Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to our March news!
The month began with Ann celebrating her 64th birthday (where have the years gone?). She got a pile of books from Peter and the girls, and a meal out with Peter.
We are still continuing to do split doggy walking. Peter and Sox walk for about an hour, then meet up with Ann and Honey (who drive into the village and amble up and down the main street). Then we swap dogs and Ann walks Sox for another hour whilst Peter drives Honey home. Sox loves her 10 kms + walks whilst Honey manages about 500 metres!
Honey’s paw is still giving her problems and the vets are trying her on a range of medicines including anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, steroids and pain killers. Because she licks her paws repeatedly she has to wear a sock every night – it’s not her favourite piece of clothing!
At the March club meeting Peter ran a session on ‘Root over Rock’ bonsai. After demonstrating how to do it everyone got stuck in and produced their own creations. It was a busy and successful meeting with over 30 club members attending.
He also led another of the bonsai beginners sessions – this one was on styling.
The central crossing barriers on the main road through the village have been taken down for the second time. Luckily no one was standing in the middle waiting to cross the road.
Peter spent a couple of days helping friends moving all their photos and emails onto new computers / mobile phones.
A very brave (or stupid) wild rabbit has been seen on numerous occasions in the garden and down the driveway. So far the girls have either not seen it or not been able to chase it because they’ve been on their leads or in the car. A neighbour has also seen baby wild rabbits in their garden. We’re really hoping they don’t discover our garden as we think Sox may be fast enough to catch them (Honey, however, doesn’t stand a chance).
We spent a lovely Sunday up in Thames with some of the bonsai club members – looking for rocks and driftwood for bonsai displays and creations. As Peter parked the Ute in the town centre Ann spied a second hand book shop. Obviously she had to have a look inside and found 10 books!
On our way home (along the back roads to Pirongia) we spied a sheep wandering down the road. We think it was trying to get back into the paddock it had escaped from. Peter used the Ute to block its route along the road whilst Ann did the ‘arms out’ and ‘shooing’ bit guiding the stupid animal back towards the paddock. It ran along the fence line and found a gap big enough for it to crawl through. Ann feels she can now add sheep wrangler to her CV.
Peter went to a meeting about the improvements at Hamilton Gardens. The work should be finished by Spring when we will move out of the portacabin and into the new visitors centre. We will still be looking after the hire of wheelchairs and mobility scooters and answering questions about the gardens but the shop will be run by the full time paid council staff. Happily the volunteers should have time to walk around the gardens answering visitors questions.
We harvested our pumpkins – not bad considering none of the three varieties that grew (one in the raised bed and two in the compost bin/hedge) are the one shown on the label of the plant Ann bought which was a butternut squash.
Peter now also has a new skill – pumpkin/hedge wrangler.
Ann decided back at the beginning of spring to grow her salad/veggies on or beside the deck so they were easier and quicker to harvest (usually she grows them in raised beds or in the shade house in the far corner of the garden). However this was a big mistake. The salad stuff was pathetic, the tomato plant struggled against the wall of the house, the capsicums kept going rotten before they ripened, and Honey decided that the peas were meant for her so she helped herself – to peas and pods – ripping them off the plant with gay abandon! Only the chilli and cucumber plants did quite well. Quite well that is until Honey decided that she liked cucumber and took the last one, destroying the plant in the process (big sigh). At least she remembered to leave the chilli plant alone. Years ago we found her stretched out on the hall tiles panting faster than a steam train. She was like that for over an hour before her breathing returned to normal. Turned out she’d tried to eat a chilli pepper (she’s never helped herself to another one since)!
Our feijoa tree has continued to shed more branches – this time because of some high winds.
Neighbours, Bev and Tom, were away over Easter so Ann and the girls fed the chooks and cat each day and collected the eggs.
The girls love their job as security guards, protecting the bonsai.
< February April >