The trees are nearly all bare, with just a single Liquid Amber holding onto its glorious dark russet leaves. It seems to be the same tree each year closest to the stream, that resists the strong winds and holds tight for as long as it can.
We have seen some intense heavy rain bursts over the last few months, with two flash floods of the stream, overflowing the banks and washing down many a treetrunk from up the valley down to wedge amongst our twists and turns.
We began our first major attack on weeds this year - targetting the margins between the houses and the bush at the south-west of the property. We also dealt to the first 100m of the stream bank from the south end (working downstream of course), filling nearly 2 massive weedbins up the hill during "Weed Free" month in March. Our efforts to hold the bank in with matting until planting could happen, took a hammering only one week later with the first flash flood. Simon was back out (roping in an unsuspecting friend) into the stream again, digging out the matting from what seemed like tonnes of silt, to peg it back on the bank. The 150 Carex grasses planted shortly after held on tight and most of them survived the most recent stream uprising 2 weeks ago. Our business group here for 3 days of team building were not sure if they were going to be able to leave (not that they wanted to :), as the water was nearly hitting the bridge - but subsided as quick as it came up.

Our courtyard is seeing some of the finishing details being added also. Simon & I tried our hands at laying stone in February, and I worked with a local Handyman Chris to complete our cedar panelling to the inside of the wall.
You can never tell where inspiration will come from, as I found today. My local plumber Bryan, visited to sort out a few things today, and admired the new panelling. He made a rather ingenious suggestion to reuse one of our old copper hotwater cylinders as my feature panel, instead of me building one from scratch  . . . . watch this space, and we will see if it can be done.

Duck news.
Yes we love our wildlife out here, and I am a big softie for helping the sick and injured. We found a lovely white Peking Duck here in May, lost and starving. She had a week stay with the lovely ladies at Bird Rescue and came back to Bella Rakha to live - my girls named her Spirit.  She was joined by two other birds who needed rehoming, another white Peking and a cross Drake (both are very big) who also cannot fly. These are now named Snow and Shadow respectively. Unfortunately Spirit has had to leave us as she kept going lame with a developmental problem with her leg.
The lovely team at Mt Albert Vets tried to remedy this, but rather than put this lovely little 'spirit' down one of the staff offered to take her on as her pet and treat her as necessary. A big thank you from us!!
So when you visit us next you will no doubt see some of the wildlife. Our lovely little hand raised duck (saved at 7 days old from Pukekos) reappeared last week, after months away.
Twilight is recognisable by her clumsy landings - she crashes into the earth with a splat. She has defied the odds, healing her broken leg at 1 week old, breaking her other leg as a young adult, having it removed (by the Vet), learning to fly (and land) with only one leg. Being lost in February, surviving the Botulism outbreak which devastated the local population here - only to reappear the day Spirit left. Our duck Spirit was named by Talia (8yrs)to remember Twilight who we thought had gone forever. SPOOKY.
    Well for those of you who managed to read this long blog entry, you can tell I am a bit nutty about animals... Thanks for reading, Yvette

 

Wow, we have been at Bella Rakha for 3 years now, and hasn't time flown!
We completed a refresh of the downstairs accommodation in the lodge at the end of last year, and I am pleased to say all the 80's 'peach' walls are now gone. Lovely earthy tones and new carpet have transformed this into a much more relaxing environment.
We have also replaced all the old tired aircell blankets (Salvation Army) and the beds are now sporting new quilted valances. Our courtyard also now has two huge umbrellas to shade us all from the gorgeous summer weather. Little steps, but it all moves us forward in the right direction.
Simon and I hope to turn our hands to stone walling/block laying shortly, to start completing the interior finishes in the courtyard.
Lots of new plans and designs are underway for our next phase of work . . . plenty to keep the designer/property manager busy. Watch this space.
 

A year after taking part in an edible garden workshop at the Sustainable Living Centre, which inspired me to start a 'food forest', I have finally managed to get our fruit trees in the ground.
I often have big plans, but do not always have the skills (in gardening terms) or the finances (our building projects) to see these to immediate fruition. During my course, which spanned 8 sessions over 8 months, I felt inspired to turn one of our under-utiltized slopes into a bustling array of food producing trees and plants that would grow to a little subtropical 'food forest' to be proud of.
When August 2009 arrived, the prime fruit tree planting time, I felt prepared enough to buy a collection of foodie plants to get things started. An array of guavas, new style berries, blueberries and a nectarine tree. I bravely got the nectarine planted on the side of my new edible garden (started in May 09 to follow the course) and proudly told the course tutor of my success. Oh, the deflation..... a tree not suited to Auckland conditions and in much too sunny and sheltered a spot!!!
So after a few weeks of pondering, it was replanted in another location and survived. I decided I needed to get to know the land better and wait until August 2010 to try again.
August 2010 - after some good consultation from a 'Gardening Angel', we found out that our fruit forest slope was not really good for much of anything  of the fruiting kind, and elected instead to plant a good variety of what we will actually eat, instead of weird wild and wonderful (well not yet anyway).
So with our surviving Nectarine in bud, and our existing Plum in blossom, we have 2 Pear Trees, 2 Apple trees, another Plum, a fruiting Cherry (fingers crossed), more blueberries, citrus and 3 Persimmons all planted, fed, mulched and very much watered.
I feel elated and proud to have achieved this goal, if only a year later than originally intended. Hopefully the harsh winds this week don't make a mess of our fruiting dreams.
On another note, I have conceeded that my edible garden is just too far away from our dwelling to make it work - definately not Zone 1. We did eat a bit from it last year, but the grass is growing well when fenced off from the mower and things needed to change. For now, will concentrate on growing the berries up the TeePee and salvage the blueberries from the grass. Our neighbour at the Bungalow is keen on vege gardening and we will try our hand at mass tomato and corn planting for the summer instead. 
My planter boxes (or black timber frames to the uneducated) along the side of the lodge will become our new vege garden for the next few years. Simon and I finally completed one with plants two weeks ago and the strawberries are already forming!! Now I need to design a chook proof cover, hopefully aesthetic also??!!