Flat Stanley Stops To Smell A Flower

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amorphophallus titanum, auckland domain, corpse flower, flat stanley, wintergarden

Friday morning I noticed an article in the paper about a flower.  Not just any flower, mind you.  This flower is substantial:  Amorphophallus titanum – the largest flower in the world and particularly stinky.  The best part?  This plant was at the nearby Auckland Domain and there were signs the flower might open this weekend!

Flat Stanley was excited.  These flowers are extremely rare and last only two days.  Flat Stanley was keen to see and smell such a huge flower.  Yesterday Auckland Council made a public notice the flower started to open and visiting hours at Wintergarden would be extended for the viewing public.

Early this morning at 6:00 AM, I grabbed Flat Stanley and we headed out the door.  As it was Sunday morning and quite early to boot, I knew there would be very few other people about.  The gates of Wintergarden opened at 6:30 AM.

Flat Stanley at the entrance to Auckland Domain

We drove through Auckland Domain to Wintergarden and found a place to park, then walked to the glasshouse.

Flat Stanley at the entrance to Wintergarden

I waited with Flat Stanley at the locked gate until 6:30 AM.  Right on queue, the gate was unlocked and we walked towards the Tropical House, a heat and humidity controlled glasshouse.

As soon as the door to the glasshouse opened, we could smell it:  rather like a bit of meat left under the couch for a week.  Another name for this flower is the corpse flower, an apt name, I must say.

Amorphophallus titanum information placard

A fascinating plant.  It has a huge bulb or corm of 50kg or more, and each year the plant produces a single leaf of gigantic proportions.

This is a young leaf from a smaller, related plant.  Flat Stanley says this leaf looks rather like a small tree.

The leaf dies back after a bit and nothing seems to happen for another year, when yet another singularly huge leaf grows.  This may continue for 7-10 years.

This is an older leaf that is dying back. This corm is the same age as the flowering corm. It is hoped this plant will flower soon.

After several years, the plant may send up a flower.  It was only about two weeks ago that workers noticed a flower began to emerge.  It is difficult to predict when or if these plants will ever bloom, so when they do, it is quite exciting!

Almost 2.5 metres tall. Not too bad, for a flower.

To say Flat Stanley was excited was an understatement.  This was certainly the largest flower he had ever seen.  Thankfully, the smell was not too bad, either.

Flat Stanley smells the flower.

Outside was cool and there were a few raindrops.  Inside was hot and humid, to replicate the tropical environment of Sumatra in Indonesia, where this plant is found in the wild.  Flat Stanley did not mind the heat and humidity.

 

Flat Stanley and the author next to the first recorded flowering of Amorphophallus titanum in New Zealand.

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Cascade Kauri

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auckland, cascade kauri, waitakere ranges regional park

A morning bush tramp around Auckland City Walk, Cascade Kauri, Waitakere Ranges Regional Park.

Happy New Year!

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auckland, manukau heads, pōhutukawa, whatipu

Pōhutukawa in full bloom at Whatipu, Manukau Heads.

The Ted Ashby Sails to Gulf Harbour

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auckland, ted ashby

On Sunday, Gaby and I sailed on the Ted Ashby from Auckland Harbour to Gulf Harbour. The Ted Ashby is a ketch-rigged deck scow, one of a fleet of Heritage Vessels from Voyager: New Zealand Maritime Museum here in Auckland.

Before we set sail, I noticed another boat, the SS Puke (which does not mean what you think it means, but I love the name). The SS Puke is a steam launch built in the 1880s, another in the museum’s fleet of Heritage Vessels. What a great hobby vessel!

The Ted Ashby is a boat built in 1993, based on a design typical of the scows typically in use around New Zealand between the late 1800s and early 1900s. Scows were used frequently to haul heaps of stuff and were great for areas without harbours, as the flat bottom allowed the boat to anchor near shore and rest flat on the low tide.

A view of the waterfront as we leave Auckland Harbour.

We pass Rangitoto on our way north to Whangaparaoa Peninsula and Gulf Harbour.

The weather turned and the wind was a bit cold. We bundled up to keep warm.

The manual anchor winch.

After 4 hours, we made it safely to Gulf Harbour! The Ted Ashby was in Gulf Harbour for filming. In the 1970s, a pirate radio station operated nearby, 12 miles offshore, in a scow. The Ted Ashby will be made up to look like that pirate radio station for an upcoming documentary.

We took the ferry back from Gulf Harbour to Auckland Harbour. The ferry is quite fast, just 45 minutes return!

A Walk Along Piha Beach – Just Pictures

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auckland, piha beach

Little Lambs Eat Ivy

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auckland, baking, bread, lamb, one tree hill, sourdough, tartine basic country sourdough

Keep Warm Around The Oven

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auckland, baking, bread, lamb, one tree hill, pheasant, sourdough, volcano

It got cold again. Night time temperatures dropped by about 5C.

I’ve had to run the heaters at night; although, I can usually turn them off during the day, as the temperature rises above 16C.

At least the Sun is up earlier now.

And, sets later in the evening.

Morgan enjoys his walk around the volcano. We greet other dogs and look for birds as we amble through the park.

Winter still has a grip on us, for a while yet, it seems.

Spring will arrive on it’s own schedule.

For now, I keep warm around the oven.

Someone Had To Do It

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auckland, baking, bread, lamb, one tree hill, sourdough, tartine basic country sourdough, volcano

The other day the weather forecaster said our weather had transitioned to a Spring weather pattern. Translation: Frequent storms out of the west, preceded by warmer Northerlies and followed by colder Southerlies. It’s been a pretty wet year. It’s been pretty wet for the last two years, in fact. At least Spring should be a bit warmer, if not less wet.

Signs of Spring are popping up all around. Bulbs have been flowering around One Tree Hill for the past few weeks. The cows calved a couple weeks ago.

Newborn lambs frolic around the paddocks. Morgan was keen to have a play.

That reminds me… Yesterday morning, whilst walking Morgan, I spoke to a neighbour who mentioned he had a spit…

Yesterday was a bit wet; a good day for baking. I set about mixing up a batch of sourdough. By late afternoon, bulk fermentation complete, I shaped two boules, placed them in banneton and put them in the fridge to retard final fermentation overnight.

This morning I was up at 5 AM (I slept in!) and baked off two sourdough boules. I always love the smell of fresh baked sourdough. Delicious.

This time I froze one boule as soon as it cooled. I wrapped it well in aluminium foil and plastic wrap. We’ll see how it does when I pull it from the freezer in a few days.

In the meantime, I simply couldn’t resist cutting off a thick, almost custardy, slice of bread, still warm from the oven. Someone had to do it.

Buns & Burgers

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auckland, baking, beef, brioche hamburger buns, chile jalapeños, hamburger bun, hamburgers, one tree hill, red onion, vintage cheddar cheese, volcano

Morgan and I walked around the volcano the other day and we passed a paddock with cows and their newborn calves.

I got to thinking about beef and was inspired to bake another batch of light brioche hamburger buns.

Last year we had a pretty good crop of jalapeños. We ate our fill and there were still plenty left, so I picked the remainder, fire roasted them, and stuck them in the freezer. They freeze well and it’s very easy to pull a few out of the freezer when you want them and pop them in a hot oven for a few minutes to defrost. I sliced a couple and topped the burgers with them.

I like to keep my burgers simple. This burger had mayonnaise, red onions, cheddar cheese, jalapeños.

I like my burgers coarse ground and medium rare – warm enough to melt the fat in the grind and create a juicy burger.

Not too bad. I would prefer the cheese to be a bit more melted, so next time I’ll leave them under the broiler for a longer time. I chose an aged cheddar (Vintage), which is a good sharp cheese, but it ended up overpowering the jalapeños. I may try a more mild flavoured cheese with good melting qualities next time. Havarti, perhaps? The light brioche buns are good and can handle the burger juice just fine without being chewy.

Morgan Goes For A Walk

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auckland, dog, morgan, one tree hill, st heliers, volcano

Morgan took me for a walk to One Tree Hill the other day.

On the way to the park, we found a Nikau Palm that was flowering.

The remainder of our walk was uneventful, save for the occasional sheep and pheasant.

This afternoon we drove out to St Heliers to walk along the beach.

The forecast called for a chance of rain. Luckily, the weather was fantastic.

Morgan just wanted to run on the beach.