Heard it on the radio

My office in the shade of the
greenhouse, just outside the
door.

Ian's back! Thank goodness I could hand some things over to him, like alpaca poo clearing, letting alpacas out in the morning and putting them away at night. He arrived back on the Tuesday night and I left for a conference on the Wednesday afternoon. Just enough time to do a handover and talk him through the things that mattered and he had just enough time on the way home and a bit the next day to tell me about his trip. It was nice on Saturday and Sunday to have a bit more time to talk and we worked at a slower pace so we could wind down a bit after a hectic few weeks.

Evening meals sat out in the sunshine

The grass is still on the long side but at least you can see
the potatoes now. I'm sure it will be ship-shape soon. Well
maybe!

Whilst I was away at the conference, the grass in the garden plots, that were heading for chest height due to the fertilising effects of the manure on the plots, had been strimmed down to a manageable height to work in. I was able to get in and weed some of the plots, including the potatoes that emerged while Ian was away and now well established. The grass didn't get wasted as Ian put it out to dry for hay. I used some of it at the weekend to put in the chicken arks for bedding, as the last lot seems to have disappeared. I guess the chickens are eating it.

This picture might not look very exciting to you, but to me it
is. It's my waterlily that I thought I might have lost after I
planted it too close to the edge and a deer got it. I managed
to somehow plant it far enough away this time obviously.

Yes! This really is at the conference. Our evening
entertainment was baroque music and dancing in an
 old manor house

The conference itself was good. It was organised by people I have known for about six or seven years now and I've been to two previous Rural Parliaments, so I am familiar with the format. This year there was a group from Finland and a smattering of other nationalities, so there was translation available on headsets, unlike the last one when I had to rely on some helpful folks. It was quite encouraging this year, as there was one lady from Estonia who said she would like me to come and lecture to the ministry department she works for. Should be interesting to get an expenses paid trip up to Tallinn anyway.

The people you see at conferences are rather varied.
Setting the scene for the entertainment

The rear of the manor house

I rather unexpectedly got a round of applause for one of my comments. I was quite shocked but pleased that someone else agreed with me. My comment was that we need to turn the conversation around, to help urban areas understand that to be resilient they need thriving rural areas. Often the conversation is along the lines of how do rural areas hang onto services due to depopulation? As I keep saying though, "What happens when all the farmers retire? Who will provide the food then?" Many people from urban areas seem to think that they will just buy their food from somewhere else, but then there are all the issues of traceability, food safety and the fact that farmers are getting older elsewhere, not just in Europe. The drain into the towns and cities cannot carry on, at some point there has to be a reversal and preferably before many of the farming skills are lost. I don't think that all who are in the rural areas need to be farmers, just that farmers need a social network too. They need schools and services for their young families not empty villages.

The place I visited is rather flat compared to our own area.
This is why they say we live in the mountains.

I met two ladies and one had relatives in the area. She asked
if I wanted to see the village whilst the other lady visited. We'll
only be 20 minutes she said. I reckoned on it being longer but
couldn't resist a trip. Just as we were about to go, coffee was
provided. It would have been rude to refuse, so I went with
the flow, which included waiting for one of the ladies to
have a very quick swim as she hadn't been able to have a
shower that morning.

The lake was full of little fish. Look hard and you can see them

After a baroque evening, someone has to do the laundry

It has been a bit disconcerting at times, as people would suddenly chip in during a conversation, "Were you on the radio recently?" as I tried to explain what I do in rural Latvia. I was sat outside waiting for lunch when a very friendly lady started chatting and part way through she asked if it was me, she had heard on the radio. We even had some visitors one day who remarked that they didn't need to hear our whole story, the one we usually give because everyone asks, as they'd already heard it on the radio and that was why they were visiting. My new found fame could go to my head, or more likely scurrying for a corner to hide. I'm sure I'll cope and it won't last for long.

A delegate from the conference helping
with the laundry

One of the baroque costumes airing
before being put away. It was rather
warm for such heavy costumes.

Today we had to take a trip into the big town. Ian's card had not been working. When he demonstrated it to the lady at the bank, the ATM swallowed his card, so now he needs a new one. Fortunately it was nearly due for replacement anyway. The reason we went in though was so I could collect some new glasses. They are purple - just for a change. Lol. I think the last three or four pairs have been purple, but as Ian said, purple does suit me. Sorry you will have to wait for pictures, but then they are not that different to the last ones I had, only I can see more clearly.

And because sometimes the pictures can say far more, here are lots of pictures to show you

Another costume

Then there were the field trips of course. The
advantage of my studies focussed on rural
development is that I get to see some lovely
places, all in the name of work. This was at a
Shitake mushroom farm

This young couple have a business growing Sea Buckthorn
which they mainly process for oil, but other products are made
too so there is no waste.

George is looking quite grown up these days. He looks a little
sad here, maybe he missed me? Not likely!

Finally the path is mown. Here the grass
is growing well, but on the ski hill
where we get most of our hay, it is not
so high.

Not bad for someone who is about to give birth in a few weeks.
Mind you, there have been a few times when she has been told
she had better not give birth until we are both back home and
bless her, she has hung on.

Oh yes! Hay season has begun. Not much of a breather after
a hectic few weeks.

A paddock area cut in preparation for a visit from some
alpacas whose owners want them mated.

Turbjørn showing his displeasure towards Jakobs

That grass was about ankle height when Ian left about two
and a half weeks ago.

Self-seeded Viburnum flowering.

The girls paddock after Ian flail mowed it to cut all the weeds
down that they have left. They are not fond of tall grass, until
it is made into hay fortunately. We think an elk may have
stumbled into the fence as some of the posts were broken.

Aggie has been quite the little madam for me. She was missing
Ian, so now she is making sure he realises she missed him, by
being uppity with him.

Marie the jumper. Maybe we should develop a new sport of
alpaca hurdles

A peaceful view of our land

Sticky-catch fly. I think it needs a nicer name, it's so pretty
but yes, it is sticky too.

Spring is the yellow season, early summer is the purple season

The butterflies have suddenly started appearing this last week

The grapevines are flourishing in the
warmer weather

Even the kiwi is starting to grow. Will
it ever do anything other than grow leaves?
Doubt it. I planted some hardy kiwis that
we bought recently this last week, so
hopefully they will produce something.

Beware, dangerous plants. Seriously! These tomatoes are
just planted in the cage where we put some of our chickens
over winter. Easier than dismantling the whole thing.

My herb bed is flourishing this year

This pain of a cat is sleeping soundly, until a pan rattles then
she thinks it for her. If you come and visit, please do not feed
her. 

Beans starting to grow in the greenhouse. These will get
planted out this week on our land and at the nearby camp

Home again!

This might not look the most exciting picture of the
year, but it is to us. It shows we have more grass than
last year and so potentially much more hay. We will
just need some dry weather after this next week and
we will be happy.

A varied week to be sure, this week. It started off with rainy day planning for our next Latvian Alpaca Adventure, then onto a conference and finished off with some weeding in the garden. Well that is the very abbreviated summary of the week. It was good to be able to have a few days to reflect on what we had done and what could be done better and what could stay the same. Overall we were quite happy with the way it had gone, especially since this was our first organised adventure. We feel confident enough to be able to offer something similar for next year about the same time of year. too Although there were things we felt could be run over two days instead of one, we decided to leave it as it is because we are so busy with other farm chores at that time of the year. The weeds took over during the week and some seeds I planted either did not come or got swamped by the weeds, all I do know is I couldn't find some of them. Mercifully that was not the case for all of them and some seemed to have made a bold attempt at holding off against the onslaught. If we had a worker or two, that wouldn't have been an issue, but we are not at that stage.

Still no babies and Aggie looking very tired

Alpaca lined nest that Ian found on the floor

There was a bit of adventure on the way to the airport to drop off Heather our felting tutor. They have been doing bridge repairs for a while now on the route we take and quite often at night the bridge has been closed. Unfortunately it was closed during the day this time. It was very confusing as there was also a detour on the road down to the crossing. Maybe I missed the notice of the closure somewhere, but I wasn't the only one. I realised that it was closed when the guy in front turned his car around to go back, not sure how the truck that was in front of him managed though. Maybe it is still there! Who knows! It did mean I had to take a new way back and I was quite surprised at the route. I went over another hydroelectric dam further south of the one we normally take and it was quite a stunning view in the sun. I'm glad I wasn't going the other way though, as they were doing roadworks on this one too and the queue going the other way was pretty bad. 

Buckwheat, beans and sunflowers growing in this plot

A model of the old castle in Kandava

The day after dropping Heather off at the airport, I had to go back into Riga on the bus, so an early start to take a trip to Kandava in West Latvia for the Third Latvian Rural Parliament. At the bus station in Riga I had a bizarre conversation with an old lady. Eventually through a bit of miming I realised she wanted me to look after her bags while she nipped to the loo. Strangely enough she was travelling to the village where I live and where I had set out from in the morning. She chatted along to me and patted me on the knee, not what I expect in Latvia, but she was just a very warm kind of lady and I don’t think it was too much alcohol either. Goodness only knows why she trusted me, maybe the grey hair 

Kandava had many decorated buildings

We had a field trip to a couple of farms.
This one is famous for being used for
filming shows about rural life. The buildings
were completely covered in old implements
that the lady's father had rescued from a
recycling place

I want one of these outdoor kitchens

I loved the face on the little chap in the middle at the front

I had anticipated some problems at the Rural Parliament due to the fact there was no translation this time. The last one was during the period when Latvia took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU and so there was an international flavour to the event. I needn't have worried though, there were about six ladies who stepped up when they realised I didn't understand everything. It was brilliant. I didn't really have to ask either, they just did it. I was a little disappointed though that despite one of the ladies from our local district council, there was no advertisement about our region, except a hurriedly put together poster and leaflets from me. Others had food and leaflets handy. I really enjoyed getting to know some of the other delegates and loved the concert that the local village were hosting at the end. I love the Latvian costumes and their dancing.

Some older children dancing

I love these costumes. So elegant!

Different costumes again

A slower more graceful dance this time

Roof all done

Ian and I had a fairly relaxed afternoon when I got back. We sat and chatted but not about anything in particular. I think we just needed a bit of a breather. In the evening we started putting the roof on the newest alpaca house. We can't sit around all day when there are things to do. Well we could but I had been sat on a bus for several hours and the evening was pleasant, so we took advantage to get something done. Next week's forecast is for showers, so the sooner this got done the better. 

So pretty and just growing in our woodland

Wood stacked. More needed though

Today though we made up for it for our afternoon off. In the morning I went to pick up a young lad who has helped us before. What he lacks in dexterity due to cerebral palsy he makes up for in sheer determination and hard work. While I helped Ian finish off the roof, he got on and weeded my potato beds. It didn't start off well, as I am not sure if he has ever done it before and pulled up a few potatoes. However he got the hang of it and it was made easier by the fact that our beds have wide paths and are designed not to be walked on. As it was dry, it was easier for him to kneel next to the beds and pull the weeds out that way. In Latvia, they tend to use very neat rows, often done by ridging with ploughs on tractors. Not easy if you are not steady on your feet and not enough room to kneel down. In the afternoon he went and helped Ian collect wood and pile it up. He travelled in the trailer to help and he beamed every time he went past as I was doing some more complicated weeding - like trying to find the onion sets. 

Potatoes weeded! I was so pleased to see these just about
finished by the time I had finished helping Ian.

Welcomed back with the first strawberries of the year from
our greenhouse

Well I shall finish with the news that we heard our seventh grandchild will be another grandson, so we look forward to seeing him later on in the year.