The silver ones are the big, adventurous boys, even with their eyes shut. The runt is a boy. The other two are girls.

Scamp number two.

Black and white make ... silver! Looks odd with the tan, I reckon.

There are five puppies,each with different markings.

The runt of the litter...

...looks like his mother.

Eyes open at last!

Fourteen days old. Definitely doesn't fit in my hand any more!

Awww...

Same puppy that I was holding.

Flood!

Thursday, November 30th, when I was supposed to be packing and sorting out my room before going away for 2 weeks, we had a flood! Now I know what flooding can do here, I shall be watching the river as carefully as Colin and Dorothy do.
After shifting three scrapping bulls from paddock to yards then onto a truck, we spent 6 or 7 hours moving the stock on the flats out of reach of the water, hoping that the water wouldn't rise beyond a certain level or we'd have to move them again. :c/ We had 9 mobs to move, plus Pilgrims' calves and two mobs of cows with reluctant calves. 7 of the mobs have bulls with them, and these must not come too close to each other, nor next to the river (the bulls are likely to swim across to visit the neighbours while the electricity isn't working), which requires much complicated juggling of positions. On top of that, we had to work at speed on terribly bumpy paddocks and at the end even through knee-deep water and across a waterfall that had earlier been a crossing. Scarey. We succeeded without mishap, thankfully!

The morning after the flood...

It was windy, too. Poor dunny...!

Shifting to the hayshed...

Puppies!

Two boards left to screw down (kitchen) - yay!






First party in the new house, celebrating the completion of the wooden floors.

Colin Gilbert, my boss.

I have yet to take a close-up picture of Dorothy...

Laying the tongue-in-groove floor in the games room.






1,728 screws, three drillings per screw (pilot hole, countersink, screw) ... I was very glad of the skateboard for moving up and down the rows!

Family to visit.

How to become the favourite aunty - the one with the quad...!

Checking out the dog...
(Castle Craig in background)

Topsy

This newly orphaned lamb spent the first couple of days hiding behind the fireplace.











Helping with the weeding...












Becoming bolder...

Peaceful water - before the falls.

The Puaroa Valley, heading out to the back of the farm.

We have flat, and we have steep...

The new house - it isn't actually tilted like that!

SPRING

Spring is here with lots of warm days, lambs, calves, and fast-growing grass. I discovered today how out-of-touch with the affairs of the world I am when I arrived at church this morning. I was about ten minutes late, but ten minutes on, the service came to an end! Daylight Saving had arrived and I was completely unaware, so I was actually an hour and ten minutes late! Fortunately at Kinohaku they always have a shared lunch after the service, so I did have some fellowship, and the twenty-minute drive each way wasn't wasted.
I have been minding the farm alone since Wednesday afternoon. Dorothy and Colin travelled to Kaikohe to visit some of their children and grandchildren. They return this evening (Sunday). This is the second time they have gone away and left me in charge. Last time was for two days (one night). Once the farm is running more smoothly, they will be able to go on longer trips while leaving the farm in my increasingly capable hands... ;c)
I haven't been alone the whole time, as an Israeli couple came to stay the weekend. Colin and Dorothy are hosts on the Hospitality for Israeli Travellers (HIT) list, as well as being back-up hosts for Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWoOF). Spring is the start of the tourist season. So far we have had two German girls as wwoofers, and this Israeli couple as HITs. Assaf and Moran are in NZ on their honeymoon. With Colin and Dorothy away, I enjoyed being hostess on my own, and gave them a really good NZ farm experience by taking them around the farm on the quad. Later we went down to Marokopa beach where they saw black sand for the first time. Their comment after the farm tour was that they didn't need to go anywhere else, as there couldn't be any place more beautiful! I couldn't have been more pleased!!
Assaf had a little trouble with his camera memory card, so he loaded some of the pictures taken on the farm onto our laptop to see if everything was okay. Now I have more photos without having to wait until I have my films developed - hurray!

I could live with these surroundings forever.

The new house and garage/ workshop/ sleepout. The old house in which we currently reside is about the same size as that garage.





Looking east from the new house towards the Puaroa Valley.








Bess on top of Castle Craig with the Puaroa Valley, the neighbour's bluffs, and all of the Waikato and Bay of Plenty beyond her.

FINALLY! To the farm job at last.

The last seven months have gone quickly, yet time has seemed to drag. Now I am finally heading to Castle Craig to stay. I fell in love with this valley on my first visit (April), in spite of the weather, which was worse than when I took these photos (early July). Perhaps you'll be able to see why when you look at the photos. It's a whole lot better seen live.

Castle Craig Farm. Looking east up to Castle Craig from the old house. This is the view from the dining/living room. Sunrises can be spectacular, but in my opinion the view isn't to be compared with those seen from the new house.

Looking west out to sea (which is visible on a sunny day) from Castle Craig.
These pictures are in high resolution, so clicking on the them for an enlargement should show much better detail. The new house is almost in the centre of the picture, just beyond the clump of trees in the foreground. Guy and Christobel's house is down the hill to right. The old house is on the far right on the other side of the river in front of the shelter belt.
These were taken on a very wet day after a very wet fortnight, which is why the drains on the flats have flooded. Since the property is bounded by two rivers, which join somewhere just above the centre of the picture, flooding is common. The question is not, "Will it flood this year?" but, "How many times will it flood?"

Looking southwest from the kitchen. What a view to go with washing dishes! And we can keep a watchful eye on the stock at the same time. The property goes as far as the stream that winds through that band of trees.

Looking southeast from the end of the ridge. The grassy knoll will probably become part of the terraced vegetable gardens. The window on the far left of the picture is in my room - or it will be my room once the house is ready for occupation.

Looking west from the library, on the same side as the kitchen. The verandah will eventually have a board covering, and the mess beyond it will be developed into terraced garden.

Backyard antics...




...oh...uh, hello, Aunty.

Pick me up, Aunty!