Meanwhile Down on the Farm...

Meanwhile down on the farm....orchard actually things have been busy......yesterday and today and possibly still tomorrow we are picking avocados ( 2nd pick for the season )( there may yet be a 3rd pick in April! !!) 3 hydraladas; 2 ground pickers ( R and me ) one tractor driver R.  We have Lisa and Gavin back as our lada drivers. ( we asked for them as they do an excellent job )

 Lisa manoeuvring around a tree.

 She not scared of heights! 

 Let's not be sexist here, Gavin is working hard too. ( note how my garden weeds / rubbish is growing and flowering nicely under the trees..... lots get squashed - it is meant to be mulch 1)

My tractor is working hard too.

I do not drive it up the steep hill when fully loaded with 3 bins on the bin trailer , R has to do that - it is a big load for her, she only just makes it.

 R's tractor has the bin fork on it for lifting and loading bins. The truck is carrying gear and the Hustler mower is being used as transport back and forth. Only the car is lazing at home.

 Here is a lovely sight...late last evening this is the days work waiting for the truck to arrive to take it up to the pack house.

 Note in this photo, the pumpkins growing down the bank, firewood rings drying ready for splitting before Winter and if you look really hard see the fancy mowing in the car park area.

 A funny thing happened last weekend  We discovered a great big pumpkin under that black picnic table in the photo. We think a rabbit must have chewed through it's stem up on the slope and it rolled all the way down to the table ( it hadn't been cut but raggedly nibbled.) Instead of discarding it we tried it and although early in the season it is delicious steamed and coated with butter. Naughty rabbit you are asking for it! ( you know eh Leanne! )

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 We are watering everything almost. But we are picking courgettes;  strawberries; silver beet; tomatoes; 

beans and digging potatoes. ( oh and pumpkins ! ) When I went to the supermarket at the weekend it was lovely to walk through the vegetable department and only select a piece of root ginger and red capsicum ( ours aren't red yet ).

 The worm farm is doing okay I think after an initial invasion by ants - think I have that sorted now.

 Sorry I haven't been commenting much this week I just have not had computer time - I will try and rectify that. The Chaste tree at the front gate is coming into flower the bees ( bumble bees especially ) are loving it.I do too.