Happenings here at Chez Jasper

Posted on May 31, 2026 by jaspersdoggyworld

Greeting loyal readers and fellow maremmas. It is almost the end of autumn here in the sunny Mangamahu valley and we are on track for it to be the driest May on record. The average rainfall is 83mm (3.26″) and for the nearly the end of the month of May it has been 4.65mm (.018″). Mummy has been reluctantly watering, mainly her hydrangeas. This Monday is the first day of Winter and the forecast is for 22C (71F). Daddy is happy because it means less wood is being burnt so it will last longer.

As long time readers will know, the late Jasper and Nellie liked to go for walkabout down to Farmer Ray’s orchard to indulge in a bit of rabbit watching. Up to now, none of Us three maremmas have ever shown any desire to go exploring. So, mummy was suprised when she identified dog barking from our big paddock and lo and behold there was Me, Bella and that young wippersnapper out there.

Other thing to show are photos of some of the latest dinners that mummy and daddy have been creating.

Mummy’s seafood chowder.
Daddy’s pork dumplings, bok choy and green beans.

Now that is all for the moment. There is talk that the young wippersnapper, Roscoe is going into town soon.

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My maremma is broken

Posted on May 21, 2026 by jaspersdoggyworld

Snowy Dog

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Sushi for Beginners

Posted on May 16, 2026 by jaspersdoggyworld

Greeting loyal readers and fellow maremmas. It is Me, the Snowy dog aka the Chonky donkey. Mummy and daddy are rather fond of their food so the quality of the tasty treats around here are pretty good, hence my nick-name.

Once mummy returned from her Floral Art Conference a few weeks ago she has been busy ordering all sorts of stuff from a place called Temu. Me and Bella do not know of this place but mummy and daddy seem rather keen on it. Anyway, somehow by magic an ad for a sushi maker appeared on mummy’s facebook page and she thought “why not”. And this is the result:

Her first attempt

This got mummy thinking of some of the other dishes that daddy cooks. Long time readers might know that daddy is of Italian descent, is mother was born in Italy and that is often reflected in his cooking.

Pasta alla Nerano ie Fried zucchini, garlic and lots of cheese

Mummy sometimes think that she ought to write more about the wonderful meals that daddy cooks but it all seems like too much hard work.

One last photo

French onion soup

Now off Me and Bella go, for we have learnt that the young wippersnapper, Roscoe is going into town to vist the Riverside Market and we must supervise the prepartions.

Love the three bestest maremmas in all the land.

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Just Checking In

Posted on May 4, 2026 by jaspersdoggyworld

Greeting loyal readers and fellow maremmas. Yes we have been absence for the last couple of weeks. Mummy has been away attending something called a Floral Art Conference in a place called Blenheim. We all were left in the tender loving care of daddy while she was away. Mummy says Blenheim was a wonderful place to visit and it had nothing to do with the fact it is the Sauvingon Blanc capital of New Zealand.

Now as you all might not know Floral Art extends beyond just putting some flower in a vase as illustrated by the following couple of photos. Stunning aren’t they.

Now while mummy was away our old friend S.O.D came to visit. There is no way that any of Us three would be jumping on a bed, would there?

Love from the three bestest maremmas in all the land.

Of course we are not only the three bestest maremmas in all the land but also the cleanest!!

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Trapped Again

Posted on April 19, 2026 by jaspersdoggyworld

Greeting loyal readers and fellow maremmas. After the excitment of the anticipation of Cyclone Vainau, nothing happened. It was a bit of a fizzer. Sure, it was a bit more windy and rainy but nowhere as bad as it we had been warned. But as mummy said it is better to be parpared, just in case.

A week later, we woke to bright, blue skies and 24C (72F) and a state of civil emergency. There is no way out of the Mangamahu valley at the present and until that state of emergency is lifted (hopefully) tomorrow, people are encouraged not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

Below is a photo of the sunny sunshine this afternoon.

The reason why we can not leave the valley is the road down at the cutting has been flooded by the rising Whangaehu River. During the night there was a heavy rain in the tributaries of this river, up in the Ruapehu Mountain area and the heavy flow of water has hit us.

But do not worry for We three are the bestest prepared maremmas in all the land.

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S.O.D (SomeOtherDoggy)

Posted on April 10, 2026 by jaspersdoggyworld

Greeting loyal readers and fellow maremmas. Now as our long term followers and past residents of Blogville know there lurks in our lives this other dog whose sole purpose in life is to get innocent puppers into trouble. Well after a long absence here at Chez Jasper this S.O.D seems to be back causing nuisance.

Here is digging.

And for some reason, he has decided to move inside and chew wallpaper off the hall wall (not that mummy is upset as she sees this as an opportunity to be able to redecorate)

Off We go, there is much concern about this cyclone Vaianu that is due to hit New Zealand this weekend. But do not worry mummy went into town to get the essential supplies of fresh vegetables and wine. Love the three bestest maremmas in all the land.

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Here we go again!!

Posted on April 9, 2026 by jaspersdoggyworld

Greeting loyal readers and fellow maremmas. No sooner have we recovered from one major weather event, it looks like another one is on the horizon. Mummy and daddy have made sure that the ute is full of diesel and there is plenty petrol for the generator. Closer to the time the storm is due to hit us, mummy will make sure that there is plenty of water stored for the toilets. The pump for the bore, suppling the toilets is on a separate power feed on another property. Of course, they will make sure that there is plenty of dog food and tasty treats for the three bestest maremmas in all the land.

The storm looks serious. The following was in one of our national newspapers: “Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters that Cyclone Vaianu is a potentially “damaging and significant event” for the country, with government agencies set to be “on full notice.

Civil Defence has already advised Kiwis to make plans, as has Luxon, who said yesterday that people in the North Island should “stock up, get supplies and tie things down”.

Of course it is pretty hard to believe that a storm is on the way when the sky is bright blue, the tempreture is 24C (75F) and it is the middle of autumn.

While sister was home over Easter she took some photos of Us Three. We are sure that you will agree that we are the bestest looking maremmas around.

So don’t worry should you not hear from us for a few days. But now that we have a generator and as long as the tower providing our internet is not blown down or looses power, we should be connected to the world.

Our house

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Happy Easter

Posted on April 6, 2026 by jaspersdoggyworld

Greeting loyal readers and fellow maremmas. As you all know we live in the Southern Hemisphere where Easter is seen as the beginning of autumn. It is a time when mummy is thinking of putting the garden to bed for the winter. Even though New Zealand has a fairly mild winter climate, here in the sunny Mangamahu valley it can get very cold. Cold enough for mummy to be able to grow peonies. She planted three and was very pleased that they flowered as they are rather expensive and mummy doesn’t like wasting money on plants that curl up and die.

Peonies but not grown by mummy.

Of course, Easter is a long weekend which meant brother and sister came home to give us the love and attention that we all richly deserve, as you can see from this photo.

As winter is coming, daddy’s thought’s turn to making sure we have enough wood to burn in our two fires. So this afternoon he was out in a paddock chainsawing down a dead silverbirch. The sounds of chainsawing were humming in the valley as a neighbour was also cutting down firewood.

Now, when mummy looks out the kitchen window a large Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) tree dominates the view. Well not for much longer.

As brother and sister are home, creating dishes mummy seems to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and she thought she heard the sound of a tree splitting. But no, she thought it can’t be. It is not raining or windy. Well, she was wrong.

So guess what daddy will be doing today. More chainsawing. The branch needs to come down as it is over the fence into the neighbour’s property. We are hoping the tree will survive this unexpected event. Mummy is concerned that by taking this branch down it will let more light into her garden which will expose her shade loving plants to more sunshine.

Daddy seems to have discovered this thing called AI. Me and Bella do not know what this AI is but it seems to keep him amused.

That is all, folks. Love from your most favourite maremmas, Snow, Bella and Roscoe.

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More of sister’s blog post

Posted on April 2, 2026 by jaspersdoggyworld
Failure?
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An Unlikely Friendship

Posted on March 20, 2026 by jaspersdoggyworld

Greeting loyal readers and fellow maremmas. Often on her way into town, mummy passes many paddocks with animals happily grazing in them. But there is one property that had three animals that caught her eye. She would see a little brown deer grazing contently with two cows. It is well known that cows have friends within a herd. and sometimes that friend is a small brown deer.

Try as she might, she was not able to get a good photo of them. So you will have to make do with her less than perfect pictures. If you squint you can see the little brown deer.

Deer and cows have something in common – when they get full from feeding, they will sit down and eat their cud.

Deer are an introduced animal to New Zealand in 1851 and cause a lot of damage to the nature flora. Fallow deer were introduced from 1860 and are now found in many low-altitude forests and rural areas, partly the result of farm escapes and illegal releases.

In New Zealand, deer have no natural predators. This means they can grow to large numbers without the support of hunters and others to aid in their management .Deer damage native forests by feeding on forest plants, trees, and seedlings.

Mummy and daddy are rather fond of venison, but unless you know someone who hunts and has access to areas where deer can be safely hunted, it is a rare commodity and something that is not shared with their three precious doggies.

Love the Three bestest maremmas in all the land.

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