Photos
Flat Out!
Red Delicious Apple in its infancy.
The early cherries being earlier than usual this season have certainly put me a bit behind with the thinning of the apples but our friend Jasna and I have finally caught up (thankfully!).
So these days I can either be found moving irrigation pipes, picking cherries or thinning apples, should anybody feel the need to locate me as it looks like I won’t be escaping the Orchard for another few months!
Doesn’t worry me though! I haven’t escaped for over a month now but I’ve got Mum running errands to for me in town.
She doesn’t mind. In fact she enjoys it!
I always reckoned she should have been a delivery driver!!!
On the Fruit front we’re well through the Dawson Cherries with Stella coming on shortly.
The Earli Ril and Sundrop Apricots are still about 2 weeks away as are the Wilson’s Early Plums.
Will keep you updated!
Fruit Update
With the holidays upon us, remember to pack your togs for a splash at Pinders Pond after picking your own fruit or purchasing off the Fruit Stall.
Pinders is only 2 km down the road from us and even has a toilet these days.
No more ducking into the bushes!
Dawson cherries are now available on our Stall along with new spuds.
The cherries are in 1kg bags for $8.00 and the new spuds are 2kg for $5.00
Ruby also has a selection of grasses and herb plants for sale.
There is a great PYO cherry place in town should anybody want to pick their own.
Our apricots will be ready for PYO hopefully by about the 7th of January and from then on there will be fruit coming on at a fast rate.
Check our blog for daily updates or give us a ring.
And if you want to picnic in the Orchard, feel free to bring along your blanket and deck chairs as there are plenty of trees to shade under!
You are welcome to wander through our tranquil gardens also.
During the Fruit Season the weeds get away on us so it can look a wee bit like a jungle at times but still ever so peaceful.
There is a selection of places in town to buy your ice creams, pies, take-aways, sit down meals, etc.
And do check out 103 The Store.
You will not be disappointed!
If you are caught short in town, the Roxburgh Loo Ladies have done us proud. Lovely modern facilities with a living grass wall and a magnificent sculpture created by Bill and Michelle Clarke adorning the entrance.
The new cycle track is also very popular, especially with families biking down to Pinders Pond or further afield.
And if you want to make a weekend of it the accommodation offered in our Valley is of an excellent standard.
If it’s a Contemporary Studio Room, Backpackers, Cabin, Motel Unit, Motor Home site, this Valley has it all!
This is Mums 23rd Fruit Season and Ruby and I have been fortunate to have spent our whole lives growing up in this wonderful area.
Thinning Time
Before Thinning
After Thinning
Right now I’m flat out thinning the Apricots.
It takes a lot of careful planning and thought to be a thinner.
A degree in horticulture helps as one must think of all the crap they learnt as they are driven to boredom whilst slowly and methodically thinning the fruit so that you end up with Apricots bigger than your thumbnail.
Banjo music on an MP3 player tends to help relieve the boredom. You wouldn’t want any slow music as believe me, the day already moves slow enough.
I once had a friend who thought that coming out thinning with me would be a great experience and said I was being malodramatic when I told him how boring it was.
He lasted an entire half hour before running screaming from the trees and straight for house to beg my mother to give him a job in the garden.
Weeding with Mum and Ruby was apparently much more exhilarating. Who knew?
More Frost Fighting Action
Right now we’re having a run of nasty frosts.
I’ve been frost fighting for the past two nights and the forecast is saying frosts for the next three nights.
Good times folks!
Anyway on a lighter note, I took this video yesterday morning of the some of the sprinklers in action up the north end of the Orchard.
Check it out.
A Frosty Start
We had a nasty wee frost last night.
The temperature dropped steadily from dusk onwards so I was out on patrol from 8pm until 11:45pm when the temp hit -1c and I cranked up the pump.
It ended up getting down to -3c and I didn’t shut down until 9:35am.
It was a long night!!
Here’s some frost fighting photos for you guys to enjoy.
Check out my FLICKR page for heaps more.
Bees: A Love/Hate Relationship
Bees play a vital role in fruit production.
The problem is that they only work on their terms.
When the weather is good they work away nicely.
And then the weather gets cold and/or wet and they decide to stay in their hives and sing folk songs all day long.
Thankfully we are having some decent weather at the moment so the bees have put away their guitars and are buzzing around the blossoms.
Long may it last!
Early Spring Photos
Here’s some more early spring photos folks.
The blossoms on the Sundrop and Earli Rill Apricots are almost at full bloom and the bees are working flat out.
We’re meant to have some wet weather coming in over the next few days so I had to race out this morning and apply a blossom spray.
We’ve been lucky enough to not have any frosts over the past couple of days.
We did have a slight one on Tuesday morning but the temp didn’t drop down to -2c until just before 6am so I only had to run the sprinklers for a couple of hours until the sun was up.
Sundrop Apricot Blossoms
Looking down from up by the dam.
Almond Blossom
Sundrop Apricots in partial bloom.
Me applying a blossom spray to the Earli Rill Apricots.
Blossoms Are Out!
The first blossoms have appeared on our Earli Rill and Sundrop Apricot trees!
That’s right folks that’s about two weeks earlier than last year!!
Needless to say I’m not dancing with joy.
It does look really nice though!
Here’s a couple of photos I took today.
Sundrop Apricot Blossoms
Earli Rill Apricot Blossoms
Hobbs Orchard Nostalgic Photos: No.6
Here’s another Hobbs Orchard Nostalgic Photo.
This one is of Mum, Dad and me out in the plum block in June 1993.
The Hobbs Family Go To The West Coast
We decided last Saturday that it was time for us to get away for a few days.
Our destination of choice: Greymouth.
Being our normal spontaneous selves we made the decision on Saturday night and set off on Sunday morning.
Nothing beats doing things at short notice!!
It was a lovely scenic drive and as we wanted to reach Greymouth that same day we did what we like to call “speed tourism”.
What is speed tourism I hear you ask?
Speed tourism is where you quickly stop the truck, jump out, take some photos, jump back into the truck and roar off.
Good times.
Mum fueling up for the rest of the drive at Cameron Flat.
Mum and Ruby fueling up at Cameron Flat.
We had a nice little pit stop at Cameron Flat just past Makarora before heading into the Haast Pass.
At 6:30pm we rolled up at the Charles Court Motel in Greymouth.
Jeremy and Rachel run a good ship.
The service is great and it’s right beside the beach!
“I’m sure there is a rock around here somewhere?”
The beach behind the Motel.
The sunset behind the Motel!
Sam and Ruby at the Shanty Town sawmill.
Sam, Belle and Ruby at the Shanty Town train station.
Belle has finally agreed to let us put pictures of her on the blog as she is no longer creeped out by it!
It only took a few years to convince her!
Persistence pays off!
The next three days were filled with fun, excitement and mild insanity.
We went to Shanty Town, walked on the beach, went on bush walks, took a truckload of photos and did every other touristy thing humanly possible.
Sam, Mum and Belle on the Train at Shanty Town.
Sam, Belle and Ruby at Gold Panning site at Shanty Town.
Mum caught short!
This is where Mum and Dad would always pose for photos.
A very moving moment was when we went to the Pike River Memorial at Atarau to pay our respects to the lost miners.
We knew it would be emotional but nothing could prepare us for the wave of emotion that hit us as we pulled up.
It took about 10 minutes for us to compose ourselves enough to take photos.
If you’re ever on the West Coast then a visit to the Memorial is a must.
It is a beautiful tribute.
On Thursday we set off from Greymouth at first light and started to make our way home.
On the way we stopped at both Franz Josef and Fox Glacier.
I must admit they are quite impressive.
Checking the map at Franz Josef.
We had several stops on our way home at some lovely scenic reserves as well as the peaceful little settlement of Okarito.
We finally crusied up the driveway at around 6:20pm.
Nothing like traveling in the truck for hours on end to make you appreciate your Lazy Boy chair!!!
I’ve only put a couple of photos on here.
Check out my FLICKR page to see the rest of them.