One of the many frustrations of being a photographer

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It’s just typical of me to unpack my photography muse from its long vacation just as we’re headlong towards winter when the light is less forgiving to a photographer.  It’s like being all dressed up with nowhere to go. I have all these ideas swimming in my head but they’ll have to stay there until [...]

Daily Snap: Zesty Promise

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  It’s all getting topsy turvey in the garden.  The greens are turning to yellow and the fledgling green lemons are starting to show signs of turning yellow.  An exciting first here at Domestic Executive HQ as very other citrus tree I have  managed to kill off.  I have high hopes for production of some [...]

All Hail Tomato Season

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As the seasons change so does the Domestic Executive routine.  Nightly chores include putting the chickens to bed, watering the vegetables and tucking up the tomatoes for the night in the greenhouse.  New habits take a while to stick but if I want to keep my greenhouse cargo safe from evening chills then diligence must [...]

Abundance – the cooks delight and headache

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You’d have thought I was sprinting for an Olympic medal to see me dashing down the garden yesterday.  Ok, it was more of a fast shuffle with arms waving wildly to keep my balance as I navigated bumps and slopes in my garden clogs but speed was on my mind.  I simply had to reach [...]

Nigella – the kitchen garden cooks companion

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It’s hard to recall when I fell out of love with Nigella the cook.  I think it was something to do with her prepping her brined turkey wearing a negligee on her Christmas TV special.  There is a fine line between food porn and just plain porn and I think she may have crossed the [...]

Eternal summer

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You could be forgiven for thinking it was high summer in New Zealand and not early autumn. Although the mornings are darker and the nights arrive earlier this continuous sunshine is nothing short of marvellous.  I shall never tire of bright sunny days although at least two people I worked with this week dared to [...]

Daily Snap: Greenery

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The barometer dial has been twitching at its highest level for several days and set to stay there for the next week or so. Some say summer is here but I’m reserving judgement until the cicadas start to sing more consistently. With all the rain in early summer we do at least have plenty of [...]

Daily Snap: Red Runners

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Won’t be long before these red beauties will be long green succulent beans and they’ll be palmed  off on anyone who shows and interest of adding them to their dinner table. It’s a complete indulgence to grow so many but I love the splash of colour they bring to the garden. A splash of red [...]

The Worker Bee

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This week has felt like rusty gears grinding into action. Screeching alarm clock and only a cursory flick through the papers. Resentful hounds hauled from their post breakfast snooze for their constitutional walk. Switching the work ethic back on again dragging me back to the realities of working routines. I know I have an easy [...]

‘Tis the season

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There is no drearier reminder that the holidays are over when Auld Lang Syne stops playing incessantly in one’s head and the Christmas decorations are taken down for another year. Expunging the carols, the colour and that frivolous yet satisfying seasonal tat is like a bugle call to return to normal life. At least here in the [...]