Kia ora,
We celebrated the start of 2025 with a new years day dinner with Sandra after Peter got back from working at the Gardens. After 20 years Peter treated himself to a new Weber Baby Q BBQ which allows him to do the cooking on the deck rather than in the external garage.
The drive system on our new mower broke and it was away for just over a week. This time of year is not the best time for the mower to break. By the time we got it back the grass was almost too tall for the mower to cut it! Then the wheelbarrow tyre fell apart and Peter had to order a new one. What’s next we asked ourselves? Well – three of the glazed window panes in the dining area need renewing as the seals have broken allowing moisture in between the two panes of glass.
Ann attended the bonsai club committee meeting – planning for the years events. It’s so nice only having one committee meeting a year – instead of the almost monthly ones we used to have in the UK.
To celebrate 20 years since we arrived in NZ on the 12th of January we went for a meal at our favourite restaurant in Te Awamutu.
Peter has started cutting down the Red Robin hedge at the bottom of the paddock because it’s become so overgrown. It’s a slow process. He managed to remove all the branches from 7 stumps in one day. It then took him two days to trim all the large branches to remove the small stuff, two days to put all the small stuff through the chipper and three days to cut the larger branches up for firewood (about two weeks worth). We have around 150 stumps for him to do so it will take some time. How do we know there are 150 stumps? Because it was Ann who planted all 150 photinia plants 19 years ago. A second lot of 7 stumps were cut on the 24th.
The swift nest in the Japanese Garden Pavilion is proving popular with visitors. Four babies being fed by two very harassed parents who keep dashing in and out with food.
Ann got talked into being filmed whilst at the local 4 Square supermarket in the village – she ended up in their little video on Facebook – blink and you’ll miss her in the video though!!
A calendar and chocolate parcel posted before Christmas by our friends, Duncan and Lyn, was sent to Finland before arriving here on the 29th. The address label very clearly stated New Zealand! We really can’t see how New Zealand was mistaken for Finland.
Peter has chopped down more of the hedge.
The local honey bees continue to love feasting on our Japanese raisin tree.
Azaria and Carolien visited, along with another ex-student Ryan and his mum and grandma and baby sister. We had a lovely morning tea and Azaria enjoyed her time driving around the garden.
As the temperature rises the girls spend the day moving from one cool area to another.
