Sunday 2nd August 2015.

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