Saturday 9th April

If anyone has any idea on how to get plaster to stick to walls please let me know. I’ve spent most of the week arguing with it upstairs on the outside wall. I’m starting to think it is the sunlight hitting the wall on that side of the house in the afternoon, and causing the interior wall to heat up and bubble the plaster. I’ve sanded the walls so they have a rough surface, put thin coats of plaster on to try and give some base, put plasterers mesh on, it still bubbles. I may just give up and sand it smooth and paint over, at least the grooves in the panels are gone this time.

The veg garden outside is slowly progressing, I keep running out of horse manure to dig in, so it is a case of driving to Rockville, grabbing whatever bags Frankes have got out, then digging a bit more. At least the horse manure is cheap, $1.50 - $2 a bag. I’ve got silverbeet, cabbage, brocolli planted already in the first bed, and leeks, cauliflower, more silverbeet, brocolli in seed boxes in the tunnel house to plant out in a few weeks.

The timber for the shelving in the tunnel houses is mostly here, the 50 x 25 arrived, but not the 100 x 100 for the uprights. Hopefully it will be here Friday of next week. Thank God for 2 years in the Solomons, I can cope easily with slow deliveries now.

I let Shukita and Will at the store know I would be in Takaka with the trailer next week, if they needed anything bought back out, so it looks like I’m picking up their washing machine from the repair shop.

Took a morning off on Thursday and went for a drive up to the end of the Aorere Valley, to the start of the Heaphy Track. http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/nelson-tasman/golden-bay/heaphy-track/

I’d like to walk it some time, 4 – 6 days depending on weather and fitness, make that 8 – 10 days for me then.

Salisbury Falls Aorere Valley

Aorere Valley/Heaphy Track

The country starts to get a bit rugged up that end of the valley, you can see the snow levels on the bare mountain tops, and the nature of the forest gets very heavy with lowland beech on this side of the divide.

I’ve got on the list at one of the kiwifruit orchards for May/June pruning season, I know I’m too old to go picking, well, old maybe not, but certainly not fit or agile enough to keep up with the usual picking gangs.

Mark with the dairy farm around me, 1250 cows, called in tonight. I’m on the list with them to do morning milking in a week or so, depending on when the new herd he has bought, another 700, arrive. They are only milking once a day at the moment, about 3 – 4 hours, 4.30am to about 8.30/9am. Which suits me, I’ll still have most of the day to keep pottering around with the nursery.

He asked me what I intended growing, and pushed hard for me to get more native trees etc underway. So the demand is there, all I have to do is get it all working. Plus the veg and ornamentals that everyone wants as well.

We had a bit of a wind earlier on in the week, I got woken up with an incessant banging from outside. Went out to check, and one corner of the roof had started to lift, so I was up the ladder banging in nails at 3 am, holding onto the spouting to keep steady in the wind, and getting frozen with the rain. Not one of those things you want to do repeatedly. Went back up to check in the daylight and secured it all down a bit better so hopefully it won’t lift again. The tunnel houses never moved at all.

Monday 4th April

I’m up to 23 mice in the traps, and the Talon bait is vanishing at a rapid rate. I think the wekas like the idea of finding dead mice outside, they clean them up as fast as I throw them out.

Yesterday turned into a long day and into evening. It started off with a bit of rain, then settled into that gloomy still silence that precludes a storm. I figured I had the day clear though, so started on the tunnel houses at last.

The first one took the longest, just setting it out, and making sure it was square and level. In between the intermittent showers as well. About 3 hours setting out, then put the frames in, and started on the second one while I was waiting for David down the road to help with the covers. He arrived just as I was finishing off the second base, and we got the covers on both before he left about 5pm. I carried on till it got too dark to see anything, as well as keeping out of the rain that took over from the showers.

Had a little bit of finishing to do this morning, putting the vents and door on the second one, tidying up around them, but they are both up and ready for the shelving to go in this weekend.

Then it’s order the seeds, potting mix, biodegradable tubes and get started.

Last night had the first major storm since I’ve been here, I woke up about midnight to the sound of the wind and rain howling around the house, then again about 2am when it seemed to reach a peak. Took the torch and went outside to check on the tunnels, both were handling the wind really well, so finally went to sleep and didn’t worry.

Saturday 2nd April

Another week of up and down stuff. I’ve got an ad running in the Golden Bay Weekly for lawnmowing/gardening/etc for the Aorere Valley, Collingwood – Bainham and hopefully will eventually pick up some work through that.

Kiwi fruit season is about a month away at least here, then there will be work all over the place, but only for a month or so, with maybe a few weeks afterwards pruning.

I’m undecided about where to put the tunnel houses now, where I want them has been used as a parking area, with a fair bit of gravel added to the ground and a smallish hump in the middle. I tried to dig through it, so I can level it out a bit, but the spade just bounced back up. Will try to get the farmer down the road to scrape it back with the tractor and bucket, when I can catch him.

I bought another toy on Tuesday, small Poulan Chainsaw, and got rid of the acacia that I just knew would fall once I put the poly tunnels up. It wasn’t too bad, I got about a cu. m of good firewood from it, and a lot more light coming through the gap now as well.

My P class licence is turning into a major exercise, going to cost $550.00, with written tests and an hour spent driving the licencing guy around in Motueka, then waiting 6 – 8 weeks for a Police clearance. Oh well, once I have it there are the school buses, tourist buses, and general bus service that I can get.

I’m still plastering upstairs, going over where the plaster hasn’t stuck to the walls, I’ve got mesh on it now, and hopefully it will decide to stay there.

If anyone remembers the fun I had in Honiara with the rats, here I’m now inundated with field mice from the paddocks all around me. Since they were cut for silage last week, it seems as though every field mouse in the neighbourhood moved in with me, I’ve got 2 traps set continuosly, the best score so far is 8 last night out of nearly 20 I’ve caught in the past 3 – 4 days. They have no fear of people, I had one get caught at 9am this morning, while I was having a coffee. Then 2 more this afternoon while I was outside cutting the lawn.

I’ve got some Talon bait down as well now along with the traps.

I had a bit of a clean up around the garden as well, trimmed a few overgrown bits and pieces back, stacked it up and let it dry out till Thursday

between times, I tried out the oven and got rid of some ripe bananas and made banana cake with lemon icing

In

The cows are spending a few days next door in the paddock,they all look
like they are due to calve soon, and are extremely curious. If they see me in the house or outside, they all cluster around the fenceline watching.

Just up the road from me, on top of the hill, is a typical farm paddock sculpture. I don't know how long it has been there, but everyone in the area knows it, and it makes a good reference point to describe where I am.

I've spent the day going over the plaster I put on yesterday, the grooves in the panel suck it in, so I'm trying to get away from what happened downstairs with some of the grooves still showing. Haven't got up the ladder yet,

Here's a few photos from the last few days, we've got a coldish westerly blowing the clouds over the hill tops, and into the valleys,

Saturday 26th March

Another week slipped away, with not a lot of progress. Well, some progress, things take a long time to happen here, a little like the Solomons, so I’m well used to slowing the pace down now.

I have to get a medical clearance and then get my Irish Passenger Transport licence swapped onto my NZ licence, then I go onto the list of drivers for Golden Bay Tours, taking tourists out to Farewell Spit Lighthouse and other places. Although they are slowing down now the main tourist season is nearly over. It’ll be a good part time job anyway, and fun.

Still waiting for the polytunnels to arrive, they were meant to be here Thursday, so I waited at Collingwood till 5.30 pm Thursday, then came back home. The carriers rang Friday morning and said how about Tuesday about 4.30, so I’ll be back at the garage again then. Waiting wasn’t too bad, the garage loaned me a couple of books to read while I was waiting, in between taking a few more photos around Collingwood.

I went to the monthly meeting of SeniorNet in Takaka on Monday, just to see what they do, and ended up getting put onto the committee. They run computer/internet classes for 55+ people, and despite the small population here in Golden Bay, all the courses they run get filled quickly. I’m down to run a course on internet scams, and identity theft on the net, so the years I’ve been involved with www.scamwarners.com is of some benefit. Especially now with a lot of the newer scams, and the Japanese Earthquake scams everywhere at the moment.

I picked up my trailer on Tuesday over in Motueka, it tows well, and is well set up for a lawnmowing round, with a lock box on the front, and detachable ramps at the back. And deep sides, better than the usual 300mm high ones. All I need now is the lawns and gardens to do and get payed for. It will take a month or so for any work to come in, I have an ad going in this week in the Golden Bay paper, but as I’ve been told by Shukita at the store, everyone will wait till the ad has been running for a month at least before responding, everyone here has seen the blowins arrive then vanish without achieving anything.

I’ve had another look and measured up everything again for getting stuff upstairs, and I think there is just room enough to get a queen bed base up there, it is tight and I’ll need someone else to help, but I think with a bit of awkward manoeuvering and some muttered words, it should work. So I’m upstairs this weekend plastering and masking off the edges. A coat of plaster today, then sand off tomorrow if it dries in time, then painting during the week. Getting right up into the ceiling at the ridge is going to be interesting, I have a 12’ ladder, and it is still a bit short, and given I don’t like working at heights anymore, I get vertigo something chronic now, I may have to borrow another ladder and some planks just to give me the sense of security.

Even getting up to plaster is fun, trowel full of plaster, climb up the ladder, watch half the plaster fall off onto the floor, mutter a few words, climb down the ladder, scoop it up, climb etc. still, it is getting done, and then I’ll paint the stairway while the plaster is drying, it is a dark dingy looking stairwell, with the fake wood panels, and spider webs like some Hammer Horror movie hanging from the ceiling.

Sunday 20th March

I had a disturbed sleep last night. Got woken about 2am by a family of wekas having a party outside, calling to each other, and playing in the shrubs against the house. Gave up trying to ignore them in the end, and finally got back to sleep about 4.30, after reading most of the night.

When I did finally wake up, about 8, it was looking to be a brilliant day, as always here, so loaded the fishing rods into the Pajero and spent most of the day at Collingwood beach.

Caught one slightly undersize Kahawai, had several what felt like snapper bites, but nothing to bring home. Still, it was peaceful, the tides are high this week, with the full moon, and if I get back there, I think early morning or evening will be better than a midday tide.

Here are a few photos anyway, the beach is still littered with driftwood from the flood back in January, the little harbour at Collingwood is more driftwood than harbour, and all the beaches along Golden Bay have varying amounts of driftwood scattered on them. I filled the boot of the Pajero with the smaller bits for the fire.

Saturday 18th March

Jeez, a whole week, either I’ve been too busy or there hasn’t been a lot happening. A bit of both at times I think

Pics of the Beach at Collingwood, with a flock of oystercatchers flying across to the river mouth

The polytunnels arrive next week, so there goes next weekend, setting them out, and levelling up the frames and bases. Chiquita and Wills down at the store have offered to come and help put the ploythene covers on, depending on how busy they are during the week. Even one person to help will be good, it is simple enough but a hell of a struggle on your own, and with 8 metres of the stuff to lift up and over metre high frames I can see myself using a bit of language.

I’m working my way through a list of phone numbers of people to contact for part time and seasonal work, from the kiwi fruit orchards, they start in a month or so, to part time at the Senior Nett Community Centre in Takaka with computer courses, as well as the TOPS Courses at the Golden Bay Work Centre Trust.

The other thing I have going is setting up a lawnmowing and garden Maintenance round here in the Aorere Valley, the closest other person comes from Parapara, the next is based in Takaka, so their prices reflect the distance to get to any work here in the valley. I pick up a trailer from Motueka on Tuesday, found it on Trademe, ex lawnmowing contractor, so it is fitted out with ramps for a ride on mower, and a secure lock box for fuel and those items that go missing, like chainsaws, hedge cutters etc.

I haven’t done anything further to the house, other than patch up a few places where some idiot brushed against the cream walls with black paint on his arm/shoulder/jeans, and finished the trim off. I’m starting a garden out the back door, a large square of grass, that I don’t need, and it gets sun most of the day, other than mornings, so it is going to be the veg garden.

I was outside cutting back the trees on the road edge earlier today, some of the calves in the paddocks at the top of the hill have just been separated from their mothers, and put into other paddocks. I put a few back in the paddock on Thursday when I went to Collingwood, they were outside the fence on the road trying to find mum. Anyway, went into Takaka this morning, and there were another 8 or so out, so stopped, chased them back up the road, put them through the gate, carried on to Takaka

Came back about 3 hours later, they were out again, so drove down to the store, told Chiquita, and she was going to ring around the neighbourhood to find the owners.

Where was I? Oh yes, cutting the trees outside. The calves decided to come down the hill to pay a visit, I suppose they had me down as an easy mark by now, when the guy from the farm down the road came past on the quad bike. So we stopped and chatted as you do in the middle of nowhere and the good side is they weren’t his calves, but he chased them back up anyway, and during our conv, he asked if I was doing anything yet. Said not yet, and he is going to see about getting me working in the dairy in a week or so when all the cows come into full milk production. 700 of them, 5am starts, and 4.30 afternoons. About 3 – 4 hours at a time, so I’m hoping it comes through. Asked me if I’ve milked cows before, said not for a long while, like 50 years, but if he was going to pay me, I’ll learn bloody fast.

Here are a few pics of the Aorere River and what is left of the James Road Bridge from the flood in January. They have a walkway over the river now, until Council can find the money to replace the road bridge.

There is gold still in the Aorere, a mile or so upstream are areas where panning is allowed, I may get a licence and have a go one day.

Quick *hi* to Mike, John, Pete and Katja, Libby, Hogan, Mary, Al, take care