Kia ora,
We started the month with a quick trip over to bonsai friends in Tauranga who were having an open day. We were very good and didn’t collect or buy any more bonsai for ourselves (we have more than enough already).
Ann is working with Peter at Hamilton Gardens to cover for his oppo’s holidays. We almost had one shift cancelled due to flooding when the workmen doing the renovations of the Pavilion hit a water pipe just as we arrived.
We’ve spent many, many hours repotting the bonsai that need it – which is rather a lot. Each tree can take between 1 and 4 hours to do so we only manage a couple each day. Sometimes it takes brute force (and a spade) to complete the job.
We do most of the repotting in the garage and can be in there for hours at a time. Sox will often come and check us out but then disappear back to a comfy sofa in the house. One day we left the car door open and Sox sat in it for the whole time we were working in the garage.
The August bonsai club meeting was about styling. Both Peter and Ann led groups designing trees from scratch.
We also had a fun afternoon making bonsai slabs using lightweight board, foil, chicken wire and plaster.
Ann’s been trying to clean the girls teeth daily with the hope that vet dental bills won’t be quite so high in the future. Honey is very laid back about her dental hygiene ……
…… whilst Sox finds the whole process stressful and needs lots of coaxing and praise.
Peter’s railway has a few more buildings. All the houses are now built and there’s not much space left for more commercial buildings.
The weather in the second half of August has been mostly clear sunny days but cold nights. This allowed us to get a fair bit of gardening done. Peter continued trimming the hedges and we heavily pruned the wisteria growing over the larger archway.
The latest Bonsai Beginners course started with Peter leading two of the evenings. Ann was there to help out with the admin and practical side as usual.
We had a Behind the Scenes tour of Hamilton Gardens led by one of our bonsai friends. Tarn is a leading hand at the gardens and took us on a highly interesting two hour tour including gardens still being created as well as into areas the public are not usually allowed.
Honey’s had some problems with her paws again. Some of the pads became swollen and sore so the vet prescribed antibiotics, steroids, pain relief and rest. She really wasn’t very happy that her daily walks were curtailed, however on one of the days when she was allowed out Honey was fascinated by a robot lawn mower. She sat and watched it for ages.
On our 32nd Wedding Anniversary Ann had some more books and a rabbit (surprise surprise) ……
……. whilst Peter had a new loco – what more could we wish for!
The loco will be renumbered to 5164 – the same as the one Peter and his dad, John, worked on in the 1970’s.
