MFESI agm

Its been a while since I blogged but Jude and I spent a week or so in Christchurch returning for the estate agm held in Chris and Marilyn's new house. It was great to catch up with many MFESI members and the weather and food were excellent! Tim and Jude heard a kiwi at the weekend and Chris and Marilyn saw four Kaka over their place. Tomtit are singing well and there are plenty of kereru around. Jude and I have continued plant hunting and have found more Kauri and Kawaka which is exciting.
There have been a number of butterflies around with the hot weather and we have seen Red and Yellow Admiral, Monarch, Cabbage White, Little Blue and Common Copper. I also thought that I saw an Enys but was unable to confirm that. We haven't had the courage to begin trying to identify the moths yet!!
On the bad news front, wasps continue to be a problem and I have been unable to find the nest that must be somewhere nearby. Also there has been a re-invasion of possums and we have caught ten in the past month. Bruno has also caught several. This is a bit surprising as we had seen very few possums over the summer.
Today we went to the farmers market in Coroglen and then a beach walk at Hot Water Beach. The market has a really friendly, community atmosphere and a great range of locally grown fruit, veges and meats. If you are here at the weekend it is a very enjoyable way to spend a Sunday morning.
The weather has been fantastic and the clear still nights have been perfect for star gazing. However it is getting cooler at night and the valley down to Whitianga is shrouded in mist each morning. What a joy to wake to that view...