14 September 2009
It’s been an eventful few weeks. Where do I start?!
Pig News
We now have just the one set of piglets on the block and boy are they growing fast. Herculisa left the farm to join a large genuinely free range pig farm up the road. It was heartbreaking to see her go. I had become quite attached but Aaron didn’t think we could keep another sow on the block and if she wasn’t going to become a pet then she would end up being pork.
Aaron has seen the farm and is quite confident she’ll have a good life. I’m sure she will but she was such a little character that I quite wanted to keep her.
Joy and Arthur are once again a happy, in love couple. Joy came into season several weeks ago and it looks like 8 December will be piglet birthing day.
Phyllis has adjusted to solo life again and spends some time each day talking to Joy and Arthur through the fence. Of course when Phyllis is in season Arthur spends all day next to the fence whispering sweet nothings in Phyllis’ ear.
Sheep News
The sheep have become a nightmare. Electric fences are completely ineffectual. They’re jumped over, walked under or the rams just hook the wires over there horns and tug until several standards pull out and fall onto the ground. They have also learnt to jump the stream to graze with the cows. I had thought this would be disastrous as the cattle seem to love trying to trample sheep, however they all got on quite happily and hung around together. The sheep now just jump back and forth across the stream from one paddock to another, any hopes of rotating them completely dashed.
The scariest part has been the fact that our land joins DoC land with no dividing fences and the DoC land across the stream has rickety old fencing which is in no way sheep-proof. The sheep also discovered that they could get under our bridge to exit the property.
Fortunately Aaron was able to thwart their first attempt as he was arriving home at that exact moment 3 weeks ago. He had just picked up new HelpXers Mel and Aaran. It turned out that stopping sheep from escaping was their first introduction to life on our farm.
Then last Friday the sheep worked how to jump the stream over to Frank’s land, which led them directly to his driveway and out onto the highway. Frank spent his morning herding our sheep back onto our property. They escaped again and neither Aaron nor I were able to leave work to sort it out. It was an absolute nightmare and left me feeling physically ill from stress. The only saving grace is that Bex was at home and could work with Frank to keep the sheep in, not to mention doing some major damage control in terms of neighbour relations.
"Aaron and Lisa are wonderful! They try so hard, they really do..." etc, etc Bless her little cotton socks!
When we did eventually get home from work that day we herded the sheep up to the shed, shut the gates and left them there until morning when we could build some stream jumping barriers. Still stressed to the max I agreed that all the sheep could go in the freezer. However Aaron had managed to convince a colleague to buy Spike, Treacle and Bailey and their lambs. They’ll be gone by the end of the week.
Our only paddocks with great fencing are unfortunately pig paddocks with very little grass so at this stage not an option for sheep. We had no choice but to release the sheep into Mabel’s paddock the next morning. They were out through the electric wire and heading towards Frank’s land within a minute. The stream jumping barriers worked and the sheep’s escape plans were thwarted. Or so we thought.
Saturday afternoon our old neighbour Murray phoned, he had just driven past and seen our sheep on the highway. Me, Aaron, Jay, Bex and our latest HelpXers Bren and Sydney raced down the driveway and in different directions to try get the sheep back. Fortunately they were back on DoC land by the time we got to our assigned positions but after scanning the DoC boundary fence we discovered two escape routes and set about blocking them off.
All weekend we have checked on the sheep with intense paranoia. The stress is almost too much. After much discussion and some persuasion from Jay and Bex we have decided to keep Herb, Thyme, Tulip and their 3 lambs. Tulip will go in the freezer in another month and we will keep Herb and Thyme purely as a breeding pair in the pig paddocks once the grass has had time to grow back. The lambs we will grow through until they are a year old and then they will become lamb chops. From that point on we should only ever have 2 adults and up to 2 lambs at any one time.
I am not convinced it is a workable long term solution but we will give sheep rearing another chance. Perhaps the only good thing to come out of all this sheep chasing is that it has given Aaron a chance to teach Whisky and Coppa some basic sheep herding skills. As a result I have been gob smacked to discover that Coppa is quite a natural, even if he is less inclined to follow instruction than Whisky.
HelpXchange
3 weekends ago Mel and Aaran arrived. It was their first HelpX destination at the very end of their NZ trip.
A young and quiet Birmingham couple I worried they might find Aaron and I a bit overbearing. However, on their first night Jeff turned up for the weekend and then unexpectedly so did Bex and Jay. We were a full house and Mel and Aaran had no option but to quickly fit in.
Saturday night farming mate Marty joined us and our guests stayed up all Saturday night, not going to bed until 11am on Sunday morning.
Being perhaps a little old and sensible Jeff and I had both gone to bed at a reasonable hour. The party animals had remained quiet all night and I got a good night’s sleep. However, 7am arrived with a bang when Marty decided to put on a Johnny Cash CD. While they all went out to feed the animals breakfast Jeff and I were both blasted awake with the sounds of ‘Burning Ring of Fire’ coming through the walls.
Sunday was a write-off for everyone except me, Jeff and Marty. Jeff left early and Marty and I just chatted until the early hours of the afternoon.
The following weekend was just as good. Aaron had scored Jay a 5-week job at Puhoi and so Bex and Jay had moved in until mid October.
Troy and Jacqui turned up for the weekend. Mel and Aaran stayed for a 2nd weekend and Marty turned up again for a Saturday night party.
The HelpXers worked all Saturday so they could party all night and sleep in on Sunday.
Unfortunately they worked themselves so hard that all but Jay ended up having an early night. It was to be a good weekend overall though. Our HelpXers did all our weekend chores as well as project work and for the first time Aaron and I got to just sit and relax with our guests without having to worry about doing anything.
Mel and Aaran left on the 8th and then American HelpXers Bren and Sydney arrived on the 11th. I’ll admit I was nervous about their arrival. I’ve had limited experience with Americans and have had my impressions clouded by too many bad American tv programmes and movies. I also had a warning from someone who’d previously hosted American Wwoofers that I would regret letting them stay.
Still, there was only one way to find out if it was a mistake or not and so far so good. They’re friendly, enthusiastic and have done everything we’ve asked of them without complaint. At this stage there is little I can fault.
Sharing a Home
Having so many guests in the house can be both a lot of fun and slightly annoying. For the most part I enjoy it. There’s the getting to know people, sharing knowledge and interests and sharing meals together. On the other hand there’s the constantly getting used to different ways of doing things.
Every person and every culture approaches everyday tasks in a different way. I am having to learn to be extremely patient and accepting of things that have the potential to irritate me immensely.
It’s stupid. I don’t know why I get so annoyed by little things. After all, does it really matter that all my kitchen equipment ends up in totally different cupboards and drawers to what I expect? Every guest will put my cheese grater, colander and appliances in different places. Every day there’s something I can’t find without first searching.
Guests also have strange habits. One of our guests put empty bags, jars and containers back in the fridge or freezer. Why would anyone do that?
When we run out of a food item guests don’t think to tell me so I only find out when I go to use it and it isn’t there. Guests all wash dishes differently.
The Chinese and Spanish only wash dishes under running water, using copious amounts of water dishwashing liquid. The English love to run dishwashers half full and anything and everything goes in whether it’s dishwasher safe or not.
As I say, none of it really matters but it’s amazing what a mental hurdle it can be to just accept that things are going to be done different. For the most part I can handle it and just tell myself to get over it, but some days I just want to scream.
I wonder how long it will take before I just stop caring about such trivial matters. Surely it is just a matter of developing more patience? Will achieving this make me the more selfless and giving person I want to be?
Dirty Laundry in a Small Town
Despite our abysmal ability to contain livestock, Aaron, and to some extent myself, have tried to quietly make ourselves known in Kaiwaka. We try to support local businesses and conduct business in as friendly a manner as possible. Aaron networks when he can and Arthur is gaining a reputation as a local boar of some quality.
We’ve painted our letterbox in vivid fluoro colours and many people know our property when we mention its location.
Now with a potential new business on the horizon we’ve been feeling confident that we will eventually gain a reputation as likeable Kaiwaka citizens. And then last week we received an anonymous letter, addressed to both of us, that upset the apple cart somewhat.
Dear Mr and Mrs de Jonge, please help, I do not know where else to turn… The letter then proceeded to inform us that our sister-in-law is fast gaining a reputation as a local homewrecker and that our help was needed to try put a stop to it.
“What the…?!!”
In all honesty, we don’t have much to do with our Kaiwaka kin. We’re different people. They have kids and horses and we have dogs and pigs. We are not so in with the community that we hear local gossip so the letter’s arrival caused our jaws to drop.
“What do I do?” Aaron found himself in the unenviable position of deciding whether to tell his brother or not.
We involved 4 other people in a discussion and in the end the vote was unanimous. Aaron’s brother had to be told. The deed was done and the resulting reaction caused about as much a shock as the letter did. It wasn’t news.
In fact the letter amused them both. And so did the resulting punch up with some locals apparently. Without actually coming right out and saying it we discovered they have an open relationship.
Now, I’ll be honest, neither Aaron nor I are particularly bothered about what type of relationship they have. Each to their own. What does appall me though is that it amuses them that they might be breaking up other people’s relationships, that they’re doing it in our town and that their house is on the market and they intend to just pack up and leave town and leave behind whatever whirlwind of destruction they happen to create.
Aaron’s surname is now synonymous with unscrupulous and sordid behaviour in Kaiwaka and quite frankly I’m pissed off. At least one person in Kaiwaka knows we’re related and if this ever backfires on us in any way when we deal with the locals it is unlikely I will hold back my personal opinions the next time I see the in-laws.
Of course this now explains some of the strange goings they have mentioned to us in the last year. It would seem the sister-in-law’s actions have not been as squeaky clean as she has proclaimed.
Pig News
We now have just the one set of piglets on the block and boy are they growing fast. Herculisa left the farm to join a large genuinely free range pig farm up the road. It was heartbreaking to see her go. I had become quite attached but Aaron didn’t think we could keep another sow on the block and if she wasn’t going to become a pet then she would end up being pork.
Aaron has seen the farm and is quite confident she’ll have a good life. I’m sure she will but she was such a little character that I quite wanted to keep her.
Joy and Arthur are once again a happy, in love couple. Joy came into season several weeks ago and it looks like 8 December will be piglet birthing day.
Phyllis has adjusted to solo life again and spends some time each day talking to Joy and Arthur through the fence. Of course when Phyllis is in season Arthur spends all day next to the fence whispering sweet nothings in Phyllis’ ear.
Sheep News
The sheep have become a nightmare. Electric fences are completely ineffectual. They’re jumped over, walked under or the rams just hook the wires over there horns and tug until several standards pull out and fall onto the ground. They have also learnt to jump the stream to graze with the cows. I had thought this would be disastrous as the cattle seem to love trying to trample sheep, however they all got on quite happily and hung around together. The sheep now just jump back and forth across the stream from one paddock to another, any hopes of rotating them completely dashed.
The scariest part has been the fact that our land joins DoC land with no dividing fences and the DoC land across the stream has rickety old fencing which is in no way sheep-proof. The sheep also discovered that they could get under our bridge to exit the property.
Fortunately Aaron was able to thwart their first attempt as he was arriving home at that exact moment 3 weeks ago. He had just picked up new HelpXers Mel and Aaran. It turned out that stopping sheep from escaping was their first introduction to life on our farm.
Then last Friday the sheep worked how to jump the stream over to Frank’s land, which led them directly to his driveway and out onto the highway. Frank spent his morning herding our sheep back onto our property. They escaped again and neither Aaron nor I were able to leave work to sort it out. It was an absolute nightmare and left me feeling physically ill from stress. The only saving grace is that Bex was at home and could work with Frank to keep the sheep in, not to mention doing some major damage control in terms of neighbour relations.
"Aaron and Lisa are wonderful! They try so hard, they really do..." etc, etc Bless her little cotton socks!
When we did eventually get home from work that day we herded the sheep up to the shed, shut the gates and left them there until morning when we could build some stream jumping barriers. Still stressed to the max I agreed that all the sheep could go in the freezer. However Aaron had managed to convince a colleague to buy Spike, Treacle and Bailey and their lambs. They’ll be gone by the end of the week.
Our only paddocks with great fencing are unfortunately pig paddocks with very little grass so at this stage not an option for sheep. We had no choice but to release the sheep into Mabel’s paddock the next morning. They were out through the electric wire and heading towards Frank’s land within a minute. The stream jumping barriers worked and the sheep’s escape plans were thwarted. Or so we thought.
Saturday afternoon our old neighbour Murray phoned, he had just driven past and seen our sheep on the highway. Me, Aaron, Jay, Bex and our latest HelpXers Bren and Sydney raced down the driveway and in different directions to try get the sheep back. Fortunately they were back on DoC land by the time we got to our assigned positions but after scanning the DoC boundary fence we discovered two escape routes and set about blocking them off.
All weekend we have checked on the sheep with intense paranoia. The stress is almost too much. After much discussion and some persuasion from Jay and Bex we have decided to keep Herb, Thyme, Tulip and their 3 lambs. Tulip will go in the freezer in another month and we will keep Herb and Thyme purely as a breeding pair in the pig paddocks once the grass has had time to grow back. The lambs we will grow through until they are a year old and then they will become lamb chops. From that point on we should only ever have 2 adults and up to 2 lambs at any one time.
I am not convinced it is a workable long term solution but we will give sheep rearing another chance. Perhaps the only good thing to come out of all this sheep chasing is that it has given Aaron a chance to teach Whisky and Coppa some basic sheep herding skills. As a result I have been gob smacked to discover that Coppa is quite a natural, even if he is less inclined to follow instruction than Whisky.
HelpXchange
3 weekends ago Mel and Aaran arrived. It was their first HelpX destination at the very end of their NZ trip. A young and quiet Birmingham couple I worried they might find Aaron and I a bit overbearing. However, on their first night Jeff turned up for the weekend and then unexpectedly so did Bex and Jay. We were a full house and Mel and Aaran had no option but to quickly fit in.
Saturday night farming mate Marty joined us and our guests stayed up all Saturday night, not going to bed until 11am on Sunday morning.
Being perhaps a little old and sensible Jeff and I had both gone to bed at a reasonable hour. The party animals had remained quiet all night and I got a good night’s sleep. However, 7am arrived with a bang when Marty decided to put on a Johnny Cash CD. While they all went out to feed the animals breakfast Jeff and I were both blasted awake with the sounds of ‘Burning Ring of Fire’ coming through the walls.
Sunday was a write-off for everyone except me, Jeff and Marty. Jeff left early and Marty and I just chatted until the early hours of the afternoon.
The following weekend was just as good. Aaron had scored Jay a 5-week job at Puhoi and so Bex and Jay had moved in until mid October. Troy and Jacqui turned up for the weekend. Mel and Aaran stayed for a 2nd weekend and Marty turned up again for a Saturday night party.
The HelpXers worked all Saturday so they could party all night and sleep in on Sunday.
Unfortunately they worked themselves so hard that all but Jay ended up having an early night. It was to be a good weekend overall though. Our HelpXers did all our weekend chores as well as project work and for the first time Aaron and I got to just sit and relax with our guests without having to worry about doing anything.
Mel and Aaran left on the 8th and then American HelpXers Bren and Sydney arrived on the 11th. I’ll admit I was nervous about their arrival. I’ve had limited experience with Americans and have had my impressions clouded by too many bad American tv programmes and movies. I also had a warning from someone who’d previously hosted American Wwoofers that I would regret letting them stay.
Still, there was only one way to find out if it was a mistake or not and so far so good. They’re friendly, enthusiastic and have done everything we’ve asked of them without complaint. At this stage there is little I can fault.
Sharing a Home
Having so many guests in the house can be both a lot of fun and slightly annoying. For the most part I enjoy it. There’s the getting to know people, sharing knowledge and interests and sharing meals together. On the other hand there’s the constantly getting used to different ways of doing things.
Every person and every culture approaches everyday tasks in a different way. I am having to learn to be extremely patient and accepting of things that have the potential to irritate me immensely.
It’s stupid. I don’t know why I get so annoyed by little things. After all, does it really matter that all my kitchen equipment ends up in totally different cupboards and drawers to what I expect? Every guest will put my cheese grater, colander and appliances in different places. Every day there’s something I can’t find without first searching.
Guests also have strange habits. One of our guests put empty bags, jars and containers back in the fridge or freezer. Why would anyone do that?
When we run out of a food item guests don’t think to tell me so I only find out when I go to use it and it isn’t there. Guests all wash dishes differently.
The Chinese and Spanish only wash dishes under running water, using copious amounts of water dishwashing liquid. The English love to run dishwashers half full and anything and everything goes in whether it’s dishwasher safe or not.
As I say, none of it really matters but it’s amazing what a mental hurdle it can be to just accept that things are going to be done different. For the most part I can handle it and just tell myself to get over it, but some days I just want to scream.
I wonder how long it will take before I just stop caring about such trivial matters. Surely it is just a matter of developing more patience? Will achieving this make me the more selfless and giving person I want to be?
Dirty Laundry in a Small Town
Despite our abysmal ability to contain livestock, Aaron, and to some extent myself, have tried to quietly make ourselves known in Kaiwaka. We try to support local businesses and conduct business in as friendly a manner as possible. Aaron networks when he can and Arthur is gaining a reputation as a local boar of some quality.
We’ve painted our letterbox in vivid fluoro colours and many people know our property when we mention its location. Now with a potential new business on the horizon we’ve been feeling confident that we will eventually gain a reputation as likeable Kaiwaka citizens. And then last week we received an anonymous letter, addressed to both of us, that upset the apple cart somewhat.
Dear Mr and Mrs de Jonge, please help, I do not know where else to turn… The letter then proceeded to inform us that our sister-in-law is fast gaining a reputation as a local homewrecker and that our help was needed to try put a stop to it.
“What the…?!!”
In all honesty, we don’t have much to do with our Kaiwaka kin. We’re different people. They have kids and horses and we have dogs and pigs. We are not so in with the community that we hear local gossip so the letter’s arrival caused our jaws to drop.
“What do I do?” Aaron found himself in the unenviable position of deciding whether to tell his brother or not.
We involved 4 other people in a discussion and in the end the vote was unanimous. Aaron’s brother had to be told. The deed was done and the resulting reaction caused about as much a shock as the letter did. It wasn’t news.
In fact the letter amused them both. And so did the resulting punch up with some locals apparently. Without actually coming right out and saying it we discovered they have an open relationship.
Now, I’ll be honest, neither Aaron nor I are particularly bothered about what type of relationship they have. Each to their own. What does appall me though is that it amuses them that they might be breaking up other people’s relationships, that they’re doing it in our town and that their house is on the market and they intend to just pack up and leave town and leave behind whatever whirlwind of destruction they happen to create.
Aaron’s surname is now synonymous with unscrupulous and sordid behaviour in Kaiwaka and quite frankly I’m pissed off. At least one person in Kaiwaka knows we’re related and if this ever backfires on us in any way when we deal with the locals it is unlikely I will hold back my personal opinions the next time I see the in-laws.
Of course this now explains some of the strange goings they have mentioned to us in the last year. It would seem the sister-in-law’s actions have not been as squeaky clean as she has proclaimed.
28 August 2009
The weather’s still mental but spring is oh so close. The trees and grass are slowly greening and electrical storms are winding up the dogs and playing havoc with our sleep patterns.
Business Opportunity?
Business Opportunity?
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