Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

 I know talking about the weather can be boring, but I just have to give it a mention this week because it has been a little bit gobsmacking. It was still dark on Monday morning when we were having our first cuppa of the day. The showers started, then turned to rain and developed into a cool dull day. We were wearing longs with an extra top layer, and it felt like autumn was starting to get into its stride. Tuesday stared cool but with a clearer sky. The forecast high for the day was 28º, and oh so wrong as it hit 32º mid-afternoon with gorgeous blue skies and blazing sun. Wednesday started dry, but by late afternoon the temperature had dropped and water was coming through the holes in the sky again. The rain ceased sometime during Thursday night, but Thursday was sufficiently dull to warrant having the fairy lights on all day. The rain returned on Friday morning along with a gale - very Piglet ears weather, but it was dry again by the end of the afternoon. The weekend has been bet...

 We now have a completely weed free garden!! We were watching the final episode of David Attenborough’s “Green Planet” on Monday night and he was explaining how he does not think weeds should be referred to as such. They are plants like any other, and should be thought of as pioneering plants. Which is great, because in one fell swoop we no longer have any weeds. There is quite a bit of pioneering going on though! With another week of dry, and mainly warm sunny weather, we have again spent much of our time in the garden. Nicky has continued planting and has finished the week with digging out pioneers, and planting the south west corner of the back garden: I have completed Phase Two of holesome digging for the retaining wall: I haven’t dug out right to the western end by the fence as I am not quite sure how the structure of the wall is going to work out around the curve of the path at that end. I also see it being the most complicated section to construct, so I’m going to start at t...

The southerly breeze that greeted us this morning suggested that autumn is just round the corner. Today has still been warm and sunny, though cooler than earlier in the week. It’s been like summer again, with hot sun filled days and no rain. As a result, we have maintained our routine of working in the garden at the beginning and end of the day. Nicky has continued with planting and garden bed construction, while I have had a holesome time digging the trench for building the retaining wall. This is physically quite challenging so I am now having an “alternative activity day” on Wednesdays and resting over the weekend. This week’s alternate activity was washing the windows. I have also had quite a bit of MacOnSite work, and got my domain transferred to a different host. I had a FaceTime chat with Jancis on Tuesday evening, while Nicky was at her first Vestry meeting. She had also been to Life Group and made a beef and marrow casserole for some unwell parishioners and ourselves. Nicky we...

 Even though it is now officially autumn, we have finished the week with some lovely weather. I have noticed that the daylight hours are getting fewer, especially in the mornings when having our first cuppa of the day. This was the view that greeted me as I walked out of the front door on Wednesday morning to go and do the shopping Our week has again been dominated by the garden, but punctuated with some other events. Nicky has continued planting and spreading bark, and bought some more plants from Frances. I have completed “Phase 1” of the retaining wall digging - the 1 metre deep trench where the poles and planks will be when it is finished. I have now moved onto “Phase 2”, which is widening the trench to give me space to construct the wall and set up the drainage. The spoil that is coming out from this digging is going beside the shed, as most of it will be going back from whence it came. After Life Group on Tuesday, Nicky called into the drive-through “pancake facility” at Chri...

  Apart from a couple of foggy starts, which didn’t last for long, we have had another week of mainly sunshine. It has been cooler and there has been a southerly breeze much of the time, but it has still been hot mid-afternoon and we have continued using the southern patios. The weather has enabled Nicky to spend much time in the garden, but she is finding the Council’s water conservation request challenging, as she has not been watering the garden. The power supply to the pumps at one of the bores that supplies Whanganui failed during the recent storms, so it is only running at 50% capacity. She has also had a Friends of St John meeting, and Seniors Lunch and Life Group. I have had a reasonable week with work, setting up a new Mac remotely and doing some other troubleshooting jobs. I have also helped Lyn across the road move three freezers, a bed, and assembled some shelving for her. My new hat arrived on Monday and has been pressed into service already. On Wednesday we had the pl...

We were buying by the scoop on Friday - one scoop of chips to go with our two fish for dinner, and three scoops of bark for the back garden, delivered on Saturday morning. The scoops, obviously, are different sizes, but I was amused by the use of the same term in such different contexts. This week has been similar in pattern to the last two. A cool Monday morning followed by increasingly warm and sunny weather through the week, culminating in rain and a reduction in temperature this morning. The differences have been that it has not been quite as hot (mid to high 20’s) and we had much less rain this morning, which was then followed by another sunny day. As a result of the similar weather pattern, we have had a similar activity pattern. Nicky has been planting and putting down edging in the back garden (the native garden) and I have been continuing to dig the trench for the retaining wall. Reading and reclining have occupied the warmer parts of the days on the whole. I have done a ...

The cooler temperatures of last Sunday continued into Monday morning, a public holiday for Waitangi Day (observed). By lunchtime we were back in shorts as the rain stopped and the sun came out. We hit 32º again on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday started with some fog, and by mid-afternoon it was 34º and little or no clothes were being worn again. We spent most of our time outside reading in the shade and finished the day with another enjoyable sunset. The rain returned in patches on Friday morning, and then in earnest late in the afternoon. Saturday morning was still, warm and humid. I opened the ranch sliders at the front to let some cool air in while we had breakfast, and it was lovely listening to the rain gently fall.  It got heavier in the afternoon and has continued again today, but the southerly wind has driven the rain at 45 degrees and dropped the temperature significantly. Nicky said it was 15 degrees returning from church. We have had our first week of the year with ...