​Hello friends and family
It has been a quiet week. I hurried to pot up plants to benefit from the forecasted rain, but it never came – well, we got 6mm over 7 days which was just annoying!

​Murray and Robbie came out on Tuesday and then they went to the Bluffs, and I planted 8 cabbage trees in Ogden Bay. The trees were joined by another 9 on Wednesday. 

​We did the rounds on Thursday, and I spent the rest of the week sorting out equipment for planting. One of the challenges of reusing gear is that it needs transporting from the old site to the new one. At least with the ground rock hard I can drive over the paddocks and deliver stuff.

​Hello friends and family,
So, on Sunday morning I let the penguin go. I am more than happy to carry stuff down the hill, but much less keen to carry stuff back up the hill. After a lot of thought, I decided to drive down the hill to plant 6 trees. That saved me carrying the Warratah banger back up the hill. I was very pleased with my efforts and the trees were in the ground in time for the promised rain which never arrived. We have had no rain so far this month.

​On Tuesday the team were joined by Trudi from the Yellow-eyed penguin trust, so we took the opportunity to go to the bluffs and show her around. While we were there, we extracted some redundant wire netting that can now be used for tree protection from rabbits.

​Wednesday was town day, and I hadn’t been there for 3 weeks. On the way home I collected a dead rock pigeon to test its blood for Malaria. It looked clear. The next step would be to get a PCR done. In the afternoon the penguins started coming home at 2:30pm and having a singing contest. It is always a good sign when they are coming home early as it indicates that the fishing is good.

​On Thursday all the penguins were out fishing. We went to the Bluffs to harvest Kowhai seedlings that had sprouted under early flowering trees. We were a bit late and only found a dozen – either rabbits or possums had beaten us to them. It was our first cold day – on with the thermals for comfort!

On Friday morning I got a text from Megan to say there was a dead whale on Moeraki beach. It took me about half an hour to find them and the whale was a baby Minke. It was beautiful, a perfectly formed creature from another world. We waited in the bitter cold for a while then came home for a coffee. I was very taken by the whale so phoned Robbie in case he also wanted to see it. He met us back down the beach. The DOC team arrived, and they measured the whale. Emma explained the features that revealed its age. It was 2.2m long. They then took samples for DNA testing, and we dragged it up into the sand dunes where Robbie and Jason had dug a grave for it. One day it may be dug up for its bones.
Hiltrun came up yesterday and we worked it out – she has been coming up every available week for 10 years! What dedication to our beautiful penguins.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family.
I prepared for the promised rain – planted out and potted up – it never came! The cold did arrive, and we have had the best frosts for a couple of years. Six of us did the rounds on Tuesday morning so we split into 2 teams and did a reserve each. The penguins were all out fishing. After a cuppa, some of us planted more flaxes and the others went to the island and repaired the little penguin boxes that had been damaged by the seals. 

​Wednesday was my day at the TopTip and I was very pleased to have my hot water bottle for the first hour before the sun warmed the place up. It was busy all morning, people dumping rubbish and buying pre-loved treasures. 

​We had a change of routine on Thursday. Jan did the rounds here and Robbie and I went to the sealion beach to help with a rare-plant protection project managed by DOC. Both of us took our electric pruners and could cut through the lupins in no time at all. It was a stunning day and very enjoyable.

​After morning coffee with Elaine on Friday, I went to Shag point to do the trap round with Jan. Much of the path is on clay and very slippery through the winter. I did indeed manage to fall over – on my back – into a gorse bush. There was nothing to hold for leverage to get up again that wasn’t prickly, but thank goodness, Jan was able to pull me out! The eggs in my backpack were not broken, but I spent the rest of the day pulling thorns out of my clothing.

Hiltrun came up yesterday and delivered our penguin from the Dunedin Wildlife hospital. In the evening, I went to dinner at the tavern with Elaine.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family.
The autumn weather continues to be kind to us here in North Otago and I have yet to unpack the thermals. On Tuesday we released the last 5 penguins from care as they were down to a few feathers left to moult, and they can drop them in the colony, rather than here. I have had continuous penguins since before Christmas, which makes for a long rehab season. We have one penguin at the Dunedin Wildlife hospital that will be back here soon, so all is not done. The season ends at the end of this month.

​Megan, Jason, and baby Taylor called in on their way home from holiday. What a treat – talking penguins to others who speak the same language! They are moving to Penguin Place so that is great news. Taylor is a contented baby and even joined in the conversation a couple of times.

​Bronwyn and Tobi joined us on Thursday morning, and we started our winter planting. The penguins are nearly all out fishing most days, so we were quick to spot one on the landing. Sadly, it was dead – an unmarked, moulted adult male, weighing only 3kg. It must have come from somewhere south of here.

​Slowly I am getting the paths pruned with my new, very dangerous toy. It only weighs 1.5kg so is easy to put in the backpack and have it on hand to make trimming easy. Yesterday the sun continued to shine so I went and retrieved some waratahs to use when planting this season. I am expecting to start on my list of indoor jobs today, but it is not raining yet!