Summer

Chirimollas and cauliflower too!

First came the sweet peas of spring, next the Matilija Poppies (spectacular!) and then the big dry.  We've had two months without rain... so the sunflowers and tomatillos need daily watering and everything else at least weekly. The plums, apples and figs haven't had much but seem to be coping. My guests from Finland and Liz who has been in the cabin helped with a leaky hose irrigation system on the figs.. whew, soon we'll have grilled figs with feta!

Lisa and Taapani from Finland

Two days ago it rained, today is drizzly so there is hope, and has it been HUMID? Oh boy, I did not leave the desert for dry and I do prefer rain but muggy heat, oh my my my!

Ciao for now, busy day with Christmas parties beginning.  Happy holidays to you all!

On Mally’s passing

On Saturday, September 25, 2010 in New Zealand, at home on his bed, we put Mally to sleep forever.  He decided he’d had enough of his old body which was very crippled with arthritis and he quit eating a few days before.  I couldn’t even tempt him with raw rabbit straight off the bone so I saw that as a sign.

 

Lots of his (our) friends came round to say goodbye.  He bravely walked around the whole property twice that morning, as he usually did, with a few more trip-ups and spills than before.  He stopped at all his favourite spots and breathed the air blowing from the four corners of our rural paddocks with rabbit and cow poo and other peoples’ breakfasts titillating his palate.  He drank muddy water from the puddles and ate a couple of pieces of rye grass and rabbit poo here and there.

 

We made a fuss of him and after Diana came to take away his pain, we buried him on the ridge overlooking our favourite garden and the sea next to TomCat who died 5 years and 1 day before,.  I’ll walk by them often on the way to compost, worm bin and beach and keep them informed of my comings and goings.

 

I remember eight years ago when our darling Hans died and someone said God must have needed a gardener. Well, now God’s gardener has the dog who he helped train while landscaping on earth.

 

May they all rest in peace and I hope Tom  will only tease Mally now, though he kind of tortured us both while he was alive, just to let us know who was boss and on whose land we lived.

 

Love you all and thank you for all the help and joy you’ve shared with Mally and me over very nearly 16 years... and especially to vet Didier who went beyond the call of duty in meeting Mally outside and in the car to prevent his wee panic attacks and hyperventilating to try to get a good listen to his heart.

Mally was so frail... vets say you can put a pet down too early or too late, but I think we got it just right. and then, I went to the pet blessing the next weekend, for St Francis of Assisi Day, at the Ruakaka Anglican church and got Yvonne Judge, who owns a second hand shop and has given hundreds of thousands of dollars back to community organisations over 10 years, to come along. Idabelle, the minister, announced that I had nominated Yvonne for the new Kiwi Battler Northland competition and she won and had donated the winnings of $10,000 to the SPCA in Mally’s memory.... I’m so happy, how can I be too sad? I think I might be if I was alone... but that’s the other nice realisation. I am not alone. I have Ian and his dog Mouse and I’m actually quite happy.

Subtropical drought!

If I'd wanted to live in a desert, I could have stayed in southern California, but truly, this dry summer in Northland has been marvellous for holiday makers!

We've had virtually no rain for months - tinder try and lots of work for the Northland firefighters who are mostly volunteers, awful for farmers whose cows are hungry and thirsty, but terrific for wine makers and beach goers. The water temp is gorgeous and the local Reislings excellently quaffable.

I've had guests from Germany and France, been to concerts, the first Waipu Ride-on Mower competition and spent a lot of time watering my gardens.

I also began making sourdough bread again. When the German Journeymen carpenters complimented my bread, I knew I was on the right track!

My figs are ripening,  the apples are turning red and the feijoas are coming along - in spite of the dry - it's jam and tart time, yum!

Today is the day I begin work on the next quarterly newsletter for the Northland Region Fire Service and tonight is practice time for the Flaming Ukuleles of Waipu so I must away!

See you when you get here.... until then cheers and make today fantastic!
Hasta la vista, Sandra