Karamea

We've had a completely wonderful weekend away. Of course we forgot the camera, but at least we remembered the children, each other, nappies, sandfly repellent and beer, so nothing vital was missed out.

We walked into the Oparara Arches. I think they may be the most marvellous things I have ever seen. We forgot to bring the Ergo (baby carrier) and Brighid was asleep when we got there. But usefully, Favourite Handyman had bought a too big but very good bargain price oilskin vest at the market earlier in the day and he also had long spare straps in his pack. So we strapped Brighid onto my front using the vest worn zipped up over both of us with the strap tied very tightly around my back and underneath her bottom. It worked surprisingly well.

We stayed in cabins at the camping ground and as they are not yet busy, it was perfect for the children. We went with friends so four adults and four children and we all loved it.

We had dinner on the beach (sausages and marshmallows cooked on the spot of course) and checked out various coffee and liquor establishments as well as making our own back at the camping ground.

On the way back today we stopped at Granity where they had a fun day. Fionn got his face painted, we admired many crafts and I bought some gorgeous homespun and home dyed wool (just a small amount, I'm not quite giving up my rule on not buying more wool before the last project is being worn). I thought it was a gorgeous hippy paradise and Favourite Handyman pointed out to me that it is also a coalmining town. No doubt that makes for some tension and in that it is a microcosm of the entire West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.

Next stop was Punakaiki where we stopped for an early feed and drink at the tavern there. The life size replica horses (carrying beer to the pub in the 'old days')out the front are always popular for playing on in our family and today was no exception. We took a walk down to the beach and collected some more seaweed. No I can never have too much seaweed!

In several places I got to have a close look at some permaculture-style home gardens. I admired the gorgeous cacti garden at Rongo backpackers, as well as having a closer look at his raised beds with sand paths in between them. He used drift wood and found stones to create a maze of probably a dozen raised beds. Then we called in to see the people at Atawhai Farm. I've met Bill once before when I bought garlic from him but no one was home when we called in today. Nevertheless, I still got to have a good look at the garden bordering the drive up to his house. At both Atawhai Farm and later at Granity, I saw tunnel houses which had wind break cloth for the first half or two thirds of the walls and then after that plastic, which also stretched over the top. So good ventilation and also the warmth of the plastic roof. Given the rainfall in the area, also some control over the flooding aspect. We are now talking about implementing this idea at our place.

We also talked about art a bit in the weekend and watched the five year olds make wonderful pictures. So far at our current home, my energies have almost all gone outside, on the garden. But I'm now thinking of painting the plain chipboard behind the fire deep deep red and putting lots of Fionn's pictures and our photos on the walls. This summer.

The entire trip was wonderful. We're planning to go back in January, with our tents.

Big day in the garden

Firstly, compost. A good day in my garden almost always involves compost. Brighid and I went down to the beach and collected a bucket and a box full of pine needles. Then we grabbed a suitable log from the beach for a garden project. Lots of lots of logs wash up on our beach, especially in the stormy weather we've had lately.

Back home I layered the pine needles and wood ash from the fire in one corner where I am building a wee compost heap in readiness to grow pumpkins on it in Summer. I also used some wood ash and pine needles to create another garden patch. It is the patch I had initially thought of for the asparagus as it is in one of the higher spots on our section so should offer good drainage. But I didn't prepare it in time for asparagus and I've since thought that the perennial weed free requirement of an asparagus patch means an older garden patch would be more suitable for those gorgeous green spears.

The latest garden patch does not yet have a name but it does have four sides marked by wood I've collected from the beach or been gifted by friends leaving town. I have buried bokashi in it and then layered pine needles and wood ash on top and then pea straw on top of that. I'm not sure what will go in it but there are many, too many, contenders competing for the spot in my head.

I am considering using the new patch for medicinal herbs, as I figure I don't need them super close to the house (and I had such trouble squeezing them into my last garden plan that I had to knock heaps of them off my seed ordering list). I am moving, or have moved, my culinary herbs to the garden closest to the kitchen door.

Or I could put a bush tomato and basil and other companions to tomatoes in it. Now that I've made more garden space out the front, I don't feel the need to give this new garden over to pumpkins or zucchini.

Next up, the chook home. The shelter part is all built and fabulous and today Favourite Handyman was working on the run part. Unfortunately the alkathene pipe turned out not to be strong enough for his initial plans. Have to try something else. I felt his pain and decided to go buy him some beer as a treat/solace.

When I left he was considering turning the pipe lengths into mini tunnel houses and when I got back he had made one for my January raised bed. It looks fabulous to me. Just need to buy some plastic now. My goal with this one (and we may make others yet) is to improve warmth in Spring and Autumn and give a growth boost to plants we would grow anyway. When we get the big glass house built not this summer but hopefully the one after, I'll start playing round with capsicums and chilli peppers and the like then.

I pruned as much as the secataurs would allow me off an ugly fern at the front of the house and threw the leaves over one of my compost projects as mulch. I'd like to dig it out but it looks like two dwarf trees are very well established there and they may not give up without a fight. The photo below is before I got cutting.

Then Favourite Handyman pulled out the posts and windcloth from the dead lemon tree and used it to start off the shelter fence which I'd asked for at the front of the house. The afternoon sun is good there but in order for my pumpkins and zucchinis to do well out there, we need quite a bit of shelter from the wind ripping in off the sea.

To top off a fabulous day, we all went down to the beach just before dusk and played in the foam which the surf had brought up. I am grateful for this wonderful life.