Two kereru were sitting outside my bathroom window this morning in a mahoe tree. Zealandia has helped boost their numbers and the native tree planting I’ve done has attracted them here. I used to be rather dismissive of mahoe or whiteywood (melicytus ramiflorus) but I’ve grown to love it. Stock, including rabbits, enjoy eating it, it’s wind-resistant, tough and fast growing (up to 10 metres) and has abundant berries for the birds. Once it’s dry, it makes reasonable firewood too. It doesn’t like a hard frost or wet feet.
I’ve made some delicious sauerkraut with the abundant cabbages that are about at the moment. A kilo of cabbage chopped up with a tablespoon of salt and squished into a large preserving jar with some caraway and juniper berries. After a week or so in a cool place it ferments and the lactic acid it produces creates the acidity that preserves the cabbage. The perfect complement to sausages, salami or wild game.