Visiting Ulva Island with Guests (At Sails Ashore we package a 4 hour Guided Ulva Island Tour for our guests. Ulva Island Open Sanctuary is a “Must Do” for visitors to Stewart Island. Many years ago I was Ranger in Charge for all of Stewart Island. For a brief introduction to this very special Island…
DetailsDry Spring Since we put the new water tank in place….. and pumped it full from our existing storage we’ve had very little rain. So much so that Iris has been watering her new vegetable plantings for several days after sowing. Most unusual, especially this time of year. A wry comment on our normal rain fall…
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Spring Tomorrow The weather recently has been stunning, more like summer than winter. Our ground temperature is currently 12.1 deg C, over 2 deg higher than this time last year. So Iris planted 3 rows of potatoes over a week ago, and today planted carrots, parsnips and radishes. Iris’s diar tells us she is about…
DetailsGrey Warblers Grey Warblers are quite common around the village and on Ulva, but for me at least very hard to find. They are enthusiastic songsters, but visually drab secretive little birds who never seem to sit still and also prefer the higher canopy. So enormously difficult to photograph. Around the village where we don’t…
DetailsJust Winter Things Winter can be a depressing time of year, short days, colder, and often extended grey bleak periods. But we do also get those wonderful clear calm sunny days that make such a difference. And one of the really neat things winter gives us is marvellous sunrises. Well we get great sunrises throughout…
DetailsAnnual Winter Garden Bird Counts Each year Iris does a count of the birds in our garden over a 1 hour period. This “snapshot” is part of a national survey by Landcare Research, Forest & Bird Society, The Ornithological Society & Fairfax Media. Birds Recorded from Sails Ashore:- Bellbird …
DetailsAway from the Island In late April our daughter Anne went overseas to attend two conferences, with a trip to Spain in between. Rather than put Eddie …. her Border Terrier ….. into kennels she sent him down to us. Eddie is a well travelled little dog, having visited us with Anne several times before,…
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