Category: News

Saturday was the day of the bi-annual alpaca maintenance
It’s been quite some time since our fluffy alpacas have been up in the paddock. Down in the valley we hardly see them but tomorrow will be time for the half-yearly maintenance, meaning drenching, vaccination and toenail clipping.
A few days ago there was finally a window with no rain and a bit of time, so managed to fill 4 feed bags with pine cones. Pine cones are excellent fire starters, full of resin and a rather large surface, thus burn really well, long and hot.
The seasons are changing. Summer went and Easter and Autumn came around. We have been starting to prepare for winter to come.
A walk on our local backyard beach, Muriwai Beach. Home to a gannet colony and lovely black sand with beautiful sunsets across the ocean.
We created quills out of some duck feathers. They have the big advantage that the quill is actually pretty long already. Still not long enough to actually handle them properly though. Shaved some of the vane off and it was much better.
After being rather busy over the last week before Christmas with a film crew on site and the typical “everything needs to be finished by Christmas” work frantic, we are now all truly in holiday mode.All at Pukeatua Farmstay wishing you a lovely and relaxed time and a Happy New 2021. May it bring prosperity and happiness.
The first days of summer greeted with a mixed bag of weather. The first day was coldish and still wet with quite some wind. But that all eased down on the second day which turned into a nice, dry and hot summer day featuring blue sky and green grass.
A few mother ducks did disappear a few weeks ago and we thought that was suspicious. Today Monty revealed her secret and what a cute fluffy surprise that was.
When we put those planters up, we had best intentions. So had the Ziggy the cat. But her intentions were quite obviously different to ours. Growing cats? Well, it’s worth a try.
It’s that time of the year again where the cats and dogs in the neighbourhood start bringing in little chicks and ducklings.While a few of last year’s rescue ducks have returned sporadically throughout the year, they now seem to be returning in larger numbers and bringing their boy friends along.
Who likes the weather when it’s raining and storming outside? No one – well, maybe the odd people that are happy that their grass is growing, like us humans inside. Oh, and the ducks! The ducks love it.