Sunshine and Lollypop

This is the first real sunshine we’ve had since last Wednesday. Our grounds are saturated and new ponds cover the lower lawns, not to mention how our chickens are surviving the combination of freezing temperatures and frightening windstorms that pelt the rain in every direction. We too are feeling a surge of joy to venture outside in search of some much needed solar radiance. Our spirits are faltering after so many darkened skies and days that were so gloomy we seemed to be in a constant state of impending nightfall.

Our boy is home again for another few days. He’s going to take the Delica van back to Wellington now that John has tirelessly brought it back from the brink of dysfunction. It’s been given a new life, just as we feel renewed by the change in the weather. We are feeling hopeful that the rest of this short visit will be dry with a bit of sun. It is winter after all, but this year has seen so much cold and inundation that we’re drowning in our isolation from the world. When it’s sunny and warm we don’t think so much of the relatives overseas and even on the other island in New Zealand that we’ve barely seen in the last year or more. Although I see a clearing in both the weather and the waiting for the world to right itself, it’s been a long hard slog to live this cut off from our regular lives.

People are hurting. It tears at my soul to think of it too long. So I busy myself with reorganizing all my worst areas of collections that have sprung themselves out of their bounds. My new plan is to empty out a gorgeous green armoire I bought here years ago that currently, and for the last decade, holds vintage crockery that I haven’t used since my bed and breakfast days. That space will be refilled with larder items that my tiny kitchen can’t hold properly and Jake will help me accomplish this feat. Then the packed boxes that will be sealed and labeled will be stored in the large barn on the premises. I will only keep out my favorites. But this process should free up some space in the kitchen and in those cupboards that are hard to reach and very inefficient for items we use regularly. This armoire is in the next room that backs up to the kitchen so it won’t be hard to find what I need and take it a few steps back to use it in the cooking area. I’ve gotten so slow lately with fiddly projects that I’m looking forward to doing this purging with Jake. He whizzes through jobs like this. God bless him. And he’s making me endless cups of tea. He even hung out the washing, mostly his stuff of course, but he hung it out. That brought the cat out to watch such a fascinating project unfolding. Then the other male showed up. Both of them started to walk down the driveway to see what I was doing as I shot the images of the puddles near a stand of white birch trees, but I only got Shaq since he was closer. He probably thought we were gonna play in the muddy water. What excitement after being cooped up for days worried about the sopping wet chickens that were also going stir crazy. Such is life here at the House of Cluck-Cluck at the start of what looks to be a very wet winter.