“Jared, I have bad news for you,” CJ said. “Francoise is missing.”
I stared at CJ in disbelief. I had just come back to the property after a week away for work. “Francoise? Missing? What do you mean?”
CJ shook his head. “I’ve looked everywhere. I haven’t seen her in two days.”
“I want us to raise chickens for meat,” CJ said. “Like proper farmers.”
“Seriously?” I said. “When you wanted to breed pigs for meat you fell in love with the pigs and ended up screaming, ‘I will never eat their babies!’ Remember?”
My publisher was coming to lunch, and I was nervous. She wanted to see the property and meet CJ and me, but she wanted something else as well. She wanted to talk to CJ about changing his name.
What if it all went horribly wrong?
When our neighbors John and Aussie Bronwyn announced that they were selling their property and moving away, CJ and I were mortified. More than anyone, those two have taught us how to live on 20 acres. How could they abandon us?
The man on my front deck looked like he had teleported through a time machine, straight out of the 1960s. He was wearing dark sunglasses with octagonal, gold wire frames. His sideburns were long.
“You must be Jared,” he said, shaking my hand. In his other hand, he held a camera.
Happy New Year! Every year on New Years Day I list the most popular ‘Moon over Martinborough’ posts from the previous year. This year I’m also listing some web stats, plus the 5 most active commenters as a way of saying ‘thanks’.
So, what were the popular themes from 2012?
Of course in New Zealand it’s summer at Christmas, and nobody would dream of putting on a big red suit that’s lined in fur.
Here’s my rendition of the famous poem, Kiwi Olive Grove style…
