Sunday, November 18, 2012

Back in the big smoke

So much for saying I'd be able to post more regular blogs. With some great Spring weather, I've been a busy bee outside AND have used my chainsaw - both under supervision and all on my own! At last count I still have all my fingers and toes but realise I have heaps to learn. Thanks, Noel, for your patient tutoring.

I spent a couple of lovely sunny days in Invercargill earlier this month and, at long last, have activated my DOC credit card and had some training with the guys in the Invercargill office. They are based on the 7th floor with this incredible view...


My shopping list was a mile long and I buzzed round after work to buy as many of them as I could. If I had a magic wand, I'd definitely move E. Hayes and Sons (Hammer Hardware) to the island. So much choice in all the essential items of nails, fencing staples and steel-toe boots. Just as well the shops offer a freight service to the island otherwise I would have looked like Santa Claus dragging a big sack.

Invercargill has some lovely old buildings - here's the town hall...


Close up of the decorative plaster work
One of my home projects was to modify the woodshed - it's a great Outpost Building woodshed with 3 large bays but I found that I was putting wet wood in front of the wood that was already stacked and dry. I've put a partition wall up and that's worked well. Today I've hung up a salmon net in the roof space and thrown all the kindling up. So far, so good - I have a lot more kindling than I thought so will be set for the next 10 years :)

Newly-added partition boards

30 mins after starting this morning - most of the kindling is under
the blue tarpaulin

Salmon-netting hammock - will it work??

The finished job. Room now to stack my newly-chainsawed firewood
in underneath the netting.
Another project I've ticked off is getting all my rat traps out and installing a Goodnature A12 Possum trap. I've doubled up my rat traps with one of the pair having chocolate bait and the other blue icing sugar mix. So far the chocolate is winning with no rats caught with the other bait. I haven't found any possums under the Goodnature trap - it's a new-fangled thing that has a wee compressed air gas cylinder that resets the trap 12 times before needing replacement. I'll keep you posted on any furry bodies!

Green rat traps at the base and the new
Goodnature possum trap above


Close-up of my new possum trap
I haven't spent a lot of time with my camera lately but had to stop and take photos of the fallen rata flowers on my Deep Bay rat lines - they looked so pretty on the forest floor...