Blog
Weekly tales from The Outpost.
My mother’s mother’s mothers
How the women who came before me have shaped my life at The Outpost today. The story of my matrilineal line.
Harvesting the kūmara
After ignoring our māra kūmara for several months, we dug it up!
Preparing for a cyclone
A look into what we do to prepare when the warning comes.
Albert (‘Snowie’) Charles Schaeffer (WW1 23/903)
Albert “Snowie” Charles Schaeffer served in World War 1, and returned home, broken.
Pam and Tommy
Six weeks ago we welcomed two new occupants in our zoo – Pam and Tommy.
Apple crumble
My favourite way to use our apple harvest.
Chickens love coprosma
An accidental observation leads me down a rabbithole.
Apple harvest
Three of our heritage apple trees produced small harvests this year.
Getting over garden overwhelm
Gaining a focus on turning around the garden for another season.
Testing the coffee beans
After a recent workshop to learn how to process my own coffee, I put my own coffee beans to the test.
Storm surge
We weren’t entirely unscathed by Gabrielle, but we are left feeling very grateful.
The pursuit of self-sufficiency
We’ve been here a while, so how close are we to being self-sufficient?
Making Nana Retter’s Fruit Cake
Last Christmas I joined a long line of women in my family who have made my great grandmother’s fruit cake.
The pros and cons of owning chickens
If you love eggs, you might be thinking about owning some chickens… but should you?
Six things I did this summer
I’ve had a wonderful summer break, though I’m not sure how relaxing it was. Here’s a catch-up of what I got up to.
2022 Garlic harvest (part 1)
Four of our six garlic varieties are out of the ground! See how it went!
On patience
Time marches on and if you’re patient enough, it delights you.
Oh, Christmas Tree
This year our pine nut tree is tall enough to be our outdoor Christmas tree!
Where are the avocados?
We have a lot of trees at The Outpost, but we don’t have any avocado. It’s not just because we’re saving to build a house.
Planting peanuts
I’m feeling more on top of things in the garden, so I’m growing something new.
My happy place
3 years ago I wrote about my frustration at my new garden. Today, it is my happy place.
Paying for my cow’s farts
How will the proposed agricultural emissions scheme affect my little farm and tiny cattle herd?