What are good recommendations for a fast growing evergreen shelter belt tree please?  Have been recommended Black Matipo as one.  All suggestions welcome.  Thank you oh wise ones   

   Cheers, Raven       We're not intending stock to have access to this particular paddock but if we do then the 'lecy fence will be ON     It's a shelter / fence between the house and the barn area and only about 15ft long - so not big.  We need it to help block off sou-west winds (and a bit of privacy too).  We're not so keen on the macrocarpa hedging as it can destroy the ground underneath.  We already have a huge macro hedge running along the road front.  Hence looking at pittos and the like. 

HIMSELF is not impressed with me      What a surprise      HE's gone into lock down again.  The grass has suddenly gone mad down here - you can almost see and hear it growing.  HE runs on oxygen so doesn't need fresh NZ green       So back on a track in the willow paddock with hay ad lib.  Never mind - he'll survive.

How's things with you?

  Oh we couldn't possibly trim it, Raven      Not when HIMSELF is more than capable and, of course, starving   

HE'd NEVA leave home!!! Has it far too good here.  Gotta love HIM though.  HE's a gentle, gentle soul who takes life in HIS stride.

Our Highland bully is growing  so he should be able to 'party' with the 2 smaller girls later this year.  We just need to find a bigger bull (Hereford) to party with our other girls coz they're too big for Midnight   

  Can go one better than a hill -  we have a gully!!     Just need to get the cow: to stand on the banks at the right height and angle as we'll be away laughing (so to speak  )

I don't reckon he'd have a problem either - now that he's had a growth spurt    I personally think he'd do the job okay.  Hubby is the one who seems to have the concern about not doing the job with the tall girls (no surprise there - he's short and so am I    )

Still filtering through some of the stuff I found.  I'm pretty well sold on the  Boys' High but haven't totally ruled out another school either.  I just feel he'd do much better in an environment where he's allowed to be a male.  At least in Boys' High he can concentrate on being a male whilst having his education geared to how his brain works (coz it sure doesn't work like mine    )

  I'd heard that too but after having my nephews go from single sex to co-ed - their work started to go backwards  together with their attitude etc and the boys themselves admitted to being too distracted by the 'fairer sex'!  We were most surprised but the change in environments showed in their work and attitude.  Several friends have found too, that with their sons, they have performed better (attitude, work ethic, etc) at single sex schools.

I'm reading "He'll Be Okay" by Celia Lashlie at the moment.  Good book so far   

I guess my thing really is that I feel boys are far to emasculated these days.  They need to be rough and tumble, and be allowed to have a barney   (within reason of course!).  So much of it comes down, I think, to being wrapped in cotton wool at a very young age.  If my son falls out of a tree - so be it.  He might hurt a tad, have a broken bone somewhere, but at least he's learned he's not invincible and to be more careful   

We planted a heap of Eucaltptus Nitens as a quick shelterbelt, after 5 years they were huge and we were cutting them for Firewood.

japanese ceder is an excellent plant for shelter belts         

pretty too!


good point.