What a late start to Spring for many plants in NZ. Beau Vista orchard’s beech hedge should be green by now. Never seen it so bare as the old brown leaves finally blow away, you can see though it! #Spring#Aotearoa#beech#hedging#orchard#cider#apples
Hysteranthous -blossom before leaves. Pears do this. Apples which flower a few weeks later take the usual leaves first course to the spring weather shielding the delicate flower buds from frost etc Pear have evolved to flower dramatically as early as possible in to attract bees but take that risk.
Mystery solved! Kererū poo! Under a large greengage tree at Beau Vista orchard has been continuous poo. I thought possums but trap those and levels low. Then they arrived. 3 beautiful birds who had been hiding from me for weeks. Must roost in the tree at night. #kereru#orchard#NewZealand#Aotearoa
At last! -the Tom Putt apples (our first apples to blossom) are about to bud burst. The leaves opened first last week revealing these gorgeous deep crimson flower buds. A late but bountiful Spring. #cider#apples#orchard#Wairarapa#NewZealand
The orchard is changing rapidly now the days are longer and the temperatures are climbing after a slow start to Spring. We are now peak bluebells. They have put on a great show this year. #bluebells#cider#orchard#Wairarapa
Well that’s a wrap. Winetopia 2025 in Auckland was great. 2 days of fun. Wonderful customers really passionate about how cider is wine. Lots tasted. We had 3 offerings a SV Kingston Black, SV Yarlington Mill, and a mixed Perry. Great networking with winemakers. #Winetopianz#Winetopia2025#Cider
Winetopia 2025 in Auckland is a blast. 50 stands of premium wines food and of course cider. We are next to Palliser in the Wairarapa section. Masterclasses and live cover band with dancing. Did I mention a fantastic rendition of Dancing Queen? #winetopianz#Winetopia2025#cider
A good day was had. Now we know a 50 seater bus fits now the drive at TeePee Cider! We hosted a visit by Wellington U3A. Sadly the blossom was late and it rain, rain, rained but with improvisation, a gazebo and a talk, our guests had a good day with cider tastings and good food. #cider#U3A#orchard
Our local park has a magnificent conference pear tree in it. Really quite old and majestic for NZ. This year it is looking spectacular with heavy blossoms. Although late probably due to the colder end to winter most early fruit trees like cherry have heavy blooms this year. #pear#Spring#blossom
The humble forget-me-not self sets and appears each year at this time around TeePee Cidery. Its scienitific name is Myosotis, a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae from the Northern Hemisphere. Myosotis alpestris is the official flower of Alaska. #cidery#NewZealand#Aotearoa
At last! The leaf buds of Tom Putt, our earliest cider apple trees at Beau Vista orchard are opening. No sign of blossom yet though and most varieties are still dormant. #apple#cider#Wairarapa#Aotearoa#NewZealand
A curious start to the year in the orchard. Whilst most established trees are late to bloom, now about 3+ weeks late, a few of our younger pear trees about 5 years are in full bloom! Yesterday was warm and sunny and even the honey bees came over to celebrate. #perry#orchard#cider #NewZealand#pear
Move over daffodils; it’s bluebell time. Although our equinox’s winds batter them, they are doing well. They self propagate so its nice seeing bunches appear as well as replanting the bulbs. There are a few white ones but the pink ones have not flowered. #bluebells#orchard#Apples#NewZealand
This is our oldest Shropshire sheep. She is about 13 years old. We have had her now for 10 years at Beau Vista orchard. She is losing condition and some weight but is still the leader of the others that joined our small flock later. And always happy to see us. Just eating grass 😍. #orchard#sheep
In 1922, Beatrix Potter’s 2nd book of nursery rhymes was published by Warne, some from old material. He made changes, including that Cecily's apples become into cowslips and that the barrels of cider be turned into cowslip wine. Photos of the original with cider and revised. #cider#rhymes
The perry blossom in opening fast now even in this atrocious weather. Second photo in 1 day later and the 3rd photo is 3 days later! Is 3 weeks late already so perhaps trying to catch up! 😉 #perry#blossom#flowering#orchard#Spring2025
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Wet day at the orchard. It’s been raining a lot over several days due to a NW atmospheric river. The rivers are high but not flooding. Most of the rain is on the western side of the Tararua ranges and we are to the east. #climate#wairarapa#rain#Aotearoa#NewZealand#Spring#meteorology
Our ‘other’ perry pear is just starting its blossoming. Called Carterton after our nearby town in it’s a very old wilding found in the rural area East Taratahi. Beautiful pink! Small tannic pears with high sugar last year 1.076 SG I have high hopes. #perry#orchard#blossom#nzcider#cider#pear
I love the light green lime colour of new leaves on the willows in Spring. It only lasts for a few days before darkening. Spring is a time of such change when plants nearly dormant wait patiently though Winter until their cue to burst forth. #nature#leaves#willow#Spring
And the weather’s sting in the tail. Heavy frost this morning. Some reports of -4C. Jack Frost. So glad the apple and pear blossom is unusually late this year so will not affect the fruit set. #frost#weather#cider#apple#pear#orchard#wairarapa#Aotearoa
Apple AI offered to designed an emoji for me. I was skeptical at first and thought what the heck I will give it a go. It turned out OK I think. Wassail. #cider#cidermaker#emoji
Best way to pour bubbles? Infrared imaging shows pouring into a tilted glass flute has significantly less impact on the dissolved CO2. Pouring a sparkling wine straight down a flute produces turbulence and traps air bubbles, both of which force dissolved CO2 to escape more rapidly from the wine.
