The Answer To The Killer Donkey Episodes

Briar made another attempt to murder Toby the goat on Friday. This is the scene of the crime- the side paddock seen in grassier times (Autumn) with Mishka the dog and Demelza The Phantom Sprayer checking their Pmail. The good news though is that yelling abuse at the donkey out the sitting room window appeared to do the trick and she pulled on the brakes and pretended she'd never chased him in the first place. I was talking on the phone to John at the time and he asked how long it was since the first attack. Well it's a month. That gave him the answer. Apparently mares become extremely nasty when they're in season so Briar's crankiness is due to the fact that she's "in the mood". Great- so now I have a randy ass to deal with as well as everything else!

Piper Back After Chasing Rainbows

Piper turned up at the back door Sunday evening yowling at the top of her voice. Terribly skinny she wouldn't touch her food went straight to sleep. Monday morning she vomited up a mixture of kitty litter (yes that's her latest habit) with some black muck which a visitor felt was a dead lamb. She fasted all Monday but by Tuesday she still wasn't eating so in desperation I gave her Homeopathic Nux Vomica. Shortly afterwards Piper began meowing to go outside- in fact she whined and yapped for an hour until I gave in. Thinking I wouldn't see her again that day I was surprised to hear her wail at the door a few hours later. In she marched and when I gave her a dish full of her special dry food she began wolfing it down! I think I will give her some more Nux Vomica this morning to see if she continues eating. Not only is it effective in digestive disturbances (constipation and lack of appetite) it's great in cases of poisoning.


We get alot of rainbows up here and this shot is facing south west towards the ranges. I just thought it was a beautiful view worth commemorating. Perhaps that's where Piper was on the weekend- away chasing rainbows.

After The Rain

I think I have about unwound myself from being a question mark shape after all the firewood stacking I did a week ago. The wood has dried out and is burning well although it has been so warm the past few days I've barely needed a fire. After watching two small rivers running down my driveway for seven days a strong northerly wind arrived which dried them up as well as clearing the puddles from the front lawn.

Tuesday morning I went to town and saw the devastation caused by the flooding at Maraekakaho near Hastings city. When you saw how high the school was situated and yet children had to be carried out by the army you realised how massive the rains actually were. Several houses were still being cleaned out and workers were scurrying about the bridge and nearby paddocks which had been turned into huge mud baths. Worst hit was the small fire station. The rain had rampaged underneath the building and ripped holes in the concrete foundations. The shingle driveway had been scoured away and concrete ramp into the shed broken. Dirty brown grass hung on the fence wires giving an idea of how high the water crept. Now we're being told that more heavy rain is on its way this afternoon so goodness knows what tomorrow will bring Hawkes Bay.

In the middle of all this Piper had been going walkabout in the fields at the back of the cottage. She would ask to go outside mid morning then arrive back later in the day happy enough before vomiting up half digested rats. Over the past few days she had gone off her usual food. I have had trouble waking her in the mornings and stranger still she abandoned her post by the fire to take up residence on the sofa with me. Then on Friday she disappeared and has not come home. I am hoping that she's just hunting and that her bad heart and wonky kidneys have not taken her away from me for ever.

Demelza seems to know something is up as she's refusing to go outside except once in the early morning with the dog. She sleeps on the sofa if I am there or else sits on top of the computer unit while I'm working. Last night she came to watch while I had a bath and scared the heck out of me by walking around the edge "kneading" the metal. I had visions of her slipping into the water and clinging onto my vulnerable bits in her frantic efforts to get out.


When I first moved here I would sit on this stump out the back with the sun shining on me looking up to the ranges. Of course when I took this shot it was raining up there so you can only see the foothills. And what is at the bottom of the foothills? Why toes of course!

I Don't Have A Wooden Heart....Maybe A Few Splinters

The rain set in more steadily today without any breaks at all. This was quite depressing as I had an early phone call from the firewood merchant saying he was delivering the macrocarpa at 8.30am. Sure enough right on the dot he arrived in his truck and looked disbelievingly at me when I told him I was going to put the whole cord away by myself. To be honest I didn't think I could do it either. However he turned the truck around on the sodden lawn and dumped the wood near the top of the drive away from the worst of the small creeks that are streaming down the full length of the shingle driveway.


I began to barrow wood to the back carport and stack them next to the ramp as I had with the previous load of pine (pictured to the left on a sunny day in May). Then I began piling wood on the front doorsteps as these were one of the few surfaces that were dry. Seeing that the entire shingle floor of the front carport was wet I had no choice but to start stacking macrocarpa there but after three hours my stacking deteriorated and I was just rushing with barrows stacked with wood and throwing them in one great central pile in order to get them out of the rain. After this I collected as much bark and kindling as I could pile in the wheelbarrow and pushed this through a now very boggy pathway into the carport where it is still sitting.

I have been assured the wood is dry as the trees were cut down over a year ago so I hope the rain will dry off it very quickly as the weather tonight forecast a cold blast (with more rain) arriving on Sunday and I foresee many days spent next to the fire.

Tonight as I write this I am hunched over the keyboard shaped like a pretzel, the tips of my fingers raw as if I have been playing The Devil Went Down To Georgia on rusty banjo strings. However my hands smell delightfully woody and I still cannot believe I shifted all that wood in three hours in the rain. What an idiot!

Third Day of The Big Wet

The rain is beginning to subside this afternoon although a couple of rivulets are still running down my drive from the back paddock. Everything is soaked- even under the house is wet. Yesterday the last of my firewood in the front carport was rained on so I spent a frantic half hour barrowing it round to the back carport where at least it's a bit more sheltered. An unexpected financial bonus has meant I was able to order some more to be delivered by Saturday. One cord of macrocarpa for me to move and stack on my own. I'll be shaped like a pretzel by the time I finish.

7.15 am today found me up to my elbows in mud trying to haul the goat's shelter out of boggy ground onto a piece of concrete path that juts out into the paddock from the back yard. After seeing Toby covered in mud I figured at least on the concrete he'd keep fairly clean and it'll wear down his hooves. He watched with interest as I groaned and swore trying to move the heavy thing and I was half afraid that as I strained to pull it along he would headbutt me in a vulnerable area. However he was more curious and soon as his house was positioned he took up residence.

The chickens are knee deep in water in their house but although I let them out for a run round between showers they only did a desultory circuit picking up a few sad drowned worms before heading back inside. All except one silly hen who decided she was going to sleep out under the stars tonight. She's in for a shock!

I've heard of one poor farmer who has lost 100 lambs. After the drought this rain must seem like the final straw. Everyone has a story to tell of damage to their property. Now they're calling it a 50 year flood as no one can really remember anything as bad.


Finally got my film developed which had photos from my old place interspersed with ones of the new. I took this shot in late afternoon on a cloudy day. This is the front of my cottage. My room is on the left, the office where I'm typing this is in the middle and the sitting room to the right behind the latticed carport. The driveway runs up the left towards the garage. More to follow when I have a bit more time.

Hawkes Bay Floods

The TV news promised heavy rain in the Hawkes Bay Ranges last night and of course that's where I live. When I woke at 5am I heard faint rain on the roof but couldn't see what was going on until 7am. When I went to feed the chooks there were puddles in the paddock and water was beginning to gather at the back of the garage and flow through. No biggie.....till 9am when the rain gathered force and within an hour the drain at the front of the property had turned into a 30 foot wide lake to the right, flowing across the driveway over a bank into the drain in the left paddock where it joined the creek. Water washed across the paddock at the back, cascading under the small wire gate and down the concrete path into the backyard. From there it scoured out the shingle down the drive. Even the back lawn beneath the clothes line was under water.

Maxine rang after lunch to see how I was coping. Apparently the creek near her had risen one and a half metres in a short time and Civil Defence had called in twice. Someone had stacked a few cord of firewood on their property only to watch it swept away. Apparently the army is evacuating people further up State Highway 50 at Maraekakaho, Flaxmere in Hastings is cut off and Puketapu near Napier is in trouble. 150 mms more rain are expected up here within the next few hours.

Killer Donkey

A grey drizzle descended again this morning so I stayed inside to kill the dust elephants. Maxine arrived later and fortunately was present to help prevent a murder.


At lunchtime I heard Briar braying but it was a most unusual sound as if she were very upset. Next we saw her gallop past the sitting room window before turning and running back up the paddock again. Thinking she was just playing we listened as she started braying again and then saw her chasing Tobermory back down the side paddock. But then it turned nasty for as he ran she bent over and bit him in the withers and then pulled him onto his haunches (no mean feat as he is the size of a German Shepherd with the strength of an ox) before biting him again. Toby's mouth was open in distress and he managed to escape again before Briar bit him again and he fell to the ground. Then he lay there and Briar prepared to slam her hooves into his body. By this time Maxine had run outside and was shouting at her to stop and even began firing windfall lemons in her direction.

Briar lost interest in Toby and walked away and by the time I grabbed my swandri and got out to the paddock he was in his house and she had calmed down. With Maxine watching from behind the gate I gave Briar a carrot to occupy her while I checked on the goat. Toby baaed when he saw me and happily accepted his treat. His nose was dirty and his coat wet from donkey bites. Tomorrow it looks as if I'll have to subdivide the paddock and separate them.

I have no idea what inspired Briar's attack but I have a feeling Toby may have charged her. Usually she only plays in fun and never becomes so angry or agitated. Last week when she stole a carrot he was eating he wheeled around and began to sidle towards her chest with his head down. I was wondering if something similar had happened again and caused this usually placid animal to lose her temper.

Hopefully the stress of this attack won't cause Tobermory to go downhill. He's nearly 16 and this sort of thing is too much for an old goat to bear let alone me!

Unexpected Ending

This is my 100th post on Follyfarm but unfortunately it is an unhappy one. This as a result of shock from the accident early last week or else the extreme cold I don't know but it looked like he died in his sleep. I raised him from a baby two and a half years ago and he'd grown into such a character. He was enjoying playing with the new bell and mirror I bought him last Wednesday. This is the best photo I have of him.

Strangely enough it wasn't the bird I thought I'd lose this week. My friend Tanya and her daughter visited on Friday to bring out Aliesha's old mattress to replace my 50 year old one with the dip in the middle (a hollow so deep you'd get trapped and have to mountaineer your way out of it). Anyway it was bitter so we sat in the sitting room talking and saw Briar walk past the window. Aliesha asked if the goat was mine as well and when I looked out I saw Tobermory standing hunched up with his tail between his legs. His eyes were closed and he was swaying and nearly falling over. We rushed out to look and he was shaking. He had been trembling when I fed the hens early in the morning but then so was I as it was so cold. I fed him an apple but when I returned to let the hens out mid morning he hadn't eaten it.

I rang John (my free vet adviser) and he cautioned that as Tobes is nearly 16 it could be his time to go. However when I went out at 5pm to check on his he was eating grass again. Yesterday he was back to normal.

Obviously it wasn't his time to leave us but Tuppence's. It's never easy to say goodbye to a pet and it seems harder when you weren't expecting it. I had two and a half years of great fun with that little sparrow and it was two and a half years he wouldn't have had if the cat hadn't brought him inside so I was able to rescue him. I've kept birds since I was five and each one has been a character that you never forget.

The Rain It Raineth

After so many months of drought we seem to be blessed with too much of a good thing now. The rain began late Monday and here Friday it's still drizzling. A side effect of rainfall is grumpy cats who are stuck inside having to put up with each other. My days consist of cleaning out litter trays and breaking up fights. I worked out yesterday that it takes me half an hour to get organised when I get up as I work to keep everyone happy. First I wake at 3 am as apparently when you turn thirty your bladder turns 103. The Demelza wakes up and knowing how she'll yowl at me for hours I have to shut her out of the bedroom so I can cat nap till 5.30am. That's when Peaches wakes up. Her strategy is to jump off the bed, then on the bed, run across my chest to leap off the other side. She knows she only needs to do this three or four times before I give in and get up. Then the following routine happens.....

Pull back the bed covers. Haul on winter tights and socks so feet don't fall off with cold. Open bedroom door to find Demelza crouched down behind it in order to leap on unsuspecting kittens. Go across the hall and open bathroom where Piper now sleeps in her little sheepskin bed since she began wetting mine. Say hello to Piper. Check to see if she's wet her bed (which she usually has) and/or used the litter tray. Head to dark kitchen. Turn on light and nearly pass out. Unlock back door and allow Mishka dog and Peaches and Demelza go out (Peaches doesn't do anything but sit on the woodpile waiting for the dog to return). Open sitting room door so that Piper can hiss at Kit who sleeps in there. Gasp at how cold it is. Turn on light, radio and heater in that order.

Go down to the bathroom and collect wet Piper bed. Throw in washing machine. Carry litter tray to kitchen, return and wash bathroom floor with disinfectant. THEN I can visit the little room myself. Go into office and turn on computer. Check to see if dog is at the door. When he comes in try to prevent Kit from picking a fight with Demelza who is following him. Peaches makes a run for the kitchen chair.

Get dressed. Turn off heater. Carry nightie and thick jersey I sleep in back to bedroom and pull back curtains. Feed Kit her special dried food. Tip Piper's special food into her red dish and carry this and three other cat dishes with cat food into sitting room. Shut door so I can work in peace. Dish out food and then balancing four dishes and two cans of food on lap return to the kitchen where I feed Demelza high, and Piper, Peaches and Gypsy on the floor. Feed dog last as he's lowest in the cat pecking order. Check Kit has finished her breakfast and let her out. Shut dog in sitting room to stop him clearing up everyone else's food.

Wash hands. Get the computer started on dialing onto the Internet. Make a cup of tea. Check everyone has eaten and then let the dog out. Light the fire and allow this to heat the room for an hour while I go on the net. The evening rigmarole isn't as complicated but it's getting there. No wonder I'm tired!

And news about Angel. She turned up at my old place last week after a seven month abscence. Walked into the cottage where the old man was having his evening meal so he shared his steak with her. He then let her go. She has since been seen in the hay barn but runs away from them. I just wish they would bait the oppossum trap with meat and catch her so I could have her here.

Tuesday night Kit did a silly thing by cramming herself behind the birdcage on top of the fridge for a nap. All I could see were two hairy white feet hanging over the edge. An hour or two later there was an almighty crash. I arrived in the kitchen to find the cage on the lino with the floor lying elsewhere and a worried bird sitting there wondering why he'd woken up out of a pleasant dream about owning a millet factory. His drinker was smashed as was his favourite toy (a bell/mirror). Got him sorted out and vacuumed the seed off the floor at 10pm. Kit then spent the next half hour attached to my jersey desperately apologising. I've docked her pocket money until she pays for the new drinker and toy I had to buy the bird the next day.

Busy week. Thursday I spoke at the Tikokino CWI meeting and Friday morning my landlady's two sisters in law came for morning tea. Rachel has two boys and has moved into Linda's house a km further down the road and Gina is German and lives ten minutes away in the village.

We had a lovely time even though it was pouring with rain and cold. I had the fire going and made a hot drink and Rachel and brought home made banana cake. Gina had been telling her about my painting so she asked to see everything. Rachel left at 12.15 but Gina stayed for another hour so we could chat about art. She is picking me up in a week and a half to take me to the Otane Arts and Crafts painting group. She says there are also portrait classes on a Friday and you pay $5 to help pay for the model. That would be one way to improve my life drawing and I can count the hours towards my course work.

I also sold the two skeins of alpaca yarn on Trademe. Still have 400 grams left to spin. The last couple of days I have been opening wardrobes and looking under the spare bed appalled at my stash. I never realised I had accumulated so many fleeces. It truly is an illness.

It's been very chilly the past two days and Piper and Gypsy have refused to set paw outside so the litter trays are taking a hammering. Where does kitty litter go to when it dies? It's a question which perplexes me every time I have to clean the trays. With the cats being stuck inside tensions have increased. Kit has begun bullying Demelza and Gypsy yet leaves Peaches and Piper alone. It is easy for her to intimidate others as there is always the threat she'll place her huge hairy backside on them and crush them into submission. Obviously in her mind she's a tiny svelte exotic who can trip lightly along mantlepieces and gently alight on laps. I worked this out when I saw her try to cram herself in small places like bookshelves and under the sofa. She reminds me of a larger woman trying to cram herself into too small hipsters.

Winter Hits Hawkes Bay

It's been a week of terribly bitter weather here. Thursday I awoke to a black frost which didn't leave the grass until 11 am. Thank goodness for the fire is all I can say as I am basically living in the sitting room most of the day. It is even worse round the rest of the country- Queenstown basically shut down for a few days as no one could move in or out due to snow. The photo is of the Ruahine Ranges which run west down to Wellington. Not the exact view from here but very similar. The other morning when I went out the back door the snow was right down on the foot hills. Looked like they'd been dusted with icing sugar.


I am still unwell. Doctor says it's not a bad kidney infection but it certainly has made me feel like death warmed up. No spinning at the moment, just some art and reading between checking on everyone outside.

Two Goodbyes

Hallelujah! Changed my email again as well as my password and I'm back in with Explorer. Phew.

Last week was eventful for two goodbyes. Firstly my neighbours Linda and Hans were flying out to a new life in Holland. Sunday 10th June was gloomy and very cold. When I went to feed the chickens I saw why- there was a good coating of snow on the ranges. Linda rang and asked if would I go down to their place to say goodbye as they were expecting visitors and didn't want to leave it till too late to come and see me. She picked me up in her car and I was there by 11.15am. Fortunately they had their fire going and the room was toasty (empty but toasty as they'd sold their furniture). First the other lady bus driver who works locally turned up with her boyfriend and stayed for three hours. Then my landlady's sister in law who will be renting the house came in with her husband and two boys. She had no idea who I was and asked where I lived- when I said "Cathy's place" the light bulb turned on. They left at 3.45pm and I was hoping to get home as it was raining and beginning to get dark but Linda asked me to stay for a late lunch. It was getting colder and colder even with a heater and fire on and Hans told me it was 5oC (41oF) inside. Anyway when I said goodbye to Hans he got all choked up and tearful and held my hands. Linda dropped me off, gave me a quick hug and then ran out the door. When I looked out the window she was crying. It was so so sad. So now they're back living in Holland but say they'll keep in touch via email.

Maxine arrived Monday when it was pouring with rain (the farmers were so grateful as Hawkes Bay is having the worst drought we've had in 100 years) and said I'd been asked to give a talk about my artwork by the Tikokino Country Woman's Institute on 3 April. We thought they got it wrong and meant 3 July but no they do mean 3 April........2008.

Then came Tuesday 12th which I knew was going to be a big day. Meadow's eye had flared up again after I gave her some hay so I took her back to the vets at 10am. Nicki put dye in her eye and found the tear duct had blocked again and would need to be reflushed. Went to get a warrant of fitness for my car- it failed. Needed four new tyres. The only funny bit was the guy looking in my car and asking "Where's the dust?" I told him I'd shifted and didn't have a long shingle road to my place anymore. Anyway we drove to tyre places and none would give finance under $400 and I only needed $260 so Rich lent me the money and we had the new ones fitted. In fact the people "Firestone" (NZ made tyres) gave us both hot chocolate drinks while we waited.

Had a trip to the doctor's myself to get a few things sorted (looks like I have a kidney infection amongst other things) and then collected my sister in law from work before heading out to the vet to collect Meadow. Nicky came out and said she wanted a quiet word with me and then brought Med out in her cage all wrapped in a towel. She'd managed to unblock the tear duct but it ruptured and a whole lot of pus came spilling out and the eye began bulging. She told me that her eye would never be any good and the infection could go into her brain. I would have to inject her with antibiotics but the problem would reoccur. I asked what she would do if it was her pet and the result was that she put Meadow to sleep. I cried and cried with the vet with her arm about me, handing me tissues. She carried the empty cage out to the car only to find Richard on his knees changing the back tyre. Yes the new back one had gone flat. Not a day I want to repeat..................

Absent

I have been having major problems with Blogger which is why I haven't posted this past week. For weeks now I have been able to log in through my Netscape browser but unable to upload photos, however I was able to do this through Explorer. Now when I try to log in through Explorer it tells me that my email doesn't exist. I changed my email and the same thing is happening. As you can't contact a real person directly in Google and their help section doesn't mention this situation I am stuck with no pictures on my blogs. I may have to move the whole lot to another system.

Piper's Trip To The Vet

Had a trip to the vet Wednesday. Firstly Cadbury my chocolate angora buck had a testicular tumour which had to be removed (it apparently was so impressive the vet took a photo) and I also took Piper for a check up. Cadbury was booked in all day for a castration and I left Piper for an hour so she could have blood work done. However before the results came in the vet was able to tell me she suspected renal failure as the kidneys were enlarged and there was some fluid on the lungs. This could be a result of her cardiomyopathy.

Collected Piper at 10am and brought her all the way home, had lunch and returned to Waipukurau for a 2pm appointment before collecting Cadbury. He was extremely perky (and lighter) after his operation as was my wallet. At 5pm the vet phoned with Piper's results which confirmed renal failure. However she said there were a few things they could do to help including an anabolic steroid shot to improve her appetite and help kidney function as well as starting her on a special diet which she would send out with the mailman.

The next morning I was able to get a ride into the vet with Piper and she had her first steroid injection. She wasn't as perky as the day before and hadn't wanted her breakfast but by the afternoon she was ravenous and ate so much so ended up being heartily sick. By the end of the day her new food had arrived and I was able to begin weaning her onto this. It's $29.95 a bag but as you don't feed a lot I am hoping it won't work out to be too expensive. At this stage she is looking much better, not drinking as much and the litter tray isn't getting such a hammering. However the vet has warned me her days are limited and that she now things the kidney disorder may have been there since birth as were her other health problems. Doug my previous vet had also warned that her tail deformity might only be the tip of the iceberg.

One good outcome of the vet visit is that they allowed me to put my business card up on their notice board so hopefully I may get some art commissions. The ironic part is this week I have felt very unwell with what I think may be a kidney problem so haven't felt like doing much artwork at all.

Two Ks- Kit and Kaffe Fassett

Don't know whether it's because I've overdone it lately or else because I am stressed but ended up with my first migraine in over a year yesterday. A good night's sleep has eased it off but it's still lurking in the background.

Linda and Hans brought Kit over early Saturday evening. This time she seemed to know it was different and was much more timid. The cats have studiously ignored her which is a good thing as it will allow her to settle in a bit better without all the added cat politics and mind games (Demelza especially is good at that). I put her litter tray in the sitting room and left her in there over night. She scratched at the door at about 3am but ran away when I opened it. Since then Kit's been ensconced under the sofa- she hasn't eaten or drunk anything so I am relieved that she's so big as she'll be able to live off her reserves for a while. Linda dropped a list of her preferences and nicknames off late afternoon but didn't come inside or speak so the cat wouldn't know she was there.

Linda has offered me a large white cabinet out of their bedroom. It has lots of shelving and two doors which need to be rehung so would provide more storage. Just trying to work out where to place it- the only room I can think of is the spare one so will need to reposition the bed. Was hoping Maxine would be coming to help this morning but she's full of flu so will need to suck it up and do it myself.

Kaffe Fassett is touring New Zealand at the moment and although I can't knit or sew properly I would love to attend one of his workshops. The guy is just so multi talented- I don't know where he gets the time to create and how he keeps so inspired. As a painter I especially admire his art but kudos to anyone who tries to bring more colour into the world.

"Oh no not another one!"

Been a crazy few days. Linda has been popping in with news about the move. As of Wednesday morning she'd found a home for their dog and the girl who will be renting their place was taking on Bobby, one of their long haired cats. They were taking Kit, their enormous black and white baby, to Holland with them but just learned that it would cost $2,000! Linda stood out on the road and cried and cried as she said they couldn't afford it and she didn't know what would happen to Kit as the only person to offer her a home was the girl taking the dog and she's 22 and probably wouldn't see her as a long term responsibility plus she has kids coming through her house all the time and Kit can't hack noise. I've never seen anyone so upset. So yeah you know what happened.................

Linda and Hans came over later that evening to deliver the TV and other things my family and friends had bought. Turned out the TV was much too heavy for my little round table so Hans offered to give me a bookshelf he'd made to put it on. They went home to collect it and on their return Linda walks in with a large lump under her sweatshirt and pulled Kit out from underneath. She said she'd brought her for a visit to see how she got on. Well you won't believe it but Kit and Mishka fell in love with each other- she even allowed him to lick inside her ears etc. However when he exhibited some um "raunchy" behaviour as he usually does with Demelza she retreated behind my spinning wheel. How Kit gets on with the other cats is anyone's guess as she doesn't fight apparently. Hopefully they'll just think Angel has returned after a dye job and leave her alone and no one will make any rude gestures such as the grumpy tabby to the left. After everyone had left Demelza my own black and white cat emerged and Mish stood by her looking at me all confused as if to say "Mum she's shrunk".

Thursday morning my friend John drove out. He helped me fix a sheet of metal that had come adrift from the side of the hen house. I had poked some wire through the holes but didn't have the strength to pull it together so went inside and pushed the wall out while he wired it shut. He was amazed at how it had held together in the high winds last week.

Looks like a trip to the vet for Piper is definitely on the cards plus Cadbury my chocolate buck needs to be castrated (enlarged testicle- just no polite way to say it) so next Wednesday is the big day.

Mondayitis

There were four of these characters on the front lawn this morning. For some reason they looked like a quartet of judges holding a hearing. They terrorize the small birds and will even take on a hawk and chase it out of the area.

Linda (the neighbour who has been visiting lately) rang last Friday to say that her husband has been offered a job in Holland and they'll be leaving within the next three weeks. Saturday I went to her house and we did an inventory of items, what was for sale and how much she wanted for them. I bought a wooden bookshelf Hans had made for $10 plus a couple of office items for the EDFNZ. The biggie I really wanted was her large TV as it was only two years old. I have been suffering with my mother's old 15" portable for eight years so was so tempted but of course didn't have any money.

On returning home I rang a few family and friends and read them the list to see what they wanted to buy. Within an hour two had rung back offering to loan me the money to buy the TV so I told Linda I would take it. They also bought several of her things for themselves and by Monday afternoon she had sold nearly everything in her house apart from a double bed, fridge and two cars.

Late Monday the bus pulled up at my gate and Linda came in as I had offered for her to take some of the boxes I'd used to move. Conroys are shifting them and had advised against grocery boxes but she took the large sturdy ones that had been used to carry the computer, TV and other electrical items. Was so pleased to see an empty space appear in the carport.
I nodded off in the evening. It had been a busy day as I had put clean water in the aquarium, done two loads of washing, dusted the cottage, moved the new bookcase plus Maxine came late morning and vacuumed and cleaned as well until the whole place sparkled. Added to that it was unseasonably warm so I didn't have to light the fire.

Piper has been losing weight lately and despite worming her a couple of times she hasn't improved. Now she is drinking a great deal and of course urinating even more so looks like a visit to the vet is called for. As this is a new one for me I'm going to have to save up first as I haven't an account there but hopefully will sell some of my own items to fund her visit. The move was as expensive as I envisaged- I've calculated it's going to take me two years to pay for it but I am booked to do an exhibition with the New Zealand Art Guild in August (at the Bruce Mason Centre in Auckland) so fingers crossed I'll sell a few paintings.

We're Not In Kansas Anymore!

After advertising my three large rabbit hutches in the Wednesday Mover for a couple of weeks I finally had a genuine buyer turn up to look on Tuesday morning. Jonathan is a bee keeper and was out this way to put some hives on Smedley Station. He called in along with his employee at 10am and we spent an entertaining half hour talking animals and meeting all the ones here. Negotiating over the hutches was more difficult as they were all damaged by the ex landlord's backpackers so needed quite a few repairs but in the end he offered $80 plus two boxes of clover honey. Three hours later he came back with his truck, paid me and put 24 pots of honey on my kitchen bench with the promise he'd drop some manuka honey in when he came past again in a fortnight. I was just so happy to see the back of those hutches as they were so hard for me to handle and at least this person is going to repair them.

Wednesday I was due to go to town for my big excitement of the month- a visit to the library. Although it was chilly up here by the time I got into Hastings I began to swelter in my thermals. No wonder people were in tshirts as apparently the temperature was in the 80s.

We ended up having to drive to Taradale as my sister in law wanted to come home with me plus I had to get a repeat prescription refilled and a snotty chemists in Hastings refused to do so (after keeping me waiting for ten minutes which staff chatted on the phone). Coming out of Taradale we were waiting at the intersection when to our right a rubbish collection truck began driving across. However to our left a black car jumped the red lights and scooted in from of him while turning into our road. Although the truck slammed on his brakes he still clipped the car which didn't stop. However if he hadn't done so he would have hit it full force and it would have smashed into us. Someone was definitely looking after us.

By the time my brother, sister in law and I returned here mid afternoon is was beginning to cloud over and get very windy. Richard took a look at the lawn and decided he would mow it (I have been trying to find someone to do the job but apparently the nearest person willing to do it lives in Waipukurau and charges $94 a visit). I was so lucky he decided to stay longer as the wind began to strengthen until it was up to 120kms per hour. Diane and I collected firewood and took this inside and I mentioned I would go out and feed the chickens who had been locked in their house nearly all day as I had worried that the weather was going to turn bad. Soon as I got out in the paddock the full force of wind hit me. The front of the hen house was buckling and being metal was folding in at the middle while one side panel had come loose from the metal warratahs (posts) it was wired to. The container of hen food flew across the field with me chasing after it. I called out to Rich that the hen house was about to fly but he couldn't hear me so leaving spilt food all around I had to make my way back to the lawn to tell him.

Diane and I went out and tried to open the door but the wind wouldn't allow us. Rich followed us which was just as well as one gust nearly blew Di over and she had to hold onto him for support. The next half hour was a blur of Richard trying to find metal stakes which he hammered behind the front wall of the shed to stop the metal buckling. I rolled a concrete brick along and pushed it against the piece that had come loose and Di and Rich brought more round which they lined up against the front. We tipped over the goat's original house and pushed it against the side of the shed to make a small windbreak. Unfortunately all the movement dropped the door so the catch is now in the wrong place. To open and close it I have to slide a pair of hedgecutters under the door, kick it at the bottom which raises it so I can slide the catch through. And how did the hens cope? They were totally unconcerned and one even laid an egg!

The terrible winds lasted two days and my heart was in my mouth the whole time. In the middle of this Darren the farrier came out to trim Briar's hooves and he had to shelter with her under a cottoneaster tree in the side paddock so he could finish the job. Not surprisingly he didn't stay long.


Have only had time for a little spinning this week. Pulled out a large bag of fawn alpaca I was given and so far have spun one skein. Beautiful to work with. This week hopefully there won't be any more excitements and I can get back to work.

Back From Playing Hookey

I've been playing hookey lately and going to town with the neighbour down the road when she gets bored. Although this helps me get out amongst the living I have got terribly behind with things up here. However did complete a skein of spinning which I've listed on Trademe for sale. It's merino x although there must be more x to it as it feels too coarse for merino. At the moment working on a large bag of fawn coloured fibre which I think may be alpaca. It was given to me by the office lady at Kell's Wool in Napier. There is 500 grams in the bag which is a good amount so hopefully I will be able to sell it once it's spun.

Have been lighting the fire at mid day the last couple of days as it's turned chilly. This morning we had our first decent frost of the autumn but in return it's a lovely sunny day. Today I will be doing the first clean up of the paddock- in other words collecting donkey poo. Yes that's the highlight of my day apart from a little painting this morning.

Meet The Neighbours

I met my first neighbour on Thursday. At 9am the school bus pulled up at my gate and the driver came in. Her name is Linda and she lives further down the road in another cottage with her husband. We ended up chatting for three hours and she then invited me to lunch at her place. I haven't been in a bus since I was 14 so it was quite an experience getting in. It was interesting to see what the remainder of the road was like as it heads in further towards the mountains. Linda's cottage is next door to the farm where the Smedley manager lives so there is lots of activity going on there. There were a group of horses standing beneath a tree when we arrived- one lovely part grey one with large fluffy feet she told me is used as a pack horse.

We had a nice lunch in the sun in her sitting room with Linda's chocolate lab trying to sneak inside. She also has three tanks of tropical fish and two huge fluffy cats but only one was brave enough to come and say hello (unlike mine who all took off when she arrived at my place). At 2pm we headed back to my place in the bus before she headed off to pick up the kids from Tikokino.

Later that day my cousin Elaine called to tell me that she had ordered firewood for me and asked them to put in extra kindling and sawdust. This arrived the next morning at 8.45am. The truck driver tipped it off in the driveway before unloading two bags of sawdust for me. They gave me a bit extra wood (a cord and a quarter) so there was quite a pile there. I rang Elaine to tell her it had arrived while beginning to stack it in the car port at the back door. I spent two hours stacking that morning and another hour in the afternoon as I knew it was going to rain the next day.

Next morning I was shaped like a question mark. After spending two hours with a hot water bottle on my back I began stacking wood in the front car port when there was a break in the rain. I stopped for lunch and was just finishing this when I heard a car pull up in the drive. By the time I got to the back door Linda and her husband Hans were in the carport- they couldn't believe I'd actually stacked all that wood (I'd put away over half the pile) and they'd actually come to help me put it away. Within an hour the remainder was stacked and even the concrete swept clean. I'm not used to helpful neighbours so it was a shock to the system. I was so grateful as it would have taken me two more days to do it myself.

That night I lit my first fire in the Lady Kitchener Stove. Within half an hour the whole room was warm. The cats had never seen a fire before. Demelza took up residence in front of it, Piper stared in horror and the others ignored it completely. At least I won't freeze this winter- the first time in nine years.

They're here at last!

I really overdid it yesterday. Vacuumed the whole cottage, washed floors, did an hour's gardening, picked up walnuts off the lawn and finally manufactured a wire aerial for my stereo so I can pick up FM stations.

The big news though is that Briar and Tobermory are here at last. I had a call from Darren the farrier on Friday night to say that he would be collecting them Saturday morning and delivering them in his horse float. He arrived out here at 11.30am as it took him an hour and a half detour which didn't involve so many windy hills. When he opened up the trailer Toby was frothing at the mouth and really unwell. Darren said he'd been lethargic when he picked him up and not to be surprised if he dropped dead as he's sort of at the end of his life. Briar surprised me as she leaped off the float ramp, ignored me completely as she could see all this wonderful green grass. Darren said at the other place it is down to dirt and the ex landlord's horses are completely emaciated.

I made Darren a coffee and we sat out in the sun chatting for an hour before he left again. By this time Briar had eaten her fill and rushed over to say hello as if she'd never seen me earlier and then spent five minutes chasing Toby round the paddock. When I checked on them later he was sitting down in the grass and she was grazing happily. I rang my brother and told him they were finally here. At 5.30pm I heard noises out the back and found Rich there with Diane. They had been out to the farm and collected Toby's house as Richard didn't want him to be without it for one night. The man loves that goat! They couldn't get over how Toby kept wanting to stand next to me but I had suspicions he was getting ready to try and push me over which he likes to do. When I went to put the chickens to bed in the afternoon I called Briar over and she followed me to the hen house- I knew if she was with me Toby wouldn't try anything as he's scared of her.

Diane told me there have been changes at my old place. They have cut down the two beautiful tortured willow trees on my front lawn and have got satellite TV for the cottage. They are also putting new carpet and lino through the whole building and doing all the repairs they hadn't done for eight years.

Today my friend Gretchen asked me what I liked best about this place. Well it's really peaceful, there are no farm dogs running through my place all the time so I can let Mishka out whenever and not be afraid I'll get bitten, I can drink the water, the water is clean and I can use the cold tap over the bath rather than running the hot and letting it cool for half and hour before I could get in, the TV reception is clear, the toilet doesn't block up all the time and it's very private with no one going past and looking in. Oh and I have a really lovely caring landlady.

Diary of the Big Move

A few days ago I did a great job writing a week's diary of the shift on blogger only to have it shut down and lose the lot! Anyway here's how the move went........

Friday March 30th
My friend Stu who had built the run onto the front of the hen house drove over from Palmerston North with one of his employees to dismantle it and move it to Matheson Road. Arrived mid day so we all had lunch before Richard and I caught all 18 fowls and put them in carry cages. Rich pulled the back seat out of the car so we could fit them all in and headed off early so we could hang some rabbit cages in the garage for the next day.

Interesting trip as one of the roosters objected to every large truck that drove past as well as Richard making right hand turns. A smelly hour later we arrived at the cottage. I went inside and wiped out the kitchen cupboards before unloading two boxes of canned goods and crockery (needed to take the boxes back). We then went and decided where to hang a few of the cages and I spent two hours washing a couple out that I hadn't managed to finish that week. Ended up soaked in Trigene disinfectant.

About 4pm Stu turned up with the run but without the hen house which he felt was too flimsy to transport. That was the one moment I felt my blood pressure go up and shoot out of my head. With a light rain beginning to fall and it getting dark he constructed a temporary run for the hens in the car port with two walls of the run and we got them in and fed before heading off at 6pm. Got home in the dark and had to feed everyone by torch. Had a late night stressing and only got four hours sleep.

Saturday March 31st
Woke up at 3.30am but made myself stay in bed till 4.30am to get some rest. Soon as it was light was outside disinfecting the carry cages, litter trays and cat bowls. Cats were aware something was up because I wouldn't allow them outside. At 8.30am I got a text from my friend Tanya who had arranged her friend Billy to drive the rented furniture truck to say they were coming up the road. Billy (who works for a local removal company) managed to back the truck over the cattle stop but couldn't get it right into the driveway due to a tree being in the way. By that time my friends Marg and John had arrived with their ute and a trailer plus my brother Richard, his wife Diane and friend Lorraine. Unfortunately Rich's friend Tony and son who were going to help get my heavy old piano moved were on call out (to State Highway 50 where we were heading ironically) so I had to ask my landlady for help. I couldn't watch it as they took the old girl out- it took four people to get her out.

For the following three hours it was pretty full on with my sister in law packing up my computer and printer etc. while Marg and Lorraine packed up what kitchen items I hadn't managed to finish due to lack of boxes. While this was going on I rang Contact with my last electricity reading and arranged to take over my new landlady's phone number with Telecom. In the midst of this I went into the spare room to check on the cats who were in carry cages only to find one was missing. Panic ensued but Tanya's daughter Alysha found Gypsy hiding behind some boxes in the corner of the room. Shutting the door we swapped them so the two larger cats were in the cage with an inch wide gap that she'd squeezed through and the younger ones were in a more secure one.

In the main room Diane made a pile of boxes containing fragile and breakable items to take in the car while everything else was loaded onto the truck. After three hours it was full and we realised that we'd get the household moved in one trip instead of two as previously estimated.
At 1pm a friend came to do the final clean through of the cottage. Remembering how filthy the place was when I moved in (it took three months to clean) I thought it was in a better state to hand over but apparently I was wrong. We knew we'd have to come back as I'd left a pile of rubbish in the back yard plus we still had the hen house to dismantle and the donkey and goat to move.

At 2pm in stultifying heat the truck left followed by two cars. Tanya and I loaded the cats and five bunnies into the back of the Nissan and headed off followed by Richard and his friend Tony who had turned up with his ute to carry some cages.

It was the trip from hell with all the animals suffering from the high temperatures. We had to stop a couple of times when cages moved so I could reorganise them although in the end I rode with my arm twisted over to hold them in place. By 3pm we had got up into the hills and felt the temperatures lower. On arrival Alysha and I got the bunnies into their new homes (Sherbet managing to scratch my arm badly with a great back kick) and the cats were carried panting in their carry cages into my bedroom.

The next hour and a half the truck was unloaded- Marg and I made my bed which was a major undertaking as there were alot of black rubbish bags in amongst the boxes and furniture and every time I opened one thinking it was bedding it was a fleece!

At 4.30pm Tanya and I headed back to Craggy Range Road to pick up the remaining rabbits. When we got there it was 6pm and getting dark and the cottage had four of the farm dogs roaming round it. They were barking so viciously when we arrived Tanya was too scared to get out of the car and no one called them off. Finally losing interest in us they wandered off with me giving them some vocal encouragement.

Then I realised we were one cage short so Tanya went next door to ask the landlord if we could borrow one from him. She also took my last rent cheque over. He was reluctant to loan us anything except a box but Tanya is a good persuader and managed to get a opposum cage out of him. As he walked away from the garage I looked over preparing to give him a wave but he just looked away.

Tanya and I loaded the last buns into the car and began the long trip back to Matheson. It was a much cooler trip this time although we had the stress of tailgaters riding up the car's backside for the last half hour of the trip. We finally got home at 7.45pm and she left the car lights on so I could see to unload the buns and feed them.

On going inside I found that nearly everyone had left except for Di, Rich and Lorraine. While Tanya and I were away Diane and Rich had set up my computer and printer, TV, DVD and video player plus Rich had put my heat lamp up in the bathroom. After a bit of a chat everyone left and I was finally able to let my cats out of their cages after TWELVE hours. Felt terrible about it but Lorraine had bought her dog and I couldn't release them early like I'd hoped. The four cats looked around the cottage, had a drink and discovered where the litter trays were. I washed out the bath and had a relaxing soak before falling asleep for a couple of hours at 11pm. I awoke at 1pm as Demelza cat was wandering around upset. I unpacked all the bathroom boxes before making a cup of tea and putting Demelza under the blankets where she curled up and went to sleep.

Sunday April 1st
I got up at 5am and opened up the sitting room blinds so I could watch the sun rise over the fields. Mishka went outside but not for long as he was incredibly stiff and sore from following everyone the day before. The cats looked out the windows but I knew I would have to keep them in for a week to get them used to the place.

At 10am Stu arrived to finish the platform he'd built out from the back door for my ramp. We had a cuppa together before he left again at 2pm although he's coming back to finish the hen run. I lay down on the sofa and had a sleep before feeding everyone late afternoon.

Monday April 2nd
Even my bones were feeling exhausted but I managed to unpack more boxes and have another sleep. Late afternoon I was soaking in the bath when I heard noises out the back. I got dressed and went out to find Rich, Di and Lorraine in the field with the hen house which Richard had dismantled. There was more news as they'd been at Craggy Range Road for six hours as my landlady had rung Diane and told her the cottage was disgusting and she would not allow her father to move in there till it was clean. She complained about leaves on the steps where the ramps had been moved, crumbs in one of the cupboards which I was cleaning out as the truck arrived and never got back to. She said the place smelt. Richard had also had to move all my rubbish which was fair enough as he had intended to do that anyway. The landlady could have rung me and discussed this all with me instead of hassling my sister in law about it but I guess I couldn't expect more than this sort of behaviour after eight years of vicious dogs, dirty water, leaking roofs, freezing cold conditions, no repairs etc.

Wednesday April 4th
Rich and Di came out and while I was in town Diane cleared a hidden concrete path near the garage as well as cutting back the hedge and filling in holes. Couldn't get over the transformation when I got back. After lunch Rich put up the hen house with our help (well we held things........) and we then spent quite a while trying to catch the chicken. We did this by putting a wire cage down one end of their temporary run with some food in it which worked well for the first nine chickens but after that they'd worked out they were on the move again so were reluctant to go in. In the end Rich squeezed in the run and shooed them into the cage although we had a couple make a run for it in the car port before they were caught. All 18 were snugly in their old home in the paddock by 5pm.

Friday April 6th Good Friday
I forgot all about Easter. However I did have some special visitors when my twin cousins Elaine and Margh brought their mother over to visit. Auntie Kathleen is 93 and still living in her own home. Margh kept saying that the cottage was like my old place but so much better.

Saturday April 7th
My new landlady Cathy had generously left her lounge suite, computer table and aquarium for me to use. However that afternoon I noticed the tank was leaking so left a frantic message on her answering service. I'd only been here a week and already I was about to kill her fish!
Let the cats out for the first time in a week. Piper came out and took one look before going back into the kitchen whereas Peaches was excitedly looking round the back and getting bombed by swallows in the process. Demelza didn't even come out.

Sunday April 8th
My friend Denise, her mother, son and brother Darren from Australia came for morning tea. While they were here Cathy rang and said she had no idea what was going on with the tank but to ask Richard if he had any ideas. I was also able to ask her about feeding/cleaning schedules for the fish. After her call I rang Richard the resident family fish expert and he told me I probably had the glass top too far over which meant the condensation from the water was running down the tank sides. Needless to say he was right.

Monday April 9th
I spent an hour taking a third of the aquarium's water out and replacing it with fresh. Looks great in there now. Also did an hours gardening round by the clothes line. The garden here is filled with all my favourite cottage flowers: roses, lavender, heartease, herbs, rosemary, foxgloves, camellias and fushias. There is even a walnut tree in the front yard.

Mish and Peaches followed me round the whole perimeter of the property before we sat on a huge tree trunk and looked out over the mountains. Gypsy and Piper joined up for fifteen minutes before the flies got to us. Let the chickens out and within five minutes they discovered every hole in the fence and came through to create havoc. Spent half an hour chasing one mad rooster round the backyard before managing to shoo him through the back gate back into the field.

Tuesday April 10th
Rang Darren the farrier and asked if I could hire him to collect Briar from Craggy Range Road. He said yes and promised to ring later with a time for sometime this week. Just have to find a ride for the goat now.

Spent a frantic day unpacking. Managed to get alot of books back on their shelves and then pulled everything out of the spare room which had been crammed to the door with boxes for a week. Got the bed Tanya gave me assembled and then dragged everything back in. Then went under the front car port and unloaded my big whicker basket which had been too heavy to move on shifting day. Four trips back with stuff meant it was light enough to bring inside where it will live in the spare room with my jewellery stand on top. Now just have to organise an ongoing supply of sawdust for under the rabbit cages, firewood and hopefully get the large animals back here.

Tuppence

It's now two years since Demelza brought in a tiny baby sparrow she'd caught. Fortunately being a highly inefficient hunter meant that as per usual she "lost" her prey. As I had no idea where she'd found this bird I was unable to put it back into a tree for its parents to find so put it in a cardboard box and convinced myself it would probably die of shock. However when I checked a while later it opened its beak so I mixed up some chicken mince with warm water and fed it. To cut a long story short Tuppence survived and grew into a pretty male sparrow with attitude. Originally I was going to release him back into the wild but unfortunately he has no fear of cats, even pulling their fur and tweaking their tail if they sit beside his cage (which they tend to do if they think I'm not in the vicinity). He always flies back to you when he's out exercising and pulls my hair and chats away to me. He has an ongoing love affair with his mirror and bell which he periodically bashes. Strangely though his song has altered and you can hear him whistling the cats (as I do) as well as saying hello on occasion.

Piper has spent the past four nights inside which is unusual. I have been worried as she has lost some weight but put that down to her cardiomyopathy. However yesterday she was absolutely drooling and unable to eat. Of course I managed to convince myself she was going into renal failure but when I offered her some meat mid morning she was interested but only seemed able to pick chunks out, placing them beside the dish. I had some soft cat food which I put out and she scoffed this with relish so I think she may have a tooth problem. I had a look but couldn't see anything but will keep an eye on her for the next few days to see how she goes. The drooling has eased today and she managed to eat her breakfast today so hopefully it was only a minor problem. This is the latest photo of Piper and she was relaxed enough to allow me to show her stumpy tail.

Flight Of The Wasp

Packing is on hold at the moment since I've run out of boxes. Have completed tearing my bedroom to bits though, taking down all the nick nacks I usually have to dust. Still have alot to do with just nine days till the move. Have lists of lists of tasks and am feeling really stressed.

In the middle of all this Sunday I was moving all my potted plants from the patio when something black flew into my face. Next moment I was in excrutiating pain-turns out I was stung in the nose by a paper wasp. Don't recommend it as you end up feeling like you've been hit by a bat.

Had a trip back out to Tiko last week to see the place again and meet a couple of the neighbours. The landlady is leaving a few things behind including her aquarium of fish and some items of furniture which I can use. She is moving out about the 28th but says I can begin shifting things in before then. It's just a matter of finding people willing to help as it is an hour's drive from my current home to the new place.

Oh and yesterday the current landlord and landlady came over with a tradesman to measure the cottage for carpet and lino. Looks like the whole place is going to be renovated once I'm gone. C'est la vie!

Giving Up Dusting

I'm giving up dusting for Lent. Well not so much making a sacrifice but coming to the realisation that it's foolish dusting the furniture when I'm packing everything anyway. The whole shifting business is so daunting- I'm trying not to think about it. I do have moments of satisfaction though like Sunday when I managed to condense 14 boxes of items into three. Well most of the boxes only had a couple of things in the bottom anyway so really it was no great feat. When I moved here over eight years ago I only had my bedroom furniture and had to borrow chairs and a couple of tables. Storage here is at a premium so much of my "stuff" has been sitting in the boxes they arrived in. My sister once asked when I was going to unpack but the truth is that I had nothing to put anything in so what was the point? However sifting my way through a lifetime of accumulated dross has forced me to be a bit ruthless- if I haven't seen things in eight years are they really that important? The problem with inveterate hoarders like myself is that you always convince yourself that something is going to "come in handy one day".

I have been awake since 3am today. Tried to get back to sleep only to have Peaches leap across from the bed onto the dressing table sending two pictures and all my crystal figurines (given to me by family and one now deceased friend) crashing down behind the chest of drawers. 4am saw me reaching behind trying to rescue things and trying not to freak about all the spider's webs I could feel. Amazingly the only things that were broken were a crystal duck's tail which had separated from its body and a tiny rabbit who has lost its ears again. Managed to find all the pieces and will try and repair them again before packing them for safety's sake. I have a feeling it's going to be a long long day.............

Another miracle

I spoke to Doug the vet yesterday and he confirmed that Piper would definitely be dead by now as she hasn't had her medication for a week and her cardiomyopathy is severe. So I can state that another miracle has occurred since Piper turned up at 6.45am today. Thin, her voice pretty much gone and her heart doing a tap dance, but alive. After giving her a relieved cuddle I got some propranalol down her and dished out a big breakfast which she scoffed down. At the moment she is sitting up on top of the fridge with her feet neatly tucked underneath her as if nothing has happened.

Goodbye Piper

It's now a week since Piper disappeared so I must come to terms that she is dead. I contacted the vet earlier this week and the receptionist had a word with him before ringing back to say that he felt her meds were now out of her system and she was extremely ill and hiding away. They both felt the prognosis was poor. I know Doug didn't think she would survive the examination he gave her way back in June and refused to give her any medication at the visit as he was worried her heart would give out from the stress of administering it. The propranalol pills brought Piper back to her old self, she was even frisky and playing with the water out of the hose like she did as a kitten. She had eight months more life than we thought she would and although I knew her life wouldn't be long I am still so sad that it was cut short as it was. Piper was only three years old.

Spinning, Sorting the Crap and the Pu Birds

What is it about this place that makes the cats want to leave? Angel has been walkabout for three months this time and now Piper has disappeared. It's been two days since she last came for a feed so I'm hoping that she's lying bloated somewhere with paws all over the place full of roasted rat. Wouldn't worry half as much if she didn't have cardiomyopathy and need medicating twice daily.

I have half got the job spinning alpaca for the place down south. However my sample although perfectly even and weighted (whatever that means) was over spun which apparently is a by product from spinning angora for so long. They're sending another sample for me to mangle and if I can get the tension right while remembering to spin finely and ply properly I'll have the job! Fortunately I'd bought some alpaca from the Creative Fibre Festival in Taradale last year so hauled this out to practice. Result was a skein that hangs down straight and is fluffy so hope this solves the tension problem. Skein for sale on Trademe for $12.

Just heard a noise and looking out the front see five pukekos feeding outside my place. Obviously a family unit out for their version of a Sunday drive although I can't tell if there are any kids whining "Are we there yet?" Three paradise ducks are having a row further out in the paddock and one has bravely flown in to annoy the pu birds. Gypsy cat is sitting beside the cattle stop utterly bemused by the whole scene. Even she has to admit they're too big for her to catch!

My friend Tanya rang last night as she had been trying to get a friend who works for a local removal company to move me for free. A no goer apparently although the guy has offered his personal services for one morning (woo hoo!). Was able to report that I've made quite an inroads into the crap (um sorry) treasures stored in the Widdly Room. Even rediscovered my perfume bottle collection and a metronome. Am trying to downsize by cramming the contents of two boxes into one all the time. Sometimes it works but more often than not I find some sentimental item I can't possibly throw out despite not having looked at it for nine years. In particular every school exercise book from my childhood, eighty year old copies of The School Journal and two inch long pencils. I mean they might be worth something someday!

Outages Of The Electrical And Ihugal Variety

A little white bantam hen died yesterday morning. She'd been growing a nasty looking "thing" on her leg recently (not scaly leg) and I had decided to have her put down when she beat me to it. I only have two white hens left out of the seven I once had. They're completely mad and at the moment rather a pain as they're so stuffed with windfall plums from the tree in the backyard that they don't want to go into the hen house at night with the others. I watch them sunbathing in the garden in the afternoons although they keep their feathers on unlike their poor cousin to the left.

Since the cold snap last week there has been a distinctly autumnal feel in the air despite the warm temperatures. We even managed a little rain storm last night. I know this as the washing machine began turning itself on and off at 3am. Getting up to check I discovered the power was fluctuating so decided to pull the plugs on all electrical appliances. While doing this the electricity cut out completely so had to feel my way back to bed praying I wouldn't squish a cat in the process. Everything is back on this morning though except Ihug my ISP who is having yet another melt down and not delivering any email. They still advertise themselves as being voted New Zealand's No 1 provider- I can only assume that the voters were the mothers of the staff as I don't know anyone who doesn't find their service frustratingly inadequate.

Miracles Happen!

After months of searching a place came through the internet last Thursday. I didn't ring at first as it was way down in Central Hawkes Bay where I'd never thought of moving. However apart from the location it sounded it had everything I needed so I rang for an appointment to view.

It was a cold grey morning last Saturday when my brother, sister in law and I drove up into the hills. The cottage was easy to find and as soon as we went inside I found myself in a peaceful sitting room looking over the fields with two beautiful cats lying on the chairs as the welcoming committee. The kitchen was twice the size of mine with a large sunny picture window and masses of bench space which I'm not used to. There are three bedrooms, one is presently a computer room and the wardrobe in this has shelves for papers (in fact there is masses of storage throughout the house). One small bedroom gets the afternoon sun and like the much of the cottage is painted blue. There is a Lady Kitchener Stove in the sitting room attached to a wetback to heat the water and apparently the whole house is lovely and warm in the winter which will be a great change for me.

Right at the back door is a large covered in car port which would be ideal for the rabbits (it's larger than where they are) and so the only thing I'd have to think there is about manure as it's a concrete floor so I may need to get trays with dirt or shavings. There is also a single garage and tack room and one hectare of grazing with Smedley Station surrounding the property. There is a cottage garden and lovely big trees on the western boundary and on the front lawn.

After looking round Cathy (the owner) invited us in for a cuppa at 11am- we finally left at 1.30pm after talking animals all that time with a cat sitting on each of us (watching Richard cuddling an Abyssinian was something else!) As we left Cathy looked at me and said "It's yours if you want it". Well we talked ALL the way home about the pitfalls but they were all insignificant compared to the fact that this is a place that seems so "me" so in the evening I told Cathy I would take the place. She said several people were after it but she had really wanted me to have it. After all the recent experiences I had with negative landladies telling me no one would want me as a tenant I nearly cried.

Now it's very COLD in Tikokino- in fact sometimes it snows. This is going to take some coping with for a woman who wears jerseys in the middle of summer. However although it feels isolated out there I am only 30 minutes from Hastings, 20 from Waipawa and 25 from Waipukurau. I'll just continue shopping once a fortnight to save petrol. So to cut a long story short at the end of next month I will be moving.

Alpaca

I have applied for a job spinning alpaca fibre with a company that makes scarves etc. Received 10 grams of carded fibre last week to spin up a sample as they want to see if I can make the yarn very fine with nine twists per inch. Sincerely hope mine is up to scratch- will send it off this afternoon.

Cheyenne

The hot weather was knocking my chocolate angora doe Cheyenne around so I removed her coat in early January to make her comfortable and get her back on her food. This seemed to work for a while but a few days ago she became weak in her hind legs and her kidneys began to fail. She passed away yesterday morning aged four and a half years. The symptoms were very similar to those her grandmother Morticia who had a kidney infection at the same age. The vet had treated her with antibiotics but one night three weeks later she passed away as well so obviously there was a weakness there. Morticia was the first of my new batch of angoras bought in as a baby in 1999. What is strange is that I still have Cheyenne's parents who are now elderly but still going strong. The photo shows her at eight weeks with her brother Cadbury.

Meadow has been having problems with her left eye so last week I took her to the vet. Dye was put in the eye and it showed up a corneal scratch from a piece of hay. An infection had developed so I had to administer Tricin eye ointment for a week before she returned to the vet yesterday. He was really pleased as the inflammation and the lesion had gone so now she is having steroidal drops and tricin three times a day just to get the eye fully back to normal. Obviously it's not my favourite job as Meadow has a temper on her if you're doing anything like that. As her cage hasn't got a hay rack I will pull one from one of the other cages and wire it on to stop her pulling hay in with her and rolling in it!

A woman who had answered my ad for a cottage two weeks ago (she didn't like cats or the sound of my dog so I wiped her from my mind) decided to ring me back Monday. It wasn't to say she had changed her mind but to say her husband says I have too many animals. She finished the conversation by saying no one would want me as a tenant. I was floored by such a nasty comment. I am fast becoming one of those people who prefer their pets to people.

This week I emailed the real estate agent who sold my parent's place nine years ago. He replied saying he'll alert all his rural agents to keep an eye out for a place. I'm not too hopeful as I find landlords don't usually put their places through agents but it was worth a shot. I've also put an advert in Hawkes Bay Today for Saturday. $26! Kereru school replied to an email I sent a month ago saying yes they do have a newsletter and I'm welcome to advertise in it. My mailman came in late afternoon and mentioned the tenants in the other rental down the road were moving and I should ring the owners. He gave me their name and I tentatively called the farm. The owner was very nice and said they'd found a new tenant weeks ago but they have another cottage coming free in mid April although it would only be for a couple of months. She did take my phone number though and said she'll ask around for me which I thought was very kind. Restored my faith in human nature a bit.

I have also been told RHD is back in the bay. In short it's raging through the areas where I'm hoping to move. Although my bunnies were vaccinated in 2005 and I was told it was life long I keep wondering if I should get a booster shot done. I hate that virus.

Peaches

I love Peaches with all my heart but there's no denying the cat has a huge problem with flatulence. Imagine my horror then to wake up the other morning and find she'd moved position from sleeping halfway down the bed to my pillow. The first I knew about it was when I turned over and found my face buried into a hairy posterior.

Last night I put Mishka out for the last time at about 9.30pm and was trying to entice Demelza into the cottage when Peach ran outside. I always try to keep her in at night so felt quite sick to the stomach at the thought of trying to catch her. Finally I went out with a box of cat biscuits and by rigorously shaking them managed to get within grabbing distance. Of course she knew what I was about and darted away at the last minute plus Demelza decided to pick a fight so every time Peaches came near me. Finally I went down the driveway and as she went to dash past made a running grab at her tail. Realizing the gig was up Peaches didn't put up much of a fight as I brought her inside.

Then of course Demelza didn't want to come inside as she was certain her nemesis was still roaming around in the dark. I finally caught her by scattering dried biscuits up into the house. Not a good way to find sleep so I read till 10.45pm.

The weather has cooled down slightly with misty drizzly days. Makes it easier on the rest of the animals and I'm not so exhausted either. Only two months till I have to move now. Rang one place out at Maraetotara and the landlady said there was no grazing with the cottage. Had just hung up from her when the phone rang and it was the lady who owns the jack Briar went to visit two years ago. I had left a message asking her to keep her ear to the ground about a rental. She hadn't heard of anywhere but told me she's staying in Wellington over the winter and I could mind her property for six months from the end of April. She is way way out in the countryside and of course I'll have to put my possessions in storage but at least it's somewhere to live. She said if I was willing to look after her animals we would come to some sort of arrangement.

The following day a woman rang from west of Hastings after seeing my advert in the Thursday Trader. She had a cottage to rent but my mentioning my cats and the dog seemed to curb her enthusiasm as she's had bad experiences with previous tenants' animals. I did assure her that Mishka is not a sheep killer but that didn't seem to help. She said she had other tenants to review and she'd keep my details but I won't hold my breath. A real estate agent I know is marketing a place outside Hastings at the moment and said she'll ask the eventual buyer if they'd consider renting it out so that's another option. Also John has spoken to farming friends of his who have their finger on the pulse out at Puketapu. The whole summer feels taken up by the worry of finding somewhere to live and trying to convince total strangers to trust that I would look after their property.