Autumn rains

Hello! Can I help you?

We thought we had finished shearing in June, but we had a late request. Unfortunately they had a bit of a long wait, as we were waiting to hear from the vet about an x-ray for Turbjørn. We had hoped the vet would come at the beginning of August but we finally got a message to say it will be this next week. Poor guy. He's still eating and getting about but he's still not right. It will be good to get some answers as to what the problem is.

Turbjørn and his twisted neck

Aggie with her bandage. She and her stablemates were all kept in
 and so were the boys so that Herk and Aggie don't get their bandages
wet. They were finally let out this evening for a few hours after it
finished raining and only in the paddock where the grass is short.

A sunset that promised rain

It's a shame the shearing wasn't the week before as the weather was much drier. We planned to shear on the driest day forecast and we planned to turn up early as there was still rain forecast for the afternoon. Pah! It was a lovely drive there but as soon as we arrived we noticed the clouds on the horizon. Not being from around there we weren't sure how long the rain would hold off or whether it would come at all. Our host assured us it wasn't due to rain, so we set up and started on the first animal. We were just over half way through when the rain started. 

My sister posted pictures of the Duddon valley
which we used to visit as kids. Heather always
reminds me of the Lake District and so I was
pleased to find some growing on our land. It's
probably taken advantage of the increased light
after trees were cut down. I think I might have to 
relocate some to my garden.

George, you are not supposed to be eating through the fence!

Our host immediately organised some of the kids to hold umbrellas over the equipment while she held one over Ian as he sheared. Let's just say, it wasn't a pleasant experience and a good job that Ian doesn't take long and can speed up significantly when he has to. I felt sorry for one young lass as she was standing out in the rain until it was suggested she could fit under the umbrella too, so there she was a rather wet young lass, crouched under the umbrella protecting the equipment. As soon as we had released the alpaca we rushed to get everything under cover. Unfortunately we got rather wet in the process and a bit chilled and we still had two alpacas to go. 

Veronica at the front, our old lady, who should know better and
Mari, George's mother, both eating through the fence. Okay
so this is partly because they weren't let out of the paddock into
the long grass because of Aggie. No wonder the wire on the 
fence is stretched.

Silla looking a little damp.

We dried off as much as we could but our floor coverings were too wet to do much about. Our host managed to find some old plastic and carpet though for the dusty old barn floor that we had decamped to. As we got ready to start shearing the other two, the rain eased off and the sun came out. Heh ho! At least the animals wouldn't get wet getting them from the barn where they were to the barn where we were working. The last two animals were not as much of a problem. I forgot to mention that the first one was also a squealer, a wee-er and dribbled green spit everywhere. 

Nasturtiums in a pot outside our greenhouse.

Eggs in the incubator. I nearly created a disaster this week
when I accidentally unplugged the incubator overnight, 
however, it looks like it might be okay according to my
research. I hope so! Time will tell. These are in the
greenhouse where the cats keep unwanted critters away.

We rounded off the shearing with a good lunch and lots of chat. I at least had dry clothes to change into, but Ian didn't. He did get lent a jacket to put on though. Note to self: Always take a change of clothes and ahem, include underwear. Enough said! The trip back was mainly in the sunshine too, although we could see the dark clouds to the north of us as we headed that way. The rest of the week was pretty much the same, sunshine and showers on most days. 

Sedums relocated to my garden from the field before they get eaten

You can see Herk's bandage. At least he doesn't seem to be 
able to scratch these off but sometimes they do roll down a
bit. I also suspect that one of the types of plasters maybe
irritating his skin. Sigh! The original wound healed well, 
but now another section is raw. 

It's September tomorrow - how did that happen? It only seemed like a few days ago when we were looking at the calendar and thinking, goodness me it's August already. Another year flying by at tremendous speed. I seem to have spent quite a bit of time this last week sorting out the alpacas with skin issues. The flies have been awful. We were hoping the cooler weather would reduce them, but no such luck. The rain has also meant damp bandages and that is not helping, as it means more regular changes are needed. What they really need is some fresh air and for them to dry out - they would heal much better. But fresh air means they are being eaten alive by the flies, so they need covering and so it goes on. At least Freddie is finally bandage free and the flies haven't bothered him any more. One down, two to go.

Clouds after the rain

The marigolds look so pretty in the rain

The large tomato Ian photographed last week
finally ripened and yes, that is correct 741g

I have been interspersing academic work this week with gardening jobs and food processing for winter. I now have quite a few jars of boiled down tomato sauce and bottles of cucumbers. I also have dug up some potatoes. There were quite a few blighted ones, but there were also a lot that were perfectly fine and so we have one wheelbarrow full of potatoes from just the one row. Only another five long rows and seven short ones to go. 

Tomato sauce sterilising and soup cooking in the slow cooker

There are some full grown carrots in there, somewhere and
there are some seedling ones too. At least the hemp is gone
now and hanging up to dry.

Our red apple tree is now producing green apples. We think
the deer damage has killed the graft and this is from the
rootstock. 

We certainly live in strange times and one thing I cannot quite get used to is being told to do my research on a particular topic where I've disagreed with someone. Not just once but several times. It is quite bizarre as research is what I do. It's my job, it's my hobby. I had to stop using Google to do research on the internet because it couldn't cope with the diverse research I do. The algorithms were trying to be too clever and second guess what I wanted to know. It's not very helpful! I use DuckDuckGo now. The reason I don't need to have something second guess me is that I'm quite capable of inputting the keywords needed to get the information I want. Sometimes it needs a bit of tweaking, but I can find out information quite fast. I've spent the last 12 years doing it. I'm a scientist, but I'm also aware that scientists are biased to some degree. I'm a scientist who likes facts, but I also know those facts are set in a specific context and forms only one side of a story. Science is messy, full of uncertainties, is constantly evolving, revising itself as more knowledge is found. 

A Jerusalem artichoke flower

A bedraggled and battered garden after the rains. The Jersualem
artichokes at the back and marshmallow at the front.

The chickens safe but still pestered by the eagle

Does this mean that scientists cannot be trusted? Not at all, they are mostly working to the best they can with the current knowledge. It makes me cringe when people say, "Look at the facts!" or "We go by what science says," sometimes without really understanding the science behind those facts. Sometimes scientists need more humility and be able to say, "This is what we think according to the facts we have at the moment," but often people just need to know that science cannot say this will happen with 100% certainty. My first degree was in Pharmacology and Chemistry and people often wonder why medicines have such a long list of side-effects. The answer is that each person is unique and responds differently to the medicine. Mainly they will see a benefit in taking the medicine, but if not, then it could be any combination of effects, but usually they are minimal. In other words the manufacturer cannot guarantee with 100% what the result will be, although there are standards set to make sure that most of the time they do.

Ian says this looks like a pacman convention

Ian has been making progress on the little shed, in between
the rain. 

The same goes for vaccines. On the whole, most people will not experience many problems, some will experience minor ones and much more rarely some may have a severe reaction. However, getting sick with the disease a vaccine could prevent, is more risky. Injections are not fun and taking kids to be "stabbed" can feel traumatic. I had one that would go as white as a sheet every time and one that had to go with his dad because he wouldn't let the nurse near. What I do know though is that I was protecting my kids from something worse. It was a risk, but the risks from not doing it were greater. I do not want to return to the Victorian times when death and disease were constantly at the door. Over use of antibiotics and under use of vaccines could send us back to those times and not something I want to see. Healthy food and healthy environments will get us so far, but sometimes we need some extra help to stay healthy and I for one am glad we have modern medicines and scientists who are trying to improve what we know.

Some different mushrooms

A strange name for a strange fungi, Common Fibre Vase. They
look like someone has done a distressed finish on some wooden
flowers.

A rather large boletes mushroom

A cute mushroom, Winter Russula. Not one we eat.

Coral mushrooms

A trip up to the squashes

A meandering pathway

Squash plants growing on manure heaps

The winter squashes are growing well

Unfortunately the snails are proliferating in the wet weather.
I have been collecting them and feeding them to the chickens

Challenging times

We had cabbage soup, which might
not sound terribly exciting, but it
was rather good.

My supervisor and his wife came to visit us. I had told them to come in the morning when we arranged the visit just in case we had to do any baling after lunch. At least I knew they would understand as he comes from farming stock. As it turned out we had to wait for the grass to dry out and so couldn't get on with the baling that day anyway. It did mean we had a chance to sit around and chat into the early afternoon, which was nice and relaxing. The weather was dry on the day and so after they left Ian got out and turned the hay before we had a visit from another couple who have just moved to Latvia. It was a chance to give our view as Brits on what life is like in rural Latvia since one was a fellow Brit, albeit with the advantage of having married a Latvian. It was a nice way to round off the day and they bought cake, so even better.

It amused me to see George's head
pop up when I was walking towards
the alpaca house

I love this pink knapweed. Not a beautiful
name but a beautiful colour and they are
growing wild everywhere on our land
at the moment.

Later on in the week we went to do some shearing at the place where the alpacas were too wet to shear the last time. It still wasn't the most ideal situation to shear in, a shelter in the middle of a very large field and a goat and one small child intent on getting into everything. I had to keep the goat at bay and repeatedly tell the young chap "ne" and "nav" (no and not in Latvian) while Ian fetched the equipment. In the end I did shout at the young chap. I don't normally shout at children, I do not find it necessary, but I couldn't hold off the goat and ensure the young chap didn't strangle himself with the alpaca restraining ropes. Fortunately at this point his mother did realise that this couldn't carry on and removed the child and tied up the goat while we finished preparing for shearing.

Freddie! Why do you have to go to the
toilet inside? Couldn't you go outside?

Dainty little mushrooms just
outside one of the chicken arks

That was just the start though. We also had to catch the alpacas first. We thought we might have to and so came prepared with some wire and post fencing, but the cria (baby alpaca) tried to go through it and nearly strangled itself. It was released with the alpaca mother spitting and attempting to bite Ian. Next attempt was with a long rope that we used to herd the animals and trap against a solid fence. That worked and Ian managed to put a harness on the spitty animal and walk her to the shelter. She was sheared no problem. The next one was not so easy. We tried for quite a while to capture her but she was quick and clever and managed to duck under the rope each time. Most alpacas will not do that.

The grapes are ripening.

I love the slightly regal look of Brencis, completely unfazed
by the argument going on behind is back between Turbjørn
and Herk

I rather testily asked if we could have help to get her and eventually the owners managed to do it. We got a harness on and the owners once again disappeared. The problem was that this alpaca was not so compliant and sat down... on a very steep, gravelly bank amongst tall grass and small pine trees. We had to carry her and fortunately she didn't fight back. It is a good job that we've already shifted a few hundred 25kg bales of hay and so I'm stronger than at the beginning of the season. We only really persisted because this poor animal had a two year fleece on her and kept sitting in water buckets to cool down. She needed shearing badly. She was a bit of a wriggly alpaca but not too bad and we got her sheared okay once she was in the restraints. We did charge some extra for the time taken and maybe would have charged more if this wasn't the first time we had sheared for them. Hopefully they will know better next time and we can give them some hints to make the process faster.

Marshmallow plants and echinacea

Kind of steep don't you think? Well
it is an old ski hill

It wouldn't have been quite so bad but we had tried to fit it in before baling in the afternoon - well it was very late afternoon by the time we got back, we were meant to finish early-afternoon. We stopped on the way home for dessert and a coffee, we were too thirsty to eat properly despite missing lunch. When we got back we had a chocolate and mint milk shake with an apple before getting out on the field to bale up hay. Ian baled while I moved the bales to two convenient pick up points. Okay at times but this was on the steepest part of our ski hill and so a lot of trudging up and down hill again. Once Ian had finished baling it was back to the other part of our land to pick up the trailers, grab a cup of tea and  a couple of rounds of toast then back to collect up the bales. After putting animals away we put a tarpaulin over the thirty bales in the large trailer and finished at around 10pm to sit down and eat. It was quite a day!

These are the red ones. We have a barrow load of white ones
drying on a rack in the barn.

The rest of the week has been quieter with some return visitors who brought friends with them. It has been the start of harvesting season and I pulled up most of the onions and put them to dry in the barn. Only before I did that, I had to remove the dried marjoram and put that in the greenhouse to finish off processing later. I also needed to tidy up the greenhouse ready for our felting course at the end of this week coming, but to do that I needed to put some seedlings into the garden to get them out of the way and to do that I had to clear a bed to put them in. For every job that needs doing it seems they're other jobs that need doing first.

Dried marjoram for tea and adding to food and onions for a stock

I managed to squeeze the parsley into my small herb bed

I'm rather chuffed with this
cauliflower. It's not often they
grow to a decent size without
getting yellowed by the sun, or
attacked by caterpillars.

Along with that there is the worry for the health of a friend. We know there is much that needs doing on their farm but we are a bit helpless as to what we can do at the moment, partly because we have our own farm work to do that is essential for our animals over winter. It does make you realise how vulnerable farmers are to health issues during peak seasons. So much uncertainty and so much to do and not just for them but for others who could help. People do what they can, but they also have their own farms to run and their own animals at the busiest time of their year too.

Mind you, I think the pathway
needs a bit of looking after. 

But if the veg is growing well,
then what does a few overgrown
paths matter?

Today I'm on holiday apparently, according to my work calendar. I've even been getting reminders to tell me. It's rather amusing really. Not that there has been much to do because all my colleagues have been on holiday. I've done what I can and now have to wait for everyone else to get back on board. As for being on holiday! Hmmm! Today we are doing the last shear of the year and I still have my PhD to work on, the farm work to do and the felting course to prepare for. I won't be bored anyway.

The orchard finally got a mow this week. We are hoping the
grass will have reseeded itself in the process. It didn't get
cut at first because of the drought and then it just got left.

The Jerusalem artichokes are forming
a hedge at the back with self-seeded
borage taking over the strawberry plot
and I think courgettes in front. I hope
they have not left it too late to start
producing. However, with plants like
this it can go from famine to glut in a
very short space of time.

At least the shearing today was to one of our favourite places where we feel heartily welcomed and well fed, so a good way to finish off our shearing season. The mother is definitely someone with a gift of hospitality and I feel all that pass by, including the foster children under her roof, know that. I always feel that those who welcome others, especially, the vulnerable in our society are too often under valued. We need many more people to rediscover the gift of hospitality with open homes and warm hearts. After a good meal it was back home and Ian turned hay again, this time on our neighbours field, ready for baling tomorrow before more rain. At least this time we weren't hungry and thirsty.

Two arks made it down onto the field, one more to go. They
didn't get moved much at first as they were nice and cool by
the forest edge. Now I need them to get to work turning over
a weedy field.

I had a surprise email this week with a request to use my blog and the articles I write for teaching purposes. I gather it is not "how not to write," but how to write for specific purposes. It is nice to feel that at least some of my writing is useful to someone and an encouragement to keep plodding on. So while Ian was turning hay, I was busy booking onto a conference, because I heard today that an abstract I had written for it was accepted. An eclectic life anyway.

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