Conservation Week

Today is the last day of Conservation Week. We've had a number of activities on the island - the Mill Creek walk on Monday was postponed until Wednesday which then clashed with a weeding session at Lonnekers that I went to. We spent a couple of hours pulling weeds from around the natives planted last year, fuelled on by some yummy chocolate cake!

Lonnekers Beach - looking towards the village

Lonnekers Beach - looking the other way

I had a lovely walk in the sunshine to the Stewart Island Community Native Plant Nursery on Thursday, arriving just before a hail storm! There's lots of work to do there at this time of year - I pricked out a number of Stilbocarpa lyalli (Punui) seedlings - it's a rare megaherb that can grow to 1m or more but prone to rat and browsing mammal damage.

On Friday I was out with the weeds team hunting barberry - I've been taking my weeds kit (gloves, folding saw and Vigilant gel) when I've been walking and zapping barberry along the roadside. It's a shame that Darwin's Barberry is such a nuisance as it's very pretty when it's in flower, and the birds obviously enjoy eating the berries when they form!

Darwin's Barberry in flower

Conservation Week wraps up this evening with a conservation-theme to the famous Stewart Island Pub Quiz. Quizmaster Extraordinaire, Vicki Coats, featured on Close Up this week and her pub quiz at the South Seas Hotel is a must-see if you are on the island on a Sunday evening.

An Inconvenient Truth

I found my old 2006 diary this morning and had a peek to see what I was up to on this day. I was surprised that it's been 5 years since I first saw 'An Inconvenient Truth', the Oscar-winning documentary about climate change. I then got to thinking how the movie had altered my perspective and what changes I had made to my lifestyle since September 2006.

I can't find the online ecological footprint calculator that I used five years ago but after some radical changes to my lifestyle (bike rather than take the car, grow my own veges, eat less meat) I used the equivalent of 3.8 worlds - just under half the NZ average of 8 worlds per person.

Fast forward to September 2011. I completed the footprint calculator tonight at http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/ - choose Australia as New Zealand isn't included yet. Moving to a smaller house and not having petrol-driven transport result in dropping my footprint to 2.3 - I can get it down to 1.9 if I eat less meat and only buy packaging that can be recycled. Of course, living on an island means higher transport costs but hopefully I'm using far less than before and the island is committed to recycling as much as possible. Besides, I can't feel smug until I have my footprint down to 1 world or less :)

I have my first roster stint for the museum tomorrow 12-1.30pm - I take the entry fee ($2 adults, 50c children, free for locals) and turn the lights on. It will be a good opportunity to learn the history of my new home. I'll do my rat lines afterwards, then come home for a hot shower - the novelty of having one still hasn't worn off!

The Rugby World Cup has kicked off with an impressive opening ceremony and game - well done All Blacks. Conservation Week is next week too - I hope it gets equal billing with the rugby!!

Who's stealing my spare time?

Writing a blog from Stewart Island should be easy - there's heaps of things to write about, I'm not working and I now have a reliable internet connection. The only problem is that there's so much going on that finding spare time is harder than ever! I've got some more barberry work coming up so I'll have to go looking for a few more hours in the day!

September burst forth with an amazing performance of Peter Pan, proudly presented by Halfmoon Bay School. A packed Community Centre watched spellbound as Peter Pan sprinkled fairy dust on Wendy, John and Michael to make them fly; the 'fearsome' ticking Crocodile chased after Captain Hook; mermaids blew bubbles; Tiger Lily escaped from the pirates and the Lost Boys listened to Wendy's stories. Thanks to everyone involved - the sets, orchestra, cast and costumes showed how much effort went into this but it was well worth it! I took some photos and video with my mobile phone but not sure how I transfer them to my computer.

On Friday I discovered a fun new tool on Resene's website - www.resene.co.nz/picturepalette - you can upload a low res photo for free and the Resene Palette Generator turns it into a palette of Resene colours. I spent a few hours sending up photos of the bush around me to get an idea of what colour I could paint the exterior of my new home. It would also be good for choosing colours for flower beds, patchwork and interior decoration - great for someone like me who have problems picking colours.

I also walked down to the Bay to get my mail and had a lovely surprise - Mum had sent me the 'NZ Bird Calls' book complete with CD so I played with colours whilst listening to squawks and whistles.

Saturday morning was museum volunteer training time - I found out how to open up, take money and answer basic questions and I put it all to the test next Saturday when I do it on my own. I then went off to check my rat lines, took Mac for a walk and walked home for a well-deserved rest.

Sunday started late as I slept in until 9.30am! I had to make up for it by sawing firewood and trying out my new slashers on the reeds around the house. The physical exercise was later matched by a brain workout at the famous Stewart Island Pub Quiz, starting at 6.30pm. Our team of Raylene, Sue, Rod, Ivan and me had a lot of fun and got a fourth place.

Monday was finish sawing the wood under the tarpaulin and stacking it in the woodshed. So great to have that job done and the area tidied up. So far I've only used my bowsaw and not my chainsaw - easier on the environment and burns more calories! Then off to the Bay in the afternoon to look at the concept plans for the new museum and information centre building - very impressive and so exciting if it goes ahead. Opus Architects had made a 3D model and were on hand to answer questions.

Today (Tuesday) it was up early and off to check my rat lines - no rats this time - and on the way back I zapped some barberry bushes. They are easy to spot at present as they are starting to flower. I had a cruisy afternoon cooking dinner for Raylene - corned silverside, roast veges and mustard sauce, with spiced plum pudding and custard for dessert. Very yummy and nice to be able to offer meals now that I have a flushing toilet again!

Tomorrow is a work day doing barberry so I guess I'd better get to bed. Thanks everyone for your comments - it's lovely to find out how to add them (go to Post Comment, type in your text then Select profile of Name/URL and then just add your name). Let me know if it works for you.

Have a great week...



Cloudspotting

As Member No. 1017 of The Cloud Appreciation Society, I have a responsibility to gaze long and often at the sky! Blue skies are fine for a while but cloudy ones are heaps more interesting. If you like clouds then check out http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/ (go on, sign up!!) and NZ's own http://www.metvuw.com/index.php

We get some fabulous cloud formations on the island - my favourite at the moment are lenticular clouds that look like alien motherships come to check out our planet. Last Monday (29 August) I was walking home around 4.15pm via Hicks Road and there was a stunning cloud covering most of the northwestern sky and looking similar to an enormous tornado. I didn't have my camera with me and the view from home, whilst still impressive, didn't have the impact as that from Hicks Road which showed lighter lenticular-shaped clouds and 'falling debris' within the dark mass.

The cloud remained in place until dark only changing when some holes appeared with the sun's rays shining through.

There were a few spots of rain after I got home but certainly not the downpour I was expecting from such a dark cloud. Magical!

TV1 news that night did mention interesting clouds over Wellington and said that they were caused by ice crystals in the atmosphere so that might be the explanation for this cloud. Whatever it was, it's made me aware that I need to carry my camera at all times!

Are there any other cloud-lovers out there?

Almost Spring Cleaning

A big thank you to my neice, Leisha, who has left a 'comment' by logging in as Anonymous - well done for cracking this. Can someone else please try it out and jot down some basic instructions in their comments.

Thanks too, Leish, for your blog - it inspires me to keep mine up to date as well!

I've had a very cruisy week getting over a cold but feeling good enough to tackle a refit of the house. The new 'office' was rechristened 'library' complete with 3 bookcases, a sideboard and my CD player (currently playing Based on a True Story by Fat Freddy's Drop). It's a lovely sunny little nook looking out on to the bush - I need to put some artwork on the bare walls and maybe look for a funky folding chair or bean bag. How's this for a work of art...

Tulip Folding Chair

Moving the sideboard meant I had more space in the dining area so that was the next area to tweak. Here's the before and after photos:

Kitchen before alterations

Kitchen/dining area after moving microwave and oven

Kitchen/dining area 31 August

I'll live with this for a while but am pleased with the overall feel - it's a lot more spacious and the 4-drawer unit fits snugly into the space left after moving the washing machine and is now home to dry goods, cooking stuff and root vege storage. The bench top is badly bowed and I have plumbing that needs to be blocked off so I may look at getting a flat-packed joinery unit from the stove to the back wall, but that's in the 10 year plan!

Happy Spring to those downunder and an awesome Autumn to everyone else :)

A shower worth waiting for

My bathroom alterations were completed just before I went north so I was unable to try out the shower before I left. I did have time to take some photos though...

Finished wet room - shower and toilet on the left,
washing machine and laundry tub on the right

I've spent 5 weeks away and wondered many times what my new shower might be like. The new Flipside showerhead looked impressive but would it perform as well as advertised? Would the water pressure be invigorating or a tad feeble?

Last Sunday was S-Day - the christening of my new shower. Certainly no problems with water pressure and, despite trying, I couldn't make up my mind which of the four shower sprays was my favourite! The Kohler Flipside is a low-flow head that 'flips' into four different positions, each with a different spray - see the pic below from the Kohler website:



Each spray is wonderful - I can see that I'll have a lot of fun experimenting and am very pleased with its performance. The shower enclosure is an Englefield Sapphire Round 900x900 shower - just perfect!

The Robinhood laundry tub and washing machine both work well and complete my new 'wet room'. What's that saying... oh yes, 'Good things take time'!!

Off-island experience

I totally miscalculated how much 'spare' time I'd have on my first trip back to my old hometown. As you can see by my lack of blogs, the last 5 weeks went far too quickly. I'm now back on island time and can blog to my heart's content!

I had a few misgivings about returning to a city again: would I forget where I was and walk in the middle of the road, and would I remember how to ride my pushbike? I was relieved to find that I automatically slotted in, just as though I'd taken one outfit off and replaced it with another. A wee bit shaky on the bike for the first 10 seconds, then it was all go - just as well as I clocked up many kms over the next few weeks.

It was lovely seeing friends, family and workmates again and reassuring to find that nothing much had changed; I loved walking the west coast beaches again and cycling along the walkway was a great way to bike without having to worry about the traffic. Work took up most of the first two weeks but it was satisfying to end my contract with most loose ends tied up. It was a privilege to work with such lovely people - I'll have to rent a car next time I'm up so that I can visit the lovely ladies at Stratford and Hawera - I'll bring morning tea!

The Weather Gods blessed me up north as well and I walked and biked for hours without getting wet. A huge surprise was having 40 minutes of snow in town on the morning that I was scheduled to leave. Needless to say, air travel was disrupted due to heavy snow in both Wellington and Invercargill - no doubt it was snowing on the island but it had all gone by the time I finally arrived home.

It's nice to know that my 'city' side is just in hibernation and that I still fit in - although maybe my clothing could do with a bit of a spruce up! I had made a long shopping list and it was fun unpacking my large box stuffed full of goodies such as tools, kitchen stuff, paint charts and waterproof overtrousers. The cost to post a box 520W x 420D x 300H and weighing 23kg was around $30 so a reasonable way to get those items I can't source on the island.

There's so many highlights of my trip away - especial thanks to those who accommodated me and my growing pile of possessions; I loved 'Soap' - amazing performance; neat to take part in WIA activities again; lots of yummy food and drinks and lovely to spend time with family and friends. I'll be more organised next time, I promise!!



So... it's back to walking in the middle of the road again and looking out on to native bush rather than buildings and traffic. I've been doing some work on Ulva Island since I got back and it's so lovely to listen to the birds as I walk round - the strident calls of tieke (saddleback), the high-pitched 'zit' of titipounamu (rifleman) and the exuberant song of the toutouwai (bush robin).

Ulva Island - Post Office Bay

Ulva Island jetty

There seems to be a problem with adding comments on this blog so I'll have to investigate the settings. I thought I'd taken off all restrictions but it looks as though users still have to log in to their blogger or google account. If anyone has any solutions, then I'd love to hear from you.

Have a wonderful week...