Willowbrook Park

The NZ vs Australia Polo Match 2012...

2012-02-12T14:30:00.001+13:00

After a hard week of study, I took yesterday off and we went with friends to the Australia vs New Zealand Polo Match. Just like the Previous International, it was a great day out. Beautiful weather, lots of good food and wine, and fantastic company. Here are some pics of the day...

Above: Peter with Chris and Robyn, and our host, Beth.

Below: One of the players took a tumble during the Colts curtain raiser match.

Above: For a while there was someone out in his microlyte, making the most of the glorious weather.

Below: One of the up and comers on his little pony for the children's chukka.

The New Zealand Team comprised of

JP Clarkson (No 3 Jersey)...

Sam Hopkinson (No 2 Jersey)

Jimmy Wood (No 1 Jersey)

and Tom Hunt (No 4 Jersey).

It was a very evenly played match, close until the end...

Below: Ball in mid air behind pony's back right leg about to be hit

NZ scored the winning goal within a minute of the last Chukka (sorry Millie, and no Nacho either)

There was of course the traditional stomping of the divots...

With many dressed up for the occasion...

At the end of the game both sides were knackered...

Above: The Aussies, Below: The Kiwis

I bought a great pair of white polo jeans there too, although they won't stay white for long...

I'm looking forward to starting my Polo lessons after my exams are out of the way (Peter bought me some coaching sessions for my Birthday)

I wonder if we will ever end up seeing an Elephant Polo game...

Day out to a Goat Farm...

2012-02-05T00:02:00.000+13:00

A couple of weekends ago we took a little trip up to Hunua to expand our breeding stock of Boer Goats and Suffolk Sheep. Here are some photos from the day...

Above: A very contented doe.

Below: Ngairie and the rest of the herd.

Below: The two does we chose, following us to the trailer.

Ngairie also showed us some Angora goats. Maybe we will add them to the menagerie next spring (they are very cute, but a little more maintenance than the Boer Goats).

Below: A lone horse nearby. I wonder how our horses are enjoying their holiday on the Costa del Whakamaru? (They are at a horse retreat being looked after while I prepare for my exams - 10 days to go...)

The Gentleman Shaver...

2012-01-30T08:30:00.000+13:00

This year my family in Denver sent me an "Art of Shaving" travel pack for Christmas. Never having heard of this US brand before, I did some investigation - for consideration of inclusion in another Shaving Post for my upcoming "Manly March" series (after the exam). However, I thought 'just a little blog won't hurt'...

Here is one of their video clips I found amusing. You can find out more at the Art of Shaving website, and also on this great Men's interest blog, Ape to Gentleman.

Well, if it's good enough for Rog Fed...

20 Days til the Big Day...

2012-01-24T09:10:00.001+13:00

I had my 'mock exam' yesterday - an 8 hour practice for the real thing in just under 3 weeks. My head at the moment feels like the blackboard above - over stuffed and disorganised. I know I've read everything, but trying to recall every detail that must be included is so difficult. The more I put in the more that falls out the other end!

I wouldn't say that yesterday was a wake up call, but I am redoubling my efforts in this sprint towards the finish line. I am also conscious of the fact that having shared my endeavours with you, my dear readers, that there will be a sense of embarrassment and shame should I fail!

So, no more blogging until after 15 February. However, I do have quite a few lovely posts to share afterwards.

À la prochaine fois,

David.

Flash Flood...

2012-01-08T12:20:00.000+13:00

So this is the height of summer? An unrelenting 3 day storm has snapped our London Planes down the drive, and caused flash flooding over much of the farm!

At least the pigs are enjoying the mud it has caused, as you can see from the clip below, though you can also see one of the piglets crates swimming in the water and their milk barrels blown on their side...

All in all a jolly good day to be wrapped up side studying. We are going to take a break this evening and go to see "The Iron Lady". I've been told it's very good...

Fairwell to Edward and Bella...

2012-01-02T08:55:00.000+13:00

This week Edward and Bella are off to embrace a colder climate. It is hard to believe that they are just over 2 years old. Dispatched quickly whilst eating hand-picked organic apples from a barrel, we know that there are no ethical concerns about the origins of our dinners to come...

Edward (above) and Bella (below).

Hard to believe they were just scrawny little calves 2 years ago...

We had said that we hoped they would grow up to resmble beasts like this...

I don't think they are too far off...

Edward was always the dumb one, though rather noble looking, and Bella the intelligent one, inqusitive and always a handful...

Peter has been reading through one of his favourite cook books and licking his lips as he turns the pages...

... trying to decide which cuts he wants. Other than a jolly decent steak and a few roasts, I am looking forwards to oodles of prime mince, so that Peter can make the most of the Soggy Bottom Farm sausage-making course I sent him on last year for his birthday. Gourmet bangers here we come....

Now we've conquered home grown beef, I wonder what's for Christmas dinner this year...

For the faint hearted vegetarians out there, there is always another option...

With Willowbrook's Kitchen we could run weekend cookery classes, and even put out our own cookbook...

(Mock up spoof using an old Reader's Digest Cookbook Cover)

Hopefully they would be more successful than some of Delia's classes...

New Piglets...

2011-12-29T07:00:00.002+13:00

In the rush before Christmas we had another sow give birth to a litter of five piglets. Again, there was the obligatory gold and white piglet (as with the last litter).

Our piglets and Boer kids have been a huge success. We quickly sold out of all the piglets and kids from 2011, and have pre-sold sold several piglets and kids for this coming year. If anyone else is interested please contact us directly at farm@willowbrookpark.co.nz

It is always nice when people who have bought our animals stay in touch. One such person is Jacqui, who bought a piglet from our last litter and has named it 'Lady Marmite'.
You can follow 'Farmer Jax' at her blog: Little Acres Cottage

I do need to give a hugh thank you to Peter, for his amazing dedication to the 'pig run' every day (he drives across town and back to two grocers to pick up fruit and vegetables for the pigs - every day after he has finished work). Thank you for so willingly sticking to the mission. The piglets are a tribute to your hard work.

White Wash Only...

2011-12-26T15:00:00.002+13:00

It has been a reliably wet festive period in Hamilton. It is almost a dead cert that it will rain on Christmas day (which it did). However, it had bucketed down for 2 weeks before Christmas, and then by the afternoon of, it was bright and sunny. We journeyed out to the farm to find that the goats had been water-blasted brilliant white and were now dry after baking in the afternoon sun...

Peter looking as if he were showing Chestnut at the Royal A&P Show

Merry Christmas...

2011-12-24T18:00:00.000+13:00

Wishing each and everyone of you a very merry Christmas. May this festive season be one of joy, surrounded by the warmth and love of friends and family; and We hope that 2012 brings you prosperity and fufilment.

Blessings +
David and Peter Lord Cowell

Music for Christmas...

2011-12-22T09:00:00.001+13:00

This post has a personal connection. We were unpacking boxes following our recent shift and came across an old album of Christmas Carols. It is special because it is a recording of Peter singing in the Canterbury Cathedral Choir when he was a lad. Peter (second from the right in the front row) went on to become head chorister at the Cathedral before going up to Cambridge.

One of my favourite carols is The Holly and The Ivy. Unfortunately I can't play you the recording off the vinyl, but I have found these 2 very good clips of Kings College Cambridge singing two different versions at the Nine Lessons and Carols service...

Here is a clip of the Canterbury choristers practising with the late Allan Wicks, Peter's Choir Master...

Not long to go to Christmas now...

Vintage Memories...

2011-12-06T14:00:00.000+13:00

I recently found this little tea caddy and thought that the picture on the front of the tin was familiar...

Peter in his prep school uniform, and the boy on the tea caddy. The resemblance is uncanny!

Wishing you all a week filled with joy, and perhaps some nostalgia.

What not to do to the Queen's Deer....

2011-12-01T09:12:00.002+13:00

Long time, no blogging (but We have been very busy recently). We also shifted last weekend, back to the city, into a house next to the river. We will stay there until Willowbrook is completed (patience is a virtue).

Since our last post we have managed to sell 10 lambs, 8 piglets, and 2 goats through our Trademe page. We are thrilled about this, and probably have another litter of piglets due before Christmas.

For now I just want to share this amusing little clip of a thoroughly disobedient dog running amock with the Queen's Deer... Enjoy!

The Running of the Bulls (and the ruining of the bulbs)...

2011-10-30T19:56:00.004+13:00

We arrived back from the UK in the wee small hours of Saturday morning. After the excruciating 29 hour journey from London (where the weather had been great for the most of our trip - some lovely posts to come), we got back to find that the cattle (and horses) had broken through their fencing and had rampaged through the park devasting many of the trees and the landscaping. 12 mops of Weeping Willow reduced to mangled broomsticks, all of our Horse Chestnuts eaten to the ground, and bulbs ripped out of the ground by the stems never to flower again!

I would have wept over the lost hours it took us to plant all the trees, the sheer cost of the damage, and the 2 years or so that it will take for the less damaged trees to get back to where they were before we went away - if it were not for being so thankful that our family and friends looking after Willowbrook in our absence had managed to protect the majority of the park from destruction.

We also arrived home to find that our Nanny goat, Bramble, had died while we were away, of unknown causes.

So, glad to be home again. More work to do (remedial now as well as planned), and this with my exams and the Christmas season looming. I guess Peter will be a busy boy....

Spring is Here...

2011-10-07T07:00:00.001+13:00

As promised, here are some parting photos of Spring at Willowbrook. Peter and I are off to the UK for the month of October on an R&D Holiday, and have been asked to go to Rome to take the wedding of one of our close friends.

We shall probably share a few holiday posts whilst in Europe. Till then, I hope you enjoy the fruits of our labour as much as we do.

We will start with pictures of the park, and then some of the farm...

Above: The still bare Plane trees under planted with bulbs along either side of where the main drive will pass. The 2 urns in the background mark the entrance to the orchard.

Above: The Orchard Hedge in Spring

Below: The same view 3 months ago

A closer look at some of the bulbs under the plane trees...

Above: A Flaming Parrot Tulip, which starts budding as below...

and slowly progresses...

to a flower of striking colours...

Below: The more demure tulip 'Christmas' planted in lines around the potager. I wait patiently for the buxus to grow and hide the wooden edging...

The fantastic green and pink tulip 'air', growing in raised pots around the potager- Great for arrangements...

The subtle tulip 'spring green'...

Now some before and after pictures from behind the lake...

Above: Willoughby helping Jackie plant the Leiladii hedge 18 months ago.

Below: The same area now.

This area has also been planted with oaks, under-planted with the red tulip 'London'...

These are the Princess Irene Tulips, growing in pots in the Orangery area in the Orchard...

Then there are the Rococo Tulips in the Nymphaeum...

And the Spring Green Tulips planted between each of the Lime Trees in the Lime Walk...

For the last 2 weeks it has been mainly overcast a drizzling with strong equinoxual winds. Not the greatest days for photography, but I did catch this rainbow over the farm on my phone (2 photos poorly joined together)...

More before and after photos of the farm...

Above: Then

Below: Now

Although the grass is short and brownish now, by mid October it is usually luscious and green again.

The Orchard is starting to green up and come into blossom too...

And the veges in the potager beds are coming along nicely...

One last photo to finish - our Indian Runner ducks going AWOL! They frequently go through the fence, waddle off down the road for an hour or two, and then come back to their lake. I have no idea where they go - sometimes they disappear althogether!

Water lilies...

2011-10-03T08:00:00.000+13:00

Today, amidst an equinoctial thunderstorm, we potted up and submersed our waterlilies.

Above: Waterlily Peter Slocum

Thanks to the very helpful Sam Gamble at Waihi Water Lily Gardens we have sourced all the waterlilies for the lake and have settled upon the following choices...

Above: Carnea

Above: William Falconer

Below: James Brydon

Below: The very full flowered Gonnere

Below: The more delicate Hermine

Here are the contact details for the ever so helpful Sam at Waihi Waterlily Gardens...

He spent hours on the phone and by email getting to understand exactly what look we wanted to create, what colours and varieties were suited for us, and explaining how to plant and care for them.

Here is a very helpful and brief video clip of how to plant hardy waterlilies, courtesy of Silverthorpe Nursery.

Well now, I'm off to Bedfordshire after a grueling night shift in ED and a morning of getting saturated water-gardening in a storm. However, I am looking forward to sharing pictures of our Spring blooms from Willowbrook this Friday.

Please join us again then,
David.

Friday Comedy: Etiquette Lesson Number Five...

2011-09-30T17:00:00.001+13:00

This is the last of five comic posts during the month of September, thanks to Mr Harry Enfield and Associate.

Have a great Weekend!

Wentworth Woodhouse...

2011-09-24T14:05:00.002+12:00

Whilst doing research for an upcoming post on Stables, I came across Wentworth Woodhouse...

Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house near the village of Wentworth, near Rotherham, South Riding. Its East Front, 606-foot (185 m) long, is the longest country house facade in Europe. The house includes 365 rooms with 1000 windows, and covers an area of over 2.5 acres (1.0 ha). It is surrounded by a 150-acre (61 ha) park and a nearly 90,000-acre (36,000 ha) estate (now separately owned). Built by Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham (1693–1750), and added to by his heir, in the nineteenth century it became the inherited family seat of the Earls Fitzwilliam.

The house, built in the second quarter of the 18^th century, is basically two houses joined back to back: with the approach from the East showing a Palladian front over 600ft in length, the longest in the country, whilst the West front is Baroque. It also has a stable block which can accommodate 100 horses.

The house passed to the 4^th Earl Fitzwilliam who embellished the building cumulating in the best Georgian interior in England centering on the magnificent great hall. Its surrounding park was stuning too, until open-cast coal mining devastated it in the 1940s.

In April 1946, on the orders of the then Labour Party's Minister of Fuel and Power a "column of lorries and heavy plant machinery" arrived at Wentworth. The objective was the mining of a large part of the estate close to the house for coal. This was an area where the prolific Barnsley seam was within 100 feet (30 m) of the surface and the area between the house and the Rockingham Mausoleum became the largest open cast mine in Britain at that time: 132,000 tons of coal were removed solely from the gardens. Ostensibly the coal was desperately needed in Britain's austere post-war economy to fuel the railways. A survey by Sheffield University, commissioned by the 8th Earl, Peter Wentworth-Fitxwilliam, found the quality of the coal as "very poor stuff" and "not worth the getting"; this contrasted to Shinwell's assertion that it was "exceptionally good-quality."

Shinwell, intent on the destruction of the Fitzwilliams and "the privileged rich", decreed that the mining would continue to the back door of Wentworth, the family's East Front. What followed saw the mining of 99 acres (400,000 m²) of lawns and woods with devastation of the renowned formal gardens and the show-piece pink shale driveway (a by-product of the family's collieries). Ancient trees were uprooted and the debris of earth and rubble was piled 50 ft (15 m) high in front of the family's living quarters.

Local opinion supported the Earl. Joe Hall, Yorkshire branch President of the National Union of Miners said that the "miners in this area will go to almost any length rather than see Wentworth Woodhouse destroyed. To many mining communities it is sacred ground" - in an industry known for harsh treatment of workers, the Fitzwilliams were respected employers known for treating their employees well. The Yorkshire branch later threatened a strike over the Government's plans for Wentworth, in a futile attempt to stop the mining. This spontaneous local activism, founded on the genuine popularity of the Fitzwilliam family amongst locals, was dismissed in Whitehall as "intrigue" sponsored by the Earl.

The opencast mining moved into the fields to the west of the house and continued into the early 1950s. The mined areas took many years to return to a natural state; much of the woodland and the formal gardens were not replaced.

The tragedy of Wentworth Woodhouse is that it was never opened to the public after the Second World War as were most of the stately homes. The 8^th Earl Fitzwilliam was killed in a flying accident in 1948 with no direct heir and this led to the sale of the contents and a split in the ownership. From 1950 a major part of the house was let to various councils as a training college with the Fitzwilliams still occupying the remainder until 1979 when the 10^th and last Earl died.

The present owner is Clifford Newbold, an architect from Highgate who bought it for something over £1.5 million in 1999, and set about restoring it, but I understand that it is on the market again. (?)

Some of the other landmarks of Wentworth Woodhouse...

The Stables

Keppel's Column

A 115 ft tall Tuscan column built to commemorate the acquittal of the court-martialed Admiral Keppel, a close friend of Rockingham. Its entasis is disproportionate, due to an adjustment in its height, made when funding problems reduced the height. It was designed by John Carr.

The Needle's Eye

A 45 ft (14 m) high, sandstone block pyramid with an ornamental urn en flambeau atop and a tall ogee archway through the middle, which straddles a disused roadway. It was built in 1780 allegedly to win a bet, after the second Marquess claimed he could drive a coach and horses through the eye of a needle.

The Rockingham Mausoleum

A three-story building 90 ft high, situated in woodland, where only the top level is visible over the treetops. It was commissioned in 1783 by the Earl Fitzwilliam as a memorial to the late first Marquess of Rockingham; it was designed by John Carr, whose first design, for an obelisk, was rejected, in favour of an adaptation of the Roman Cenotaph of the Julii. The ground floor is an enclosed hall containing a statue of the first Marquess, and busts of his eight closest friends. The first floor is an open colonnade with Corinthian columns surrounding the sarcophagus. The top storey is a Roman-style cupola.

Friday Comedy: Etiquette Lesson Number Four....

2011-09-22T19:00:00.000+12:00

This is the fourth of five comic posts during the month of September, taking an irreverent look at social etiquette and norms in days gone by, thanks to Mr Harry Enfield and Associate.

The Barn..

2011-09-19T12:05:00.002+12:00

This Winter gone We have realised that we couldn't do without our barn, but it is an old eyesore, no matter how practical it might be. Thus once construction begins on Willowbrook, we will build a new barn on the farm. The current barn needs to be demolished to make way for the small vinyard and the driveway. The logical place to build the new one is on the farm (not the park).

The word barn derrvies from the old English bereærn, literally meaning "barley house," from bere "barley" + aern "house". An appropriate name given all the barley and grains we store in ours for the horses and other animals.

Having a barn with a small open bay at one end for housing sick animals or stabling for horses during cold weather would be one really useful feature. It would also be really good if it had some space behind it for storing less used tractor implements such as the grader blade, and also barrels for collecting rain water...

A barn like the one below would be ideal...

It would have to be an English styled barn, to fit with the rest of the buildings, but could be very simple in design. Here are a few ideas gleamed from some English Barn specialists...

The above 3 pictures are examples of Oakwrights' Buildings

Above are 2 examples of Tamar Joinery's craftmanship. I love the sturdy big oak trusses and the crafting of traditional joints wihtout nails.

Here are some more styles of small barns. I am not sure I could cope with the asymmetric design of the first one though...

(Question: How many Range Rovers is too many?)

Above: Examples of Oak barns from The Rookery

Love the British Racing Green...

Friday Comedy: Etiquette Lesson Number Three....

2011-09-16T19:00:00.001+12:00

This is the third of five comic posts during the month of September, taking an irreverent look at social etiquette and norms in days gone by, thanks to Mr Harry Enfield and Associate.

The Long Gallery...

2011-09-13T10:00:00.002+12:00

It has been a while since We wrote a post about interiors, having been tied up with ensuring the Winter planting was completed, and posting about the various gardening projects. Ergo, I cast my eyes over the plans to see which aspect of the house I could write about, and it found one - the Long Gallery.

A Long Gallery is an architectural term given to a long, narrow room, often with a high ceiling. In British architecture, long galleries were popular in Elizabethan and Jacobean houses. They were often located on the upper floor of the great houses of the time, and stretched across the entire frontage of the building. They served several purposes: they were used for entertaining guests, for taking exercise in the form of walking when the weather was inclement, and for displaying art collections.

A long gallery has the appearance of a spacious corridor, but it was designed as a room to be used in its own right, not as a means of passing from one room to another. In the 16th century, the seemingly obvious concept of the corridor had not been introduced to British domestic architecture: rooms were entered from outside, or by passing from one room to another.

Above: One of the passageways at Castle Howard. This is what I would like the Long Gallery at Willowbrook to resemble. It is not a true room, but a 2 metre wide galleried corridor from the second floor gallery, opening out onto the balcony above the main entrance.

It will be useful for displaying our busts and artwork, especially as the front of the house is on the south side (the cold side in the southern hemisphere), and thus will not have too much light to fade the artwork.

More famous Long Galleries...

Above: The Long Gallery at Powis Castle

Below: The Long Gallery at Belcourt

Below: The Victorian Gothic Long Gallery at Strawberry Hill

Below: The Long Gallery at Castle Howard

Below: The Long Gallery at Seaton Delaval Hall

Below: Penshurst

Below: Hatfield House

Below: Syon Park

Friday Comedy: Etiquette Lesson Number Two....

2011-09-10T19:00:00.000+12:00

This is the second of five comic posts during the month of September, taking an irreverent look at social etiquette and norms in days gone by, thanks to Mr Harry Enfield and Associate.

Matters Ornithological...

2011-09-07T09:00:00.008+12:00

Now that spring is here we have really noted the abundance of native bird life around the park. I thought I would share some of the birds that we hear and see on a daily basis...

Small Birds

Sparrows

(Ubiquitous the world over)

Greenfinches

Greenfinches, as with the other forms of finch, were brought to NZ in the 1860s with settlers. The male birds have a strong green colour to them, whereas female birds can be harder to discern from other finches. The dine on fruit and nectar (so although pretty now, they may be a nuisance over summer when the fruit comes out in the orchard).

Goldfinches

Goldfinches are commonly kept and bred in captivity around the world because of their distinctive appearance and pleasant song. The Goldfinch males are sometimes crossed with Canary females with the intention to produce male mules with beautiful singing voices, that often capture the best singing attributes of both breeds...

Above: A Goldfinch Singing.

Because of the thistle seeds it eats, in Christian symbolism the Goldfinch is associated with the Passion and Christ's Crown of Thorns. The Goldfinch, appearing in pictures of the Madonna and the Christ Child, represents the foreknowledge Jesus and Mary had of the Crucifixion.

The Fantail

Known for its friendly 'cheet cheet' call and energetic flying antics, the aptly named fantail is one of the most common and widely distributed native birds on the New Zealand mainland. We have a particularly friendly one who flits about from tree to tree, following us around the garden for hours at a time.

It is easily recognized by its long tail which opens to a fan. It has a small head and bill and has two colour forms, pied and melanistic or black. The pied birds are grey-brown with white and black bands.

Swallows

We have plenty of these little fellows. They are best seen in the late afternoon, sweeping down over the water of the lake collecting small insects.

and we have several mud nests attached to the eaves of the barn. This is OK - as the swallows tend to stay out of the barn. The finches, however, continue to make nests inside and to dirty all the tack and saddles hanging up.

Waxeyes (Silvereyes)

These delightful birds are usually very plump things that look like flying blobs. They love to feed on all the fruit and berries, and are likely to get to our crops before they are ripe. We shall definitely have to invest in a net to go over the entire orchard. They also love eating suet and seed from the bird feeders.

Thrush

A fairly common bird through out most of the country.

Starlings

Starlings are also very common, and are terrible pests when it comes to building their nests where they are not wanted.

Birds of Renown

The Tui

Tūī are common throughout New Zealand in forests, towns and on off-shore islands. They are adaptable and are found not only in native forests, bush reserves and bush remnants but also in suburban areas, particularly in winter if there is a flowering gum about.

Above: An excellent painting of a Tui by the Artist Joan Marshall

Tui can often be heard singing their beautiful melodies long before they are spotted. If you are fortunate to glimpse one you will recognise them by their distinctive white tuft under their throat, which contrasts dramatically with the metallic blue-green sheen to their underlying black colour.

The Harrier Hawk

The Swamp Harrier is largely dark brown, becoming lighter with age, and has a distinct white rump. It hunts by flying slowly, low to the ground, on upswept wings. The body length is 50 to 60 cm (20-24 in), and the wingspan is 120 to 145 cm. It hunts small rodents, sometimes smaller birds, reptiles such as skink and frog; and is often seen on the roadside eating carrion. There are quite a few that circle overhead at Willowbrook. I am happy for them to keep down the field mice.

The NZ Falcon

Capable of flying at speeds over 100 km/h and catching prey larger than itself, the New Zealand falcon (Falco novaeseelandiae) is one of New Zealand's most spectacular birds. The falcon is found on both the North and South Islands and several offshore islands, including Stewart Island and the subantarctic Auckland Islands. It is an endangered birds, but there are ongoing breeding programs, and there are also programs to use them in viticulture to keep down the numbers of small birds who detroy the grape crops.

I am not sure whether I have seen a Falcon at Willowbrook - the quite common Harrier Hawk and the extremely rare NZ Falcon are at first easily confused, but there are several distinguishing features: The harrier Hawk is larger than both the male and female falcons, in fact almost twice the size of a female falcon; and when flying the Harrier Hawks tend to flap their wings, then glide in - the falcon is much faster and has constant, rapidly beating wings.

Falconry was extremely popular in the middle ages, but dates back to centuries BC. It became less important with the advent of firearms, but remains a sport the world over. There are a range of birds of prey that are used in what is loosely referred to a falconry, although technically, a falconer flies a falcon and an austringer flies an hawk.

Above: Falconers

Below: Austringers

The Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust, located about an hour's drive from Willowbrook, is a venture set up to care for orphaned and injured birds of prey. They also use falconry training to rehabilitate them before releasing them into the wild.

For more information on the NZ Falcon, including more differences between the NZ Falcon and Harrier Hawk, visit the Marlborough Falcon Conservation Trust

Game Birds

Californian Quail

We have several of these odd birds around the place. When One comes across them they run away, and if persued, they then take off like a helicopter - upwards then off.

Pheasants

We have at least 2 couples of pheasant. They hide in the hedgerows waiting to flap out in front of the horses and startle them...

Birds of Ill-Repute

The Rosella

This pretty transtasman import sits in the gum trees, making a racket, and then pillages the orchard. They usually become ferral after escaping from cages when kept as pets. Now they are breeding like mad.

The Magpie

These birds always remind me of the Hitchcock movie. They are also known as great hoarders of shiny things!

The Mynah

Well disliked in NZ as a bully (taking over other nests like a cuckoo and pecking the other birds eggs to pieces). A tuly vulgar bird!

Nocturnal Birds

The Morepork or Ruru

The morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae) is New Zealand's only surviving native owl.

Often heard in the forest at dusk and throughout the night, the morepork is known for its haunting, melancholic call. Its Maori name, ruru, reflects this call. We can hear one most nights in the trees around the house.

The much larger laughing owl became extinct in the 20th century. The German or little owl is a smaller species often found on open and lightly wooded farmland. It was introduced to New Zealand between 1906 and 1910 to try to control smaller introduced birds.

This is why they are known as Moreporks...

Water Birds

Pied Stilts

There are a few small groups of these which flock around the field at twilight, and around the lake.

Pukeko

This bird is an icon in NZ. It is cheeky, inquisitive, and fierce when it is nesting. We have a couple nesting in the field at Willowbrook. Unfortunately, none of the eggs seemed to have hatched this year.

Paradise Ducks

(One couple who regularly fly in and out, but never stay).

Mallard Ducks

(Several couples which stay with the runner ducks around the lake)

Kingfishers

A beautiful bird, often seen out just before it rains. There are one or two about the lake.

Grey Heron

We are lucky enough to have a pair nesting high in the trees behind the lake. They fly over at quite a height.

There are also some birds which we have not identified yet. They fly high up into the air, then barrel-roll all the way down again, and whilst doing so they make a very loud noise. Any ideas? (they are not roller pigeons).

For a full list of NZ Birds (Extant and Extinct) Click Here

Friday Comedy: Etiquette Lesson Number One....

2011-09-02T19:00:00.001+12:00

This is the first of five comic posts during the month of September, taking an irreverent look at social etiquette and norms in days gone by, thanks to Mr Harry Enfield and Associate.

Piglets....

2011-08-30T19:00:00.000+12:00

We have had our first litter of Wessex Saddlebacks. They were born yesterday. Luckily only one of our three sows appears to have been pregnant, as she had a large litter and we had only built one farrowing pen.

None of our sows seemed to fall pregnant last year, but this year at least one has got the job done...

They are by far the cutest of all the new born animals at Willowbrook. The odd one out is 'Caramel', who by rights ought to be black and white like the others.

By this Christmas we should have sold most of the animals born over the last 2 months, and start to recoup some of the money put into starting up the farm (and a nice Christmas dinner!)

Who could eat something so cute???

Study Blues....

2011-08-28T08:00:00.003+12:00

Today marks my first day in part-time employment! I am stepping down from my full-time work at the hospital after 10 years, to work half time (from 60 to 30 hours/week). I have my last professional exams in February (FACEM) and I have been studying for them for the last year, but in these last few months the pressure is really on.

I have dedicated myself more to them for the past 3 months. Somedays, as I look around the house it looks like a scene from Grey Gardens: my usually pedantic, borderline OCD, house-proud standards relaxing a bit as I sink into a quagmire of textbooks and paper...

Time does evaporate. Willowbrook Park has consumed any spare time I have had over the last 2 years. When I look back through the blog, there are posts about things which I had forgotten had happened. I can't remember what happened last year, let alone 10 years ago. Med school seems a distant memory. It is hard to believe that this November will be my 10th anniversary of qualifying as a Doctor, my 7th year of training as an Emergency and Trauma Specialist, and the 5th anniversary of my Ordination as a Priest in the Anglican Chruch.

I am looking forward to putting the study behind me next year, and getting back to a life on the land, taking up all the interests I have been putting off (fencing, learning the cello, equine eventing and social hunts, throwing pottery, reading all the leisure books that people have given me over the past year or so, and perhaps blogging a bit more (or at least blogging without feeling guilty (hard to know whether it will be as fun without the guilt!). We have also decided to postpone the start of building the Manor until after my exams (as Peter knows there would be no way I could leave the project to run itself and concentrate on exams when there was something far more exciting to do).

So, over the next 6 months there may be a few less posts at Willowbrook, but I'll still be following all your blogs when I have some spare, guilt-free time!

Riparian Dreams...

2011-08-24T09:00:00.001+12:00

Well, the cold weather is starting to pass. One good thing that came from it was a timely dry spell (and the frosts may have kicked the tulips into acceleration).

This morning, as I pooled through the vast list of 'draft' posts on blogger, wondering which one I was in the mood to work on, I found this post I had started on Waterways, when I was sourcing ideas for how we could beautify the titular brook at Willowbrook. I thought I would post it this morning, just as it is - a picture scrapbook of possibilities...

Above and Below: Pictures of the Avon at Warwick castle taken 2 years ago.

Above and below: A small stream running through the countryside in Devon, also taken about tht time.

Below: An assortment of riparian scenes...

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

2011-08-15T18:37:00.000+12:00

Here's a little weather update for all those Ex-pats out there, and others who are interested. It's very cold here at Willowbrook...

The whole of New Zealand is experiencing a freak antartic blizzard, with cold southerlies blowing up from the south pole and conditions conspiring to make it difficult throughout the country.

We have even had an hour of snow at Willowbrook (and the last time it snowed in Hamilton was 72 years ago!).

The Met service says New Zealand is having a one-in-50-year polar blast - a bitterly cold southerly has caused snow to fall in areas of New Zealand which do not usually receive it, making roads impassable in many areas of both islands, closing airports and cutting power to thousands.

Authorities across the country have warned motorists to avoid all non-essential travel.

The new -born lambs and goatlings are not impressed, trying their best to draw their heads back into their bodies like turtles!

... a rose by any other name would smell as sweet...

2011-08-08T08:00:00.000+12:00

We have now planted all the roses around the border to the potager. The potager lies patient in hibernation, with the brown winter hornbeams and the bare-twigged rose bushes. Most are English roses, in particular David Austen varieties (although we are definitely not going for the one stop shop look). There are a few old fashioned and some French varieties and well as many China roses.

We took much inspiration from Austen's Shropshire rose garden, Albrighton...

The roses we chose were...

Pinks

Gertrude Jekyl

Rosa Centifolia Muscosa

Chatreuse de Parma

Wife of Bath

Heritage

Zephirine Drouhin Climber

Whites

Memoire

Avalanche

Princess of Wales

Purples

Lilac Rose

Blue Sky

Dioressence

Kathryn Mansfield

Yellows

Charlotte

Jude of Obscure

Molineux

Yellow Charles Austin

Oranges

Amber Flush

Tequilla Sunrise

Wild Fire

Mari Dot

Reds

Black Beauty

Lady in Red

Dublin Bay

Loving Memory

Greens

Rosa Chinensis var Viridiflora

(technically the above is a rose, but the flowerheads are made up of multiple septals instead of petals. It works great in white and green flower arrangements).

Some more Austen Roses...

Badger and Bailey...

2011-08-02T10:00:00.008+12:00

Yesterday Bramble became a proud mother for the second time within 12 months! Last time she had twin girls - Audrey and Arabella. This time she had twin boys - Badger and Bailey...

Above: Badger - named for his white facial markings.

Below: Bailey - named after the whiskey and cream liqueur.

We have been feeding Bramble a high protein, high energy feed to provide all she needs to cope with the strains of motherhood, and to ensure a plentiful supply of milk for making our organic goat cheese.

Addendum (6 August): Barclay and Briar...

Low and behold, the very next day Audrey delivered Barclay (Buck) and Briar (Doe). She gave birth in their play pen during the night, and somehow she and Briar made it out into the paddock, but Barclay was left behind. We arrived to find him half-dead in the morning, probably suffering from hypoglycaemia. We gave him a dose of dextrose, warmed him in blankets in the sun, and bottle fed him every hour for the whole morning, then spent time trying to get him to latch on to Audrey. After a lot of coaxing Audrey started to bond with him (as she had appeared to bond only with Briar) and finally we got him suckling on her (Note - great lactation consultant as I make, the thrill of bottle feeding a goat QID for the next month did not enthrall me).

We penned them into a little pen with lots of hay and feed and today both kids are standing and walking and suckling well. They will go back into the paddock with the rest of the burgeoning herd tomorrow. Arabella also looks set to drop twins within the next few days. We will have gone from 5 to 11 goats in a week! Below is a short clip of Arabella with Barclay and Briar in their pen...

Addendum (11 August): Barclay and Bailey...

It is with much distress that we share the news that Barclay took sick the day after our last update and despite being bottle feed, housed, warmed and well cared for he died on 10 August.

It is also with intrepidation that I share the precarious position Bailey is in. Bailey, who like his brother Badger had looked so well for the first week, fell prey to a similar illness as Barclay.

However, between the 2 kids getting ill we learnt that this was most likely to have been 'FKS' (Floppy Kid Syndrome). So, with haste we turned our living room into a CICU (Caprine Intensive Care Unit). Bailey has been on a subcut balanced electrolyte infusion. He is also getting a third generation Cefalosporin injection IM BD (twice daily intramuscular powerful antibiotics), as well as Thiamine injections BD with Dextrose and Electrolyte boluses every hour.

He initially improved overnight and went from Death's door to Death's garden gate. We shall see whether this expensive scare (sorry, Intensive Care) wins out. We shall keep you posted. In the meantime he is curled out in front of the fireplace waiting for his next caring ministration...

Final Addendum (15 August): Barathea...

Arabella finally gave birth to a single doe kid yesterday, Barathea, who is now inside due to the freak arctic storm spreading up over the country. She is doing well. Bailey has also made a 90% recovery, and is back with the herd during the day, but is coming in every night until the weather passes. Time to get a new barn built I think.

Above: A new-born Barathea being sniffed by her mother Arabella. She was named after a friend's race horse Barathea Blazer, due to the pronouced blaze on her forehead.

Below: Half of the goat herd on a cold morning. Come Spring they'll get a good wash!

Border Patrol...

2011-08-01T07:52:00.006+12:00

We have set out to create Gertrude Jekyll borders styled borders around the potager, such as the one above. They typify many people's idea of an English garden. This style was made popular in the late Victorian and Edwardain periods. Many of the English country estates which were still mainly in the 18th Century landscape style of Lancelot Brown and his ilk, were partially transformed to the cottage, natural style. Many such houses compartmentalised this look to one or two areas. As such, today when visiting these places you get the feeling of the transformations over time as you stroll from one garden to the next. This is what we hope to create at Willowbrook - over all a landscape styled park with 'rooms' or areas in particular styles.

Around the potager beds seemed a good place to develop a cottage style, and a more victorian style, the centrepiece one day being a Gothic Victorian Glasshouse (but in the nearer future a potting shed will have to suffice).

Here are some examples of the better English borders from various houses...

Above: An herbacious border at Hidcote

Below: The Red boder at Hidcote

Above and Below: The herbaceous borders at Nymans Gardens

When choosing the flowers for the border, we stuck to tried and true flower species...

Lupins

Stock

Euphorbia

Alchimilla mollis (Lady's mantle)

Hellebores

Delphiniums

Hollyhocks

(We collected seeds from my grandmother's garden last year - many of these sepcies have easy to collect seeds, so ask about friends and family at the end of summer before you go buying any vast amounts from your local garden centre).

Carnations

Digitalis (Foxglove)

Clematis

Allium species

Cornflowers

Campanula (Canterbury Bells)

Moluccella laevis (Bells of Ireland)

Dahlias

(again, many tubours came from my grandmother's garden. They divide every year, and take very easily as long as every tubour your divide has a neck to it)

Cerinthe major (Honeywort)

Meconopsis grandis, nicknamed the Blue Poppy (although it is not a poppy), of which there are 2 varieties, one native to Wales, and the other native to the Himalays (also known as the Himilayan Poppy)

And of course Nigella (Love in the mist)

We have also chosen many English roses for the border as well, which we shall share in our next post, a rose by any other name.

No Shrinking Violet...

2011-07-23T08:05:00.003+12:00

Violet (Viola odorata) a species of the Viola family native to Europe and Asia, but was also introduced to America and Australsia. It is commonly known as Sweet Violet or English Violet, or in India as Banafsa or Banaksa, where it is commonly used as a sore throat remedy.

The sweet, unmistakable scent of this flower has proved popular throughout history, particularly in the Victorian period where, along with Lavender, it was used in the production of many cosmetic fragrances and perfumes, such as my own personal favourite, Trumper's shaving cream.

and Laduree's Violet Talcum Powder

The French are also known for their violet syrup and liquors, most commonly made from an extract of viola odorata.

But my personal favourites, which Peter brings me back every time he goes to London, are Charbonnel et Walker Violet Creams...

Each chocolate bonbon is decorated with a crystalised Rose or Violet, which are pretty simple to make...

How to Crystalise Violets (or any edible flower)

Old fashioned egg-white version:

Violet flowers, with stems still attached for ease of handling.
1 egg white
Caster/fine sugar

Sugar and water version (no egg-white):

Violet flowers, with stems still attached for ease of handling.
1/2 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract or 1 tsp Rosewater (optional)
Caster/fine sugar (to sprinkle)

Wash flowers gently and allow to dry on baking tray or baking paper. Carefully paint each flower with egg white and then dust evenly with fine icing sugar (confectioner's sugar). Remove the stems and then allow them to dry for 24 hours in a warm place before storing them in an air tight container (ideally with a sachet of dessicant if available). Alternatively you can make up a thick sugar syrup from sugar and water, allowing adequate time for all the sugar to dissolve, and plenty of time for the solution to cool to room temperature. Dip each flower in the solution by its stem and allow to drip dry, then leave in a warm dry place for 24 hours to complete the drying process.

I found a patch of wild Violets recently, which happened to be odorata, so I took several rooted cuttings and have carpeted the oak grove by the lake with them. In a year or two we should be able to get an abundant harvest of flowers to try to make our own bonbons and violet liquor (with the still I was given for my birthday last year). In the meantime I would like to finish with [the beginning of] a story about a little Violet with a big voice: Violetta from La Traviata.

Here is a scene from one of my favourite operas, La Traviata. This wonderfull performance was at Covent Garden with my beloved Verdi Heroine, Angela Gheorghiu, playing Violetta. This aria is from act one: In her Paris salon, the courtesan Violetta Valéry greets party guests, including Flora Bervoix, the Marquis d'Obigny, Baron Douphol, and Gastone, who introduces a new admirer, Alfredo Germont. This young man, having adored Violetta from afar, joins her in a drinking song (Brindisi: "Libiamo"). An orchestra is heard in the next room, but as guests move there to dance, Violetta suffers a fainting spell, sends the guests on ahead, and goes to her parlor to recover. Alfredo comes in, and since they are alone, confesses his love ("Un dì felice"). At first Violetta protests that love means nothing to her. Something about the young man's sincerity touches her, however, and she promises to meet him the next day. After the guests have gone, Violetta wonders if Alfredo could actually be the man she could love ("Ah, fors'è lui"). But she decides she wants freedom ("Sempre libera"), though Alfredo's voice, heard outside, argues in favor of romance...

(Italian)

Violetta:
Sempre libera degg´io
folleggiare di gioia in gioia,
vo´che scorra il viver mio
pei sentieri del piacer.
Nasca il giorno, o il giorno muoia,
sempre lieta ne´ ritrovi,
a diletti sempre nuovi
dee volare il mio pensier

Alfredo:
Amor è palpito dell´universo intero,
misterioso, altero,
croce e delizia al cor.

Violetta:
Oh! Oh! Amore!
Follie! Gioir!

English Translation

Violetta:
Free and aimless I frolic
From joy to joy,
Flowing along the surface
of life's path as I please.
As the day is born,
Or as the day dies,
Happily I turn to the new delights
That make my spirit soar.

Alfredo:
Love is a heartbeat throughout the universe,
mysterious, altering,
the torment and delight of my heart.

Violetta:
Oh! Oh! Love!
Madness! Euphoria!

Below: The actual patch of wild Violets I found...

The Great Country Estates of Britain Series. Part Nine: Harewood House...

2011-07-19T10:41:00.010+12:00

Harewood house was built from 1759 to 1771 for Edwin Lascelles, whose family had bought the estate after making its fortune in the West Indies through Customs positions, slave trading and lending money to plantation owners.

The house was designed by the architects John Carr and Robert Adam.

Above: John Carr

John Carr's other buildings are all of a very similar style...

Above: A Yorkshire Courthouse

Below: A Yorkshire castle

Above: Basildon Park

Below: The plans for Thorsby Park

But I digress. Harewood is not only known for its architecture, but more so for its furniture , much of which is by the famed eighteenth century English furniture designer Thomas Chippendale, who came from nearby Otley.

When Harewood House was built, a State Bedroom was regarded as an essential status symbol. It was reserved for visiting royalty and fitted out in the most sumptious manner. Thomas Chippendale was commissioned to furnish the state bedroom at Harewood. By the time Sir Charles Barry carried out major improvements at Harewood in the 1840s, State Bedrooms had passed out of fashion and this chamber became a sitting room for the 3rd Countess. Chippendale's spectacular bed was dismantled and stored in the Stable Block where it lay, half-forgotten, until being rediscovered in the 1970s.

In the 1990s, with the financial assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund, restoration work began. Expert advisers, carvers and gilders, mattress makers, silk weavers, seamstresses and craftsmen and women all over the country worked to restore this masterpiece of English furniture to its former glory.

Chippendale was responsible for the complete suite of furniture in the room. The Diana and Minerva commode with its ivory inlay and nobility of line is often referred to as his finest creation.

Lancelot 'capability' Brown designed the grounds to which Sir Charles Barry added a grand terrace, in 1844 (below). Barry is best known as the architect of the Houses of Parliament in London. The Terrace is the largest of his projects at Harewood, which also included major alterations and improvements to the house commissioned by the formidable Louisa, Countess of Harewood:

Above: Harewood House from A Complete History of the County of York by Thomas Allen (1828–30), showing the house before Barry altered the facades and added an extra storey to the pavilions.

The Terrace is on two levels and commands views over idyllic countryside. Below is the parterre which was restored in 1994 and comprises stately fountains and symmetrical flowerbeds outlined by clipped box hedging over a mile in length. More than 20,000 plants and bulbs are planted in the Parterre every year, creating a mass of colour from spring to autumn...

The stone statues in the fountains at either end of the Parterre are part of Barry’s original design, but the bronze figure in the central fountain (‘Orpheus’ by Astrid Zydower) was added in 1984 when the original statue collapsed. Herbaceous borders with perennials, tender exotics, roses and climbing plants complement the neo-classical architecture of the house...

The most notable occupant of Harewood was Princess Mary, who along with her husband, Henry, Viscount Lascelles, who became the sixth Earl of Harewood in 1929, lived at Harewood House from 1930 until his death in 1947.

Above: Mary and Henry out for a hack.

On the accession to the title by the present Earl, her elder son, George, the Princess continued to live in the house until her death in 1965. She is buried in Harewood Church.

Another less notable, more notorious person associated with Harewood was Lady Worsley (depicted by Sir Josua Reynolds above). Born Seymour Flemming, she married Sir Richard Worsley at Harewood house, where her mother was chatelaine. Richard Worlsey was comptroller of the King's household, an MP and governor of the Isle of Wight. She was notorious because she was said to have taken at least 27 lovers after fufilling her 'duty' of providing Worsley with an heir. Apart from her regular lovers there were evidently many more dalliances, and unseemly stories, such as her throwing parties a Harewood, where she thew her male guest's britches out of the ballrooom windows! The Reynolds painting above forms part of Harewood.s art collection today.

The Official Harewood Website

Tee 4 Me...

2011-07-16T08:00:00.002+12:00

This weekend I want to give a shout out to my very creative friend Arifah and her brilliant new business Tee 4 Me! Here is a snippett from her website Tee 4 Me...

How it started
When my son turned two he became obsessed with fire trucks and police cars. One night after his bath he refused to wear his nappy as it had a picture of a duck on it. His dad got a marker pen and drew a fire truck over the top of the duck. Suddenly it was the coolest nappy in the world!

This instantly became a nightly occurrence. It no longer mattered what was originally on the nappy, only what was drawn on the nappy. Sometimes he'd request a fire truck, sometimes a police car, sometimes an entire row of them and heaven forbid if his dad drew one wrong! After dad did get it right we had another problem on our hands, our son would be so attached to his personalised nappy that he would often refuse to remove it the next morning! This went on for months and there were many great, and many not so great, drawings. I often thought there had to be a way to save and display these creations that my son was so smitten with.

Tee 4 Me

This company and our shirts are a result of those drawings and the deeply personal connections they created. My number one priority was for the child to be the artist and for me to just provide a template or a starting point of some kind. Children are so creative and have such wonderful imaginations that I wanted to strongly encourage this. By having a picture that they can colour in themselves, they could then make up their own story about the picture and make it truly their own. And by being on a t-shirt, they can proudly wear their very personal shirt for everyone to see!

This is what Tee 4 Me is about, encouraging children to experiment and express themselves. Put simply they are the artist and the t-shirt becomes uniquely theirs. Colour it, Wear it.

What a great idea, and so good to nurture a child's creative talents. Stop by her website for the perfect gift for the special little ones in your life.

Potager Progress Part One...

2011-07-13T08:00:00.001+12:00

I thought in this post I would show some photos of the progress, albeit slow, that We have made over the last 18 months in trying to turn a bare piece of weed-strewn field into a traditional potager garden.

When we started the field was dense with buttercup and wild grasses, running up to a neighbouring tennis court which had badly rotten netting and a rotten ashfelt surface...

Above: A view along the back border of the potager when it was just a paddock, as it was being marked out and measured.

Below: The same view today. Our neighbours have put in a smart new tennis court with new ashfelt and very spiffing black netting. The Fejoa hedge has gone from 6" tall to almost 3' tall and bushed out quite a bit. It shall form a silvery backdrop to the purple and blue border. Forgive the rainy, muddy winter view - I look forward to sharing the blooming, colourful summer view in Potager Progress Part Two, in a few months. You can see some of the roses waiting to be planted when it dries out a bit, and also more polythene matting waiting to be covered with limestone chip.

Before we made any of the beds, the first thing we did was plant the boundary with a dense Hornbeam hedge. You can see the hedge below, seemingly running down the middle of a paddock.

Above: The Hornbeam hedge 1 year after planting, and newly re-mulched.

Below: The same hedge 6 months later, with new growth and newly created garden beds.

This is probably a good time to introduce our garden angel, emanuensis extraordinaire and general factotem, Jackie (below). Jackie has helped so much with the gardening at Willowbrook. She is currently recovering from a broken hand - get well soon!

Then we constructed the raised beds and carefully placed them in situ according to our plan (at very top of the post).

Above: The newly created potager beds put in place

Below: The same beds filled with soil and some temporary planting. You can also see the temporary runner duck coop, no longer required now they have a good sense of 'home'. The space in the middle where all the timber is, is where we are going to build the potting shed (another job to get around to!).

Below: The Polythene paths being laid down, over which the lime chip shall be leveled. At this stage there was still a lot of grass around. We have since sprayed that off. We shall re-sow the feature lawns with a good compact lawn seed, rather than the wild grass.

Above: A view of one of the newly placed pots in a bed

Once the border has been planted this spring, and the ground work is completed, we shall continue embellishing with further architectural features, the first one being blue painted obelisks...

Obelisks...

Obelisks are a fairly traditional, geometric feature, and are a part of so many garden designs.

They can really make a statement, as in these last two photos, and I hope we can achieve this in our little garden.

It has been slow progress, but we have done all the work ourselves in our 'spare time', which does give one a sense of pride! Stay tuned for our next post when we will bring you part nine of "The Great Country Estates of Britain Series".

A Willowbrook Winter...

2011-07-06T20:00:00.001+12:00

The day starts off with a frosty morning...

But it soon clears up, and by the afternoon, the ducks are out and about paddling on the lake...

Above and Below: Our Indian Runner Ducks on the lake, with some wild Mallards.

By 4pm the sun is getting low in the sky, but it is still quite warm. The blue sky is a welcome sight after a few weeks of rain, as is the first flower of the 300 Iris bulbs we planted...

Below: The rowboat that I plan to restore (when I get enough time), and the jetty.
We have ordered the waterlilies for the lake, but they will not be ready until spring.

Across the park, over at the Lime walk...

Above: Diana and Apollo guard the entrance to The Lime Walk

Below: Another view out of the lime walk towards a focal point of established trees by the lake.
Just of of view on either side of this avenue are our Nuttery (right) and our Truffiere (left).

It is very hard to see the lime trees, but you can see the wooden boxes of mulch around them. The limes started off last winter as 6 inch sticks, and are now 3 foot sticks.

Below: A new urn, looking rather 'plonked' in the centre of the Nymphaeum, is waiting for the box hedge to establish itself around the wooden tulip bed upon which the urn is sitting...

Across the park again, this time to the potager...

Below: A photo of the hornbeam hedge in winter with the sun setting on its dried brown leaves. The leaves remain on all winter until they are pushed off by new growth in the spring.

The first of our Spring Bulbs are starting to come through...

Below: The first vegetables to sprout in The Potager (well, it is Winter after all), peas...

Below: The view through the arch from the potager into The Orchard,

towards where The Orangery will be (note the citrus trees in pots in the background).

The black polythene matting has been laid down, but we have yet to do the back-breaking work of barrowing the lime chip onto it to get that traditional continental garden path result.

Below: One of the Std Mandarins, 'Richards Special', in a pot on the site of the orangery.

The grass in the orchard is quite high, as it has been too wet to mow it (and a trial of sheep 'mowing' proved too dangerous for the smaller trees).

Just as the light starts to fade I spot some Bramleys in the Orchard...

With the pigs fed, the sheep shifted, and a job list as long as my arm still to complete, I head home for supper and bed.

I look forward to sharing the progress of the potager garden over the past 18 months in our next post - Potager Progress Part One.

Settling In...

2011-07-01T18:55:00.003+12:00

Well now,

The move was not as traumatic as we had anticipated, and we are now fully ensconced in some very charming temporary accommodation down the road from Willowbrook. In the midst of the shift we had quite a bit of farm work to do. All 3 flocks of sheep and the goats needed their hooves trimming and all the animals needed drenching. All this had to, of course, co-incide with a fortnight of heavy rain (I can tell you wet, pregnant sheep are very heavy when you have to flip them on their backs, even more fun in a muddy tail-race). It has cleared up a bit over the last few days thankfully.

Four weeks ago we had adorable boy and girl twin lambs born to one of our Suffolks out of season. Unfortunately 2 weeks after they were born their mother died of unknown causes. Luckily, there is a lovely sense of community in the country, and we were able to drop the orphaned lambs off at the pre-school down the road with some milk powder, and the children there have been bottle feeding them for us three times a day and giving them lots of love and attention.

Yesterday one of our Dorsets gave birth too (I suspect we have a couple more on the way as well). Mother and lamb seem to be doing well, as are the rest of the flock.

Work is keeping me very bust at present, and I am currently on a week of night shift, however I look forward to sharing some pictures of a Winter Willowbrook with you all shortly. Bye for now.

'All we like sheep' from Handel's Messiah

More Boulle...

2011-06-03T05:27:00.000+12:00

We must shift out of our house next week, but this mild inconvenience didn't stop me from bringing this cabinet home when I saw it. Readers will know that I have a soft spot for Boulle. I plan to put this piece in the same room as the Boulle clock, on the opposite wall, with one of the Chagalls above it (the juxtaposition of old and new French artisans hopefully a stimulating combination).

Below: Detail of a gilt adornment...

Because of the move We shall be off the blogging grid for a couple of weeks. So, dear readers, à la prochaine fois. David.

Love in the Mist...

2011-05-30T15:00:00.002+12:00

Originally this post was part of an upcoming post on English borders and traditional English flower choices for that perfect country garden. However, it changed tac a bit because I wanted to share a recipe with you all...

Nigella damascena, or Love in the mist, is an annually flowering plant, belonging to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), which grows to a height of about 18 inches high. It comes in many colours, but blues and purples are the most common varieties...

The seed pods resemble something from a sci-fi film...

The pods are easy to collect each year, so One can resow the seeds elsewhere in One's garden. Even though, as the name suggests, they are natives to the Damascus area, they are a quintessential English country flower.

My favourite shade of Nigella is this pale blue specimen above.

Speaking of other English beauties in pale blue who go by the name of Nigella...

I love Nigella Lawson - I love a tart of ample proportions, and she can turn out some beauties. She is fun to watch and is as much an entertainer as a cook. Recently one of my colleagues baked Nigella's Gingerbread cake with Lemon icing for her going away party. It was divine, so I wanted to share the recipe with all of you dear readers...

Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Icing

from How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson

Ingredients:

2/3 cup of organic, unsalted, free-range butter
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of honey
3/4 cup of treacle or golden syrup
2 teaspoons of fresh ginger, finely grated (powder will suffice if needs be)
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 cup of yogurt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon of baking soda, dissolved in 2 tablespoons of warm water
2 1/3 cups standard white flour

Lemon icing:

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 1/3 cup of sifted icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
1 tablespoon of warm water

Method:

Grease a medium sized cake tin, lined with baking paper.

Melt the butter combined with the brown sugar, honey, treacle, ginger and cinnamon in a saucepan at a medium heat. Take care it doesn't catch. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and then add the yogurt, and baking soda and water. Blend and set aside.

When the butter is melted, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the yogurt and egg mixture.

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the liquid ingredients to the flour. Beat together until everything is well combined. Pour into to the prepared cake tin and bake in a 160 degree oven (325 degrees Fahrenheit) for approximately 45 minutes, or until the cake rises and firms up.

Turn it out onto a cake rack and let it cool completely before icing. To make the icing, whisk together the lemon juice and icing sugar, adding only as much water as you need to get a nice thick icing. Pour over the cake and smooth out with a spatula. Allow to set before slicing and serving.

This is why We love Nigella...

Winter planting for Spring Bulbs..

2011-05-20T09:00:00.002+12:00

Just in the nick of time, our bulb order arrived on the doorstep this morning, all ready for this weekend's bulb planting extravaganza (sounds better than admitting we have roped a few friends in to spend the day bending over planting thousands of little bulbs).

To ensure Willowbrook is a floral fantasy this spring, We are planting a huge variety of bulbs. Their placement has been meticulously planned on the garden maps. Firstly, we have the planting of the lakeside area with a variety of lillies, narcissi and irises...

Iris 'blue magic'...

Yellow Flag Iris...

Iris Versicolour...

and Iris Germanica...

Then we shall complete the Bluebell Walk with...

Bluebells (hyacinthoides ssp)

and Muscari ssp inc. 'Early Giant' and 'Americanum'...

Dotted around the Lake and Oak Grove will be various Freesias, including Cassis (pink), Yvonne (yellow), Ancona (purple), Oberon (red with yellow centre), and Argenta (white)...

We have a great many Narcissi species to plant as well. Under all the Tilia europea in The Lime Walk we shall plant Narcissus 'orangery' (split carona - below)...

Under the London Plane Trees up the drive we shall plant Narcissus 'rosy wonder' (both species below)...

and under all the Willows along the brook we shall plant...

Above: The early flowering Narcissus 'malvern city'

Below: The mid season flowering Narcissus 'carlton'

Below: The multiflowered Narcissus Erlicheer

By planting these species we should ensure a good long period of blooms.

We shall also under plant the woods with pockets of Croci...

Above: Crocus chrysanthus 'cream beauty'

Below: Crocus seiberi 'firefly'

Moving on to the flower border around the Potager garden, we shall plant...

Above: Hyacinthus orientalis 'Delft blue'

Below: Hyacinthus orientalis 'sky jacket'

and

Above: Hyacinthus orientalis 'Paul Herman'

Below: Hyacinthus orientalis 'pink surprise'

Around the potager and in the 8 standard bay pots we shall have a variety of 'flaming' and non flaming parrot tulips...

Below: The 'Air' Parrot Tulip - Pink with green edges

Below: 'Rococo' is a very dramatic red parrot with green frills.

The 'Super Parrot' - white and green. Very popular for bridal arrangements

Then there are the standard tulips. 'Spring Green' is another popular bridal option, with its similar colourings to the super parrot...

Below: The Standard Tulip 'London', is a great specimen of red tulip.

Below: 'Princess Irene' is an exceptional golden yellow specimen, a perfect seasonal compliment for One's Orange borders....

Some of the bulbs waiting to be planted...

I suspect it will take us a lot longer than one weekend to plant all the bulbs, but at least with a rotary hoe we won't have to prepare the soil manually like we did last weekend for all the buxus hedging. Whatever you are doing this weekend, I hope you have a colourful one.

Bees, Boles and Bears...

2011-05-17T07:08:00.002+12:00

Our Bees are back again, which has inspired me to write a small, random post for my friend D.R.L. - a bear of very little brains.

Some illumination from manuscripts about bees and beekeeping...

Catching a swarm...

Then releasing them into a hive...

Letting them do their thing....

And then harvesting their honey...

Whilst trying not to get stung...

Above and Below courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

Someone else who likes honey...

A bear of little brains, but a great friend....

Open Season...

2011-05-07T07:00:00.001+12:00

This Sunday marks the opening of Duck shooting season. Though I shall be on my knees for the weekend, planting 3000 buxus seedlings, I thought to mark the occasion I would write a suitable post; a follow up to my previous posts on correct country attire and shooting parties.

Here are some samples of what the spiffing country lad might wear this shooting season...

It's hard to believe that the poor creatures didn't see them coming...

One must remember to cover up One's Morris Dancing socks...

and practice loitering nonchalantly in doorways...

Country life is never complete without a dog...

Whether big or small, make sure his coat matches your leather goods...

Let us not forget the ladies...

and the undecided...

Let's not forget the all important part of shooting, the gun.
When I replace my gun, I would like my next one to be a Purdey...

While Purdey's are best known as makers of fine shotguns, they also continue to produce rifles, both double-barreled and bolt-action. Both because the Purdey name is arguably the most prestigious of any firearms manufacturer and because the guns are custom-made, largely by hand, they are extremely expensive. A new Purdey shotgun starts at around $100,000 US.

Purdey was established in London in 1814. just before the Battle of Waterloo. The founder, James Purdey, had previously worked as head stocker for Manton, the foremost gunmaker of his time. Purdey set up his gun making business in Princes St, but soon moved to Manton's former premises in Oxford St in 1826.

James Purdey (the younger) took over the running of the company from his father in 1858. Over his lifetime there was rapid change and development in the design of guns and rifles. James the younger was always at the forefront of advances in the design and building of his guns and rifles, and took out several patents for technical innovations over the years, many of which were adopted by other gunmakers.

In 1882 the company moved from Oxford Street to the new premises (below) on the corner of South Audley Street and Mount Street, where it remains to this day. James the younger designed this building to accommodate his showroom, the factory for making guns and cartridges, and later it provided living quarters for his family.

In 1900 Athol Purdey took over from his father and ran the business through the prosperous Edwardian years, when country life was in a revival, as well as supervising Purdey's manufacturing of gun parts and other items of ordnance for the War Department during the 1914-1918 war. His sons, James and Tom, both of whom had survived serious injuries whilst fighting in France, joined the firm in the 1920s, and took over from Athol Purdey on his retirement circa 1929.

No, not that sort of Purdey...

(though Joanna Lumley is credited with suggesting the character be named Purdey, after James Purdey and Sons)

Holland and Holland is the other gunsmith whose work I should be so lucky to own. It was founded by Harris Holland (1806–96) in the year 1835.

In 1883 Holland and Holland entered the trials organized by the magazine The Field and won all of the rifle categories. This set a new standard of excellence for the competition among English gunmakers, and since then it has become a coveted name in One's gunrack.

In the 1990s, Holland and Holland started on a major program of expansion. The company has stores ("gunrooms") in NYC and Moscow. The company's London flagship store on Burton Street has been completely renovated and expanded (below)...

Last year they really pushed out the boat for the luxury lifestylers and joined forced with Range Rover. For a mere $140,000 GBP One can purchase an Overfinch - an exclusive Range Rover designed by Overfinch and Holland and Holland. This is the elite country vehicle. Don your tweeds, grab your shooting stick, and jump in...

Hedge Funds...

2011-05-03T07:45:00.002+12:00

In preparation for building the entrance to Willowbrook, We have had the old Shea oak (Casuarina) hedging removed along the frontage of the property, and the stumps ground in order to replant it with 300 metres of Cupressocyparis Ovensii hedging.

Ovensii are, for all intents and purposes, identical to their more ubiquitous cousins Cupressocyparis leylandii, however unlike leylandii, Ovensii are canker resistant. You can see the men cutting down the Shea Oaks in the photo above, and note on the far side of the road is a nice Cupressocyparis leylandii hedge. The hedge on the other side of the road runs for about 300 metres, so we have matched it all the way along the road on our side . We have already had neighbours stop by and say how good the road looks with the Shea oaks gone, and how great they think it will look once the two hedges match (which is very kind of them). It certainly will give the entrance real presence.

Below: Leylandii with patches of canker. Once it starts there is nothing you can do about it.

We must give a big thanks to Harry and Lloyd at Wairere Nursery, who sourced our new Cupressocyparis trees, they are already 5 feet tall, so we have a good start to the hedge. Wairere has their annual sale on at present, so pop by and check out the nursery along with the stunning display gardens.

Below: a before shot. Note the Casuarina (close up above) - no matter how tightly you trim them they always ends up looking manky. Maybe a fine tree for the outback, but not a tidy hedging choice.

Above and Below: The after shots.
Each tree is planted 3 feet apart. Hopefully they will establish their roots well over winter and be away in the spring.

Eventually they should provide a nice tidy hedge like the Leyland hedge below.

With the view opened up we can see the prized bulls at the stud across the road...

Congratulations to the Happy Couple...

2011-04-29T23:43:00.000+12:00

We extend our most felicitous congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the occasion of their wedding.

Blog Love...

2011-04-25T10:15:00.002+12:00

Our first post...

At the time I posted this first blog, I was completely blogilliterate. As you can see, now I've even mastered the art of mobile blogging. Luckily blogger was fairly self explanatory, but I wasn't sure whether this was going to be a 5 minute craze for me, or something more sustainable.

As it turned out, almost 200 posts later, this has been something much more than a fad. I have made some fantastic friends, and have found a very easy way to collate all our ideas for Willowbrook. Not all of them have come to fruition, but most are well underway; and I have discovered that blogging provides a way to be creative with lots of support from others online, and an excellent forum to tweak our ideas or get other people's advice, A place to share our dreams, not just our realities.

For all of you who have been regular commentators on this blog, I thank you. Following Millie's sensible lead, if your blog is one of those on the right, whose presence is cherished enough to be on our blogroll, please share your own blog-love story with us.