Went into Takaka Friday, to get some black gloss paint for the window frames, and skirting boards, a couple more paint brushes, and to stock up the fridge and pantry. Food prices are a bit higher than in Auckland, having only the one supermarket doesn’t help, nor the trip over the hill to get things here. Although the local roadside stalls and the local shops in town with the organic and almost organic produce are a bit cheaper.
I’ve unpacked a lot more cartons, going to fold them up and find someone who wants them, I’m not intending to move again, although I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve said that in the past as well.
Summer has definitely passed, the mornings are decidedly brisk now, with early mist drifting up from the stream and the Aorere River across the paddock. I’ll attempt to get out before sunrise one morning and get some photos of it down James Road where the bridge was washed away in the floods at the start of the year. There is a rope bridge put in there now, 3 steel cables with rather flimsy looking V ropes to almost stop you falling through going over the river.
Went to the Saturday Market in Takaka as well, a few stalls, similar to Tokoroa, but with a more slightly alternative slant. Only one stall with plants, so I’m not going to be in strong competition with anyone else really, there is room for a bigger and more varied supply of veg and herb seedlings, and ornamentals. I’ll have to work on presentation, but with the type of tube and containers available, I should be able to get everything looking as though it wants a home.
My grapevine is overburdened with grapes, large bunches of very sweet black grapes, I’m not sure of the variety, it’s been a long time since we had grapes in the glasshouses, 1950’s almost, and I’ve not really kept up with the varieties. About the only ones I remember are Albany Surprise, which were the large almost black table grapes.
I’ve started digging over where my veg garden is going, to give me some time out from being inside painting and unpacking, it all looks so bloody confusing opening cartons and finding stuff that has then got to find a home in here somewhere. The kitchen cupboards are filling up quickly, I knew I had a lot of kitchen toys, but as they were collected piecemeal, until I see them all out at once, oh lord, I have stuff that I’d forgotten about. I’m out of bookshelf space already, and still 6 cartons of books to open, and 2 cartons of cds. As for clothes, blankets, drapes, curtains, a carton or two still of dinner plates, kitchen stuff……………..
Still the downstairs looks a lot better than it did a week ago.
I counted 19 rabbits on the road verge this morning, no wonder my lawn has scrapings in it every day. I’ll need an air rifle to start cutting down the numbers, and to fill the freezer with rabbit for stew.
The local community are having a Community Lunch at Rockville today, bring a plate style. I’ve made a pumpkin and kumara with pecan nut pie, and a bowl of potato salad with yoghurt/lemon/garlic and mustard dressing.
I’d like to get all the unpacking done in the next few days, just to know what I have got, and where it is going, or not so much where it is going, but just how much room I’ll have left.
Morriefield got back to me late Friday, with prices. They don’t do a large polytunnel, but they can supply a 2.35m x 8m polytunnel, so 2 of those will give me enough scope and room. One can be for seedlings and cuttings, the other for growing on till I get a shade area put up as well to harden the plants off in. The price isn’t too bad, $4,000 for both, plus delivery. Then I’ll have timber slatting to get for shelves and irrigation system, but that is the cheap part of it all. Plus weedmat. The list goes on.
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