Even colder this morning....

Frosts are rare here - not as rare as they were when we were in the Far North but rare all the same.  This morning it was even colder and my lawn was white - quite an event, especially this early in the season.

                                            We walked Sophie in Tikipunga Park again.

It was quite frosty here and there was a mist rising from the river as the sun arrived.

Last night I noticed an advertisement for free Avocado Firewood so phoned the gentleman this morning and Doug took me out to Maungatapere after our dog walk to get a load.  We burnt a lot of avocado when up north.

We are hoping to get another load tomorrow.  I am actually waiting for a delivery at present as Harold phoned me last week to see if I wanted to buy another  load as he is going to be away.  Firewood never goes astray.

Firewood

The night before last just on dusk, as I was cooking my evening meal, there was loud noise outside.  I went  to investigate and found my wood pile had come crashing down.  As it has dried it has been moving and has been pushed back a couple of times.

As it is dry now it was a good time to put it under cover - 

Doug and his grandson have now got it piled alongside one wall of my garage.  Hopefully it will stay put this time.  (It would have taken me weeks to do it).


 It fell just as it had been stacked.

This last photo is from the morning walk with Sophie.

The Trip Home

It was a lovely day coming home from my break and I took these few photos from the bus window when we stopped at Paihia in the Bay of Islands.

When I got home the man who built our house (way back in 1973) had delivered me another load of firewood  for the pot-belly stove (I had just bought a load for the wood burner).  Doug who came and watered my garden for me while I was away also stacked the firewood.  Lynn, my hairdresser gave me the lily head, the Amaryllis, which now has two flowers out, was a bargain pack I bought just before going away.  The seedlings are nine bundles from Awapuni.  In spite of the 28 degrees C today I have managed to plant half of them.  I see 30 degrees forecast for Tuesday.  Way too hot for me.

More Firewood

Looking back in my blog I see it was February when I bought 2 cubic metres of firewood.  I still had some left over from last year and thought that would be enough to last the winter.  The gentleman that I bought the firewood from had a massive heart attack while cutting a tree down and died instantly, not long after my purchase.

I realised my supply is getting down and so, when I saw some being delivered just around the corner, I asked where it came from and phoned the chap up last night.  This morning at 8.30 I had 2 cubic metres of totara delivered.  Some of it is a bit damp but, generally, I am pleased with it.  I have moved the last of the previous load into the garage and started with an empty space.

I should have taken a photo of the wood pile before I started moving it but was so keen to get started I didn't think of it until I had most of it stacked.

Just after 1 o'clock and I, finally, had it all moved and stacked, I did have a break for a coffee to rest my back..  This is the main stack in the porch.

This is some of the excess smaller pieces.                   

The wetter pieces I stacked here in a particularly dry area.
The neighbour's tree shelters it.

I then covered the outside stack as we have rain forecast for tomorrow.  (NOTE to self - must try and find some dark green tarpaulins).

There was some extra which I stacked in the garage.  

Still can't get rid of this cold/cough/sinus so have not been able to see hubby for over a week as they don't want my bugs in the rest home.  Unfortunately, he has had lots of falls during this time, one of which bruised his face quite badly.  I have lost count of the number of falls but I think it is over 14.

Now I just hope this lasts me through the winter.  I also have the load that was delivered last month cut short for the pot belly stove.