You can run…

But you can’t hide. On the way to pick up the honey frames that the bees had cleaned. So I could pop them in the freezer for 24 hours to kill any bugs, then wrap them and store them for the winter. I saw this.  Devastation.  On the lower portion of the vines. The Vidal Blanc. The Ice Wine grapes. The Wine Grapes!!

And I know exactly who the culprits are.  I have seen them wafting up and down the rows. Looking innocent.  You can run .. 

But you can’t hide.  Everyone warned me that peacocks would make so much noise, which they don’t in comparison to a flock of guineas. I did not think about them eating my grapes.

However all is not lost as the majority of the grapes are grown on high trellises. So from now on I will train the vines above the reach of the average peacock.. or pea hen as the case may be. I am just waiting for magnificent iron arches to wash up onto the beach of the farmy then we will plant more grapes.  Until they decide to fly up there the crop is safe.

Good morning. Yesterday was a fantastic day in the Comments Lounge. Aren’t they always though. The Gingerbread House Project is officially launched. I made lists from your suggestions and incorporated many of your ideas into our concept straight away. Being from New Zealand it is looking more and more like a perfect little bach at the beach. Sid and I started work on the 3D model and immediately I was forced to see many issues and he had to grapple with the concept of the 2 story cathedral ceiling with lids on the two rooms (the bathroom and bedroom area)  forming the floor for the mini loft.

We have decided to drop the structure to the ground to allow for in-floor heating and step free access straight to and from the garden paths. This is the first major decision.  Which creates the first major problem, wheelchair access from the main house to the mini house through the glass corridor. With four good sized steps in the way.  John does not want to lose the option of wheelchair access.  And I have never come to a problem I cannot solve or adjust to. I love a good problem. I look forward to seeing what you all come up with.

I told Sid that in this house the people can be seen as resources too. If he has a homework question that can quickly be answered or explained by the older people around him he should ask. Sometimes there is no need for google or long winded research. We have all stuffed piles of knowledge into our brains over the years.  It is there to share.  I know this is an old fashioned idea. But I do believe that our elders and peers are a legitimate resource and kids should be encouraged to ask and listen.

Thank you so much for all the great sites you have sent and also I am grateful for the books and magazines you have recommended.  We are all big readers including The Matriarch, so books to pore over are a given and it was a joy to me to be reminded that the Kitchens Garden readers are also big readers of good books. We are developing a pool of literate and bright minds in the Comments Lounge.  And you don’t have to be literate to be bright thank goodness. This project is like a recipe with only a few ingredients and each ingredient must carefully chosen and of a perfect quality.

Oh to put you all under the big tree for a fantastic brainstorming session. And a glass of wine, and a slice of fresh cheese with a sunflower cracker!

My email address is celima.g.7@gmail.com for those of you who would like to chime in but are not registered commenters.  There is Facebook too, which you can join by clicking Like in the column to your right.  I am putting a big pinboard on my study wall for a collection of ideas and torn out pictures and  I have begun to add images to one of my Pinterest boards. As a virtual pinboard this is a very cool resource and one we can all share including The Matriarch and potential guests.   If you come across an image that will work with the developing concept let me know and I shall add it.

Now I had better pull on my  farm pants and go out and milk my cow and feed the animals who are all standing quietly at the gates watching for movement in the house. I swear they can hear the swoop of my desk chair as I push back from the desk after publishing!

Have a lovely day.

celi