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Milking Time

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Every morning and evening, I go out and milk the cow.  It’s a great time to be outside (most of the time), and very peaceful.  Most of the time, I get to be by myself out there!  Right now, I’m milking along the roadside, because we have her grazing there. Here are a few little glimpses of milking time.

I get to enjoy these roses along the house as I walk out to milk.

Here she comes! My obedient cow comes when I call her.

I often get to see this duck and her 12 ducklings when I’m out to milk.

I get to watch these sheep and lambs across the road.

I can see these hills just past Cheviot from where I milk; the one with the road up it is the Camel’s Hump.

Ready to milk.

This beggar practically always joins me, rubbing around and asking for attention, waiting for his milk.

These two came out to see me, too.And the news of the week?  We have to move.  Our landlord’s son wants this house, so within 2-3 months we have to find somewhere else to live.

Disconnected

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We’ve had quite an interesting week!  Monday and Tuesday were normal days, but Tuesday night when we went to bed there was a strong wind blowing and I saw online that a violent storm was making its way north up the island towards us.  Soon after we went to bed, apparently about 11:00, the power went out–and didn’t come back on for over 42 hours! Towards morning, we started having thunder and lightning, and when it was light enough to see we saw a number of branches down around the place.  There was no power where Gayle works, either, so after he went in to see if there was anything he could do with the power out, he came home again to start cleaning up the mess around here.  The boys really enjoyed working with their daddy on that kind of job!  I spent the day working on the mending pile.  Of course, without electricity, I couldn’t use the sewing machine, so I just pinned on patches and did some hand sewing.  The entire mending pile is now waiting for me to sit down at the sewing machine–I should be able to whip right through once I get there.  Esther spent the day reading and writing, but it was rather frustrating because the day was so dark and cloudy.  We don’t realize how reliant we are on electricity till we don’t have it anymore.  We were very thankful for the gas grill we had been given, enabling us to at least cook, and for the fact that we have chest freezers rather than upright ones.  I moved all the things from the fridge freezers to the chest freezers, and we opened them as little as possible.  I also fed the fresh milk to the calves, since we had no way to chill it.  The milk that was already in the one fridge stayed fresh, since I had turned the temperature way down a couple of days earlier and forgot to turn it back up–the milk froze in it!  That was a blessing in disguise!  We used up the food that would go bad in the other fridge, but mostly we had milk products in there which are all right even if they warm up.

That evening we had a very interesting experience.  About an hour before dark,  a car pulled up at the driveway.  There were four people in it, three men and one woman, French tourists in the country for nine months.  They are trying to see the country in the least expensive way, and were asking for a place to set up their tents for the night!  We gave them permission to camp in our yard, and invited them in for supper.  I put together a stew for supper, using potatoes and cooked beef from the fridge, a couple of jars of tomatoes and one of carrots, and a leek that Simon brought in.  Soon after I put it on the grill to cook, I realized that the flame was lower than it had been.  Sure enough, the flame went out after awhile, but the stew was hot enough to eat.  The leeks were just a bit crunchy, still!  We had a fun evening chatting with our surprise guests by the light from headlamps placed strategically around the top of the room, and candles on the table.  They said several times how good the meal was (stew, cabbage salad, bread and butter, and homemade cheese).  I didn’t think it was that extraordinary, but then Gayle asked them what they’ve been eating:  Ramen noodles!  No wonder they enjoyed what we offered!

That night the wind came up again, and by morning was blowing at gale force again.  We still had no power, but at 6:30 Gayle called in to work and learned that they had a generator, so he went in.  I went to town as soon as the shop opened to get a new cylinder of gas so we could cook breakfast!  Our French visitors left about the same time Gayle left for work–I was relieved, as they had pitched their tents close to a big gum tree, which was swaying their way in the strong wind.  It didn’t fall, but if it had it would have crushed them.

The second day, the sun shone and it was bright–what a nice change.  We still had no power all day, and I was preparing myself mentally for another dark evening of cooking over the grill outside, and planning a breakfast and lunch for the next day that would not require cooking or washing dishes.  Then, praise God, the power came back on at 5:35!  What a wonderful sight.  Life is now back to normal for us, and we didn’t lose any more than a cup or two of food. The boys were quite disappointed; they like playing with candles.  One of them was saving all the extra wax that ran off the candles, and melted it down, making another candle from it.

We were also glad be be back in touch with the rest of the world, although it was very peaceful and quiet during the power cut!  We had no internet, of course, and the cell service was also out.  Our landline worked the first day, but the second day it didn’t.

Aftermath of the storm; Gayle and the boys piled up the branches that were too small for firewood.

Another storm rolling in over the hills to the west of us. We had an interesting experience the week before, also.  We had helped to organize a meeting here in Cheviot with a speaker from Creation Ministries International.  We had a barbeque before the meeting; about 50 people came for that, and there were probably about 75 at the meeting itself.  That was very good, but we also really enjoyed having the speaker, Tas Walker, and his driver in our home for the night.  Friday morning before they took off for Christchurch, we took them, and a single lady from our church, who also slept here overnight in her van, to Gore Bay.  We really enjoyed our chance to get to know Tas.

Our dear friend Pete helped with the cooking.

The men cooking sausages for the BBQ. Tas Walker is the second from the left.

Cathedral Gully above Gore Bay–beautiful erosion!

The boys enjoyed this little cave.

We admired the rock layers in Port Robinson, just around the point from Gore Bay.

Fine rock layers. The geology of Gore Bay is amazing.

Sea tulips–a type of sea squirt.

Our picnic, after exploring Gore Bay.

His own personal table, complete with food and drink!

Beach Clean Up

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We were given a trip on Whale Watch this week.  They asked that, in return, we spend some time doing a beach clean up.  Last week, we had a day that was so lovely and warm that we decided we would do it then, at Gore Bay.  We split up into two groups; three of the boys went one way and the rest of us went the other way.  I told them to start back after half an hour and we would meet up near the start.  It is amazing, and disgusting, what you find on the beach!  Why don’t people pick up after themselves?  Most of what we found had been thrown under the bushes at the edge; there were a lot of beer bottles.  Yuck!  We also found an old tire and some lumber, but the most unusual find was the huge wad of frayed rope that the boys found!

One group went north.

One group went south.

He said he wouldn’t help, since he couldn’t go on Whale Watch, but when we got started he couldn’t resist! After our time cleaning up (and deciding we should do it again in a few weeks), I let the boys play on their “raft” again for awhile.  They sure are having fun poling that around the lagoon!

While we waited for the rafters to come back, these two built a bridge. I found this mermaid’s purse.Mussel shell with coral on it.The biggest find of the day!

And then, the camera got dipped into the water, so we had to buy a new one in order to take pictures when we went on Whale Watch!

Jed River Cemetary

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Last Saturday was a gorgeous, warm (for winter) day, so Gayle suggested that we take our lunch out to Gore Bay and have a picnic.  What a good idea!  Since it was high tide and therefore not good for beachcombing, we decided to try to find an old Maori graveyard that a local farmer pointed out to the boys last spring.  We didn’t find that, but we did find an early European cemetery, dating back to the earliest days of settlement in this area.  The most recent burial there was 19 years ago.  There are around 25-30 graves, only about 1/3 of which are marked.  It was a beautiful spot for a cemetery–on top of a hill overlooking the Jed Estuary and Gore Bay, and so peaceful.

Getting ready to go

To go to the cemetery, we had to cross the mouth of the Jed River/Buxton Creek. It was only an inch or two deep, but with it being high tide, there were often several inches of water. Seth ended up carrying the two youngest over by himself!The trail from the beach to the cemetery was fun!

The Jed Estuary, with an old woolshed on the far side, and Gore Bay in the distance.

This is all that marked one grave.

All that’s left of the gate to the cemetery.

After exploring the cemetery, the boys worked on punting their “raft”–a large forked log–around the lagoon at the place where the Jed River and Buxton Creek flow into the sea.  They had great fun learning to maneuver it around, and then pulled it out so it will hopefully still be there next time we go.

The boys reenacted Hone Heke, a Maori chief in the 1840s, who chopped down an English flagpole on a hill overlooking present-day Russell, four times.

A hut that someone built out of driftwood. Daddy helped pull the log to a deeper part of the lagoon. Pulling the log out

Exciting Birthday!

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Today is my birthday, and I had a wonderful birthday present–my cow calved this morning!  She was nearly a week late, so we’ve been keeping a close eye on her.  Last night she looked like she was very close, so we moved her into a paddock (we had her beside the road) so the calf wouldn’t end up on the road.  When I went out at 6:30 this morning to check on her, it was apparent that she was in labor, but she also had milk fever and couldn’t get up.  Of course, Gayle was at work, so I called our landlord, who knows a lot about cows, and asked him if he would be able to come over and give her some calcium.  He very kindly came over soon, and instead of giving her the oral calcium that I had, he gave her two bags under her skin.  He tried to hit a vein, but missed both times.  It still works, just not quite as fast.  We continued to watch her closely, and around 9:00 I felt inside to see if the calf was in the right position.  It was, and half an hour later the feet started showing.  Around 10:00 she finally stood up!  The feet and nose disappeared back inside, and she took a break for awhile, eating some grass and hay.  By 11:00, though, the calf was born–a healthy little bull.  The children all got to watch.  They had been hoping for that.  They’ve had quite the education–they witnessed the breeding and now the birth.

And here’s a funny:  This is Chestnut’s third calf, and all three have been born on a Thursday.  We’ve had four different goats kid here, and three have kidded on a Thursday.  What are the odds of that happening?

Just born!

Everyone wants to meet the new baby!

Worn out.

This afternoon, the two oldest boys went to help a local man “tail” lambs.  Of course, lambs are born with long tails, but if you leave the tails on, poo builds up on them and then flies lay eggs…. I’ll spare you the details, but it’s kinder to cut off the tails.  At the same time, they notch the ears for identification, and “ring” the males.  This farm has around 2,000 ewes, so there are 3-4,000 lambs.  The farm is in the hills directly east of Cheviot.  We were able to drive the van to the back of the farm where they were working, since we have 4-wheel drive in it.  We were going up and down some mighty steep hills!  I have been looking at those particular hills, and the farm road we went up, since we moved here, wishing I could go up them!  What a day for my wish to come true–my birthday!  The views from the top were awesome.  Snow-capped peaks in one direction; the sea in the other.

Ever since we moved to Cheviot I’ve wanted to go to the top of this hill. The tailing operation.

On the way back down, we stopped on the hill at the base of the cell tower (we were higher than the tower when we were back where they were tailing!). We live at the edge of the worked ground in the middle of the picture–just beyond Cheviot.

View to the north from the cell tower.  You can vaguely see the Kaikoura mountains here; in reality they were quite clear.

Look how steep this hill is!

See the cows along the top of the ridge across the valley?

The road we drove on to get to the back of the farm, viewed from the other side of Cheviot. That’s the road I’ve been eyeing for nearly three years!

Water Fight!

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Spring is here; today is warm!  The big boys are away, working for our landlord (they get to drive tractor!), and the younger boys asked if they could have a water fight.  I am trying to say “yes” more often, when I can, so I told them they could.  They have been having great fun!  Baby is having fun, too; he’s been crawling around the yard going from bucket to bucket and getting himself all wet from the wet grass.  Don’t worry about baby and bucket of water; it’s empty now.

No, this isn’t the water fight, but I thought it was cute. This happened this morning.

Today’s Family Fun!

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Our family fun activity today was electric- and halter-breaking our two calves!  It was quite the rodeo, with one calf collapsing and rolling over into the mud, then deciding he would never willingly stand up again.  The other was scared nearly out of his skin.  We did accomplish our purpose (we hope), at least as far as electric-breaking, and got both calves out in the big paddock with the cows.

Charley decides he will not be moving anywhere, ever.

Meatball doesn’t want to move, either.

Daddy’s home! Reinforcements for our side. Poor Charley had no options left.

Meanwhile, the little boys were playing by themselves.

Calves are stuck in tiny enclosures of electric wire to learn what to respect.

Mom is excitedly waiting for her son to arrive!

Investigating each other!

Now they have lots of room to roam.

This Has Been an Interesting Week!

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This week has been very full, and I haven’t had any great inspirations for a good post, so here’s a quick look through some pictures Esther took throughout the week.

Sunday morning was a beautiful morning to drive to church–but apparently eggs are not a good choice for Sunday morning breakfast.  I’ve been watching what we eat and how the children react in terms of carsickness (quite an issue when you go through the Hundalees and along the coast!), and the two weeks lately that we’ve had eggs we’ve had a lot of complaints about upset tummies.  The week in between, when we had granola, no one complained.  Anyway, this time the youngest got sick, for the first time, and got you-know-what all over his shirt, pants, and car seat.  We pulled off immediately and cleaned up while the children enjoyed the ocean.  What we didn’t get a picture of was Daddy down at the water, rinsing out the shirt and pants when an extra-large wave drenched him!

Sunday evening after we got home, one boy asked to look up how to make a slingshot, on YouTube.  A magpie has been terrorizing the boys, and drew blood on one the day before–he came in with his hand pressed against his head, and blood streaming down his forehead. It seems to be a juvenile magpie, just having fun.  (The juvenile delinquent of the bird world?)  So, my boys are out to protect their family from this terrorist and a slingshot seemed to be a halfway decent idea.  This was what he came up with, and we had the materials on hand (milk bottle top and balloon; he added duct tape to secure the balloon later):

Monday was a gorgeous day, and my photographer got some beautiful shots of the animals and the views from around the house. This is our landlord’s paddock of wheat and corners of some of our raised beds.

The cow–happy because she can be near one of the calves, even though he isn’t hers.

The hills west of us in the evening; wheat in the foreground.

Tuesday we went to Christchurch for Dead Boring (homeschool writing group).  The younger children were playing at making a garden in the afternoon.  All five of my boys are in this group–can you pick them out?

The family who hosted DB this time live across the street from the Avon River–still beautiful in most places even if sewage gets in it now!  The water level seems a lot higher than before the February earthquake; if I understand right, the bed of the river was pushed up.

The house next door to our friends is unoccupied; the people moved out after the September quake over a year ago.  This crack goes through their yard.

We drove through a section of town that I hadn’t been in since a week before the February quake.  Although a lot has been cleaned up, the destruction is still incredible.  It seems like all the older, beautiful buildings are gone or going, and only the newer, less pretty ones are left.  So sad.

This picture doesn’t show it very well, but the whole house was sort of “wracked”–almost twisted. This entire area is going to be demolished and not rebuilt.

The Grand Chancellor Hotel–tallest building in Christchurch. It’s been leaning since February 22, and now it’s being demolished.Churches, built out of brick or stone, suffered the most.

…And we were glad to get back home again to our peaceful spot in the country, far away from the quakes and the city!

The roses are blooming!  With 40 bushes around the house, and most of them different varieties, we enjoy quite the array of colors.

While I was in town on Tuesday, I bought 30 kilograms of carrots.  I wanted to bottle 20 kg of them for quick additions to soups, so Wednesday I had the boys peel and chop while I read to them.  They did about half that day.  The next day, they got started on the remaining carrots before I even suggested it, and before I knew what was happening they were finished–with no story to listen to!  They were racing to see who could peel and chop five the quickest.  My boys are growing up.

 

Friday we went back to Christchurch because Gayle had a series of appointments with medical professionals to get a paper saying that he does not have tuberculosis.  Hopefully now our permanent residency visa will go through.

So there you have it–the partial story of our week!  I am very thankful that I don’t have to go to town very often, let alone twice in a week!  Glad to have it over with, but I’m also glad we were able to go and attend Dead Boring, get the medical work done, and we even got to have a date while we were there (a dear friend kept the children for a few hours!).  It was also good to be able to stock up on groceries and get fresh produce that we can’t afford up here (I spent nearly $200 on produce this week–but hadn’t bought much of any for six weeks.)

Gore Bay

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Yesterday the children got the dishes done and the daily housecleaning done in a hurry, so I took them to the ocean.  We only have about a 15-minute drive to Gore Bay.  We spent about an hour there.  It was too cold to play in the water, so they played in the sand while I read stories.  The waves were really high yesterday, and we got to watch a few surfers for awhile.

We go through a range of hills to get to the ocean.

Just before we get to the ocean, the road runs along this cliff at the edge of the most gorgeous valley.

Driving through Gore Bay village–houses to the right, ocean to the left on the other side of the dunes, water’s-edge cliffs ahead.

Down at the beach! Tide was about halfway out when we got there. This is looking south.Looking north along the beach, after we went back up the cliff to where the van was parked.