Walk at Moon rise

There was a full moon this evening. 

I went with Floss for a walk around the farm to check on the bulls as I hadn't seen them around today. They were fine, resting by the brook, enjoying the cooler evening air.

Even walking at that time I was very hot.

As I walked past the bulls I heard a little sneeze, followed by some rustling in the dry grass, then some crunching and another tiny sneeze. It was a young hedgehog!

Apparently here I'm supposed to kill them, as they eat kiwi eggs, but there haven't been any kiwi around anywhere near here for generations thanks mainly to more aggressive predators such as wild cats, dogs and stoats and weasels. And I think there was some concern at one point about TB, but we are in a TB free area, and all our cows are tested. I just keep quiet, and feel really honoured to see a hedgehog! In fact I rejoice when I see one, and like tonight hear one crunching on snails or crickets or grass grubs and beetles that destroy the fields.

I'm so pleased to know they are doing such a good job!

I managed to catch a photo of the surprised looking hedgehog...

Bye for now!

Round the farm

I had a quick break from flooring today to appreciate the wonderful fruits on the young trees I planted a couple of years ago.

This pear tree seems to have ripened first.

It is a Jargonelle tree, which I found quite by accident at a garden centre in the bargain area. It was quite old to be stuck in its black bag pot, but I liked the shape and the look of it.

The first recording of this tree was in a scottish monastary in 1649 or something. So to have made its way from France up to Scotland it must be much older.

It has a crazy mind of its own about growing, and we had no flowers or fruit last year. But this year we have been blessed with a beautiful crop of small yet perfectly formed little pears...

I was going to make perry with them, but all my kit is in the container and so I shall just have to eat them this year!

They are superbly flavoured, with a slightly crisp, juicy flesh, and none of the grittyness that sometimes I don't like in pears.

Tinsel to keep the pesky birds away.

This is a picture of the bramley tree, and they are growing nicely, but didn't fall when I shook the tree, so I'll have to wait a bit longer.

Then there is this little tree, a Kingston Black. Lots of small fruit, like baubles all over it. This should be a good cider tree, and I will have to find my cider makng kit for this one, as the apples are too sour for eating.

And I was joined by some little friends in the orchard. The grass is so long that I loose them sometimes. The geese were supposed to eat the grass, but they can't keep up.

More Wanderings

Here is a Kea. They are the only mountain dwelling parrots, nesting on stoney ledges high up.

They are a beautiful green, and when they fly you get to see the flash of red feathers under their wings.

Being parrots, they are very intelligent, and are extremely curious birds. They are often bouncing about on top of cars, ripping off bits of rubber with their strong beaks. You have to be very careful what you leave around! And feeding them is quite detrimental to them, as they get quite high on sugar etc and go a bit nuts, squabbling too near to people.

I meant to take a photo, but pressed the wrong button, then when I was ready the Kea flew off.

On one of my mountain walks in the snow, I saw other tracks....

The Keas were here first!

When they call, the sound actually sounds like 'keeeeeaaaa' I presume that's how they got their name.

Cool birds!

From the Top of Mountains

We've just returned from our holiday, and it was so good! I hadn't realized how much I needed to get away from it all. Mmm it was lovely.

We went to the South Island, which for me is the 'real' NZ. The soil isn't so rich, so there aren't as many huge dairy farms everywhere, mainly sheep on the poorer soil. It is much nicer in many ways than where we are. You can even go for a walk without being electrocuted by all the fences we have round here!

We ended up spending a lot of time on the ski hills. I was amazed at how quickly the children picked it up!

I don't really enjoy to ski, and I've done a bit of boarding too, but really don't like it very much, so what could I do? I find it all a bit pointless - ok it is excellent exercise, but what I really enjoy is walking. So I donned my boots, and decided I was going up the mountains as well, but differently.

I felt so free and happy as I trudged up first on mud, then ice, then snow right to the top of a mountain called Treble Cone. I even got to see the children skiing past me at ridiculous speed as I went up. I only got one comment from a skier too! The summit is about 300m vertically above the ski area, so those last 300m were so wonderful, really quiet, and peaceful.

I got to the top, 2088m to a fabulous view of the surrounding mountains. I took this video...

But it isn't working now. Anyway, you can see some of the view. As I sat there, I noticed the clouds changing, and coming closer. I though that wasn't going to be so good, so I started down, and just as well, because only a few steps down the wind blew up. It was extremely cold. I was at about -6 at the top, but this wind just froze my earlobes, and made my eyes water terribly. I wiped my tears away, and they instantly froze to my glove.

So down I went, happy.

I'm so glad to have found something I enjoy so much on the mountains, and being a ski area, it is all fairly safe.

I love the peace and stillness that walking allows. I also quite like being on my own some times. 

Its amazing what you can learn at the top of a mountain.