The Humble Hebe…

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One of my “go to” native plants is the Hebe, it flowers year-round and very hardy. I have them dotted all over the property and now they are well established, they provide a splash of colour even in the gloomiest of winters…

The weather, however, has come right, and we are back to gorgeous winter days.

We did feel a wee earthquake last week, it originated in Te Anau, about 300 km away. A gentle reminder that we do in fact live on a fault line which runs the length of NZ, (so none of us are immune), and we always need to be prepared!

A gentle day on the harbour taken on our usual walk ❤️

Rich and Luca built the vege garden fence in record time, and the piggies are well contained. The wood rails add a really nice touch to the garden, roll on Spring!

I took this prior to the build commencing, the boys taking a wee rest after their escapades, probably contemplating how they can push through that chicken netting again😂

This is winter on Tui Cottage Farm; things don’t look as lush and green as the rest of the year, keeping spaces for the animals that are dry underfoot and keeping up a good feed regime is my priority. It has taken a while to establish what works best but I do feel we are there now. I have a great local food and farm supply, apiarist, vet, farrier, and home kill/butcher which helps a lot too.

The pig paddock is for the most part rooted up ,(there are a few grassy patches left), but apart from the area shown in the last post, mostly dry not swampy, and their house has a wood floor, so they dry off completely at night, mud fever and foot rot, (like trench feet), is real for all the animals if they are constantly in mud, prevention is the key.

The feed bag for the ponies and hay crate for the sheep has saved us a lot of money in wastage, it is literally halved the winter hay bill, I highly recommend them both. I use sawdust to dry up the feed areas and in the sheep shelter, it works a treat, I have found a good local supplier using untreated timber.

Some of the girls have continued to lay over winter, they are all past their shedding and gearing up for Spring when eggs will once again come in full force
They are happy healthy boys, hard to believe how tiny they once were!
Enjoying their breakfast barley
Wha’s favourite spot 🙂
Breakfast! I feed them a nut that is designed specifically for ponies to keep them in good health. That feed bag will be empty by the evening; they are very savvy at using it. The hay supply is under the grey tarp, if I don’t cover it, they pull it everywhere, trample it underfoot then won’t eat it. They love this space so much!

With the weather better, Rich and I are off climbing again to some our favourite places, they always have amazing views!

Pica needs a little help these days with the climb and is a slower, but she still loves it and is excited when we mention the “walk” word :).

Look at those snowy mountains! The ski fields are very happy! Luca and Ted are heading over to Central Otago in August; it is nice that it is there if we want snow, but it does not involve daily shovelling to make it out the front door! Years of doing that in Canada made me weary of it, but who knows I may at some stage miss it, there are times I do feel little nostalgic for it now 😉

Term 3 starts tomorrow for Luca; we went out last night for supper and then to see The Odyssey, a good finish to the holidays…❤️