20 November 2012

Categories: From the Farm This Week
      Date: Nov 20, 2012
     Title: 20 November 2012

Well a pretty NORMAL one week at Avonstour. The hemp seed turned up and will be going in later in the week.
The apple trees have set lots of fruit and it may be a good season for them if the weather and wind holds.

Linda the HelpX volunteer left yesterday and the garden sure looks different now, she was great and fitted in well here, we would all love to have her back. The 3 German Wwoofers are doing well and are now starting earth works for the petting Zoo. One thing Linda said was Taranaki People were the nicest, easy to talk to people in NZ. Now thats a feather in the hat for all of us who live here and may be other regions should take a good look how we are in Taranaki. Well………… I may even run courses on how to do IT.

We have been moving pigs around for the ROYAL show in Stratford this Saturday and it should be a good one as it either for Hawera or Stratford show it rains and it rained for Hawera. The pennyroyal is starting to come up in the paddocks and this indicates the time of butterflies and young birds. O yes talking royal i did meet the royal couple at Fielding Farmers Market. Have been on the phone a bit keeping the powers that be at bay and looking into zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzaaaaaaaarrrr Blaaaaaa I KNOW ITS NOT A NORMAL WEEK alright I will go back to the Royal visit.

HRH the Prince of Wales Charles and his wife Camilla made a visit to The Fielding Farmers Market last Thursday. So getting up and packing for a 3 o'clock in the morning drive down in Jamie’s vehicle and my trailer as my ute's windscreen wiper motor burnt out and the forecast was for rain. On the way down we dropped an order off and just got in before the road block. Aaron came to help. The day went very fast and it was just great to see the organisation. Bomb dogs, secret service people, police, private artists even to draw for the Couple. I’m sure there were 20,000 people came to see them. When the Couple arrived all the public were removed from the Farmers Market and on key the sky’s opened and the sun shone. The Prince and his wife worked their way around the stalls stopping at some and then ours. I think we talked for longer than others. We talked about Farmers Markets and how it was a great help to rarebreeds and organics. We talked rarebreeds in NZ and the breeds we farm. I also talked livestock showing and hoped he would visit the rarebreed stand in Christchurch. On organics the importance of certification. I found the talk very down to earth and the advice sound, like Quote ‘it is very important the people just don’t know what it is you have here, It’s so important to keep going". He had a look at the rarebreed magazines and we talked about him being the patron of the UK Rarebreeds. I finished by asking them if they ever want a break from all this they were welcome to stay on the farm. With a smile Camilla said "We will keep that in mind". A very positive meeting but you know the unbelievable bit, their life is so controlled and under constant surveillance must be like living in a canary cage. We did make The National News Great. A great job Fielding promotions, you pulled it off very well.

So home and to Ross's to download photos. I had not been there for a month or two. Now he has put some work in there, the place is like an oasis in a green desert.