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| today is a cooler day. |
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| Kittens have now gone to new homes |
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| The mumma cats choose outside on the deck |
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| The dog chose the fan |
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| The monarch butterfly caterpillars I'm raising just keep on chewing |
Wednesday, 30 January 2019
NEWS FROM THE ISLAND - last day of January
SUDDENLY ALL IS STILL - the kittens as of last Saturday, after 3 months of being my top priority, are now all grown and as of last Saturday, have new hands to clean, feed, hold, pat and love them and my little house is very, very quiet; it is mid-summer and HOT. The lawns wait to be mowed, but they are going to have wait longer for a cooler day and some motivation from me.. The last hedge to finish cutting has a paper wasp nest deep in it somewhere and I have already been stung as a warning to back-off ( by the way straight cloudy ammonia for wasp stings , vinegar for bee strings, neat bleach ( Janola) for white-tail spider bites). Otherwise all the things I have promised to do are now done and it's time for me to think of summer and what to do with all my freedom - as a start I've read 3 books already - lol.
Monday, 19 November 2018
NEWS FROM THE ISLAND - (is overdue).
HOW MANY WEEKS TO CHRISTMAS? Yep it is down to countdown now and I think I have now worked out which way is up.... on the other hand, that maybe be a maybe.
The gardens have been having to take a good second place as the last weeks have been all about kittens and my life not being helped by my not knowing the dates either Mum was due to have them.
The kittens have been born and their arrival dates determined neither cat was mated to the Cattery Ragdoll stud, but instead by our Charles du Bon Accord who decided to do the transition from boy to man and became the dad for both litters.
Meg's 6 x kittens are 4 weeks old on the 22nd - Burmese x Bengal in the main and Tara's 5 x kittens - Siamese x Bengal are just 2 days old.
Unfortunately Meg got mastitis but it was caught before it got too bad; even then it was emergency dash by water-taxi over to the vet on Saturday morning with a follow-up visit again very early Monday morning. Outcome: Meg now looking a whole lot better and I am supplement feeding her kittens with special milk, 4 x a day. I thought you may like some pics.
The gardens have been having to take a good second place as the last weeks have been all about kittens and my life not being helped by my not knowing the dates either Mum was due to have them.
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| Tara's 2 x day old kittens |
The kittens have been born and their arrival dates determined neither cat was mated to the Cattery Ragdoll stud, but instead by our Charles du Bon Accord who decided to do the transition from boy to man and became the dad for both litters.
Meg's 6 x kittens are 4 weeks old on the 22nd - Burmese x Bengal in the main and Tara's 5 x kittens - Siamese x Bengal are just 2 days old.
Unfortunately Meg got mastitis but it was caught before it got too bad; even then it was emergency dash by water-taxi over to the vet on Saturday morning with a follow-up visit again very early Monday morning. Outcome: Meg now looking a whole lot better and I am supplement feeding her kittens with special milk, 4 x a day. I thought you may like some pics.
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| I hear someone coming! |
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| Is that the food lady? |
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| It's the food lady!!! |
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| Me first ! |
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| Can I get a 2nd helping? |
Monday, 1 October 2018
NEWS FROM THE ISLAND - 1st OCTOBER
SPRING IS UNDERWAY and the news has to be all about flowers now and finally the gardens have got to the stage that they are starting to do their own thing and I am only here to stop it getting out of hand and to keep the lawns mown so as to show the flowers off.
The magic carpet of spring bulbs goes through it's colour palette all too quickly. The Clivia are clumping up quickly now they are established and every flower is pouring out its individual perfume - hard on my sinuses, but hey it's worth it. Here are some recent photographs, starting with a colour change series of the bulbs - but missed catching the daffodils which start it off. There was also supposed to be a photograph of the minute flower of the native Kanuka tree which covers this Island which has the strongest, sweetest perfume of all - but this site says I have loaded enough photographs,so I'll put it in comments.
The magic carpet of spring bulbs goes through it's colour palette all too quickly. The Clivia are clumping up quickly now they are established and every flower is pouring out its individual perfume - hard on my sinuses, but hey it's worth it. Here are some recent photographs, starting with a colour change series of the bulbs - but missed catching the daffodils which start it off. There was also supposed to be a photograph of the minute flower of the native Kanuka tree which covers this Island which has the strongest, sweetest perfume of all - but this site says I have loaded enough photographs,so I'll put it in comments.
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| The daffodils have finished |
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| The gold freesias comes first then the orange spraxias |
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| Now the blues and purples enter |
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| Crowding out the border of blue grape hyacinths lining the path |
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| Hard to photograph the Clivia owing to too much luminance |
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| This orchid escaped through fence into stored garden pots area |
Saturday, 1 September 2018
NEWS FROM THE ISLAND
IT HAS BEEN A PRETTY GOOD WINTER OUT HERE BUT still with enough rain to stop me from walking as far as I would like to.
Beautiful Lady's Bay, an all weather safe swimming beach, managed by the Department of Conservation, looks like it is going to be inaccessible again this summer for the Island tourists ( and me) since a storm took out the stairs to it four years ago.
Tractors use the walking paths through the park often making them impassable, so I left the sunlit path
and took a detour through the dark forest of pines, lit everywhere with the pillows of luxurious moss snuggling up to trunks or rambling through the pine tree litter.
then walked on around the remains of this huge Pinaster Pine
and on to the remains of an old farmhouse where all that reminds it was there is the old water tank. Even the doorstep, that was there a couple of years ago has disappeared into the small heap of bricks being covered by pine needles. But the young Redwood up behind is growing into a handsome tree from being so sheltered from sea storms by the surrounding pines.
And back home where the first blossom has appeared on the new little peach tree. Maybe it will be this week that they'll patch the road to the wharf so I'm not scared to use the car after we have rain?
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| Showing part of Bay |
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| There are no stairs to Bay |
Beautiful Lady's Bay, an all weather safe swimming beach, managed by the Department of Conservation, looks like it is going to be inaccessible again this summer for the Island tourists ( and me) since a storm took out the stairs to it four years ago.
Tractors use the walking paths through the park often making them impassable, so I left the sunlit path
and took a detour through the dark forest of pines, lit everywhere with the pillows of luxurious moss snuggling up to trunks or rambling through the pine tree litter.
then walked on around the remains of this huge Pinaster Pine
and on to the remains of an old farmhouse where all that reminds it was there is the old water tank. Even the doorstep, that was there a couple of years ago has disappeared into the small heap of bricks being covered by pine needles. But the young Redwood up behind is growing into a handsome tree from being so sheltered from sea storms by the surrounding pines.
And back home where the first blossom has appeared on the new little peach tree. Maybe it will be this week that they'll patch the road to the wharf so I'm not scared to use the car after we have rain?
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