Not very regular!

If my Nan took selfies, this
is what she would have 
looked like. But I can
see my mother and my
grandparents staring
back at me in this photo.

As I mentioned, I'm kind of busy but there's also less to write about. Well that was until this weekend when both Mari and Turbjørn were causing us some worries. Ian found Turbjørn on his side one morning early last week. He wasn't sure if he had been knocked over, fallen over, or just got stuck and couldn't get up due to his neck problems. Ian got him up and he seemed okay. He started feeding him more food and coated him up and he seemed to recover somewhat. Over the weekend though he started to struggle again. We couldn't work out what the issue was. We suspected colic, maybe from a small change in his food. We gave him some drops a neighbour had given us before and he seemed to perk up. 

Winter has its challenges but also its beauty

RIP Mr. Turbjørn. You were a unique alpaca
with all your quirks, but we loved you anyway.

Monday morning I got one of those dreaded phone calls. Turbjørn was on the floor, Ian had got him up as he had been doing most mornings recently but he didn't seem well. Ian went on to do his chores and then went back to check on him. He was back on the floor but on his side and unresponsive. Not sure of the exact sequence of events but Ian came back to get me and we both went to see him, we knew the look and realised that he was going, there was nothing we could do. He finally passed away just before lunch.The vet came out that evening and she did an autopsy. He seemed to have had a bleed and Ian has taken some samples to be tested. At least he didn't seem to have worms, liver issues, ulcers or anything that could be treatable, so in that respect a relief. It is always a worry if there is something we've missed that could have been dealt with.

You took your time to trust us, but you did towards
the end.

The route back from burying
Turbjørn. It was a lot of work
with the tractor to dig a path
to get him to his final resting
place under the elder tree. We
had rather a lot of snow over
the weekend.

It took Ian two days to dig the path to where
Turbjørn was buried. This was the start of the 
path. We had to slide him down on plastic to
the barn as there was no path up from the alpaca
house to the barn at the time.

A serious looking Mari. At least we think she 
might just have had a virus. 

Fortunately there was a happier ending to Mari's saga. She staggered one morning, not a good sign. Ian came back to the apartment to get some vitamin B1 as a lack can cause similar issues and so I went back out to the land with him. Ian had also arranged to pick up our neighbour who often helps us when an animal is sick. It turned out that Mari's temperature was high and so she was given some peppermint drops and paracetamol. We had to go back late at night to give her another tablet and then see what she was like in the morning. Fortunately by morning her temperature was back down, not quite normal but at least heading in the right direction. She is much perkier now and eating her food again, so we think and hope all is well now.

After the sad news a smiley alpaca picture is 
needed I think. Thanks George.

Spring is coming, you can see it in the longer
days and the intense colours of the trees

I was meant to drive up in my new car to Tartu the other week but it didn't happen. Several of my colleagues contracted Covid and many of the others decided that it wasn't appropriate to gather together, so staff training went online. I was actually quite relieved, as the roads were awful, so icy. Global warming! Yes! This winter has been warmer than in previous winters and weird. We had an unusual cold spell in early December and then it seems to have snowed on and off all winter since then. More often here in Latvia the snow comes, stops and the days become crisp and clear. This year the temperatures have hovered around zero and so the snow is generally wet and heavy and now everyone is running out of spaces to put it. Pathways are narrow and have snowbanks, which I guess stops the cars sliding into pedestrians at least. The big industrial scale tractor has been out several times this year to clear the roads right back so the usual snow ploughs can do their job. 

Mind you, there are days it is hard to imagine that
spring is just around the corner

I guess we need another smiley alpaca picture.
Thank you Vanessa. Someone else who looks
like their mother!

I'm planning on going to the UK soon to see the kids and grandkids but the situation today makes such plans so much more complicated, especially when I'm working nearly full-time. Gone are the days when you can just book time off and go. I was chatting to a colleague in the UK and she was worried she wasn't going to get to see family in another country due to Covid going round the school and sure enough her kids got it. It has meant I'm kind of nervous of going out, as I don't want to jeopardise getting to the UK to see my family. I'm not worried exactly about getting it, I just don't want it and I sure don't want it to mess with my plans, especially when I've heard of other colleagues having to change plans right before they were due to travel. It just makes life far too complicated to keep chopping and changing when I'm supposed to be teaching too. 

An interesting visitor to the 
boys paddock. Lynx tracks

Funnily enough though, her daughter doesn't
resembler her as much.

In preparation for going to the UK, I had booked in for a flu jab, along with Ian (who will be home-alone to look after the alpacas) but I didn't get one as the doctor and nurses are all in quarantine. The numbers of Covid are incredibly high here but they are hoping it peaks soon. It might not seem a lot to have 11,000 cases a day but the country only has around 1.8m population and they are not sure how many of them are actually in the country. Some say it is actually around 1.3m. Being a hermit can have its advantages sometimes but I know I shouldn't remain a hermit. 

So this winter has been mainly about clearing snow
for Ian. Also for our upstairs neighbour at our apartment, as he has usually cleared the road by the time I get a few spare minutes. He even helped me clear the snow around my car so I could get out, although Ian had to come and drag my car out in the end. The plan had been that he would clear the roadway onto our land and then I drive out to help him bury Turbjørn. Well that was the plan.

Anyway, as you can see from the picture above, 
Ian has been busy clearing the snow from the side
of the greenhouse. Good job as it was getting a bit 
high. Then it snowed again!

And again! Not quite back to square one, as
you can see the pile on the left... well there
isn't so much space to throw the new snow now.
We are just hoping there isn't any more.

Think we need another smiley alpaca. Thanks
Karla.

Thinking into the future, I wonder how safer communities can be encouraged or even created. It is something that occupies my mind a lot as I teach the students to think strategically and to incorporate people into their plans. What would communities look like that are small enough to be able to provide the level of care needed for all and yet still be open enough to not stifle people, the young folk in particular. How would these kinds of communities operate? There certainly will not be one solution but a myriad of solutions but then how do they fit together? Yes those are the types of questions that buzz around my brain.

Karla is a bit easier to photograph than Ilvija
against the snow. 

Freddie! Just not appropriate! 

Other news for this week - like buses they all come at once - I got elected to a board of an organisation. It wasn't hard, I just needed to volunteer and since I've been involved so much in their meetings over the last year, it seemed like I should put myself forward. I also found out that a consortium (a group of organisations, usually universities) that I had joined for a potential project has got the funding and so that's me sorted with some work for the next four years. It doesn't pay for a full-time post but it contributes to the overall mix of my employment, so that's good. 

I'll pass on the kisses!

It's warm up here

I guess I get too busy and at times I feel I'm getting too disorganised. Computer alerts are not enough and I needed something to simplify my life. The problem is that this takes time to sort that out. I've spent a few evenings looking at management software. I'm finding it a bit annoying as it is time I could be doing some Latvian, which I also need to progress on. Sigh! 

Paths, paths and more paths. Ian is ready for 
spring. Can't think why!

The path to the 
greenhouse where the 
chickens are

Have you got my milk or some food!

I found one programme that was recommended the most but it seems to have so many options that it is difficult to know where to start. I need to integrate it with the plethora (lots) of different programmes that we all seem to use these days and the programme suggests that possible, but how? What do I integrate and where? Gmail, outlook, calendars, slack, teams, zoom, you name it and I've probably used it, or so it feels like. I'm sure that's not true as there always seems to be yet another platform, format whatever to get to grips with. It kind of feels exhausting just trying to set it up but I do need to be able to get more organised there will always be a variety of projects, it's the nature of the job and I want to make them work well, so I will get there in the end. I will find a solution as I'm determined to do it.

Food delivered by sledge
these days. Rather a trek.

Our lively and uncooperative Jakobs

At least having the experience of all these different platforms means that I could show Ian how to use Zoom because he's using it for an alpaca course. I was able to work out how to get him on it, even if it didn't seem to work the way it normally should. I usually find a way. At least the courses he's been on seem to be paying off. We did the toe nail cutting recently and it seemed so much easier. Only little Jakobs was particularly awkward and Brencis tried to bite his ear in the process - we still think Brencis is trying to protect us but we really wish he'd stay out of it. Brencis was sent outside for bad behaviour - no not really, he was sent outside so we could carry on with the job safely. Good job it was only snowing lightly at the time and he has a nice thick winter coat.

Yum! Christmas tree

Tasty

The hay bales are under that mound. I guess
Ian will be digging it out tomorrow as the boys
will need more hay.

Remind me again where my
herb bed is!

The road to our land

A blanket of snow to keep the alpaca house warm

But how long will it last? 

How much more snow will our poor greenhouse take?

A wintry blast

It was about -3C or -4C this morning. A wee bit
chilly after the comparatively warm days we've
been having but not exactly unexpected for this
time of the year.

We woke this morning to a very heavy frost. So that's it for the raspberries then. We hadn't got around to picking them all, but we do have quite a few in the freezer anyway, so I don't feel too bad about not getting them all in before the rain then the frost. The poor little chicks spent much of the time today in their box - but they do have their heater, so not too bad. They still need to fully feather up yet and probably put a bit more weight on to be able to tolerate the cold. This week has been mainly wet though and there is mud everywhere. It was nice to see some sunshine finally on Friday and today. 

It's a hard life being a kitten

Keeping warm

Ian found this rather sleepy toad in
the barn drain today. It has been
released into one of our ponds. It
will be better to overwinter there
than in a shallow drain in the barn.

I mentioned last week that I had to decide whether to travel up to Estonia last week for my graduation. The university emailed me a letter confirming that the travel was for my graduation and hence it was related to my studies, which was still allowed for those travelling from Latvia to Estonia. Estonia was also still on the white list last week and so fine for me travelling back. So much to take in for a day of travel. I travelled there and back by car within the day, a journey I used to do over two days on public transport. On public transport I can work, but that is not exactly possible whilst driving - well not recommended anyway. In the end the letter was not needed and the travel was event free.

Ian had to move the fence for these girls this week.
It is always hard at this time of the year as the 
grass gets shorter and shorter in supply. They would
still prefer to be out on the grass than eating hay 
though.

One of Ian's jobs this week was to remove
the mud and the hump outside the barn to let
the water drain away, rather than into the barn.
It seems to be working so far. It's better than
it was

My friend needed the car that I was being lent the night before so Ian drove me into the village early in the morning of the graduation to collect the car. The idea was that I should go straight to Estonia from there but as I set off I realised I had forgotten my flask of coffee. I figured it was quicker to go back and get it, as well as safer, than stopping off en-route to buy a coffee. Some of the places I was travelling through had higher rates of the virus than where we live or where I was travelling to. The ridiculous partt is that I had to ensure my travel arrangements were okay for crossing the border and yet I wouldn't have needed to take these precautions travelling into Riga where the rate is much higher. Quarantining Riga would make a lot of sense for curbing the virus in Latvia but more problematic for those who live outside and work there. More politically problematic too I imagine.

Amanda wants to know what all the fuss is about

The boys will need moving soon too. 

My day of travel was timed perfectly. The following day there were announcements that more restrictions were being introduced as the situation is escalating in the country and more are testing positive for Covid19/ Unfortunately there are more deaths each day too. The rate is not as bad as in many countries in Europe but the health service in Latvia is not as good either, so definitely best to keep the rate down than deal with a full blown epidemic. The numbers are escalating in Estonia too and even more so in Lithuania - the Baltic bubble has definitely burst. 

Valeria always looks so toothy bless her, but her
teeth are fine. Here she is enjoying some sunshine

Valeria's rather bossy mother, Vanessa, however,
wants to know if everyone is behaving?

As good as gold, hones!

I arrived early enough at the university to say, "Hi!" to my colleagues and stop for a socially distanced cup of tea and a chat. I then arrived at the venue, where someone squirted hand santitiser onto my hands and someone gave me a mask to wear. I now have a nice new mask with the words, "Eesti maaülikool hoolib", which translates as, "The Estonian University of Life Sciences cares". Not that many will be able to understand that except in Estonia where I cannot now travel to. "Oh the tangled webs we weave!" I did have my own mask but it seemed fitting to have something that would remind me of the strange times we currently live in, besides the diploma and the rose that I was given on the day in recognition of the culmination of a 12 year journey. 

I call this a Botswana agate sky. I love the mix
of greys and pinks

Taken from the live screening on my son's telly

The one upside to these strange times is the live streaming of the ceremony. Unfortunately the quality was not so good and it kept buffering and stalling. Still at least some of my relatives got to watch it, who wouldn't have been able to get to the ceremony anyway, Covid19 or no Covid19. Some of my grandkids organised a party to celebrate and watched all of it, even though much of it was in Estonian. I was hoping to join their party online but missed my chance to escape the auditorium at the end of the presentations of the diplomas to those who had gained their doctorates and ending up sitting through the presentation of more diplomas - not sure what they were for, but that's the way it goes when you cannot follow along in another language. 

Before the sun peeped up and revealed the frost.

Just beautiful to watch while having breakfast

The moon this morning. I'm glad it wasn't out
last night otherwise the milk way wouldn't have
been as stunning as it was.

After the presentations had finally finished I joined a couple of friends for a short celebration and so I could eat before heading home. It had been a while since I had seen them, although both of them had managed to make it down to see us in the times of the Baltic bubble over the summer. The trip home was absolutely glorious. The sun was setting - actually the sun had appeared from the gloom it had hidden behind all week for a start - in the process it turned the whole of the landscape a beautiful hue of gold that glowed and shimmered. The sun also at one point completely dazzled me and there was a moment of panic as I could not see what was in front of me and couldn't stop because I knew someone was too close behind me.  I managed to see the barrier at the side and kept my eye on that and looked for the red lights of the car in front. Fortunately in Estonia (and Latvia) car lights have to be on all the time. 

I love wintry mornings

A deer in our forest, quite close to our alpacas.
Ian spotted some on our ski hill and they have
been there a lot just recently, so he went to 
collect some of their poo and tested it. He wanted
to know what parasites they have because of
course they could infect our alpacas too. He 
classified them as needing monitoring - well
if they were one of our alpacas he would have!
They were not stuffed with parasites but would
need watching to treat if it got worse.

A rainbow but just the red from the setting sun

I would have loved to have stopped to take a photo of the fabulous scenery, but the drive would be long and I knew I would be tired by the time I got back. Still it seemed fitting as the end of an era that the sun would set in such a glorious fashion. 

I'm not talking to you!

That glorious end to my journey of gaining a doctorate was followed by a rather gloomy weekend. Fortunately that was just in terms of the weather. Our first job was to cut the toe nails of our rather spitty girls, give them Vitamin D injections and put cream on the feet of one. By the time we had finished I needed to wash my newly washed coat. I also had to change my jeans before driving our friends car back to them. The rest of the weekend involved finishing of preserving some food and doing a seed stock take, so I could order some more from my favourite seed company before Brexit scuppers that. Normally I order in the New Year because there is no hurry to get things started when winter is so long.

No closer! Dear Chanel! She can be very sweet 
and timid sometimes, a trait she has passed onto
her children. Unfortunately, she inherited her
spitiness from her mother. I'm just pleased she does
not do this to visitors. 

Caterpillars at this time of the year?
Hiding in my cabbages. 

So that's it! A new era begins and new chapter of my life to write. I know for now I have work until the end of the year and then we shall see what happens. At least I have started the process of getting my residence sorted in preparation for Brexit. After that? Who knows?

Marie was a bit feisty about having her toe nails 
cut. She has quite a kick on her. 

Even Veronica wasn't behaving terribly well. Still
bless her she cannot get away as easily these days.
She manages okay on her unsteady old legs (she's
17 years old) but toe nail cutting of her front legs
has her old legs shaking.

Ilvija at least was better behaved than her mother, 
which meant that at least Chanel didn't spit so much
as we were cutting Ilvija's toe nails. Mind you, I had
my hood up in anticipation and Chanel was on the
other side of the gate.

We are still worried about Aggie's eye, but it reminds
us of her mother. We now think she might need 
extra zinc. Now to get some! Easier said than 
done sometimes.