Later in October 02

We spent 4 days hard at it in the house & garden. Hey, that could make a good magazine title!

T painted the windowsills & door frames - it's quite surprising what a positive difference this makes.... aside from a few more sills & doors, the painting is over.

Also did numerous little things, like put up the bathroom fittings - these were a mission in the end. Look nice, but damned fiddly.

We have a little vege & transplanting garden dug now - vegies, herbs & little tiny trees which are safe from horses where they are until they get big enough to transplant to useful places. A nursery I guess. Which I suspect will grow.... oh... pun unintended...

And we got some cool ideas from the little garden centre at Te Horo - it's on the corner of te Horo beach Road - and it's part of a little complex called Hyde Park (I recommend the cafe there, the brunch menu is everything you could expect). Anyway, it had this little hung-over guy there, so he was dry as humour wise, particularly with his suggestions for how I manage to keep tomato plants watered (turn on the tap & point the hose at them... very droll), and he's set the place out with all these cool little gardens & features. The one that struck me was a mound made of large river stones, sort of a crescent shape, and it is an outdoor fireplace, shaded from the wind by the rise of the crescent. I will have me one of those at some stage....

Need to consider what to plant for a shelter belt. Apparently a couple of rows of trees are best - smaller ones on the perimeter, then taller ones one layer in. No idea what to plant so far - although we saw a magnificent row of cherry blossoms - but they probably don't afford much shelter - although we may get some anyway. Have a lot of Karaka saplings (a lot). they have the advantage that they grow quickly, and are coastal & wind resistant. And also, I have about 150 of them already. Disadvantages - they can grow HUGE! Maybe they can become the 2nd higher row....

Suggestions welcome.

And started lopping the low branches off trees in the forest. It is so cool having a forest. Went for a wander through it with glasses of bubbles one lovely evening. Will thin some out for firewood soon. Was thinking of planting some clearings with karakas, but maybe I should keep planting trees for firewood. Other than pines, which are pretty ugly really. Or maybe I have enough firewood & maybe karakas are a good idea.... native bush & all that. Plus I have a lot to put somewhere....

Suggestions welcome...

And also started pulling up lino. It is a disgusting job. SOme moron laid hardboard over a layer of tiles, then, where you'd think one tack per corner would suffice, hammered 1 inch nails in every 4 inches or so - not just round the perimeter - but right through, in neat rows.... And the ANCIENT tiles underneath have been glued on with something very efficient & lasting - possibly derived from dead horses, it must be so old...... so that they have to be chipped off a small piece at a time. And it's all a huge pity really, as the ancient tiles are far nicer than any of the several layers of kitsch lino laid over the top. In fact, the story told by those layers, with their decreasing levels of taste as the years went by, could possibly make a good subject for an anthropological thesis.

Suggestions welcome.... for removing the tiles... or maybe we'll make life easier & lay cork over the top of it all.

Carbon-Dated lino & tile samples available still for enthusiastic anthropology students.

Thinking about getting a couple of sheep too - the place is well fenced. Dunno when or if the horses will be back. Meanwhile, the grass is knee high in the paddocks. The Small Farming book I bought (like Jean de Florette's rabbit manual - tells me how to build a fence, plant a shelter belt, shear a sheep, tend for & butcher damn near any sort of farm animal, dig a well, y'know... that sort of stuff, oh yeah, manage a forest...). But anyway, it says sheep are the super small farming animal, they not only eat everything (horses skip the weeds), but they eat it all to uniform length & help smooth the contours of the land. And bonus: aside from chicken shit, sheep shit makes the very best manure. not that I'll be collecting it up or anything. Just need to keep 'em watered & get 'em sheared every year or so (no, won't be attempting this - although guests are welcome to extend their small farm experience by giving it a go).