I'm on holiday!

I'm on the farm, which is near to Nelson, at the top of the South Island. I grew up here, and love it with a passion. Mummy and Daddy are way over in Ireland today. We are helping Nanny to look after the farm while they are away. Today the hounds got together for some fun. Meg and I took several walks around the farm with them. We only had one "rolling in something gross" incident today. Miss Dog shamed me, but not as much as Stellar, Miss Poo, did last night when she found a rotting hedgehog carcass. Meg was furious with her, especially when she got a hedgehog prickle through her sock and into her toe! Ouch! Here they are having a noisy playfight over a stick.



And, of course, being Labradors they have to swim at every opportunity! Lucky the sun is shining so they all dried out. Plus they had a good wash (the stinkers).



This year has been a bumper year for fungi. I think I will do a dedicated fungi post sometime during my holiday as I find them so fascinating. These Fly Agaric toadstools are poisonous, but oh so pretty! There are lots under the silver birch trees. Well, there were lots until the dogs helped us to take photos and stomped on quite a few.



The nut trees are dropping their bounty. I might make some walnut brownies. I would NEVER buy walnuts from the shop because they are often rancid and nasty. These are fresh and delicious. The dogs can vouch for that.



Picking up sweet chestnuts can be a bit painful. I'm wearing Dad's gumboots, which are a big help. Look out for the prickles, Doggy-monsters! We are thinking of a way to roast them. We used to have long forks for the purpose. They are absolutely delicious.



Look at these beautiful berries. The colours are so fresh in the country. Nanny loves this photo.




What other farm (and other) news do I have:

• The cats are good and Daisy is very happy to have visitors.
  
• I am working on my green and pink quilt. The sewing machine is set up on the table and I've started piecing it. I think I had better move beyond squares soon so I can learn some new skills.
  
• I picked some apples and Nanny made a lovely apple pie for tea. We also had a bacon and egg pie.
  
• Nanny is great.
  
• The 9 sheep look fat and happy.
  
• The weather is so beautiful, although we had a frost this morning.
  

I hope you are all well! I am so relaxed and happy. I will try to post every day (unless we go for a long outing) during my holiday. I've go so many beautiful things to show you.

Ps. I never realised my blog would look so different on another computer. The colours look quite different on my computer. Sorry if they look horrid on yours! XXX