Spring blossom update (or... plants that I still haven't killed yet)

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 Granny smith reporting


First hazelnut is go


Otaki peach survived the pot and replanting



Brayburn hanging in there


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Hostel : Glasgow : Night moves

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I’ve dug up a bit out of an old travel journal.   One night while tucked up in our beds, all eight guys were woken by loud female shouting, out in the stairwell. A truly sublime pair of unfettered bosoms, filled to the quivering liquid brim with booze, burst through the door. She was atmospherically rim lit by light spilling in through the open doorway as she bounced into the room, and planted rank alcoholic kisses on the guy occupying the bed nearest the door. A girlfriend appeared and dragged our invader back to her room. A heavy, round silence closed around us and when it seemed that no more action would unfold, one of the guys on a bottom bunk got up and closed the dorm door. On another occasion, I was woken by someone moving close to my bed. Something must have been up, cause the guy that sleeps below me usually doesn’t interrupt my slumber. A head was moving around in the dark, and I recognised its silhouette as the young guy who occupies the lower bunk across the ro...
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Whale holiday (part three)

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I’m using the new ‘embed’ function in Google Maps, to give you guys an idea of where I was at for a week. The dark polygon approximately outlines the research area. We dropped anchor in the evenings and spent the nights nestled up against the protective curve of the island, and ranged all over the study area during the days. Click on either of the two ‘pins’ and a video should open out showing you the view from that spot. The sunset video was taken on the last night. There is a deep underwater trough which the whales use to exit the bay.
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Breaking wind 2025

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Updated the de-mountable windbreak system on the raised gardens. Still using pallets but plastic sides and less wooden slates means less shade and the breaks are lighter to move about.  Previous efforts can be seen here  breaking-wind-2022  
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Winter garden established for 2024

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The first lot of chickpeas in bed one have finished, so in the stubble, I planted carrots, cabbage, fennel, and spinach. The capsicums should be finished soon, and then I'll put the cover back on the mini tunnel house. Tomatos almost done in bed two, planted out some beans and mustard to grow over the winter. In bed three, the soy plants are almost done, and I like the layer of leaf mulch that they leave behind. I've left the stalks and roots in the soil to rot. I've sown some mustard and peas in the soil for green manure. Last of the corn has attracted some sort of black insect so I"m not expecting much from the last couple of plants. The beans I planted among the stalks are still going. I've finished the summer lettuce shade house and I'm hoping to grow snow peas over the winter. In the summer I'll grow cucumbers to block out some of the solar.
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Grape update: Jan

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The grapes have started to ripen.... Which means my competition with the birds is on. The local black birds don't seem to be concerned with how sweet the fruit is. They will happily eat the green unripe grapes. I've noticed them swallow fruit whole so I don't think they care about taste. Word seems to be being passed about. The number of visitors seems to be increasing as the month slips by. I have been protecting individual grape bunches with plastic mesh bags. Ran out of bags so tried to protect the rest with a net.       These birds are diabolically sly and managed to muscled through gaps. I've purchased some more bags and now what is left of the crop has some sort of protection. Found that the birds have now started to pull the bags off, so I'm securing them with clothes pegs.    
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