Farewell to a Gardening Aunty.

Well July is nearly over and I have not checked in this month - sorry everyone.  It's been a big month taken up with family and some travel up north.  

Farewell to a Gardening Aunt. 

We had the privilege of sitting with a dear Great Aunt, known as Aunty Michelle to many,  as she passed away well into her 80's this month. It was only a massive stroke that stopped her in her tracks - up to that point she was a vibrant, funny, busy and hardworking woman and it was no fun for her or us to see her stricken down and no longer able to look after herself.  Like many of her era she was a legend in the work department.  She was brought up during the Depression years in the Gorge Rd area, east of Invercargill and photos of the early days show a raw bleak landscape.  The whole family worked and worked hard. 

In later years she never married and so made it her business to spend time with her siblings and their families so got to know all her nieces and nephews and in turn our children.  She made us all feel listened to and special and was always ready with a funny story. 

I remember when she used to come and visit me in my big rural property in North West Auckland. At one time we had some young blokes employed on a work scheme to do some orchard and garden work.  Even in her 70's she worked them into the ground. It greatly amused her to work over a garden bed and watch out to the corner of her eye 3 young men do a fraction of the output she could. And she worked well after knock off time. And more recently she would regularly visit my parents in Hampden and woe betide any cup left on the table or weed daring to pop it's head above the ground. The cup would be whisked away, washed dried and back in the cupboard. The weed would have its head off in a flash.  She did follow the "scorched earth" school of gardening though so Mum would try to get in and get the garden tidied before Aunty Michelle arrived.  She loved bright colours and flowers so I have cuttings of some of her red geraniums to go in and remind us of her. 

She helped me through some hard times and I know I was not the only one. She was vitally interested in every baby, child and young person in her extended family. And in the last few weeks we met some of her friends - many from her early days in Dunedin and Southland her were her friends to the end - and heard more stories about this amazing woman.  Dear Michelle - we will never forget you.  RIP Michelle Mary Kemp 1929-2014
(The photo shows her reading us a funny story and then having a laugh!  Go Aunty!)