Vege garden update

It's all go in the vege garden despite some wintry weather. I'm thrilled to be picking silverbeet again and although the courgette seeds didn't sprout, everything else has been a success. The photos were taken on 6 November.

The Warehouse had some good gardening specials and I bought a couple of different garden 'cages' to keep the birds (and other pests) off my young seedlings. I've set up the cloche one but the larger cage needs some thought over where it will go. Maybe I'll have to do the tyre retaining wall first but it could be a while as I'm still waiting for the tyres to arrive.

Cloche-type cover with bird netting on the raised bed. The rhubarb
has put on a growth spurt and the white currants in the
foreground are flowering profusely

Inside the shade house are silverbeet, broccoli, beetroot and potatoes

The potato plants are growing higher and higher!

A kiwi has been visiting lately but it's a bit worrying to find prints like this on my driveway...

Kiwi and small dog footprints on the same night

The prints were 10-15m from the road so the dog must have been off the lead; I haven't seen any small dogs being walked around here but there are plenty of big dogs. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled - it only takes one loose dog to wipe out the kiwi in the area.

The orchids are growing well with most of the tutukiwi (greenhood orchids) out in flower - I'll pop up some photos in the next week or two. Here's a bank of Thelymitra (sun orchids) - they'll look stunning once out in flower.

A mass of Thelymitra (the green spikes) growing on the bank at the side of the road

Vege update

The cold spell last week didn't slow the growth of the vege plants probably because I still have most of them either under plastic or in the greenhouse. They are bigger each time I look at them, see how they have grown in the last three weeks. The potatoes are also growing well and the new seeds have sprouted and will be ready for transplanting in a week or so.

Transplanted silverbeet seedlings. I bought these tree protector sleeves off
this TradeMe link - 25 of them for $12.90 + $5 postage (opens in new window)

Compare this photo with this one taken 22 September (scroll down). The
plants under the green plastic sleeves were taken from the front rows in
the September photo to give the others more space.

There's a large crop of fungi in one silverbeet bag - I was hoping that it might
be an edible one but NatureWatch guru, Clive, identified it as a Peziza spp
Check it out here (opens in new window)

A wee dandelion flowerhead stopped me in my tracks the other day - it looked so pretty with the heavy dew/slight frost glistening in the sunshine. I managed to fit in some photos before carrying on to work.

Further to yesterday's blog on Save the Kiwi Week, I will soon be the proud owner of this Pauline Morse limited-edition print of the Stewart Island Southern Tokoeka - there are three different prints of her kiwi paintings for the fundraiser, check them out this TradeMe link.

Last but definitely not least - consider buying Lorde's album, Pure Heroine. It's so far removed from bubblegum pop that just plays in the background; she's got a delightful voice with interesting music and poetic lyrics. I'm surprised how often the tunes pop into my head but then read this Stuff article this morning that explains why. My only criticism of the album is that it finishes too soon!! What an amazing talent.

One for the birds

Daylight saving has given me a second chance to listen to the dawn chorus when I get up at 6.30am for work. It's not easy to capture surround-sound with a wee camera but with help from Audacity to amplify the audio and Movie Maker to create a movie, I hope I can share the experience with you. Korimako (bellbird, Anthornis melanura) make up most of the sound; Captain Cook described its song as "it seemed to be like small bells most exquisitely tuned". Here's 90 seconds of the dawn chorus on 9 October 2013 (974Kb):

 

There are several riroriro (grey warbler, Gerygone igata) territories around and their warbling song is very loud for such a small bird. They will be busy rearing clutches before the long-tail cuckoo arrives and lays eggs in the riroriro nests. I couldn't see the riroriro but here's the audio (15 secs, 329Kb) and there's a lovely picture of one at http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/grey-warbler



As I walked home this morning I heard a putangitangi (Paradise shelduck, Tadorna variegate) female calling to her mate. Her shrill cries remind me of a nagging woman and the male's deep honk sounds like he's saying 'yes, dear'. They are only found in New Zealand and they mate for life. You can just make out the female on the left (with the white head) and the dark-coloured drake just to the right and walking towards her. More info can be found at http://www.nzbirds.com/birds/putangi.html (25 seconds, 414Kb).



I didn't have my camera out last Friday at midnight when the noisy rustling out from the deck turned into a kiwi. Carla and I were standing on the deck and we both saw it; exactly what I came down to the island to see. Monday 14 October is the start of 'Save the Kiwi' Week and with your help maybe future generations will be able to see kiwi in the wild too. Check out http://www.trademe.co.nz/stores/kiwis-for-kiwi for special kiwi deals, or maybe pop a donation in the collection bucket at DOC.