well and truly for an update, except there's really not much to tell.
We've barely been to the farm in the last twelve months due to Ray's shift roster changing (he now works day shift Saturday and Sunday) and my schooling. The last two times we have been it's poured with rain and we've gotten absolutely nothing done. The locals must love us - the rainmakers!
I'm really missing our time on the farm together. The place looks unkempt and unloved. It's pretty sad. :| The fruit trees are growing well, and Woody's sheep are happy there too I suspect but FSF is going to have to wait another 18 months at least before she's really going to start being looked after well again. Thankfully time seems to fly these days.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Plans? What plans...?
I'm beginning to think that the only thing that plans are good for is starting the fire with! In fact, I don't even bother to write them down any more..
Monday, March 30, 2009
Here it is almost Easter
and again time is getting away from us... thankfully this year things are going well.
There have been a few changes happening since I last posted. I have started studying, which takes place mostly on weekends and we bought ourselves a little caravan! Here she is...
Ray and Russell are in the process of leveling what Russell dubbed "The Love Shack", removing the wheels and generally making things comfortable - no rocking for this little van.. :D Ray has stayed overnight a few times since TLS has been set up but unfortunately I haven't as yet as my study weekends have been eating into farm time, but that's how life goes. I'm loving the course, so the farm sacrifice hasn't been too difficult. Can't wait to stay this weekend though! Now that the older girls aren't staying with their dad every fortnight they will be coming along with us and sleeping in a tent overnight - I wonder how long that will last!!
Ray has designed a shower/toilet block which we will be working on this weekend. Russell dug the post holes for it after helping us set up the van and Ray put the posts in last weekend. Rails this weekend and tin soon to come and yay, somewhere to wash.
We have decided to set up a courtyard area around the van for some privacy so here I am marking the intervals for the postholes that good ole Russ dug out for me... yes I do actually do more than sit in front of the fire watching the birds!
Once the post and wire is in I'll be planting a couple of mile-a-minute vines to create a non-permanent screen to provide some shelter. We'll bring the fire pot up there from the shed and set it up on some pavers, bring the old outdoor setting up from home and set up a nice little place to spend the weekend. When the girls stay we'll set the tent up in the screened off area too. So it's taken a while but we're slowly beginning to make the place feel like somewhere easy to stay. We even have a porta-potty, much to the girl's horror!! Better than than a hole in the ground, I say.. :D
Back again after next weekend to provide an update, should be an interesting one given that we're being accompanied by two ipod-loving, myspace missing teenaged girls! I don't even think their mobiles have coverage there... now where are my earplugs??!
There have been a few changes happening since I last posted. I have started studying, which takes place mostly on weekends and we bought ourselves a little caravan! Here she is...
Ray and Russell are in the process of leveling what Russell dubbed "The Love Shack", removing the wheels and generally making things comfortable - no rocking for this little van.. :D Ray has stayed overnight a few times since TLS has been set up but unfortunately I haven't as yet as my study weekends have been eating into farm time, but that's how life goes. I'm loving the course, so the farm sacrifice hasn't been too difficult. Can't wait to stay this weekend though! Now that the older girls aren't staying with their dad every fortnight they will be coming along with us and sleeping in a tent overnight - I wonder how long that will last!!
Ray has designed a shower/toilet block which we will be working on this weekend. Russell dug the post holes for it after helping us set up the van and Ray put the posts in last weekend. Rails this weekend and tin soon to come and yay, somewhere to wash.
We have decided to set up a courtyard area around the van for some privacy so here I am marking the intervals for the postholes that good ole Russ dug out for me... yes I do actually do more than sit in front of the fire watching the birds!
Once the post and wire is in I'll be planting a couple of mile-a-minute vines to create a non-permanent screen to provide some shelter. We'll bring the fire pot up there from the shed and set it up on some pavers, bring the old outdoor setting up from home and set up a nice little place to spend the weekend. When the girls stay we'll set the tent up in the screened off area too. So it's taken a while but we're slowly beginning to make the place feel like somewhere easy to stay. We even have a porta-potty, much to the girl's horror!! Better than than a hole in the ground, I say.. :D
Back again after next weekend to provide an update, should be an interesting one given that we're being accompanied by two ipod-loving, myspace missing teenaged girls! I don't even think their mobiles have coverage there... now where are my earplugs??!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
OK, so I've run out of witty
things to say about managing last year's hideous happenings. '08 is gone and '09 dawns fresh and new with everyone I've spoken with feeling positive about the year to come. If our fruit trees are anything to go by then all will be well. :D
We arrived on Dec 27 feeling rather nervous about how the trees would be faring after being so neglected this year by comparison to last year's mollycoddling and we were very pleasantly surprised!
Yes, there were still weeds everywhere
and Woody's sheep had made a terrible stinky mess in the shed, but we couldn't believe it when we saw Bonnie's tree and it had fresh growth on it, and our apple trees had these...
The potatoes from last year have sprouted again and we have three nectarines growing happily!
So, so far so good... mulching deeply has come up a winner!
More later... stay tuned!
We arrived on Dec 27 feeling rather nervous about how the trees would be faring after being so neglected this year by comparison to last year's mollycoddling and we were very pleasantly surprised!
Yes, there were still weeds everywhere
and Woody's sheep had made a terrible stinky mess in the shed, but we couldn't believe it when we saw Bonnie's tree and it had fresh growth on it, and our apple trees had these...
The potatoes from last year have sprouted again and we have three nectarines growing happily!
So, so far so good... mulching deeply has come up a winner!
More later... stay tuned!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Hmmmmm
What a year! So damn difficult!
We've hardly been at the farm all year due to many and varied obstacles. Hopefully it will be different next year. We've decided that we need to get a caravan as the tent has turned out to be less suitable than we thought. I don't know where the caravan is going to materialise from but the goal is to have one by this time next year.
I have some photos to post from our last trip but I don't have the gadget to get them from the camera to the computer so I'll bung em up later on.
Right, so it's now later on and I have the photos available. They were taken on 15th November and they really show what happens when the we don't get up there often enough. Everything is overgrown and the thistles that Ray so diligently slaughtered have all come back again.
We expected as much but also expected to be able to knock them down every year, which hasn't happened this year. Thus the cycle begins again. These thistles will flower, set seed and bingo, another seed bank to contend with over the next 10 years. As the saying goes, "life happens"..
Ray slashed the grass down from around the fruit trees and into the pen a little bit, but didn't have time to do the whole pen.
We weeded around the base of the trees, gave them a good drink and mulched them heavily. We've not been back since then to water them but there has been some rain around Armstrong lately so hopefully they will be ok.
We plan to head up there this weekend (27-28 Dec) so I'll update again shortly.
Merry Christmas to all, and a wonderful and peaceful 2009 for all of us!
We've hardly been at the farm all year due to many and varied obstacles. Hopefully it will be different next year. We've decided that we need to get a caravan as the tent has turned out to be less suitable than we thought. I don't know where the caravan is going to materialise from but the goal is to have one by this time next year.
I have some photos to post from our last trip but I don't have the gadget to get them from the camera to the computer so I'll bung em up later on.
Right, so it's now later on and I have the photos available. They were taken on 15th November and they really show what happens when the we don't get up there often enough. Everything is overgrown and the thistles that Ray so diligently slaughtered have all come back again.
We expected as much but also expected to be able to knock them down every year, which hasn't happened this year. Thus the cycle begins again. These thistles will flower, set seed and bingo, another seed bank to contend with over the next 10 years. As the saying goes, "life happens"..
Ray slashed the grass down from around the fruit trees and into the pen a little bit, but didn't have time to do the whole pen.
We weeded around the base of the trees, gave them a good drink and mulched them heavily. We've not been back since then to water them but there has been some rain around Armstrong lately so hopefully they will be ok.
We plan to head up there this weekend (27-28 Dec) so I'll update again shortly.
Merry Christmas to all, and a wonderful and peaceful 2009 for all of us!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Well here I am again.. updating, well, nothing!
Since my last post we have been to the farm once, on June 14th to have a look around and to plant Bonnie's tree.
All was well with the trees growing and the tomatoes having long ripened on the vine and subsequently perished. An ex workmate of Ray's has patched up the burned fences and put some sheep in the paddocks to graze so I'll be interested to see how much they keep the grass down in spring.
I'll pop back here to report more once we get up to the farm again. In the meantime, life meanders on in Gisborne.
Since my last post we have been to the farm once, on June 14th to have a look around and to plant Bonnie's tree.
All was well with the trees growing and the tomatoes having long ripened on the vine and subsequently perished. An ex workmate of Ray's has patched up the burned fences and put some sheep in the paddocks to graze so I'll be interested to see how much they keep the grass down in spring.
I'll pop back here to report more once we get up to the farm again. In the meantime, life meanders on in Gisborne.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
