News

We are all enjoying the warm still weather. The llamas have made lovely dust bath for themselves and the pullets are settling in. The garden is looking lush with the cosmos starting to come out and the roses flowering again. The tomatoes are still prolific, so good...

At the weekend we went and picked up five black Orpington pullets and a young rooster. They are not named yet as their is no way of telling them apart. Waiting to go I am sure they hated the three hour car journey. It was difficult to get them out of the travel boxes...

We had a wonderful morning repotting all the orchids that hat have been sitting up in the orchard root bound and desperate for attention. Thank you dear friends for all your help with them, painting the house and playing with dogs. Kauri Mountain beach The orchids are...

We found a very sad puriri moth in the recycling bin. We rescued it and let it recover safely before releasing it by the puriri tree. Old puriri log with leaf The caterpillars are huge and live for about four years eating immense networks of holes in the tree....

Six llamas have gone to their new home. Three dams and crias have relocated to Maungatapere. Getting them into the van was a mission but we did it with good planning and great teamwork. They did not behave particularly brilliantly. There was a lot of spitting and...

And even a rainbow! The tomatoes are producing every day and the pepinos look like little eggs. We love the little Ladyfinger bananas and the plants are doing well. A

The hen house is bow waiting for it’s occupants who will get picked when we have time to drive to Auckland to collect them. It looks great, very inviting. We have had a bit more rain at night which is fantastic for the garden and the water supply. Wet deck

We have been having beautiful mild still evenings. We can start to enjoy the new garden. Although our fruit trees have only just been planted there is plenty to tempt us in roadside stalls. These figs were delicious with a little cream cheese and runny honey. Julia...

We can’t grow avocados as they hate heavy soul and clay and would die within a few years. We have found a great orchard nearby in Glenbrevie. Fortunately they are very cheap and in perfect condition in spite of falling off during the storms. I was able to make one of...