Taming the garden

Another few days spent in the garden. Aaron created a rock feature out of the rocks that used to sit where the wall is now, and filled in a little gulley that used to be a path between our house and the neighbours before the fence and the stairs were put in. We also continued to plan some more stuff on the bank in the hope that at some point it will grow and fill in. Then in the afternoon we had some bark chip/mulch delivered and put it in the lower beds to help keep the weeds at bay - at least for a while.... Unfortunately the bank is too steep for the bark chip to stay on, so we are just going to have to rely on filling it in with plants instead.

The finished wall with bark chip in front

Aaron's rock feature.... needs a few more to fill it in

 Little boxes to go around the plants to stop him accidentally taking them out with the edger

Another brick in the wall...

To finish the wall I stared a couple of weeks ago I needed to get something to cut some of the bricks in half for the ends. I went and bought an angle grinder with a diamond cutting blade. The only problem was the blade wasn't large enough to cut through the blocks. Luckily a few whacks with hammer and chisel separated the two halves and I could get building.

The completed wall

The area in front of the wall will get tidied up and then covered with weed-matt and bark chip. The rocks are going up on the hill to help fill in the small gully between the Lancewoods and the Pittosporum.

The front view. It is a little uneven, but good enough for me.

The fence palings weren't quite long enough by the new wall so I added some prosthetics to help seal up the gap. It looks a little funny, but if we ever get a dog then it won't be able to escape under the fence.

No more gaps!

As always Mifi was keeping an eye on things and helping out occasionally.

A very helpful Mifi

The clear plastic sheets in the garage roof were pretty much dead so we got someone to replace them this week. Now there are no more leaks in the garage.

Shiny new plastic bits

Bush craft course

The new safety guide lines require all people who take girls tramping to be qualified outdoor leaders, so I have started taking the multitude of courses that I need to attend. This weekend I did the bush craft/tramping course to learn about equipment, packing, navigation, weather, river crossings, stoves and cooking. Most of the participants were relatively inexperienced, or hadn't done much for a long time. So our instructor had to pitch it at a basic level.

We were tramping in the Kamai's, an area that has a lot of logging and mining history. The tramp was along a old railway line, so very easy, with only the river crossings really posing any challenge because it was a little deep with large slippy rocks.

Walking along the Waitawheta River on the old railway line

The old railway with the log truck

The falls over the hexagonal dacite rock just near the Waitawheta hut

My tent buddies for the weekend - Claire and Annette

I have now done the outdoor first aid and bush craft - just the risk management and river crossing courses to go... then a final assessment. At least while I am doing the courses they have taken all my experience in to account and I can continue to take the girls tramping.

Weekend in the garden

Helen was away this past weekend doing a training tramp for Girl Guides. I spent the weekend doing odd chores and playing in the garden. I have heaps of ideas - I just need more time and good weather to work on them.

The side of the lowest terrace with edging, weed mat and bark chip

The upper terrace with weed mat and bark chip

I liked the way the bark chip looked, so I decided we should put more down around the garden. The slope on the north side has always been a pain so I decided to set about taming it.

A retaining wall is born

The wall will extend to the fence curving behind a small pittosporum that you cant see very well.

The grass is filling in

There are seveal patches where the grass died when it was buried under random junk. I have planted some grass in the bare patches and it is doing a good job of growing back. We'll probably wait unitl spring to try and plant the area around the compost bin in the first picture.