The bed was soft and cushy with lots of warm comforters. After a breakfast of toast and jam, we began our gardening work in the tunnel house (greenhouse). It was rather chilly outside and the ground was glazed with a frosty dew.
Because of the current drought, the dry grass was all torn up from birds digging in attempts to find food.
Frosty dew coated the roses...
... the hydrangeas...
... and even tiny flowers.
We spent a couple of hours pulling weeds, picking grapes and tomatoes, and digging up more potatoes (dark purple ones as well). We completely filled the wheelbarrow. Then Leah had to get the riding lawnmower which pulled a large cart... and we overfilled that as well. At one point, Leah scared a tiny mouse which had built its home in the garden... although it probably scared her (and then me from her yell) equally as much!
The tunnel house, outside...
... and inside
The grapes
We took a nice break with some lemon drink and crackers with cream cheese, then finished up working... well, there was still more we could have done but had no place left to put it! They can't put green waste in the trash, so she drives the lawnmower out to the dump (which apparently isn't too far away) and can drop it off there.
Some of the garden harvest
Lunch was a couple of sandwiches composed of our garden harvests... a freshly cut lettuce (soaked in salt water for a bit first to get rid of the bugs and slugs), tomatoes, some cucumber and cheese.
At 1pm, we headed off to Invercargill to run errands.... such as pick up a repaired lawn mover, grocery shopping, and deliver the Western Star (a free monthly local paper that Leah makes together with another woman) to several different businesses as well as the library. Because we saved so much time by me jumping out of the car and delivering the paper instead of her having to park each time, we had enough time to stop and get a drink at the local cafe. I had a lovely feijoa and apple drink.
The paper
One of the delivery stops was at the museum
She then dropped me off at Queen's Park while she went to an appointment nearby. I wandered about for an hour, passing through the aviary, rose garden, and eventually ending up at the museum where she picked me up.
The duck pond
Autumn color begins to show.
The large aviary
A Rainbow Lorikeet
The roses smelled absolutely divine!
In the museum, there was a large exhibit with several tuataras... ranging from very small babies to full-sized adults.
The animals sat completely motionless, as if they were just plastic toys.
The "Munro Special" motorcycle - this is a working replica built for the movie "The World's Fastest Indian" which was filmed around Invercargill. It shows the 1920 Indian Scout as it would have looked during Burt Munro's attempt to break a speed record in 1962.
Driving home with Stewart Island in the distance. It was much larger than I had imagined!
We drove home, unloaded the mower and brought in the groceries. There was a package waiting by the door for her from a reverend in New Guinea. In it was a letter of thanks (for a chalice she had helped arrange to send to his church), a request for money, and a large woven bag (like the women use to carry heavy loads on their backs using a long strap they hook around their foreheads). The interesting thing about the bag was that it had been very clearly used. It was dirty on the outside, and on the inside were various twigs and other plant debris. This is very serious for New Zealand which needs to be extremely careful about what enters its borders. She decided to pack it back up until it could be throroughly washed.
Leah is an Anglican minister and had a church service scheduled for this evening. The bishop was in town and there was to be a special ceremony blessing various anointing oils. I stayed home and had leftover pie and some feijoas.
Feijoas had a sweet delicious center. The outer section was a less sweet and a bit courser... like mild sand paper, but in a good way.
