Blue the Mouth is big enough for the longer walks now, and like a child he needs a good solid walk each day, so TonTon and I took him on the Dandelion Walk to the bridge this morning. We mow a little path through the wild grasses along the creek bank. Blue was excited on the way to the bridge and quiet and puffing on the way back and slept the rest of the morning. Perfect.
Walks work for us all in many ways. You can see the farm right out in the background.
Today we have the roof shout. It is a tradition in New Zealand to shout the builders a few beers when the roof is finished. I have cooked one of our own beef roasts and today I will bake some bread and caramalise some onions. Then I will make roast beef sandwiches with lettuces and spring onions from the garden, home made mustard and home grown horse-radish and the last of the neighbour’s pickles from last year because mine were such rubbish.
The fridge is filled with very cold beer and a few bottles of home made wine and cider. I will drag chairs through the rubble of construction under the big tree and we will all sit down and admire our beautiful roof and talk about nothing terribly important at all.
Good morning.
I hope you all have a lovely day, I am up an hour early because there is just so much to do today and I want to be done in time to sit down for a glass of something cold with the men too. As well as everything else, I am shifting the electric fence into the sheep’s paddock today. Those two naughty lambs will be doing their own version of walking the corn shortly. It pops up very fast. So I need to retrain them not to crawl under the fences.
You know that feeling when there is too much to fit into your day, but it just has to be fit in. I have that feeling today.
your slightly frantic friend, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
60 responses to “A Dandelion Walk and the Roof Shout”
I am with you on the so much to do, so little time! I am a ‘list’ maker and every night I sit down and cross off what I have done and add chores for tomorrow. The list seems to grow rather than shrink LOL. Mind you I also add things I have done that weren’t on the original list just for the satisfaction of crossing them off.
Have been growing my potatoes in a raised bed beyond my fence, filled with compost that isn’t quite ready for the garden. Did this last year and had some wonderful potatoes However went out to put some stuff on the compost this morning and the flipping deer have eaten the tops off all my potatoes!! I thought the leaves were toxic?? Still have some leaves, must mound them up and again and hope for the best, trouble is now they won’t flower, will the be a problem you think?
I think that the stage of flowering that was foreshortened by the deer might encourage more potatoes.. but do let me know how it all works out.. and we will see if my theory holds ny water… You must have a wonderful garden! c
So nice to finally have a roof over your heads to shout from!! 🙂 The walkabout photo of Ton and Blue is amazing and yes, i would like to see the creek and bridge too! Actually hanging flowers from the toilet vent wouldn’t be such a bad idea at all! :)) Can you tell I read all the other comments? Speaking of which my comment on your lovely Mother’s day post came through as anonymous…I said how bittersweet it was and drew so many smiles and tears, including my own!! It was a beautiful post Cinders!
We had our roof replaced last year and I gathered all the roofers at the end of the week for a photo of them in front of the house….of which no one had ever done…they spoke very little english but their smiles said it all! Oh and there was cold beer for them as well…maybe that’s what they were smiling about! 🙂
absolutely awesome, those photos are precious.. c
I can see why you call him “the mouth” I wonder if he will grow into it,
As they say !!! Thank you for sharing your tradition with us ! Sounds
Like a grand time for a celebration !! I am sure there will be laughter !
Lovely …….
By the time I comment I hope you are enjoying your “roof shout” or “christening” as we say… a wonderful way to celebrate everyone’s efforts, and in all the frantic-ness, a perfect reason to pause for a sundowner and share a bite to eat, even if the occasion is partly responsible for it.
Daresay you are dropping on your feet like Blue home from the walk, but hope you had a wonderful day! Those sandwiches sound great and it’s been practically a free day again bar the beer 🙂 ! I can’t believe that when I first found the farmy you were just beginning to talk of a future home for the Matriarch . . . Sleep well Milady . . . !!
thank you darling girl… off to bed now and thinking of sweetly sleeping!
A good old Kiwi roof shout! How exciting. It’s always such a big moment when the roof goes on. It’s been a great pleasure to see the Coupe taking shape. My grandfather was a builder and my dad always wanted to be, but got pushed into a white collar job. But the building gene came down to me, and I once built my own Coupe.
I know that feeling all too well. That looks like a lovely walk. The nap sounds good, too.
Thank goodness you can put up your feet with the builders and have a beer in the sunshine … Blue looks utterly adorable panting along with his tongue hanging out.. don’t forget that the fitter they become, the fitter they become… you’ll be doing ten mile walks if he gets too fit!!!!
Roof shout…I love that! Those mown paths are nifty and necessary on farms if you want to walk about, be you doggy or human. Looks like a lovely place to walk.
Hi there C. congratulations on the roof. i never got to tell you the builders report on the north island property was shonk shonkity shonk, so nelson we did! see you then under our roof in 3-4 years. have a wonderful day celebrating yours and the builders and John’s achievements … and I’m just a little bit in love with Blue Boy. He is beautiful. xxxx cuzzy MC
I know that slightly frantic, too much to do feeling very well. I have it M-Thursday. Fortunately I’m able to shut it down for the weekends. Love the dandelion walk! It looks perfect to me. And I like the idea of a roof shout. Sounds similar to our topping out ceremonies, but I don’t think those come with beer. 🙂