We are continuing to build the cob wall, little by little.
Here woofers Mia and Johanna from Finland empty the wheel barrow of mud onto the tarpaulin. Next the barley straw will be stomped into it. We add as much straw as the clay mixture will absorb, as this increases the insulating properties of the cob wall, and adds strength.
Next Mia and Johanna help Ali put up the reinforcing mesh. This mesh is placed in the wall at 400mm intervals, and is part of the engineering design for strengthening.
We've had almost double the usual rainfall for each of the last two months, and September is shaping to be just as wet. Some of the long range forecasters are predicting rain everyday for the next two weeks. Between showers we are continuing our program of clean up and landscaping. Misaki has become a master at stacking wood.
We have been felling the Cryptomeria trees along the driveway, and planting native Griselinias in their place. This is a very brave move, as the work areas of
Earthstead are totally exposed, including our old plastic clad greenhouse. We are planning erecting wooden gates and screening to cover these until the Griselinias are big enough to do their work.
Our Finnish wwoofers Mia and Johanna helped with clearing up the cut branches of the trees Ali felled ,.............
and digging out the miniature Kowhai tree from beside our house. We have re-planted this Kowhai beside the Earthouse, and are really hoping it will grow and establish. NZ native trees are very difficult to transplant.
In the last post we showed you the chicken laying boxes Quentin made. We are very happy to report that the young chickens love the boxes, and are laying happily. We are now collecting about 14 eggs per day. Ali is very surprised that the mop topped bantams (aka the Turners) have not produced any eggs as yet, but he is very pleased with the number and quality of eggs coming from the other young chickens. The arakanas are laying their signature green shelled eggs, and are obviously getting their fair share of greens, judging by the bright orange colour of the yokes.
Quentin also made the most amazing bird feeder. Native Tui's and many other birds are nectar feeders, and we hope to attract more to the area. Already with the
Maungatautari Ecological Reserve boosting numbers hugely, we thrilled to hear and see more native birds in the last month than we have in the previous 30 years.
We were privileged to have some young helpers from Goodwood School come and visit us and help with the cobbing recently.
Harry and Richard and Richard's father Grant came for a morning and worked so enthusiastically. It was a pleasure to have them on board, and we were thrilled to see their genuine interest in earth building.
The boys assisted Misaki to stomp the straw into the clay/sand mixture with such gusto, they made fun of hard work.
We've been having some problems with Joy's young bull calf Bill not wanting to drink from all of her teats, and have had to milk out the rejected teat each day to avoid mastitis.
We have tested the milk and found no signs of infection, so after straining, we used it in some wonderful creamy yoghurt which we enjoy on our porridge each morning.
In Japan Misaki worked on a dairy farm for 6 months. She is very confident with the animals, and enjoys spending time Lucy's young heifer Beryle.
Both Beryle and Bill are thriving on their mothers milk, and are also beginning to eat grass and the silage we are feed their mothers.
We have been lucky enough to nurse an early crop of potatoes through the July frosts, and here Misaki plants our second crop. If we are vigilant and cover the young plants against any late frosts, we will be eating our own new season potatoes in just a few weeks.
As is becoming our habit, we will finish with a few pictures of the wonderful international food the wwoofers have been producing for us.
Mia and Johanna made the most wonderful Finnish tea cake. Ali made shot work of it, with just a little help from the rest of us.
They also made yummy Finnish buns filled with cinnamon and butter - delicious!
