La Dedah Self Contained Accommodation Greytown

... to a farm between here and Wellington to help plant potatoes. Colin has been working some land there and needs my help to get the spuds in the ground before it is too late.

I've had a great time here on The Paddock. I've grown more and more comfortable and felt a sense of importance. I've really had the chance to dig my hands into the soil, which has felt really good; I only wish I could see how all my hard ...

... and analyze certain aspects of their nutritional value to see how the guided genetic makeup or forced evolution affects the plants. Colin has done tests to find that some heritage varieties hold anywhere from twice to 100x the nutritional value of modern produce. It's all pretty fascinating.

Two people that came to the visit day seemed incredibly familiar to me, but I could not sort out why. They had American ...

... mountain ranges in an agricultural valley. The rye was swaying in the wind, its grey heads dancing about as I came up the drive.

I spent the afternoon sitting in a shaded area with the elder son, Brendan, and pulled weeds while munching on freshly picked rhubarb. All the while he was rambling on about some incredibly significant part of his 4-year-old world. I just sat, chewed the sour stalk, and enjoyed the company.

As the sun sank until it was just above ...

... before. There are rows of salad greens, interrupted by the cucumber and tomato plants topped off with beans climbing hanging nets in the middle of the rows. It seems to work, so he is really packing a lot into a relatively small space.

We called it quits and headed back to the house where I proceeded to wash all the greens, which was quite a chore, but they were are going to market in Wellington on Sunday, so it had to be done.

I ...

... a night.

After rolling out of my sleeping bag, I decided to try to sort out what to do for the next two weeks. I had seen an ad hanging in an Asian restaurant in search of an orchard worker, but found out that they needed someone for the whole season.

However, the second call I made was more successful. I rang a woman named Janey, whose profile I had seen on the wwoof website,. It turned out the timing was perfect - she had someone leaving today, so ...

... roten Pick-Up ab. Dann ging es auf die knapp 1,5 Stündige Fahrt nach Wakanae an der Westküste. Als wir dann vor einem kleinen Supermarkt anhielten und Gerry ausstieg kamen wir drei (Moni, Marc und ich) alle zeitgleich zur selben Aussage:"Das düngt mich komisch....!"....gemeint war damit eine Aussage Gerry`s, die ich dachte aufgrund sprachlicher Missstände falsch verstanden zu haben. Aber irgendwie hatten die andren beiden auch das gleiche gehört und es düngte immer ...

... of the narrow coastal plain, culminating at a stunning viewpoint overlooking the Kapiti Coast, Kapiti Island, and the South Island. Near the bottom of the hill, the road goes right by a pretty waterfall. There are some stairs ascending the slope to the left of the fall, and then a boardwalk on the right side of the stream leading back into a little valley. The trail looked quite tempting; unfortunately, the bridge across the stream which apparently ...

... the other. The hostel was set on top of a steep hill looking out to sea with no drive and only access by foot to get to it. The owners were so friendly and made us tea in a teapot (complete with teacups and saucers!)when we arrived. All around the garden and hostel were impressive sculptures and paintings that the owners had collected. They had a dog called ...

... North. However the turf still sucks, and we probably will leave soon to get better turf. We're going to celebrate Christmas with the Wellington team this Friday. I'm also looking forward to our little celebration of the Rainbow Frank Experience. This machine costs $2 for 20 minutes, so I'm gonna be booted out soon, will post the other post when I get the opportunity.

... and go to Nelson from there. I have to see how that all works out with the train-ferry-bus times, but hopefully it shouldn't be too complicated. hi to Mom, Ian and Gramma who I got to talk to this morning! kind of refreshes my spirit to hear your voices again, and I'm glad you all know now - for sure - that I'm happy and safe here. love you very much, enjoy your Thanksgiving! (pictures once I get to a computer that has an accessible USB)