Welcome visitors

Down at the front gate, one of the oak trees is about to burst into green leaves. Can't wait. I pruned the house olives on friday, cutting out the main branches, trimming off the dead wood. The trees look stressed and lacking in nutrients. We now have our soil report and kilos of lime and other goodies are needed per hectare. We have yet to work out how to get this into the soil, but we now understand why our grapes and olives haven't been producing. Saturday David buried all the lateral irrigation pipes while I mowed the front olives. This is great as I can now mow 'longways' without chopping up the irrigation pipes! Even so I managed to chop two up completely. I think I could hear David muttering. David planted the two bay trees from the apartment, in front of the house as we transplanted the remaining korokias to lengthen the hedge, so our entrance way to the cottage is more attractive. David trimmed the grass from around the hedging plants and fertilised them with plant fertiliser. We are getting the idea that soil and plants need nutrition. Jane and the boys came for dinner, and we talked late into the night. Sunday Peanut the pony arrived and happily munched the long grass from the side olives. She is likely to be our regular weekend visitor. She is around 30 years old, and belongs to Hayley's mother and Hayley has run out of grass. I loved looking out and seeing her there. The roses are now fertilised, and today I bought nitraphoska for the roses, and camelia fertiliser, as they need more lime than roses. The two Graham Thomas roses have been planted up the front, these are the yellow ones Bona recommended and they are at the front corner of the property.