The Journey: We're back!

A change of scenery. The view from our
apartment this afternoon

We're back in the apartment that is! This is the first night back since March when we moved out to the land. It isn't the cold that is the problem in the caravan, it is quite easy to warm it up quickly, even on freezing cold mornings. The weather hasn't even been that cold for Latvia at this time of the year anyway. What sends us back are two things that might seem inconsequential. Firstly the long dark nights. It is a long time for two of us to be stuck in a 12m2 space when there isn't much room to move around. It is now pretty dark by 4pm and we are still about a month away to the shortest day. The second point is the washing up. We use the kitchen that was built in the greenhouse and it serves us well for most of the year, but when it gets cold and damp, the washing up doesn't dry and it is a cold job for Ian.

Oh oh! The brief view of the blue sky is about
to be obliterated - again!

At least someone knows the warmest spots. He
learnt fast.

Even cooking is a chore too but there are a few options. One is to start earlier and bung it all in the slow cooker, another is to freeze while trying to peel spuds, the third option is to retreat to the caravan but as I said, it is a small space.

Finally some sunshine.

Ian doing some repairs on his trousers.
Light on to see what he's doing and not
much space as you can see.

So we start on the new routine from tomorrow, where Ian leaves every morning to go and see to the animals and returns late afternoon once he has put them away. This will continue until sometime around March when the days get long enough and the heat in the sun returns to warm the greenhouse up in the day. There will always be a period of transition too, when there are still things out on the land that we need back in the apartment and there are crates everywhere, mainly with jars from the pickling and preserving done over the summer. We seem to have a lot this year, so we won't starve. It all needs a good sort out and rearranging though.

Ian ordered a heat pack that is suitable for horses.
We hope it will help Turbjørn. It should arrive this
week.

Look how long Josefs eyelashes are. Incredible,
even for an alpaca.

Another issue for us out on the land is the mud. We had a few dry days and a lovely Saturday where we actually saw the sun, but then this was followed by overnight snow and heavy rain. The paths that had started to dry nicely were once again turned into squelchy messes. Traipsing around outside, just makes everything muddier and the mud paths are widening as there is a danger of slipping on the hilly bits. The land needs a rest as much as we do.

It looks like Freddie is developing some whiskers
under his chin

The scene that greeted me first thing on Sunday
morning

The dry Saturday meant we managed to get a few jobs done though. We trimmed the boys toe nails and Ian gave them Vitamin A, D and E injections, except for Brencis as we need help with him. I then cleared the garden of the heaps of weeds and took them off to compost in our field. I moved hay bales to protect some carrots and turnips and put a cover over the veg. They had been under fleece, but I didn't want them crushing under that with snow on top, so created a better shelter for them. It looks a bit haphazard, but it worked. I also moved the black plastic off the beds that will get manure on them over the winter and put them on the beds that will be planted up with the cabbages next year (which I hope will stop them becoming weedy before I get the chance to plant them up). Lastly I cleaned out the chickens.

Wet soggy snow, not the nice crisp
stuff.

Teeth cutting needs doing soon.

The next day was forecast to be wet and so I planned on doing jobs in the greenhouse. There was a lot of sorting out to do of those things that needed to go to the apartment and a general tidy up. There were also seeds that needed sifting through that I hadn't had the chance to deal with. By the time I'd finished there were crates and boxes all ready for the move and a nice pile of hemp and hollyhock seeds. The hemp will be used in bread and in chicken feed. The hollyhock seeds will just go in the chicken feed.

Brencis still needs his toe nails doing and an
injection of Vitamins A, D and E. He also looks
like he needs a wash. Not sure what's going on with
the patterning white and mud patterns. How does
he do that?

Off to the field for something to eat. They do
look so organised - not often that happens.

I'm glad that isn't our field at the top, that is
quite a mess. They also take shortcuts across our
field. Not caught them recently though. Not as
if it is our neighbour either as she doesn't have
a tractor.

Chanel looks like she's been up all night. She
needs a good brush. Ian thinks the turmeric on her
feed might be starting to help the issues around
her face. She's too spitty and stressy to put cream
on but if she can distribute a bit of turmeric powder
around her face while eating, that might just do the
trick. We'll see.

Lady V is still plodding on, in fact she's making
a bit of a nuisance of herself by muscling in on
others at feeding time.

Ilvija is such a cutie

Until she starts trying to feed from her mum again.
Chanel's having none of it though and so hopefully
by the time she has another baby, Ilvija will have
stopped trying.