Garden Bridges

middle bridge without cat - an early picture

Bridges and water go naturally together.

The Moosey Garden has a water race which runs straight through it behind the house. It is approximately 127 meters in length. When we arrived the one functioning bridge took cars and tractors over and into the back paddocks. There was no other way to get across, except to wobble over a wooden plank. This dodgy water crossing has stayed, and even has 'bridge' status.

Five Bridges

There are now five bridges which span the water, connecting the new gardens over the water race with the back lawn and the house. The water race is too wide for energetic gardeners to leap across, though several of the Moosey cats do it with alarming ease. The water level is just over the gumboot and the bottom is stony. The flow of water is very occasionally switched off, when the Waimakariri river is in flood and there's consequently a problem at the intake point.

middle bridge with cat - an early picture

The bridges are all functional rather than decorative. They've provided unchanging landmarks for the development of the gardens. Unlike the Moosey paths, the bridges cannot be shifted, so the borders have grown naturally around them like garden settlements. They're used all the time by people and animals, though the Moosey dog Rusty is inclined just to barge through the water - as Taj-Dog did before him.

When eldest son lived here he had a daily summer bridge ritual. Coming home after a hard day's work he would disappear immediately to sit on Middle Bridge and dangle his feet in the water. You have to be at least six feet tall (as he is) to achieve this. For the gardener it's nice just sitting on a bridge any time on a hot day, toes brushing the water surface, talking to the cats and wondering (semi-philosophically) where all the water comes from...

The Plank...
Sat 12th Feb 2005

The Plank is actually wooden two planks, balancing on top of each other. The cats and I walk the Plank when we want to cross the water race to the newer gardens by the Willow tree.

Rooster Bridge...
Fri 3rd Dec 1999

Rooster Bridge is named after our first rooster. He was the subject of a university bonding and imprinting experiment. He came to live with us just when he was fully feathered.

Middle Bridge...
Mon 20th Dec 2004

As its name suggests, Middle Bridge crosses the water race close to the middle of the property. It must have been walked over and wheeled over a million times since first constructed.

Car Bridge...
Fri 5th Nov 1999

The car bridge takes the driveway over the water race down to the haybarn, the hazel tree orchard, and the back lucerne paddock. Since we've been here it has sunk noticeably at one end, and will soon need to be rebuilt.

Willow Bridge...
Thu 5th Jun 2008

Willow Bridge is a new Moosey bridge, spanning the water race near the willow tree stump. It's a wooden construction, strong and simple - not exactly what I'd ordered, but I love it.

New Car Bridge...
Wed 15th Jul 2009

Finally Car Bridge has been rebuilt properly. Men and machinery have been busy working for three days, in the depths of winter, laying concrete pipes and filling in the bridge top with compacted gravel.