Another two weeks and how much is done? At least jobs are getting ticked off. Slowly, but they are getting ticked off. It's also been a couple of weeks of weather. You know! Those times when you don't know from one day to the next what the weather will bring.
Mr. Stork out for an morning walk
Soaking up the sun by the barn
The greenhouse got finished in the small window of time when it was reasonably warm and not too windy. There were one or two hairy moments when the wind picked up a bit as we were sliding the acrylic over the greenhouse and wondered if it was going to flip up and break or whether it would just curl over like it was supposed to and slide down the other side. Fortunately it slid over. Ian has also put some sealant on the exposed holes before it persisted it down with rain and handles on the doors. So, now it is already to plant up with tomatoes, both my own and some more from a friend of ours. I'm looking forward to seeing these new varieties as they are quite different apparently.
Aggie also in zen mode soaking up the sunshine
Taking the sunbathing to another level.
I got a haircut this week. Ordinarily not a remarkable event but in these strange times it is a privilege of living in a Covid19 free area. I had to sign a form and put my phone number on for tracing purposes in case a customer gets sick I suppose. I also had to say that I hadn't got any symptoms, been abroad recently or supposed to be self-isolating. My hairdresser knows all of that information anyway as we are Facebook friends and she won't cut hair if she doesn't know someone. Safe for both of us that way.
Ilvija also enjoying a sunbathe
Peedo, however, looks like it's all a bit too much for him. I don't think the plague of little annoying/biting flies helped. Fortunately they have now gone.
We are also in a region of Europe with limited numbers of cases and those are just about under control, so now we are free to travel to Estonia or Lithuania, just in time for shearing. Now we just need the weather to warm up a bit. At least the snow has gone but the wind is chilly and we've had a few hailstorms, wind and rain, so not exactly pleasant weather. We did get some more alpacas sheared locally but still not sheared ours yet and I think they are happy enough about that, until the sun comes out and they get a bit warm.
I think Lady V has had enough too.
And after the sunshine? Snow!
I finally managed to get the last of the potatoes planted - in between the showers that is. I took them out a bucket at a time so I could quickly get back into the greenhouse if it started to rain. I've also planted lots of bean seeds because beans are easy to freeze and last well. There will also be plenty to dry. In the old greenhouse I have pots of tomatoes and peppers that are growing well waiting to go in the new greenhouse. There are cabbages, Brussel sprouts, Chinese cabbage, chard and more beans that are waiting to go outside. Cucumbers, squash plants and nasturtiums are just starting poke through now and I have planted lots of other seeds at the weekend. I hope it warms up by the time they are ready to go out.
The walk down to the "office" first thing in the morning was a little chilly
Quite weird with the green poking through
And the spring flowers
Pastel colours
The snow went and we then had rain and hail and rain and sunshine and rain and sunshine and hail and....
One of the most important jobs at the moment was completed last week. I have handed in my thesis for my doctorate. So one more step completed. Well it nearly was. Apparently the board weren't so happy with my summary and I had to do that over the weekend. A friend of mine who does my editing has been an absolute star for stepping in and helping me get it all finished.
Ilvija looking a little damp and very like a Suri alpaca
She even seems the right kind of shape for a Suri.
My project work is still plodding on, rather too slowly but it is getting there, which is a bit worrying when we need results very soon. I'm sure it will be finished on time, just! The problem with all this online work from our very rural location does mean that we are very reliant on our phones for the internet. The week before my birthday my phone started to cut out rather alarmingly for very little reason. 50% battery! Cut out! Phone call from someone! Cut out! I got to the stage of leaving it plugged in if I was doing anything important. I decided to get a new one, well a reconditioned one. I had planned on getting a Fairphone, but I couldn't wait the three weeks for a new one.
The three amigos looking a little damp. On the day we were coming back from shearing at someone else's place, I got out to undo the rope that blocks our entrance and Ian then drove off without me, or nearly did. He get half way up the bank and sheepishly rolled back. He'd been so busy looking at our alpacas that he forgot about me until he saw me in the mirror. Hmmph!
Despite the rain, I think Herkules is looking a bit happier these days. He's standing up to the other boys again and he's able to get up without help from Ian. Such a relief.
This last week it was Ian's turn. He tried to get a video off his phone onto the computer and the phone went really weird and then started locking up. There is no time to be able to get it fixed and he's had it about 4-5 years, so kind of only to be expected. That is one of the reasons I wanted a Fairphone because they are repairable to a point of course. Still a reconditioned one is better than wasting resources on a brand new one for me, but Ian needs a robust one so got a new CAT phone.
George heading for a good scratch
A beautiful evening
An old tree
The boys enjoyed their week amongst the trees, apart from when the flies were also out
It did mean they could have a good scratch though
Someone's not happy
Chanel also having a good scratch
The other girls coming in from their forested patch
Lockdown in rural Latvia is perhaps a bit different. We are in an area with no cases and it is easy to stay away from people most of the time. Ian still gets regular phone calls asking if people can visit and the answer is still "no". It seems a shame sometimes as it would be nice to show people around and one couple were hoping to get some anniversary pictures, but still the answer is "no". Most will be coming from Riga where the hotspot of cases are, even though it is still a low number.
Skyping with colleagues - no video
Alpacas down! No need to worry though, they are just sunbathing.
I feel sorry for other places that rely on the tourists coming in and some of those did open this weekend. One place opened as a drive-thru safari. Tickets were bought online, food could be pre-ordered, as could souvenirs and then people could drive around the site on the tracks where people normally walk. At least the weather has been mainly dry, so it won't ruin the tracks too much. It was an innovative response. As I study rural development, it made me think. Many recommend the development of tourism to improve incomes in rural areas - fine until something like this happens, although the rewards are not always fabulous, so it is not something I necessarily agree with normally. We are fine because my income is sufficient to see us through. Our tourist numbers are not high either and so we don't rely on it. For us it is a pleasant sideline at the moment and I would like to see us develop more than just outright tourism. Anyway, that is for a later date.
Out on the grass finally.
Some strange looking cloud formations
We started the shearing season by shearing at someone else's place this last week. Ian prefers to start at ours, but it has been cool and the people we sheared for have a more solid building to protect their alpacas. We were sensible, but it is not easy to shear by respecting social distancing. It was also another place that is Covid19 free so far and we know they take social distancing seriously, as they are still not having visitors either. We will have to seriously think how we manage other places that are in areas where there are definitely people with the virus.
Lockdown haircuts
Josefs
Ilvija
Amanda
Me! I was threatening Ian with the spoon, he'd wandered off to take photos and of course food was cooking.
George
This little pussycat is beginning to make a right nuisance of herself, always looking for food. She got in through our skylight roof while we were out shearing and snaffled cakes. She regularly gets up on the work surfaces where we have hotplates. We thought we could smell singed fur. Fortunately it was just her very fluffy tail so no actual injuries. Does this stop her! Nope! She now gets locked in the cat basket when I'm making food, so I don't trip up on her.
I have to give credit to the Latvian government, their approach has kept the numbers down. Here are some examples for comparison in counties where we have lived, (deaths per million population)
Latvia 8
Denmark 84
US. 204
UK. 419
Where's Wally! No I mean where's Ian?
Oh there he is!
Latvia hasn't got as good a health service as Denmark or the UK, but they have implemented a good track and trace system that seems to have worked, along with locking down borders. It does bother me when I hear of people who seem to think that the borders will open then they will just be able to come in. I am especially cautious regarding people who come from the US who have still got a few weeks before they will see the virus peaking and that is only if people are sensible and staying in, which doesn't seem to be happening in places. Even if the borders do open, there will have to be a substantial period of time when incomers will have to self-isolate for two weeks - that will make even visiting family difficult.
Is that Lady V up on the roof? At her age and in her condition with her dodgy legs
Fortunately not, it is just a matter of perspective
Keeping cool in the shade and in the dip
It has still been a bit of a fraught week, trying to meet some deadlines. I managed to get enough data together for a fortunately brief but important meeting last week and this morning I managed to submit a paper to an academic journal that has been on the go for a while. At least all were happy with it, finally! Now we have to go through the review process but at least I can relax for a week or two - or maybe not. I still have to finish off my thesis and I need to do some reading for that, then I can relax - or maybe not because it will be planting and weeding season. Maybe July?
Lady V staying cool inside
Aggie being miserable inside. She doesn't like the heat and it's not even that hot yet. Still she will be sheared soon.
In the background to all this was an ongoing saga for my daughter and her family. They had planned to move out to Australia and had got everything lined up when all this blew up. Anyway, they thankfully arrived safely in Australia and are most of the way through self-isolation. It's bad enough moving during the good times, but not exactly good for stress levels at times like these. Of course there is the downside they are so far away now, but I think the move will be good for them.
A great shot of pond skaters with emerging waterlily leaves
Hekules enjoying the grass errr I mean dandelions. At least they will be good for him, a good spring tonic.
Spring is definitely making itself known now, the days are slowly warming and some of the late arrivals are coming back. The cuckoos are back and already driving me mad with their incessant noise. It really echoes here. The swallows are back thank goodness as the flies are in abundance in the alpaca houses. The stork is visiting a lot and the dandelions starting to appear,. Our animals have been let out on the grass and going loopy, even Herkules is improving if still a little unsteady on his feet. We have seen such an improvement in his from where he was barely able to get up and often needed help to jumping up on his own. It didn't helped his recovery when some young upstart rear-ends him and then they all pile on top of him. Fortunately we were around to sort them out and get him up. Brencis has also been trying to mate with him from time to time. A bit worrying.
Here is the week before with some very jealous boys looking on. He was the only alpaca allowed out on the grass because he needed some fresh grass and some space away from the rough and tumble of the boys paddock. There was grass, but not enough for all of them just yet. They had to make do with the hay.
One of the plums is blooming
Spring has been dry again this year and the cool nights have meant that even though there wasn't much snow to melt this year, the grass hadn't really got going. The rain on Saturday was therefore a blessing and we have seen the difference in the grass already. I also managed to plant peas and beans along with some other seeds before the rain, so hopefully they will get away well. I'm a bit tired of watering in plants over the last few years and I haven't as much time these days for that. Still I have to make sure we are prepared as my contract runs out in June and down to part-time after that. So food growing in the garden will be helpful. I nearly have all the potatoes in, just some short rows to plant up and I'm doing that when my computer says I should get up and move.
Lockdown projects
The doors are finally on the new greenhouse. Plastic next
This ash tree was cut down years ago and Ian has been cutting them up for chopping blocks and maybe some seats and tables.
Chopping block and handy mug holder
Marking out for another project
Levelling off
Some reinforcements
Building inspector
Finally some level ground outside of our greenhouse. For all who have visited us and we've had to warn you to be careful where you put your chair, we've fixed it! Well Ian fixed it!
I just took advantage of a beach area to work from
The boys mowing the lawn
I still need a good stint in the garden as there are still autumn raspberry canes to cut back, a strawberry bed to finish weeding and of course the weeds are starting to appear again in the beds I've already weeded.
Josefs having a good scratch on a small spruce tree. We'll not be using that one for Christmas then
And this is why. That's not dust but clouds of flies. You can tell it's been a mild winter. I hope those swallows are going to work overtime.
I forgot to take a picture before it was cut up, but I treated myself at the bakery.
Oh yes and I had a birthday the week before. Not much to write about in terms of that, except that all my grandchildren said or sang happy birthday to me.
Alpacas going loopy on the fresh grass (technical term - pronking)
Vanessa's girls. I'm not sure I've really seen them pronking. Running into the paddock because Ian is moving them back in the evening but not running around just for the sake of it.
Tellus running. He's no spring chicken either, he'll be 13 years old this year.
