Where did June go, WELCOME July!
July on the farm is the start of lambing, babies are due today, however at this stage only five ewes look on time. The others are a couple of weeks away, the ram has obviously been a bit lazy this season.
The winter in Carterton has been calm and mild to date. Big frosty mornings and magnificent sunny still days, a pleasure to enjoy these special days before the wind and rain arrive.
We decided not to attend the mid-year Christmas markets in Greytown this chilly winter, so we are enjoying our nights by the fire instead of freezing our tootsies at the markets. Good choice I say. I visited the festival on opening night and it was a delight to see the fireworks and the shops covered in fairy lights, gorgeous window displays and the buildings all lit up with moving interactions.
MY LAVENDER OBESSSION CONTINUES WITH THE ADDITION OF AN EXCITING NEW LAVENDER SHOP
Due to the nice weather, Stu has been able to get stuck into erecting the new fence around the new lavender shop. The other fence was removed to put the new shop in its place, so we needed to move the sheep fence down the paddock a way.
Our lovely neighbour Alex (butt pictured at front of tractor) let us borrow (with supervision) his tractor to flatten out the shop site. They spent a while mucking around and playing with the boys toys this day.
Below is where the fence was removed. This is Stu measuring the new shop building space and doing the boxing for the concrete footings. Lily is giving instructions.
Once the footings were dug, measured, levelled, reinforced and dry from the rain, the cement truck arrived to fill them up with five tonne in each footing. We had to leave it for a few weeks to set but we could paint them once they were dry.
It was my job to paint them, what do you think of the colour? I didn’t want a dark purple as the sun would probably make it look black. I wanted a light airy colour and I think that’s what was achieved. We thought about green to blend in with the environment but then it wouldn’t be a ‘lavender shop’ then, would it?
The old pump shed needed replacing because it won’t blend in with the new shop.
Once the area was flattish, Stu and I lay weed mat down to stop the weeds and grass growing. We deserved a well-earned rest after this job.
Commencement of the customer parking area. We had to remove four conifer trees to make room for parking but a couple of them were going up to the power lines so needed to come out at some stage anyway.
So progress is happening on the shop front and it’s all coming along well. A few things still to sort out and get right before we have visitors, but we’re so looking forward to having you visit the shop.
Next month, you’ll see before and after pictures of the shop do-up and details of our OPENING DAY.
Stu and I wish you a warm, cosy, happy July and we’ll see you in August with an update on ‘what’s happening on the farm’.
Till then, keep warm and snuggle up to your loved ones.
Jan & Stu x