Alex Hallatt 10/30/19 Alex Hallatt 10/30/19

Living in New Zealand: Lyttelton's Dry Dock

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We went on a tour of Lyttelton’s dry dock recently. It was fascinating, as much of it dates back to the 19th century and survived the 21st-century earthquake.

They’ve only recently replaced the pumps

I was really happy to find out that they treat the water that comes out of the dry dock after cleaning and painting the boats. The room where they do this looks very Heath Robinson, but it does the job so well that the pollutant levels are lower then permitted leaving the sewage works in Bromley.

Cleaning these grates is a nasty job, as young crabs get in and enjoy living in the space, but then get too big to get out…

Alex Hallatt 10/22/19 Alex Hallatt 10/22/19

New Zealand Garden Diary: Bees and Broad Beans

I love watching the bees do their work around the garden. Especially in the broad bean bed.

Alex Hallatt 10/15/19 Alex Hallatt 10/15/19

New Zealand Garden Diary: It's Spring and the Birds are Busy

The birds are very busy in Lyttelton at the moment. I saw a pair of kingfishers on a fence by the Bridle Path this week, the grey warblers are singing their little hearts out and the skies are a superhighway of sparrows.⁠

Blackbirds are one of the many non-native species introduced to New Zealand by (homesick? crazy?) Brits a hundred or so years ago. They do very well here and they drive me crazy as they mess up garden beds and disturb seedlings looking for earthworms, etc. But I guess they have got just as much right to be here as me.

Alex Hallatt 9/23/19 Alex Hallatt 9/23/19

Living in New Zealand: The UV is Very Intense

I’m not out long enough in the sun for it to burn me yet (thankfully I have Dad’s skintone and not Mum’s join-the-freckles one), but it’s getting intense enough to feel it if I don’t put a hat on. Thankfully, it isn’t hot enough yet for the midges and mossies.