A little bit of this, a little bit of that

The grapes might have a virus! Several have dark red leaves which are not autumn colours, and the bark has peeled from the stem with a nasty looking growth in between. Essentially the roots arent talking with the leaves and the leaves are giving up in disgust. Andrew, our olives advisor, came in on sunday and amongst many other gems, thinks that the growth is solidified sap from severe frosts several years ago. Believe it or not, this is great news and our thoughts of having to pull all the vines up and burn them have moved further back in our minds. Richard had the rest of sunday, tucking in the long arms of the very much alive vines. this was after he had mowed both the vines and the north olives. You may be thinking what were we doing with all this activity. David distressed painted the ceiling of the shearers quarters. He faced some opposition from both me and Jane, however it does make the room a lot lighter. I love the rimu boards, however four sides and the floors may well be enough wood. I am slowly oiling the boards and they are coming up beautifully.

Plans are now afoot to put inthe gas fire and the kauri surround. My brother Doug carefully packed this and ensured it made its way from Christchurch to Masterton and it is in beautiful condition. Meanwhile, my contribution to the weekend? I was on compost again, and managed 30 trees. the rich mushroom compost will activate bacteria under the soil and give the tree more life. Andrew was a great source of encouragement and assistance. We will be planting 200 more trees this November, after most of the frosts, and in the next couple of months, ensure all the small young trees we already have, are given a little sleeping bag at their base to keep them frost free during winter. There is work to do. It has been pouring with rain, much needed. Our grass has gone from white to green in two weeks. and the roses have a new lease of life.