Liquid Summer sunshine!

The start of another month and the first day of Summer. Whilst most of Aotearoa has been baking under sunny skies, the bottom of the South Island has had a succession of fronts bringing strong winds, rain and the occasional hail storm. We've had enough sunshine between the showers to warm my house up and with the double-glazing keeping the heat in, I've had no need to light my fire despite cool night temperatures outside. Great for the environment and my wood stocks, getting double-glazing was certainly a good investment for me.

I've taken advantage of the inclement weather by curling up inside with the book, Existence, by David Brin. It was recommended to me and what a great, thought-provoking read it is. Published in the US on 1 June 2012, the story is based on our Earth in 2050 when contact is made with 'aliens'. Cleverly drawing parallels with the present issues of climate change, overpopulation, Big Brother and human nature, Brin weaves a fascinating tale of what happens when life outside our solar system makes contact. Is it science fiction - or is it non-fiction for the future!!

I bought my copy from http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Existence-David-Brin/9780765303615

My new bed arrived a couple of weeks ago and a friend help me get it from the ferry wharf and bring it home. I had to move the linen cupboard and chest of drawers to swap beds and I had my new bed installed and made an hour later.

My new mattress and base from Brownies Mattress Direct, Invercargill

The view from the wharf

I was surprised to find the new bed shorter than the 1900mm standard - not quite sure how it lost 8 or 9cm but it's only just over 1800mm long. Just as well I'm a shortie! It's lovely and firm and doesn't sag in the middle and I'm sleeping well. Brownies offer free freight to the island which is a huge bonus.

What a pretty tree/shrub Makomako/Wineberry (Aristotelia serrata) is, especially at this time of year when prolific flowers of varying hues smother the branches. Check out the details on the wonderful T.E.R.R.A.I.N (Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network) website http://www.terrain.net.nz/friends-of-te-henui-group/table-1/wineberry-makomako.html

Makomako flowers

The new flowers are almost colourless, then deepen to pinks and reds as they age. Black/red berries ripen on the female trees in late summer and, in the olden days, were used as a drink (squeezed and strained to remove the bitter pips) by Māori or made into jam, jelly and wine by the settlers. It is deciduous on Stewart Island and there are several documented uses of its leaves, bark and wood.

Kiwi came visiting in the moonlight last Monday night; a female called three times within 30 minutes and then I heard them 'growling' close to the house. I saw one on the drive and another moving through the long grass by the deck - my smile was very broad as I went to bed that night! I'd spotted the weka family (Mum, Dad and just one chick) earlier that day, great to know that my rat trapping around the section is giving the birds a better chance of survival - along with the lizards and weta.

The weather surprised me on Thursday afternoon when I checked my rat lines over at Deep Bay. We'd had heavy showers all morning but the sun came out for a couple of hours as I checked my traps in the dry - just one heavy hailstorm as I walked home. Thank you Weather Gods!!

Check out the white caps past the sheltered waters of Deep Bay