What a busy long Labour Weekend. Fitz and I came up Friday, in time to have a wee settling in glass of wine with Linda. The plan was to do my assignment and some tidying up in the bach, and for the kids to have a working bee on the garage re-cladding project that Coralie put her hand up for at the AGM. They arrived late Friday night and stayed in Auntie Ida’s. Breakfasts here as usual. I got a wee bit of study done each morning before they turned up. Just one morning paddle was had, on a still sea, around the inside of the hole-in-the-rock and in amongst the myriad of seagulls nesting on the rocks.

Larry arrived Saturday morning with all the gear and materials, and got stuck in. A bigger job than expected, of course. Coralie and Becky provided lunch for the boys. Good that Jase was here to help Will and Larry. Two walls were done. Barbie, Charlie, Sarah, Chantelle and Leah came after lunch, and the kids had a play on the beach.

They all stayed for a BBQ, cooked by Will. Christine joined us, for rowdy games of Articulate and Balderdash. All pretty shattered.

Sunday, Linda and I took over the painting of the garage cladding while the kids went up the hill to mow a strip for the wedding. Then they went down the Butterfly Bay end for a look-see and got a few little mussels and tuatua. Larry and Barbie and Charlie arrived later, for a relaxing visit. Charlie had a ball clambering up the hill – refusing to crawl, of course!

They went home earlyish, and we had a yummy bach chicken before hitting the sack.

Monday, after brekky, the kids went up to St Pauls. Will did a bit of finishing off spoutings, and tidying up first. I decided to mow a bit of the track behind the bach, paint a wee bit of chilli red, and tackle leveling the bit outside the main gate that had big humps of rubbish. Not much energy left after that. Then the kids got back for their lunch and pack up, and finally I got to tidy up, put the kayaks away, mow the lawns, and have a wander in the evening sunlight around the dotterel fence. Nice and quiet in the aftermath.

Poor old Fitzy was exhausted. Had to be helped around the tree twice, and even tried to tell Coralie he couldn’t get through the fence behind the bach. A busy but beautiful spring weekend. Millpond sea and foggy mornings, tui in the trees (but not on the flax yet) and dotterels nesting.

4 days @ the bach

Very full on 4 days, but an excellent time!
Went up Wednesday so I could get on with the Boyd committee research. It was blowing a gale and showery, and Fitzy and I had a blustery walk to peek around to the rocks at the quiet side. Then we got stuck in to painting the back inside wall in the bach - I wanted to leave evidence of the original colours! Fitzy found it all very boring.


Barbie and Charlie came over Friday and squished into a corner while we worked - ALL the books off the bookshelves and all the other junk - beds etc, were inside cos it was a showery day! Anyway, it was lovely to see them - Charlie's growing so quickly - now running round and being very confident. Painting again on Saturday, and sorting and replacing books. Chucked heaps out. But lots of rellies were up (which I hadn't expected) and they came for cuppas, so again a bit slow on the work side - Phil kept on with it. Oh, and Dave & Cyn came down to inspect the new paint as well - Dave says it looks like primer. But everyone else likes it. Especially me, tho it's lost that patchy bach look.


Sunday, daylight saving started, so a big sleep in. The little whanau came over to visit again - nice and sunny - summer's here. But water was freezing. Larry knows cos he had an impromptu swim, chasing after his remote-controlled yacht that got caught in the tide!
So we had a relaxed morning in and around a spick'n'span bach with a flash new wall. Charlie and Fitzy are friends now - Charlie fed him a biscuit (accidentally) and patted him on the head (on purpose) Then we headed home about 2.30pm. Great that Barbie offered to do the last tidy/sweep for us! That felt weird. Grandad approves the new paint. So does Mum.

Had an amazing Queens Birthday at the bach, watching the sea turn from blue and mirror-like to raging, overnight. And Phil did a fantastic job reducing the impact of the fallen pohutukawa, so we can now get around without getting so wet - still a lot to do, but heaps better. Had a lovely bonfire on the beach before the rest of the rellies arrived for the weekend. (oh this silly blog thing - now it wont let me upload the photos)

Had a cool visit from Barbie and Charlie too!

Of Mice and Seaweed

Well, I was coming up then I wasn't then we were then we weren't, then I was! The weather forecast was dreadful for the weekend, but eventually I decided to go, and Phil didn't!

Just the occasional squally thundery thing on the way up. Nice when I got here. Low tide, thank goodness. Not raining THANK GOODNESS!!!! As soon as I unlocked the bach door, I could smell mice. Worse than usual. I was fleetingly pleased I'd not left it any later to arrive, cos time to air the bach out. Then I went inside.

Inside, it was a shambles. The bed was covered in mouse poo, including pillows and the bedside tray. In the kitchen, the bar of soap had been chewed and dragged to the opposite end of the bench. Mouse wee in the sink. Chewed up paper and poo all over the floor. And in the cupboards!! Even a roll of tinfoil had been chewed. Labels chewed off tins of food and off bottles of booze. Boxes not even remotely food were chewed. Out by the loo, things had been knocked off shelves, and BIG rat poo everywhere. No idea how they get in there.

So - all windows and doors wide open. Did I say thank God it wasn't raining? Or cold. There is a good wind, but not enough. Shook all the bedding outside. Vacuumed in, on, under and round the bed. clean sheets on the chewed mattress - well nearly - haven't done that yet. The cupboards got all emptied out and vacuumed. Windowsills, bench, floor. And they even chewed the citronella candles. Put big piles of rat and mouse bait outside under the shed and the bach. Hoped they'd stay out there to eat and not come inside!

A good reminder. Never never never never leave food at all accessible, not even remotely accessible. Even paper is food! And don't forget to put rat bait down (tho I did do it last time). Lots of it! Remember autumn is when it starts to get cold and the vermin come inside to get warm. (apparently everyone's been invaded, even brand new houses) And always plan to arrive in the morning so there's a whole day for cleaning and airing the bach! And preferably bring someone else to do it!

I was re-reading Marilu's comments in the visitors book - thank goodness they didn't find this when they came! That would have been SO bad.

A toastie warm, pitch black night, with rough seas and wind raging outside. Lovely And a chubby wee mouse kept looking out the cupboard door to see if I was still there - no mousetrap. Then Saturday the lagoon filled rapidly with mounds seaweed torn from the ravaged seabed that proceeded to almost completely dam the creek!

Sunlight glinting on white spray surging over the rocks, but not over the sandspit, even tho a highish tide. Big brown gulls (baby blackbacks) flying low past the flax, battling the gusts - it's always cool looking down on such big birds flying by. And there's a crazy guy out there kite-surfing - going flat-out and getting huge air!


Anyway, lawns mowed, cupboards cleaned out (wrecked the vacuum cleaner) doors and windows all wide open - lovely wind blowing through. Sand shovelled away from the bottom weatherboard at the back of the bach, shovelled more scoria, ratbait refilled, and new woodshavings bin for the loo. So many chores, no time for Uni assignment! Oh well. Did have time to go visit Charlie tho. Went house hunting with Barbie and Larry.

And another surprise privilege - a kaumatua came down for a korero about my Boyd research, and I found out a huge lot about Whangaroa and Ngapuhi history and developments. More to come.

The creek cleared a little, and although the lagoon is chokker with seaweed, it's lovely to breath in the invigorating, autumn air on a stunning day Sunday - blue, turquoise and green seas, a few whitecaps on a gentle sea.

Marilu at the bach

And I know this is all out of order, but the blog isn't complete without an IMPORTANT note about Jay bringing Marilu up for her first bach experience. He's rivalled me in the photo stakes. Took 100's of gorgeous pictures of romantic dinners, catching, cleaning and cooking snapper for dinner, marshmallows on a beach fire (despite a total fire ban), exploring Tauranga Iti and Butterfly Bay (Whanga is it's proper name), and climbing the hill. Hope it wont be long before he brings her back!

Jay, Barbie & Charlie - and the dinghy gives great service!

Never did finish that last blog where I was, supposedly, learning how to put the photos in the right place! What I wanted to talk about was how wonderful it was to spend time at the bach with Jay and Barbie and Charlie. And Fitzy of course. Charlie brought friends, and they were delivered in style!


The dinghy gave sterling service as a barge as well as a taxi!





Poor old dinghy. Charlie helped out and told me all about his troubles.



And Jay signed off the visitors book till next time he's home from Londontown



In the meantime, we'll have to get on and finish off the retaining wall!

The retaining wall - and LSPS gathering

Jay and I had a busy weekend at the bach building a retaining wall to replace the kikuyu that has been holding up the bank for ever.

It was a mission using the dinghy as a barge, but Jay worked like a trojan and it got done!

We arrived on Sunday afternoon, in time to meet up with an LSPS contingent - lovely to see everyone there!

Summer 2009/2010

Summer 2009/2010 at the bach has been all about family, introducing Charlie to his great-great-Grandad Williams' bach legacy on his great-great-great-Grandpa Hayes' farm legacy. Spending time with Linda who's part of the fabric of the place, and Jo and Brian, whose dad helped Grandad build the bach and watching their kids enjoy the lagoon the way we all did as kids, and a visit from Sarah, whose dad spent his childhood summers there too, reminds us about the traditions and the continuity of the place. Uncle Lionel's great-grandchildren descended on their bach, spread themselves out, and echoed the sounds of the previous generations.

Then there was the usual passing parade of boats large and small, sunsets and sunrises, the milky way in clear skies, and the constant birdlife around us. This summer the lagoon was shallow and clear and full of little kids having a ball. Relentless beautiful sunshine (with high fire risk!) relieved by a consistent cooling breeze and chilly swims. Evenings relaxing with a glass or two, and many congenial chats with visitors.

Boyd Remembrance - 200th anniversary

Then, on 4-6 December, the Boyd Remembrance events were on, so another weekend at the bach - a place to retreat from sensory overload and reflect on the depth of passion and emotion that had been exposed. Christmas colours were out, little blue herons and white-faced herons fishing in the creek, and huge, juicy fresh figs on the tree.

Orca

An absolute feature of the summer holiday was an hour's paddling with a pod of six orca who cruised into the bay just as we had arrived in kayaks at the Arrows. We joined the flotilla of kayaks following the pod of a huge bull, another adult and four smaller orca, as they meandered into all the little rocky bays, probably hunting stingray - or just looking around. Looking UP at the top of a dorsal fin, being SO close to all the power and grace, and being able to spend so much time with them was amazing. Certainly a first for us.

Still waiting for Charlie

So that last post was about the 2-7 November weekend.

That weekend included time on the Whangaroa Harbour with kaumatua and Church representatives, blessings sites in preparation for the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the burning of the Boyd in 1809. A profound spiritual occasion.

The next visit, 15-17 November, was to welcome Charlie. So more work at the bach, waiting, watching dotterels dog-fighting, the crayfish boat working in the early morning light, and more glorious evenings. (I give up on the photos!)