Another Monday

Sunday was cool and wet but I set the fire on Saturday night so when we got up at around 8am the house was warm and friendly. Played Farmville for a while, attended to a little Email and then drove into Wanganui for coffee and to do a little grocery shopping, stopping off to visit mum and dad at the Aubert Home of Compassion before returning home for lunch.

Dad had just been shaved and generally tidied up for the day when we arrived. He has a lovely room overlooking and atrium with flowering geranium and cineraria and soon to be flowering roses. It's hard to know what's in his mind but I'm sure the flowers would please a lifelong gardener. It was time to move dad into the lounge as we were leaving so I gave him a great ride down the corridors in his chair. He seemed to love it and we didn't knock anyone over!

Mum and dad in happier times:


By mid afternoon the rain eased and I was able to get out into the garden for a few minutes, which of course developed into a few hours, before coming inside for a shower just as Robert and Jennifer were arriving for our usual Sunday dinner date (our place this time). Tonight Janice was on main, Jennifer cooked the veges, Robert brought the ingredients for desert (Janice and Robert prepared it) and I had the real easy job of squeezing the juice out of about 25 oranges. We thoroughly enjoyed our chicken paiella and manzanas asadas.

Today, Monday, saw me into Rotary by 7am, back home and then to Bristol's to check on the newly planted delphinuim trials again. All was well today (3 days since the last visit and 5 days since planting) with only a few plants and labels pulled up. The pukepos are certainly losing interest! Some roots on the delphiniums have now grown from the plug at least an inch into the soil so they will be becoming difficult for the birds to dislodge soon. Then a little weeding of my trial beds at home, some roundup spraying ready for trees, more weeding and before you know it, 5pm and hungry by 6. Right now, a blog, a little more work and Farmville again!

See you tomorrow.

Cheers

Terry

Market Day

Today was market day in Wanganui and we decided it was about time we participated. The group that run the "markets" are called the River City Traders on account of the market being on the banks of the Whanganui river and stalls are available every Saturday morning, year round. There are about 60 stalls all told with vendors selling all maner of crafts and produce from 9am until 1pm. It's a community occasion, a place where friends meet and share the local gossip as well as making a few bob......... which tends to get spent on other stalls, as one does. Today we sold maybe $250 of delphiniums and bought maybe $75 worth of gooddies.

There's a special atmosphere at the River City Traders. It's a blend of friendly conversation, business like banter and riverboat smoke from the PSS Waimarie as she fires up her boilers to take a load of tourists for a ride. Something all tourists the world over expect and are duly delivered no-matter where they are! You can buy yourself freshly brewed coffee (New Zealanders know how to make real coffee - not like that Starbucks rubbish) and there's a couple af ladies making fresh crepes with gorgeous fillings. Or is that gorgeous crepes with fresh fillings? I'll go no further. For entertainment this morning we had Wanganui river, replete with a fresh of fast flowing, muddy water from recent deluges transporting a hungry seagull, complete with a meal of an unfortunate sheep that recently, but not too recently, must have lost its footing somewhere up stream - gripping stuff!

PSS waimarie catching the early morning sun

Back at home I unload the unsold delphiniums and restore them to the irrigation system and then come inside for a late lunch, planning to return outside to plant a couple of trees and an iris (from the market). Of course, just as I'm changed the visitors that I'd arranged some days earlier turn up and we spend the afternoon talking of cancer fighting apple trees, biodynamic farming (I'm a skeptic), plant breeding and cider tasting.

Now the blog.

Then Farmville!! Actually I cheated and did Farmville first.

What a nice day!!!

Cheers

Terry

Tomorrow Today

This morning I went to check on the newly planted delphinium trials again to see if the pukekos had wreaked any more havoc....and I'm pleased to say that they had done very little more and that all the labels were where they should be. Could it be that they don't like delphiniums? I really hope so, but won't hold my breath. The rest of the morning was spent preparing sign stands and organising plants for sale at the Wanganui River Traders market tomorrow. This is in effect a PR job as we don't expect to sell much. This is because the delphiniums that we will have for sale in large pots aren't in flower yet and it is the flowers that really bring the customers - instant gratification don't you know?

So, as I'm working tomorrow I'm going to have the afternoon off and wash the dogs, potter around and get myself in the right frame of mind for "Fries on Friday" with Janice and our friends at our favourite watering hole.

I was speaking with Debbie, one of our staff, yesterday and she mentioned that she has a lavender that attracts the bees more than any other. I was interested in this and this morning she brought me one. Isn't she nice!

All for now.

Cheers

Terry

Excuses

Whoooooops! I forgot yesterday's blog. The road to hell etc..

It was a busy morning yesterday as I had to finish setting up some planting of delphinium trials at a friends place. If you expand the image and look closely you will see several Pukeko grazing close to the newly planted delphiniums. We may well have trouble with these birds as when I checked this am they had pulled up a few plants and seemed to like the labels too. Pukeko are a native NZ bird that love wet areas (the plot is close to the Whanganui River) and do rather like fresh produce!!




After this Janice and Iheadded off to Massey University at Palmerston North (90 minutes away) to attend a presentation given by half a dozen third year horticultural students at 11am.
As part of their degree they had conducted a study on a problem faced in our nursery (re pollination) and yesterday was their report time. Well, as I say, the morning was rushed but Janice and I actually arrived with plenty of time to spare - a full three seconds!

The afternoon was rather more relaxed attending to emails etc and in the evening I went into town to collect a collapsible gazebo for use at the open air markets by the river next Saturday morning. After that I somehow got sucked into more work until 10:30pm. As there was little to do on Farmviille I didn't have my "cue to blog".

Well, that's my excuse.

Cheers

Terry

Tuesday 13th October.

No, I'm not suspicious so today will be great.

Not being a mathematician I'm starting to lose count of the number of blogs I've written since I started up again. Certainly more than 5!

I'm up nice and early this morning in order to get rid of my farmville duties, do a few exercises for my back and have breakfast before going out to work. I'm having a day outside for the most part and hope to get a good first bike ride of the season in....probably only half an hour as, having had at least 6 months off the bike I'll get a sore bum if I do more.

Yesterday's nursery tour found the first dwarf delphinium ready to pollinate. Being Dwarf and early it was flowering all on its lonesome so I'll just self it and have a good look at its genetic makeup when its progeny flower next year. The main batch of dwarfs for breeding won't flower before Christmas as they are from seed sown this winter. I'm hoping for a few good colours on short plants. Apart from that I'll be going over the plants we have growing outside in 8 litre bags to see which to ready for sale at the local "River Traders" market this week end - not something we normally do but it should be fun if nothing else.

Only one image today, that of a white with a black bee waiting for a pollen parent to open - in vain I'm afraid. Another plant too early for a mate.



Ok, going to get on with it. Breakfast awaits. Cereal I think - I'm uncomfortable in my jeans.

Cheers

Terry

Back to work

Ok, so I missed Sunday. I'm allowing myself Sundays off. I'm not even going to tell you what happened except the the curry at Robert and Jennifer's place was great and the crème brulée and strawberry coulis very nice too. The steps (the last three of about a dozen) I completed in the garden wore ok too.


Today is, of course, Monday. Not only is it Monday but I've just returned form the dentist. Who in his right mind would schedule a dentist appointment on a Monday morning at 8:30am? Me. It's over and done with and there's all the day left.

This morning is office work stuff for me and the sending out of plant orders for the nursery staff. The afternoon will be taken up walking around the Nursery and planning the week's work with everyone, then starting on it. This week we have to ready some large plants for sale, continue taking cuttings, plant seedling trials at a friend's nursery and, well, we'll see this afternoon.

The steps complete:


In recent times my job has taken me more and more out of the nursery and into the office, or traveling with the result that I get far less exercise and far more opportunity to nibble. It's time to do something about it (right after a crème brulée is always a good time) so before the dentist this morning Janice and I went for a brisk walk. I'll do more this afternoon and as the weather is edging slowly to warmer I'll get the bike out and give it a clean too. I might even take it for a ride......let you know.

Cheers

Terry

Today was a special day.

Firstly, there was a meeting of the Advisory Board at the Rutland Arms, Wanganui, see below.
This is a group we have set up to help Dowdeswell's Delphiniums Ltd grow the business and achieve greater market recognition and penetration. We want to do this while maintaining the high level of service that has become a cornerstone of our business, and the quality of our product, New Millennium Delphiniums.

The advisory board consists of a professional business consultant with organisational expertise in taking micro businesses such as ours, up a notch or two and two "outsiders" who each have extensive experience at the CEO level, in export orientated, high value, horticultural enterprises and institutions. Janice and I complete the picture. I am mentioning this meeting because I want to emphasise how important it is for a small business like ours to have access to such high calibre people, their knowledge and the many, many connections and networks that they hold the keys to. They have encouraged and mentored us and made us see opportunities we would undoubtedly have overlooked.

Secondly the day was special because I got to see mum and dad. Dad is in hospital care in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease and mum in a rest home facility in the same building. It is only recently that we have been able to arrange for them to be so close to each other, close to us and so well cared for. It is particularly satisfying to see mum so happy and content and once again able to be near her husband of over 60 years.

Thirdly it is a special day because it is Anne Cooke's birthday and we got to call her. Anne is a great friend from Dawson Creek, BC, Canada and I'd been trying to reach her for the last few days and getting a message that the number was no longer in use. She wasn't answering emails either. Anne is not as young as I and I was becoming worried but finally managed to track her down through one of her friends. It turns out that Anne's finally sold her large house and garden and moved, at extremely short notice, into a smaller house and greatly reduced garden just this week, hence the disconnection of the phone. Her email is down until her daughter's, you know, special relationship, comes this weekend to fix it up again.

That's my day. How was yours?