Campers

It was peaceful down the back of the farm yesterday evening.  The cows were ambling back to their paddock after being milked, they obviously didn't expect to see me.

I'd been invited to visit the girls who were camping out for the night and was delighted to be invited to share their dinner.  Yum.

The first hint I had that it's not so peaceful this morning was when Shayde rang and said there was something going on up at the big farmhouse that I'd love to take photos of.  I could hear the digger from my house but didn't realize where it was working.  What was happening was a lot more interesting than digging a drain.  The time had come to rip out the thick bamboo that was growing at the back of the farmhouse.  The digger was making quick work of it.

The stack of removed plants grew and grew:

 

Job done!

A few interesting objects were unearthed including this old bottle.

They now have a much bigger flat area at the back of the house and much more light can get into the yard. 

Wonder what tomorrow will bring?

She runs and jumps

Georgia decided that this year she was going to be her age group athletics champion at school.  Running comes naturally, and she was going hard out.

Waiting for the field events she looked pensive.

 

Throwing is not her thing.  She's more into running and jumping.

Loud noise from in the direction of the old barn drew me outside this morning.  The neighbour was levelling a pad for the silage stack.  The silage will be harvested towards the end of the week.

It wasn't exactly early morning but the sun was just touching the weeds on the far side of the hill.   Most of the carrot weed is dieing off.  The colour is a reminder that summer is coming to an end, winter is on its way.

  It's very dry here, drier than anywhere I saw when I was away up north last week.  Luckily heavy rain is predicted to be on its way.  The hills look the worst, the flats still have a touch of green but there's not much grass on them.

There is more rain forecasted here for the end of the week and early next week than for Taranaki where I'm headed on Monday.  Couldn't have planned it better!

Boys and toys

A digger and a cement truck - a two year old boy couldn't ask for much more.  Add the tractor and trailer, the motor bike and the quad bike and you have just about everything you need to keep a little man enthralled all day.

Saturday morning Aiden was concerned I was "going the wrong way" when we set out for a walk to see the machinery again.  I was just taking a few steps to get the chick coop out of the shot of the fog.

Even I thought the digger looked pretty cool in the early morning light.

Of course, I think the little man looks great in any light:

 This morning got off to a slow start with a problem with the water pump.  That's what we thought it was but it turned out it was a power board fault in the area and it was just a matter of time before it was fixed.  It was a bit weird, having lights and being able to boil the kettle but not enough power to work the water pump or the machines at the cow shed.  Those who couldn't wait had showers at my son's house where the water if gravity fed and not reliant on a pump.  

It turned into a really lousy day, very windy, heavy rain.  A good day for Jami and Mitchell to practise their numbers for New Zealand's Got Talent on 25th.  The Brains Trust (Leone and Justine) were helping them refine their songs. 

Perfect weather also for the little man to get a hair cut from Aunty Leone.  He's an amazing little kid (I'm allowed to say that, I'm the grandmother). he stood on a chair and hardly moved a muscle.  I have enough trouble sitting still for that long.

Then time for a cuddle with Georgia before they took him away again.

 

The house is very quiet now.