 A Little penguin tries out a Yellow-eyed penguin house for size! Hello friends and family. When you live in paradise, it is hard to get away for a break, but nevertheless, last Wednesday I set out for the northern part of South Island to have an adventure.  The view north from Moeraki as I left for my adventure. I spent the first night with Jenny in Christchurch and then went on to Kaikoura. From there I spent 2 nights in Golden Bay and then beat the forecast rain and came back to Hanmer Springs, via the Nelson Lakes National Park, before heading home.  The view of central Christchurch and the alps from Graeme's balcony. I had a lovely time and wish I would do these excursions more often. One of my goals was to ride my new electric bike and I love it. I have since ridden it to Moeraki and did not need to dismount and walk up a hill at all!  The seal pup pool north of Kaikoura sans seal pups! While I was away, 2.5mm of rain fell here which is great. The place is green again and some of the badly wind-burnt trees will get new leaves. The penguins are slowly beginning to take an interest in their nest boxes, but are still mostly spending the days fishing.  View of lake Rotorua in Nelson Lakes National park The first blossoms are on the plum tree and the bees are very busy.  Have a great week!
Rosalie  Just hanging around... Hello friends and family This is the last weekend that we can be doing habitat work in the colonies. Now we must walk away and leave the penguins in peace to get on with site selection, nest building and, in a month, egg laying will start. It is a time of anxiety for me as I await that most important of numbers – how many nests do we have. I won’t be able to answer this question until mid-October as egg laying can be spread out over a month or more.  In breeding finery! On Tuesday my electric bike arrived and so while the camper was getting its warrant of fitness in Oamaru on Wednesday, I cycled around Oamaru to get used to it before I switched the power on. It came with the battery bracket mounted back to front, so I got the mechanic to fix that and tested the battery out when I got home. I just love it! I will be able to ride out of here without having to walk up the hills so the trip will be faster. The bike folds up so it will fit in the camper and can be used when I am on holiday.  A plump juvenile. During the week I downloaded windows 10 – it was the free update and I think life will be easier if I keep up to date with windows as it develops. The initial changeover seemed to go without a hitch, but I keep losing things like photos and printers. The new photo organiser has its own agenda that I have yet to learn!  And then there were 6. The builder has done some more work on the shed. Even he said that he knows the place to come after an earthquake – that shed is well spec’d for a hillside!  The shed framing. Now we wait for the building inspector and then the second half of the kitset will be delivered. There is still no sign of penguins getting ready to nest. The Little penguins set off a chorus yesterday morning so maybe they will beat the Yellow-eyed ones to nest.  Pebble Bay landing. Have a great week!
Rosalie. Hello friends and family.  Pair bonding after a day fishing. While I was in Dunedin last Saturday we got some rain, so when Chris and Hiltrun came up on Sunday we were able to start planting. We planted tussocks on Monday and trees on Tuesday. It rained again on Tuesday afternoon which was perfect timing. All of the trees that we plant require watering. If we get rain this means less carrying of water cans and that means more energy for other tasks. Trust me, after swinging a chainsaw for a few hours, I am stuffed!  Shags at nesting sites in full breeding plumage. Robyn and Doug came for dinner on Sunday night and we were able to discuss the sheep at Okahau point and other seasonal / farming stuff which I really enjoy – I am still missing Margaret and Rodney being next door. For farmers, spring is just around the corner and so we share plans for the next season. Exciting stuff!  New safety fence at the top of a cliff. Contractors came on Monday to erect a fence and some signs for Ngai Tahu. It is a very fine fence that goes straight across the front of a penguin access gate – one that would be hard to miss. It blocks off 6 nesting sites. Thank goodness they built it now before nest site selection and egg laying.  Penguins relaxing after a day's fishing. Robbie the builder phoned from Hampden and I took the camper to be measured to make sure that it will fit in the shed. The building pad is not well levelled and so that is a bit of a problem. I have to make some planning decisions soon – like where will the power supply go, what about drainage, and other such stuff!  Kaka-beak blooming in the front yard. The cold front has meant choosing jobs to do that are out of the icy wind. Yesterday we cleared up two more houses and today hope to plant some trees.
Have a great week. Rosalie Hello friends and family. This week I have completed the round of the short hedges. It has been so dry that they have not grown much so cleaning up is a breeze. The weather has been much better, without gale force winds and the first signs of spring are evident. I have harvested the carrots and the yams. The pantry is now an obstacle course with the overflow in the laundry.  Good morning! The key task done in the garden is to clean out the hen house. The manure is put under the fruit trees and on the asparagus bed. This marks the change of the seasons as now the focus is on preparation for the new season.  Spotted Shags in breeding plumage. On Wednesday I went to Oamaru and caught up with Raewyn who is back from Spain and very busy. I also checked on progress of the shed, and now the poles are concreted in the ground and will never move!  Poles in place for the shed. I ventured south in the camper on Friday and caught up with Richard, enjoying some time in the sun on his front porch. I spent the night at Chris and Hiltrun’s, loaded the camper with trees and headed into Dunedin for the annual Yellow-eyed penguin symposium. This took all of Saturday which was OK as there was rain in Dunedin.  Hebes blooming near the back door, The symposium has become the key arena for airing YEP concerns and so Hiltrun presented our annual report superbly, Chris gave an excellent report on his diet research and I whinged about the tourist impact on the penguins. For the moment, I feel that our messages were heard. I have a glimmer of hope for better things for penguins going forward.
Have a great week! Rosalie |
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August 2023
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