29 August 2012

Spring is in the air!

It's nearly spring so it's quickly becoming a very busy time on the new Viner Farm. The boys and I have started preparing our veggie garden. Last week we strung it off and sprayed the grass and today started turning the soil. I was trying to show Will and Graham how to use the shovel to turn and chop the soil. I figured even if they just wound up just digging holes, at least it would still be working the soil. But every time I looked over at Will he was bent over picking at something in the soil. Finally I realized he was picking up the worms and moving them over so he didn't chop them up! I told him not to worry about them but he just couldn't bring himself to chop them up. He even started calling me a murderer for the lethal blows I was dishing out. (Sound familiar, Mom? Lol!) I picked up my friend's two kids from school when I got Nani so then I had five kids trying frantically to rescue every worm as I turned the soil! Though one brought home his "worm farm" to feed his pet lizard.
We will receive a load of organic compost in the morning so work will resume again after lunch. We hope to have cranberry bushes in this weekend around the edges and potato seeds are sprouting in a box in the garage. I'll keep you updated and post photos. Thought it would be weird with you all going into fall and then winter while we plant for spring and summer!
Viner Academy is getting back to a regular schedule. We are looking forward to having our designated homeschool area in the new part of the house. The garden is our science curriculum for the rest of the year and in history last week we read about the Byzantine Empire and how they made mosaics.  I colored dried rice with different colored food coloring, let it dry then gave it to the kids with a block of wood to glue it on. Their creations were lovely but we also learned that these mosaics are a delicacy to our local fowl friends. By the next day, the mosaics that were left outside for the glue to dry were picked clean by the birds!
I have also had a daily battle going on between me and the Pukekos that are pulling up my olive trees that I planted on Saturday. Everyday I'm having to replant 1 or 2 that they have plucked out of the soil!
The house is soooo close to finished it's maddening! Painting should start on Monday and the following week the floor coverings should go in. Then we can move in!!! It is so amazing! We just love the house and the farm and just being out here on wide open spaces again. The views are stunning! Takes my breath away on a regular bases. Sunrises, snow-capped mountain, rainbows, ocean views, sunsets, wild birds unique to New Zealand... Even in the rain it's just beautiful! I think I'm gonna like it here...

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