Rolling out the welcome mat It was the height of summer when I found a brown duck swimming around our goldfish pond like it owned the place. It stared me down fearlessly as if to say, “I was here first....
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Interview about expat life in New Zealand
A while back, ‘Moon Travel Guides’ approached me and asked if they could interview me for the new edition of their book, ‘Living Abroad in New Zealand’. They found me through this blog and our ‘Moon Over Martinborough’ olive oil....
Windy day on Radio New Zealand
Edge of the olive grove It was howling a gale outside when Amelia from Radio New Zealand showed up at my door. We immediately headed out for a walk through the paddocks. She had a black box hanging from her...
Carrot cake everyone wants
Dave’s Carrot Cake This is just one of the recipes that appears in my olive farming memoir, ‘An Olive Grove at the Edge of the World’. ___________________ “Why won’t you share it?” I asked CJ. We were standing in the kitchen,...
Getting intimate with a cast sheep
“There’s a sheep down in your paddock,” our neighbor Jim said over the phone. He’d been working along the fenceline when he saw the sheep. “It looks pretty sick,” he said. I immediately called Hamish. The sheep belong to him....
Pinot speed dating in Martinborough
Ata Rangi 2008 Crimson The room was dimly lit. There were candles glowing everywhere, red and white heart-shaped helium balloons across the ceiling, and an inviting fire burning in the nearby fireplace. I stood talking to an energetic, grey-haired woman...
Tsunami of the lost purse
Lucy noticed her purse was missing just as the tsunami warnings came across the kitchen radio. A horrible earthquake in Chile meant we expecting a giant tsunami. We’d planned to go to the coast that day. Should we still go?...
Running up Te Muna Road
Te Muna Road It’s early on a Sunday morning as I put on my running shoes. It’s been a very, very long time, so the shoes feel a little unfamiliar. I stretch, then open the front door and go. I...
Blog makes local headlines
Awkward pose for local newspaper The Wairarapa Times-Age ran an article on my ‘Moon over Martinborough’ blog last week. They asked me to pose sitting awkwardly on our fence, pretending to do a blog post with the olive grove behind...
Blog named NZ Site of the Month
My ‘Moon over Martinborough’ blog has been named “New Zealand Site of the Month” in the October 2009 issue of NetGuide Magazine. I was sitting at my computer at the government agency where I work when an email came in...