Our first frost rolled in over night, confirming the onset of winter. White crunchy lawn and ice coated windscreen. Chilly❄️ Today was crisp, still, a brilliant blue sky day – Marlborough winter at its best. The woodburner has been pumping too for the past few weeks as guests have come and gone – a cozy, welcoming ambience is priority here.
Wrapping up on autumn: it didn’t dissappoint with a dazzling display of colour all over the region. Hues of gold, ochre, russet, burnt orange spread across thousands of hectares of grapevines is a sight to behold, and soon all will be bare. Autumn this year brought bumper crops of apples, pears and walnuts but the most thrilling of all was the arrival of first figs from trees I planted three years ago. After six years of admiring others’ harvest figs, I finally picked my own 🙌
Winter is wind down and go slow. The garden becomes dormant and allowed to rest. The fruit trees are pruned, walnuts dried and delivered to the factory, dead lupins and dahlia bulbs pulled out for next season. Hydrangeas are pruned in July, grass growth slows down – mowing much less, firewood gets stacked whilst trees shed trillions of leaves creating knee deep swathes all over the property. I allow myself to watch and let it happen releasing the need for perfection. It all kind of unravels by the end of August and then the clean up begins….
For the next six months the doors at Rowley Homestead are closed, re-opening for guests on 1 November. There’s maintenance and jobs to be done over winter and it’s time for a personal exhale too. After a busy guest season I relish the no-agenda days with a bit of R&R; catching up with family, a road trip to somewhere new and perhaps an escape to warmer climes now that pacific borders are open.
As we slide into winter the evening light over the landscape is quite magnificent. Apart from the families of birds chirping in the background, stillness and quiet prevail while hawks and falcon peruse silently overhead. It’s serenity and a slice of heaven…..away from the noise of the world🌳🌳🌳
