Haare and I met at Debora’s. She’d opted for tubs which was sensible as her road frontage is very steep and it would have been a mission to get a wheelbarrow down there. She also had a bokashi bin, but had never used it so I took mine away and I will follow up with her to see how it goes.
Next place was Suorans. Her and her husband are very keen gardeners and most of the large backyard is either planted or ready for Spring planting. A huge patch of potatoes, hundreds of chilli plants in the seed raising bed under plastic, a large bean frame, a coriander bed and much more. It was a joy to behold and he said they grow all they need for summer eating! We chose a spot for the raised bed and she was very grateful. They were fascinated by the bokashi bin but seemed to understand the concept and happy to give it a go.
Next was a chicken pre visit. We were early but he came to our knock, though really didn’t want to come out. Confirmed we were at the right house and virtually told me to go have a look for myself. I had to be a bit assertive and told him to come out and show me. It was a large back yard and I could see what looked like a hen house. It was pretty large and well made. I wasn’t sure if he had made it specially for our hens, or it was an old one. He wasn’t terribly interested or forthcoming, so I had to be quite direct. I could see two hens lying in the boxes ahead but they were motionless even though I made all sorts of noises to see if they got up. In my experience hens move, either because they are scared or want to see if you have some food. These hens never moved. I asked him if they were dead but he evaded the question. I couldn’t understand all he said, but did hear the words ‘sell’, ‘cook’ and ‘eat’.
He also had a large area dug up and said he was about to plant potatoes and chillies. When we got out the gate I asked Haare if I understood him right and they eat the hens? She confirmed that’s what she heard. I asked her what his attitude was all about and she said ‘he was trying to be intimidating. He was letting me know he was the ‘man’…well he was wasting his time with me! Not sure where this recommendation came from but I wouldn’t be happy giving him hens. Not sure how you handle this?
We had a two hour gap now so met with Tara & Ren at a café. I was following Haare who said she knew where the café was but I lost her as she whipped around the roundabout. Found the place and parked by her where she was standing a bit nervously. She’s a crack up….she joked about having just one job, ‘looking after Mum’ and she’d lost me!
Last job was Ash. Her bed had been delivered and she was super excited to get plants in. As we planted she chatted about how much happier they were there. I noticed she struggled a little with the planting and she explained she had bad arthritis in her hands. She was rapt in her new garden tool and told me they’d had all their stuff stolen at the last house before she left. All the stuff in the shed, kids bikes, the works. She also said her oldest was staying at her boyfriend’s house and had taken the younger child with her. I said I didn’t realise she had older children. (She barely looks 25 herself!) She said it was actually her younger sister who is 15 but she raised her as her daughter. Woah some kids have it hard aye…She also hadn’t seen a bokashi system and had missed the composting workshop, so was thrilled to get one from me.
Have a good week everyone! Ka kite!
Rākau Tautoko 