May 2025….

Rua in the background is looking in hope, that I may be bringing up some barley. They get a couple of handfuls each a day and devour it in seconds 🙂

Here we are almost half way into the year, with winter about to start in earnest. Luckily it has been a warm end to the Fall which everyone has enjoyed.

It was Rich’s 65th birthday this month! He can officially now get the pension which we giggle about. It just does not seem possible 🙂 He is currently in Canada with his folks. It had been his Dads 92nd birthday last month, so nice for them to be all together, good genetics in this family 💕

Rich sent me the family photo yesterday, such a lovely one, at their favourite English pub, The Crow and Gate, many a meal has been enjoyed there…

With Rich away, it has meant Luca has had to step into fill the void with the chores, and step up he has. My days are quite long, I am generally away 11-12 hours and at this time of the year it is dark when I leave, and dark when I get home. By the time I get home Luca has fed and cleaned the animal houses, taken Pica for a walk, has the fire roaring, done the other chores and started supper . Rich has done up some freezer meals too which has been a godsend!!!!!!! Even thousands of miles away he finds a way to make my life easier. ❤️

Then Friday night I got home to Luca dishing supper. Aria had picked him up from school they had come home, done all the chores together, some study, Aria had made dinner, then left Luca to dish it up. What a wonderful thing to come home to, so incredibly thoughtful and delicious! I sat enjoying my coffee the next morning ,(from a cup Aria had given me previously), feeling very loved.

I have put the majority of my vege garden to bed for the winter. The last of the produce are ripening on the window sill, we will be eating some of it tonight.

I had seen a hay feeder online that I thought would work great for the sheep, so Rich set to work. The ponies have hay in their barn, it is nice, dry and accessible for them. I wanted to find a way to keep the hay off the ground and dry for the sheep too, so there is not so much wastage. This is the solution, it works so well and they LOVE it! Another Rich marvel!

Despite the days being warm, in the late afternoon the chill sets in. The fire warms this house through in about 15 minutes of it being started. These two know the meaning of how to relax and enjoy it!

Luca has been away for most of the weekend. I have been busy doing things around here, there is a never ending list, I like the physical work of it, Pica and I fitted in our usual hikes as well. As my work week is spent inside, I try hard to make up for it over the weekend, good for the soul to be outside getting your hands dirty and getting physically tired. This was taken yesterday morning at the top of our property looking out over the village of Port Chalmers as Pica and I headed up into the bush….

and this this morning as the sun rose I took this, while I was up feeding the ponies and sheep, so pretty…

One of the neighbors came over with her daughter to see the animals and Luca’s tree house this afternoon. She was very enthusiastic about everything. It is lovely to have little kids around enjoying our property, I love to see it through their eyes, it reminds me how very privileged we are to be here tending this land for future generations, who ever they may be….