Why we needed a Bucket to reach the Pole

Heavy Summer rain

This week has been another "Character building" experience. Our Summer weather has deteriorated into days of absolutely hot muggy days that have featured extremely localised heavy rain throughout Northland. We have had dumps of 16mm to 42 mm in a very short period, followed by thick cloudy periods of humidity and it has been uncomfortable when trying to sleep or do any manual work. Lot's of fluid required!

The very dry conditions earlier in the month meant very hard ground, where even digging in a pigtail for the electric fence induced a painful reaction from my knee. It also meant that some electric wires on a power pole that feeds power to our pump house must have cracked and at the first shower of rain these wires shorted out. Poor Lyn got a hang of a fright when she was collecting produce. Just as she arrived on the deck there was a loud cracking noise followed by sparks and smoke from the power pole! The pump draws water from our river and is mainly for all outdoor watering, cattle troughs and our toilet. Fortunately we have an alternative source of water if there is a power outage and this saves an awful lot of drama.

Overflowing gutters

We rang the NorthPower faults office and left all the details and advised the receptionist that we would be absent from the property all Monday (two days later). We were pleasantly surprised when a technician arrived two hours later and he advised that the wires were the problem, but that the pump would probably still work ok until the next lot of rain, when it would blow a pole fuse. He then told us that because the poles were old and wooden he was not allowed to climb them to fix the fault and we would have to wait until a bucket truck arrived to lift them to the top of the pole. He suggested that as the poles could be dangerous, they would need to be replaced with concrete poles and he would arrange an inspector to call and give us a quote to do the replacements. Sheesh!

As we drove out of our drive the next morning, a large bucket truck arrived and I was able to show the crew where the faulty pole was and then we left them to fix the problem. On our return everything was all fixed and working properly. The Inspector arrived on Tuesday morning and after taking measurements and hobbling around the pump house (he had a bad attack of gout) he came up with some suggestions and ideas on how to rectify the ongoing hassle of the old poles and we are going to finally get a decent and safe supply of power. I gave him some suggestions on how to ease the pain of gout!

The intriguing thing about all this procedure is that although we are not allowed to touch anything to do with power coming onto our property, if anything goes wrong either with the equipment or other items relating to a power outage, we are responsible to pay for any repairs or maintenance as well as pay our monthly power bills. A user pays society indeed!

The Corn is as High as an Elephant's Eye

Honey Sweet Corn

This week on the Farm has been very busy and being self sufficient in most areas is another benefit of a lifestyle block. Summer of course is our prime growing season.

 "The Corn is as High as an Elephants Eye: and will be ready to eat any day soon. My recipe book says to put the pot of water on, go and pick the corn and eat when ready, but Lyn uses a long glass casserole dish in the microwave and it seems to cook the corn to perfection. (not sure how long, cause that's a Mothers secret!) I knob of butter on top and fresh ground pepper …YUM!

Delicious Baby 100s

The Garlic, Onions, Shallots are all dried and tied and hanging in the shed. Fresh picked beans (dwarf and climbing) Tomatoes of all sizes and shapes, (love those little Baby 100s eaten straight off the vine as you walk past) Capsicums, red, green and yellow, Garden peas with mint, Potatoes of 4 varieties, Lettuce, Strawberries, Boysenberries, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower and not forgetting Courgettes (sliced in half, with melted cheese and herbs), Beetroot, Spring onions & Lettuce are handy for salads

We have already planted some Brussels Sprouts and a veggie combo is planned for next week. The combo has 2x Cabbage, Cauli and Broccoli and I have made up some rubber pipes and netting to foil the white butterfly. Seems to have worked so far. We have another vegetable patch away from the main garden and this is planted with Pumpkins, Squash and a late crop of potatoes. The recent rain, followed by hot sunny days has ensured this area is well stocked with weeds, but I can see that the squash is quite large this year. The variety we prefer is a breed named "Corporal" and they are usually nice and dry with a sweet nutty flavour. Great for roasting and like the corn need a small knob of butter and fresh ground pepper when served.

Bird Proof Boysenberries

The Passion fruit vines are loaded and I keep thinking of Vanilla ice cream with passion fruit topping and my favourite home baked passion fruit square! I am working on plans to construct a special netting covered area in the old commercial polyhouse area and concentrate on berries, maybe Raspberries, Blueberries, Boysenberries (thorn less!) and if I have space a few other specialty varieties. We have tried Raspberries in the past, but the birds ate them before we could get them covered and the weather is too warm up here in Northland for many varieties. We netted the Boysenberries early this year and were rewarded with a huge crop of ripe fruit. Lovely with ice cream and during the cold months, delicious in a sponge pudding with cream.

Ripening Bananas

My new crop of Bananas have produced their first bunch and I look forward to plenty more in future. They may be a small variety, but their taste is intense and much nicer to eat than the bought varieties.Tamarillos, Macadamia Nuts, Avocados Red & Green Grapes ( looks like a huge crop here) Guavas, Quinces and a few other fruit trees make up our crops. The Plums, Nectarines, Apricots, Pears, Feijoas have failed miserably this year, but the weather at the start of Summer didn't help.

Our two Macadamia trees have kept us oversupplied in beautiful edible nuts and I am hoping to purchase a new Macca Cracker this month, so that the cracking process is less tedious and you can get more nuts for cooking, much quicker. Unfortunately our Walnut and Chestnut trees don't do very well in our warmer climate either and seem to get mouldy before we can harvest them.

I have been called an "Impatient Gardener" but I hope to get the Brussel sprouts and Leeks underway next week while the weather is warm.

Here is a video of some of our Garden Produce

Tragedy as old friend is mown down...

You know how everyone has a favourite piece of apparel, be it slippers, a comfy shirt or blouse or a cap. In my case it is a Cardigan, Fawn coloured, 4ply Exlan (admittedly artificial) but nice and light and wonderful for those mornings when you just need to take off the chill in the morning air. Lyn knitted this wonderful garment about 25 years ago and I have worn it constantly. It has been mended in weak spots (elbows etc) and Lyn has knitted two sleeves out of the last couple of balls of wool in anticipation of further wear and tear and I had hoped it would last for many more years.. YOU CAN'T BUY EXLAN ANY MORE!

Badly damaged evidence!

I was mowing the lawns with my Husquvarna Ride On and I came across my Cardigan lying by our Pin Oak, where I had left it earlier in the day when we were cutting and collecting bamboo. I picked it up and carefully placed it on my seat and continued mowing. As I approached the deck area where I was going to unload the cardigan, I spied a grassy area that Lyn had cleared for me and carried on mowing, up and down. Suddenly the mower stopped! I tried to start it again, but to no avail and I looked down at the catcher to see if I could spot the problem. I noticed what looked like tiny bits of string and wondered if I had caught some garden twine in the twin blades. Got off the mower and lifted the grass catcher and then I saw what it was! My Cardigan had slipped off the seat behind me and I had run it over as I backed up!! I just couldn't believe it and I have been sad all day as it was like losing an old friend. I backed it up a ramp and because of my arthritic knee problem, Lyn crawled underneath for an hour trying to unwind it from the blades but to no avail. She had to get some scissors and cut it out and what a forlorn mess. Shredded does not do justice to the damage and I am in mourning.

A challenge to repair

Please, please, if anyone knows where to get some 4 ply Exlan, please get in touch. Lyn has offered to knit a replacement using some Exlan she had left over, but this is a small amount of brown and the rest is green, not exactly what I had in mind. Probably ok as camouflage in Army maneuvers'.

I might have to have a single malt whisky tonight to honour "The Cardigan"  Just as well I didn't give it a formal name!

A side note to the Husky Mower.

"Husky" The Mower

After years of using a large walk behind Honda mower, we agreed that a ride on mower would save time and effort, especially as we started having a few health issues. I managed to get a good deal from a local supplier and we bought one for me and one for the Caledonian Society at a very good discount.

The day after the mower was delivered brand new from the showroom I was learning how to drive and use all the nice gadgets that came with it. Unfortunately my gumboots were a bit wide for the pedals and instead of reversing, I managed to hit the forward pedal and rammed the front into a low branch of our Apple tree. The bonnet got jammed and as I tried to regain control of the situation, I panicked and hit the wrong pedal again, jamming it even tighter. When I finally managed to reverse, the whole front bonnet was crushed and one light was hanging down, held only by the wires. With an embarrassed demeanor, I looked around to see if anyone had witnessed this spectacle, but fortunately nobody saw what happened. The Husqvarna agent called after a week to take the mower back to the workshop for a complete Free after sales inspection and he was startled when we drove the mower out of the shed. Not only was the front crushed, but one tyre had punctured and a wheel that balances the twin blades had fallen off and I had inadvertently run over it. He didn't comment, but the look on his face said it all! When he returned the fully repaired machine a week later they had fitted a couple of metal bars across the front of the mower and he also delivered a free 45 page manual on repairs!

Perhaps they should have donated a nice little trailer to tow behind for loose items of clothing.