Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Christmas clean up

I've been busy outside lately and have composed several blogs in my mind whilst I'm working; what a shame that I don't remember them when I come inside. What I really, really want for Christmas is a wireless receiver that picks up my thoughts and converts it to text - what a timesaver!

We've had good weather with warm temperatures and the grass has grown fast enough to need cutting again. My scrub-bar technique is improving on the flat but I struggle on the uneven ground. A long-term plan is to fill up the holes so that I could use a lawnmower; an easy job with Taranaki soil but almost impossible with the unrakeable clay here. Just thought of another Christmas gift idea - a magic wand that I can wave after trimming the grass that 'freezes' all growth so I don't have to do it again!!

Working outside in the late evening has a magic all of its own; the birds with their evensong, the frogs starting to croak and, if I'm very lucky, hearing a kiwi call. Yesterday a tornado-like cloud formation was worth going inside to grab the camera.

No tornados here - just a dark cloud being shaped by the wind
The sky further round to the left

My seed order from Kings Seeds arrived and I've had a good strike from the Oriental and Italian mescluns, Drunken Woman lettuce and red coral mizuna.

Italian and Oriental mesclun nearest the camera; EcoStore mesclun and
red coral mizuna in other mussel buoy
The other vegetables are growing well apart from the beetroot that grew well on top but not underneath the soil. When trimming the plants for Bokashi, I found a number of visitors on the leaves...
A honey bee with a damaged left wing

Hmm, not sure what this is so will put it up on NatureWatch

A leaf-roller caterpillar damaging the new growth on the rosemary
A highlight for this week was Stuff.co.nz's article on the release of 18-19th century images from the British Library. The pics are on Flickr and although I can't find any for Stewart Island there's still heaps to sift through and enjoy.

One of the British Library pics, published 1870

Moa and kiwi - and is that a takahe third from left??