July

Twas a very cold month with us lighting lots of fires and shivering in the mornings and evenings.

My big assignment for the month was to dig a trench in our bottom paddocks. The water flows downhill from our neighbours (and probably at its source from the Tararua foothills), through one paddock, under our driveway, through another paddock and off to our neighbours who are pretty much at the lowest point. As the water goes through our paddocks it seems to pool and make the ground all around very muddy and boggy. As we had had a few weeks without rain, I attempted to do something about it. I dug a long trench going about halfway across the lower paddock, following the line of water. I dug it about a shovel head wide and deep. Any more than that was just too difficult, especially when tree roots got in the way. It took me a couple of weeks to complete it. On the other side of the driveway, the slightly higher side, I didn't get very much done because it was still too wet and too overgrown. However, when it did rain my trench worked well and filled up with water in the trench only and not all over the grass.

Early in the month the first jonquils began poking their heads out of the ground, and I saw the first of the spring lambs. Noticed a couple of Kereru birds hanging around the house.

-M