first week of holidays
J came over to NZ and after working his way down the country met up with us last Saturday. On Monday the three of us embarked on our road trip to beautiful Fiordland. We stayed at a lovely place (Campbell Auto Lodge) in Te Anau right across from the lake. Spacious, cheap and comfy bed and pillows! Because I just got my full licence (hold the applause, it took 3 years) I drove the leg from Gore to Te Anau. Fiordland is really stunning. Unlike Wanaka which is pretty in a pleasant relaxed sort of way, the view of Lake Te Anau and the National Park beyond is quite awesome. Raw, unpredictable and breathtaking.
We did the requisite Milford cruise, my favourite part was when the boat came really close to a waterfall and I looked vertically upwards to see the water leaping over the edge. But I was somewhat sleepy due to anti-nausea medication. Sea-legs? Don't have any. Between pukey and sleepy I guess I did alright.
One of the highlights was doing a short day walk on the Kepler Track. My very first time on a Great Walk! And my first tramp of the season. :) Winter is rough in these parts so there were many fallen trees. 30 minutes into the walk we came across a massive tree fallen right across the path. Had to scramble/kinda clamber over it. Mini adventure :)
Looking forward to more tramps this summer, I'm slowly but surely collecting more and more correct gear for this country's seasons and unpredictable climate.
J left on Fri on a bus to Chch. Today, therefore, I spent getting ready to delve into work next week - cleared the house, put things in order, continued work on the garden taking advantage of the sunny weather. Winter came early and so did spring so perhaps this spate of hot weather is an early summer? I'm not complaining.
Today was really productive both inside the house and out. Relaxing fun day in domestic bliss - L was working at home but relatively relaxed so we entertained each other now and again, napped together a bit. Tomorrow I hope I'll have a chance to finish up the garden for now until the next round of work needs to be done. Got a headstart on that though this season, definitely more prepared.
In the veggie garden I have leeks, celery, cabbage, mesclun and swiss chard growing.
Still a few shallots and carrots from last season, also spinach (they didn't name it Perpetual Spinach for nothing!).
The rhubarb has come back this year, as have the chives. (And the comfrey yay!)
In the sunroom aka plant nursery chez An I have basil seedlings ready to be pricked/planted out, 9 NZ flax seedlings, a very tall dill plant, two pots of coriander, two punnets of rocket, some melon and tomato seedlings. Also one very skinny vulnerable looking stevia seedling. And a healthy looking apricot plant growing fast!
Outside I have several pear plants germinated over autumn and hardened over winter too. Though they're tiny, one put out wee flowers this spring. So cute! So precocious.
The herb/bulb garden is expanding, with various bulbs interspersed with rosemary, thyme of two sorts, two sage plants and mint currently. The oregano and two other rosemary plants are ready to go in and join the lot too.
As for the oldies, the bay tree put out flowers this year and the lemon tree is in utter confusion with baby lemons, buds and flowers all happening simultaneously! I think the move confused it very much.
There is more work to be done, more seeds to be sown, seedlings to be planted and general work such as mulching with compost, sweeping/gathering up fallen branches, leaves, wood chips etc. Not to mention lifting and separating old perennials and continuing to feed and weed!
J helped me dig out the biggest monster fennel plant and I worked on several smaller ones. Bronze fennel is unfortunately an introduced and now naturalised invasive weed! Spreads like crazy and doesn't die down in winter like it ought. Instead it produces masses of seed heads which of course is why it spreads like crazy. I'm planning to plant bulb fennel to replace bronze fennel cos we don't really use the leaves much, a pity. The roots smelled really lovely and fresh though, I haven't researched it but I'm sure it's edible. If you think dandelion roots are tenacious and fat, you ain't seen dock, but if you think dock is monstrous, you ain't seen bronze fennel! The roots were comparable in size to my forearm!
Baking a wholemeal honey cake at the man's request, better go check on it..
We did the requisite Milford cruise, my favourite part was when the boat came really close to a waterfall and I looked vertically upwards to see the water leaping over the edge. But I was somewhat sleepy due to anti-nausea medication. Sea-legs? Don't have any. Between pukey and sleepy I guess I did alright.
One of the highlights was doing a short day walk on the Kepler Track. My very first time on a Great Walk! And my first tramp of the season. :) Winter is rough in these parts so there were many fallen trees. 30 minutes into the walk we came across a massive tree fallen right across the path. Had to scramble/kinda clamber over it. Mini adventure :)
Looking forward to more tramps this summer, I'm slowly but surely collecting more and more correct gear for this country's seasons and unpredictable climate.
J left on Fri on a bus to Chch. Today, therefore, I spent getting ready to delve into work next week - cleared the house, put things in order, continued work on the garden taking advantage of the sunny weather. Winter came early and so did spring so perhaps this spate of hot weather is an early summer? I'm not complaining.
Today was really productive both inside the house and out. Relaxing fun day in domestic bliss - L was working at home but relatively relaxed so we entertained each other now and again, napped together a bit. Tomorrow I hope I'll have a chance to finish up the garden for now until the next round of work needs to be done. Got a headstart on that though this season, definitely more prepared.
In the veggie garden I have leeks, celery, cabbage, mesclun and swiss chard growing.
Still a few shallots and carrots from last season, also spinach (they didn't name it Perpetual Spinach for nothing!).
The rhubarb has come back this year, as have the chives. (And the comfrey yay!)
In the sunroom aka plant nursery chez An I have basil seedlings ready to be pricked/planted out, 9 NZ flax seedlings, a very tall dill plant, two pots of coriander, two punnets of rocket, some melon and tomato seedlings. Also one very skinny vulnerable looking stevia seedling. And a healthy looking apricot plant growing fast!
Outside I have several pear plants germinated over autumn and hardened over winter too. Though they're tiny, one put out wee flowers this spring. So cute! So precocious.
The herb/bulb garden is expanding, with various bulbs interspersed with rosemary, thyme of two sorts, two sage plants and mint currently. The oregano and two other rosemary plants are ready to go in and join the lot too.
As for the oldies, the bay tree put out flowers this year and the lemon tree is in utter confusion with baby lemons, buds and flowers all happening simultaneously! I think the move confused it very much.
There is more work to be done, more seeds to be sown, seedlings to be planted and general work such as mulching with compost, sweeping/gathering up fallen branches, leaves, wood chips etc. Not to mention lifting and separating old perennials and continuing to feed and weed!
J helped me dig out the biggest monster fennel plant and I worked on several smaller ones. Bronze fennel is unfortunately an introduced and now naturalised invasive weed! Spreads like crazy and doesn't die down in winter like it ought. Instead it produces masses of seed heads which of course is why it spreads like crazy. I'm planning to plant bulb fennel to replace bronze fennel cos we don't really use the leaves much, a pity. The roots smelled really lovely and fresh though, I haven't researched it but I'm sure it's edible. If you think dandelion roots are tenacious and fat, you ain't seen dock, but if you think dock is monstrous, you ain't seen bronze fennel! The roots were comparable in size to my forearm!
Baking a wholemeal honey cake at the man's request, better go check on it..