A month ago, I posted about our revegetation project out here on the farm, 1.5km from our house. I proudly showed photos of our developing gardens at the waterfall, and pizza oven. Remember?? Well we subsequently had some people coming to look at the waterfall, and pizza oven, and they managed to leave the gate open in to the pizza oven.
TOTAL DEVASTATION. Young cattle spent a week making themselves at home, before I realised what was happening, and there is not a plant they did not either destroy, or seriously maim. I can't bear to go in there. We could have had a pizza evening last week, in the winter warmth, but couldn't bear the thought of going to the muddy area that the forlorn pizza oven now sits in. Unbelievable. Soul destroying. We had it 100% stock-proof, but obviously not human proof!!! All our bucketing of water, and rabbit-proofing, careful splitting and growing on of plants - gone - in one act of human negligence. First rule of visiting any garden or farm -
CLOSE THE GATE BEHIND YOU!!! Thankfully the pizza oven is intact, but we will have to level the ground before we can put fresh lime down on the paths, and replant and bark the gardens. Arghhhhhh. Not such a happy event!!!
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| Photos of the garden taken in June 2013 - 'BEFORE'.... |
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| Before.....Now you see it... |
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| Now you don't. |
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| All is mud, even the paths, and the lancewoods are now just sticks. Sticks! |
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| Mud everywhere, where once was bark on the garden, and lime paths |
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Then yesterday, the first day of a long repair job! Couldn't bring ourselves
to go back any sooner than this, But need to get new plants in the ground while
it is still the planting season. We were given this beautiful ponga tree, and the
lime is for the paths. |
I don't think non-farmers fully realise the devastation livestock can have on planting, or on leaving gates open and mobs getting mixed up. If you are 'rambling' across someone's farm, for goodness sake -
CLOSE THE GATE!!!!!
Oh no, how devastating for you. I am a city dweller, but spent every summer on my cousins' farm in Gisborne, so I know all about shutting gates. I'm sure there'll be lots of great pizza nights to come. I would love an outdoor pizza oven too. x
ReplyDeletePizza ovens are awesome, Vic. Everybody gets involved making their own favourite combination etc. Kids love being the chefs, while the adults sit back, relax and consume! My kind of entertaining!! Quite labour-intensive to make the oven from scratch, like we did, but you can buy components. We make bread, cook whole chickens, bake sausages etc. Good times!!
Deleteoh, oh, oh......how absolutely awful!!!!!! My heart goes out to you Rachel.....all that work.....and such a simple, silly thing which allowed it all to happen....x
ReplyDeleteCrazy isn't it? Certainly makes us think twice about allowing people onto the property. We have loved being able to share this place, but not so sure now... At least we can replant, and it will be better than before. Hopefully!!
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