Busy Weekend.

After that wet spell we now have warm sunny slightly autumnal type days. This red nerine is one of many that will flower over the next few weeks. They seem to thrive in our conditions and I now have 100s.( in about 5 different sites, so some flower earlier than others. )
       I was not very popular when I asked if R would drive the truck for me to stand on the deck to cut off the low hanging branches on the 2 oak trees. Threatening to get some blokes in and pay them to do it seemed to do the trick. It took less than an hour. I didn't cut myself or fall off the deck of the truck and the sunlight is now getting through to the garden below much better. Thank you R that wasn't SO bad was it?

Percy Progress. Percy Peacock is now concentrating on pulling out the smaller feathers further up his back. He left me this little one today...it would make a lovely quill pen if we still used such things. ( Loulee and Gina, some folk think it is bad luck to have peacock feathers inside. Folk in India where it is a sacred bird think it is very good luck. I have them inside and don't think they have ANY influence on good or bad luck that is just superstition.)  They look great in a vase so that is why I have them.

These are peaches called Flatto,. It is the first time I have seen them in NZ. We tried them when in the UK last July . They are very yummy and easy to eat. There were 5 in a long little cardboard tray.( I has been eaten so missed the photo )  www.flatto.co.nz 

 They are grown ( by the Paulin brothers at Clyde Orchard )  at Clyde in the far south of the South Island. They are called different things in different countries( Pan toa in China; Saturn in USA; Sweetcap in France. ) They are being sold at New world and Pak'n'Save supermarkets.

 It is a busy busy gardening weekend for me..... getting lots done...there is still lots to do.    Have a happy weekend everyone !

Class Sample.

I made this mug rug as the sample to show the ladies tomorrow, so those who want something really easy to make next time we have P and Q can get my needs list and bring their fabrics and make one.

Just as well it rained or I wouldn't have had time to make this and write out the needs list for them.
 I have been having a real battle with Blogger. I have had to up date everything. Strangely it would work on my laptop but not here on my PC where I have my photos.

Selvage Quilt Finished.

 Yesterday I finished thinning fruit in Block 1.
 Yesterday I finished reading my 919 page book.
 This morning I finished sewing my selvage quilt.
Can you see the smile on my face? Finished can be a happy word or a sad word or a nothing word. Today I am using the happy version.

Then I tried hanging it on the clothesline.

It will be going to a really clever quilter with a computerised system to get quilted. I am very pleased to have it finished. Observations about it are it might be made of off cut ( selvages ) but it probably took more cotton and sewing time than any other quilt. When I finished I had just 18" of white thread left. ( shopping soon! ) The back of it is a nightmare of fraying edges and threads. I am wondering if it might benefit from the addition of a thin black ribbon sewn around the the block area. I will audition some when it is done. ( I think it is the left hand side that is worrying me where it has lots of white.)
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Percy Peacock has finished too. Finished dropping all his long feathers. He is however still sitting up right by the ranch sliders every second day scratching and preening and leaving a variety of small feathers. ( where is he every other day ?) I have a collection of the long feathers and these small ones. Some are just delightful and fluffy. Some are brilliant colours.

 * I should add that (if you are a stayer ) the book I finished was worth the effort; you might like it.  " Ireland Awakening, " by Edward Rutherfurd.
( the part about the potato famine particularly in the town of Ennis where I have been was very ghastly. The deaths were the greatest in the West country  ( County Clare )  - the part of Ireland I liked the best for it's beautiful green countryside.
  It was interesting reading the ghastly history of amazing places I had been to last year: Dublin; Galway; Ennis and Dromoland castle.

Now on the Wall.

Last year when we were holidaying in UK we went to many interesting places. One that caught my imagination was Mevagissey in Cornwall. ( I wrote about it in August last year. )While we were there we bought this print by Simon Clarke that today finally got hung on the wall. It is such fun. Enlarge it so you can see, the sheep in the phone box; the eyes on the crays in the pots; the cows; the seagull and of course the dog making the sheep walk the plank. The print is called "Walking the Plank."
 More work by this artist can be seen by googling his name ( Simon Clarke - Quay Reflections Gallery or oceanpublishing.com  )

 A street in Mevagissey.

 The shop window before we bought the print. It is partly shown in the right side . Another by the same artist is in the middle.

 I got google images to show Mevagissey; there are so many lovely photos . The wharf area surrounded by the houses clinging to the hillside is typical of several seaside towns we saw.

Today it is raining steadily SO no orchard work and the plants are loving it. I'm off to sew right now!

Here's a Curly One.

When thinning the kiwifruit we find some strange shapes. Fans; doubles triples; quadruples even, certainly some vulgar shapes , many with male looking parts, but this just might be the cutest most ornate one I have found get. The line down the side of the fruit is called a Hayward mark ( these are Hayward variety kiwifruit and it is a mark peculiar to them ) An export standard fruit( which is what we aim to grow )  is allowed 2 thin, not deep lines with no protuberance or beak or curl. This one had 23 distinct lines and many curls. I love it and it is on show on our bench till it goes off. ( it has been out to show and tell with me, he he, the ladies loved it. )
        We have had a little much needed rain. There is drizzle again this morning. A little more ( 2inches ) would be good. ( good for the garden and the orchard and good for me cause I don't need to water, or fruit thin  and can have some inside time!!!)

Yesterday morning I got to sew for a while. This is the sum of the parts for my selvage quilt so far.

Now progressed to this stage. 20 blocks all joined. I did 4 strips of 5. That was straight forward. Getting the 4 strips joined and the seam matching exactly was not. I pinned and even adjusted a couple of the seams for a better fit. In the end I pinned the intersections then sewed just across each. After inspecting that they were matching to my satisfaction I then sewed the entire seam.That way where there was any extra to ease in it happened block by block. I might have thought that was challenging but getting the whole thing totally square was even worse. I pressed and trimmed till I thought the quilt will be small if I keep this up. I am now happy that each seam through the quilt is within a fraction of the same length and the same with the long seams. ( otherwise when I measured through the middle to cut my borders they wouldn't have fitted )My 12.5"  square ruler has a diagonal line which helps keep each block lying totally horizontal. Maybe I was being too fussy, but if things are slightly out it only gets worse at the next stage, which is to add all round some thin white strips before adding the piano key borders. Thank you Nicky, Jennifer, Meg and Molly for your confirmation of side seams first. Molly you will have to stop seeing fairytales everywhere. I really would have let you know if we had a diamond mine. Little people I could deal with. maybe it is them stealing time. ( someone else wrote a blog about the fact they were sure someone was stealing their time...I know the feeling. ) 

Some Finishes.

Yes, some finishes but not the ones I'd like to be reporting on like I finished my quilt or even the borders. No. other work finishes.

 R's foundations got finished and the container got moved onto it. ( it wasn't level so he had to take remedial action - it's okay now. )

 A question;  what is a good colour to paint it and disguise it? ( I hope to grow climber up in front of it eventually. ( yes, I can see it tones with the orange canna flowers but it has got to be another colour. )

 R rang the crane hire on Tuesday to do the moving. They said. " yes, sure we will have a crane truck there at 9 am tomorrow."  The bloke turned up at 7.40 am. Just a tad early. Luckily we were up early. ( they must need the work? )

Another finish by Percy Peacock. He has dropped all the long tail feathers -  we have quite a collection. Actually I like the small fluffy ones he sheds. Will get a photo.

 Yesterday I finished my round of fruit thinning in  2B the largest kiwifruit block!     Yes!                            (Still other blocks to check out )

 Another finish. I had all the lawns mowed before 10 am. today. It is now very dry so it was mowing off rough seed heads, picking up gum leaves and bark - general tity up. Always give me a moral boost as things look tidy just for a short while.

 I finished all my library typing at the weekend so am happy with that.

My 4 borders are only 30 inches long. That's about half what the long sides need to be and two thirds the short ones. I just don't get much time these days as even after dinner I seem to have watering and garden jobs to do. I have currently dug up about 50 more red nerine bulbs that I want to shift to where they will be seen. A bit late doing it as the ones up the bamboo fence are just starting to flower. Yesterday I pulled a dead tree out of a bank that was blocking a path and very ugly and dumped it in the paddock where a certain bloke with a tractor will have to drag it away. I have to admit I was exhausted when I finished but it's done. There are so many jobs like that that keep getting ignored for more important ones. Blah! 

 Question: When attaching borders to your quilts do you sew on the long side first? I am sure someone told me a reason for that....if hanging the quilt it is less likely to stretch...or is there some other reason? ( yes I know to measure through the middle. )

Now some pleasant things. This part of the garden is looking productive.

See how tall the tomatoes have grown. The basil is really doing well now after a very slow start. The spring onions have shot away; the beans are flowering ( we have 2 other lots - the scarlet runner are right at the back - absolutely smothered in passion vine hoppers ) ) and the silver beet are out of site behind the basil. What isn't doing well is the corn and unfortunately V the water melon. They are both too slow and we can't work out why as we have been watering them.

 This morning I have noticed some lovely yellow flowers making bright spots in the garden.

Yes it is just a courgette flower but it looked very bright and inviting...and I'm not even a bee!

This vireya rhododendron - Sunny Splendour ( well named ) is looking very healthy and bright in the shadows under the big oak.
 I took 2 photos of it. See how the colour looks different depending which way the light was .

 It is going to have several flowers I am glad to see.it's leaves are very dark and glossy. A lovely plant . There are 2 exactly the same quite close to each other but not doing the same thing at the same time.

And finally a complaint ( won't get me any where I know cause the culprit is not owning up.) WHO HAS BEEN PECKING MY BUTTERNUT?

Was it Percy or the pukekos?  They also pecked a lot of the little ones. ) Murder is in the air!

( I picked it and we have eaten half - it was very tasty.Luckily the patch up beside the garden shed has at least 20plus still doing well.)

The Variety of a Weekend.

It is a long weekend here in NZ . For us I think it is project weekend. R is getting on with building the foundations so the container can be moved to it's final site. It's a bit warm but he loves doing this sort of thing. 8 by 2s on sturdy posts that were rammed some time ago. I did smirk to myself when he came in and said, "Don't know how that happened cause it measured it then cut it too short."   ( now  a quilter would have known; measure twice and cut once....wouldn't we? )
      I have been working on several projects. One is coming along very slowly cause I'm no typist. One of my jobs on the P and Q committee this year is being the Librarian (with M, she wants to learn ). I have done the job before 4 years ago and want to get it back on track. I still had in my computer the pages of the catalogue I had typed last time so now I am adding to that. I am deleting all the #s that have been discontinued and adding the new ones ( 60 haven't been added )  and trying to make it all consistent. I am also making a cross reference by content to a list that will help members to find books on a particular subject. It makes lots of sense to me but not to everyone ( yes teaching and good schooling all helps make some things second nature. ) We have about 600 books; magazines;  DVDs;  stencils and patterns. A wonderful resource for us all to share. I am keen that it runs smoothly and that items don't get lost or disappear. So my 4 typing fingers have been busy ( oh, how I wish I had learnt to touch type. )
   I have also been reading; gardening; cooking  (and today I hope sewing )

       About the quickest thing I can make is a batch of pikelets. ( drop scones in USA ??) Here is my recipe ( and probably yours too ) ( it's just a batter )
1 cup SR flour                                       1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
 1 large egg                                         2 tblsps of sugar
1/2 cup of sour milk ( or add tsp vinegar to fresh milk )
melt 1 tblsp of butter.

 In a bowl sift flour and soda,add sugar, make a well and break in egg, then very slowly add the milk mixing as you go. it should be a thick batter. ( if you add to much and it is thin you will have pancakes ).( the amount of milk you need depends how big the egg was ) It should just be able to slowly run off a spoon. Lastly mix in the melted butter.
 Heat a heavy bottomed pan or electric fry pan and spray on  some cooking oi., When you think it is hot enough( just drop a teaspoon full to test the heat. ) drop  the mix off the end of a tablespoon evenly around your pan( see photo ) When bubbles break through the batter and pop, turn, ( with an egg slice or similar) the pikelets over and cook the second side. Then remove from pan and lay on a cooling rack. ( in a clean tea towel if you want them to stay fresh for a while.)
 These may be eaten with all sorts of toppings, sweet or sour. They are best eaten the same day but freeze well.

 Percy Report.
   The other day I said we had found the first feather Percy Peacock had dropped. Well this morning he has just 5 long feathers left.

 Here are some of the moulted ones. ( we already had a jar full from years past.)

 He has been hanging around the house morosely ( I suppose because we are at the house not down in the orchard ). Sleeping on the deck.

 Of course he has left more than feathers...which I don't appreciate but will scrape up when dry and toss on the garden as fertiliser. I have also caught him looking in the glass ranch sliders at himself ... (thinking gosh my bum looks small like this! )

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My patchwork friend D started Chemotherapy for a blood disorder on Thursday. I am worried how she will cope( she is too of course. ) So far she said the steroid she took on Friday kept her on a high and unable to sleep, but she is feeling okay so far. It is the beginning of a long journey. As her friend I can only be supportive,  certainly help with transport if it's ever needed, but a friend can feel rather useless at such times. She gets the same treatment next Thursday.

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Goodness and sunshine in a basket. Note the one on the left has blight I think, but half was able to be used. These and any infected leaves are being taken off and burnt to stop any spread. ( the psyllid scare early in the season came to nothing I am glad to say )

 Also being harvested and eaten here are, 2 sorts of beans; courgettes; silverbeet; potatoes; lettuce; telegraph cucumbers spring onions and radishes. As there are so many avos ( from picking recently ) we are having them 3 times a day in some form ( on toast; in salads or as a starter with cottage cheese in the stone hole dribbled with a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. ) YUM! 

 Have a happy weekend Kiwis, and everyone else of course. Sorry about the snow, some of you are getting in Northern climes  - quite hard for us to visualise.

COOL ( Country of Origin labelling )

We are what we eat. Right? This morning it was damp first thing so I was in the kitchen baking lavosh. ( using Annabel Langbein's recipe ) Where did the ingredients come from? The flour is from Australia ( I knew that -  most of our flour is from there ) the sesame seeds are organic from Ceres sourced from India the label says. ( thats' okay we don't grow sesame seeds here ) The water was from the tap and the olive oil was from a lovely bottle of cold press  Koroneiki ( from the far north of NZ given to us as a gift. - Thanks Pam ) and the pinch of salt was from NZ.
 The lavosh turned out crisp and lovely; I tried them  with a slice of tomato from the garden for with my morning coffee. SO why am I on about this?

 I read in the " NZ Farmers Weekly, " ( no apostrophe I notice )  that comes free to our mail box an article written by Alan Emerson about New Zealand brands we used to trust ( Heinz Wattie and McCain ) are mixing vegetables and fruit from overseas with New Zealand produce and calling it Made in New Zealand.
 Okay so what's wrong with that? A lot!
       We are exporters ourselves so know quite a bit about what is and isn't allowed. We have strict rules about what spray or products we are allowed to use if we are going to export kiwifruit or avocados.( and it has to be labelled ) Why therefore are we in New Zealand importing fruit and veges from China, South America, USA and Vietnam, into the country that has been sprayed with chemicals we are not allowed to use here.( food tested had one of 4 chemicals prohibited here. ) Last year NZ imported $700 million of fresh fruit and veges . $63 million from China -( garlic, pears and  grapes ) .  Supermarkets are now labelling ( mostly ) where fresh fruit and vegetables come from.
        What is astounding and I agree with Alan Emerson here is tinned and frozen vegetables and fruit can just be labelled Made in New Zealand and have ingredient from anywhere in it cause it was mixed and canned or frozen here in NZ.
 Apparently Talleys are the only frozen veges that are grown in NZ.     PRODUCT of  NEW ZEALAND is what the label has to say to tell us it was grown in New Zealand.
   More and more food from other places are being shared around the world because of free trade agreements.   White ware; clothes; shoes and  wine already have COOL labelling. Time for all our food products to be labelled with the truth, so we the consumers can have the right to know and choose for ourselves.
    It is such a good reason to grow just as much of our own fresh fruit, nuts and vegetables as we possibly can.
 There are 7000 growers of fresh fruit and vegetables in New Zealand, many of them selling their produce at a loss - that can't last for long can it?  Supermarkets are apparently still adding 100% mark up and in rare cases 800%.   Can that be true?  If it is, no wonder Local and Village / Farmers' Markets are proving to be so popular.
 Do you have an opinion about any of this?

Presents from Percy.

This is not what Percy the Peacock  usually leaves if he has been hovering in the garden or hiding under the trees. It must mean that Summer is drawing on as peacocks start shedding their tail feathers in late Summer. They will grow a new bigger set next Spring before the mating season. They renew the feathers each year as they get tatty and would be a nuisance during Winter. I have noticed him scratching and preening a lot so I guess it must feel itchy while they are dropping out. I found one yesterday and another this morning. Apparently he could drop as many as 5-10 in a day.
       Peacocks are the national bird of India and especially the Punjab province and so Percy is always greeted by the Indian pruners or pickers  who come to the orchard.   It has now been discovered that the colours in the ocellus ( eye ) are caused by nano particles of colour on black.( not pigment ).
       Percy is probably 6 or even 7 now, so in his full glory.Yesterday afternoon he spent  time with me down in block 2b where I was working thinning kiwifruit. He looks at me and thinks, " I know you will have some of that fruit bread I like....I will just sit here by the tractor and wait till smoko time." ( he sat there for 2 hours patiently, listening to the radio.)
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This year I have planted 2 capsicum, a yellow and a red right beside the wall of the house at the back of the herb garden.

they have big healthy leaves and are setting fruit quite well.

These lettuce and radish are looking healthy. The radish are ready to eat so that always spoils the display, but I guess I am growing them to eat. I planted this lot deeper and have watered them a lot and it seems to have produced a better result.
 Leanne my strawberries have been abysmal this year but are just having a second crop now so hope it goes on for a while.
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   On Sunday I got a little me time while R and J were at the Airshow and V was off shopping. These have grown a bit and all 4 are now 18 inches long. It is a slow process.( they are borders for my selvage quilt also made out of selvages. Some are quite narrow so only an inch or less is added with each piece.

I also did some reading. Molly you may be interested in what I am reading.

 I know I said I wasn't reading any more big fat books, but I have read over 300 pages of the over 900 here and am enjoying it. At the moment it is still  1689 , and ends up after the 1st World War.  As usual with Edward Rutherfurd he tells the history using fictitious families. Imagine what the population of Ireland ( and a lot of other places ) would be if the Catholics and Protestants hadn't been so intent on killing each other. ( haven't got to the famine yet. ) I didn't know the history this far back as at school we only covered English / Irish / Scotish history from 1840.

 We both wish we had read this book before we visited Ireland last July, but at least I can visualize Dublin and other places now .Yes I crossed the Liffey by bridge so can see that quite clearly in my mind.

 ( so Molly by the time I finish this I will be much more informed about your homeland. )

Do You Eat Avocados?

  Nothing happened with the avocado picking Monday as the hydralada drivers were still finishing the previous orchard. ( we understand that, as picking time is hard to judge. ) Yesterday (Tuesday) was a fabulous hot clear day and our 2 drivers arrived early. They picked to finish the job at 8.20pm last evening. Phew...it was cool by then and  quite a relief from the heat. The bins were taken away to the packhouse in the dark and even later at 11.15pm the truck to take the hydraladas to the next orchard arrived. R had to take light down to them for loading. But they finished the job and the fruit is beatuiful. What price will it bring?  Not very much at the moment I'm afraid. Austalian markets have been flooded by unscrupulous traders who don't understand that the fruit needs to be feed to the market at a sensible pace,  continously so the supply is even. ( they dump huge quantities. )The NZ market has also got lots at the moment.A few spoiling it for everyone. ( we may get paid as little as a third or half what we sometimes get. )( the rep from the packhouse called in and told us the market price had risen yesterday so that is encouraging. )
      We decide not to ground pick like we usually do but to leave those fruit in ready access for our own use later. ( there weren't many low down as we had ground picked in during our first pick which was the last week in September. The fruit being picked at the moment has had all that time since then to size up and it really has.

Early morning the first bins full.

Then later a few more full.

    Here is what I spent the day doing. R transported the full bins from the avo blocks back to the house area where they were stored in the shade in the shed ( usually  this is the the tractor shed ) He brought back one partly filled bin so I could move the fruit around. Wearing gloves I pullled out all the leaves and twigs and inspected a lot of the fruit, to take out obvious rejects. ( just like fruit thinning in the kiwifruit really only these have got to picking stage cause I don't climb avo trees to thin them! ) The size the pickers were told to pick to was to weigh 220 grams ( 25 to a packed tray ). We usually pick way smaller than that.

 Here in my bin you can see rejects for colour; marks ;shape; possum bites and blemish caused by thrips; as well as smalls. So we have lots of reject fruit to share with friends and family. We try to have ripe avocados in the house at all times. Sometimes we run out if we have given too many away but we like to eat them  on a daily basis. They are so very good for us.( now recommended as a first food for babies. ) A little fattening if you pig out but so are lots of things.

There are not too many folk we know now who do not like avocados, but there still are some need converting. They are wonderful on vogel bread toast with a smear of vegemite and avo sliced or mashed on top. ( my breakfast most mornings ) They are wonderful in salads, as guacamole dip; nice with shrimp or other cold seafood. They can even be made into ice cream.

 Another good way is cut the avo in half, take a teaspoon and tuck in.

Avocados used to be called poor man's butter in Mexico where they were grown. A Spainish soldier Herando Cortez found them growing in Mexico in 1519. The Aztecs called them Ahuactl.  Today they are grown in many places with a temperate climate. NZ; California: Australia: Israel; Spain.

 The Hass variety ( that we grow and the only variety exported from New Zealand ) was discovered by a postman Rudolph Hass as a good seedling which he patented in 1935. This is  a good Summer variety. Other varieties are ready earlier and later.The avocado tree is related to the laurel tree - the genus persea. In Spainish  they  are called Abogado; in French Avocat.

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 Some tips if you are buying avocados. Buy them when they are still firm and green, that way nobody else has squeezed them and bruised them. Take them home and put on your fruit bowl till just slightly soft. If you wish to hasten their ripening place them in a paper bag, with a ripening banana which gives off lots of ethylene, and secure the top to keep the gas in. Craddle them in your hand and if there is slight give they are ready. Once ready keep in the fridge for a couple of days if not eating them straight away. ( If unsure if they are ready rub the stalk out and if a tooth pick or needle will slide into the flesh  easily they are ready. ) Do not squeeze or pummel.

 Back to garden and kiwfruit work today. Everything here is now dry again and watering is necessary for the veges. It is another beautiful clear Summer day so other growers will be getting their avos picked too.

 Leanne has been showing all the lovely veges they are harvesting / growing. I agree it is so rewarding to pick things and be eating them within the hour. Last night our salad was made up entirely with lettuce, radish tomatoes ,chives and avocado we grew. Eaten with our  new potatoes and green beans.( The cold lamb was bought.)

 No sewing but I did tidy my sewing cupboard and iron some finished half square triangles....so a glimmer of hope there.

( Blogger is doing some very strange things at the moment ! )

Kiwifruit and Answers.

I said I would show what I was doing in the Kiwifruit at the moment.These photos taken last Friday afternoon.This photo shows the size the kiwis have got to by mid January.

This is the mess on the ground where I have thrown down fruit and tangled leaf stalks.

This shows before at the top and after below, where I have removed one fruit.( it was the smallest and there were too many on one stalk)
 I bet you can pick which ones need removing in these 2 photos.

Both have fungal damage ( caused by too much rain ) the top one is also not pollinated evenly. Usually the fungal damage hides on the inside of a bunch where it is touching a leaf or another fruit.( and is much more difficult to spot )

Final test then I will let you come and help. Can you see 3 fruit that are squat and not the correct long shape ?( top right ).

This shows the crop load and why it is taking me ( us ) so long this year.( that's a bit blurry sorry. )( maybe it was making me dizzy)

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 My last post got some interesting responses. Thank you Laurie; Deb; Molly; Gina; Jennifer; Janice and Joolzmac.
* Laurie you can purchase the sort of moth trap in the photo at Decor ( the place you didn't like last time you went there  - hehe. ) or I have since got a different cheaper brand from Palmers. ( they also have cockroach traps - I got one to try but it too has caught moths....maybe that is a good sign. )
*Joolz and Jennifer Thanks for your reinforcement of what I said re the moth trap.

* Jennifer I think trying different coffee at different cafes  is a good idea and if one that is really good and too your liking turns up ask what brand they are using and can it be purchased from them. 
* Molly....making coffee for one is even MORE important. You look after yourself and treat yourself as the  important person, that you are.
* Deb. Thank you for your offer. Yes, I can get Hummingbird brand but have only tried Crave, not Oomph. I gave Crave 3 out of 5. Will try the Oomph next. When I was last in the supermarket I got into discussion with another customer who was uming and arring( Spelling? ) in front of the coffee. Quite by chance a rep from a coffee firm came by and heard us.( or does he lurk behind the display stand waiting to pounce? ) He was a very very pleasant person ( or was it the smell of the coffee? ) We talked for 5 minutes about our likes and dislikes and he told me the current NZ trend was for coffee with the burnt edge to it ( which I don't care for ) and guided me towards his brand Gravity for beans and Jed's for plunger in a mild roast. Both are roasted at the same firm. They sell to a large number of NZ cafes.( he said )
 So far on my list no brand has earned more than 3 out of 5. Maybe I am too fussy....but I am enjoying the journey. Will keep you posted from time to time.
* Janice I guess the type of work your Mum did in an orchard was similar. At least with the kiwifruit it can be reached standing on the ground.
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If the weather stays fine ( it is currently very still and overcast  - very pleasant) tomorrow and Tuesday we are having our 2nd  (for the season ) avocado pick. The bins are here, the forklift is here. R has taken bins to the avo blocks ready. All we need tomorrow is a fine cool day some hydraladas and careful drivers .
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  Yesterday the committee for my P and Q group had it's first planning meeting for the year. ( 7 out of 9 turned up )We are all trying to job share where possible to spread the load. We hope for an interesting, learning  fun year. If you belong to a Guild or P and Q group and found a new idea or did a project that was particularly successful please let me know. I have already gleaned some good ideas from your blogs but just in case I missed anything please tell me ( us ) about it.

Coffee and Pests.

This morning I am making sure I make time to have my mid morning coffee and write a blog post. It is Summer, the rain has gone, it is warm and there is SO much to do that some days I don't give myself any me time. Having a cup of coffee made in my machine is one of my treats. I usually only have one a day...just sometimes 2 - never late in the day unless I need to stay awake most of the night. I know exactly how I like my coffee, black but not too strong or should I say MADE with too well ( over ) roasted beans. I like a mellow roast full of flavour without that almost burnt taste many beans now have. Deciding which brand and strength to buy has become a real challenge. I have now started a list which I am rating out of 5 stars , so I can actually remember which to buy. When I pick one that's not so good it is a lot of cups to use it up. How do you decide?  Price ?  Fair trade grown? Taste?   I have decide all are important but taste is what it is really all about for me. ( and smell ) Having seen an in depth TV programme on the making  of instant coffee and also decaffeinated instant coffee I vowed never to drink another cup - that just can't be good for us. So if I can't have the real thing I will just drink water.( hot or cold, which I like. ) Any recommendations gratefully listened to.
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This morning my car is at the garage having a new lock fitted. Just before Christmas someone tried to pick the lock ( I think while in a carpark ) and so the only entry has been by automatic opener which is a bit risky if the battery fails, so a new lock unit had to be made to fit the keys. ( same key does the boot as well. )
 Just one of life's little inconveniences and extra expenses. I am very glad that either I disturbed the would be thief or he / she was foiled and didn't get in.
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 That was one pest. Another sort are these moths that have been getting into the unshelled walnuts stored in the shed. I got one of these  pantry moth traps. It has sticky surfaces and a strip of male moth pheromone. Wow is it effective!

In this photo I have laid it on it's side so you can see all the bodies inside. It is just a triangular cardboard shape. Below shows the outside.

It is good as it doesn't have any nasty chemicals, just sticky.( Not good for the male moths obviously )

 Today the kiwifruit orchard is being inspected by staff from the pack house working as a pest monitoring team. ( we could try and do it ourselves but haven't time. )They collected leaves ( so many per row etc ) and take them back to the pack house where they are inspected under a microscope for tiny first instar scale pests. They also while walking the rows in the orchard inspect clusters of fruit for leaf rollers or other pests, using a 10 Xs hand lens. ( very useful things 10 times lenses - I have one for doing close inspections of all sorts of things. )

 If the pest monitoring team find any scale or other pest in sufficient numbers they will inform us that we need to spray for that pest. It is a good system as you only use sprays if you really need them.

 Also this morning TD was here with a quad bike spreading a small round of fertilizer.

Meanwhile we are still fruit thinning. Progress is extremely slow and I am throwing 1000 fruit on the ground in some bays. That is still leaving more than a 1000 good fruit.I might take some photos today to show you how that looks.

Not one stitch of patchwork sewing has happened in the last week. That is so bad but most nights I am just too tired to be able to do that and either read or watch TV.( or fall asleep, doing so ). Never mind I am sure it will rain again and keep me inside.
 Thank you all for your comments...they give me a lift...and another human contact.