Monumental Meanderings
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Okay then we have had a frost, well at least I was up early enough to see it....... but so far that does not a winter make, but give it time, as maybe that combined with the current rate of firewood consumption and it WILL be winter indeed. A saving grace has been the left over firewood from last months Straw Kiln firing. So far it’s been a month of manhandling the monumental with machinations towards male masochism, but at least I’m getting fitter......... sigh, and no I don’t JUST mean leaf raking. You will no doubt notice the very first entry for this month is far ways into the month and totally without pretence of being up to date with the whole blog concept, as they say YMMV or is that for me(?) (it took me long enough to even figure out what that meant and fortunately I won’t regale you with alternate meanings...... :-)  
Tuesday 21st of June So let me explain a little....... There have been days of wind and water, especially of the nautical kind, and as many would know in these parts there can be casualties, ship wrecks to buoy the hopes of all from the casual scrounger to the dedicated beachcomber. So...... without specifying the collector category in question, some trashed mussel buoys ended up as raw materials towards which my usual stance of “not being able to let well enough alone” came into play, nothing quite like a good resource for which there is bound to be an answer. ........ and there was, all thanks to greedy trees and my proclivity towards stressing my back with heavy objects, (this part of a wider strategy to keep the bio vehicle I am associated with trundling towards a riper old age).............. I have to say there are many ways I could expand that concept but it might be somewhat apart from the point, should I ever find one. Trashed buoys lengthwise cut make fine garden spaces especially when combined with piles of pilfered and pragmatically placed boulderish stuff to be acting as heat sinks for the presumed winter/s to come. ..... and the tree bit? Place a bit of half decent soil on the ground and every tree within a 50 metre radius will have roots into it before the morn. It needs weedmat and air gap. I will let some images do the talking.
There we are, those things with the green stuff freshly planted in them.
Well it is still not all that obvious I know and those that be acquainted with the place will be realizing the whole concept got out of hand, rock after rock, after..... While I might be feelings a tad fitter (finally) the poor old van is tending towards saggy springs.
Thursday 23rd of June I’m picking I should write some more as it’s such a soggy day. There have been more improvements in access to The Bamboo Forest with some steps added to the slightly steeper sections. No photos as they were very underwhelming, but the steps themselves look like they have been there forever. Next stage will be fancying up the bamboo railings in keeping with the main walk. Last Monday saw the Solstice and a full moon and this was celebrated in the Stone Circle by a selection of families, a cozy gathering around the fire culminating in a candle lit walk into the Labyrinth. A treat for the kids in particular, followed with a trek down to the Bamboo Forest to see the glow worms. Even more Bromeliads have been planted, leaves raked (of course), walks tweaked, our first oranges eaten, copious quantities of Cherry Guava’s consumed,  pruning contemplated, no stone sculpture sculpted, continuous arrays of fungi admired, and compost set a brewing in bulk. Exciting.... well no, but satisfying none the less. Thursday 30th June A final few words to see the month out, hints of things to be and such like. Today, 9 months since last creating a stone sculpture, I actually cleaned out the Hammer Dome, oiled up the chisels and DID SOME SCULPTING........ There seems a need to get this piece finished. Right then, so another idea for the Kauri Pond garden area has surfaced, sort of a reflection pond to give more depth of view into other parts of the regenerating forest, tomorrow will see a start. Part of this process is also to open up a pathway for cold air to flow through rather than sit and freeze things, in essence it is just like controling a water flow. In the same general area there are now two large pots and a smaller one made from mussels buoys, tub form rather than a trough like the new vege garden. One of them is now graced with a Fuchsia that will add subtle colour and dancing ladies to the zone with more to come, very old school but it will work. So far we have counted 18 orchid spikes around the pond area with one near opening, fingers crossed with temperature....... It is now looking like the Autumn rains are over and likely a frost or two is on the way, a bit of a concern with the orchids and the like but.............. The final photo of the month is of a fungi in a peach tree.
There we are, those things with the green stuff freshly planted in them.
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Monumental Meanderings
Okay then we have had a frost, well at least I was up early enough to see it....... but so far that does not a winter make, but give it time, as maybe that combined with the current rate of firewood consumption and it WILL be winter indeed. A saving grace has been the left over firewood from last months Straw Kiln firing. So far it’s been a month of manhandling the monumental with machinations towards male masochism, but at least I’m getting fitter......... sigh, and no I don’t JUST mean leaf raking. You will no doubt notice the very first entry for this month is far ways into the month and totally without pretence of being up to date with the whole blog concept, as they say YMMV or is that for me(?) (it took me long enough to even figure out what that meant and fortunately I won’t regale you with alternate meanings...... :-)
Tuesday 21st of June So let me explain a little....... There have been days of wind and water, especially of the nautical kind, and as many would know in these parts there can be casualties, ship wrecks to buoy the hopes of all from the casual scrounger to the dedicated beachcomber. So...... without specifying the collector category in question, some trashed mussel buoys ended up as raw materials towards which my usual stance of “not being able to let well enough alone” came into play, nothing quite like a good resource for which there is bound to be an answer. ........ and there was, all thanks to greedy trees and my proclivity towards stressing my back with heavy objects, (this part of a wider strategy to keep the bio vehicle I am associated with trundling towards a riper old age).............. I have to say there are many ways I could expand that concept but it might be somewhat apart from the point, should I ever find one. Trashed buoys lengthwise cut make fine garden spaces especially when combined with piles of pilfered and pragmatically placed boulderish stuff to be acting as heat sinks for the presumed winter/s to come. ..... and the tree bit? Place a bit of half decent soil on the ground and every tree within a 50 metre radius will have roots into it before the morn. It needs weedmat and air gap. I will let some images do the talking.
There we are, those things with the green stuff freshly planted in them.
Well it is still not all that obvious I know and those that be acquainted with the place will be realizing the whole concept got out of hand, rock after rock, after..... While I might be feelings a tad fitter (finally) the poor old van is tending towards saggy springs.
Thursday 23rd of June I’m picking I should write some more as it’s such a soggy day. There have been more improvements in access to The Bamboo Forest with some steps added to the slightly steeper sections. No photos as they were very underwhelming, but the steps themselves look like they have been there forever. Next stage will be fancying up the bamboo railings in keeping with the main walk. Last Monday saw the Solstice and a full moon and this was celebrated in the Stone Circle by a selection of families, a cozy gathering around the fire culminating in a candle lit walk into the Labyrinth. A treat for the kids in particular, followed with a trek down to the Bamboo Forest to see the glow worms. Even more Bromeliads have been planted, leaves raked (of course), walks tweaked, our first oranges eaten, copious quantities of Cherry Guava’s consumed,  pruning contemplated, no stone sculpture sculpted, continuous arrays of fungi admired, and compost set a brewing in bulk. Exciting.... well no, but satisfying none the less. Thursday 30th June A final few words to see the month out, hints of things to be and such like. Today, 9 months since last creating a stone sculpture, I actually cleaned out the Hammer Dome, oiled up the chisels and DID SOME SCULPTING........ There seems a need to get this piece finished. Right then, so another idea for the Kauri Pond garden area has surfaced, sort of a reflection pond to give more depth of view into other parts of the regenerating forest, tomorrow will see a start. Part of this process is also to open up a pathway for cold air to flow through rather than sit and freeze things, in essence it is just like controling a water flow. In the same general area there are now two large pots and a smaller one made from mussels buoys, tub form rather than a trough like the new vege garden. One of them is now graced with a Fuchsia that will add subtle colour and dancing ladies to the zone with more to come, very old school but it will work. So far we have counted 18 orchid spikes around the pond area with one near opening, fingers crossed with temperature....... It is now looking like the Autumn rains are over and likely a frost or two is on the way, a bit of a concern with the orchids and the like but.............. The final photo of the month is of a fungi in a peach tree.