Spring has sprung

Wild bird cherry. It seems to always go cold
when this blooms.

Most of the trees are now in leaf or at least well on their way, the apples and more plums are starting to bloom and the tomatoes have been planted in the new greenhouse. Ian cut the plastic for the windows in the new greenhouse and they've even been used, in fact one day we had all the doors wide open. That could be because we haven't had any snow this week, just hail and frosts, but heh! This is Latvia. I had to laugh at the comment made by one of my colleagues that it has been the longest spring she has ever known, as it has lasted since December. The weather hasn't been that cold for these northern climes over winter, so spring has felt like it's dragged on rather a long time.

Tomatoes in.

An early morning walk down to the office on a
beautiful day (by the way, only joking, it is our
outside loo)

Moving the caravan out

The warmer weather has meant we have finally got the caravan out of the old greenhouse. It was a bit more of an issue this time as we encountered a problem we had never had to face before - the ground has been levelled outside the greenhouse so now there is a big drop on one side. Whoops! The caravan had to come out and then turn without taking out a doorpost. Fortunately it was Ian driving the tractor to pull the caravan out and not me, not sure I would have been able to do it. I directed though. I can do that! It is nice to see the the alpacas and the fields of dandelions from our caravan again.

The steep drop is to the right in this picture, so just made
it. The ground here is still a bit soft but the rain today
flattened it down. Ian also had to sort out the grass nearer
the door as we were getting a puddle there where we never
used to get a puddle.

Outside!

Brencis strolling up the hill

We have been discussing when we will open our alpaca farm to visitors again, as we are still getting enquiries. It will have to be strictly by appointment this time and we are trying to think about what is needed when visitors arrive. We may still hang off though until after my PhD defence at the end of June. In preparation, Ian has made a stand for an old sink we took out of the caravan. People will then have somewhere to wash their hands that we can move around to a convenient place. Here in Latvia people can gather in groups of up to 25 now, as long as they maintain the 2m rule. There was only two new cases yesterday and so far 22 people have died from Covid19. So for now the disease seems under control, and there are still no cases in our region, although creeping nearer to us.

The new sink area

Herkules continues to improve. He's really sticking up for
himself again.

I mentioned I had a haircut last week and
so here it is. I'm also wearing my granny's
cardi. It's lasted well. I dug it out of the
wardrobe fairly recently and it's lovely and
warm. No wonder she used to wear cardis like
this all the time. 

Most of my time this last week has just been working on projects on the computer, whilst Ian has been toddling around the place getting things done and avoiding the showers of rain. My boss did mention that I would need to have a rest afterwards and I look forward to a bit of downtime, whatever that is. I guess it will be pottering around the garden, maybe in July. I will need to work more flexibly in the next few weeks as alpacas need shearing, not just ours but others too. The odd hot day is okay but heat and they will start to suffer very quickly. All adds to the fun.

Bird cherry is a lovely tree when it is in flower
and has an overpoweringly sweet smell.
Unfortunately it is poisonous to livestock and
so the alpacas will not be going near it and
we won't be making it into a flowering hedge.
In the forest it tends to be weak and end up
flopping about the place.

Our grapes are growing

Our greenhouse that will be turned more into a workshop
space now. Still not quite sure how we are going to organise
it yet. Ideas anyone?

I find these black troughs are ideal for putting seedlings in.
The box warms up during the day and they are easy to cover
at night. The boards are to rest a chair on to stop the cat
sleeping on the fleece.

The beans are growing well and will need to go out soon.

Those are meant to be paths! As you can see the weeds are
growing well too. The potatoes are just starting to peep through

Freddie is such a sweetie.

George is such a character. He's been making his way through
the fences again. 

We have dandelions and the bees are loving it.

Lots of dandelions.

The swallows are starting to nest in the girls alpaca house.
We are always pleased to see them.

Spot the poo pile.

Valeria has taken to having footbaths in
the water trough. She even tried to sit in
it but now the water is filthy.

This is Silla and she is actually sitting inside today. Normally
she will sit outside in the wind, the rain and even the snow.

Now the dandelions are starting to turn.