Christmas Edition

Merry Christmas to one and all!

I have had another week of a variety of jobs - some interesting, some boring but all very hard work.

I started off thinning apple trees again on monday and tuesday. On wednesday I was pruning cherry trees and securing bird nets around the cherry trees. On thursday I was securing the nets for an hour and then spreading fertilizer pellets on young or underdeveloped trees (about 3000 or more of them) On friday I was summer pruning the apple trees. Quite a mixture I think! My favourite had to be spreading the fertilizer as it involved sitting on the back of a trailer being pulled by a bike buggy. This job also had to be the most invloving and tiring as well. Sometimes the bike got stuck in the mud that has been created due to the large amount of rain we are still getting and we had to push the buggy through the mud. So my shoes came out very bad as I was in up to my ankles and lucky enough not to take a header into it - which was very (if not too) close sometimes. The pruning of the cherry trees was the worst job I had as I had to cut off branches that were loaded with unripe fruit if they were too low to the ground; this might seem easy if you knew you didn't have to pick cherries in a few weeks time and what you were cutting off is a lot of money!! But I did it with all of the unease and fun of working on my own again!

On saturday there was a Barbeque at the orchard for the workers - a christmas party affair! That started at 5 where there was a mix-up as to who was bringing the BBQ and so the food wasn't cooked till near 8 o'clock. To say we were all starving by that time is putting it lightly!! However the party did take off when the dancing started, the drink flowed well and the rain stopped long enough for a few minutes to stand in the sun. The backpackers (myself included) left after 10 adn then went to the pub for a while till it closed and then the party moved to the hostel till we dropped like flies and I headed to bed after 5! I just love Kiwi BBQ's!!!

Sunday again has been spent in the park playing football - though I lasted a few minutes after I felt the strain in my leg after last weeks playing start trying to re-occur. So I lay in the 'sun' with a few of the others and watched the games.

The christmas tree has arrived and is sitting in a corner, undressed and beginning to droop as nobody has worked the energy to dress it or put it in sugar water and sand!! But the turkey has been ordered and the ham is still to be found and christmas dinner is being awaited like cherries!!!!!

So I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a lot of snow for some festive cheer!!