14 March 2026 was the occasion of the 22nd annual Havelock Mussel Festival. Havelock styles itself the Green-lipped Mussel capital of the world. The industry is a big employer here.
Naturally a Mussel Festival would have food stalls selling all manner of culinary variations based on mussels. It has mussel-shucking competitions, lots of displays on industry developments, science, research, ecosystem studies and sea bed restoration, music from sea-shanty bands (among others) and stalls selling a variety of crafted wares.
I bought a pottery bowl to feed my addiction for collecting such things - the art of a ceramicist from Anakiwa.
One of the popular attractions (for spectators and slightly inebriated adult males) was a barrel riding challenge...
Having studied the form I reckon the best chance of staying on was to fold flat forward and hold the string below the bar. I wasn't prepared to put it to a test however as it seemed that women were far too savvy to make idiots of themselves trying to stay upright on a barrel on a pole - AND it might have been considered unsporting to introduce my style modifications.
In other news I am a couple of weeks into my Pilates Instructor Course and after much debate with myself registered an FB account so that I could put a notice up in our local community group noticeboard thing. I'm looking for volunteers to practice teaching on. I have to log 130 hours before graduation - teaching and practicing the order and form of the exercises myself. I managed to give myself a decent dose of aching muscles the day before a classroom day at the teaching school.
Despite my reservations about a particular social media platform, my plea for victims resulted in 3 immediate 'pick me' type messages; and an invitation to help do the trap lines today. (Weird or what?)
So it was that this afternoon Scully and I accompanied Pauline round the local Loop Track replacing bait and resetting traps. One rodent, 2 stoats, and a smack on the wrist each was the total damage for the day. We both got caught out triggering traps we were trying to reset. Scully tried to sneak a few snacks of old bait but I suspect the attraction of rotting rabbit quickly wore off.
Finally for this week - most of the pumpkins have been harvested and are now arranged on a sunny bench in my new-ish shed
Not the crop I'd hoped for but enough to be able to give a few away. Mr B doesn't entirely share my passion for the vegetable - which is possibly my favorite, being so versatile indeed that I can add it to porridge, make fritters, muffins, cake, bread, soup, sweet and savory pies, curries, jam and chutneys...or just eat it roasted or steamed and mashed.
One of my favorite recipes is to use baked pumpkin as the vessel for a cheese fondue:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/baked-pumpkin-fondue
Our community Wild Food Festival has been arranged for 14 April. The rules are bring food you have hunted, fished, grown, or stolen. (I have my reservations about stealing and don't hunt or fish 🤔 so it will have to be something based on pumpkin....🙄).
That is a respectable harvest! Plus they look like varieties that will store well.
ReplyDeleteFb oddities? just delete or delete and block. Thankfully easily done Same with ads and suggestions from fb.
I think I would need to be drunk as a lord to tackle that barrel run!
ReplyDeleteA fun fact: Pilates was developed by a German prisoner of war, Joseph Pilates, during his internment here on the Isle of Man. It was designed to help fellow internees with their physical and mental health.
ReplyDeleteI reckon a few pumpkins would have helped too.
We had to learn a bit of Joe Pilates' history as part of the course. I knew about his WW1 IoM stint and then on to New York where he eventually grew his fame helping dancers deal with injury.
DeleteLots of fun in the offing for you. Good for you on the Pilates teaching - you'll never be short of people wanting to learn.
ReplyDeleteSplendid pumpkin harvest. I'd be delighted if just one grew!
We grew those pale pumpkins at Havant (and a few Japanese varieties) very successfully. You could easily grow just one.
DeleteWhat an awesome original life. You really should have tried the barrel riding challenge.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin Rosie Little and her partner Bruce Hamlin are potters in Golden Bay. Though they may have retired now. It's a very artistic area. Beautiful work.
I am very envious of those pumpkins. I can only grow, squash but my harvest has gone way down in the last few years. Enjoy them!!
I'm a wimp. Anyway like the bloke standing next to me who exchanged a few ideas on how to stay on top of it - we didn't want to embarrass all the folks who fell off.🤣😉
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteWell done on getting along on the Pilates course - even that wouldn't get me to jump onto FB, I have to admit, but I also appreciate that for such things there are few options if news needs spreading. Maybe once there's a core group, word of mouth will serve just as well?
Meanwhile I'm envious... I'd give almost anything for a Jap or Queensland Blue. I am a bit over Butternuts, which is all I ever see here. Like you, I adore pumpkin and its versatility. I know you also like p'nut butter. Pumpkin and P'nut butter soup is yumoooo, if you haven't already come across it. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... YAM xx
Trouble with FB is that this is where the community chose to put their noticeboard - so info about road closures, power outages, and community events are posted there. My neighbour used to keep me updated but has moved to another province for work. I'll try that soup - might taste like my pumpkin and peanut butter porridge! 😂
Deletewild food festival sounds interesting, I have never eaten pumpkins except in a pie. eek on the aching muscles, mine eek is from raking leaves and pitchforking said leaves into a trash bin.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.rural-support.org.nz/events/hokitika-wildfoods-festival-2026---hokitika-west-coast - the best (and public) wild foods festival in the country is Hokitika - it too was last weekend. Bit of a clash there🤣
Deletewow all your pumpkins! I am in shock. I have about 5 in my garden that just aren't quite ready. Hopefully you can make lots of nice soup for winter.
ReplyDeleteFraction of the pumpkins I might have hatvested if I had better understood my soil type. Only the ones with their roors in horse poo produced anything - the other 50 or so plants achieved nothing.
DeleteA friend had a barrel thing in her yard which we all had a go at riding. I lasted long enough to get on, then boom down I went. No rodeo for me.
ReplyDeleteYou must have an extraordinary growing season! magnificent pumpkinninny!
I figured that was pretty much what would happen to me too. I departed a whimp but dignity intact.
DeleteWell done. A fantastic harvest.
ReplyDeleteI love pumpkin too. And home grown are so much tastier
I've been giving my vege garden leftover chicken poo seems to be working. To answer your question; yes I did know the wild foods festival was on but I had to work and I wasn't going to pay $55 per ticket to go.
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