Front Boundary Gets The Chop

If there's one thing I love about the Ponderosa is the wonderful mature trees on the property.  Not only do they provide privacy, but they give a majestic ambience that makes you wonder what stories they could share with you over their years.  It so relaxing to sit on the porch and gaze out over the land and look and listen to them swaying in the breeze.

During the different seasons the trees give a whole new take on the Ponderosa.  In the summer, the land is filled with lush foliage providing necessary privacy and shelter for us and the animals and not to mention fruit.  The autumn brings amazing autumn colours followed by the lose of leaves which help organically feed & treat our stock .. and not to mention fruit.  Winter the trees look dormant & sad while the birds nests become visable from below.  Then there's spring which brings new growth with new blossoms and colour into the garden and with it comes a sense of revival as the days become warmer and new fruit starts to emerge.  Out of all the seasons, I would have to say autumn and spring are my best times to sit and enjoy the trees and what they have to offer, either by listening to the breeze, birds chirping or the fruit they bear for our consumption.

So .... you could imagine my disappointment when I recieved a phone call from the NZTA saying they needed to widen our road, which meant taking the row of wonderful mature trees on our front boundary.  I was equally annoyed when they tried to say the trees serve no real value or purpose.  Grrrrr!!!  Enter my husband who had the task of negotiation.

 

The trees in the background - not a good angle I know

The trees coming down 

The trees all gone :-(

I do miss those trees on the front boundary and I'm not a fan of the Ponderosa being exposed to the road .. and all that comes with it.  The bonus is we get to plant new trees along the entire length of the new fenceline so I just need to decide what, when, why and how so stay tuned for the continuation of this story.  Hopefully I can create an outlook of tranquility from within and privacy from outside the Ponderosa which mets our needs.

Happy living peeps!

 

New Chicks On The Block

It's been just over 2 years since we embarked on the journey of having chickens and blogging about it - Our New Chooks.  As I reflect back on that blog I can't help but giggle at the tone of excitement and the stress of what I put my husband through.  The goal was always simple.  To have fresh organic eggs, however to continue having a constant supply, we must ensure our chickens are up to scratch .. so to speak by replenishing to find that balance.

In December 2013, one of the older hens became very broody so we thought we would source some fertile eggs and see how it went.  My husband and his friend, did a deal with a supplier and 9 eggs came home with a plan that after x amount of days, they would hatch into little chicks and add to our whanau.  Well, we waited .. and waited .. and waited until early January 2014.  Still no baby chicks. 

We thought it could've been us, but knew we had made a huge effort every day to ensure we checked the broody hen was providing enough of her love.  Finally we recieved a phone call from our friend (who not only purchased some for them, but their neighbour as well).  Out of the 20 eggs that were sourced, only 2 had hatched.  Long story short, supplier said "that happens sometimes" and fair to say we won't be using them again.

After feeling extremely disappointed, we went to another supplier and recieved 8 new chicks as there was no time for new eggs - the broody hen was back on the lay.  These chicks were so cute and made themselves quite at home with the rest of the chooks.  It even made my daughters go up to the chicken run to feed the rest of the girls .. just so they could have a play.

The new chicks with the broody hen ... they are about 15 days old.



All our chooks in March 2014 scratching in their new chicken run

Not quite sure if the little egg is from the new chicks .. but it was interesting to find.

The new chicks are now 5 months old and coming along quite nicely.  The goal of having fresh organic eggs is still being achieved and although the volume of eggs we recieve during the warmer months is more than we can consume, I'm happy to say we supply my parents and grandmother with their daily supply.

Happy living people!

 

Our Personal Cash Cow

Reflecting on my past posts regarding our wonderful beef, I can't help but realise just how fast time has past me by which is a constant reminder to me that I haven't been enjoying the lifestye the Ponderosa has to offer as much as I would like at present.

Bullet is still with us, and we hope he has done the business properly, however we had to get rid of our wonderful calves.  Not because we wanted too, but because the Ponderosa wasn't big enough to sustain 14 beef without bringing in more feed to help out.

We (or should I say my husband) has worked hard to ensure the paddocks used for grazing has been as organic as we can keep them, and as a result our beef were growing extremely fast.  An awesome result, if you want to get a return on your investment but it was sad that we couldn't keep them longer.

Don't get me wrong.  The original plan for the calves was to get the experience of calving, see how much work was involved, how it fitted into our lifestyle, how cost effective it was with an end result of selling them or putting them in the freezer when they were at least 2 years old.

The Calves - Approximately 2 months old

The exercise was well worth it and although I didn't personally enjoy the early morning feeds, there was a sense of accomplishment at the different stages of their growth.  They didn't quite make it to 2 years but the return we recieved exceeded our expectations.

The challenge for us now is to get that balance of beef right for the Ponderosa.  We hope Bullet has done the business which means all 8 of our cows are in calf, due by July at the earliest.  The next exercise is to see if calving with mothers is much easier than without.  I have a feeling that it will and I'm excited to experience the first calf being born.

Happy living people.

Farewell to The Pines

When we first moved on the Ponderosa, one of the first things that made an impact on the property was the 20 years old pine trees that were planted in the back paddock I nicknamed "The Pines".

It was the perfect location for our chicken run and allowed the Chooks shade and plenty of bugs to dig up and feed on.  Remember my blog when they first arrived - Our New Chooks.  They looked wonderful from the east boundary looking towards the homestead as well.

Unfortunately during the first winter we got to experience just how much the south westerly winds like to whip through the pines.  As time progressed we became extremely concerned that some would fall either on the homestead or on the neighbouring property or heaven forbid on their house.

So .. an opportunity arose to have them removed and we took it.  If I am to be honest, I wasn't too enthusiastic to have them come down, but I caved and after it all was quite surprised with just how much difference it really made to the landscape of the property.

Before

After

Before

After

If I am to be honest, I am sad to see them go, however in the long term I hope to turn that area into an orchard .. only after the chooks have had a good crack at scratching the decomposing the area first.

Scented Wonder

I can't believe that summer has come to an end and we are already half way through autumn.  I've been busy over the past few months as my beautiful grandmother has fallen ill which means I haven't spent a lot of time on the Ponderosa.

Today I had an opportunity to do some work around the house and during some reflection time of sitting on the front porch, I gazed out over the rose garden (which is coming starting to come to the end of it's flowering) and reminisced on the beautiful display it managed to produce this season as I was either leaving or arriving home.

I just had to post some photos considering the last post was about designing it.  

It never ceases to amaze me the enjoyment that the Ponderosa provides me.   99% of the roses in this garden are wonderfully scented so you can just imagine the aroma that drifts through the air when there is a gentle breeze.

There is still room for a few more roses, and there are specific ones I am after and need to look quite hard to source them ... watch this space.

Happy living people

New Rose Garden

The new rose garden has been a work in progress for a while now.  It all started when we decided to trim the existing climbing rose that was entangled on the existing trellis (which was being held up from the rose itself).  When we started the fence just fell to pieces.  Hmmmm ... time to rethink the garden.

I've always loved roses and I needed a place to plant existing roses from the Ponderosa to one central place.  This was the perfect spot.  The fence came down .. and stayed down for quite some time until we acquired some used tin for free and used it to replace the old trellis.  A quick spray paint with "karaka" which made the fence blend into the backdrop and not stand out.  Transport the roses from other existing gardens .. luckily only two didn't survive :-( ... fill in the spaces with a combination of other beautiful roses.  Plant some swan plants, gladioli bulbs and erect a nice bird house .. painted curiosity of my lovely god daughter Hope.  Add some weed cloth to keep the weeds away, cover with bark to keep in the moisture ... then sit back and watch the garden grow.

Before ...

Nearly Finished

Hope adding the final touches to the garden .. painting the bird house

I envisage the roses at the back being quite tall adding a backdrop for the front flowers in the garden and the colourful birdhouse peaking out from the lush roses that will grow up and around it.  

So it's not quite finished yet, but I'm still very happy with the current result!!

Happy living people.

More & More Cakes

The last couple of months have been quite busy for me and my cakes so I thought I would share a few more photo's.

Happy living people

Summer Fruit Surprise

We have been in our home for two years now and it never ceases to amaze me how we are still finding new and exciting things around the house that we've never experienced before.

The lastest is three fruiting cherries and fruiting japanese plum tree.  Don't get me wrong.  I've known the trees were there, but last season I didn't notice any fruit on them and thought they were both of the "ornamental" kind.

Last year we had two plums fruit on our tree which was such a disappointment.  We waited for three weeks before the fruit look ready for picking, only to go out and find .... GONE!!  Not sure where they went as we couldn't see any pips or evidence the birds had got to them.  I got to thinking someone had picked them and didnt' tell us :-(  This year though, it was a awesome. The tree was loaded and we awaited the first plum to be ready for picking.  Hmmmm, it was worth the wait.  A whole year of waiting, with two weeks of fresh plums .. but now the tree is empty.  Stripped from us picking and eating them constantly.  I thoroughly enjoyed this seasons plums on this one tree, although I can't help wonder that we are about one month ahead of ourselves with the weather.

We've planted two black doris plums and two other plum trees on the property to help with our season demand.  Hopefully next season, we will have more than two weeks of enjoying fresh plums.

As for the cherries?  Well that's a completely different story. 

Imagine my surprise when I was sitting at home on my side porch overlooking our land with our beloved dog "bruno", when a flashing red colour caught my eye as the breeze was blowing in the trees.  I ran down to have a closer inspection only to find cherries starting to colour.  I was so excited I yelled 'WE'VE GOT CHERRIES', only to realise I was the only person at home, and my dog was looking up at me with a very strange look on his face :-) I had to text my husband straight away to tell him the news and when arriving home, he found two other trees fruiting as well.  YAY!!!

Unfortunately we weren't as lucky with the cherries as we were with our plums. The birds got to them first, but rest assured, I'll be determined to keep them away next season!!  We've also planted another two more cherry trees and hope that they will also flower and fruit to help provide for us over the future summer months.

Happy living people

Front Porch - Summer Time

I read somewhere that it's important to dress or decorate your outside living spaces as well as your indoor ones so I thought with such lovely weather we've experience over the last couple of days, I'd do exactly that during the weekend.  Dress the porch in time for summer.

With the help of my beautiful grandmother, I potted some petunia's for added colour - still in the pots I painted last summer.  They have weathered a little, but that all adds to the character I think.

I've replaced some colour with some fresh herbs such as parsley, coriander and mint to help with the demand from the kitchen/bbq during summer and added some old jars to house the xmas lights that will add ambiance during the summer months.

The revamped old bench seat and patio furniture are still looking good and offer different options to sit, relax and reflect.

I am very excited about the new additon of the old timber jack my husband inherited which sits proudly up against the old homestead and the vintage sieve that hangs above it. They are a gentle reminder of how life must've been many years ago when they were the cutting edge of technology.

There are still a few things left to do to get the ponderosa ready for the xmas holidays and summer weather, but I'm really happy with the results of one afternoons work.

Happy living people.

Reflection - Passed, Present & Future

I've just returned home from a journey south to Te Teko for a very sad occasion. The Pryors - a whanau that I hold close to my heart had suffered a tragic loss with the death of their beautiful son and I went down to attend the tangi (funeral).

I received the sad news early Tuesday morning and knew straight away the tangi would be held in Te Teko at the whanau marae.  I felt extreme sadness for their loss, particularly because it was someone so young - in fact only 4 years old and I posted on facebook how undeniably heartbreaking it must be for the whanau.  My thoughts continued to ponder about how difficult it has been to loose a loved one for me, however I haven't been placed in a situation where they have been so young and I hope I never get to experience it - EVER!!  Life is to be lived and children are suppose to grow old and die after you - not before. Aren't they?

When the news was confirmed the tangi would be in Te Teko, I made the arrangements to go.  I hadn't seen the whanau all together for a very long time and although this was a sad event that would reunite me with the whanau, I was looking forward to seeing them again and offering my support.

The journey down was cold and wet.  Again, my thoughts diverted to when I used to travel down to Kawerau & Rotorua frequently to stay with the Pryors and how it had been a long time since I had made the journey. Seeing particular landmarks brought back fond memories of how much fun I had down there with the whanau.  At that point, I regretted my own daughters didn't make this journey with me. 

We arrived in Te Teko and as expected, it was very sad.  I had seen "dad" Selwyn quite a few times over the years and we embraced once again and he thanked me for coming.  The whanau performed the haka for little Jaxon as he left the marae which bought tears to my eyes and without words I embraced my friend Fonda.  We have known each other since high school and had gone through alot together, therefore words weren't needed. A similar embrace was given to "son" Selwyn at the urupa (cemetery). Again, no words, but the emotion of a long embrace.  

I remember feeling very emotional again at the urupa when I saw Gord and his partner Liz standing at the foot of the grave embracing with such sadness knowing the final physical moments with their son was coming to an end.  As I approached Gord I fought to hold back the tears, but couldn't - we quietly embraced with silent tears.  

"Mum", Karen had travelled back from England for the tangi and she proceeded to thank me after we had embraced.  It really had been a long journey for her and it showed.   The last person was Kathie or "Dukes".  I had seen her a number of times over the years, and this time she looked physically tired.  Again, it was another warm embrace with her thanking me for being there.

I was so overwhelmed, not because of seeing the whanau again, but more at the fact that they expressed so much love thanking ME for being at the tangi.  I remember thinking how wrong that was, for it was ME who was so grateful to THEM for allowing me an opportunity to be apart of them and their lives.

I reflected more on my way home as I listened to my mother snoring in the passengers seat.   The Pryor whanau truly are good people and although they are filled with sadness now, I know as each day comes, so will a shining and positive horizon for them all.

Although I never met Jaxon, I'm extremely grateful he reunited me with the Pryors.  This whanau really do hold a very special place in my heart and I look forward to seeing them all again in the near future.