keep on waiting

keep on waiting

It’s 17 weeks on Friday since the road closed and the area is sagging like stockings falling down around the ankles or the skin of an older woman like me so it is changing slowly but progressively. Cracks are enlarging and 2 pine trees are on a lean in the line. It’s rather amazing to see so closely and of course with necessity as we use the area to access our car behind the concrete barriers on the Otaki side about 600 m from home. Not such a welcome trip with rain happening as we found on Sunday when we returned we were in the midst of a downpour, riverlets on the road, with a need for a clothes change when we arrived home… coats out to dry. It was spectacular really and quite exilerating to be out in the elements knowing we could be comfortable in a few minutes.

This cold weather changes everything and after poking a stick in my right eye as I was searching for a lost hen I haven’t been that keen to go out into the bush. Yes I got it checked at the Paraparaumu afterhours medical centre… scratches on the eyeball only, but looking a bit bloodshot.

I have enjoyed using the electricified bike to travel to the forest park and back to check toilets and when I was trying to catch a feral cat in a life catch cage… unsuccessful as I found it in a modifed timms trap after loosing the battle by magpies eating the lure meat. Now to catch magpies!

Trampers, pleasure bikers and hunters are still accessing the forest park usually risking the slip face after accessing the area up the emergency track and finding it very difficult and slippery, as one guy said, ‘ Diabolical’. None wants to slip down the hill on the track… surely a rope would help as on our side. As one tramper I met at Parawai Lodge said when she saw the rope on our side,” Why have a rope here ?” only to find it was quite helpful descending the steep ridge.

The river runs higher than normal with the recent rains so we have been talking and working towards making an access over the old slip face at the second level and coming down through the forest to the road… adding a rope to make it safer and easier in preparation for the day! It is great to have help with these projects.

I have focused on improving the garden…removing some plants, putting up a raised bed with a frame cover and insulation cloth as it isn’t possible to get materials for a glass house or plastic house here. We got the mulcher into action so that has gone onto a heap as we are preparing a large compost bed for future needs.

Pest Control and monitoring continue with the bird count done, the purchase of some macracarpa that has been cut up and the doors cut before drilling out 40 new weta motels. It is a good project to slowly work on getting them ready.

That’s about all for this update. I trust you have a good year, Kathleen