Tena Koutou, hi Everyone,
On his walks around the gardens Peter has become friendly with a photographer he sees there every week. Ashok is a professional photographer and has a website and a youtube channel called Soulful Photographer, check out his 10 Years in New Zealand videos.
Ann has been doing some repotting of her bonsai. One maple was really pot bound and she asked Peter for help – he arrived with his chainsaw!
Duncan has been learning blacksmithing skills and sent Peter one of his creations. Ann loves that it’s in the shape of a dog and has named it Kuri.
Peter helped run the final session of the current beginners course where the students got to finish any work needed on their trees before starting on a second tree which they’d been given by Graeme Hancock, the club’s Patron who owns Kaimai Garden Centre in Matamata.
Ann attended another workshop with Adrian Bird as part of the three year programme on Trident Maples and Japanese Black pines.
Tropical cylcone Vaianu caused quite a stir with the whole of North Island and the top of South Island getting severe weather warnings the day before it hit. To prepare Peter took all the bonsai off the staging and put the trees on the ground. Fortunately the tornado swerved to the East at the last minute, so the effects were not as bad as predicted. Even so Northland and the East coast got hit with some flooding and strong winds. We also had some strong gusts of wind and 39mm of rain. Later in the month Wellington and the lower part of North Island got hit with heavy storms and severe flooding. New Zealand has been hit with lots of weather events in the last few years, affecting much of the motu (country).
We awoke one morning to a house sitting on a small section just behind us. Moving whole houses around the country at night happens quite often.
The work on filling the new woodshed continues although 10 days of wet weather slowed Peter down in the middle of the month. All the smaller wood has gone from the paddock and there are just the larger trunks left.
Ann had her tyres checked and ended up having to buy four new ones – eeek!
Peter attended the dawn service in the village for ANZAC day. It was cold (2 degrees) with clear skies.
Monarch butterflies have been scarce this year but we have had a few caterpillars and this one chrysalis about to hatch.
We’ve had some gorgeous sunny days this month. However, clear skies often mean cold nights. The spiders are out in force at the moment – covering everything with cobwebs – bonsai, kiwifruit plants and the lawns.
This is the entrance to our place. We planted three maples and two ginkgo. The colours that these five trees display in autumn are beautiful and always make us smile when we arrive home.
Honey developed an ulcer on her hind leg so the vet prescribed some antibiotics and the instruction “don’t let her lick it please”. Honey is a licker and she has been since we got her 12 years ago from the SPCA. We have to change her dressing every day because she’s managed to lick it until it’s soaking wet.
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