A Winter Not So Wonderland

It was bitterly cold Monday evening but nothing prepared me for waking Tuesday morning to find the house surrounded by snow! It was piled on the trees, on the lawn, it iced the bare black berry branches and lay across the fields and hills all pure and white as you'd expect. I rushed out at 7.30am with my camera and took some shots of Demelza trying to walk across it and acting as if she was being shot at with every cautious pawstep and one of Briar bellowing to me that she was starving and cold from the paddock. Everything ordinary seemed transformed into something amazing.

By lunchtime the snow had nearly all melted although there was still quite a dusting on the Wakararas at the back of my place. As the day drew to a close the air grew colder and colder. Even with the fire going I still had to wrap up in a blanket on the sofa before giving up and heading for the security of the electric blanket and four cats. Next morning there was the mother of all frosts. I knew it was bad as the inside of my bedroom window was iced. All the water pipes had frozen so I had to take some water from the container I keep in the garage for the bunnies. Fortunately I was heading out and about so didn't have to shiver up here through the rest of the morning.

It feels like Spring will never come despite seeing all the lambs and the wattles flowering in the fields. This would have to count as one of the toughest winters I can ever remember surviving. I swear I will never complain about the heat ever again!

Storms and Soggy Creatures

I was without any internet connection for five days which caused serious withdrawal symptoms although my house has never looked tidier! In the week between the 26th July to the 3rd August we had three storms, two of which were particularly severe. The second hit on Tuesday afternoon 29th July and by the next morning the relentless rain coupled with a very strong wind had blown into the front verandah and soaked everything stored there as well as blowing the garage door open drenching the bunnies nearest the entrance. Being determined (i.e. crazy) Gay, Gine and I decided to make our way to art in Otane. On the trip in we were amazed at how quickly the water was spreading across the paddocks and all morning our minds were distracted by the rain thudding on the roof of the old schoolhouse. We were meant to spend some of the afternoon painting but at 2pm the six people brave enough to stay all looked at each other, packed up their gear and left hurriedly as we suddenly realised we might not make it home at all.

When we left Otane a couple of houses on State Highway 2 were surrounded by flood water. On entering Waipawa we had to drive through quite deep water to get to the shopping centre. A policeman was redirecting traffic down an alternative route and we stopped to ask him if the Tikokino Road was open and he replied that last he heard it was. After a quick shop we left the town and headed out into the countryside. It was amazing how quickly the water had spread. There were new waterfalls cascading out over paddocks, the river was about to burst its banks and in several areas the water was across the tar seal and we had to drive on the wrong side of the road. The most distressing part was seeing all the new born lambs lying dead in the fields. At one farm a pile of small woolly corpses had been left at the gate for the slinky man.

I was not looking forward to seeing to everyone- especially when I saw several mini lakes formed on the grass at the front of my place. It was as bad behind the house with three ponds on the path to the hen shed with one deep one right in front of the door. When I opened this the concrete floor was flooded and the hens all sitting on their perches. However by the next morning all the water had soaked away.


Hoggle has doubled in size since this photo of him (aged 48 hours) was taken. He has taken to squeezing himself out through the gap between the gate and the fence so that he can munch on the garden. Xena runs around crying out for him while he gets up to mischief.

Gretel though is the naughtiest goat in the herd. She has discovered that she can jump any fence on the farm and delights in going out exploring. If I growl at her she jumps back to where she should be. However she knows that if she walks up to me and lays her head on my knee, looking up with her big yellow/black eyes I am more likely to scratch her head and give her a cuddle so I am definitely sending mixed messages when I should in fact be sending her to sit on the naughty step!