Birds and the Bees, Flowers and Trees

Birds:

I have been watching a very determined shiney Starling trying to break into the Chook Tractor, and steal their food, for the last 20 minutes!!  What a funny sight - he is very very determined, single-minded as he hops around the cage, looking for the opening he discovered this morning when my daughter went to take them out and put them into mobile scratching cages, and forgot to close the door.  Having closed it, now the Starling cannot believe his bad luck, as he hops all along the chicken mesh - "Where is the opening, I know it's here somewhere.... I used it a little while ago....".  Quite comical to watch.

The chickens have become a nuisance, skrawking all day long.  They are driving us nuts!  They have begun to lay, but start to make a ruckus at about 5.50am, precipitating me having to rush downstairs in my pj's to feed them and shush them in case the neighbours complain.  Well, I am getting a wee bit tired of that.  Specially since they eat and then start to squawk and screech again.  All blinking day long!  If we were not vegetarian....... chicken potluck stew!! My daughter reckons they are just communicating with us.  Couldn't they just chat quietly amongst their own kind??

On the subject of birds, our last Helpxchanger, Mekayla, painted an awesome picture of my favourite  NZ bird, the Kakapo, for my birthday!  It is life-like and covered in gold speckles which catch the light.  Such stunning ability to capture the likeness of this endangered bird.  I once wrote a children's story about the kakapo and tried to get it published to raise the awareness of this incredible bird - but it was rejected!  Didn't try any more...............  Don't know how most authors managed to keep on going till they found someone whowould publish their work!  Too busy with other things for that!

Did you know the Kakapo is the largest flightless parrot?  It weighs up to 5kg and is nocturnal?  It is highly endangered, owing to the fact it only lays 3 eggs every 2-3 years (if my memory serves me well).  In fact, there are less than 150 left.

Beautiful, beautiful Kakapo.

Our lovely American couple who stayed with us, set to work on the first Saturday morning with great enthusiasm.  They stacked 8 cubic metres of firewood in our new wood store, in a fraction of the time it would have taken us!  We got the wood at a bargain price (redwood!!) as it was a fundraiser for the local school. They also managed to turn the compost, clean out the water fountain (full of builder's dust), paint our old garden bench a brilliant blue,  aerate the soil which became compacted around the building site, lay several large flagstones, which are a remnant of our building, cook up delicious meals restaurant-style (Justin is a chef), paint an undercoat on our new solarium roof, weed acres of garden and then some!!  We miss them already!  Communal living is definitely the way to go to reduce stress!  It's like living with extended family, with fringe benefits!  

Of Bees:

When out and about in the garden these days, it is wonderful to hear the drone of bees at work.  There is a incessant buzz and hum out there in the garden.  Knowing these little miraculous workers of Nature are setting about not only collecting pollen and nectar for making honey, but also pollinating all our vegetables and fruit trees at the same time brings a buzz of joy to the heart!  Every now and then I catch a glimpse of a fat-bottomed bumble bee.  Man, wouldn't they just make the greatest little cuddly pets if only a little bigger?  All fluff and bum.

Of Flowers:

Along with the season of the bees, the garden is dressed in her finest - flowers bloom in every little neglected corner - some "weeds" and others, wild flowers.  I delighted to walk around on the weekend and snap some of the different species...Where I don't actually know the name of a flower, I make them up......my garden, my rules.....Forgive me.

I am sure to have missed some, and not all photos were usable - ever tried photographing flowers in a breeze - focus... click..... breeze.....blurred image!  Can be frustrating.

  

Cotton topped candyfloss poppies

Flanders poppies

Brilliant blue cornflowers

Sunshine WildThings

Chrysanthemum

Ruby-red Geranium

Wildflower daisy

Starburst Firework Flower

Calendula

Lavender

Globe Artichoke

Globe Artichoke

Neighbour's overhanging Tea-tree.... too good to ignore

Nasturtium

Fairy Party Hats

Chrysanthemum (Shingiku)

Feijoa flowers

Chamomile flowers

Phycellium (I think)

Gazania

Violets

Echium

Sweetpeas

Wildflower Gem

Fragrant Orange blossoms

Violets

Pear blossoms

Strelitzia (Paradise flower)
If I didn't know it's name, I'd call it Rhinoceros flower

Rosemary geranium whirls

Of Trees:

The feijoas are in beautiful bloom - with gorgeous Pohutukawa-like blossoms.  I laugh at my ignorance a few years back when they were small trees and blackbirds kept on coming to peck at the flowers.  I would rush out and shoo them away, to protect the flowers, 20 times a day or more!  It was only later I learned that birds are the pollinators for feijoas - so now I let them nibble to their heart's content.

Sadly, the peaches and nectarine have leaf curl - badly!  I guess it is because we were unable to spray organic copper at the required stages (weather was always against us) and the extremely wet winter we had.  We shall see what impact this has on fruit set - oh well, can't always have everything go well.  Maybe our pears and apples will shake off the coddling moth this year to make up for this stone fruit set-back.  The plums have set little pinkie-finger-sized fruits................. bring it on!!

Most other trees are looking like they have set new leaves and or flowers.  The citrus trees are full of fragrant blossoms - quite a heady experience to walk past.  The bananas have recovered from the heavy frosts.  All is good and well.

Of Other Matters:

We have concreted a pathway to the front door, as well as a mowing strip around the new solarium.  We moved in on Monday evening, creating a great little place to read, relax or chat.  I rushed home on Friday to poke bits and pieces into the concrete, as the thought of endless grey would do my head in.  It was a bit stressful to get home on time, as the concrete truck arrived earlier than expected and was already starting to set!  Probably just as well, as I only just managed to set a few bits of tiles in at random intervals.  Had I had my way (not always a good thing), it may have ended up resembling a Thai temple!   Shanti the cat seems to think we put the couches in the solarium just for her, so we are continuously shooing her out.  (We have rules in this house.........she takes absolutely no notice of them!!)

My Way and Kati KaiWay!

Wow!!  I have been running as fast as a mongoose between traps, with a hunter in hot pursuit!!  At last, I can breathe just a little deeper!  Since returning from our tropical holiday in Rarotonga, we have had 2 weeks of finishing off our solarium building project (so many little details to think of) and of course, getting all our ducks in a row in order to plant our first trees in a local reserve - Kati KaiWay is born!  A community project dedicated to planting fruit trees in a local reserve, in order to strenghten our town's economic resilience in the face of future economic uncertainty.  Free fresh fruit for all.  What an awesome project to be part of - it blew me away to see about 45 people attend, amazing to consider people gave up their precious weekend time to come and help dig and plant trees, for the good of the collective!  Heartwarming fuzzies!

A talented helpxchange American couple arrived in the midst of all the chaos of our lives, to live alongside us for 2 weeks.  Justin is a chef (lucky us!!) and has been cooking up a storm in the kitchen, giving me a much-needed break in the kitchen!  Mekayla is a jeweller-cum-artiste extraordinaire!  They have been a whole heap of help, allowing me to focus on the KaiWay project.  8 cubic metres of firewood has been beautifully stacked in our new recycled firewood shed.  Yeeha!  We will be very warm next winter!  And our firewood will be tinder-dry!  Makes sense to buy your firewood at the end of winter, for the following winter!

What a beautiful sight..... geometric patterns!

Paintings of African ladies, done by my sister-in-law , Mary-Anne Lang.

During the lead up to our Kati KaiWay project last Saturday, everything that could go wrong, did!  But on the day (Saturday), all was good and fine and well!  People pitched in, last minute plans were made and some miracles were performed!  We busied ourselves digging turf, loading barrows-ful of tree and leaf mulch for the extended fruit tree beds and planting feijoa and plum trees.  We will have to follow up with a second planting day next winter, to add the next groups of trees......... citrus, persimmons and figs.  By the end of it, I had to take a Nanna-Nap to recover!

On Sunday we worked in our garden, I managed to plant a whole bunch of new seedlings - Mignonette.  Did a wheelbarrow load of weeding and managed to set up the bird netting to protect the new fat strawberries that the birds are snacking on.  I also re-erected the blueberry enclosure.  

Strawberry netting

Blueberry enclosure to protect our budding blueberries and strawberries 

Set up another passionfruit trellis on left and bean frame on right. 

I've direct-sown some black Maori corn behind the bean frame, and new Hopi black beans on the bean frame.  Below are some further images taken on the weekend, I love the profusion of colour.......... It's great to see little buzzy bees and busy bumblebees at work.

Double flowered forget-me-nots

Little wildflower daisies

Wind-bullied fig with it's bandages and crutches recovering
 from a total face-planting in a storm 

Sage flowers under lemon tree

New recycled materials wood shed

Kati KaiWay participants getting briefed on planting

A plum tree bed with tree mulch

 Mekayla painted our old paint-peeling outdoor bench - a summer spruce up.  Wait till I upload the picture she painted for our new solarium wall..............

Newly painted bench by Mekayla

A week has passed since I started this post - the weather has improved and the garden is smiling!  

So am I!

Cat tricks and carrot sticks and a garden in my kitchen

Our little town has been inundated with rainfall deluges and windstorms to wipe out carports (our neighbours) - we have had more rain fall in our town than is a decent share for the entire African drought-stricken continent!  Winter rainfall, and now we are well into Spring and still it comes bucketing down!

Yellow winter/spring foods

Carrot Sticks

The foods we are harvesting of late, are hues of yellows and oranges!  Lots of natural lycopene and beta carotene!  Who needs to buy it in capsules when you can have the real McCoy!  Our carrots come in shades of yellow, orange and white - a visual delight!  We are having carrot sticks and houmous, grated carrot in salads, carrot stew and carrot soup.  Vitamin A in carrots aids the growth of healthy bones and teeth.  Carrots are packed with a nutrient called beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A by the body. Carrots are actually one of the best source of beta-carotene.    Vitamin A is vital for healthy vision and being able to see in dim light.

Our grapefruits have sweetened up and we enjoy one a day - whole or juiced.  Our tiny little oranges too, although having just sweetened up to eat, are in full blossom again!  The smell is one of my favourite olfactory sensations!

 As I write this, I am listening to Brenda Fassie's Vulindlela,  a great reminder of our African roots.  

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RvfDkzUOos

Wonderful stuff!

Cat Tricks

What can I say????  This is Shanti's latest trick!  We dare not leave the toilet door slightly ajar and she noses it open for a quick drink.  Uh, and she has a bowl of water half a meter away where we feed her but she seems to prefer this drinking hole!!!  Disgusting!

Our new cat trick!

Kitchen Garden

As gardening activites are somewhat severely curbed in torrential down-pouring or hurricaning weather, I have enjoyed my kitchen gardening.  Sprouting requires no soil.  Just a glass jar, a circle of netting or muslin, a tight elastic band and a selection of organic legumes, seeds or nuts.  My sprout of choice is mung beans.  They are sweet, crunchy and easy on the palate.  I pour twice as much water over mung beans and by the next day, they are fully hydrated and then it takes a twice daily rinsing and we are eating them in 3 days.  According to Ayurvedic practice, mung bean sprouts balance all three doshas, in other words, they are good for all of us!               

Sprouts.... kitchen gardening

Getting my bottles ready for preserving later in summer...

What do you do when you have a switch on your wall you would  rather not have?
Make it into a feature!!

Coming back from holiday, it was great to be able to walk out in our giant outdoor backyard supermarket and pick a basketful of Globe artichokes (yum), asparagus (not many), grapefruit, oranges, mandarins, a huge Violet Sicillian Cauliflower, leeks, silver beet, bunches of parsley and other herbs.  We are looking at planting up our new little secluded courtyard with yet more olives and frangipanis, to remind us of our tropical holiday!  Perhaps a hibiscus or two.  How exciting.............food for the soul!  If we can't change the weather, at least we can pretend a little.

Island Escape

Back home from our tropical holiday in Rarotonga.  Cook Islands.  Perfect weather conditions - 25 - 26 deg.C and one day we experienced 32 deg.C.  What I call real Summer weather.  We felt so amazing!  Our little cabin set high up on a hill, overlooking the lagoon and fringed with palm trees, was basic but self-contained.  We fed ourselves on local fare - yard-long beans, eggplants, tomatoes, paw paws, bananas and of course, coconuts!  We shared a coconut a day, juice (some have nearly 1 litre fresh coconut water inside) and jelly meat.  Older coconuts had thick flesh which we scraped out and ate like lollies.  

Paw paws were bought by the box-full, $7 for about 15!  A local elder heard about our paw paw feasting, laughed and said: "Plenty paw paw, plenty poo poo!"  How true!  That's because paw paw or papaya is rich in dietary fibre as well as antioxidants. Papain and chymopapain are 2 enzymes which help break down proteins into amino acids, which means it is an excellent digestive aid.  We gorged ourselves silly, by-passing the processed and packaged foods of supermarkets.  There are plenty opportunities to buy freshly baked organic breads from the markets and some shops.  And this we had for lunches, with aged malt-tasting island honey!  

We experienced a couple of grumpy stall and shop holders, they must get so tired of tourists!  And just when we were thinking negative thoughts, we experienced island generosity that blew us away!  We bought some bananas $2 for about 10 from a stall holder and discussed making our own food rather than eating out.  We raved about the fruits of the island we were eating.  She proceeded to tell us her name was Kaierangi, meaning food or manna from heaven!  She then gifted us a paw paw each.  After gratefully accepting her gifts, she then picked up a bunch of yard-long beans and gave them to us.  I tried weakly to protest but was simply met with another gift of a huge firm eggplant - a meal for 4 in itself!  We were so humbled by that immense level of generosity!  Everything she had grown on her land!  We tried to look out for her again to repay her generosity but the next market day was raining and deserted of stall-holders.

Island fare

On the island, my own personal solar panels soaked up the vitamin D and sun-rays in gulps!  Being a sun-worshipper means I am  running on  severely low battery for about 8 months of the year in NZ!  Land of the Long White Cloud............... being back, catching up on building updates and the weather blues.  It is mid Spring, and cold and rainy.  A great welcome home!

Wigmore's Waterfall

I made some insect spray to take along - what a blessing, as mosquitoes can literally suck you dry!  Into a small 125ml spray bottle, I nearly fill it with filtered water, add a teaspoon gin (for preserving and an oil dispersant) and 5 - 10 drops of the following essential oils: lavender, geranium, tea-tree and peppermint.  I then add about 20 drops of citronella oil.  A quick shake before use and it has the most pleasant smell and does a fantastic job!  I never stick to a precise recipe - too boring!  Each time it changes.  Have just made up a new one for home use as we used it all up on our trip.

We took a 3 hour hike in the Takitumu Conservation Area and were very glad of the insect repellent!  Our guide, Tom, was 14 days off of his 80th birthday and we were all huffing and puffing up the mountain behind his easy striding.  We got to see the highly endangered Kariori bird or Rarotonga flycatcher, which is bright yellow as a juvenile, and turns grey later on in life!  What a thrill!

Below are some images of the flora we found.  I have no idea of their botanical name:

Reminds me of Crab Claws

Reminds me of a Thai temple

And of course the beaches and lagoon............ what sheer unadulterated bliss to lie soaking up the sun's rays and viewing the aqua waters and vibrant skies.  The sun is so bright that it reflects off the sand and water and literally hurts the eyes!!  What wonderful light if you were a painter...........

 We watched a wedding take place right in front of our eyes, as we lounged on deck chairs in the sand!

My daughter and husband did the snorkelling thing, coming back all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, with descriptions of amazing fish they had encountered.  I was happy to view the posters of local tropical fish in a nearby roadside cafe!  I have never been adventurous, and to immerse my head under water and perhaps come face to face with something creepy is not my sense of fun!  So I watched them snorkel, from the safety of the sand!  I did however, have a couple of swims both in the lagoon and hotel pool!!  

I know,  a wuss!  But some of us have a low adventure threshold - 'tis me!

Muri Lagoon

Wedded bliss

Pretty little bridesmaids

Crystal clear water

And how is a tropical destination sustainable?  Forget the carbon miles, 3.5hrs flying time gets us to a holiday destination that sustains my sun-loving soul!  I can handle this gloomy Spring weather now, much better than before!  And financially, my husband puts a small amount of savings every week into a travel fund................ our holiday is paid for before we even take it!  It's preferable to flying now and paying later............ for the rest of the year, long after holiday memories have faded.

Next year we are planning a Fiji getaway.  We never did get there, after planning to go a few years back when 3 days before our flights, George Speight overthrew the government and we were advised not to go on account of travelling with children as it could have been unsafe!  Let's hope there are no military take-overs planned for next year July!

Before we left to Raro

Progress when we returned.....

In the mean time, we hope to spend some time in our solarium or sun room and think back to warmer times on the island...........  It's blowing a gale outside!  Come on sunshine!  I have seeds to sow and food to grow...........