Kia ora,
It’s been a quiet time as we spent the whole month in lockdown – levels 3 and 2. The Delta virus is so much more infectious that it’s taking much longer to beat it. However September began with some lovely sunny weather, allowing us to get outside for long walks each morning. Ann and Honey manage 4-5 kms whilst Peter and Sox rack up 9-10kms! We’ve also managed to work in the garden and on the bonsai.
Three years ago Peter collected this olive tree from our friends garden.
It threw off a number of shoots from the base and he decided it was time to reduce the height of the tree and put it into a smaller pot.
He also cut down Ann’s olive that she got from the same garden.
Peter also knocked together a platform to fit on top of the wheelbarrow to make moving lots of trees or some of our larger trees easier.
On the 13th we got our scheduled second Covid jab. Everyone warned us that we’d probably have a reaction after the second jab but apart from slightly sore arms we felt absolutely fine!
Whilst on their extended walks around the village Peter and Sox walk a little further up the mountain each time.
Three weeks in and we had a couple of days with intermittent, heavy rain. It didn’t stop the daily walks but did cause our water tank to overflow (again) and the Waipa river started to flood the surrounding fields. There was also some thunder and lightning which freaked Honey out. We had to postpone bedtime until midnight – waiting for it all to pass before she calmed down.
Despite Covid restrictions Ann managed to go out and buy Peter his anniversary present – a grinder – so no more blunt chisels.
We both worked shifts at the Hamilton Gardens Information centre. Both days were very quiet due to the lockdowns and poor weather.
We had to have a new dishwasher as part of the handle of the old one broke away exposing the wiring which gave Peter a few shocks if he touched it incorrectly. The new dishwasher is much quieter but it must be on a different decibel level as Honey hates it! The first time Peter switched it on Honey shook and quivered non stop until Peter turned it off completely. So now we have to run it only at night once the girls are in their beds in the laundry.
One evening whilst the girls were out in the garden they began barking excitedly. Peter had to go out with the torch to see what was happening. He found both girls racing around a little hedgehog which was trying to cross the garden. Peter had to scoop it up in a dustpan and pop it over the fence into the paddock next door.