On Monday night the temperature dropped dramatically at midnight and we assumed the worst but were fortunate as the temperature danced all over the place for a few hours.

However at 6am it dropped very quickly to -2C in the coldest spot hence Sam cranked up the sprinklers and it was all go for two hours until the temperature rose to above freezing.

The Early Ril apricot blossoms are all out as are the Sundrops.

The Moorparks and the rest of the apricots will be out during the next week.

Season after season I am continually amazed at the beauty of blossoms.

Isn’t nature just lovely!

 

Sam is pruning the plums at present and once he finishes them, he will start on the apples.

Ruby is busy with the tunnel houses and gardens.

Aunty Belle has her comfy chair parked beside wherever Ruby is working for a good part of the day when it’s warm enough.
She has her laptop, swingball and art materials so she leads a very busy life!

With Sam working further out in the Orchard, she spies on him with her binoculars and is so joyful when she catches a glimpse of him.

How my little Belle loves her younger sister and brother and they love her.

How lucky I am to have such a wonderful content bunch.

My dear Mother would have turned 81 today.

We will never forget how happy she was living with us; as a peaceful happy home is all she ever longed for.

Love and miss you Mum.

In our tranquil garden, bird life is prolific as the diverse vegetation lends its self to a wide collection of species which includes, wood pigeon, bellbird, wax-eye, tui, chaffinch, goldfinch, lesser redpolls, song thrush and quail.

When my children were youngsters, they would spend hours in their pirate ship (an apple bin) which was located in their own secret garden; bird-watching with their binoculars and clip boards to record the different birds visiting and their feeding habits.

They talk often of their wonderful pirate ship days.

 

 

 

 

 

Rabbits have invaded our vege garden for the second year running.

The little sods have eaten four hundred newly planted lettuces and cabbages with a side nibble of onion tops.

The garden and tunnel houses are Ruby’s domain so she is not impressed!

Sam and I feel her pain as she propagates all her seedlings.

Sam and Ruby go night shooting and their tally is impressive  most nights but of course with the vast rabbit numbers, netting is the only solution hence they have been busy installing this over the past few days in their spare time.

All completed today which is a relief as the peas and broad beans will be sown shortly.

Ruby has done an impressive job hand-digging the huge garden area as the rotary hoe is too powerful for her and tends to throw her side to side and gets away on her.

It is quite funny to watch.

Frost-fighting hasn’t started yet which is a relief.

Now that flowering has begun we need a couple of weeks of nice weather to give the bees a chance to pollinate the blossoms.

If the weather turns ugly they sit in their hives singing “Kumbaya” which isn’t helpful. Lazy little blighters!

 

Here are some snaps I took today.