The Traveling Kiwi

It’s been so busy I haven’t had any time to myself to write and somehow the week ended up being 9 days, it would have been longer but no matter how long I stay it will never be long enough to get through the ever increasing list of things to do and people who need help. I caught up with my Aunt Kaye who has just had a melanoma removed and now they have found 4 tumours in her lymph nodes. Getting older sucks!

I have been cooking, cleaning, fixing stuff, making dolls clothes and costumes, clearing and decluttering, making runs to the dump and second hand stores, taking mum to dementia activities, doing surgery on Elves and managing sibling crisis’s. I did get one evening that Beaulah took me for gelato and to visit the new library which I hadn’t seen in the center of the city.

Terina explaining exactly what she wants me to sew for her 😁

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Crisis on the southern border, well on the southern island anyway. So I hightailed it down to Chirstchurch last night to spend some time with mum and catch up with Stu. Stu has just come out of hospital, he has what he thought was a lung infection after a week of the flu, they found fluid on his lungs so they popped him on IV antibiotics and did a chest x ray. The antibiotics worked and his lungs cleared but they found a shoulder fracture on the X-ray. So they sent him for an MRI and the have done a lumbar puncture and biopsy – upshot is that he has bone cancer and they are trying to find how far advanced and make a treatment plan. It’s Stu’s birthday on sept 1st so I decided to come down now while I can support him through the shock and figuring out how to plan for the inevitable chemo and radiation and manage the 5 kids and working. I will be down for at least a week and then come back again every few weeks. Ian picked me up at the airport and gingerly got out of the car and hobbled to the back for me to put my suitcase in. He has damaged c4 and c5 on his spine helping Stu with the ride on lawn mowers since Stu can’t do it. He is about to go to Ireland for 3 weeks on Friday and can hardly walk let alone sit for hours. 😳wondering what the heck is going on down here. This morning I noticed that the gate into the patio at mums was wide open. Easy I think I will just go lock that up, must have blown open in the storms they have been having down here in between the heavy frosts.

So bear with me, this adventure is going to be more like a saga. Mum has a Dr appt this morning for her foot. I read the message and don’t recognise the Dr name but it’s at Ilam medical which is the place I took her to last time for her podiatrist appt. So bright and early ( after trickle charging the car overnight for a flat battery) I take her to the podiatrist, who is rather puzzled because she can’t find the appointment, but as she has a no show she takes us and it’s all good. Then my sister calls in a panic as she’s just been told mum is a no show at her appointment with the Dr – same Medical Center. Apparently she had made an appt with the Dr who would then refer mum to the podiatrist and I had messed up and taken her straight to the podiatrist. Communication breakdown but fortunately with an efficient result. This is less than 24hrs here, you know there is more to come…. It’s going to get more and more convoluted – stay tuned for the intricate dance steps of southern family drama.

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Hibernation is finally over and I am finally starting to show signs of life. I baked this morning, I am not a good baker as I use graduated eyeballs and guesstimates which works fine cooking meals but apparently is not the best approach to recipes that require exact amounts. Anyway, after acquiring an old fashioned gem iron I decided to make ginger gems. I modified the recipe with more ginger and more golden syrup and swapped out white sugar for less brown sugar so I knew it was touch and go. Surprise surprise I got the best ginger gems I have ever had. My new 20 min go to.. move over muffins.

Ginger gems are an old fashioned kiwi treat that needs heavy cast iron gem irons to make. Who knew these things are a collectors item and outrageously expensive but after you taste them you know why.

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Right now is the middle of mushroom season and they are everywhere in every colour. I just photograph them, most are poisonous and I am just not ready to bet on my identifying the non poisonous ones. They say all mushrooms are edible – once! And if you are not sure, leave a little uneaten so we can figure out what you died of.

I have struggled with the macro and stuck mainly to ID for inaturalist but finally I feel like I have cracked the code and got some half decent shots. These are all natives and will be gone in a few weeks.

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If you may not be explaining yourself well when you tell your 8 yr old niece to respect the ancient trees… and she offers her fairy frog to them

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I have needed the little pokes and prods to get myself out of my shell. A scary wee heart event got me moving slower and doing a lot less these past few months and it’s become too easy to do nothing at all. If I wasn’t losing my fitness fast I think I could become a very lazy little hermit. Surprisingly easy actually.

So it’s been a while…..mum had her 90th in January and we had all the siblings assembled. It was the first time for us all to be together in a long time. Everyone contributed memories for mum to read and keep. The stories were very emotional and heartfelt, celebrating mum and her sense of humour. It was also when I finally realised I am actually a midget.. and yes there is a small child behind me making my horns.

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It’s hard to sit down and write as I feel like I haven’t been doing anything interesting at all and my photos are just mushrooms and moths. We have finally had a few days of good weather and I have my fingers crossed we get enough for the tomato’s to actually ripen. It’s been wet as for way too long. My garden is full of spuds and carrots just in case it’s stays wet and the new potatoes have been with every meal for the last few weeks, it’s not going to take long to completely use all that I have planted so I am backfilling with more spuds as I dig them up so I won’t run out. Must be the Irish in me, completely addicted to home grown new potatoes.

I have been invaded by the neighbours small black cat. I am sure she plotted the whole takeover in her devious little brain for weeks before implementing it. The neighbour got two black cats at the same time but one just hasn’t grown and is still kitten sized. I noticed she would sleep under our hedge and sometime come out and rub around my ankles. Then she started racing out to greet me every time I got out of the car. Then it was climbing up me to have a cuddle, then she would sit in my arms and purr as she nibbled my ear ( what cat does that!) I let her inside as it was raining and now she sleeps on my bed all day and in my lap the rest of the time, in between scrapping with her big sister cat who also thinks she is welcome here. As I am vacuuming black cat hair off the bed cover I realise it’s too late, her takeover plan has worked and I am now officially a cat person. I call her Nibblet as she will also just sit on my lap and nibble my thumb like she is suckling -it’s pretty adorable. I don’t feed her as she is my neighbours cat 🐈‍⬛ but I am going to have to go over and confess she has catnapped me.

Zebo is terrorising me again and the last lot of drugs were worse than the problem and trigger a bit of a reaction so I am not happy and not really feeling the whole cooking drinking socialising thing, so it’s going to be a very quiet Christmas, there may be some mushroom hunting involved as the blues should just be starting to come up. Apart from that I will be heading back to Christchurch Jan 17th to spend a bit of time with mum who turns 90 on 20th and Yifei ( her great grandchild) who turns 8 on 25th

Wishing all my intertwingled friends who read this a very merry Christmas 🎄 and every happiness for 2024.

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I love Rhodies and Azaleas, they always mean spring and every year I used to take mum to the Ilam gardens to just enjoy the vibrant profusion of colour. This may not be a surprise to those who know me as at any time if you look at my phone you will find it absolutely chocka with flower photos ( even more than mushrooms) This year I missed the Christchurch display but there is a botanical garden in Taupo that has Rhodie and Azalea walks with trees that are at least as old as Ilam. I packed up two of my oldies and we ventured off. We were treated to an absolute riot of blooms of all sorts of shapes and sizes. I havent messed with any of these photos yet but over winter I suspect I will treat you to a whole lot more.

I am off to Christchurch later today and looking forward to getting at least one walk in the gardens. Mum is doing well with her new heat pump and in a much better place than when I started my 6 weekly trips down. Still lots to do but hopefully just a wee bit more time to spend with my niece and great niece. Children seem to live life at a whole different speed, I am thinking its been a slow year then I see Yifei has grown to past my shoulder and is rapidly becoming a young women, although just a comment or a laugh and thankfully she is back to being her wise little 7yr old self.

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I went to a memorial recently for a good friend 92, a wonderful character who came to New Zealand in the 50s and became one of the pioneers of rewilding. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/jaap-van-dorsser-obituary-rotorua-springtime-celebration-a-fitting-tribute-for-nature-lover/JKSESPSJRRG6LIS6ESNFZ72OQE/

Yarp had a philosophy – “say yes to everything” even when you think you would rather not. After his life celebration I was asked if I wanted to head out to a rewilding project about 8 kms out of town, a small wetland between some pine plantations. We would meet out there at 8pm at night and photograph native moths. My first thought was somewhere between no and hell no. Its been wet and showers come and go non-stop, it will be dark and muddy and how the heck do you get the moths to stay still, I struggle with my macro even when is a non-moving mushroom. Anyway thinking of Yaap I said yes.

It started out exactly how I thought, misty wet, midges and bugs attracted to the light and lots of mud. However it wasnt long till I found my first native leaf veined slug and noticed that the light from my headlamp caught the eyes of the moths, which glowed like little beacons. As we made or way around the wetland we reached the back, lights out and the whole place transformed into a magical fairyland with layers of lights all around, up the banks and leading back into the black pine trees. The most incredible glow worm display I have ever seen, we walked in silence just marveling at the magnificence. As we started to walk down the other side the rain stopped and clouds disappeared, the stars were so abundant with the southern cross shining bright. Breathtaking.

I learned that every native tree has its own looper moth and that they are all different patterns and colours, not well studied we saw some that have never been documented on inaturalist. So thank you Yaap, making me stop and say yes to a whole new experience. I have now been back a second time and part of a group that is going to document monthly the changes in the moth species of the area. The emerald dragonfly rests in the manuka at night and the stick with the drips on it is actually a glow worm.

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Almost 3 days of lovely sunshine after blustery winter weather and everything just seems that much brighter and happier. Of course the rain is setting in again this afternoon but at least we have had a glimpse of what may be yet to come. September really is a time of beginnings and new things, time to start planting at last( so long as the frosts are finally done), enjoy the blossom and new growth and see a riot of colours reappear. They are predicting a dry hot summer, I am hoping it will be not too dry or too hot.

The fungi season is just starting and really gets going in the next few months but they don’t like the dry. I have become addicted to forging new trails in the old growth bush and exploring along trap lines( possum and rat traps). Great exercise and it’s like a treasure hunt, you don’t notice how far you have walked or how many gully’s you have slid down, or ridges you have climbed. Never would have ever thought I would be so fascinated with fungi and now native orchids but it’s great to have the motivation to get out and explore.

Feeling better than I have for months, it must be the sunshine and warming up. Wishing I could share this amazing place with friends from afar.

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