Category: Vision

Labouring

Labouring

In endeavours to obtain a Code Compliance Certificate for my house, men spent time in January under my deck reshaping the ground and applying hard fill to comply with the requirements of the Building Consent. It was a  week of those 28 degree days, full sun, and not a lot of breeze. All I could do was supply them with water and a few Coke Zeros, although they looked like a hit of sugar might not have been a bad thing with the heat and exertion.

I felt slightly guilty asking that the soil removed was placed some distance away near my burn pile. But I was paying by the hour I told myself as I supplied more fluids!

During that same week I had some students via Student Job Search (SJS), clearing grass and weeds and further developing my small bush walk. When I purchased the site where I recently built I hadn’t realised that an area of bush, north of what appeared to be the boundary fence, was in fact part of the property. It was overgrown with bramble, but on investigation I could see that it contained a number of choice natives – flax, cabbage, Nikau, Totara, along with Manuka and Coprosma. 

I had an extended break over summer – refresh leave which was once called a sabbatical – most of which I spent at my rural property. A notebook I keep of activity on the property lists 25 mini projects under the heading “Summer 23-24 – SJS Tasks” including estimated and actual time involved. Learning: most things took two to three times as long as estimated. For example “1. Clear around Septic Tank” the estimate was two people for 2 hours. Actual time two people, 8 hours.  I got stuck in too, both before the students started, during, and after. The during bit was the best. Energetic young men, mostly half my age, who seemed to be able to just keep on going forever, making progress that I could only dream of on my own. Keeping time records of projects was very instructive for future maintenance. It also brought home some home truths. How did I take six hours to lay five railway sleepers to create a small path?! Amateur with a spirit level.

Back in 2020 when I had portion of my right quadricep cut out I was told I wouldn’t ever walk up the local Maunga without assistance. That was proven to be incorrect, but I haven’t felt the same strength – nothing in particular – just not as strong as I once was.

Labouring helped a lot. It hurt, but it hurt less as the days and weeks went on and after a while I realised I was feeling stronger again. More confident to lift, move, dig. With that brings freedom of choice and confidence that a larger rural property is manageable without having to pay for everything to be done.

Building and retaining muscle is incredibly important as we get older and in world where mental resilience and fitness is emphasised it’s been a big learning for me. A true sabbatical and if you need a tree planted, I could be your guy!

The reward of having my own native walk has been big. I find myself in there all the time – transplanting baby Totara, weeding by hand, clipping to keep the path clear and just really enjoying my very own forest walk.

It’s a year ago today that a state of emergency was declared for Cyclone Gabrielle. I wasn’t unscathed but relatively speaking got off lightly. As I type I can see a large Manuka tree in my bush, that was cut off at about the 8 metre mark in the storms.

Get Strong.

Stephen

Notes:

  • There are over 90 species of Coprosma with over 50 found in New Zealand. 
  • I lost some big Manuka trees in Cyclone Gabrielle which finally got removed and converted into firewood, and a batch of several dozen self-seeded baby trees have taken their place.
  • The walk is part of a planned work around my 4ha and my big plan is to extend the walk to neighbouring properties if I can
  • The 25 projects aren’t all done yet, but there’s others too, some I have managed on my own
  • I’ve got more to say about the students another day too – they were amazing

A year in the country (sort of)

A year in the country (sort of)

A year ago last week “Practical Completion” of my new build allowed me to insure my new home in the country and move in. It was the day of Mum and Dad’s 70th wedding anniversary so a big day all around. Quite a few things didn’t work – automation is a great thing until it’s not – but it was (and still is) sparkly and the views are really quite special. Lots of green, some sea, more green, farms, some livestock, and green. Oh, and gorgeous sunsets.

There seems to be two types of people in the country where I am – locals, who wave like I’m their best friend – and everyone wants to help – they really do – but most of the people waving are strangers who wave when I’m out walking. Then there’s those passing through to the beach, generally in a big rush to get there very quickly and then relax quickly I assume.

I didn’t really realise but building on the top of hill with a valley below has features in the country you might not necessarily think of. Or maybe I was a bit naive. Everyone can see you! Well not me personally or close up (I hope), but the house, what I’m doing on the land, and whether I have visitors. Walking and looking back up at my house it sticks out a lot more than when I’m looking out. And it’s not a massive house by any measure, but noticable.

“They’re watching what you’re doing Stephen” my local friend and farming advisor Philip tells me. “Watching what?“, “Well they like what you’re doing, making that land something, the planting, the silage and that sort of thing“. I hope they like it! Being a silage farmer isn’t exactly the sort of earning you might give up your day job for. More like getting paid (eventually) an amount that is similar to what you might pay to mow the grass.

As best as I can tell the last building to inhabit my site was a school in the 1940s, so I guess it’s something new. Building a home and making it just right seems to be a forever thing. Firstly, getting beyond “Practical Completion” to the elusive Code of Compliance Certificate is a topic for another day otherwise this blog might turn into something slightly less friendly! In the country on a little bit of land – yes everyone told me – it’s never done. Not like a satisfying few hours in a city house where the garden can be brought into shape, with time to wash the car and hose the driveway for good measure on a Sunday afternoon. Nope, it’s a journey.

And I’ve had to get my head around not every corner is always as I want it – in fact no corner is really. But I’ve got a massive list of mini and major projects and I just get at them when I can – one step at a time, and I can see a difference. I remember attending a session at Cornwall Park on their 100 year plan once and the vision that the designers have is awesome. I’m not that grand by any means but having a master plan has meant progress is actually not too bad, and helps me to relax about the bits that still need attention, or won’t get done until 2025 say.

The country – you can see further, and you need to think further too.

Stephen

A student

In The Student and Mister Henri a grumpy old man Henri lets out a bedroom in his Paris home to a young student Constance, who has come to study in the city.

Henri is the most inhospitable host, full of scorn and cynicism for his family, and Constance. But Henri’s wisdom emerges as he reveals his life’s regrets. Not following goals, not embracing family.

Success is not immediate for Constance.  In fact she fails at her chosen subject. Ready to give it all up and return to the country, Henri digs deep and urges Constance to “do what you want when you’re young“.  You only live once he reminds Constance.

Thanks to Henri, Constance sets off on a new path following her passion, headed for success.

I had some professional success this week. Its an achievement I’ve worked for by following a path.  And I’m happy to be the student, learning the ropes again.

You might only have one life, but you can be a student many times.

Stephen

ps  My new start

Decisions that change

We all have them in life. The decisions that change the course of your life, whether that be a personal decision or maybe a career change. Twenty-five years ago last week on 26 March 1990 with twenty others I gathered at 120 Mayoral Drive, Auckland as a new employee of the newly-created Serious Fraud Office.

We had an office, desks, phones and some basic computers. Parliament hadn’t passed the SFO Act so we had no statutory powers. But we did have quite a lot of energy and diverse skills and got on with the task of investigating allegations of fraud that had been collecting dust in other government departments. Some we took over from other agencies.

Our minister was the Attorney-General, the late David Lange who attended an opening ceremony and lived up to his lively reputation and healthy appetite. Charles Sturt, a police detective turned lawyer was the Chief Executive and Director. He got into quite a few tangles with other departments and politicians, one of which saw him retire from the role, much later. He had the vision to see that the SFO should not just be statutorily independent, but that it should operate independently of the police and others.

The cases were challenging, and the powers the SFO was given with the passing of the Act in July 1990 made the obtaining of evidence relatively straightforward. The powers were controversial, some not requiring judicial oversight, and it took until quite recently for the police and others to get similar investigation tools.

I knew that the decision to join was large but like all decisions, you can never know where it will lead you. The large part comes later, as life’s direction is altered irreversibly. There’s no going back to the former state. That is gone.

We might think carefully about these sorts of decisions, but do we know where they really lead? Of course not, even with a goal in sight.

Sometimes a decision to change is needed to break the old open and allow change.

Some of us twenty on that day would have fitted into that category, some, like me, slightly starry-eyed looking forward to a new thing without too much thought about where it might lead.

Turned out to be not a bad call.

Stephen

p.s. Test of a big decision: remembering the date I reckon!