Weed

This mallow has the most beautiful flower of all of our weeds. An import from Europe it out-competes native plants, reducing their available habitat. For the gardener they have the longest of roots which are a challenge to extract in one piece.

I’m letting this one flower and then I’ll heave it out of the path where it’s growing.

As ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale hammers Te Ika-a-Maui (the North Island) we continue to bask in beautiful summer sunshine. The mid-20s temperature is perfect for the garden.

I picked 3kg of raspberries today, some of which have gone to friends. The rest will become syrup. I’ve cooked them up and am leaving them to cool overnight before straining them through muslin. I’ll then add 350g of sugar or honey per 1 litre of the liquid, bring it to the boil and bottle it.

Sourdough has been proving and is now in the fridge overnight, ready to be baked first thing tomorrow. Yesterday’s feta is in the fridge too where it will mature for five days.

Thank you for all the good wishes about the voice bug and migraine. Happily I’m back to bouncing health today. Hooray!