A Strange Sort of Summer....

A year ago it was sweltering - we were in full drought with a total fire ban in the Whangarei District.  Gaping cracks fractured the land and we constantly kept an eye on water usage. 

Not so this summer.  December was very wet - the poor Swiss couple who stayed in the Cabbage Tree for three weeks till just after Christmas kept saying "do you think it will stop raining tomorrow?"  I think they had about three really hot and sunny days.  At least it didn't stop them exploring the region and having some great walks out at Whangarei Heads, as well as the Matakohe Kauri Museum which they loved so much they went back the next day!  Our own Heritage Park and Museum here in Whangarei also got a very strong thumbs up.   They joined us for Christmas lunch - which we had hoped to have outdoors - but instead was around the kitchen table as it rained yet again.

All this rain has meant great grass growth on the farm - and fat, happy cattle.  It's also meant a lot more lawn mowing for me, but I simply haven't looked back since replacing our old mower with the USA-made Hustler Sport - it has more than halved mowing time and produces a great cut - I love it!  I've already clocked up nearly 50 hours on it.  We have had our fair share of hassles with the water pipes that feed the troughs on the farm over the past 6 months and as David had a three week break over Christmas we planned to replace a large chunk of it.  The wet weather actually made for good working conditions as the ground was easier to dig, it was cooler and we weren't fed up having to work on the farm instead of lying on a beach!  So we have completed Stage One.  The ground is hard again now, so will wait till the rains come again.

Even though it's been a lot drier since, it is still cooler than previous summers - temperatures are mid 20's rather than late 20's and early 30's.  This morning dawned misty and cool - it was just like Autumn, with tiny rainbow encrusted spiders webs littering the grass when I went to move the cows.  I'm loving it, not being a fan of extreme heat.  The vegetable garden has delivered this year - again thanks to less heat, the lettuces have grown throughout the summer without bolting and turning  bitter.  The tomatoes plants are weighted down with fruit, I've picked courgettes constantly every few days, the apple cucumber is covered in fruit, we've had beans and snow peas a plenty for stirfrys, a lovely mix of potatoes including the heirloom Pink Fir, spring onions, and strawberries.  We pulled out the French lavender (Major) all down the eastern side of the house and replaced it with English (Dilly Dilly) as I'm sick of the Major going woody so quickly in our dry climate.  Each plant survived (fifty!) and they are in full bloom, and looking delightful.

I'm very pleased to relate some snippets regarding the wildlife here.  Our occasional visitor, the male Californian Quail has become resident this summer.  You will see him in and around the garden every day, and we couldn't be happier about this - he is truly magnificent as he struts his stuff.  Frogs are heard each evening in the distance - so our wetlands are providing a favourable environment for these little blokes -  when we decided to use underground drainage to dry out some wet areas of pasture instead of draining the water into the river we created a wetland in an unusable natural depression.  The herons and pukekos also love it.  But the big news is..... drum roll..... about a month back as we arrived home from a night out around 11pm-ish we looked up and saw a bat fluttering around!   We were aware that long tailed bats have been sighted in the district so we can only assume "ours" was of this variety rather than the even more scarce short tailed bat.  Either way they are rare and fragile creatures, so we were delighted to see one here.

The summer has seen a steady stream of guests come and stay (despite the weather in the earlier stages!) - and we have enjoyed the company of guests from here in NZ, as well as from Australia, the US, Britain, and our Swiss guests mentioned earlier.  Notably there has been a huge increase in numbers of people living in NZ staying.  Maybe due to our accommodation being "instantly bookable" here on our site now - seems that other people are just like me and Hate to Wait!  New artwork, crispy bedlinen, new big thick towels plus a DVD player & movies have all enhanced the stays of guests in the Cabbage Tree, our self catering option.

We got away to Arrowtown again in November and had our usual wonderful time down there - this time we explored Naseby, Ranfurly and the Wedderburn valley.  It was great to sit in front of the fire in the Blue Door bar in its rustic leather armchairs once more.  We had a stunning meal at Saffron - just so good in every way, and we loved the walks along the Arrow River.  And of course the sticky buns from Provisions - oh, yum!  Can't wait to go back soon.

Until next time,
Sammi (and Dave)