 Hi there Logan
Two fabulous girlfriends flew into town this weekend to check out my new home and see what Lord Lettuce and Madame Mizuna are up to in the glasshouse. However, it was our nine handsome heifers which stole their hearts and dominated the show. Truth be told, these creatures have me utterly captivated as well. They appeared in our lives late one dark night, a somewhat surprise delivery after a brief-ish conversation with our friend Farmer Martin about “getting some stock to keep the feed down”. He’d nipped off to the Tuakau cattle auction, bid on a couple of pens of chubby weaner heifers and before you could say Hereford-Angus, there was a huge cattle truck in our front drive with nine girls on board, mooing for their mothers.
Living-in-the-Country Lesson One: you don’t need a long, complicated conversation with a farmer before something happens.
Whoever knew that cows spend their lives in a stealthy subterfuge, pretending to be bland and boring critters just chewing and pooing, all the while hiding their complex natures and indulging in dramatic goings-on? I thought cartoonist Gary Larson made it all up: cows on their hind legs, leaning on the gate and yakking on the telephone and only going down on all fours when a car went past.
It is Boss Cow who normally sets the agenda for the weekend entertainment. However, following the visit of Gumboot Princess Listener Political Editor, the heifer formerly known as Boss Cow has been renamed Crusher Collins – Judith to her friends. She is a tyrant, is Crusher, and about 10 percent larger than the rest, mostly because she controls the food supply. Each weekend’s barrow load of silverbeet treats brings them at the gallop, full-tilt, to the fence where Crusher takes over. She is fearless and decisive and head-butts any contestant going for the biggest and crunchiest beet leaf.
Panda is easy to spot with her one black eye and Pretty has taken the trouble to apply eye-liner under her big Friesian eyes – nice. Permela, a scatty Hereford cross, needs a new hairdresser – that tight wave-upon-wave of forehead perm is so dating, Permela dear. Seventy-seven has been so unremarkable she didn’t receive a name; seventy-seven is her ear tag. She’s a quiet, easy-going creature is Seventy-seven. She’s Miss Middle of the Herd, Miss Congeniality perhaps, for her never-make-a-fuss nature. Well, that was until early on Sunday morning, a time when Gumboot Princesses naturally expect peace in the countryside for a sleep-in following a late night of excited chatter.
Miss Congeniality became Miss Bellow-Alotta. She stood in the paddock and roared, sadly and loudly, her monstrous bellows echoing around the rolling fields to the hedges and back. Clutching emergency mugs of tea, the Gumboot Princesses conferred in the frosty paddock and came up with a confident diagnosis: constipation. There was something about the way Miss Bellow-Alotta held herself with tail slightly raised, gazing longingly at a far-distant herd of cattle, that spoke buckets about constipation.
“Balls,” pronounced Farmer Martin when called in to confirm the verdict. “She’s looking for a chap.” Great. Miss Bellow-Alotta is a troublesome heifer teen just when I’ve seen my lovely human teens into happy adulthood. Must I now manage nine heifers through puberty? “And you think it’s just the bulls going looking for cows…” muttered Farmer Martin, “but see, the heifers are out there looking too.”
Meanwhile, our latest issue should have landed in your letter-box or at your local supermarket. It is packed with treasures: ordinary New Zealanders doing extraordinary things. Plus Annabel Langbein’s afternoon tea recipes for a sweet high and Dr Libby’s recommendations from the world’s healthiest people (chopsticks from China, steamed breakfast veges from Japan, cold oily fish from Greenland and olive oil from the Mediterranean). Beauty editor Tracey Strange-Watts advises that we need our accessories to be timeless and suggests a vintage look (see also Tracey’s blog strangeandbeautiful.co.nz) and Taste editor Anna Tait-Jamieson’s latest blog (passthesalt.co.nz) reveals the culinary secrets of Shanghai’s back streets and which magazine editor is best at making shrimp dumplings. (Anna travelled courtesy of Cathay Pacific.)
Kate Coughlan
EDITOR
PS: It was a great thrill to see so many of you at the recent tour with Dr Libby and thank you to our partner Nellie Tier, who supplied the beautiful neroli and rosewood body cream gifts, available exclusively to our readers. If you want to know more about the Nellie Tier handmade natural body care products, visit their website www.nellietier.co.nz
Special Reader Event
 Join us at Ayrlies, one of the select few New Zealand Gardens of International Significance, and its creator Bev McConnell as she launches her book Ayrlies: My story, my garden on Wednesday, 17 October 2012 at 3.30pm. Tour the garden and surrounding wetlands on the edges of the Whitford inlet, enjoy bubbles and nibbles and hear Bev talk about the five decades she has spent creating this outstanding garden.
Tickets cost $30 (with a refund of $10 on the $69.95 price of the book on the day) and bookings are essential.
Click here to order tickets.
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| Giveaways, prizes, competitions ... |
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Reader Prize
Our prize package delivers the luxury option with three nights at the five-star Millbrook Resort staying in one of its three-bedroomed Fairway Homes overlooking the golf course and framed by mountains. Breakfast each day, a three-course dinner at Millbrook’s fine-dining restaurant The Millhouse and a spa treatment or a round of golf add to the fantasy of living like the rich and famous. Click here to enter.
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We have two prizes of tea for two at The Langham, each worth $129, and Once Upon a Tea Time, a story-book showcasing the history and etiquette surrounding the tea tradition worth $60.
Click here to enter.
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Keep your iPhone under cover
This pocket-sized iSnap iPhone case (suitable for iPhone 4) with credit-card wallet reflects a more restful age when doodling in a notebook was a time-honoured tradition. Win one of five stylish iSnap iPhone cases worth $69.
Click here to enter.
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Events and web only content
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Nelson Winter Music Festival
6 to 22 July, Nelson
Kiwi soul diva Whirimako Black, The Adults, The Beatgirls, NZTrio and The Thomas Oliver Band are just some of the acts on the agenda as Nelson switches into music mode.
Phone (03) 548 9477
nelsonwinterfestival.co.nz
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Kaha, Atamira Dance Company
17 July, Mangere Arts Centre Nga Tohu o Uenuku and 19 July, TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre, South Auckland
A high-energy Matariki celebration of eight dance works including: haka, moko and a spunky version of Poi E, as seen in the hit Kiwi movie Boy.
Ph (09) 838 5780, 0800 224 224
atamiradance.co.nz
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Poem Recital
Watch a video of Lisa Harrow reciting 'Riveted' by Robyn Sarah from 'SeaChange: Reversing the Tide'.
Click here to view |
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Extra recipes
Fig & Haloumi
Salad recipe.
Click here for the recipe.
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Extra recipes
Ginger & Cinnamon Kisses.
Click here for the recipe.
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We would love to hear from you |
AFTER READING YOUR RECENT FEATURE on my grandfather Bill Dove (Child of his time, Issue 43) I wanted to say a big thank you to your magazine on behalf of his family. Bill is a pretty inspirational person and has always been more than happy to spend time with his extended family and share his love of the outdoors, sailing, winemaking (and drinking), good books, tramping, fishing, woodworking and gardening with anyone who was interested. Your feature encapsulated his personality really well...
Nicola Bell, Tauranga
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the prize
The writers of letters printed in Issue 44 have each won a six-bottle case of Wither Hills white wines valued at $126. |
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What's in the
latest issue?
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A place in the country
When an urban familty moved to a ramshackle rural cottage, they discovered the joys of a simpler life. Read the article in the latest issue and watch the video on our website
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Pacific Princess
Multicultural and multi-talented, actor and artist Angela Tiatia sees herself as a citizen of the world. |
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Tarras Dog Trial
When shifting sheep becomes a competitive sport, the Tarras Dog Trial is a triumph of man-and-dog bonding. |
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