Everything changes

Brencis chewing on the idea obviously

I started this blog on the 18th March but didn't get far. The title was "Everything Changes" even back then, but how little did I realise how much it would change less than a week later. I had had a hectic time, trying to fill in for a sick colleague and also having to help Ian deal with Turbjørn our alpaca that suddenly died and so I ran out of time to write a blog before travelling to the UK to see the kids and grandkids. 

Between him and a few of the girls they were 
determined to give Ian a hard time while I was 
away. Ian thinks he was having an argument with 
one of the others and slipped on the ice. The 
bandage came off today and he seems fine now.

Karla on look out duty.

I mentioned in my last blog that I was getting a bit anxious about the travel. It just seems so much more of a hassle. I wanted to commit to not travelling by plane but spending hours on a bus to get to trains or ferries just did not look like a wise option. On the Tuesday before I was due to fly on the Friday we both got sore throats. Fortunately a friend of ours had two home Covid tests so we could both do a test. We were negative. I recovered quickly but Ian was ill even after I left. It did mean that Ian didn't get the blood tests the doctor wanted him to have, but at least they were just regular ones and not for any particular purpose - just our age. I had mine done in August last year for work, so not a problem for me.

Ilvija always seems to have straw in her mouth
for her pictures just lately.

Some of the girls were struggling with the wet
kind of snow we've had just lately and ended
up with infections between their toes. 

So to get to the UK I had the plagues to deal with - Covid era regulations and illness - sore throats. Then there were the storms and floods. The floods did not affect the roads we were travelling on, so that was fine, but storms were forecast in the UK. Yippee! I thought (sarcastically of course). The plane from London to Riga set off just before the worst of the winds, but it arrived about half an hour late in Riga. There also seemed to be some delay in getting the plane ready, but that was fine as the flight back was then after the worst of the wind had passed over. It was a bit of a bumpy ride, but I've known worse just flying into Denver when we lived in Colorado. In fact the landing was text book perfect. 

Lolly has had her last bottle feed yesterday. 

So much snow, this was the 5th of March.

My sons had organised between them where I would go and when, so it was my youngest's job to come and pick me up. He had further to travel than my older son would have and so a bit of concern as he would be travelling during the storm. I told him not to set off if it was too bad and to stay safe. I could have waited if necessary and my older son could come and pick me up if the journey was impossible. He did make it down though and the roads were relatively quiet as the lorries were off the road.

And this was yesterday. The marks are from 
Ian dragging a Christmas tree over to the boys
so they could have tasty snacks.

It never ceases to amaze me to see caterpillars
crawling across the snow at this time of year. 
Usually they are these very furry ones, sometimes
brown and sometimes black.

I had aspirations to write a blog while in the UK but forgot to pack my camera (I did remember the charging unit but not the camera itself). My camera on the phone had a cracked screen and was no use and the phone I had ordered as a replacement was not due to arrive until after I got back (although it arrived the day I was flying back and that was almost a story in itself - I'll spare you that one though). So three weeks and no pictures of the UK. Mind you, a lot of the time it was wet and windy - typical for March. 

Brencis enjoying his snack

And a scratch - just under the chin

and a scratch under the neck. 

After a tasty snack, some ice-cream perhaps?

My first week went well. I had a great time playing softball inside with my young grandson and showing his much older sister how to do embroidery stitches. My grandmothers also taught me to embroider so it was nice to be carrying on the tradition. We watched films that they thought I might like and I did. We walked the dog, who I met for the first time. So all went well until near the end of the week and time to move on. 

Snow sculptures.

Ginger Tom on the prowl

I had been keeping an eye on the events in Ukraine but I really didn't think that Putin would order his troops in. I felt he was just bluffing for effect. It was a strange feeling to be in the UK while Ian was in Latvia with all its history and baggage connected to Russian invasions. So it seemed Putin wasn't bluffing and Biden wasn't over stating the case after all. As I've read some of the back stories and thoughts from experts, I wondered how much it was to do with oil and the threat of the world weaning itself off the black stuff. Time is running out to prove something, although proving what is beyond me!

A military helicopter but fortunately not that
much activity overhead

These are the kind of flyovers I would rather
be seeing at this time of the year, especially
if they are heading north. Everything changes
but somethings are stay the same in those changes
as the seasons turn. 

 So that was rumbling on in the the last couple of days at my youngest son's house. On the final day though, I had what I thought was a disagreement with a Chinese meal - not used to it I thought. Unfortunately I managed to pass something on to my oldest son's family during my first week staying there. It was only a 24 hour thing but went progressively through most of the family. Whoops! Well that kind of curtailed some activities but we got through and I also helped my son move his bike workshop to a different location. The work I do on the farm is obviously helpful to build up my muscles so while he carried stuff into the building, I carried it up a spiral staircase and we shifted larger stuff together up a regular staircase.  

The day before I left for the UK

Somethings change but not as much as we'd hope.
Over a month later and the snow is still with us.
It is going but very slowly.

See there was a wood pile under the snow.

Another fly in the ointment, as we say was my mother got Covid and we weren't able to go up to see my parents as we had originally planned. Good job since I was also infectious with something else. Fortunately my Mum recovered quickly and my Father didn't get it and so we were able to see them the following weekend. It just meant more driving. Mind you, I think I did a good job of keeping the kids entertained in the back of the car, sorting out any minor squabbles and teaching them to draw 3D pictures. 

Josefs enjoying the sun.

Meet Dora the explorer, aka my new car. She's 
looking a bit worse for the wear as Ian's car
first struggled with a cold snap we had while
I was away and then the brakes, so this has been
his primary mode of transport. Good job
we had a second car after all this year.

The war rumbled on in the background though and there was a sense of frustration of being in the UK while all of this was happening. I was reading of refugees heading to Poland and people I knew were organising aid. What could I do? I knew though that this was not going to be over in a few days and so there was time to get back and make some decisions. My grandson had been wanting to do something to raise money for charity and so with his parents they decided on a run of 2km each day for 8 days and the money would go to refugees through an organisation that I knew of. Normally they raise funds for Syrian refugees but they put their knowledge to use in helping in this closer crisis. His parents suggested he aim to raise £100 but he said he wanted to raise £1000. We thought that might be a bit ambitious for a 9 year old, but he did it and also ran more than 16km, he ran over 20km and finished with a personal best time on the junior park run. So proud of him. 

Freddie looking surprised as usual.

Top right-hand corner - that is grass!!!!!! Spring
is coming, I think!

So the world is doing some crazy u-turns and in the space of a few short weeks it returns not to normal after the lifting of some Covid restrictions but to a world teetering on the edge of war, fuelled by a oil and a maniacs desire to cling to power and prove he's a world leader. As I headed back to Latvia I was turning this all over in my mind but I spotted a quote on a mural by Jules Verne, “The chance which now seems lost may present itself at the last moment.” I'm sure that for those suffering in Ukraine at the moment that last moment has already gone, as it has for those in Yemen, Afghanistan and Palestine amongst many of the places of conflict, but for the world as a whole as we stand on the side of an abyss we still - just - have time to step back. There's a lot of work to do, but together we can do it. Let's wean ourselves off the oil and consumption that often fuels these conflicts or at least like adding petrol to the fire. Let's work towards a kinder world. 

Our three ponds. They are there somewhere.

Silla walking on top of the snow. It is going
because she would have been able to just step
over the fence about a week ago. Fortunately
she didn't try.

Tasty snacks for the girls too

At least Karla is rolling in the snow and not
the mud like it might be in a week's time.

Yumm!

The path to the greenhouse. 

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?