:: 30 days of Spring - small miracles ::

thirty days ago, on the 20th of September I stepped out on a Saturday morning, amazed suddenly at the rate at which growth was surging ahead in our gardens - and decided to take a few pics as I went for this wee ramble...

 I didn't imagine I'd be so taken with the actions around me that I'd explore this every 10 days. It has been fascinating for me, plus a good excuse for a wander. Some plants have 'seen it all' in just 30 days - l like this rose, which was a promising bud, here...

 

...and these were a tiny cluster of tightly-closed fuschia-pink buds...

 ...under an ever-enlarging canopy of shade and protection this year's bottling supply of pears is quietly growing...

...the quince tree is now covered with many more baby quinces than one family could ever consume...

...and here's that tiny grape sprout!!! - stupendous growth...

 

 ...these look like the tightly-gripped fist of some mean ol' fella...

...not so easy to distinguish/comprehend the scale - the fig which was apparent here, too...is MUCH bigger...

 ...now why would the background of this photo be SO blown-out, I wonder?? because to FIND these two plums, I had to crawl under the tree and point the camera skywards. They are now cleverly, nestled very carefully away deep among the leaves, right under the branch...and today was one of those incredible Spring days - hot, sunny, clear with a bright blue sky...

...just a bit bigger...

...and this week we ate the first strawberries...mmm...so the original ones I photographed are...GONE!  These ones sit on a dandelion plant - a weed, perhaps, but one I don't find the heart to rip out, so they remain bedfellows.

Well, it has been a wonderful gift, a meditation perhaps of the wonder of the divine energy that imbues all things. I feel privileged to have witnessed all these miraculous events.

What small mirales have you seen lately?

:: the passage of Spring, 20 days on... ::

20 days ago I departed on a quick morning tour of our garden with my camera in tow. I had a some time at home alone and a walk around to check out the changes felt like a beautiful way to enjoy it.

 I have been enraptured by the speed at which Mother Nature can create...the now-spent bloom on the left was a bud 20 days ago...

 ...a cluster of baby apples - a sweet group of bright fuschia-coloured buds, petals tightly packed...

...very clearly we see miniature pears now - WOW!

 

and the base of the crumpling quince blossom swells now with a small, fuzzy quince fruit...

 ...not as pretty-looking yet - never-the-less the promise of succulent beauty is here - these berry blossoms are busy pushing forth berries...

...whilst the very subject of my initial wonder - this end of the grapevine has unfolded no less than 7 leaves and 2 bunches of grapes so far from that tiny, furry first sprout - only 20 days ago!

 

the tiny fig is now the size of a golf-ball and has a proportionally-large canopy for protection...

...a strong theme for these immature fruits - the two plums are considerably bigger, as is their soft bright leafy shelter, seemingly fluffing out all about them...

...I nearly didn't find the same cluster of sly blackcurrants, now almost entirely hidden...

  ...last for this morning's walk were the strawberries - and I'm determined to believe there IS a hint of blush there!

 I've truly experienced awe and wonder while recording these small doings in our own garden - there is no doubt in my mind a divine creative energy exists.

When I posted 20 days ago, it was a couple of days shy of the Spring Equinox - and it truly has felt as if Mother Nature has a countdown going to get everything grown to complete perfection in the 182.5 days until the Autumn Equinox.

:: spying on Mother Nature this morning ::

At a time of the year, when these delicate Snowdrops are still lingering here.... 

...and one of my favourite fragrant flowers is just beginning to flourish...

...Mother Nature is magically composing the most joyous symphony in our garden...and I was drawn out there with my camera this morning...delighting in every single (seeming) incredible feat of growth and abundance...

...some of the fruit trees in the orchard can't wait to frock up in their best party frills and shiver in Spring frosts bedecked in petals all pink or white...they would be the stone fruit - plums, peaches, nectarines and apricots and their delicate blossoms are mostly all ephemerally dashed to the ground in the all-too-chilly Spring winds...

...while the pip fruit family like the pear and apple above, dress sensibly in their new leaves first...

...so many wonders - like the beautiful wrapping of these quince bud petals...

...and when was the last time you really looked into the centre of a flower to check out what happens in there? All I could really think about was the promise of luscious berries in Summer...

...and leaf buds literally thrusting miniature furry, leaf-babies heavenward...

...and can you guess what this is?  I was surprised to find this soft, pink tenderness surging forth from the woody tip of...a grapevine! ... 

 and amazed at firstly the brilliant red and secondly the exquisite unpacking of perfect rose leaves...

 ...and here is the plant that spurred my curiosity this morning...a tiny green fig pertly sitting up next to a very new, very first bright green leaf sprout...on a tree, otherwise bare-naked!

 ...and there were more surprises - here are a couple of the earliest plums, while the last unfertilised (?) blossom not yet fallen, dries brown beside them...

 ...lurking beneath leaf-shields are wee blackcurrants, swelling behind flowers as they wither, crumple and shrink... 

...and in the vegetable gardens the first strawberry blossoms were floating - and this - small and green, but soon to be plump, juicy and RED... 

 and last, but not least - asleep in their pod...some baby peas, merely slumbering or growing astronomically-fast?

Ah, Persephone's Return from the Underworld to bring back the light to the Earth - how confident, faithful and abundant indeed - how lucky we humans are - if only we would realise :)

:: walkabout wednesday ::

 

A couple of weeks ago now, we were invited to walk a neighbour's organic farm property with a group of other organic-growing farmers and gardeners in our small local area.

The weather afforded us a very fine, sunny Spring morning and we much enjoyed our morning tea then set out to walk their farm.

 It was interesting to meet the herd of lovely Dexter cows who have the privilege of fresh grass every day or so - yes - there are 30-something paddocks here for these bovine beauties.

It was good to just chat and discover ideas and perhaps solutions to common challenges to working with the land organically.

Like this simple, yet highly effective carrot-raising concept: lay newspaper in an open-ended piece of plastic guttering (in another container to hold the soil/seed-raising mix in), fill with soil/seed-raising mix, sow carrot seed.  When the carrots are big enough to go in the ground - simply dig a suitably-matching small trench in the garden and slide the seedlings directly into the ground, including the newspaper - which will break down - and firm up the sides with soil!

Carrots have been one of my difficult crops...and are notorious for their dislike of being transplanted...I shall definitely be trying this.

And I found it fascinating to notice that our neighbour, who is growing this garlic less than 500m from where we are growing ours, has so much more growth there.  Planted at the same time, I wonder whether their garden is just that much more elevated and sheltered than ours?

The name 'walkabout Wednesday' has been coined and the intention is to walk each others' properties over the coming Spring months.

Heck, it was just great to actually stop working on the land for a morning and go and talk with some real, local people about stuff that really  matters!

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.

:: the good wood ::

This is Aaron, Wendy's husband. So this post may not have the elegance of Wendy's posts.

I have been chopping wood and thought I would share some images of the process including the 'tools' I use to make it easier.

The Saw Horse
I think this is what it is called. Made out of 10 pieces of treated 4x2 it is an old invention with incredible usefulness and increased safety. Oh and better for your back as well.

Saw Horse with wood stack in back.

I have been gifted access to about 5 acres of Kanuka timber. The farmer next door to us has dropped the lot in order to return to grass.

Saw Horse and Chainsaw

Kanuka is a very good burning wood. Very hard and full of heat. Really important to cut as soon as possible after felling as it gets harder by the day. The only downside is that the pieces can be small due to the stringy nature of the way it grows.

Tyre Chopping

I found this idea on http://www.instructables.com/ an amazing website with a constantly increasing number of member submissions on how to do just about anything.

* Get a tyre tube and place it on a wood block
* Put a number of pieces of wood in
* Hit real hard with splitting axe
* Done!

This is such a simple - Recycling - and safety idea.
Not long ago when not using a tyre I was chopping wood and one piece flew out at me and hit me so hard on the knee that I almost passed out. And it happened twice!

You can walk around the tyre chopping away until you have the number or size of timber that you want. So easy.

I also use a splitting axe. This is quite different to a wood 'cutting' axe as it has a large head - bit like a sledge hammer with a cutting edge. Very useful and a timesaver.

Garden fence and mist on DOC Reserve

And woolly wet (needs a haircut) DOG

:: 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.