Finding the wet spots

We'd planned a restful weekend, with a bit of mowing, and seeing if we could connect the new well water supply with the existing irrigation to the olive trees in front of the house, called the olivery. Peter stayed with us on Thursday night and he went back to Auckland on friday so we headed up to the farm around 10.30am arriving in time for lunch. Being lovely and warm we lay in the sun and read. Hireworld saw us at 10am on Saturday, bringing back a tow and mow for the vines, and for me to do the olives and around the cottage, a self powered rotary mower. (yes I am too old for this). With the farm bike David had mowed the 21 rows of vines in 2 hours. I had done around the house, the shearers quarters and the barn. Sore everything! We then decided to make this crucial link between the new well water supply and the existing irrigation system in the olives. David turned it on. I could see a spout in the distance. Fantastic, we can get water to the trees after the three years of nothing. The next few hours we discoverd and fixed many leaks and breaks in the hoses from our shabby weedeating and previous mowing. Yes we had been told! We replaced as many drippers as we could. David spend most of Sunday digging to the main feeds (40mm pipes) , about a metre down through stones trying to find the mains which feed the different areas of the property. Hard yakka. Meanwhile I worked with bike and tow and mow and mowed the side olives, around 3 acres taking an hour and a half. Coming back from hireworld (they know us well), I spotted a wet patch over by the shearers quarters. We went and had alook, water was bubbling up! David dug again. Another pipe, this one chomped through by Telecom when they put in the phone lines! We needed a stopper, and as no one was open, we made a temporary stopper with a metal end Paul S had, and rammed stones up beside it to hold it in place, This didnt last long. Each repair we made, the pressure increased and then fell off again as a new leak became apparent. At the end of the day, David noticed two wet patches in the driveway. This means the contractors building the cottage had chopped through the main (50mm!!) several times. We'll probably have to replace that one.

We completed Sunday by picking up the large stones at the base of each olive tree and tossing them into one of the rows, and on Monday afternoon, loaded these onto the truck and took them to the front fence. One day we plan a stone walled entrance way to the property. We have plenty to choose from. Two loads in the landi, probably 200 stones altogether. Heavy stuff. I planted lavendar, rosemary and poppies around the water tank and getting it ready for the climbing icebergs to be planted in June.
Hopefully by summer the view from the bathroom window will be gorgeous. And I put some daffodils around the mound ready for spring. Marguerite invited us for Easter breakfast and to a sumputous gathering of friends, family and neighbours. Beginning with an easter egg hunt, this breakfast was served amongst many stories and laughs of our lives in the country. I had painted some fresh eggs with acrylics which the kids enjoyed, boiled for 4 minutes. Miraculously, the paint stayed on. Marguerite's piece de la resistance was baked french toast served with orange, cinamon and red wine pears. Divine. Saturday night David and I headed off to Java, a local cafe, and the food was lovely - I had teraki with lime, chilli and corriander sauce, and David had the beef. Only one local wine to choose from and then a 2006, disappointing especially as they had the 2003 on the wine list. And Sunday might with Paul and Jane. Jane had made delicious lasange and then apple pie with her own apples, the best I have ever had. No wonder we dont loose weight even with all our work.