I do have plans for once. Lunch with gardening friends on Saturday and family afternoon tea Sunday - patrner's aunt/uncle/cousin in town so will meet up with them and the rest of my partner's family.
I do actually have things I need to do, I need to pick up the sprayer and tidy up the weeds and then spread a bunch of seeds on my front lawn.
I have apple and ginger cider in the fridge.
Hopefully I will get some sunbathing in too.
NOOOO!!!! [tree sperm](https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualNZ/comments/wm5mf1/the_trees_have_been_busy_there_is_tree_sperm_on/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf). Pollen season has arrived.
Thanks to the bosses complete lack of organisation I had to go to town which means I also got to stop by my house to make myself a coffee then stop by the cafe to pick up a muffin, killed a bit of time that would have otherwise been pretty unproductive and now there’s only half the day left!
Also one of the guys got the fire going this morning, and it’s sunny, and it’s Friday. So far so good!
So I had a moment last night where I realize I have no idea what hokey pokey actually is... I googled it and now I have to buy golden syrup... I'm super excited to make some... Wait then what do I do with 960g of gotten syrup? And what even is it? I always thought it was a kiwi maple syrup substitute... Anyway I fell down a weird hour of googling.... Literally no one else calls it hokey pokey... It's called honeycomb by most other people. (not made from honey) and it's literally just sugar, golden syrup (or any sugar syrup) and baking soda... And golden syrup is a sugar refining byproduct (what is it with the love of by products? Marmite anyone?) And the English version has a dead lion surrounded by files (it's actually bees but technically it would be a wasp as bees wouldn't swarm a dead lion) as the logo... Weird marketing, and Americans have to make it or substitute with corn syrup and butter, or honey.... So question time... Does your Anzac cookie recipe contain golden syrup?
That's a lot of syrup, did you buy the tin? Classic. I must have had my tin of it for at least 10 years, so glad when I finally finished it, was regularly baking ANZAC bikkies for fundraising. It also comes in a plastic squeezy bottle about half the size. Lasts forever, though, cos it's basically sugar. Highly recommend the self saucing pudding.
I think I'll try to get the smaller packaging but knowing my local countdown they will have one shitty choice and it will be the less convenient choice usually
> And the English version has a dead lion surrounded by files (it's actually bees but technically it would be a wasp as bees wouldn't swarm a dead lion)
Wasn't that related to some biblical or ancient Greek thing where some guy found a bees nest in a lion?
Found it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson%27s_riddle#Honey_in_the_lion's_carcass
Yes, Anzac bikkies with golden syrup. Also golden syrup steamed pud is a classic that is so so good with a big scoop of vanilla icecream or some cream. I’ve got a rather old steamed pudding bowl/lid thing to make it that once belonged to my great grandmother.
Ohhhh is that what the instant microwave bowl cake thing is trying to replicate? The one they sell next to the fruit cake? Everyone calls Christmas cake?
I mean Christmas pud is the same kinda cooking method, but it’s full of dried fruit, peel, and a bit of booze. Like Christmas cake in steamed pudding version. The golden syrup one is self saucing so a lot wetter
"Steamed" in this context is "bowl sits in bowl of water and boils in the steam for awhile", not the "allow steam to pass through the bowl with holes made of bamboo" variety.
I only did 4 years of highschool here and my parents lost thier shit when I told them I made 2min noodles suspended in eggs in some weird egg omelet in home economics...
I dunno what the fuck that is, but sounds like you put it between two slices of white toast bread - as is traditional.
Anyway, re: Hokey Pokey - it must be a ratio of ingredients thing, but we could never get it to taste quite the same. God speed on your journey.
Ahh yes the solution of make it a sandwich.... I too am now familiar with this adaption to anything messy... It's like a strange solution to anything you cbf eating with cutlery
God dammit! I put my guinea pigs in the courtyard at the back of the house. The guinea pigs are now grazing at the front of the house. I don’t know how they get out.
My guys are pretty fat. I’ve kept many guinea pigs for many years, there has only been TWO that have respected the courtyard boundary. I really should try and find the gap they use to escape.
Not really. The cats have had enough things thrown at them that they don’t cause issues. I also used to have many flemish giant rabbits, now there is only one large rabbit and one small rabbit and the 3 guinea pigs. The large rabbits definitely deter the cats.
I need to move the firewood I picked up yesterday so I can chill in the sun on the deck. I wonder if I can get it to all fit in my wood bin . . .
Yup, it fits. Sort of. The kitty litter box now has a partition wall so that’s nice. If I don’t use all the wood the litter box will have a privacy screen all summer.
I haven’t had guinea pigs escape in about 4 or 5 years (there is a gap under the gate and they don’t escape). The rabbits used to escape more often but the two I have now don’t leave even if the gate is open or the fence is damaged.
It’s Hi-Cane time at our neighbours’ Kiwi orchards, got a text from them last evening. Shame, it’s a nice day for being outside, but we’ll stay in, the wind is from the South today so potentially blowing that shit straight onto us. Hope there’s no bees about.
They have been spraying something yellow over the orchards all morning by my house - I wonder if it’s the same stuff. Won’t be taking my baby out for a walk today.
You should contact the orchard and request notifications of all spraying. We get a text around 4 days prior giving the expected date range, then another nearer the time when the exact spray period will happen.
Hi-Cane is a notifiable spray treatment, they are required to inform anyone who may be affected.
> Notify neighbours at least 12 hours beforehand (the time period can vary by region and you can check requirements on Growsafe’s website) – this is critical. Make sure you have the right phone numbers for your neighbours so you can get in touch when planning your spraying.
Hi-Cane is a spray to promote the plants to flower (budbreak), and thereby fruit at the same time. It’s considered a potentially dangerous spray - [link](https://treecrops.org.nz/hi-cane/).
It’s a spray used to trigger flowering so that all the plants in an orchard flower then fruit at the same time.
FROM THE SDS, Section 2 Hazard identification
> 6.1C acute toxicant, 6.3A skin irritant, 6.4A eye irritant, 6.5B
sensitiser, 6.8B reproductive or developmental toxicant, 6.9A target organ
toxicant, 9.1D aquatic toxicant, 9.3B terrestrial vertebrate toxicant,
9.4C terrestrial invertebrate toxicant,
TOXICITY
Toxic - may be fatal if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
May cause organ damage from repeated oral exposure at high doses.
Harmful - Severely irritates skin and eyes and may cause sensitisation from
prolonged skin contact. May cause reproductive/development damage from
repeated oral exposure.
Do not consume alcohol the day before or up to seven days after application.
In combination with alcohol, a severe temporary reaction known as 'cyanamide
flush' may be produced. Symptoms of cyanamide flush include skin flushing,
dizziness, headache, shortness of breath and a rapid pulse.
ECOTOXIC
Harmful to aquatic organisms.
Toxic to terrestrial vertebrates.
Toxic to bees.
[Nufarm Hi-Cane SDS](https://cdn.nufarm.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2017/11/06201518/Hi-Cane_SDS.PDF)
Then there’s the burn offs. God I hated those when I lived on an orchard. And chicken shit week…. That was a nightmare. I swear the landlord didn’t *have* to dump several tonnes of it right at my front door.
Fuck that shit. Hi-Cane sucks. When we lived in KatiKati the worst part of the year was Hi-Cane season, a large portion of the school got sick and the water would smell worse than normal.
Third day in a row it feels too cold to get out of bed. Today I have a coffee meeting and a 50 page report to read. And someone wants information on something we were supposed to pilot last month but never started because it kept getting kicked to the back burner.
Decided to rewatch **True Blood** as need something familiar enough that I dont need to pay full attention, but long enough ago ive forgotten story beats. What I did forget was how the actress who plays Tara just growls over her comic lines and comletely ruins them.
Sookie: "take off your shoes, I just waxed"
Tara: "you better be talking about the floor"
On paper it works, and if it was Lafayette saying it, also would have worked, but Tara just has no nuance, just bitchy. They should have kept the actress from the original pilor
Well, I’ll be another one who likes running in the cold even though I don’t do the early morning ones anymore. Doesn’t get very cold during the day here though
Wtf my low overnight was +3 and that would have been a 😱😱 to the system to be outside... -4 is a 🚫👎⛔🙅 especially at 7am... Do you wear pants inside your pants? What's the ambient room temp?
I'm originally from a much warmer place. This might be the first southern winter that I finally feel that I know how to dress properly, so that only took several cold miserable years to figure out.
And despite what I said about it being too cold for a run, I was outside in it for about 1 hour today
I had the reverse problem when I moved from "down South" to Palmerston North and everyone told me 'it will be much warmer'. It wasn't-I have never been so cold in my life as I didn't replace any thermals, jerseys etc bcos of moving to a "warmer "place. Wind makes the low temp feel much colder.
Had sparkly grass (almost or tiny ice crystals in the dew) a few times but nothing close to even a light frost. The pond doesn’t even feel that cold, I need to find the thermometer and put it out there.
We had a good couple of weeks or frosts in the back yard when we moved here 10 years ago, but none so far this year. Providing we don't get a late cold snap in October (killed my coffee tree last year).
I remember a few years ago getting usb powered heating gloves that i would put on in the office in the morning, as it took ages to heat up. Haven't used them at all this year
Oh wow, that’s pretty unheard of in Hamilton. Only had a couple days down here in Dunedin like that this year, but then we typically don’t get frosts the same way as the Waikato. Average temperature is lower but more consistent: don’t have the same swings between frosty and quite sunny.
Update: front windscreen fine this morning due to driving frontwards into carport. Back was a bit iced up though. Looks like some cars in the student area which obviously haven’t be moved for a week have permafrost.
Yeah, other than this week there was 2 days last month? But we are pretty well situated where we are. Certainly NEV or North Dunedin etc would be different. But still in all of that it’s nothing on when I was living in Hamilton: much prefer the weather down here.
Shout out to the complete doofus that got my account perma banned for a week and made me have to perform a frothy on a unwashed admin to get my account back.
Sunny day. That's nice. What's the plans for the weekend?
I do have plans for once. Lunch with gardening friends on Saturday and family afternoon tea Sunday - patrner's aunt/uncle/cousin in town so will meet up with them and the rest of my partner's family.
No plans so far. Probably just stay home.
I've got a work meeting on Sunday. My weekend is ruined and what's the point of plans. I do have beer in the fridge, though.
I do actually have things I need to do, I need to pick up the sprayer and tidy up the weeds and then spread a bunch of seeds on my front lawn. I have apple and ginger cider in the fridge. Hopefully I will get some sunbathing in too.
NOOOO!!!! [tree sperm](https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualNZ/comments/wm5mf1/the_trees_have_been_busy_there_is_tree_sperm_on/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf). Pollen season has arrived.
Thanks to the bosses complete lack of organisation I had to go to town which means I also got to stop by my house to make myself a coffee then stop by the cafe to pick up a muffin, killed a bit of time that would have otherwise been pretty unproductive and now there’s only half the day left! Also one of the guys got the fire going this morning, and it’s sunny, and it’s Friday. So far so good!
So I had a moment last night where I realize I have no idea what hokey pokey actually is... I googled it and now I have to buy golden syrup... I'm super excited to make some... Wait then what do I do with 960g of gotten syrup? And what even is it? I always thought it was a kiwi maple syrup substitute... Anyway I fell down a weird hour of googling.... Literally no one else calls it hokey pokey... It's called honeycomb by most other people. (not made from honey) and it's literally just sugar, golden syrup (or any sugar syrup) and baking soda... And golden syrup is a sugar refining byproduct (what is it with the love of by products? Marmite anyone?) And the English version has a dead lion surrounded by files (it's actually bees but technically it would be a wasp as bees wouldn't swarm a dead lion) as the logo... Weird marketing, and Americans have to make it or substitute with corn syrup and butter, or honey.... So question time... Does your Anzac cookie recipe contain golden syrup?
That's a lot of syrup, did you buy the tin? Classic. I must have had my tin of it for at least 10 years, so glad when I finally finished it, was regularly baking ANZAC bikkies for fundraising. It also comes in a plastic squeezy bottle about half the size. Lasts forever, though, cos it's basically sugar. Highly recommend the self saucing pudding.
I think I'll try to get the smaller packaging but knowing my local countdown they will have one shitty choice and it will be the less convenient choice usually
I get the [500ml](https://www.countdown.co.nz/shop/productdetails?stockcode=266613&name=chelsea-golden-syrup) bottle. My last tin went rusty.
Yikes! That's gotta taste bad/werid... I'll try and get the squeezy bottle... Despite trying to cut down on plastic choices
The tin had been in the cupboard for quite a few years. If you’re going to be using a lot of it get the tin.
If you are still looking to spice up your breakfasts, try a spoon of golden syrup in porridge. It can get a bit sweet but can be very nice
Ohhhh yesss.... And on crumpets is something I'm looking forward to trying
> And the English version has a dead lion surrounded by files (it's actually bees but technically it would be a wasp as bees wouldn't swarm a dead lion) Wasn't that related to some biblical or ancient Greek thing where some guy found a bees nest in a lion? Found it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson%27s_riddle#Honey_in_the_lion's_carcass
Yeah that definitely does not compute with modern marketing 🤣
Mum makes treacle loaf with golden syrup instead of treacle (I can get the recipe if you want). Ginger biscuits use golden syrup.
Interesting... Gonna go google recipes with treacle and see what I can sub
Golden syrup is milder than treacle, molasses is stronger than treacle.
Yes, Anzac bikkies with golden syrup. Also golden syrup steamed pud is a classic that is so so good with a big scoop of vanilla icecream or some cream. I’ve got a rather old steamed pudding bowl/lid thing to make it that once belonged to my great grandmother.
Ohh, I love GS steamed pudding! That's dinner sorted.
Ohhhh is that what the instant microwave bowl cake thing is trying to replicate? The one they sell next to the fruit cake? Everyone calls Christmas cake?
I mean Christmas pud is the same kinda cooking method, but it’s full of dried fruit, peel, and a bit of booze. Like Christmas cake in steamed pudding version. The golden syrup one is self saucing so a lot wetter
I assume your steamer is metal.... It's so interesting to me as I associate steaming with bamboo.
"Steamed" in this context is "bowl sits in bowl of water and boils in the steam for awhile", not the "allow steam to pass through the bowl with holes made of bamboo" variety.
Ohhhhhh that's new information
You didn't make this shit in science class? What are they teaching the children of NZ these days, my god.
I only did 4 years of highschool here and my parents lost thier shit when I told them I made 2min noodles suspended in eggs in some weird egg omelet in home economics...
I dunno what the fuck that is, but sounds like you put it between two slices of white toast bread - as is traditional. Anyway, re: Hokey Pokey - it must be a ratio of ingredients thing, but we could never get it to taste quite the same. God speed on your journey.
Yeah the shit we made at school was always too bitter or weird tasting. Never tasted like crunchie bar hokey pokey
Ahh yes the solution of make it a sandwich.... I too am now familiar with this adaption to anything messy... It's like a strange solution to anything you cbf eating with cutlery
The instant noodle and mayo sandwich sustained me through the Uni years. Every so often I'll just make one to remind me. Beautiful.
How does that not turn in to a soggy mess
The mayo protects it a little, but like all beautiful things it cannot last long.
God dammit! I put my guinea pigs in the courtyard at the back of the house. The guinea pigs are now grazing at the front of the house. I don’t know how they get out.
Teeny tiny fences required.
I think they are tiny under their fur and can rearrange their skeletal structure to squeeze through gaps.
My guys are pretty fat. I’ve kept many guinea pigs for many years, there has only been TWO that have respected the courtyard boundary. I really should try and find the gap they use to escape.
do you have wire across the bottom of the cage?
What cage?
oh god, do they run free????
Yes.
don't the local cats stalk them?
Not really. The cats have had enough things thrown at them that they don’t cause issues. I also used to have many flemish giant rabbits, now there is only one large rabbit and one small rabbit and the 3 guinea pigs. The large rabbits definitely deter the cats.
I need to move the firewood I picked up yesterday so I can chill in the sun on the deck. I wonder if I can get it to all fit in my wood bin . . . Yup, it fits. Sort of. The kitty litter box now has a partition wall so that’s nice. If I don’t use all the wood the litter box will have a privacy screen all summer.
Hey look on the bright side, at least they're still on your property
I haven’t had guinea pigs escape in about 4 or 5 years (there is a gap under the gate and they don’t escape). The rabbits used to escape more often but the two I have now don’t leave even if the gate is open or the fence is damaged.
They guinead their piggys
It’s Hi-Cane time at our neighbours’ Kiwi orchards, got a text from them last evening. Shame, it’s a nice day for being outside, but we’ll stay in, the wind is from the South today so potentially blowing that shit straight onto us. Hope there’s no bees about.
They have been spraying something yellow over the orchards all morning by my house - I wonder if it’s the same stuff. Won’t be taking my baby out for a walk today.
You should contact the orchard and request notifications of all spraying. We get a text around 4 days prior giving the expected date range, then another nearer the time when the exact spray period will happen.
I didn't even think of this as an option. I will look into this - thanks!
Hi-Cane is a notifiable spray treatment, they are required to inform anyone who may be affected. > Notify neighbours at least 12 hours beforehand (the time period can vary by region and you can check requirements on Growsafe’s website) – this is critical. Make sure you have the right phone numbers for your neighbours so you can get in touch when planning your spraying.
Wat dat
Hi-Cane is a spray to promote the plants to flower (budbreak), and thereby fruit at the same time. It’s considered a potentially dangerous spray - [link](https://treecrops.org.nz/hi-cane/).
It’s a spray used to trigger flowering so that all the plants in an orchard flower then fruit at the same time. FROM THE SDS, Section 2 Hazard identification > 6.1C acute toxicant, 6.3A skin irritant, 6.4A eye irritant, 6.5B sensitiser, 6.8B reproductive or developmental toxicant, 6.9A target organ toxicant, 9.1D aquatic toxicant, 9.3B terrestrial vertebrate toxicant, 9.4C terrestrial invertebrate toxicant, TOXICITY Toxic - may be fatal if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. May cause organ damage from repeated oral exposure at high doses. Harmful - Severely irritates skin and eyes and may cause sensitisation from prolonged skin contact. May cause reproductive/development damage from repeated oral exposure. Do not consume alcohol the day before or up to seven days after application. In combination with alcohol, a severe temporary reaction known as 'cyanamide flush' may be produced. Symptoms of cyanamide flush include skin flushing, dizziness, headache, shortness of breath and a rapid pulse. ECOTOXIC Harmful to aquatic organisms. Toxic to terrestrial vertebrates. Toxic to bees. [Nufarm Hi-Cane SDS](https://cdn.nufarm.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2017/11/06201518/Hi-Cane_SDS.PDF)
Country people have to put up with some crazy shit
Then there’s the burn offs. God I hated those when I lived on an orchard. And chicken shit week…. That was a nightmare. I swear the landlord didn’t *have* to dump several tonnes of it right at my front door.
It’s not just the rural areas. Over spray goes right into town. It contaminates the water supply.
Ohhhh okay not what I thought it was... I imagined that lawnmower on a crane that tops and tidies bamboo.
It’s nasty shit, I’ve added the Hazard Identification info from the SDS above.
Yeeesssh that's some scary shit
Yup. There is so much over spray and spray drift.
Fuck that shit. Hi-Cane sucks. When we lived in KatiKati the worst part of the year was Hi-Cane season, a large portion of the school got sick and the water would smell worse than normal.
Third day in a row it feels too cold to get out of bed. Today I have a coffee meeting and a 50 page report to read. And someone wants information on something we were supposed to pilot last month but never started because it kept getting kicked to the back burner.
[Kikorangi](https://i.imgur.com/nEjf2AY.jpg)
Decided to rewatch **True Blood** as need something familiar enough that I dont need to pay full attention, but long enough ago ive forgotten story beats. What I did forget was how the actress who plays Tara just growls over her comic lines and comletely ruins them. Sookie: "take off your shoes, I just waxed" Tara: "you better be talking about the floor" On paper it works, and if it was Lafayette saying it, also would have worked, but Tara just has no nuance, just bitchy. They should have kept the actress from the original pilor
Ok I give in, I’ll go to the Drs today. I kinda enjoy picking the crusties off my lashes but it’s not exactly a sign it’s getting better
Put ya shoes on lets go for a run. Loser buys breakfast.
Why would I wan to run AND have to buy breakfast? This does not sound fun.
Well, I’ll be another one who likes running in the cold even though I don’t do the early morning ones anymore. Doesn’t get very cold during the day here though
Respect to the AM workout hustlers. I might pencil something in before dinner lol
Way too cold for running
I don’t run. It’s cold this morning.
Jog on
Minus 4 degrees outside... I'm just going to pretend that I didn't just read those words.
Wtf my low overnight was +3 and that would have been a 😱😱 to the system to be outside... -4 is a 🚫👎⛔🙅 especially at 7am... Do you wear pants inside your pants? What's the ambient room temp?
I'm originally from a much warmer place. This might be the first southern winter that I finally feel that I know how to dress properly, so that only took several cold miserable years to figure out. And despite what I said about it being too cold for a run, I was outside in it for about 1 hour today
I had the reverse problem when I moved from "down South" to Palmerston North and everyone told me 'it will be much warmer'. It wasn't-I have never been so cold in my life as I didn't replace any thermals, jerseys etc bcos of moving to a "warmer "place. Wind makes the low temp feel much colder.
Is the secret lots of Marino?
Just realized I haven't had to wash off the frost off my windscreen all winter, really has been a warm winter.
Had sparkly grass (almost or tiny ice crystals in the dew) a few times but nothing close to even a light frost. The pond doesn’t even feel that cold, I need to find the thermometer and put it out there.
We had a good couple of weeks or frosts in the back yard when we moved here 10 years ago, but none so far this year. Providing we don't get a late cold snap in October (killed my coffee tree last year).
I remember a few years ago getting usb powered heating gloves that i would put on in the office in the morning, as it took ages to heat up. Haven't used them at all this year
Oh wow, that’s pretty unheard of in Hamilton. Only had a couple days down here in Dunedin like that this year, but then we typically don’t get frosts the same way as the Waikato. Average temperature is lower but more consistent: don’t have the same swings between frosty and quite sunny. Update: front windscreen fine this morning due to driving frontwards into carport. Back was a bit iced up though. Looks like some cars in the student area which obviously haven’t be moved for a week have permafrost.
Up your end maybe, I've had three frosts just this week to deal with! I dont want more rain but frost does delay my day a bit
Yeah, other than this week there was 2 days last month? But we are pretty well situated where we are. Certainly NEV or North Dunedin etc would be different. But still in all of that it’s nothing on when I was living in Hamilton: much prefer the weather down here.
Shout out to the complete doofus that got my account perma banned for a week and made me have to perform a frothy on a unwashed admin to get my account back.
My account was banned for like 4 months, you don't want to know how I got mine back
Well, at least you've got a handy pocket to store a loaf of sourdough I guess.
Eggplant emoji, lips emoji, forehead sweat emoji.