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.