Family at the Farm

We took our trailer for a ride to Kiwitea on Sunday and donated it to son-in-law Robert.  With a much smaller section and a caretaker to attend to the lawns, there is no use for it where we now live, and nowhere to store it.  But it was extremely useful when we moved up here  about four years ago, (where has all the time gone!)  We took load after load of belongings to the storage lock-up before our new home was built.  And just as many loads to the rubbish dump, with one or two loads of donations going to the Hospice Shop.  Then, when we finally moved in, after living in the caravan for three months, the trailer had been parked up at Robin’s brother’s home, tucked behind his garage.  It was finally time to retrieve it and rather than try to sell it on-line, we gave to to Robert.  He was delighted to take it off our hands,  and already has plans for it’s use in his smallholders contracting business.

Goodbye to our trailer

Daughter Nicky is very creative and showed me some climbing frames she had made for her garden out of bamboo.  And for lunch she had arranged a very tasty platter of all sorts of delights, including home made hummus.

Nicky’s cottage garden and lunch platter

After lunch the plaintive cries of “Nana, come and look at Fire Dancer” led us outside to admire the horses.  Emma was feeding carrots to Sonata and her foal Fire Dancer.  Both horses have pink skinned noses and the covers over their noses protect them from sunburn.

Sonata, Fire Dancer and Emma

Megan’s horse Levi is much taller, and was not well looked after by a previous owner.  But he now has a good life and receives the best of care from Megan.  Both girls and their Dad ride their horses in events and shows.

 

Megan with Levi

Robert had some lambs to shear and being townies, we found this fascinating.  First, grab your lamb, sit it on it’s rump between your legs, and then start shearing, deftly flipping it over as you go.  It certainly looks back breaking work – we were tired just watching!  Meanwhile, the sheep are huddled up in the corner, wondering who will be the next one to be grabbed by that mad man with the clippers.

Robert shearing the lambs

Grand-daughter Megan was the “rousie” (Rouseabout) filling the wool bag

After all that excitement the sheep and lambs  were then moved to rest and recover amongst the lush grass in the orchard.  They won’t be there too long, as several of them will be travelling to the meat works the next day.

Happy sheep once again

Later in the afternoon we said our goodbyes, and I was delighted to take home a bunch of freshly picked flowers from the garden.  We headed on our way, driving through the town of Feilding and past the imposing clock tower.  Originally part of the old Post Office which was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1942, the clock workings then remained in storage for 56 years.  It was finally restored as a Millennium project, the clock was unpacked and re-assembled, and construction began on the free standing heritage style tower.  With time ticking down the top section and copper coated dome was lifted into position on 4th December 1999. And the locals celebrated in the square as the clock struck midnight to welcome in the new century.

Feilding clock tower

Family Time

It was a damp and misty morning when we loaded the presents into the back of the car – what’s happened to our sunny summer weather?  .  We were off the Kiwitea  to drop the Christmas presents off to the family. 

A misty morning

But we had a couple of stops to make on the way.  First stop was at the very busy Tendertips Asparagus packing shed to purchase a nice big kilo bunch of asparagus to take up to daughter Nicky.  I know she will enjoy that.

Nice fresh asparagus here

Then we stopped at Sanson to purchase six Cream horns as our contribution to lunch.  Viv’s Kitchen was busy, as usual, and our order was carefully packed in boxes for the journey.  The staff are all very pleasant and helpful, and dressed in the style of the 60s – very fetching indeed.

Viv’s Kitchen, the place to go for Cream Horns

The further north we drove, along country roads, the more misty it became.  Soon we reached our destination,  carried the gifts into the house, and placed them under the Christmas tree.  My goodness, there were heaps of presents there already.

 

Emma and the Christmas tree

Cooking smells filled the kitchen, Emma was whipping up a batch of Chocolate Brownies and Chocolate Peppermint Fudge, how yummy.  After a catch up it was lunch time,  and the Cream Horns were quickly demolished.  Then it was time to don our gumboots and do the obligatory walk into the paddock to admire the horses.  It was just as well we had remembered to pack the gumboots in the car.  Emma is very proud of her foal Fire Dancer and we took carrots out to give the horses a treat.

Robin feeding a carrot to Fire Dancer

Soon it was time to pack up and head for home - we had a bag of gifts to take, plus some of that yummy fudge.  As we headed back through Feilding we reflected that it had been a lovely day indeed. 

Feilding clock tower

Lunch at Kiwitea

Where is Kiwitea where our rellies live – you may well  ask?  It is about 20kms up SH54 from Feilding, a tiny speck of a place, and named after a light coloured kiwi, so Mr Google told me.  Our daughter and family have lived the rural lifestyle on a 10 hectare block for some years now and enjoy the country life.  Dad Robert and the two girls are heavily involved in horses, and compete in all sorts of horse events and the local hunt.  With the two grand-daughters having birthdays to celebrate, a lunch time get-together was in order.

Through Feilding, on the way to Kiwitea

We drove past several paddocks awash with neon yellow flowers, which we presume is canola?

Paddocks of yellow canola, perhaps

The presents were swiftly opened, followed by a tasty lunch.  Then we showed them a slideshow of our recent holiday aboard the mighty Ghan Railway.

Big squishy parcels for the girls

Robert left on his quad bike to lend a hand at a neighbour’s place up the road.  His young dog Noodle went along for the ride, perched quite happily on the back of the bike.

Robert and Noodle going to lend a hand

I had to go and see the horses – according to the grand-children this is a must do visit each time I come to up here.  So off I trotted, shod in a pair of borrowed gum boots, to carefully pick my way through the squelchy paddock, passing the small flock of sheep and their lambs.  The sheep weren’t at all interested in me and couldn’t get away fast enough.

Lamb chops in the paddock

Emma is very proud of her foal Fire Dancer, who shares the same birthday as me, I was told.  Guess there aren’t too many grand-mothers who had a foal born on their birthday!  We took carrots over to give the horses, and they were taken from our hands with gentle horse lips.

Emma and Fire Dancer

Then we walked to an adjoining paddock to say hello to Sonata, mother of the foal Fire Dancer.  Sonata very carefully sniffed Robin’s hands – perhaps she was looking for carrots too?

Emma and Robin with Sonata

Visit over, it was time to get in the car and head for home.  We didn’t come away empty handed though – and brought home a bunch of young tomatoe plants for the garden, plus some parsley.  That’s handy, now is the time to plant them, I think.

On the farm in Kiwitea

Life on the farm is all go – and we needed a cooked breakfast to start off our Saturday and keep the energy levels up.  So Robin and I prepared some pancakes, served with fruit, maple syrup and whipped cream for the family.  With a couple of coffee plungers full of piping hot coffee, it was a good way to start the morning.

Breakfast for the family

We had a little shopping to do in the morning, and then went to check out the BBQ of choice which Robin plans to purchase very soon.  We were just in time, as the staff were slicing up a rolled pork loin roast which had just finished cooking on the barbecue.  It was delicious, and the pork crackle – so yummy.  The pork had been replaced with a leg of lamb, we noticed, what a wonderful way to cook roasts in the summer.  Once we work out exactly what BBQ (and accessories) we want to buy, we will be all set for summer cooking.

Back on the farm, there was another horse to meet and admire.  Blossom is a Clydesdale cross, an older horse who hasn’t been handled much, and Emma is working at breaking her in.

Emma with Blossom

And I had to go and have another look at Emma’s new baby Fire Dancer with her Mum Sonata.  The young foal has Arabian bloodlines from her sire and Emma is over the moon with her.

Sonata, Fire Dancer, and Emma

While I was quietly blogging away in the caravan (thanks to the family for the use of their Wi-Fi) I heard a huge racket outside.  In rumbled SIL Robert with his biggest “boy’s toy”, a big Fiat tractor with a lethal looking blade attached to the back which slices through long grass. He had been using it in one of the other paddocks when it started giving him trouble, so back it came to the house to get a bit of TLC.

Robert with his Fiat tractor

And here it is in action, slicing trough the long grass

Poor old Muffy was rather concerned with all the action outside.  Especially with the farm dogs being so close, she was keeping a good eye on them through the window.

Help Mum, there’s a dog outside my window!

Off to the Wilds of Kiwitea

Only home a week, and it’s time to hit the road again.  This time, off to the wilds of Kiwitea, a little north of Feilding.  And it’s not too long a trip at all, just a mere 90kms up the road.  We stopped for lunch at Sanson, calling into Viv’s Kitchen for a couple of her famous Cream Horns.  What a delicious treat they were, flaky pastry filled with cream and a touch of jam.  Not something one can eat delicately, so it was just as well we had our lunch back in the caravan out of sight from the general public.  By the time we had finished our fingers were covered in cream, and bits of flaky pastry were everywhere.  But we can assure you that we enjoyed each and every bite!

We called into Viv’s Kitchen for a couple of Cream Horns

Continuing on the last stage of our journey we were stopped in our tracks by a long line of dairy  cows crossing the road.  There were hundreds of them, all on their way to the milking shed across the busy road on the other side of the farm.

There they go

Grand-daughter Megan was home when we arrived at our destination and we manouvered the caravan into place beside the garage.There had been an awful lot of rain lately, so the ground was rather wet.  Just as well we have a big strong 4WD in case we get stuck when it is time to leave.

Parked on the farm in Kiwitea

There was a new baby to admire.  Grand-daughter Emma has been eagerly awaiting the birth of her mare Sonata's new baby, a filly called Fire Dancer.  The baby is so cute with it’s fuzzy black mane and tail.  Sonata is a first time mother and is doing very well.  Emma was away at work, so Megan took me to see the new foal.

New baby

Dogs, Horses and a Builder up a Ladder

A long overdue trip to visit the family in Kiwitea was made in the weekend.  We’ll be there for lunch, we advised, and what a lovely lunch we had.  The weather was warm, and most surprising, not in the least windy.  The Manawatu region is known for wind – after all, that’s where a whole lot of wind turbines are situated on the surrounding hills, turning all that turbulence into electric power for the national grid.

The family lives on a lifestyle block in a house which could only be described as vintage.  There was a whole lot of hammering going on and we went around the back to see Dave the builder hard at work.  The old timber had been replaced with new boards and a bay window was currently under construction.  Over the course of the day the holes started to be filled in.

  There’s a hole in the house

Working from the inside

By the time we left, the roof was on, the bevelled edges were in place, but the bottom boards still needed to be added, and everything was watertight until the next working bee.  The bay window with pretty stained glass top panes will make a lovely feature in the room.

As in every trip up to Kiwitea, there were new animals to meet and greet who had arrived since our last visit.  Young pup Noodle tried hard to boss Patch around, but was soon put in his place by the older dog.

Grand-daughter Megan with Noodle and Patch amongst the building debris

Megan’s young cat Chicken hiding from the grand-parents

With two new foals born on the property a wee while ago I had to change footwear and pull my hardly worn gumboots on my feet.  That raised a laugh  – “look at Nana, she keeps her gumboots in a fancy bag”, Megan chortled.  Of course I do, they are all zipped up safe and sound to keep any nasty big spiders from climbing inside to lie in wait for my unsuspecting feet!   Suitably shod in the obligatory country style, I walked across the paddock to say hello to chestnut foal Luna and darker hued Maddie.  These youngsters hadn’t been handled much so wanted nothing to do with stranger like me.  But with a bit of “horse whispering” from Megan, they sidled ever closer so that I could give Maddie a quiet pat.

Young foals  Luna and Maddie

 Patting Maddie – note the townie gumboots

Grand-daughter Emma arrived home and I was dragged across another paddock to say hello to her pregnant horse Sonata.  These girls both love their horses and take part in competitions and  the local hunt.

Emma with Sonata

All saddled up and off for a ride with a friend

Life in the country can be tough, as we found out later in the afternoon.  Two horses on a neighbouring property were being fed some hay side by side when one took exception to his companion and lashed out with a kick.  A loud  “crack” was heard on several adjoining properties and people rushed out to the road to see what had happened.  The smaller horse now had a broken leg and sadly there could be only one outcome – there can be no sentiment as far as a horse with a broken leg is concerned.    Our son-in-law Robert and the other neighbours went over to offer their help in taking care of the problem.  On that sad note we said goodbye to the family and headed back to suburbia.  

Time to leave Kiwitea

For such a small place, Kiwitea has a lot going on.  Full of friendly neighbours, who all like to help each other in time of need, or feel comfortable enough to ask for help as required.  Such as when one of the neighbours phoned our SIL Robert with a dead sheep problem.  No worries – Robert drove his tractor (with a digger bucket attached to the front) to the neighbours farm, dug a big hole to take the dead sheep, and covered it all in.  Now that’s a friendly neighbour for you – can’t imagine a townie asking his neighbour to help bury a dog!

There is a pretty little church just up the road.  St Agnes’ Church, Kiwitea was built on land donated by Mr C Levett in 1889, for the sum of sixty four pounds and ten shillings.  The first service was held in July 1890, and in 1895 the Chancel was added and the size of the Vestry increased.  The many old headstones in the grave yard tell the story of the early settlers to this area.

St Agnes’s Anglican Church, Kiwitea

Local farmers often make use of the “long acre” beside the road, and we noticed several fine looking young Jersey bulls being grazed.  They looked up quizzically as the car stopped and a strange person got out to take their photo.  The long acre or long paddock is a traditional term for wide grassy road verges. Rural roads are often separated from adjoining paddocks by a hedge or fence and a wide grass verge.  Farmers often add portable fencing and use this extra ground to feed their livestock. 

Young jersey bulls on the side of the road

It’s hay making time again and many of the local farms have their hay all neatly packaged ready to feed out next winter.  Like this one, a huge pile, all stacked up, presumably waiting to be moved into a hay barn.  Or maybe it will stay where it is, to be used when needed, a bale or two at a time.

Hay ready for winter

As we farewelled Kiwitea we travelled past a very strange collection on a fence.  When travelling we have seen fences decorated with all manner of things, from jandals to hub caps.  But never with a collection like this of sorry looking soft toys which have been left out in all weathers.  The water logged teddies and dolls have taken on quite a sinister look, we feel, as they sit all saggy and slumped on top of the fence.  The overgrown lawn in front of the fence adds to the feeling of desolation.  It would be enough to give a youngster nightmares!

Teddy Bear fence

Country Folk know how to have Fun

Yes indeed, people living in the country know all about having fun.  While we have been staying here with the family at Kiwitea, (such a tiny little place you would miss it if you blinked), we have tagged along while they have been visiting the neighbours.  Bringing extra people is no problem at all, and we have been warmly welcomed in various households.  As well as sampling the more usual cuppas and cold beers, several people decided to have a go on a pair of stilts.  Oh, oh, this won’t go well, we thought.  It’s OK for the agile kids to climb up on the stilts, but for middle aged people who may have wet their whistle on a beer or two could well be in for a fall.  Surprisingly, everyone who tried did really well.  The boys in the household showed how easy it was, then my daughter Nicky decided she really must try the stilts out.

Nicky on the stilts

Quickly followed by grand-daughter Megan

Another fun day was when neighbour Roger turned up in his 1912 Warrick Tricar and kindly offered to take the two townie visitors for a spin.  This veteran car was originally owned by the Christchurch Press and was used to deliver the newspaper from a box in the front.  This was eventually removed and the front seat was added later for passengers.  It felt like dicing with death as we sped along, with me hanging on tight to the arm rests and visions of tumbling out the front onto the road.  With only forward and reverse gears, no brake, (so I was told, but he could have been telling tall tales) and nothing much to hang on to, no wonder I was a little nervous.

Roger all set to take me for a spin

The tiny motor

  Single back wheel

This car is very economical to run, Roger told us, and he had driven it down SH1 to Levin and back.  That sight would have turned a few heads, for sure.  Robin jumped in for his turn, but didn’t seem nearly as worried as I was. 

Roger and Robin off for a ride

Definitely not having fun was Roger’s dog who came to visit with a sweat shirt tied over his chest – he probably felt as silly as he looked, and we all had a good laugh at him.  He’d just had his coat clipped, we were told, and was feeling the cold.  Roger and Christine’s dog was a “Bed Spring”, a cross between a Bearded Collie and a Springer Spaniel. 

Neighbour’s dog didn’t like being laughed at

While we were being taken for a ride in the Tricar, son-in-law Robert and grand-daughter Megan were all dressed up ready for a day out at the races.  Don’t they look smart?  Robert has a winning formula, he told us, and more often than not comes home with more cash than he went with.  They are just out to have fun, with their annual trip out to the Boxing Day races. 

  Robert and Megan