Spring Is In The Air

If there is one sure sign that Spring is on its way - it's lambing season. While many lambs are now coming on the scene in the last remnants of winter the cutest ones are coming along now. What a truly rural adventure to be around for lambing. Well, hard to escape when you live on the doorstep of a farm and are surrounded by sheep, sheep and more sheep.

But, it wasn't here that I got to snap the little cuties in their very early days - it was on my sister's vineyard. Within three days two sets of twins were born and I wanted to capture them while the mothers were still close to their little ones and the lambs wandered around like proverbial sheep!!!!

Aren't they just the cutest little fellows. Apparently the first set are called Bo and Peep. Not PC to tell you the names of the second set as it really refers to their future.

What we all find amazing about any of these and other animals born onto the land is that they come out knowing EXACTLY what to do. They stand, drink, sleep and sit with no lengthy lessons from Mum. So what's with our kids. Years of training and we still don't get it right.

Let's not finish the astonishment with the innate understanding of the newborns. How about Mum? No screaming for help, no drugs, no 'supporters' - just the biggest poop she's ever done and look what came out. Apparently the ewes about to give birth quietly separate themselves from the others and wait for Nature to take her course. On the other hand, when it's out turn to bring new life into the country we all know that we are the ONLY person that has ever given birth and ever will - so, treat me with all the attention I deserve and don't mess with me because it could be dangerous.

THE BEST......beautiful babies, well behaved and doting mothers just getting on with it.

THE WORST.....not being able to get close enough to really capture the natural beauty. Let me tell you no-one messes with a new mother sheep.

I'M LEARNING.....that we could learn alot about no fuss birth and parenting from these supposed stupid animals. Only thing I don't want to learn is how to eat the placenta afterwards. Yukk - puts a whole new spin on sausages.

Olive Affair

I don't want to put fear into the heart of our leading olive producers but, be aware, I have decided to harvest and process my bounteous supply of olives. Well, maybe not bounteous - how about ample. Actually, even that could be disputed.

Anyway, when in the country and being the proud owner of 14 olive trees, it seems only right that you should do something with the fruit they bear. And, of course, I had been to Italy so that has to make me some kind of expert in olives - surely? I have a great friend in Australia who gave me his 'award winning' recipe for marinating olives. A good start but first things first - I had to harvest the little buggers. I nearly googled myself into extinction trying to find out when the right time was to harvest. I have four varieties of olives on my property - don't ask me the names - but all of them are small in size. By the time I figured out whether to pick them green or black or somewhere in between a few of the trees had passed their use-by date. The fruit was starting to wrinkle so I took the plunge and harvested what I had regardless of the colour.

Harvesting - ah yes!!! I had read lots of stories and spoken to a few people about how best to do this. Shake the trees with a large cloth underneath, rake the trees with a large cloth underneath, get a mechanical 'shaker' again with large cloth underneath. In the end it turned out to be "hand-raking" - a technique developed here by yours truly. For large cloth read old sheet. Being a cautious type I decided to limit myself to three largish trees. Truth be known I didn't get much fruit off the majority of the trees!

Got enough fruit for one bucket - by now some of the commercial growers amongst you will be breathing a sigh of relief. I'm all about quality not quantity I decided.

Okay - so the fruit is harvested, now onto the processing. It was back to the 'award' winning recipe. For two very boring hours I undertook quality control and slit each tiny graded olive from end to end and for seven days stright I had to change the water daily. That was a real task given my short term memory capability. Then it was into a brine solution. Off to Google again to find out how I make a brine solution of 25% salt and 75% water. One of them is a solid and the other liquid. Clearly the recipe was written by a man. Sorry to all my male followers out there. After a few days of science experiments I think I got the right equation and into the brine solution the fruit went for the next 10-12 weeks. Therein lies another challenge. Having something hanging around for that long. In this throw away society this was a new concept for me.

I have just finished bottling the babies according to the 'award winning' recipe. A taste test along the way didn't have gagging so I figured it was worthwhile going the next step. It's a further six weeks before they will, in theory, be ready for eating. If there are no further posts after October you'll know that the recipe failed dismally!!! In the meantime I am not sharing with friends or family because I don't have many of either left.

THE BEST......taking the photos of the harvest and the bottling. Perhaps I should stick to photography.

THE WORST.....scooping out the mould off the top of the bucket. According to the 'award winning' recipe this is normal. I think that's just to keep me going.

I'M LEARNING.....that I won't be a commercial threat after all - but, if this works, I may branch out into olive oil next season. Stayed tuned.

Oruawharo - A Hidden Gem And One Man's Passion

My youngest sister decided on a 'surprise' visit to Hawkes Bay last weekend. Given that it was her "significant" birthday coming up we couldn't really turn her away so we turned into her 'birthday weekend'. My other sister, the organiser amongst us, then went into overdrive a mystery day was planned for Saturday. Despite the weather not being Hawke's Bay finest it actually suited what turned out to be a truly lovely day.

Early in the morning we set off down Highway 50. Only my sister and her husband knew where we were going. Past Tikokino, Onga Onga and Takapau - we really had no idea where we were off to - I was holding my breath it wasn't Wellington!!!!!! A little way out of Takapau we turned into the driveway of Oruawharo Homestead. Despite the drizzly, grey and misty weather there was a magnificence about the entry and a true sense of history unfolding in front of you. We came upon the homestead - stately and commanding in the gardens, albeit that time and a lack of TLC has taken its toll on this beauty. As we went to the front door we were welcomed by the owner, Peter, who ushered us into the front lobby. That's when the gasps started. Here was a hidden gem that oozed a past life of grandeur and importance. The beautifully carved staircases and ceilings - the original wood panelwork and the fireplaces, scrim walls and windows that opened up as doors onto the expansive verandahs. We had 'high tea' in the ballroom and it was so easy to transport yourself back to an earlier time when the local gentry would grace the establishment for dances and social gatherings. Our hosts served homemade delights on cake stands and in china cups while giving us a potted history of Oruawharo. Peter and Diane bought the property in 2000 (Diane's 50th birthday present) and since then they both been lovingly and authentically restoring the buildings and gardens to their former glory. It is a love and passion that will keep them young for many years to come.

We spent over two hours at Oruawharo while Peter took us to the gardens, outbuildings and around the home itself. At each highlight it was obvious that this was a life project and no short-cuts were being taken in the restoration. Oruawharo hosts weddings, high teas and opera recitals. It's a great example of rural New Zealand historical architecture and it was easy to imagine yourself enjoying the delights of home cooking and a delicate Darjeeling tea served on the verandahs on a warm, sunny day. Find out more by visiting www.oruawharo.com.

The mystery tour didn't stop there! On the way back we stopped in at The Sawyers Arms at Tikokino. The only sign that this was another stop on the mystery tour was Organiser Sister's seal like clapping from the front seat as we approached the pub. Same thing happened as we nearing Oruawharo Homestead. It has got to be a genetic thing because our mother used to do the same when she was excited - and I did EXACTLY the same thing earlier in Perth when my birthday cake came out at the restaurant - my Facebook video is proof. Not something you really want to be proud of unless, of course, you are a seal.

Anyway, I digress. The Sawyers Arms has been restored by a local couple and the main bar is called Nippy's Bar - dedicated to the husband of the owner who was tragically shot last year before the pub restoration had finished. Despite this rather sad background the pub is a warm, welcoming stop for travellers and locals alike and we enjoyed a few bevvies there before heading home.

THE BEST.....the mystery tour.

THE WORST...the winding roads, especially after a few beers and sitting in the back seat. Didn't want to complain though - it wasn't my day. However VERY lucky that the journey wasn't any longer because somebody might have worn something unexpected.

I'M LEARNING.....hidden gems are everywhere in this great country. You just have to get out there and discover.

No Blogger Prizes Here

This is embarrassing! March was the last entry - what the hell happened to the last 5 months. It wasn't as if I haven't been doing anything. Let's call it 'writer's block' and thank goodness I am not relying on this for income - would have been lining up at WINZ months ago.

The last FIVE months have been varied and busy. We have gone from basking in the late summer sun to exploding with colour over autumn and now gritting our teeth through a particularly cold and wet winter for Hawke's Bay. Having not lived in NZ for a few years I now appreciate the need many Kiwis have to escape the winter chill and find some soothing sun. I was one of those temporary ex-pats this winter and took off to Perth to celebrate my birthday in warm and sunny climes. It was a wonderful week of relaxation, lots of laughs and a very indulgent lunch at Clairault Winery south of Perth near a town called Dunsborough. Warren (my brother), Colleen (his wife) and I went there for lunch. Three and a half hour drive for lunch. I tell you I was more than ready to get out the car when we finally reached our destination. Being a weekday and winter we virtually had the place to ourselves as we slowly devoured a sumptuous lunch and a wee glass of wine or two. Back in the car for the homeward journey via a breathtaking photography gallery in Dunsborough. Christian Fletcher Photography is both inspirational and artistically outstanding. Just makes you want to get out there and record the wonder around you. And then....back to the grey winter and reality bites!

THE BEST..........Vitamin D intake from sun

THE WORST........Waking up to another grey day and the knowledge that the fire, while warming, doesn't light itself

I'M LEARNING.......Kiwis might be flightless but we seriously need to fly away when that wintery chill works its way under your skin. Oh for the proximity of the South Pacific.