the road completely, making visibility almost nil. Cars and trucks continued to drive past at 100kms per hour, until a very angry Fire Chief posted a fireman and some accident cones further down the road. Even when a fire engine came racing towards the fire, with sirens and horn blasting, some cars refused to pull over quickly and it was lucky they didn't get sideswiped as the engines overtook them. Pathetic behaviour!


This certainly was a wake up call and I am determined to keep our own dam from ever being completely dry. Fortunately we are close to the Ahuroa river, but it would be time consuming to run hoses to the river and back up to our home if required.

SLOW DOWN!!

#UPDATE. The parents who own a local restaurant
were at work and the young family members were being cared for by an Au Pair and were apparently having breakfast and it must have been a very frightening episode. Thank goodness everyone got out safely. The fire apparently started in a 4 year old fridge and fortunately  the house was insured. It was not a nice start to Summer!

Command Centre

Fire Brigade arrives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Help arrives

RABBITS,RATS & ROSES

A view from the window

One of the benefits of working from home is that the Office can be situated to enjoy the landscape instead of the side of a concrete building or lines of traffic winding their way into the city. Our current home Office looks out on a delightful rural view of grass paddocks, trees and hills which has been enhanced with the addition of a shady wooden deck to lessen the heat from the Summer sun which used to make the room extremely warm especially in Summer. We don't have to walk far to another window which has a view over our dam and a wide range of Native evergreen trees and many deciduous trees which vary from a delightful fresh green in Spring through to beautiful Autumn tones and then bare branches in Winter. I used to worry that our property had too many deciduous trees (looked like a bomb site in Winter) but after 20 years of growth, the Oaks and Liquid Ambers are a fantastic sight to behold.

A tiny bunny that will grow big!

But I diverge! This week I spied a baby rabbit feeding on the lawn and in our experience, one rabbit spells disaster for any new growth in our vegetable plots. Two rabbits usually mean an influx of these long eared louts and in recent years they have been quite prolific in our area and when you get rabbits and possums on the prowl, beans, peas, lettuce require extra protection. I won't get the rifle out just yet, but if I spy more than one over the next few weeks, they had better look out! Unfortunately our local council insists to apply for discounted rat or possum poison funding, we have to have a written submission for contestable assistance by joining large commercial operators also seeking funds. We haven't got close, even though we can show them $100s of dollars of already purchased and plenty of containers of products used in the past. Anybody would think they are OUR rats and possums!

Macadamia rat collection

Two weeks ago our nostrils told us that there was a dead animal somewhere close to the garages and Lyn and I searched close by, but couldn't track down the source. Overtime the smell disappeared and I forgot about looking any further. In recent months we have experienced the character building experience of completely upgrading our kitchen, which has not been a totally enjoyable period. Lot's of disruption and the complete destruction of the old farmhouse kitchen meant heaps of broken timber and surplus cupboards, doors and other items which will need permanent disposal. (This experience could involve a future blog or two once we have recovered!) I managed to save a couple of undamaged drawer units and decided to replace a rather tatty arrangement already installed in the garage. As I dragged out the old unit the door swung open and to my surprise the body of a very LARGE, very DEAD rate hove into view! I gathered together a bucket and spade and shoveled these remains out of the way (now buried under the Tamarillos) Once I had removed this unit outside I could see that the rat had been very industrious and the area under the cupboard was covered in a collection of Macadamia nuts! They had settled into a very neat tidy pattern (see photo) and reminded me of a Chinese abacus. The replacement drawer unit has been vermin proofed!

My love is like a red,red rose ...

On a lighter note, but also involving the use of nostrils, is the wonderful scent of our roses. We planted some new varieties last year and Lyn insisted they were of the scented type and we don't regret this insistence. Although they don't last long roses are just one of those "must have" flowers in any garden. My personal favourites include Fuschias and the huge variety available these days mean you can have them in pots as well as in borders etc. I have plans to clear a larger area and Fuschias are top of the list. Of course the fruit tree blossoms are a delight and our Puriri and Bottlebrush trees with their red flowers and berries make our resident Tuis very happy and we can sit in our lounge and watch the Tuis feeding close by the window. A glorious sight indeed and my aim is to try an attract some wood pigeons (Kereru) which have been decimated by the possum damage to our native trees.  

 I can recommend working from  home!

Cherry tree blossom

And the scent is fantastic!

A 3 point Landing or how Pirate caused my downfall!

Henry Moje - Sheep Farmer & Lion Tamer!

My late Father in Law, Henry Moje from Waipu was a sheep farmer and one of his memorable sayings was "Farming would be great if it wasn't for the Animals!" Henry was a quiet unassuming fellow, but he had a dry wit and he was an excellent stockman who worked his entire life on farms and was an inspiration to all his family and I often think of the memorable times we shared. Henry seemed to spend an awful amount of time repairing fences in his retirement years and he would often be away from the house for hours, not returning to the house until late afternoon.

I didn't realise how important maintaining secure fencing around a property was, until I bought our own lifestyle block and over the past 20 odd years, my Wife Lyn and I have spent a considerable amount of time replacing damaged fence battens and repairing broken electric tapes and wires on our property. Our animals get quite large over time and after they have leaned on a fence to get that "delicious piece of grass on the other side of the fence" the fence sometimes break and repairs are necessary. Our border fences are five wire high and the internal fences are controlled by an electric current that sends alternating pulses throughout the system. (Well that is if we remember to switch them on at the controller!) The Heifers become very wary of getting a shock and in some cases, even if the reel comes off the fence and is laying on the ground, they will not cross over the tape, which is white and easily identifiable.

A Lone Pirate

Except for our "Pirate"! This is the heifer I wrote about in a previous blog who had to have surgery to remove an eye after getting an infection as a calf. She has coped extremely well and is now equally as large as the remaining 11 animals. In recent years we have tried to keep the stock away from our boundary river and I have erected a series of boundary tapes to keep them contained. So far we have only had the odd incident where stock have breached the tapes and we allow the stock to graze the area around our dam, which would become a weed infected eyesore otherwise. I have heard that even string can be used in an emergency, but my lot always seem to know when the fence isn't connected properly!

Pinnochio & Innocent Friends

Somehow, sometime, during the day, somebody managed to open the large metal gate and 11 happy heifers gained access to the forbidden area. Lyn and I rushed over to try and herd them back through the entrance and away from the danger area, but just as we were gaining control, the wind blew the gate half shut. The herd then turned around and tried to run back, so we had to run towards them and hopefully turn them back again. I didn't see the Totara tree branch hidden in the grass and the next second I was doing a heavy three point landing (my two knees and my nose!) I lay on the grass momentarily stunned and realised that I had also damaged my hand on the tree and was bleeding profusely. Lyn rushed over to help me and was worried that the galloping herd would run right over the top of me. They suddenly stopped about 10 metres away and according to Lyn almost looked as if they were concerned at my welfare. Once I got back on my feet we quietly turned them around and they calmly went back through the gate. I hobbled home and spent the rest of the day on my LazyBoy chair!

Maybe a rest after all that excitement!

It took a number of days before I could use my right arm and shaving or combing my hair was a painful experience and light duties prevailed. Yesterday, Pirate got tangled in the newly erected fence and demolished it before we could get her out.

Today, the whole herd have been moved to a safe paddock with double wire surrounds! Lesson Learnt!

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!
Today, the neighbours calves managed to get out of their paddock, cross over a supposedly safely wired off culvert and are now grazing our paddocks. Reminds me of the old saying "Rust Never Sleeps!"

What Roof? ... The End of an Era at the "Pepper Plot"

Like the bones of a bleached whale

The recent Spring weather has been memorable for a number of reasons, but not entirely pleasurable. Unfortunately the very strong winds over the past Month have made garden preparation difficult, but the resulting damage from Thursday's "Big Blow" finished off the remains of our Commercial Gardening operation. The last of our Polyhouse roofs started to split in the middle on the Monday and on Thursday it started to tear off completely and began a process akin to unzipping a jacket. The roofs were 55metres long, 14metres wide and the twin skin polythene had to be imported from Canada and it was an awesome spectacle to see these huge pieces of polythene being smashed around like little pieces of a plastic shopping bag.

A curtain of wrecked polythene

Fortunately (and unlike the 1st damaged roof that was destroyed a couple of years ago) the pieces have remained stuck to one another and are now lying quite tidily to one side of the building, completely out of the way! Our task now will be to completely strip the existing plants, the  growing wires and strings out of the ground before it becomes a nightmare of weeds and unwanted vegetation. Amazingly enough, we have had Capsicum plants still producing a reasonable crop 9 years after being planted and although we haven't been using the fertigation system in recent years a regular watering has produced some good size fruit. Unfortunately the birds, possums and other flying insects have had easy access to the planted area and it is only the sheer number of plants (1200) that have meant we could pick anything edible. We had anticipated the roof being destroyed at some stage, merely because of the length of time since it was installed and without regular maintenance, the degradation through sunlight, wind and rain etc, we were surprised it lasted so long.

Ready to send to Market

During our time as Commercial Growers we were able to produce excellent quantities of Capsicums that were collected by truck twice a week and dispatched to Auckland to be auctioned off. Over the years we developed an excellent rapport with our marketing company and we often had comments that our produce was top class and had a number of regular buyers who sought out our label. The company had been called Racecourse Gardens after the old racecourse that used to be in Waipu, but we called our company "The Pepper Plot" which was a play on words, i.e. Capsicums are related to Peppers and we grew them on a Plot of land. Needless to say some folk misread it as the "Pepper Pot", but we were included in a farming magazine once in a list of quirky Agricultural businesses. There was "The Country Pumpkin"  a sheep farm named "Ewesful Acres" and a few other funnies whose names elude me now. 

Our top quality Capsicums

 For a couple of years we experimented with a range of colours including red,yellow,orange,purple,white and brown, but we could  never grow enough good quality except for the reds and yellows. Capsicums are related to potatoes and tomatoes and we had to contend with battling the same diseases such as botrytis, white fly, green bugs, snails etc and because they love warm conditions and we grew them through Winter to get the premium price, we had horrific power bills for our two large electric heating units. 

 

Mother Nature's Work

Soon after we began growing the Government of the day decided in it's wisdom to allow the importing of Aussie Capsicums, which were grown outdoors all the year through in Queensland and because the quantities were so huge, the domestic prices collapsed. There were a number of issues with the imported Capsicums including a number of endemic Australian pests such as Western Flower Thrip and a type of Nematode and the imports were supposed to be soaked in dimethoate for 2 minutes before being exported. Many of these pests are now rampant in New Zealand and it shows that these controls weren’t very effective, which is what we said at the time!) The final nail in our commercial venture coffin was the proliferation of huge glasshouses in New Zealand supposedly growing for export. Some of these huge enterprises were larger than our entire farm and with the new technology available they were able to grow huge quantities each season and their option to dump large quantities on the local market meant we just couldn't compete. 

The End of an Era

 Surgery for Melanoma in 2001, restricted my involvement for a period and then we were lucky enough to purchase our publishing business, which resolved the crisis for us immediately. We now spend our "Garden Time" growing vegetables for ourselves and have become self sufficient for most of the year. Gardening is fun and is an enjoyable way of getting outside for some fresh air as our publishing business involves a lot of time in front of a computer and it is a great feeling to harvest a crop of fresh produce, which makes any effort worth while.

 I can't imagine never having a garden and the old commercial growing area will be host to new banana plants,perhaps another Avocado or even a nice Granny Smith Apple tree!

A 70th Birthday family Gathering and an Ode to a Walking Stick

The Birthday Boy!

Some folk have asked "Where have you been" and I have replied "Away to the Big Smoke" which actually is my old home town, the city of Auckland which I left some 21 years ago. My 70th Birthday was on the 30th September, but owing to business commitments we had to postpone any celebrations until the 6th October and we decided to incorporate a low key family gathering on the same day. I sent out a message suggesting we find a hall that would be convenient for our families to find and preferably not too expensive as we are in the middle of a major kitchen renovation (more of that in another blog)

My Daughter Kelly and her Husband Craig wasted no time and found a small hall in Oratia that was available and with their combined cooking skills offered to do all the catering. They said the hall was part of a local complex that also had a secure children's play area and this option made for a quick decision to book the premises. The day arrived soon enough and Lyn and I departed from Waipu hoping that our herd of heifers had plenty of grass and would behave themselves for the two days we would be away. An hour into our journey we were enveloped in heavy rain and low cloud and the prospect for a nice day looked very gloomy indeed. However the Luck of the Irish prevailed and we arrived on the outskirts of West Auckland with clear skies and nice sunny weather. Off to a good start!

2x branches of the family tree

On arrival at the hall we noticed that Craig and my Son Gary were struggling to find tables that weren't damaged, a missing ladder to hang up balloons and the absence of any cutlery or plates! It appears that over a short period these items had been stolen and not replaced and although this made it difficult for serving food later on, they managed to layout a table groaning with a huge range of food. Time arrived for the meal and after a short speech which included a reference to our beloved family members who had passed on since our last gathering I was able to say the Selkirk Grace and we did our best to clear the table of food (failing miserably!) Following the meal I managed to say a few more words of thanks to all for their generous gifts and for their attendance and I was thrilled and moved by speeches from my brothers and sister and a cousin who lauded our progress over the years as a family and the close ties we enjoy today. It was an extremely emotional time and I will remember these speeches for all my days. Another highlight was the attendance of an old family friend who grew up with our Family in Parnell and she and I had attended Parnell school together so our association went back a full 70 years. Tess had lived next door to my Grandmother and the relationship between our families was that close that she called our Grandmother, Nana too!

The 70th Cakes!

The children were collected from the playground for the cutting of the fantastic birthday cakes made by my very creative Daughter Kelly and her husband Craig and the hall soon rang out with the traditional "Happy Birthday" song as I blew out the candles. The cakes were topped by an array of beautifully made items that had figured in my life including, a steam train, a bass drum and sticks, a pipe band feather bonnet, branded items from my career as sales rep in the liquor industry, a range of vegetables including capsicums (we were commercial growers) a rotisserie chicken (my favourite bbq meal) and finally a lucky Irish shamrock! The rotisserie chicken was a masterpiece and very well made and I am amazed at the creativity of Kelly and her cake making skills!

The R&Rs and walking stick

An attempt to meet everyone for a personal chat and to thank everyone personally for their generous gifts became quite a mission and as we had to vacate the hall and car park for a pre-booked wedding I just ran out of time. One of my dearest friends and his Wife who I have known for 5 decades or more and had been involved socially on so many occasions in the past had been invited. Our families had grown up together, we had marched many a mile in the pipe band together and we were known to one another's children as Uncle Brian or Uncle Roly and Auntie Ren, so it was fitting that they could attend. As usual their presents were well thought out offerings and for my 70th and in anticipation of future knee surgery coming up, they presented me with a walking stick, complete with warning bell and Learner Plate! Roly has also written a poem about the walking stick and although I intended reading it at the gathering, I managed to forget this important function. I have pleasure in presenting the "Ode to a Walking Stick" right here!

Your Knees Are Going To Have Repair

So You can Walk, From Here To There

This Stick I hope Will Help A Bit

To Stop You Falling In The Shit!

                                    Signed "Shake a Spear"

On reflection, now I know why I didn't read it out at the party!

I was overwhelmed with the generosity of spirit and the incredible efforts by my family and friends to make this a special day. Their inspired presents were all very creative and I could see that much thought had gone into their production and I will treasure each one always. Some of the presents included a framed front Page of the NZ Herald 30th September 1942, the framed collection outlining the 1942 value of 3 pence (including a 1942 3d and 3d stamp) as compared to 2012 currency, The framed collection of Family members, to the variety of vouchers, dvds, orchids, wine, etc that made me feel very humble indeed. As I opened a present from my Brothers, I thought I was getting a replacement wallet, but on closer inspection I exclaimed" But I haven't got an Amazon Kindle!" I have now!! And of course my new Galaxy phone, which is going to be a challenge to operate in the short term. I have suggested that once I have mastered all the appliances, I should be able to fly a 747 too!

"Ramsey"

And finally my own knitted Teddy Bear made especially for me by my Aunt Ngaire who passed away earlier in September. This little fellow is named "Ramsey" and will accompany me on my trips around New Zealand when I will keep a photographic record of us together.

Highlights of the day? Well there were just too many to remember. The Joy of celebrating with my Family, both young and old, the pleasure of seeing children having fun and interacting with one another, reminiscing about childhood antics with my brothers and sister, meeting up with my own Children, Grandchildren, Cousins, Family In Laws, Nieces and all the other associations that make for a close Family

Lowlights, The Absence of my Youngest Son and his Family from Australia,

The day just FLEW by and in all the excitement, we didn't think to programme a family group photo. Perhaps this could be the excuse for another Family Gathering real soon!

Spring on the Farm and a Dam full of ducks - albeit briefly

Spring has arrived with the Friesas

Spring has finally arrived officially and right on cue, we cut our first asparagus spears and friesas. There are l a lot of very wet areas on the paddocks and some surface water refuses to dry up, but grass is growing albeit slowly and the cows can eat the hay thrown at them without crushing it into the mud before they get it all eaten. We have a guava bush that has lovely ripening fruit and of course the mandarin trees are laden with lovely juicy fruit. Even the George Washington navel orange tree is ripe and the bananas are still providing a lovely tasty treat.

Garlic patch

The very cold weather we had a couple of months ago ensured a good crop of large Brussels sprouts, however I have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, so lashings of butter are no longer allowed. The leeks are nice and big with lovely firm white stems and leek and potato soup will be on next weeks menu, even though I have to watch my intake of carbohydrates. We have had a 100% take on our garlic and shallots and I can almost smell that lovely odour of garlic cooking already.

The most impressive harbinger of Spring has been the arrival of families of mallard duckling and our annual arrival of 9+ Paradise Ducklings. It really is fun watching then family trooping through the paddocks heading for swimming lessons on the dam and this year with the large pools of water in low lying areas the ducklings got a head start, without having to walk all the way to the dam. Needless to say the resident hawks are on the prowl for a free meal and they make the journey a hazardous experience for all these little balls of fluff. The Pukekos who live on the dam  take exception to being invaded and they make a racket whenever the new visitors arrive. Pukekos amaze us with their ability to dig out the roots of carrot weed which grows prolifically at this time of the year and as the roots are similar to parsnip roots in colours and shape, they have to dig really deep. Every day there are little mounds of weed leaves strewn over the ground and it sure saves a lot of weeding. Mind you we are not enamored when they use the same technique on our valued vegetable plants. (All my new season plantings of small asparagus seedlings have disappeared already.)

Guava bush

Our blueberry plants are coming away with a rush and hopefully will provide  a tasty treat for later, (blueberry muffins come to mind!) I am looking forward to the arrival of new bright green leaves on our deciduous trees, the oaks in particular are an annual treat and I can see that the Macadamias will soon have their delicate racemes hanging down like Christmas tree decorations. The little silver eyes are keen to eat as many guavas as possible, so netting is required. (I couldn't net the bush too early as it contained a beautifully made nest, with Mum and three eggs, so I had to allow her an exit.)

Chopper Spraying

# (3xdays later)

 This morning the neighbors started their paddock spraying and because they have such a large farm (and a relative with a helicopter) and this means they don't have any damage to their still very wet paddocks. I dare not use my little Kubota tractor as we still have a lot of extremely wet areas.

# UPDATE!

Today we have no ducklings left except our (Paradise flock) and our resident Pukeko family have had a disastrous week. Torrential rain produced a very flooded river and the ducklings were either swept away during the night or the hawks/eels have eaten them. The baby Pukeko is missing and when I looked at the latest compost hole in the garden it contained the body of a mature Pukeko who was lying at the bottom of the hole! Either he fell in during the night and broke his neck or he has eaten some lethal possum bait, which although hidden in a bait station, might have been accessible to a determined bird. We will never know! 

A very empty woodshed!

#Further Update!  Today the coldest September days since records begun. A decent frost this morning and only 2c promised tonight. More firewood required but the shed is almost empty and it will be fine for a few more days yet!

A Grandson Turns One and we compare Life changes

Grandad & Aidan on his birthday

I recently had the pleasure of attending my youngest Grandsons 1st birthday and what a joyous occasion it was too! He lives in Auckland so I don't get to see him as often as I would like, but regular emails and phone calls to his Mother keep me posted on what is happening in their household. His brother Ronan who is approaching the age of 4 has suddenly made huge gains in both speech and reading ability and these two lively youngsters no doubt  promise many years of family escapades within the family unit.

It was intriguing watching his reaction to the other children who gathered for his birthday and although he was reticent at first, he soon started interacting with them, especially when it became time to open presents. He sure let everyone know that HE was going to open HIS gifts and although brother Ronan was allowed to open some of the birthday card envelopes, it became a tug-of-war with the gift wrapped collection. I guess at least with two boys in the family, they will be able to share many items in the future without too much difficulty, unlike families with girls who prefer dolls to trucks!

Ronan helping with the presents

It made me think of my own family, where we had 4 boys and one sister (although we always thought of my Sister as an honorary brother, especially when we needed a guinea pig to test any new invention we made) My older brother Dennis and I were a team until he left home as a young teenager to go farming, my Sister Carna and I were very close in age, so we got along well and my two younger Brothers Bruce and Roger (our baby) became another team. A major influence on our lives was the fact that our extended family lived close by and we spent many joyous moments with Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts and I feel sorry for the changes that have occurred over the past decades where families live in other locations far apart from each other.

On the drive back home I kept thinking about the changes in our society over the years and wondered to myself what sort of a world young Aidan would find on his 21st birthday. (I invited all those at the birthday party to attend his 21st and promised I would do my best to be there as well!) Whenever I start talking about my own childhood, I am contstantly reminded by my audience that we just couldn't compare what happened in the 40s and 50s with today's challenges and that we have improved beyond belief as far as health issues go.

Aidan's Elmo Cake

When I started school. NZ had just come out of a very costly war and rationing of certain goods was still in force until the early 50s. We also had Import controls and because the population was still small in numbers, the prospect of getting a job was a lot easier, especially as the country prospered on the back of our farming exports. NZ lead the world in childcare (unlike the shameful statistics of today) and the Plunket Society featured in every corner of the country, including difficult to reach rural communities. I remember when we had an epidemic of polio in 1947 just before I started school and some children became afflicted with this cursed disease until the Salk vaccination regime was made available in about 1956. I believe schools throughout NZ were closed for 4 months at the height of the epidemic. Measles was quite rampant too at one stage and I remember some new migrants from England who lived in our street becoming infected soon after arrival and my Mother took charge of looking after them. Some of my school friends were sent to a Health camp at Pakuranga during school holidays.

That cake tastes great!

Thank goodness many of the childhood diseases are mostly under control, although we read in recent news of whooping cough and other old style diseases reappearing and  I have been reliably informed that if we can get our immunisation rate a lot higher, it will make a difference. So it would appear that although things were vastly different way back then, we still can't assume that today's world is far superior. It just isn't so!

Like my Father before me, I probably cannot conceive how different the world will be in two decades time when Aidan turns 21, I just hope that the world has learnt a few more lessons by then. I certainly hope so!

Old Folks of today - How did we survive?

An old style slide

I smiled to myself this week as I read an article in an English magazine regarding their Governments concern at the number of "old people" who seem to be increasing in numbers and how their society is going to be able to afford to keep them in these days of economic woe.
This is similar to the current situation in New Zealand and there are plenty of articles appearing in local newspapers discussing the merits of raising the retirement age to 67 and how we could wind up with a country full of geriatrics and no young working people, making enough tax to cope.

The article went on to describe some of the more dangerous items the older generation got up to as kids, such as swinging on a rubber tyre swing with no soft landing underneath, walking to school unaccompanied and they included a photo of a young lass eating strawberries straight from the garden! Now how  dangerous is that!

Modern "No Risk" sign

The author made me think of my childhood where Hygiene was another minefield. There was no "sell-by date" on anything or "best before" dates on food products and everything was eaten until every last morsel had been eaten. As we had no fridge, the remains of the Sunday roast (a weekly ritual as long as Dad wasn't away driving a train) were stored in a meat safe that had fine mesh and was built into the outside wall for fresh air. The meat that was left over became a source of further cooking ingenuity before finally ending up as rissoles or some other minced concoction

NOTE# We have a safe in our existing kitchen which will disappear in next months kitchen upgrade. Unfortunately the doors don't fit properly and  it let's in too much cold air to be of any use)

I can remember when we were given a small cool box that sat on the bench and had some sort of contraption at the top where ice was placed. This kept the interior cool until more ice was installed and I know that when we eventually secured our 1st fridge it was really a "marvel of the age". We certainly take too much for granted these days. Children just don't seem to get a chance to be children anymore and they don't learn how to react to dangerous situations when they do arise. 

Modern "Monkey Bar"

Our attitudes to one another have been turned upside down and there are too many examples of "Politically correct" examples where children are just not allowed to be free spirits as we were. When I was at Parnell primary school in the late 1940s and 50s we had a metal bar atop a couple of wooden uprights which we called a "monkey bar" and the idea was to hang onto this bar, usually upside down and work your way across it. It was just hard packed soil underneath, very muddy in Winter. We played tennis, football, cricket and our version of softball (a tennis ball on top of a rubber pipe that was fitted over a wicket) 

Tree Climbing fun!

 Everyone climbed the numerous trees that surrounded the school and while there were some falls and scrapes I don't remember anyone actually "hurting themselves" too much.

So if there are a larger number of old folk suddenly draining the economy, it just proves that a little danger didn't do anyone too much harm. I realise that the dangers of modern life are on a larger scale than my day, but if we keep cosseting our children too much the retirement age may have to drop rather than increase as they just won't have the same stamina as today's "Senior Citizens!"

Children can't learn responsibility if they are never allowed to have any, and yet we scratch our heads and wonder why children today are not as mature.

Pasted from <http://natureschild-natureboy.blogspot.co.nz/2012_02_01_archive.html>

# An article in another newspaper I read today tells of a woman who spotted a lady this week, walking through a local park with a baby strapped to her body in a baby sling. The baby was wearing a crash helmet! We're doomed!!

(I have an idea that the child may already have a head injury and needs continual support to save any further damage!)

Friday Nights - A Grand Mix of Rugby, Coffee, Cheese & Bacon

HUTCHINSON DAYS

The end of the current Super 15 Rugby season has brought back fond memories of my time as a shop assistant in a grocery/delicatessen store in the heart of Queen Street Auckland. I started as a very junior "counter jumper" as we were called and left the company some 27 years later having worked in every division of the company including the Retail and Wholesale Grocery branches and the Wines and Spirits division. I even got to open and manage a new branch of Hutchinson Brothers in the suburb of Blockhouse Bay in Auckland.

Hutchinsons still sell cheese!

 I had started work on the day of my 15th birthday at a Woolworths store some 12 months before, but had become a bit disillusioned when I wound up in the electrical department in the basement of the shop. This store was also in Lower Queen street and was named the "Roxy" branch after a movie theater situated close by. Woolworths had a number of daily chores which had to be maintained "or else!" and one of them was to remove the small glass inserts on each counter that divided it up into individual squares which contained the products for sale. I got heartily sick of polishing light bulbs, batteries and jug cords every day and cleaning and wiping the glass strips that separated each display container. The only entertainment was from a couple of hard case characters who operated the key cutting concession at the bottom of the stairs and their interaction with the young teenage girls who worked on the neighbouring biscuit counter. Every day brought some light relief as they conjured up hilarious schemes to keep the girls on their toes! One day I had a very lengthy discussion with a floor manager about my future prospects and when I started getting a bit grumpy, I was sacked for "insubordination!"

Similar to Hutchinsons

It was 1958 and I had already been turned down by the NZ Railway as being too young to join up (this had been my lifelong ambition to follow in my Fathers footsteps) so I went looking for another job. I walked up Queen Street and saw and advert in a shop window and after a 10 minute interview was hired on the spot and started work the next day. I could fill a book with my escapades over the next 8 years in this main branch of Hutchinson Bros Ltd and I enjoyed every moment of my employment with this company. Hutchinsons were recognized as being the leading importers of fine foods in New Zealand, particularly imported cheese and as import restrictions were in force in the early years their import licenses were extremely valuable. As a new boy I was given many of the more menial tasks, such as sweeping the floor, cleaning cabinets and suchlike, but in-between I was asked to help out on the counter. The store was ringed by counters (no self service in those days) and we had a Biscuit/Bread counter, Groceries, Coffee counter, Cheese counter, Bacon & ham counter and a Delicatessen counter with cold meats, salamis etc. Most counters had two permanent staff but there were other staff moving around as required.

A typical  cheese display

Oh what a lot of fun! I learned how to cut 80lb cheeses, prepare hams and bacon for smoking, weigh and wrap a myriad of products (no sellotape, just brown paper bags or two size brown paper roll) the coffee counter had two huge glass grinders and one electric grinder for very fine coffee and we weighed everything from under-counter bins. The hours were from 8.30am to 5.15 Mon-Thurs and 8.30am to 8.30pm on Friday and we closed for the weekend and my initial pay was 4 pounds per week (prior to decimal coinage 10th July 1967)

Friday was Late shopping night in New Zealand and had a character all of it's own. This was the time when lot's of families came to Queen Street to shop at the large department stores and then maybe go to the movies. We were always very busy on Friday's and once we had finished our tea hour (dinner time) we usually started the major effort to clean up after a weeks work, while still serving customers. Trevor Miller was the Manager (one of the best bosses I ever had) and his Assistant was Dave Menzies who had been an excellent Rugby footballer and had been selected for the Maori All Black team who had played against a visiting Springbok team from South Africa in 1956. Dave had played in the back line (no 14) and was a fit and lean chap with a very competitive nature and of course his world revolved around Rugby or anything to do with our National sport (read religion) 

Springbok Rugby Tour

This was before the era of blatant racism, but we were aware of misgivings by the South Africans at playing "coloured folk" On Friday night he would hold court with a number of famous Local and National heroes who would come into the shop and converse with Dave. Maunga Emery, Snow White and Eric Boggs are names that come to mind and we looked on in awe of these blokes who had featured in the newspapers. Dave had played a test at Eden Park against a tough Springbok team with over 51686 people attending and was quite a hero amongst the staff. I was able to show him my missing front tooth from my own Junior rugby career, but it didn't seem to interest him very much. (I wonder if my tooth is still lodged in that large Polynesian thigh of classmate Joe Cowan, after I tried to tackle him when he was going flat out?") I have tried to find out where Dave went to after he left Hutchinsons, but to no avail so far.

A Classic 56 Rugby Cartoon

I really enjoyed Friday Nights and the atmosphere, especially at Christmas time and I certainly wouldn't like to  be in a retail environment under today's regime, where shops are hardly ever closed! I do feel personally that we have lost something and it can't be very helpful to family home life if Mum or Dad has to work on weekends and have time of in lieu during the week. Oh well, I guess that's life in this day and age. 

I often think that my generation has had the best of days!