Hi there folks.
Updates seem to becoming once a month, perhaps because we get more used to everything and so events are not as newsworthy as they were last year or the year before. I update now more to keep the blog going than because there is much new to report on.
Yes, it is holiday time. Just after Winter Solstice/ Matariki. We are currently having a big storm with 100km winds and a good dumping of rain. This follows on from poor weather last weekend. We have all suffered from varying degrees of illness. Paddy was off for a week with a flu - high temperature and flat out for 2 days. He managed to drag himself in for the last day of term and has been ok since then. Not pleasant though with a thick cough. Chantelle and I have both had a sort of sub-flu. Headaches and muscular aches and a feeling of lethargy. Not full out flu, but probably a sign that our bodies were fighting something off. Eric has escaped unaffected and Stuart has mostly been Ok.
So what to do in the holidays? We planned a day out on Thursday and were going to go to Whangarei. Chantelel was the main mover behind this as she was after running shoes. Not feeling up to it, we considered closer venues and explored possibilies.
Most attractions shut down at this time of year, the tourist trade must not be enough to keep them open, and the residential poulation cannot be enough for them to be viable. In the end the day dawned beautiful, calm after all the wind, with strong sun. We went down the East coast to Totara North - a sheltered harbour over the water from Whangaroa. Lots of game fishing boats go out from here. We had a couple hours of fishing from the wharf and caught 4 fish, called parore. The last one in particular gave as good a fight as would a snapper. Eric smoked them yesterday and they kept us fed for a day.
We had planned to go from Totara North to the dinosaur museum near Kaeo. This is a gem of a place, run by an enthusiastic rock hound as a hobby. The place was still there but no-one was around. The Texas Diner was next on our list and that too was closed for winter. We decided to carry on to Kerikeri to see what we could find there. I took a left on the way to Matauri Bay as I had always wanted to explore that piece of coast. It was a lovely place - in the Winter with few people there. We got a lolly each, cos that's what you do on a day out. The owner of the camp store told me that booking for the summer were going well and they were expecting 1500 people for xmas. Call me a snob, but I just don't get the seaside crowding together thing. The campsite must be jammed packed. We had a trot up the hill to stare out at the last resting place of the Rainbow Warrior. I told the boys how the French agents put a bomb on board the boat as it was moored in an Auckland harbour, stocking up before it went off to protest against French nuclear testing in the Pacific. There was a monument on the hill top with an arresting stone design.
Back on the home front, the fields are sodden with rain. We moved the chucks onto fresh ground last weekend, so we have more manured ground to turn into veggy plot this spring. It pleases me that I have a whole field to gradually bring into cultivation. I must take some photos of the beds in their winter resting state. With no sheep to consume vast amounts of our time, I can keep picking away at the veggy garden. I am also using this winter time to remove gorse bushes. I find that if we cut them in the spring, then birds have already started nesting. At the same time I am trying to increase the cover of native plants by planting seedling manuka, kawakawa, and totara. I stuck in 2 olives and a plum tree. Plenty more waiting to go out.
Teas ready so I am off. Apololgies for typos.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Paddy the soccer player
Young paddy is not so young anymore having hit his tenth birthday yesterday.
He has had a busy two weeks, what with the build up to the big day itself on top of an operation to remove a growth from his arm.
That went well but left him with some swelling and ugly looking stitches. Anyone else would have cried off playing soccer the day after, but not our Padz. He was up for the game - especially as it was against his old schol, Pamapuria. He put 2 shin pads on his shins and another on his arm and he was off onto the "park". They won 8-0 and Paddy scored 2 plus got the Player of the Day award!
This Saturday was his birthday and he had a friend over the night before. Paddy was looking a bit worn out when he was being drivern over the hills to Taipa for the game. There is a lot of flu going around and I suspect that it will be visiting our household before long. Anyway back to the game. Eastern have a fierce reputation. Watching the 9th grade I could see that it is justified. Their players are able to spread out and pass the ball o each other so they run rings round most of the opposition, who generally cluster around the ball like bees round a sugar pot.
To cut a long story short, after conceding a first minute goal, Kaitaia were lucky to keep the damage to 4-0.
Then it was party on with a group of lads descending on our place like only 5 ten year old boys can do. The weather was kind, so they spent quite a lot of time outside and unbelievably a fair bit of that time they were submersed in our pond, swimming, boating and rafting.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Update
Blimey! It has been ages since we updated this blog. Sorry!!
I did ask Eric to stick something on about his latest hunting escapade on Saturday.
All I will say now is that we have 2 wild ducks aging in the fridge and he is going to cook them for us on Friday.
While we wait for Eric to update, here is a video I made at school with the e-learning students from Te Hapua. I don't think any school has ever made glass from sand in class before, so we filmed ourselves making it. The samples were pretty small. If anyone has any bright ideas about how to get a furnace up to about 2000C, then let me know.
I did ask Eric to stick something on about his latest hunting escapade on Saturday.
All I will say now is that we have 2 wild ducks aging in the fridge and he is going to cook them for us on Friday.
While we wait for Eric to update, here is a video I made at school with the e-learning students from Te Hapua. I don't think any school has ever made glass from sand in class before, so we filmed ourselves making it. The samples were pretty small. If anyone has any bright ideas about how to get a furnace up to about 2000C, then let me know.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Picture time
Time for an update after 3 weeks back at school. We had an inspection in Week one and Chantelle and I went away for a short break ON OUR OWN! to Hamilton last w/e.
Weather is changing, the rain has been in, the mornings are getting cooler and the courgettes have decayed. The duck shooters have been waking the dog up at dawn for the last few Saturday mornings.
This s et of pictures show Eric and stuart in their ATC uniforms after the Anzac Day parade. Also Eric with the rabbit he shot using the car headlights the other Saturday. The picture of me was taken with the timer on. I had a great solo walk up to the TV transmitter that overlooks town. You can see Kaitaia in the foreground and way out up North in the distance. Our house is over on the right hidden by the low hills.
Friday, April 24, 2009
End of holiday
We are up to the last weekend of the holiday. It is raining hard with more forecast for the next 24 hours. It is also the eve of Anzac day so Eric and Stuart are camping out at ATC HQ just down the road in preparation for the dawn parade tomorrow. This will be Stuart's first and the rain certainly did not put him off going. Eric was keen to go as well.
We have had a pretty good holiday. We mostly stayed local, with a couple of day trips just to get us out of town. The first one was an all-day fish last week sometime. Eric and friend Amos accomapanied Chantelle and I out to Puketu Island where we got ourselves cut off by the tide for the day. Our fishing trips normally last a couple of hours and there is always the feeling that time is short and we should be going home. So it was nice to know that even if we wanted to go home early, we couldn't without wading up to our waists. So we fished and cooked fish and ate, and sat and explored and sat in the shade of rocks for the whole day. I had always wanted to climb to the top of the island, partly for the view, partly because there was an old Maori bloke (tohunga) who used to live up there, and mostly because there is an innate part of me that sees a hummock and wants to get on top of it! It was a steep climb, nearly vertical, through shallow rooted grass and gorse, riddled with rat holes. It put off the 2 young 'uns early on! The top of the island has been planted with flax and other natives and was very thick. Got some good views and different perspectives from usual. I can see why the tohunga made his base there and was able to warn his people about the neighbouring war party heading their way from Taipa.
That day on Puketu marked the start of the holiday proper. After which I could sleep in and not wake up worrying about school, pupils, classes. We spent some days mooching around. Did lots of farm work, getting the veggy beds ready for winter plantings of garlic and strawberries. The boys came down the odd time to do some work. Stuart is a dab hand at the scythe. Eric proved pretty good at digging. Paddy is always up for helping and weeded the strawberries and gave the windows a good clean.
Transition Town Kaitaia had a film show on Friday night, showing a cool film about Mike Reynolds - an American architect who has built a whole series of highly energy efficient houses mostly out of tyres and other waste products. This led to finding out that a community garden is in-planning on a site adjoining our school. Very exciting!
This week Chantelle and I have been doing some of our respective works. Meanwhile the boys have amused themselves with constant trips into town. Paddy and Stuart routinely cycle to and from town which is great for all concerned. Eric's bike is apparently too small for him ...
We all had a trip out to Whangarei on Wednesday. There is not a huge amount to do in Kaitaia if you want something non-beach or bush. So we had a city day. It started with Laser maze - a big hit with all 3 boys (yes! all of them came out sweaty and smiling!). BK for "lunch" - once in a blue moon, nuff said. Then clothes shopping was perhaps less successful. Eric found a rare edition hotwheels for his friend. We found a cool second hand bookstore positioned unexpectedly in a huge retail park. Then onto the cinema to watch Pink Panther 2. I think we all enjoyed it. Paddy and I were laughing out loudest - I did not expect it to be so good. Finally a stop at our favourite Chinese - Tai Tong - where you buy a plastic pot for $6.80 and fill it with whatever takes your fancy from whatever the chinese call a "smorgasbord". Oh no .... Paddy insisted (all day) on going to a dairy to buy more lollies. We headed back north through shocking rain, very carefully.
Pictures later ...
We have had a pretty good holiday. We mostly stayed local, with a couple of day trips just to get us out of town. The first one was an all-day fish last week sometime. Eric and friend Amos accomapanied Chantelle and I out to Puketu Island where we got ourselves cut off by the tide for the day. Our fishing trips normally last a couple of hours and there is always the feeling that time is short and we should be going home. So it was nice to know that even if we wanted to go home early, we couldn't without wading up to our waists. So we fished and cooked fish and ate, and sat and explored and sat in the shade of rocks for the whole day. I had always wanted to climb to the top of the island, partly for the view, partly because there was an old Maori bloke (tohunga) who used to live up there, and mostly because there is an innate part of me that sees a hummock and wants to get on top of it! It was a steep climb, nearly vertical, through shallow rooted grass and gorse, riddled with rat holes. It put off the 2 young 'uns early on! The top of the island has been planted with flax and other natives and was very thick. Got some good views and different perspectives from usual. I can see why the tohunga made his base there and was able to warn his people about the neighbouring war party heading their way from Taipa.
That day on Puketu marked the start of the holiday proper. After which I could sleep in and not wake up worrying about school, pupils, classes. We spent some days mooching around. Did lots of farm work, getting the veggy beds ready for winter plantings of garlic and strawberries. The boys came down the odd time to do some work. Stuart is a dab hand at the scythe. Eric proved pretty good at digging. Paddy is always up for helping and weeded the strawberries and gave the windows a good clean.
Transition Town Kaitaia had a film show on Friday night, showing a cool film about Mike Reynolds - an American architect who has built a whole series of highly energy efficient houses mostly out of tyres and other waste products. This led to finding out that a community garden is in-planning on a site adjoining our school. Very exciting!
This week Chantelle and I have been doing some of our respective works. Meanwhile the boys have amused themselves with constant trips into town. Paddy and Stuart routinely cycle to and from town which is great for all concerned. Eric's bike is apparently too small for him ...
We all had a trip out to Whangarei on Wednesday. There is not a huge amount to do in Kaitaia if you want something non-beach or bush. So we had a city day. It started with Laser maze - a big hit with all 3 boys (yes! all of them came out sweaty and smiling!). BK for "lunch" - once in a blue moon, nuff said. Then clothes shopping was perhaps less successful. Eric found a rare edition hotwheels for his friend. We found a cool second hand bookstore positioned unexpectedly in a huge retail park. Then onto the cinema to watch Pink Panther 2. I think we all enjoyed it. Paddy and I were laughing out loudest - I did not expect it to be so good. Finally a stop at our favourite Chinese - Tai Tong - where you buy a plastic pot for $6.80 and fill it with whatever takes your fancy from whatever the chinese call a "smorgasbord". Oh no .... Paddy insisted (all day) on going to a dairy to buy more lollies. We headed back north through shocking rain, very carefully.
Pictures later ...
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Coming up for Air
That was the title of a George Orwell novel eh?
Fits our state as we sit back at the end of a very pleasant Easter Sunday.
School finished on Thursday after a manic week at the end of a manic term. Chantelle was away at Matamata doing her course, so I was it.
That included ferrying boys to various after school activities, sorting out bikes locked to lamposts at school with lost keys, cooking, cleaning, making sure all got to school on time, and that Eric got to Whangarei on Thursday for an orthodentist appointment to replace a broken brace wire - total travel time 4 hours, time spent in chair less than 10 minutes!
All to be expected really. Last week of term likewise. Kids all trying to complete work so they could meet deadlines to get credits, on top of all their other commitments and trips. My 12 Science class have been making red wine this term. They have to compare its density (and so alcohol content) with that of commercial wine. It was surprisingly good and strong. The grapes came from the principal's small vineyard. I was so impressed by the results that I will increase the size of our own vineyard and have a go at growing more grapes next year so that we can make our own vintage in the future.
We have finally de-stocked. The last 3 sheep went off to a guy a few kms away. We put the last lamb in the freezer. Ate a leg of it tonight - bloody gorgeous - literally as it was quite rare! That is the only part of sheep keeping that I will miss. The rest of it is a pain. Checking twice daily for - dog attacks, escapes, lameness, falling in drains, getting into tree areas, flystrike at certain times of year. They are not really that much hassle, but it is quite liberating having the property sheep free. For one thing I can leave all the gates open.
More than that it now makes sense to plant large numbers of trees all over the place. I have visited a number of really cool properties since we moved to Northland and none of them have been sheep farms! Alright if you like a short field of grass. I like the vertical dimension and have seen some really great treed places. Orchards with patches of garden is the look I am going for. Perhaps some kind of rambling jungle, with clearings where little shacks will sit hidden from the hot sun and from neighbours. Curving paths that wind beneath fruit trees, so that you can have a meal as you walk around the place.
Where were we? To accompany the lamb, there was a very acceptable bottle of Dalmatian wine made by one of William Tailby's neighbours. It had legs stout enough to get up and carry the glass away. Almost strong enough to be a port.
We have a couple of the boys' friends over for the night and now that the post-tea wrestling match has finished, they seem to have settled down to watch the film. Not a great selection tonight - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, followed by some Yank Hollywood offering. The only good thing is that there is no TV advertising, so you get the film in about half the time it would normally take. There have been some great films on Maori TV the last few Sunday nights. "Trouble on the Waewae Express" last week was a great little study of a group of youngsters who live and drive too fast. One of them kills his mate in a crash and then has to live with the repercussions. Half the cast were Maori and half Pakeha, including a Buddha-like Malayan taxi driver, who saves the guilt stricken driver from self-destruction. Lookout for it on C4 if you are in Blighty!
So we are gradually getting our breath back, Chantelle took the boys to the beach for the Easter dawn service. I have tried to have a proper Sabbath, by doing no school or farm work. It was difficult as I ended up doing washing up, cooking, and even some scything, but it was all just playing.
That's all. there is queue for the computer so better log off and let them back on.
Have a good Easter yourselves.
Fits our state as we sit back at the end of a very pleasant Easter Sunday.
School finished on Thursday after a manic week at the end of a manic term. Chantelle was away at Matamata doing her course, so I was it.
That included ferrying boys to various after school activities, sorting out bikes locked to lamposts at school with lost keys, cooking, cleaning, making sure all got to school on time, and that Eric got to Whangarei on Thursday for an orthodentist appointment to replace a broken brace wire - total travel time 4 hours, time spent in chair less than 10 minutes!
All to be expected really. Last week of term likewise. Kids all trying to complete work so they could meet deadlines to get credits, on top of all their other commitments and trips. My 12 Science class have been making red wine this term. They have to compare its density (and so alcohol content) with that of commercial wine. It was surprisingly good and strong. The grapes came from the principal's small vineyard. I was so impressed by the results that I will increase the size of our own vineyard and have a go at growing more grapes next year so that we can make our own vintage in the future.
We have finally de-stocked. The last 3 sheep went off to a guy a few kms away. We put the last lamb in the freezer. Ate a leg of it tonight - bloody gorgeous - literally as it was quite rare! That is the only part of sheep keeping that I will miss. The rest of it is a pain. Checking twice daily for - dog attacks, escapes, lameness, falling in drains, getting into tree areas, flystrike at certain times of year. They are not really that much hassle, but it is quite liberating having the property sheep free. For one thing I can leave all the gates open.
More than that it now makes sense to plant large numbers of trees all over the place. I have visited a number of really cool properties since we moved to Northland and none of them have been sheep farms! Alright if you like a short field of grass. I like the vertical dimension and have seen some really great treed places. Orchards with patches of garden is the look I am going for. Perhaps some kind of rambling jungle, with clearings where little shacks will sit hidden from the hot sun and from neighbours. Curving paths that wind beneath fruit trees, so that you can have a meal as you walk around the place.
Where were we? To accompany the lamb, there was a very acceptable bottle of Dalmatian wine made by one of William Tailby's neighbours. It had legs stout enough to get up and carry the glass away. Almost strong enough to be a port.
We have a couple of the boys' friends over for the night and now that the post-tea wrestling match has finished, they seem to have settled down to watch the film. Not a great selection tonight - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, followed by some Yank Hollywood offering. The only good thing is that there is no TV advertising, so you get the film in about half the time it would normally take. There have been some great films on Maori TV the last few Sunday nights. "Trouble on the Waewae Express" last week was a great little study of a group of youngsters who live and drive too fast. One of them kills his mate in a crash and then has to live with the repercussions. Half the cast were Maori and half Pakeha, including a Buddha-like Malayan taxi driver, who saves the guilt stricken driver from self-destruction. Lookout for it on C4 if you are in Blighty!
So we are gradually getting our breath back, Chantelle took the boys to the beach for the Easter dawn service. I have tried to have a proper Sabbath, by doing no school or farm work. It was difficult as I ended up doing washing up, cooking, and even some scything, but it was all just playing.
That's all. there is queue for the computer so better log off and let them back on.
Have a good Easter yourselves.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Crash!
We were rudely awakened from a cold induced early sleep last Saturday night by the sound of a car crashing into our garden.
No injuries amazingly.
Driver ran off leaving his large truck blocking our drive. We went out to investigate and phoned the police. We were impressed by their amazingly quick response time; and put it down to the big number in town keeping an eye on a kick-boxing match.
Meanwhile boy comes back with mate and another truck to remove the vehicle.
Police established who the driver had been. Car had landed on its wheels and and hit a fence post.
Recovery driver pulled crashed car over on its roof as he attempted to pull it back up the drive.
That was when we started taking pictures.
It all looked different on Sunday morning when boy and mates turned up to retrieve truck. They managed to do this but our fences and 2 gates were in the way so needed to be removed.
We wait for the team to come back and put right the damage.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Whenuapai Air Show
Kia ora Koutou
Last weekend, Eric Stuart and I travelled down to Auckland on Friday night with the air cadets for the Whenuapai Air show. We had a very interesting weekend.
I had never been to an airshow before. Nor had the boys. To be honest, I wasn't really all that keen on going away for an entire weekend with a whole bunch of teenagers. But the bottom line was that if I didn't go then neither did about 5 cadets. So I did my school work by 3.15 and we met up at cadet HQ at 6pm. Eric has been going to ATC every Wednesday for over a year now. It is quite a small unit that struggles to stay viable at times as cadets and officers come and go. It has given Eric a valuable activity out of school for the last year. With regular weekend trips either out camping, or going shooting.
We arrived in Auckland at about midnight and were waved through the gates into the air-base. Couldn't see a lot as it was pitch black. Cadets debussed and were told to make sure that their uniforms were ironed before crashing out. Wake up at 5.15 am. That is a few hours before my normal wake up time on a Saturday - I thought to myself.
Up we got and had a shower that made me feel vaguely human. As a parent helper along with a couple of other blokes, I spent most of the day watching the cadets and air force go about putting on a huge public event. We had a quick breakfast and then the cadets paraded and were inspected, before marching off to the edge of the airfield. They were based in the parachute training hangar out of the sun and heat of the day. They were made up of units from Thames, Morrinsville, Kaikohe and Kaitaia and numbered over 100. Air force regulars had been drafted in from the other RNZAF base to help out, but the cadets basically ran the barricades and parking for the day. They made sure that the public stayed off the runway. Stuart and Eric did shifts of 1 1/2 hours on and 11/2hours off. It was a lot of work for such young fellas and they were looking pretty cream crackered by the end of the show at 5pm.
Meanwhile I was pretty much a free agent, getting free access to the show. I am not really a machine head at all, but the planes were interesting. Who could fail to be impressed by the huge Globemaster that supplies bases on te Antarctic and can land on a 300m runway. Or the thwack-twack of the Iroquois choppers zipping around.
My big fave was the Australian FA-18 jets called Hornets. One did a display to round off the show and the sheer noise and power and speed of the thing was awesome. It is difficult to describe in words what this aircraft was capable of doing, but it did not seem possible. I took loads of video but that does not really do it justice. With all the planes I was glad that it was a friendly airshow and not a war zone as I would have cacked myself!
Stuart got to do guard duty on the main runway at the point where the parachutists landed and he immediately attracted the attentions of a number of chatty women! Eric was stuck on car park duty for ages.
At the end of the day all the cadets were summoned to the far end of the base, the rumour being that we were going to be given a Hercules flight to thank us for our help. Instead we got to shift a couple of Km of crash barriers and to pick up litter off the entire base! All in all a good intro to life in the forces, bringing back memories of being a cadet myself, sitting around for hours waiting for orders and then being ordered (rather than asked!) to do something mindless.
We had takeaway pizza that night and the cadets all watched a film and passed out.
It felt like having a lie-in getting up at 7am on Sunday morning after the previous day. We got a full breakfast in the Mess and then use of the 25m swimming pool on the base. The group visited the War section of Auckland Museum before heading back to Kaitaia in the afternoon.
All in all a good weekend, though I have to admit that I am quite happy to have a chilled out w/e now to recover.
Last weekend, Eric Stuart and I travelled down to Auckland on Friday night with the air cadets for the Whenuapai Air show. We had a very interesting weekend.
I had never been to an airshow before. Nor had the boys. To be honest, I wasn't really all that keen on going away for an entire weekend with a whole bunch of teenagers. But the bottom line was that if I didn't go then neither did about 5 cadets. So I did my school work by 3.15 and we met up at cadet HQ at 6pm. Eric has been going to ATC every Wednesday for over a year now. It is quite a small unit that struggles to stay viable at times as cadets and officers come and go. It has given Eric a valuable activity out of school for the last year. With regular weekend trips either out camping, or going shooting.
We arrived in Auckland at about midnight and were waved through the gates into the air-base. Couldn't see a lot as it was pitch black. Cadets debussed and were told to make sure that their uniforms were ironed before crashing out. Wake up at 5.15 am. That is a few hours before my normal wake up time on a Saturday - I thought to myself.
Up we got and had a shower that made me feel vaguely human. As a parent helper along with a couple of other blokes, I spent most of the day watching the cadets and air force go about putting on a huge public event. We had a quick breakfast and then the cadets paraded and were inspected, before marching off to the edge of the airfield. They were based in the parachute training hangar out of the sun and heat of the day. They were made up of units from Thames, Morrinsville, Kaikohe and Kaitaia and numbered over 100. Air force regulars had been drafted in from the other RNZAF base to help out, but the cadets basically ran the barricades and parking for the day. They made sure that the public stayed off the runway. Stuart and Eric did shifts of 1 1/2 hours on and 11/2hours off. It was a lot of work for such young fellas and they were looking pretty cream crackered by the end of the show at 5pm.
Meanwhile I was pretty much a free agent, getting free access to the show. I am not really a machine head at all, but the planes were interesting. Who could fail to be impressed by the huge Globemaster that supplies bases on te Antarctic and can land on a 300m runway. Or the thwack-twack of the Iroquois choppers zipping around.
My big fave was the Australian FA-18 jets called Hornets. One did a display to round off the show and the sheer noise and power and speed of the thing was awesome. It is difficult to describe in words what this aircraft was capable of doing, but it did not seem possible. I took loads of video but that does not really do it justice. With all the planes I was glad that it was a friendly airshow and not a war zone as I would have cacked myself!
Stuart got to do guard duty on the main runway at the point where the parachutists landed and he immediately attracted the attentions of a number of chatty women! Eric was stuck on car park duty for ages.
At the end of the day all the cadets were summoned to the far end of the base, the rumour being that we were going to be given a Hercules flight to thank us for our help. Instead we got to shift a couple of Km of crash barriers and to pick up litter off the entire base! All in all a good intro to life in the forces, bringing back memories of being a cadet myself, sitting around for hours waiting for orders and then being ordered (rather than asked!) to do something mindless.
We had takeaway pizza that night and the cadets all watched a film and passed out.
It felt like having a lie-in getting up at 7am on Sunday morning after the previous day. We got a full breakfast in the Mess and then use of the 25m swimming pool on the base. The group visited the War section of Auckland Museum before heading back to Kaitaia in the afternoon.
All in all a good weekend, though I have to admit that I am quite happy to have a chilled out w/e now to recover.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
A&P show
Today was the annual A&P Show, held just down the road. As usual we left Friday night to the teens and the police. It is the time for settling of accounts and is keenly anticipated by those who like a bit of a scrap. None of ours showed any interest in going. We will no doubt hear all about it on Monday, and be on full alert for reprisals and the overflow of events.
We waited until 10am saturday to make our appearance. We were rostered on to do gate duty, collecting the entry fees off the visitors. It helps out teh Cadets apparently and was not particularly onerous. We had chance to go and look round as well. It seemed a little quieter than the last time I went, perhaps because it was early, perhaps because of the rain showers, and perhaps because people don't feel that they have as much spare cash for a day out.
Stuart enjoyed a go on the dodgems, paddy got himself an icecream and I am not sure what Eric was doing, but he came back smiling!
We are getting into the groove of working and schooling and doing our weekly activities. Paddy is running in the atletics club this year. He is taking part in some event in whangarei apparently. He ran 4km last week in the training. Stuart and Eric go to cadets every Wednesday night. They are looking forward to a trp to Whenuapi Air festival in a few weeks time.
Chantelle is getting used tostudying and reading lots of books. She is passing the papers that she has submitted so far.
The farm ticks over. We have just 4 sheep left, 2 lambs and an old ewe and the PI ram. I am trying to sell them so that we can plant the fields up with fruit. I spent a few hours today hammering into gorse and pampas regrowth. It is the time of year when the pampas flowers. There is a lot less than there was, but the battle is not yet won. Eric and I( have just been planting out some chinese cabbage and setting a trap for a family of rats that are burrowing into the offal pit. Eric will be busy tomorrow as he is going to despatch a young cockerel and then he will be dealing with any trapped rats as well. He and Stuart can pretty much sort out sheep, hens and rats with no need of my assistance. I shall be enjoying a lie-in!
We waited until 10am saturday to make our appearance. We were rostered on to do gate duty, collecting the entry fees off the visitors. It helps out teh Cadets apparently and was not particularly onerous. We had chance to go and look round as well. It seemed a little quieter than the last time I went, perhaps because it was early, perhaps because of the rain showers, and perhaps because people don't feel that they have as much spare cash for a day out.
Stuart enjoyed a go on the dodgems, paddy got himself an icecream and I am not sure what Eric was doing, but he came back smiling!
We are getting into the groove of working and schooling and doing our weekly activities. Paddy is running in the atletics club this year. He is taking part in some event in whangarei apparently. He ran 4km last week in the training. Stuart and Eric go to cadets every Wednesday night. They are looking forward to a trp to Whenuapi Air festival in a few weeks time.
Chantelle is getting used tostudying and reading lots of books. She is passing the papers that she has submitted so far.
The farm ticks over. We have just 4 sheep left, 2 lambs and an old ewe and the PI ram. I am trying to sell them so that we can plant the fields up with fruit. I spent a few hours today hammering into gorse and pampas regrowth. It is the time of year when the pampas flowers. There is a lot less than there was, but the battle is not yet won. Eric and I( have just been planting out some chinese cabbage and setting a trap for a family of rats that are burrowing into the offal pit. Eric will be busy tomorrow as he is going to despatch a young cockerel and then he will be dealing with any trapped rats as well. He and Stuart can pretty much sort out sheep, hens and rats with no need of my assistance. I shall be enjoying a lie-in!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Summer veg
Just posted up a whole load of pictures from the end of the holidays.
It has been wet this week and those long hot summer days seem distant.
In this section is the garden as it has been this summer. The best ever! The constant application of manure and mulch is starting to pay off as the clay mutates into a workable tilth. The pic shows one of the daily harvests of beans corn and eggs, plus the strawbs. They have been awesome this year. So many that we have been able to make a few pots of jam. Stuart and Patrick are constantly working out new ways of stretching their wages. Stuart had a go at selling some old marrows on a roadside stall, without success. I am encouraging paddy to help establish a new strawberry bed and offered to go 50/50 on te profits. He is a cheeky little fella and came back with "how about 60/40?" He seems to inherited some business sense from somewhere. Must have skipped a generation.
Friday, February 13, 2009
End of week 1
We made it through the first full week. All chilling out in our own different ways: Eric on flight simulator, Stuart having a back rub, Paddy playing with Lego whilst plotting which friend he can escape to this w/e, me with earphones in and George on the net, Chantelle has a hotty and the tv on.
We had a good w/e last. After the half ar*ed start to the year, Friday was Waitangi day so we were all off for a 3 day w/e. Thursday night was staff picnic at the Victoria Valley waterhole. Irene, Lee and girls said they would camp so we took our tarp as well. The bbq was good, the kids were happy in the river cooling off. The adults were happy having a long drink and keeping an eye on the kids in a beautiful environment. We crashed out early, slept badly and awoke to the cicadas at dawn. Worth it for the morning swim and the breakfast cooked over the fire - home grown bacon and eggy bread from Lee's pig. Kids happy in the water. No chance of going and doing school work after such a chilled out start.
For those people who are not familiar with Waitangi, the Day celebrates the signing of a treaty between a number of Maori chiefs and the English crown. The content and intent of the treaty have been endlessly argued over since that day in 1842(?) but it remains an integral part of NZ life and embodies the idea that Maori and Pakeha should respect each other. I am expected to adhere to and to act in the spirit of te tiriti according to my appraisal documents as a teacher.
Every year there is a big gathering at Waitangi itself, a small settlement 1 1/2 hours from here. The Treaty Grounds are a popular visitor attraction that I personally have not yet visited. The prime minister goes for a dawn service on Waitangi Day and is held accountable for the state of Maori/ Pakeha affairs. In the past there have been demonstrations, egg throwing, insults and tears.
The new PM seems to have got most Maori onside by forming a coalition government with both the Maori Party and the right wing ACT party. He has made a number of fairly small concessions that are going down well. We shall see how his reception goes next year when we have had a full year of recession and he has had time to get going with his policies.
I would like to go to Waitangi next year with one or two of the boys. Chantelle and Eric would not like the crowds so they can stay at home. I saw the launching of a dozen waka and it was a powerful image even on TV so must have been amazing to witness live.
The rest of the weekend featured a BBQ for Irene at Pete's house with a real meat-fest. Took the boys over to Ruth and Stephan's on Sunday afternoon for a swim/shoot combo.
Eric is now an official Colleger and is setling into life as a year 9. He is coping pretty well. Stuart remains at the Intermediate for another year. paddy is in Year 6 at the primary.
That'll do for now.
No pics, haven't taken many recently.
We had a good w/e last. After the half ar*ed start to the year, Friday was Waitangi day so we were all off for a 3 day w/e. Thursday night was staff picnic at the Victoria Valley waterhole. Irene, Lee and girls said they would camp so we took our tarp as well. The bbq was good, the kids were happy in the river cooling off. The adults were happy having a long drink and keeping an eye on the kids in a beautiful environment. We crashed out early, slept badly and awoke to the cicadas at dawn. Worth it for the morning swim and the breakfast cooked over the fire - home grown bacon and eggy bread from Lee's pig. Kids happy in the water. No chance of going and doing school work after such a chilled out start.
For those people who are not familiar with Waitangi, the Day celebrates the signing of a treaty between a number of Maori chiefs and the English crown. The content and intent of the treaty have been endlessly argued over since that day in 1842(?) but it remains an integral part of NZ life and embodies the idea that Maori and Pakeha should respect each other. I am expected to adhere to and to act in the spirit of te tiriti according to my appraisal documents as a teacher.
Every year there is a big gathering at Waitangi itself, a small settlement 1 1/2 hours from here. The Treaty Grounds are a popular visitor attraction that I personally have not yet visited. The prime minister goes for a dawn service on Waitangi Day and is held accountable for the state of Maori/ Pakeha affairs. In the past there have been demonstrations, egg throwing, insults and tears.
The new PM seems to have got most Maori onside by forming a coalition government with both the Maori Party and the right wing ACT party. He has made a number of fairly small concessions that are going down well. We shall see how his reception goes next year when we have had a full year of recession and he has had time to get going with his policies.
I would like to go to Waitangi next year with one or two of the boys. Chantelle and Eric would not like the crowds so they can stay at home. I saw the launching of a dozen waka and it was a powerful image even on TV so must have been amazing to witness live.
The rest of the weekend featured a BBQ for Irene at Pete's house with a real meat-fest. Took the boys over to Ruth and Stephan's on Sunday afternoon for a swim/shoot combo.
Eric is now an official Colleger and is setling into life as a year 9. He is coping pretty well. Stuart remains at the Intermediate for another year. paddy is in Year 6 at the primary.
That'll do for now.
No pics, haven't taken many recently.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
End of holiday - boo hoo
Kia ora koutou
The holiday is almost at an end. Term 1 2009 starts lumbering off on Monday, though it will take over a week for College to really get going. It will take more than a week for us all to readjust to getting up early, being in structured classrooms all day and then returning home in the evenings.
This has been a most excellent holiday in terms of chilling out.
We have had a good mix of being at home and pottering about, combined with a couple of trips away and with Richard’s visit thrown in and a whole lot of little day-trips. The boys claim to have been bored, proving that they are teenagers!
Our main holiday to Rotorua and Leigh was not really what I had expected. I thought that Rotorua would be full of casinos and be really tacky, smelly and touristy as I remembered it from my visit 20 years ago. Not a bit of it. We stayed 10km out of town in a pleasant holiday park Ngongotaha Holiday Park if you want a recommendation. We had a little 2 bed unit that was art deco in style but really comfortable and functional. Good well-equipped kitchen, was a stones throw from the lake, with an on-site swim pool and nearby park for the boys to disappear to. All for about $75 a night. While there we realised that our budget would not allow for trips to the major Rotorua sights, so we spent on good food and found activities for free from an excellent book called New Zealand for Free.
The picture below shows one such place – Kerosine Creek. Way up a metalled road, with no signs until you got there, but what a find. Steaming hot water as a river runs through forestry. The pool itself was shaded by huge trees so fine for bathing even in the heat of summer. It would be even more amazing in the winter with snow on the ground.
We also enjoyed the Ngongotaha Trout Hatchery – free and very interesting, looking at the different sized trout and talking to one of the workers there. They strip trout of their eggs and grow them to a size that they can be released into streams and lakes for people to catch.
We also delighted in the takeaway from The Indian Star in Rotorua, yumm mango lassi, butter chicken, lamb madras mmmmm….
Rotorua itself was huge compared to Kaitaia and we enjoyed window shopping. The boys were not that exciting in making a beeline for the Wharehouse, but they were also quite taken with a FairTrade shop and Eric and Patrick spent some cash there. It was quite warming to hear them explaining to me the importance of Fair Trade!
Then we hot footed it up to Leigh, just North of Auckland. We stopped en route at Candyland - a shop and museum full of sweets and really quite unwelcoming.
I had expected Leigh to be the best part of the trip. The accommodation was $155 a night at the Cottage of the Leigh Motel. The owners were friendly and the views of Little Barrier and Great barrier Island were pretty stunning. The mozzies were fierce and kitchen not as good as the Rotorua place. No park or pool. Otherwise fine.
Leigh is an old fishing village that sits on top of a cliff with a grid of suburban type villas. A road leads down to the harbour where commercial and private boats moor and refuel. We enjoyed the night time fishing using handlines, catching mostly small snapper. We got one that was legal and had it for tea.
Spent one morning at Goat Island marine reserve and enjoyed a trip on the glass bottom boat, looking at all the fish swimming about.
The fish and chip shop in Leigh is one of the best I have ever visited in the world. Cool sounds and the cleanest tasting batter you could imagine.
The Saw-mill was another cool place. An old Saw-mill (who’d have thought it!) that had been converted into a music venue that attracts some big names – Billy Bragg plus some NZ groups that are big … Plus there is a micro-brewery making several beers. I sampled "The Doctor" in the bar 6.5% and unlike any NZ beer I have tasted in its complexity and nutrition – like a liquid meal! Not like Complan.
The other place I really liked was Matakana - a small village between Leigh and the Main highway. Not sure how the place has evolved into what it is, but what a place. Good shops, including a fantastic delicatessen selling really good breads, cheeses and proscuttio which all tasted even better than the Indian takeaway! There was also a cinema there doing about 4 different films a day, including Arthouse and World Cinema. It was like a small piece of the best bits of Cambridge UK dropped into NZ. Not cheap, but very good.
We lost 2 chucks when we got home, probably to Salmonella transferred by wild birds. The water pump also packed up, so that needed fixing, and the water tank had not been replenished by some good rain storms while we were away, so we are now on extreme water conservation measures and considering buying in 10,000L for the first time since we moved here.
A few days later I took the boys camping at Diggers Valley at Ruth and Stephan’s farm. Hence the pic of Eric with his first rabbit. We lived in a field for 4 nights this time, cooking over a wood fire and sleeping under a tarp. Just trees and grass to look at all day, plus our hosts and some cows.
Stepan took us on a trap run high into the bush. I lugged an old .303 rifle round in case we came across wild pigs. There were signs of them high up in the bush, but none of them showed. It wa s arelief in a way as I did not have the strength in my legs at the end of the walk to be carrying out a dead pig!
The rest of the time has been spent getting the garden straight. It is cropping well on account of the irrigation it receives. The sun has been relentless and so lots of photosynthesis is going on. The pumpkins are swelling and we have made pasta sauce and soup out of them. We have even had a few meals of corn from plants that are as tall as me. Beans and peas are good, toms getting ripe. I screwed up with the water melons by giving them a too strong soup of rotted fish guts – killed them within 24 hours.
Eric and I killed the Pitt Island ram lamb last night, so we have just 5 sheep walking round now, and we are planning to re-home these as soon as we can. I have realised finally that sheep and trees do not mix. While at Diggers I had left a gate open allowing them access to the orchard. They stripped apple tress to the bark, that had spent 2 years recovering from the last sheep attack! Curses – the only solution is to get rid of the sheep and concentrate on having just trees. I will get a scythe and use that and chickens to control the grass.
So that’s about it. One summer holiday almost over. Back to the mad rush. Til next year!
The holiday is almost at an end. Term 1 2009 starts lumbering off on Monday, though it will take over a week for College to really get going. It will take more than a week for us all to readjust to getting up early, being in structured classrooms all day and then returning home in the evenings.
This has been a most excellent holiday in terms of chilling out.
We have had a good mix of being at home and pottering about, combined with a couple of trips away and with Richard’s visit thrown in and a whole lot of little day-trips. The boys claim to have been bored, proving that they are teenagers!
Our main holiday to Rotorua and Leigh was not really what I had expected. I thought that Rotorua would be full of casinos and be really tacky, smelly and touristy as I remembered it from my visit 20 years ago. Not a bit of it. We stayed 10km out of town in a pleasant holiday park Ngongotaha Holiday Park if you want a recommendation. We had a little 2 bed unit that was art deco in style but really comfortable and functional. Good well-equipped kitchen, was a stones throw from the lake, with an on-site swim pool and nearby park for the boys to disappear to. All for about $75 a night. While there we realised that our budget would not allow for trips to the major Rotorua sights, so we spent on good food and found activities for free from an excellent book called New Zealand for Free.
The picture below shows one such place – Kerosine Creek. Way up a metalled road, with no signs until you got there, but what a find. Steaming hot water as a river runs through forestry. The pool itself was shaded by huge trees so fine for bathing even in the heat of summer. It would be even more amazing in the winter with snow on the ground.
We also enjoyed the Ngongotaha Trout Hatchery – free and very interesting, looking at the different sized trout and talking to one of the workers there. They strip trout of their eggs and grow them to a size that they can be released into streams and lakes for people to catch.
We also delighted in the takeaway from The Indian Star in Rotorua, yumm mango lassi, butter chicken, lamb madras mmmmm….
Rotorua itself was huge compared to Kaitaia and we enjoyed window shopping. The boys were not that exciting in making a beeline for the Wharehouse, but they were also quite taken with a FairTrade shop and Eric and Patrick spent some cash there. It was quite warming to hear them explaining to me the importance of Fair Trade!
Then we hot footed it up to Leigh, just North of Auckland. We stopped en route at Candyland - a shop and museum full of sweets and really quite unwelcoming.
I had expected Leigh to be the best part of the trip. The accommodation was $155 a night at the Cottage of the Leigh Motel. The owners were friendly and the views of Little Barrier and Great barrier Island were pretty stunning. The mozzies were fierce and kitchen not as good as the Rotorua place. No park or pool. Otherwise fine.
Leigh is an old fishing village that sits on top of a cliff with a grid of suburban type villas. A road leads down to the harbour where commercial and private boats moor and refuel. We enjoyed the night time fishing using handlines, catching mostly small snapper. We got one that was legal and had it for tea.
Spent one morning at Goat Island marine reserve and enjoyed a trip on the glass bottom boat, looking at all the fish swimming about.
The fish and chip shop in Leigh is one of the best I have ever visited in the world. Cool sounds and the cleanest tasting batter you could imagine.
The Saw-mill was another cool place. An old Saw-mill (who’d have thought it!) that had been converted into a music venue that attracts some big names – Billy Bragg plus some NZ groups that are big … Plus there is a micro-brewery making several beers. I sampled "The Doctor" in the bar 6.5% and unlike any NZ beer I have tasted in its complexity and nutrition – like a liquid meal! Not like Complan.
The other place I really liked was Matakana - a small village between Leigh and the Main highway. Not sure how the place has evolved into what it is, but what a place. Good shops, including a fantastic delicatessen selling really good breads, cheeses and proscuttio which all tasted even better than the Indian takeaway! There was also a cinema there doing about 4 different films a day, including Arthouse and World Cinema. It was like a small piece of the best bits of Cambridge UK dropped into NZ. Not cheap, but very good.
We lost 2 chucks when we got home, probably to Salmonella transferred by wild birds. The water pump also packed up, so that needed fixing, and the water tank had not been replenished by some good rain storms while we were away, so we are now on extreme water conservation measures and considering buying in 10,000L for the first time since we moved here.
A few days later I took the boys camping at Diggers Valley at Ruth and Stephan’s farm. Hence the pic of Eric with his first rabbit. We lived in a field for 4 nights this time, cooking over a wood fire and sleeping under a tarp. Just trees and grass to look at all day, plus our hosts and some cows.
Stepan took us on a trap run high into the bush. I lugged an old .303 rifle round in case we came across wild pigs. There were signs of them high up in the bush, but none of them showed. It wa s arelief in a way as I did not have the strength in my legs at the end of the walk to be carrying out a dead pig!
The rest of the time has been spent getting the garden straight. It is cropping well on account of the irrigation it receives. The sun has been relentless and so lots of photosynthesis is going on. The pumpkins are swelling and we have made pasta sauce and soup out of them. We have even had a few meals of corn from plants that are as tall as me. Beans and peas are good, toms getting ripe. I screwed up with the water melons by giving them a too strong soup of rotted fish guts – killed them within 24 hours.
Eric and I killed the Pitt Island ram lamb last night, so we have just 5 sheep walking round now, and we are planning to re-home these as soon as we can. I have realised finally that sheep and trees do not mix. While at Diggers I had left a gate open allowing them access to the orchard. They stripped apple tress to the bark, that had spent 2 years recovering from the last sheep attack! Curses – the only solution is to get rid of the sheep and concentrate on having just trees. I will get a scythe and use that and chickens to control the grass.
So that’s about it. One summer holiday almost over. Back to the mad rush. Til next year!
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