Our Last days on the Awhitu Peninsula

stop pecking me or you'll be dinner
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Our daily life continued of kitchen work and yard work. To give Ellen a break from here cutting duties she was sent out to feed and collect the eggs from the chickens.  Now picture this....rubber gloves on because "you don't know where those eggs have been" and her bucket of food; off she goes to the chicken coop.  She talks to the hens as she opens the coop door but they can "smell the fear". They pecked her hand as she tries to put the food in the feed container.  All of a sudden there is yelling and a flury of movement as ellen bobs them on the head with a hand full of chard stalks and runs back to the kitchen, pleading with me to go and collect the eggs.  She doesn't want to be attacked again.  That was the begining and end of her farm career.

Manakau Harbor
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Being a farmer really locks one in to working all the time.  Our two hosts started this farm 15 years ago and have greated a wonderful show place of how a 100% permaculture farm should be run.  But now they can't relax because something ALWAYS needs to be done and they are getting "tired".  There are other things they would like to do but are now tied to the chores unless they can find someone to take care of things while they go away for a rest.  They told us how jealous they were that we could retire, slow down our pace and travel at our leasure.

WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE CHICKEN YARD?

Maelenn the wwoofer from Northern France
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Ellen has left me!!!!!!!!!!!  She has gone to the South Island to attend a 4 day conference on Cranial Sacral Therapy in Christchurch.  While she was gone I made her a portable painting easel.  It is quite ingenious even if I say so myself.

A new woofer came while Ellen was away .  She is a 30 year old French women named Maelenn who will work in NZ for a year.  She and I have been drinking wine everynight and laughting as we get to know each other.

My birthday party
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Our hosts took Maelenn and me to the Showcase PolyFest of 2008.  All 90 schools in the Auckland area compete with each other from the various cultural groups.  We saw the first place winners for the Maori, Tonga, Cook Isl.,Samoa, and Niue.  These teenagers were better than any cultural performers I have seen here or at the famous Cultural Center in Hawaii .We saw authentic song and dance not the tourist stuff.  They had so much pride, energy and enthusiasm.  It was AWESOME !!!!!!

Thank God for the Awhitu Social Club where we go every Sunday for the "cafe style" brunch.  It is run by a former California lady Liz LaSorsa who creates different gourmet selections every week. We sit out on a deck where we have a wonderful view of the ancient sand dune hills and the Manukan Harbor.  My biggest surprise was when we went there for Easter and the only thing on the menu was gourmet pizza.  I went to Liz and asked where is the big lamb dinner but she just shrugged her shoulders and said "wait until you see what they do for Christmas".......bar-b-ques on the beaches.  Oh well, I don't care for lamb anyways.

Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me.  I am now 64 !!  Our hosts gave me a small party and bar-b-qued different types of sausage.  Ellen made Carol of Bowies' famous cheese cake and it was a HUGE success.  Waatara and her neice came so it was perfect for me because I got to know this crazy Maori women better.  I only wish we could have wwoofed with her but she doesn't have that kind of a set up.  I could have really "learned" from her......

Having been here for a month has made us known in the comunity as the ladies with the crazy z-coil shoes.  It was nice being able to address people by  name and have them respond back.  We will miss all these folks and will keep in contact with some of them.

Auckland here we come for some R & R.