Here we are again, the summer has ended and autumn is upon us. Summer seemed to end overnight, the first day of March we awoke to a new chill in the air and thick fog from the alps to the coast. It was most definitely a fire sort of morning, and I was filled with smug satisfaction as I carted in a load of my perfectly dried wood; the same wood Jeremy assured me wouldn't need to be cut til March!
The end of summer also brought with it the South Westland A&P show, and all three children spent the week working on their entries; busily harvesting berries, icing cakes, plucking all the flowers from my garden for their sandsaucers, baking and constructing various bits and pieces. It was lovely to see them so supportive of each others efforts and so thoroughly industrious! They helped at every opportunity; setting up tents at the show grounds, dragging last years wood away and even helping sell sausages on the day. We talked about how nice it was to be part of the community and how it didn't matter whether they won prizes or not, it was just huge fun to join in with everyone else and be a part of it all. This was all very well and good until they all started winning prizes, and I have to admit, I was as proud as they were to see their stack of prize cards!
The days are becoming shorter and the mornings and evenings colder, so we are making the most of the still temperate days, roaming every day, and this week alone we have walked Lake Wombat, the Tatare Tunnels, The Callery/Waiho circuit, Whataroa Wetlands, and all over Franz. With the change of temperature has come a natural change of diet, and we are squirreling away all the goodies we will need to stave off winter bugs and to warm chilly days, more on that in my next post!
