What a show! Bluff Hill blocks my view south, but I could see light beams over the hill from my back porch. I grabbed the camera and raced to Ocean Beach, saw the most amazing light show. Feeling truly blessed!
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Summer here in Bluff started very slowly this year, with quite wintery conditions throughout October and November. Sweet Corn and Climbing Beans were slow to germinate, and several sowings became necessary, however from December onwards, the weather has been very kind, and sweet corn is nearly ready to start eating! I grow an old, open pollinated variety called Golden Bantam. Almost all the commercially available sweet corn varieties are F1 Hybrids, so you cannot save seed, and have to buy fresh seed every year. Golden Bantam has a lovely old fashioned flavour, is quite productive, and every year I save seed for the next spring. My home used to boast an impressive orchard, 40 or 50 years ago. Whenever I have met a local who is my age or a bit older, and tell them where I live, they always tell me about the wonderful fruit trees that used to be here.....was a very popular place for kids to sneak into back then. Well, if they can still jump fences, the orchard is being replanted. This apple tree was planted two and a half years ago, and this year is laden with fruit. It is a very old variety called "Bramleys Seedling", regarded as one of the best English cooking apples. Very large fruit (3 apples is enough for a pie or crumble) with the most amazing flavour! I am looking forward to harvest in about another month.....no more supermarket apples for me! After a little more than three years living here in Bluff, it seems time to share a little of what it is like to live simply, sustainably, and very well, on very little. I live better, eat better, and sleep better on a fraction of the money I needed in a large Australian city. And I have real friends. Not the same as business associates, or social contacts.
If you are interested in what life can really be like, I hope you will find something of interest here. |
AuthorSteve Mitchell has had a varied and busy career including stints as a carpenter and builder, police constable, air traffic controller, commercial pilot and businessman, almost always more than one thing at the same time. Seeking a simpler life, he came to Bluff, the southernmost town in New Zealand, and for the first five years lived simply and happily in a 115 year old historic home, with half an acre of developing garden and orchard. Now very happily married to the most amazing lady, Steve lives in nearby Invercargill, gardening, photographing and playing music. He still works in the Aerospace Industry, and he is very grateful to his Creator! Categories
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December 2021
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