A Day at Ellerslie Flower Show - Saturday 19 November

Last weekend we spent the whole of Saturday at the Ellerslie Flower Show in South Auckland, having driven up just for the day. I'll try and post some photos taken during the visit this evening before I head off for bed. Move your mouse over the image to read about it, and I hope you enjoy them.

The flowers and fruits of summer

Just a quick posting before I try and catch up with some of the backlog of travel and other photos from the last few weeks ... that is, in between getting the chicken etc. in the oven! I know you like foxgloves, Diana, so I thought I would remind you that it's that time of the year here again. Toffee is just over a year old but has grown a lot. He and his pardner Treacle - they've both had their wotsits cut off, so I think I can call them that - are not quite as intimidated by us as they used to be, and they're getting to be quite a handful to move from paddock to paddock when the grass runs out. It usually takes all six of us, with much shouting, running around, falling over etc. etc.

Our strawberries have started producing, in great quantities. We're picking every three or four days, and each of the last two picks have yielded over 2kg. Some of them are enormous, as you can see. Actually it's Hannah who's the strawberry fiend - we have to watch her at parties!

The early ripening of the strawberries is a result of the very warm spring that we've had, which also means that I've had to start regular mowings of the lawn a little earlier, and some careful weeding of our herb garden. It's been a little drier than usual, too, so we've occasionally caught ourselves hoping for some rain! This photo was taken from the verandah on Monday evening, after some showers had passed us, and the strawberries, by.

The Clematis is just past its best, but is still pretty spectacular in spite of having been battered a little by the wind.

And the last photo for this posting, one of Camilla, Hannah and Louise on their way up the driveway to collect the post this afternoon.

It's about time ...

It's well over a month since I last posted some photos and news to this site, so I'm going to remedy the situation over the next couple of days. I will put up a selection of pictures from our holiday up north, as well as others from the last couple of weeks, for which you'll have to scroll down, as I'll date them as from the period they were taken. It's rather busy at the moment, so please bear with me. They will get there ...

First, Diana, you asked for a photo of the house that I helped build, complete, so here it is.



and a couple of other odd photos ... this one of a pukeko (aka Purple Gallinule) legging it past the tulips on our driveway.



and Louise & Camilla (in the foreground) and friends watching lambs being docked.

Fossil-hunting on the west coast - Saturday 23 October

On the week after the Oropi School AgriGala day, we spent two days and a night (Labour Day Weekend) at our frind John Townsend's farm overlooking Kawhia Harbour, on the west coast. The visit was partly designed around a fossil-hunting expedition which I'd been thinking about for some time. We'd known about the existence of fossil sites near Kawhia for some time, and in fact had made an abortive hunt for some Belemnites a couple of years ago. However, we weren't even sure that we were hunting in the right place, and decided we needed to do our homework a little better before our next attempt. We had subsequently been given a map showing the location of one of the sites by the mother of a boy in Hannah's class (he's mad keen on fossils) and I did some research on the net, coming up with several more fossil locations and detailed maps, so were indeed a little better prepared.

The first photo was taken outside the Townsend house at Kawhia, as we were setting out for Kiritehere beach, just south of the tiny settlement of Marokopa, an hour and a half's drive or so south-east of John's farm.

Here are John and Chloe, clambering over rocks as we make our way to the southern end of the beach on an outgoing tide.

The fossils weren't tricky to find - in fact once we got to the right spot, it was difficult to find a rock which didn't have any! This shot of one of the first decent ones I found, together with my geological hammer, which has been gathering dust - well it would have been if it wasn't in a box - on the storeroom/office shelves. The fossils here are brachiopods - according to the article from the NZ Journal of Geology & Geophysics that I sourced on the net, it could be one of several species, so I can't be more precise.

Gill, Hannah and John, searching at the base of a rather spectacular cliff face ...

... and another find brachipod specimen.

This one from a shell bed!

As the tide went out, more rocks were exposed, but these held more living sea life than fossils.

Chloe, John and Felicity, 'rationalizing' their fossil collection.

The Payne and Townsend children clambering on the rocks.

As the sun started to get lower in the sky, we turned back towards the car. Hannah here is laden with finds. Lesley unfortunately dropped her digital camera in a rock pool which put something of a dampener on proceedings - electronic equipment and seawater don't mix, as I found out with my cell phone a few years ago.

Back at the cars again ... John & Toby Townsend

Then it was back past the beachside village of Marokopa ...

... to Kawhia village, a stop at the fish and chip shop before settling in at The Blue Chook - children welcomed - (note the clucking chicken on the bar counter in the background) for a good feed and a couple of drinks.

Oropi School AgriGala Day - Saturday 15 October

On the first weekend of school term was the Oropi School AgriGala Day, which is a kind of spring fete, with pet shows - judging of best lamb, calf, kid goat display, including call and follow, which is a bit of a laugh with the younger children - largest eel caught, biggest possum shot, pony rides, target shooting with pellet guns, plant sales, candy floss, toffee apples, dads' cake making competitions, hanging basket and flower arranging competitions, spot raffles, auctions of donated goods, etc., and lots of other stalls run by kids and parents. A lot of fun, particularly as the rain held off this year, which was fortunate. Two years ago, I had to help with getting the fire for the hangi (which is food cooked in a pit under a huge bonfire) going at 4.30 in the morning and it was pouring with rain - I will admit that we used a bit of petrol to get the fire going! They also take the opportunity to display childrens' schoolwork in the classrooms, which are open for the first couple of hours. Anyway, on with the pictures ...

The display of hanging baskets, with Hannah's (all her own work) at extreme left, and a mini ferris wheel in the background.

Louise's hanging basket, prepared at home with a little help from Dad, mostly with the design, shown hanging on our verandah after the competition. This won First Prize in the flower arranging section - don't ask why that section, i don't understand either!

Here are Louise (at left) and Camilla (at right) with friend Zoe, watching the calf follow judging.

Hannah on the mini Ferris wheel, with some poor little boy who looks as if he's terrified - I'm not sure whether it's of the ride, or of Hannah.

Irises from our garden on display in Hannah's classroom, designed and arranged by Hannah - again with a little help from Dad.

Classroom Exhibits - Picture by Hannah, after Picasso's Blue Period

Another of Hannah's Picasso-style efforts

Silhouettes of Camilla & Louise.

Friend Callum holding possum that he shot, with dad Kevin & sister Olivia behind him.

Hannah investigating domestic farm animals, including specially bred "black" sheep and alpaca.

... and lastly the pony rides.