I spent most of the 2015 winter (June-August) on the site planting fruit trees (mainly apples and pears), black walnut (seeds) scavanged from an old tree further down the valley, and extending terraces and building new ones. I also got some garlic and shallots in. This work wasn't heped by a very cold winter (for us - see figure 1), plenty of snow, and a frozen river which at times made access challenging. The cold did motivate one to get working to keep warm.

Fortunately the work was pretty much completed by spring, when I was struck down with an auto-immune disease which has put me in hospital six times, left me in a wheelchair until January 2016 (now progressed to a walking stick), alot of pain, and unable to drive. Obviously working at the property is out (most annoying to loose a summer), though it did give me the opportunity to revisit my PDC DVDs (Geoff Lawton's online one) and do some planning. 

However, it's been a frustrating summer as I have only been able to get the property once since September for a limited visit. On the plus side, contrary to the forecast of an El Nino drought, it's been quite a wet summer, so the trees and seeds I've planted are doing ok (according to a kind neighbour - thanks Bill at www.pighunt.co.nz - who calls in occasionally and emails me photos - see below). 

Hopefully an improvement in health will enable me to continue this work. Time will tell...