:: big egg ::

 Phoebe came in from collecting the eggs the other day with wonderment and lots of giggles...

there was definitely something different with one of the eggs...

L to R: bantam egg, regular hen's egg, 'whopper' egg

so she set out to see just how much different...

 Phoebe loves to bake and knows perfectly well that an average hen's egg will weigh approximately 60gm...after a bit of thinking she worked out that this beauty is more than half as big again...

 it was agreed that she would have it sunny-side up for her breakfast and indeed it was a DOUBLE YOLKER!

and a breakfast enjoyed at least one and a half times as much as usual, maybe even twice as much :)

:: shelter building news ::

 Spring is definitely in the air in our nook, drifts of pale lemon yellow pine pollen are floating visibly through the much warmer air and leaving sulphuric stains and crusts on everything outside. 

And bees have been busily about their business in the very first plum blossoms. Precious.

 Pruning has all but finished - we have tried to keep to beneficial lunar gardening times for pruning - we are nearly done. Lots of long straight waterspouts here - could be useful...

 The warmth, the pruning and the new-found energy of Spring has propelled me to make a little more push toward completing the shelter house we began with Phoebe. 

While visiting the South Island in the middle of Winter, we went to the Otago Settler's Museum.  There we saw a 'Wattle + Daub' wall panel, rescued from an actual early settler's house and could clearly see how to re-create something similar to help clad our shelter house - adapting it to fit what we'd already created.  It is just like weaving, really, with sticks.

 These are my tools: a decent pair of secateurs and some mean-looking loppers.

They make nice, neat cut-off edges - a bit safer, too - because so many stick-ends could grab!

Inside has had some input, too.  Aaron, Phoebe and one of her cousins who was staying in the holidays borrowed a concrete mixer and the children made the concrete while Aaron did most of the spreading and levelling.

A little embellishment also enhanced the design - a border of marbles, glass gems and stones.

And Olive always watching on, chewing her bones...

:: experimental papermaking ::

 One of the things I really like about how we home educate is the amount of creative time that is available to Phoebe.

 It also leads to one of the things I sometimes don't like...

...unusual surprises that jump out and get me when opening her curtains in the morning - or should I say fall off the windowsill where they have been carefully perched and onto the floor...

 

...this time it was a lovely batch of ripped up paper and other assorted ingredients, quietly experimentally percolating on the windowsill and - a nice surprise - it was something dry AND solid - Phoebe's first PAPER! (HaHa - is what she then wrote :) )

Heartened by this paper success, Phoebe and I are researching further how to make more paper from our waste paper around the home - looks like she's ready to make her own mesh screen and deckle and commandeer our old blender!

:: spinning with wilma ::

Phoebe using her left hand to set the wheel in motion in the correct direction

 Last Thursday we were given a wonderful gift by a lady very generous with her time and knowledge - the gift of learning about fleece and making yarn or wool.  We were both brave enough to tackle the wooden spinning wheel and pitch our feet, hands and eyes against this seemingly complicated task!

carefully feeding in the soft, delicate fleece sliver

 As the wheel is spinning (powered by the foot on the pedal), one hand is helping spread the fibres and the other is making sure it is feeding in not too fast, not too slow...not an easy job for the beginner!

With her back to the warmth of the Winter sun pouring in the window, Phoebe mastered the art of gently teasing diaphanous fibres into a neatly twisted and strong yarn.  Foot up and down, up and down, both hands working together, eyes carefully overseeing.

And here is the result on the bobbin - some lovely natural wool - a single ply, which we could ply together with another strand and we would have our first yarn!

me encouragingly looking on, on the table Wilma had displayed her wool and associated tools to show us

Thank you Wilma - it was such a special time for us to begin learning with you - much appreciated :)

:: earnest crafting ::

my creations

Visiting a friend and fellow-Taruna student recently, Phoebe spied some magical little people nestled into her 'Seasonal Table' - it was a Winter Family, a Father, a Mother and a babe in a crib..."Can we make some, puleeeeease?" came the request almost as we walked back in the door at home.

I truly thought I'd done pretty well at 1) remembering how to make these wondrous wool felt dolls and 2) the creating of them.  We were taught how to make them while on the Course in Rudolf Steiner Education, last year at Taruna College.  I'd made about three at the time and thought that was a skill embedded in my cranium and finger tips forever, however time passes...

Phoebe's creations

What was remarkable was Phoebe's effort she put into making the same figures - these above and below are all of her own making. 

also Phoebe's creations - with fine detail - baskets, aprons with flowers on, wrapped braids...

I was fairly taken aback at her persistence to learn how to make them in totality and the rapid expression of her newly learned skill - in total she made 8 figures and at the beginning I showed her every single step, until on the final few she made them each, entirely herself.

And then, there is the hot water bottle cover -she was inspired to make her own, after I'd set out to make us a family set...one of the cut covers just disappeared, along with the child,to her bedroom for a portion of the day...listening to something Roald Dahl, I believe...

Again, more "Mother-incredulousness" as I witnessed her stitch away completely free-form - she had a picture she liked and just began embroidering as if drawing - wonderful!

Lady Vermillion

Those small hands are capable of very crafty business! 

The Mandala Garden and Pruning the Fruit Trees

Here is our mandala garden. Wendy has been in it for two straight days and the results are amazing.
There were so many weeds to pull and there were about 50 plants (super sized) to plant. (That's right, this is Aaron reporting).

The chickens were moved first, onto a new bed. They clucked and squabbled all day - which they do - and demolished every bit of living green available. Not to many eggs though.

I have been pruning. Scared me to death I have to say. Having completed a certificate in organics and biodynamics with Taruna, I thought I would have a little more knowledge, however I found myself searching youtube for tips.

The fruit trees had not been properly shaped from the beginning and so 'water sprouts' had become large limbs and had to be 'sorted' out. If you had been watching you would have seen me up the orchard ladder looking confused, worried, pensive and all those emotions that come with having to 'deal' to a beautiful fruit tree.

The Mandala garden and its 14 or so fruit trees is now done... off to the orchard tomorrow... or sometime later.

:: training Olive ::

 meet Phoebe's dog, Olive - a Shih-Tzu - whom Phoebe loves and adores and also has the unenviable task (since she is her mistress!) of training!

 the weekend before last we had beautiful weather and some friends come to stay, one of whom is an expert dog-trainer!

 Since Olive has huge potential for training (read: needs lots more training, since she is still a puppy) it was agreed a lesson was in order...

 Phoebe learnt a new technique for letting Olive know a)who's in charge and b)I'm not happy with that behaviour, Olive

 There was also the method of using a stick (not as any form of punishment!!) as an extension of the trainer's arm, allowing control over the dog at a greater distance - eg - commanding 'sit' and 'stay' and being able to walk further away from Olive, while she thinks Phoebe is right next to her - the stick is part of the trainer = genius.

soon Olive was trotting along pretty happily on the lead, much to the delight of us all :).  Thank you so much, John - much appreciated.

:: little house update ::

 the shelter we have been building as part of Phoebe's Class 3 'shelter' study has been slowly creeping along. Partly because there is only a little bit of this:

and the scene usually looks more like this:

(note the missing character from this shot!) Partly, pondering what to do at each stage, partly time available and mostly, interest - after all a project is much more fun if one actually wants to be involved!  And this we as adults learn more slowly, it seems.

As the little house takes shape and the structure with it's leftover pond-lining cover is now a little bit weather-protected, there suddenly seems to be a lot more interest - outdoor play is now centered in the little house. SO, we shall see how swiftly this project will complete from here...

We just need another push to get the cladding attached to the exterior - this sounds like fun - clay daub onto wire mesh...hmmm...old clothes only, methinks.

This picture shows a remarkable plant weaving and winding it's way right up into the upper reaches of this large, old apple tree - I'll admit it's not the clearest photo - so - the plant - a cherry tomato plant - is higher up the tree than Miss P, who is climbing up amongst the boughs - it extends all the way to the very top left of this photo.

and the tomatoes are still ripening!

:: snowcoat ::

you wouldn't normally get to see this - because I'd be a little reserved about going public with my 'makes'.  I was 'encouraged' to post this today :).

We have some travels planned to a home education camp in the middle of Winter - somewhere where it's highly likely there will be snow, even!  It does get cold here, but not that cold.  And Miss P did not possess a warm enough coat to help layer in the warmth....

...that is until a lovely 100% pure NZ recycled (upcycled?!) wool blanket in 'sunshine colours' snuggled up next to some floral retro sheet scraps in the ECS - 'essential creative stash' - and the above pattern (I did learn the skill of pattern-drafting, yet - for $10 I have saved myself HOURS in that rusty skill department!)

Also in our stash were some lovely old buttons, Miss P particularly liking the faceted clear glass one...and here she is - one happy and warm girl in her new 'snowcoat'.

As well, this snowcoat ticks my 'use what we've got' box - in total, I spent only the $10 for the pattern. The blanket probably cost between $2 and $10 (op-shopped long ago for another project), the sheets were left over from previous curtain-making efforts and the buttons, thread and interfacing from the 'collection'. And I feel even better for that :).

:: getting up, above it all ::

Fennel flowers and Poverty Bay

Yesterday we were engulfed in a lashing of Wintry wind and rain and felt snug (and smug, until the powercut!) inside by our woodstove as we each worked away at our pursuits.

Stunning view

And today's trip to 'town' couldn't be more of a delightful contrast and as we picnicked above Poverty Bay, we talked of the different headlands we could see, stretching out South, pondering the forms of the landscape before us; Phoebe getting an aerial look at how far we need to drive to get to 'town'; Phoebe wondering whether there was a possible shortcut?; noticing the markers for the ships sailing into port and feeling really satisfied by a hearty soup we'd put into our flasks for lunch.

Mermaid?

 

Fresh air, sunshine, nourishment and getting up above it all!

:: autumnal mandala garden ::

Autumnal Northern Hawke's Bay

A lovely, long, dry and warm Summer (well, not so lovely and way too dry for the vast majority of NZ!) has given way to a golden Autumn in these parts.

our rainbow permaculture mandala garden

We have been blessed with just enough rain to sustain our gardens' green good health and have been eating well from them all Summer through.

Blue Bay, Opoutama

After Summer's often frenetic pace - just keeping up with the garden was a feat this year - it has been necessary to mark the change of seasons and give consideration to the new pace of the new season.  One night last week we went for a walk here and soaked up the beauty...some much appreciated reflective time.

:: sweetpea shadehouse and building update ::

glorious Sweetpeas

Phoebe in front of her thickly-covered stick house

 After much dry we've had lots of decent soakings and the progress of Phoebe's Sweetpeas has been ever upward and now surround her stick house entirely, providing just the colourful, sweet-smelling shade we'd been hoping for - a great Permaculture outcome - 3 uses covered here: beauty, shade and fragrance. Phoebe and I created the little stick house from prunings planted into the ground and woven together back in August...you might like to see the skeletal framework here.

School Project - building her own house

The timing of the soakings has not been well-timed for continuing the house-building project.  The Manuka fram has stood up well and Phoebe is feeling the excitement and motivation to get this house completed.  A work-in-progress...shall keep you posted!