The full moon was setting just as the sun started to light the morning sky. The cows across the street were still mooing. They had been locked up sometime yesterday and were very unhappy about it. Cows are often penned for a day or two so they can't eat before being transported on a truck. It saves cleaning up a lot of mess!

The moon dips behind the tree as it leaves the brightening sky.

Today's task was jarring some apples and pears that Leah had had sitting around for a couple weeks. We peeled, sliced and sorted them. Some of them went into a pot to cook on the stove. After they were mushy, they were jarred. This type of canning is called "overflow". Others went directly into the jars with some sugar and were then heated in the oven. The tops were put on as soon as they were taken out, to create a vacuum. This was called "cold pack". The reason for using the different methods was that they could then be easier used for different things... such as large pieces for pies, or finer texture for apple sauce.

Leah also made some relish while I tried to juice some grapes in the juicer. It didn't work very well. First, the grapes were still a bit sour, and second, they didn't really have the moisture content to juice very well. Mostly it just made a big mess.

Peeling and slicing

Cooking the apples

While they looked delicious, many of the grapes were still quite sour.

From lef to right: 'overflow' apples, 'cold pack' apples and pear; relish

For lunch we had some leftovers from last night's church potluck, after which she dropped me off at the nearby downtown.

Some of the buildings on the main street

Old anchors and a piece of the old bridge

St Mary's Anglican Church, from 1902

The bridge across the estuary

The tide was rushing in very quickly.

The Little Black Cormorant is called the "Little Shag" in New Zealand.

Poepoe (the native grass)

A war memorial sits high on a hill overlooking the town.

I then visited with Wayne, a friend of Leah's who makes jewelry from paua shells. He is one of the very few craftsmen in the country who actually still creates his own jewelry. Most of the tourist shops stock things that are made in China. He gave me a tour of the workshop. Using a table full of various shells, he gave me a detailed paua education.

The paua is the New Zealand (or Maori) name for what we Americans call abalone. It's a type of large, edible sea snail. As such, it only has one shell, not two like a clam or oyster. They can still get pearls, however, as nodules embedded in the shell itself. Different species have different shell colors, including white. It is the cold water that gives the shells around New Zealand the vibrant blue colors. Wayne then showed me the various stages of polishing off the back, as well as the work station where he handmakes makes the jewelry.

The underside of the shell - the scraping mark in the center is where the animal once attached to the shell

The paua would crawl along the ground in this position. It can attach to rocks VERY firmly if need be. These are some different sample sizes of shells. The left one is in its native state while the right one is completely polished and finished to show off the colors.

Wayne was considering retiring fairly soon, possibly even within the next 6 months. Originally he used to work from home but at some point expanded to this workshop. After the earthquake in Christchurch, new building codes were being implemented and he suspected this one wasn't up to standards. He had a couple months before he was required to have an inspector come, so he had a several big decisions to make regarding the future of his business. Ideally he wanted to work from home again, making only a few specialty items, while having enough time off to do some travelling with his wife.

We spent over an hour talking about all sorts of things not having to do with sea mollusks, such as the area, travel, different cultures, the local fishing, etc. At some point, he needed to get back to work and I needed to get back to Leah's. I did take a couple more minutes buying a few lovely items.

The shop outside...

... and inside.

One of the pieces I bought.

The second piece. This has the koru (or fern frond) design.

When I arrived, Leah had just finished jarring the relish. We had some juice and crackers and looked though a couple native flower books. We then walked down the street to the large paua shell statue for a picture. It was still warm and lovely out with a slight cool breeze.

Dinner was a delicious medley of garden salad, new potatoes and cauliflower with a cheese sauce. As a rare treat, Leah opened a bottle of wine that we both thoroughly enjoyed. We called it a day at around 11 pm.

The gorgeous house she built with her husband, Bob

A very true sign hangs above the door!

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