Fallowfield

Well I've been working at Fallowfield now since Wednesday. I really like the people there. Its very relaxed. They specialize in teas, over 5o different kinds, since it is a Victorian Cottage, afterall, so we have a relaxed morning tea break and a long lunch in the afternoons. No one ever hurries. I have been weeding LOTS. I'm getting to know the garden plants and figure out what to take out and what to leave. And the gardens are enormous, so there is always plenty to do!

I got a bit of a change of pace today. I got to burn all the burnable trash in a big trashcan out by the compost heap behind the shed. That was fun, since I always like making fires, even if this one was just a bunch of garbage. I felt a bit like a bum from the movies, huddled around the fire in the garbage can, hehehe. Cynthia, the owner, has a 7-year old daughter named Kimberly who helped me throw bits of cardboard in the fire. She got a little overzealous with her additions sometimes and I had to hold her back so the fire wouldn't burn the overhanging tree branches. Next, I hung bright plastic butterflies on the trellis next to the children's play area while she "baked cakes" in the sand box. She made a delicious chocolate one embellished with bright pink azaleas that I got to try. She also made a wedding fruit cake with green icing, garnished with forget-me-nots (quite appropriate for a wedding cake, I thought).

I am staying with a lovely woman named Betty, who is the other person that works at Fallowfield. She is originally from the Netherlands, but immigrated to New Zealand after a visit here back when she was young. She said that she knew she wanted to raise children here. And she's certainly got it goin' on. Her children are all grown now and she lives in a little cottage on a hilltop on a farm just 4 kms around the corner from Fallowfield. We have sheep grazing in the yard and new calves out in the back paddock that I see from my window when I raise the blinds each morning. We went for a walk around the farm the other day, which was fun, just walking wherever we pleased across the thick tufts of grass (and between the cow pies). I am so used to walking on paths, that this took a whole new kind of thinking for me. Very enjoyable. We saw lots of Pukekos, a native New Zealand bird that is deep blue and black with a bright red bill. They are wading birds and like areas near water. We also saw rabbits and some larger cows, whose paddock we accidentally wandered into. Whoops! At least they were friendly. :) We have been eating exceptionally well, too. We have salads every night. Two days ago, the farmer who rents the cottage to her brought over a fresh snapper that he'd caught in the ocean that morning. Betty fileted it (depite having no experience with fileting - she gave up halfway through and brought it in for Cynthia to finish the job at Fallowfield). Eventually, the fish was fileted and Betty marinated it in lemon juice and then we at it raw with coconut milk, red pepper, and fresh parsley. Absolutely delicious, and you couldn't tell it was raw at all. We also had prawns in a garlic cream sauce on rice.

Okie doke. I should get heading off because I am meeting Mizoue, the other WWOOFer from Japan who is staying with Cynthia's family. We came in here to Paihia to look around, eat ice cream (hokey pokey for her and cookies and cream for me), and check email. We are meeting Betty shortly at a bar that her son designed for drinks and then over to the Jerusalem cafe for for some food. I'll try to remember to take some photos at Fallowfield to post for you guys next time. Oh! And Betty has a little kitten named Mitzi who gives us endless entertainment. But oh my goodness, does she moan for food! She's like Scamper used to be, always into any food you leave around. But so cute!