Two nosey inspectors

These 2 nosey parkers noticed the minute they came up that something was different with the landscape. It was quite fun watching the expression on their face. Nothing escaped them.

Scarry was the most puzzled as she is never allowed out of the fenced area. Baby on the other hand is our 'lawnmover' keeping the area around our driveway tidy.

This area previously housed their paddock. The fence have been removed and Mr Redneck is digging it up to put in our new barn.

Two nosey cows...busy checking out the platform


And is this where our grass have gone ?


Scarry is puzzled...where's the fence ?


What's in this corner ?


Look....we can help bulldoze with our head


Inspection over...time to feed our face

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Christmas Treats

Scarry and Baby enjoying a post-Christmas treat of their favourite fruits and vegetable peelings.

slurp slurp....strawberries and pineapple with choc sauce

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Aphids on Lemon Tree

These photos were taken of the underside of the lemon leaves. Note the heavy infestation of aphids and the big ants keeping them company !

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Twins Baby Doves

Twin baby doves made their debut appearance yesterday. No doubt they are the offspring of Brown and Orange. Even though they kept their distance when I approach them, they didn't appear too flighty or afraid. One was even nosey enough to fly over to watch me making the path in the orchard.

I am glad I don't have a cat as they were innocently strolling around pecking away in the garden.

The inseparable twins

We see something....


I saw it first !


Is it a worm ?


A warning glance for the cameraman to keep their distance !


Where's your mummy ?

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Garden path to the orchard

Bil P was breaking up his driveway and dropped us a pile of broken concrete during the week. We were going to dump them on our track which have been badly gouged out by the heavy rain in winter.

This morning I had an "ah ha" moment....why not use some of those concrete to etch out a path on the steep slope where the orchard is. Because it is not very accessible it is overgrown with all sorts of nasty weeds. It would also make walking up and down the slope a whole lot safer and easier.

The concrete blocks were selected. Criteria being those that were not too heavy so I can carry manually. Mr Redneck kindly used his tractor to drop them off to the nearest spot in the garden. From there I carried each one to the slopes. They were darn heavy too !

Quite pleased with the progress for now. Much more to go..... that will be for another day.

10.30am...view from the top


2.45pm...work in progress


4.30pm...time to pack up and give the achy back a break !

broken driveway concrete

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Busy Bees

It was fascinating watching dozens of bees buzzing around the St John Wort collecting pollen. I am no bee expert so am only assuming that because of their different body shape they are in different hierarchy.

They were never still so was a bit difficult trying to get a clear shot.

This bee is much bigger and fatter than the one at the bottom so I am guessing this to be a worker bee....

...and this one with the narrower body to be the drone. Notice the 'basket' left and right of its body, packed with yellow pollen

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Zucchinis

I seems to have more success with my random sowing of seeds this year. This solo plant was from seeds sown in Spring.

Last year I bought many kilos to make our favourite pickled zucchini . We just go through jars of them when we have cold meat sandwiches.

Here's hoping they don't fall prey to the dreaded mildew which befalls most of my previous years plants in late summer and I get my own crop to make the pickle.

And I have a flower


Notice the other little baby zuchinis popping up the stem !


One of the 4 young seedlings I moved and replanted yesterday

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Elderberry

Just the other night we were watching Hugh Fearnley of River Cottage making elderberry champagne. Little did I know I had an elderberry tree in my own backyard. This shrub appeared out of the blue at the steep side of the hill (not very accessible) and being the sceptic, anything that just pops out on their own here is usually a noxious weed.

While spraying the gorse and bracken ferns around this unknown plant I decided to post the question of its identity at a forum. I am glad I asked before trying to 'kill' it. Since it is so precious and apparently the flowers so sought after, I am going to get a cutting from the tree and try to grow it in the orchard area where it is more accessible. I will give the champagne trial a miss this year as the herbicide spray might have drifted to the flowers.

I am looking forward to my homebrew champagne .... hic !

Elderflowers for making champagne and cordial

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Pear tree under attack

I hate the thought of having to spray my fruit trees with chemicals but what is one to do when diseases start attacking them. The pear tree is in the newer orchard area well away from the other apple trees and yet it seems to be getting the same type of diseases as the nectarine and apple trees in the other orchard.

I would love to be able to eat some pears from my own tree this year as I do see a fair few flowers on it.

Guess what I will be doing this weekend.....that's right - spraying !

The tiny pear is getting blemished


Full of aphids and the ants are attracted to the honeydew secreted by them


Some of the leaves are 'rusting' away


The leafs are curling like that of the apple tree

6 Dec 2008 1.35pm : Every single fruit tree (infected or not) have been sprayed with Carbaryl.
Yesterday the nectarine and apple trees were sprayed with copper oxychloride as well.

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St John's Wort

Don't you think the St John Wort's flower looks pretty elegant? I love the vibrant yellow and the shape of stamens. They look very vibrant among all the greens around the place.

It seems the flowers are used as a herb for a variety of treatments such as mental disorders, nerve pain, malaria, depression, anxiety and sleep disorders. Used as a sedative, a balm for wound, burns and insect bites

I guess if I can't sleep, all I have to do is treat myself to some St John's Wort !

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My Troubled Nectarine Tree

I have resigned myself to the fact that I am not going to enjoy any fruits from my nectarine tree. Year after year the lone tree I have suffer from leaf curl, blight, brown rot and who knows what else ! At the first sign of trouble, out come my copper spray but it does not appear to solve any of the problems.

It seems Auckland's climate with its high humidity is not very suitable for nectarine growing. For goodness sake...if that was the case, why sell nectarine trees in the plant centre here ! If I had known, I would have bought some other fruit trees in its place.

Very distorted curly blistered-like leaves

Leaf curl turning the leaves black

Damaged fruits

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Miniature roses

Right under my windows are 4 little miniature roses. They don't require much care and flowers well pass the season. You can smell their fragrance when walking by.

We had some rain yesterday after the sweltering hot weekend weather. It stopped raining this morniing but the wind have been very gusty. The rain would be a welcome relief for the paddock which is getting a bit dry.

The colour looks a bit garish but they are a lovely coral pink


Pastel pink - very sweet

I like this one the best

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