Pigs have worked out that they can push the float valve and flood the area around their trough to make mud. Orwell was right to have pigs as the evil protagonists in 1984 in that they will intelligently arrive at a solution that elegantly solves their problem but is destructive for everyone else.

Wife took some excellent photos of our animals last night while the hay was getting raked and baled so I’ve borrowed them to post here. Start of with the mini donkeys and the goat.

I’m no US constitutional law expert but I’m wondering how the second amendment is meant to work in a situation like this. There seems to be a bit of tyranny going on at the moment. Right to bear arms seems fine but what happens if you were to form a well organised militia and use them against ICE?

I have somehow managed to scratch the cornea of my right eye and deeply bruise the eye in my sleep. I’ve basically poked myself in the eye but have no recollection of doing that. Yes it hurts. Yes I look like I will scare small children.

It was 9°C when I got home at 2:30. It was windy. It was raining. It was nicer in winter.

A few years ago I saw Tasmanian Waratahs in flower at Christmas in the Hartz mountains and I thought how nice it would be to plant a hedge of them to have a mass of red flowers at Christmas. What I failed to understand is how different seasons are in the mountains. This year though, I have flowers.

Fern hook getting its annual work out clearing gateways ready for harvest. Dad got it from the Scott family clearing sale back in the late 80’s. When dad asked Mr Scott (born 1898) how old it was he said it was his grandfathers or possibly his great grandfathers. A piece of living history.

My cats impression of the Epstein files. Redacted, redacted and mostly redacted.

Today was garlic harvest day. This year’s yields are ok but not anywhere near as good as recent seasons. The relentless cold weather has made everything run late.

Belly rub time.

I don’t think I have anything to worry about the US combing through my social media. No mean posts. Just sensible and reasoned critique of some of the baffling and appalling decisions that have been made over the last decade. I’m sure they will detect and understand the subtle nuance in the posts.

Forgot to get my work phone unlocked for international travel so I arrived in Christchurch with no mobile data which meant no maps which was problematic as I was driving overseas for the first time so had to navigate via gut instinct and memorising the map before I started and had access to wifi

This is the first flight I’ve been on where the free inflight wifi is actually good. Celebrating this by posting halfway over the Tasman Sea.

I’ve seen people doing a thing there they list 5 animals they’ve seen in the wild. I’m going to go one better and list 5 I’ve seen in the last 24 hours. 1. White bellied sea eagle (roadside, got a very good look at him 2. Wedge tailed eagles 3. Wallabies 4. Plovers 5. Echidna in the driveway

Mable is somewhat concerned by the ride on lawn mower getting a little too close.

Feeding time.

For the Aussies, the zoologists and the architects out there. 💩🧊🧪 By @chazhutton.com

Tonight’s meal is a butterflied chicken seasoned and covered in spices then basted on the BBQ with a butter, lemon, garlic and oregano mix for 5 minutes each side. Then cooked in the oven on a bed of lemons that get squeezed over the cooked chicken once it’s rested.

Winnie is upset and sulking because the plover parents are protecting their 4 new chicks and won’t let her past her shed.

Compost heap update. First heap (last winter and spring garden waste) has almost fully broken down and is now home to my competition pumpkin. Annual competition between local agronomists. It’s competitive and I suck at growing pumpkins. This years attempt has been 15 months in the making.

Our resident echidna has returned for spring

Tasmanian native Waratahs are in full flower. Only two from the first planting survived as the pigs got out just as they were established and killed all but two. Plan is to have an avenue either side of the driveway

I need to remind myself not to set an ambitious hard deadline for a project as the last day before a long weekend. Compounded by the fact I needed information out of people with one foot already out the door at 9am.

You’d think with the number of smart and funny people there are in the world and the potential of AI generated video to generate any scenario there would be a lot of genuinely hilarious content doing the rounds. So far I’m yet to see anything that raises even a mild smirk.

After an incredibly wet week to go with the recent string of wet weeks it looks like a sunny day but the heaviest frost of the year. Tomatoes are protected but probably not enough.

Nice spot to do car park duty up at the Table Cape Tulip Farm.

First round of storms have hit and it’s been as wild as forecast. 100km/hr winds, thunder, lightning and driving rain. We are in for a rough day.

I’ve developed a little habit of taking a knife sharpener with me anytime I stay in any accommodation that has a kitchen. I’ve never encountered a sharp knife anywhere I’ve stayed and I hope the people after me appreciate the difference a good sharpen can have on a knife, even the cheap ones.

Everything I’ve eaten or cooked this weekend has had at least one ingredient that we’ve grown ourselves. There’s something satisfying about being able to say that. We will never be self sufficient but being able to supplement your diet with home grown is a joy.

Since my last NZ visit in May they have rebranded all the Countdown stores with all the Australian Woolworths branding except for one little local quirk. And I hate it.

It’s been a rather pleasant late afternoon walking along the Avon River in Christchurch. There hasn’t been much scope for downtime on this work trip so it was nice to sneak in an hour or so to see the sights.

Starting to become a regular visitor to Ashburton and the Ashburton Domain is a beautiful place to take a walk of an evening. Especially now with the spring bulbs and flowers in bloom.

Been a long day. Left home at 4am and caught the early flight from Devonport to Melbourne. Spent the day in Ballarat then caught and evening flight to Christchurch. Still got to get into the city and check into our hotel.

One of the underreported parts of the Charlie Kirk story is that in any previous generation he would have struggled to get much attention beyond “angry man at local town hall meeting”. Social media not only gave him an audience they actively boosted and monetised it.

Winnie has gotten used to being the queen of the farm but she’s suddenly not happy with Dyllis

Donkeys got upset they weren’t getting any attention (they let you and the whole neighbourhood know) but Dyllis the goat stole the show.

I feel that what the raw milk crowd miss is that the milk they remember from their grandparents farm was pasteurised but it wasn’t homogenised. You could taste those larger fat molecules in the non homogenised milk and the taste of the milk varied over the season depending on what the cows ate.

*Opens search engine… Is Trump dead? *hits refresh Is Trump dead? *hits refresh Is Trump dead? *hits refresh Is Trump dead? *hits refresh Is Trump dead? *hits refresh Is Trump dead? *hits refresh Is Trump dead? *hits refresh Is Trump dead? *hits refresh Turns off phone - - - - - - Is Trump dead?

Yesterday’s aggression now has context with the baby plovers hatching right now.

Everything I need to do in spring is stored near the plovers nest and they aren’t thrilled with my presence.

It’s the sort of day that would give incy wincy spider the absolute shits.

Every morning I get my socks out and then I have to get a second pair out as the first is fiercely defended.

I was in the local Asian grocer this afternoon and the lady asked if she could help. I asked for grated nutmeg. After an awkward pause (I don’t think the written word can truly convey the tone of how her next words were spoken) she said “we only do whole nutmeg here”

I know it’s not quite the same but it’s funny to me seeing social media companies complain about how hard age verification will be while flooding my feed with ads for products relating to a milestone I’ll celebrate soon.

First attempt at making compost. A few more months and the first pile will be done. First pile was mostly garden rubbish from last spring with animal bedding straw and the second was started over summer. The dry autumn meant decomposing was slow at first but it has accelerated in the last 8 weeks.

I’ve been mostly ignoring twitter for a while now. Couldn’t bring myself to deactivate the account as there was still some people on there I wanted to remain connected to but decided today was the day to get rid of it once and for all.

One of the weird quirks that arises from Labour running a campaign that was almost indistinguishable from the Liberals is that while the Liberals fell well short of a majority, Rockliff can claim a strong mandate for his program in the next parliament.

People have been lined up to board my flight for over 40 minutes with a line stretching around the terminal. They still haven’t called our flight for boarding. It isn’t due for a few more minutes. I’ve never understood the rush to be first on a plane.

One thing that the last two weeks of using Japanese public transport is it has prepared me for a long haul economy Jetstar flight. I’ve had to fold my body into positions that would baffle an origami expert to fit into some of those bus seats.