Ann & Peter

in New Zealand

Haere Mai

August has been warm, so far this year Peter has only had to top up the firewood store in the garage three times rather than the usual four as we have not had to have the fire on - much to the girl's disgust.

Peter bought a new computer as his old one was 6 1/2 years old and getting slow. The new one is much faster.

We finished digging up all the trees from the growing on beds that we needed to - over 50 trees dug up and put into training pots! Ann has managed to sell several trees over the winter to club members.

We have planted two plum trees – roll on next year when Ann can make some plum jam and plum chutney with our own home grown plums!

Ann tidied up all four strawberry beds, fed them with lime and covered them with straw – now just waiting for some luscious, scrumptious strawberries to grow.

Peter has finished the large pumpkin bed too and we’ve covered it with pea straw which will suppress the weeds and (hopefully) stop certain doggies from trampling all over it!  The bed will also have water melon and kumara growing in it. Ann has a kumara sitting on the kitchen windowsill sprouting slowly, and a tray of potatoes chitting in the garage – they will hopefully be planted by the end of the month and be ready for digging up at Christmas time.

We have new neighbours next door and they have cut the hedge - it's been about four years since it was last cut on their side - now we can see Pirongia mountain again from the dining area and the deck.
	Our mountain view is back.
We had a great bonsai meeting with Adriaan and Poppie coming over from Tauranga to give a demo - with a privet group, an elm and a maple.
	Peter was peeling a carrot for our dinner when Jaz came up and started hassling him. He showed her the carrot (telling her that it wasn't meat) and she whipped it from his hand and started eating it!
Maxie heard Jaz eating and came over to see what she was up to. Of course Peter had to give her a carrot as well to keep her quiet!.
	Tired out!

The middle of the month saw a real tortuous week for the girls. First they had their flea treatment – which is only a liquid applied to the neck but you’d think with the way they behave that Ann was poisoning them! Then, two days later, they had a bath and finally it was down to the vets for their worm tablets. We have to go to the vets as we can never manage to get the tablet (which is the size of a horse pill) down Maxie’s throat so the vet has to do it. This time the vet tried a new pill which was advertised as palatable to dogs. Hmmm - they've never tested it on Maxie obviously. She hated it and tried as usual to spit it out.

Peter bought Ann a new toy – a die grinder which she can use to do some carving on her bonsai. Needless to say as soon as Ann had finished using it on her bonsai Peter grabbed it for his trees too.

Ann finally got her surgical orthopaedic outpatients appointment and is now on the waiting list for a hip replacement.  She was told it would be between 2 and 6 months (we think it will probably be nearer to six months).  Just so long as it doesn’t happen in the summer holidays!!!!

Depending on the route we take during our daily perambulation around the village with the girls we sometimes pass a speed camera. Sometimes it registers about 5 kph when we walk towards it. One Saturday Peter and Maxie decided to test they speed - 16 kph - not bad eh?!

We celebrated our twenty second wedding anniversary with a trip to a book fair where we had one of our lowest hauls - only 18 books and one of them is for a raffle at the bonsai club. We ended the day with a meal at the nice Italian restaurant we have found.

Meet Hogan, the latest addition to the Mudie lop eared rabbit family.

News from Home

John had a good trip to the Arboretum for a memorial service.

Paige dancing with her team mates T/REX in Cardiff Millennium Stadium.