Baby worm and egg

I love Tiger Worms.

I have been emptying a worm farm to make potting mix.

Here is a worm egg (the yellow ball) and a baby worm just hatched. There can be up to 8 worms in a single egg. Amazing.

All working for me if I look after them right.

Tramp

A fly fishing tramp. Just one night but enough time for a good getaway.

On the lake

My old stomping ground. I love Lake Rotoma.

A fun paddle.

Bamboo shoots

Lots of Bamboo species are edible. This one (Pseudosasa japonica) is considered a weed in New Zealand.

Bamboo only has a short growing season (similar to asparagus).

When in season we;
-snap off the shoots under 30cm long.
-slice in half with a sharp knife.
-peel off sheathes.
-simmer gently for 20 minutes to get rid of acidity.
Use in stir-fry or melt butter over and eat.
If shoots taste acidic you have not cooked for long enough. Change water and bring to boil for longer.

Finishing tee pee

Last job -to fasten the smoke flaps.
The tee pee is now ready for our 100 year party.

We are both turning 40 and have been together for 20 years.

We have been busy making cheese, salami, fruit juice, beer, ginger beer, and growing pork and salads. Should be a fun weekend.

Forging

Now we get to fire up the forge.

Bamboo

Moso. We have this Bamboo growing but it will not reach this size for a while yet.

For now we barter with the neighbors.

Native Sundew

New Zealand has some beautiful carnivorous plants if you know where to look. This is one of the special ones growing on our farm.

Charcoal

Charcoal to make resin glue, fire the kiln and for my crayon  making experiment.

Charcoal kiln

Keeping the charcoal kiln stoked is a very important job. A lot of the fire is coming from the downdraft of gasses.

Walnut cracker

My favorite Walnut cracker.

Two bits of wood and an old hinge.

Charcoal pencils

Charcoal off gassing in my charcoal tin. I love watching the gasses as they burn.

When the flame goes out I remove the tin from the fire and turn the tin upside down to cool and stop any further combustion.

Spider

Spiders come in all shapes and sizes. This one has made its home on our winter lupin crop.

Sausages

Pig weekend. Time to make sausages, bacon, pate, braun, hams and salami. A few extra hands always make the weekend fun.

Flatworms

These are an important predator of the insect world. Flat worms eat snails slugs earthworms and other small animals and their eggs.

There are native and introduced species in New Zealand. You can provide habitat for them by putting bits of wood or stone on the ground.

Cheese press

Our simple cheese press. It makes beautiful Gouda type rounds from 10 liters of raw milk.

Skink

These Copper Skinks are under most of our firewood and brush piles.  I have been making special piles for them so that when we take our firewood they still have a place to live.

Sheep fodder

Late summer when a lot of the nutrients have dropped out of the grass and the worm population is peaking we feed out from our shelter belts.

Kinuyangi a Japanese fodder willow is perfect. It coppice's, has lower tannin's than other willow and the sheep love it.

After they have had their fill we let it dry and use it for rocket stove fuel, bow making and whittling projects.

Solar

Solar is go!!!

What a mission. Trenches, wiring, circuits...more trenches. Most of what we have done is hidden.

But we have freezers at our house and can use power tools in the shed.

The house is still on its old 12 volt system with two pannels. I think we will keep it 12 volt when we get around to wiring it up.

Orbweb

Spiders weave the most beautiful webs in the garden.
This one happened to have about 10 aphids in it.

Taller open plants provide great web building habitat.

Tomatillo

Tomatellos are a great addition to summer salads and salsas.
They give a great sharp taste and crunch texture.

Gourd flowers

Gourd flowers are white. You see a few pollinators visiting them during the day.

At night they are busy though. This is when they release their scent and their white petals show up well on a  moonlit night.

If you have a red torch go and have a look at the nocturnal pollinators.

Native Bee in hole

Ground nesting native bees like bare soil to make their tunnels.

Some varieties prefer banks and others flat ground. A colony can be very busy and do a great service to your garden and orchard.

Exploring

Out exploring again. Riverstones

Alyssum

Alyssum is a great ground cover in the garden. It also attracts many small pollinators.

Christchurch

Castle Hill climbing.

We flew to Christchurch and visited old haunts. Okeover community garden, gemstone beaches, buses and malls.

Remembered what was there. Admired the resilience and creativity of the people rebuilding.

Had a beautiful night at Hinewai reserve.

Tiger beetle

Tiger beetles share our banks with Native Bees. They are fast hunters darting in and out of holles.

Potters Wasp egg

My potters wasp houses work!!!

As I was finishing this house a wasp started filling it. Caterpillars and then a single egg before sealing it up and making another chamber.

These busy little wasps like smaller holes around 5mm. They will build in larger holes but if you are targeting Potters wasps I have found this size is the best.

You can use bamboo or drill holes in wood. I usually put them in a dry place or provide a good roof to keep it dry. If the houses are small you can bring them into a dry shed over winter. If they get damp pupae can rot.

Pea seed

Pea seed can do most of its drying on the vine.

I then use pillowcases to harvest the seed. I hand these on my veranda to dry further. Jump around on them to brake up shells and then tip the chaff off the top.

The seed will fall into a corner of the pillowcase when shaken. All you will need to do is shake off chaff.

Tadpoling

Our pond is full of tadpoles. The night time chorus is wonderful.