robertguyton

Saturday, March 17, 2012

An afternoon in the country

Needing some apples from an old farm orchard, I drove out of town into the green that is Southland's pastoral farmland. With my camera at the ready, I scanned the side roads, road sides, lanes and paddocks for anything interesting. I found a double pile of sawdust beside a rusty-roofed shed, an ancient apple tree that had been barked by too-hungry sheep, and in an almost empty shed, a old iron bed-head with owls as it's theme. Curious.

zotter

Thank you, Bella and Jacob!
Best chocolate ever!

The beak

I'm fashioning a tool. It's such a primal thing to do and I'm reveling in the doing of it.
I found an elbow of rhododendron root as I was hand-sawing down the massive multi-trunked thing in order to build a whare rau, and recognised it as a useful piece. I have for a long time now, wanted to make a wooden digging tool in the manner of early man. I've a stout branch lined up to become a ko, but wanted a hand tool as well, something for unearthing spuds and cultivating after peas. This root was perfect, so I cut it, weighed it in my hand and found it to be good. This morning I took to it with an adze and shaped it to fit and tapered the point. There was not a lot of science behind my work, but it's a simple tool. I then rasped it with the mother of all rasps that I found in my son's workshop. Now, the wooden tool is resting. I'm keeping it out of the light and cool, so that it doesn't split. Perhaps I should wrap it in a damp cloth. Once it's seasoned, I'll finish it off with a rough paper and take it out for a trial. At least I can be sure I won't cut or stab myself with it, as I have with just about ever steel tool I own. It's not that I'm maladroit, but over time, little slip-ups do happen.

Roughed-out with the adze

Post-rasp

Right arm post-adzing.

Come on wwoofers, wake up!

Goldman sacks (the planet)

What are they really like, those Goldman Sachs bankers, the Big John Keys of the world?
Rolling Stone magazine described the institution as a "great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells of money."
I like that.
The 'rapacious and self interested institution' has been lately described as "toxic and destructive" by outgoing and seriously disenchanted employee, Greg Smith, who abandoned the bank after becoming too appalled to continue working for them. Listening to Goldman Sachs clients being described as "muppets" and hearing how they would "rip out the eyeballs" of those customers was too much for the highly regarded Mr Smith, who resigned, but not before tendering the letter that revealed his experience on the inside of Goldman Sachs.
What's this got to do with our own merchant banker Prime Minister, the self-styled "Smiling Assassin" John Key?
Su'p to you to decide that.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Ah, David!

"In response to David Rose's "Grassroots" column in last week's issue, I'm disappointed that a senior representative of Federated Farmers continues to backpedal on efforts to improve water quality in Southland. The scientific reports that underpinned the State of the Environment Report and the project to improve the water quality in the Waituna Lagoon were reviewed by independent scientists from NIWA, Otago University, DairyNZ, Opus, DOC, Fish and Game, among others. Data from monitoring in the Waituna Creek shows nitrogen levels at that site have increased over the last 10 years. David has stated that Federated Farmers' own reviewer, Tom Heller, found "shonky" flow adjustments that "corrupted the data", but those words aren't in his report. Mr Heller actually concluded that, aside from a couple of gaps, Environment Southland's: "water quality and environmental monitoring programme to date appears to be wholly suitable." Next month our Council will consider introducing a rule requiring new conversions to dairying to obtain a consent, so we can be sure new dairy farms will have minimal environmental impact. Applicants will need a farm plan that shows appropriate provision is made for nutrient budgeting, drainage and effluent disposal. David refers to the Federated Farmers delegation which spoke to our Councillors in December. The record shows that his fellow representative Doug Fraser said that the new dairy conversion provisions could have a positive outcome if "practical farmers" were involved with developing the new rule, alongside Environment Southland staff. This being so, it's hard to understand why the Federated Farmers elected farmers last week walked away from the working group that is framing up the new requirements. I'm often contacted by farmers wanting to discuss environmental issues. Many of them show more understanding of water quality problems than their representatives on Federated Farmers.

Ali Timms

Chairman

Environment Southland"

Ouch!

Feel those petals wilt, Mr Rose!