Spring was in the Air - briefly

September continued to be wet, with a couple of tempting fine days in between heavy showers and gale force winds. As usual, a very cold southerly snap came through which closed the Rimutaka Hill road for a few hours. Jennifer was caught out after a night watch and waited 3 1/2 hours at the Hutt side of the hill until the road opened at 09.45, and was in the first convoy over.

Snow on the lower slopes of the Rimutaka Hill Road connecting the Wairarapa to the Hutt Valley. At the top of the hill, snow was laden on tree branches and had been cleared to metre deep banks at the side of the road

We continue to be frustrated at home with the weather. We have given the idea of a wood shed for 2010 away, as we managed to just keep ahead of our firewood, but the wet weather did not let us get the skilsaw and electrical leads out to get stuck in when we were both home and available.

We are still waiting for the water table to drop so we can get the second water tank in - 4 months later, it's still at the gate. This will take water from the implement shed erected a few weeks ago. Once this last truck has been to place the water tank, we can get the digger man in to relevel and do us a top coat on the driveway so we won't always have a lake after rain

Here's a shot taken from our kitchen window showing six raised vege beds made. The two piles of topsoil have been there for weeks as it's been too wet to get out and fill the beds. Note the huge lake in our neighbour's far paddock - this is just surface water. September rainfall 2010 was double that of last September - and that was considered wet!

One of the Dorper ewes didn't lamb. They are doing really well, although we have had a few problems with their feet with continual wet weather and ground.

Annabel, with the last of the lambs to be born - twin ewes Beatrice and Bianca