Llama whisperer

A splash of colour

Just for the record I have to say, I'm very proud of my husband - just call him the Llama whisperer from now on.

The boys feeding in the shade of the tree. However, they
don't seem to be eating the new tree seedlings that are
growing rapidly

Well maybe Freddie is having a go

These are American Cranberries.
It must be a good year for them,
despite the drough,t as I have
never seen them looking so large.
I suppose it helps they are grown
next to a pond but in a
raised bed 

Tuesday was an early start to shear alpacas about 2 hours away at a mini zoo. They gave us coffee and pancakes to start off with and the morning drifted on as we chatted. It was a good job they fed us early though as the shearing itself was a little challenging and took longer than we had planned. Ian was asked to shear the first alpaca to look like a dinosaur. In the end Ian just left sections that could be trimmed later with scissors as it wasn't the sort of shearing he is used to and proved difficult to do with shears. The next alpaca had sections left around the legs, which was a bit easier than the first request but meant we were running late as we had an appointment to see people at another mini zoo nearby. 

This rather large hole had a wasps nest that was dug out by
an animal of some sort. We were wondering what it was and
one of our visitors was a hunter from the local hunting
organisation, so we asked if he knew. The tracks are a bit
hard to see as it has been so dry, but in the end we agreed it
was probably a badger. Not something we have seen on the
land but makes sense with the type of hole that was dug. The
wasps have started to rebuild but it won't last long once
it rains, as the paper nest has no protection now.

My new waterlily is flowering

The next mini zoo had just opened and had bought their alpacas fairly recently. They had done a brilliant job of shearing, it was a very neat and tidy finish. However, they had given a home to a llama that no one wanted and it desperately needed its teeth cutting. It was rather unsettled due to the move and its teeth made eating difficult, so it was a bit grumpy. The first challenge was to catch him. The owner and I used a rope to trap him up against the fence but the llama whisper aka Ian was able to get the halter on with little issues. He even surprised himself. Fortunately it was not a large llama.

Echinacea 

The blue flowers are chicory and the yellow ones are
Jerusalem artichokes

We had to ask visitors at the zoo not to stand too close to watch what we were doing, as there was some spitting going on, but not as much as we expected. Ian then walked the llama to the place where we were going to cut his teeth, as we needed an electric supply and couldn't do it in the middle of a field. Plus we didn't really want visitors seeing what we were doing, as it can look a little drastic. Ian passed the llama to me as he got the teeth cutting equipment ready and I ended up getting showered in little bits of spit as the llama got more and more antsy. As soon as Ian got hold of him, however, he quietened right down. 

A bee on a cabbage thistle. I'm glad the bees are making use
of it as it is spreading and the animals don't seem fond of it

The buckwheat is turning

The next step was to get the llama pinned to the floor. Some handles were fixed to a doorpost near the ground that acted as places to slide ropes through that were attached to the llama's halter. Whilst that got its head down the llama was not happy about going on the floor itself. Fortunately the lady was used to large horses and so between us both we managed to pin him down. There was a point where I was hanging over this llama praying he wouldn't try to stand up and thinking "I'm 54 years old, what am I doing here?" but this was more out of a sense of amusement than panic. Ian cut his teeth with his ferocious sounding gadget and then the fighting teeth with a wire. It doesn't sound or look good but it is a job that is made far easier and quicker with the right equipment and therefore better for the animal in the long run. Afterwards Ian took the llama back to the paddock and fed him by hand. This time he was able to take the feed better. Later the llama seemed to be interacting with the alpacas more - which he wasn't doing before. Obviously he was feeling much better and the reports from the zoo suggest he continues to improve.

A winking Freddie. I think we have to get a fly mask made for
him

A sure sign the year is turning. Winter squashes are ripening.
The storks also seem to have left us, without even a wave
goodbye. Often we see them congregating before flying off.
Whilst we did see the first ones leaving at the end of July,
we didn't see the last ones go. One day they were walking
in the field, the next nothing!

We went back to the other mini zoo to finish off the shearing as we had left one alpaca still to do. Before we got started we were offered coffee, which we gratefully accepted as we had missed out on lunch. but was then presented with a very welcome meal of potatoes, tomato sauce, meat, bread, dessert and coffee. Suitably fortified we got on with the shearing of the last alpaca, which was given a regular haircut as it was getting late. It turned out to be a good plan as it showed up the markings on the back of the head rather well and looked really good. Admittedly not all alpacas look great after shearing, but the fleece grows back in the end and so not a problem.

The bottom pond is drying up rapidly. Fortunately there is
still a deep section that has not disappeared. We haven't seen
the fish in this one recently though. They may have buried
themselves or the heron may have got them

It is a good job we moved the fish from this pond, there is
nothing left now, except a wet patch

A view from our Oak hill

We finished shearing in the dim light and so were back a bit late for putting our own animals away. They had been looked after by some friends during the day but we said it was better we put them away at night as the routine is a bit more tricky with more animals, especially with the young ones, who tend to race around a bit before going in. Fortunately even our awkward animal, Turbjørn went in without a problem. He's often been left out in the past because he sometimes refuses to go in when it gets dim. 

Turbjørn, our curious but shy alpaca. A bit highly strung and
often grumpy. He will never go to anyone, not even Ian to
take food from his hand, If the food is in a tray, maybe -
well you never know if those hands have been washed do you?

Josefs being still - a rare moment

On the way back home we were listening to an old CD and one of the songs on it was "God will save the day" by Delrious? (the question mark is part of the band's name, just in case my grammar minded friends are wondering). 

God is bigger thanThe air I breatheThe world we'll leaveGod will save the dayAnd all will sayMy Glorious

Snuggling up or fighting over a piece of grass?

A dreamy picture of Mari

It was a long time since I have heard this song and I felt it lift my spirits. Things might look bad but I do believe that God will save the day. However I don't believe he is going to be like a helicopter parent who swoops in to make it all right. He expects us to help in tidying up our own mess. Together we can change the world, with God above doing what we cannot.

Aggie has a bandage on her leg to cover a sore, but she seems
to have started with another one on the other side. That might
be trickier to cover so I have put clay over the sore to stop the
flies attacking it and hoping that calms it all down.

Herkules is now sporting two bandages to cover sores. The
front leg is healing nicely but the back one has been a real
pain to try and cover so now we have resorted to an old pair
of my leggings. At least the flies can't get to it

As you can see he is not exactly thrilled with his fashionable
apparel

George has to take the high ground

Wednesday was a bit of a rest day but also a writing day with papers, emails and Facebook posts to write. I had hoped to submit my paper this week but it just needs a few final touches. So close, but not close enough. Thursday meant more alpaca wrestling, only this time our own. Our alpacas need their toe nails cutting and Chanel was not in the mood to cooperate at all. We think it means she is almost certainly pregnant, which is good news, but not for toe nail cutting. We ended up wrestling her to the floor to get the job done. Mari, however, was relatively well behaved but somehow Ian managed to rick his back doing her nails. Consequently the boys are having to wait to have their's done, even though they really need doing because Ian has been hobbling around since then. He is improving but slowly.

Volunteer tomatoes in my rockery. The dry year means that
even those tomatoes outside are doing well

Another volunteer plant - Amaranth growing on a heap of
soil near the barn

Again we have had visitors to the farm. One family were returnees and finished off with asking when they should come again? We were a bit stumped at this, as we weren't sure what to say, but then we remembered we are probably getting more alpacas in September and so that would be something new to see. The children go to a small school nearby and so the Mum talked about arranging a school visit too. Other visitors have been similarly encouraging and one shared our Facebook page and said it was like visiting a bit of paradise. Today's visitors consisted of someone we have known since we first came to Latvia and some friends of his. He asked us to re-tell our journey over the last 18 years of how we came to Latvia and how we came to be doing what we are doing now for a recording. That was a bit of a surprise, but it was good to tell the story of how our faith has guided our travels and the decisions we made. Sometimes it is good to look back and see how far you have come to then move forward.

The crosses Ian made to hang the shawls and scarves on

Lots and lots of sweet grapes

Even the usually tart wine grapes are
sweet this year

A variegated sweet corn growing
in the greenhouse

Lots of tomatoes ripening

To heat or not to heat, that is the question

Chilly days with frosty trees

A bit of excitement tonight, I got a phone call from our house manager - can we go up to the boiler house, there are two drunk people in there. I didn't really follow all the conversation but I did understand that our presence was required ASAP, so on go the wellies, on with the coats, the hats, the scarves and the extra socks and we walked up the boiler house, well it is rather chilly outside at -7C. Our heating has been a bit intermittent and rather lukewarm at times, which isn't fun when it is so cold outside. Admittedly we have our wood stove and can supplement the heat, but that was not the original plan to be using it whilst the communal heating is supposed to be doing the job, the intention was to use it for the times before the heating is switched on in the Spring or Autumn on those cool evenings. It is also not fun for those who have not got double glazing like we have and are on the end apartments and one such home has a week old baby in there and their house was only just registering 13C.

Stone cold skies!

Anyway we got to the boiler house and our house manager hammered on the door, no response. One man appeared to be working, but apparently he wasn't the one who should be there and the other man, who should have been working was in a room with bottles of vodka, and we saw the photos to prove it, although by the time we got there the curtain was firmly shut. Another phone call, this time to the company, the second phone call of the evening to the them. Eventually someone turned up, he hammered on the door, no response, he hammered on the window, still no response. Off he goes to get a key, by which time we are getting rather chilly, the wind was blowing making it feel much colder than the -7C stated on thermometers, so we sat in the house manager's car to wait. Another gentleman from a similarly poorly heated apartment block, kept coming to see what was going on, also waiting to get in to check on the temperatures of the water directly from the boiler. After waiting in the car for what seemed like an age, discussing the problems of the company and our village, the other guy returned but still no key, so we all waited yet again in cars for what seemed like another age. Eventually our house manager got fed up and went and hammered on the door again, success! We were in. The guy inside the building could barely walk, never mind work he was that drunk, the smell of alcohol wafting around. The company guy went to the thermostat and we all read the meter, around 43C out and 33C back, I think those were the numbers and certainly in that ball park and not the figures that our house manager showed us on the chart. According to the chart -7C outside means the water should be heated to 75C, vastly different to the 43C. Eventually the night shift guy turned up and the other rather blotto chap was to be taken home, at least the new guy looked alert, but we are still waiting for that heat to go up, and depends on whether they can get more than just frozen wood chips to burn. Our house manager made it all official and she had written down everything on a piece of paper which we all signed, I think the company guy was very uncomfortable at doing this but it was better to see the proper processes been done. It's also great to see a Latvian taking the initiative to fight back on issues that need to be fought. No longer should it be good enough to accept inadequate heating and then pay a lot for it.

Thick snow on our land too, and landscape features slowly
disappearing

We have had quite a bit more snow this week and it is beginning to look like a proper Latvian winter and so it was typical that Ian was not feeling too good; he wasn't very ill, but definitely under the weather and not up to driving around. I had three interviews to do this week, interviewing landowners about their damage from the pigs, one was in our apartment building and so not too far (he owns land elsewhere) but two of them were out in the sticks and I had to drive to get to them. The main road was bad enough and was like driving through sand but when it came to turn off the main road, there were big drifts across the road and in places I wasn't too sure where the road itself was, scary stuff. I made it though! I was worried about the trip back as it was snowing heavily but fortunately by the time I had finished the interviews the road was being cleared by one of the local farmers. I'm really enjoying these interviews as it is wonderful talking to lots of different people and hearing their stories.

Repurposed tablecloth

It has also been a fettling week again, just as it should be -the time of year to fix and make things. I taught Ian how to sew up his coat and he did quite a good job of it, I made a light shade for a lamp we brought across from America by recycling an old tablecloth that had got stains on it. The lamp had a light shade, but it was one of the few things that broke on the way across, so it has only taken me nearly four years to get around to it. I also fixed some pyjamas for Ian as there was a gaping hole in the neckline, so I cut off the collar and edged it with some extra fabric - waste not, want not! I have also sorted out my fabric stash into colours, I love to see studios with white box type shelving with all the fabrics folded up neatly on them, it inspires me and so just getting my fabrics sorted into basket temporary shelving is better than nothing. Ian also tried to fettle the microwave buttons that are rather temperamental again, and he thought he had done it but the buttons weren't working once reassembled and so the next step is to leave the buttons off and using a matchstick to press the contacts. Again waste not, want not! We will continue using it until it falls apart completely.

My newly organised fabric stash

I have been publishing the comments and trends on the Latvian population and this week the finalised figures were released. The figures show that 190,000 have left the country in the last 11 years, might not sound a lot over so long a period of time until you realise that is 8% of the population. The overall drop in population was 13% but that is because the death rate is greater than the birth rate these days. Some of the outer regions have seen even more of a drop in population of around 30% in some areas, which is pretty devastating really. The economist from Swedbank added his pennyworth to the discussions on the population figures and said that the Latvians shouldn't be moving abroad they should be moving to the cities. Now why does the phrase "Let them eat cake" come to mind I wonder? How moving to the city will make things better I'm not sure, If there are no jobs, there are no jobs and it is sometimes easier to live in the countryside where at least there is the possibility of growing your own food and housing is cheaper than if you live in the city where housing is expensive and bills for water and heating have to be paid. I know we have to pay for water and heating too, but that is because we live in an apartment with those things supplied, if we lived in our other apartment our heating is wood we cut ourselves and if you live in one of the old houses, wood maybe from your own woods and the water from the well - not an easy life but cheaper.

More snowy pictures

I have a heart for the rural areas too, you may have gathered, if you follow this blog and so the Swedbank economists comments do not sit well with me. The rural areas can be revived and indeed we need them reviving if we are to meet the food needs of the future, Latvia's population maybe decreasing but that is not always the case in the rest of the world. But who am I and what difference can I make? What keeps me doing the course I do in Managing Sustainable Rural development? I mentioned a while ago that I feel almost compelled to do what I do and it is because I believe in a God that can turn whole nations around, he can reverse the degradation of our planet, he can reverse droughts both physical and economic, but he is not a fairy godmother to produce this on a whim. He is shaking trade routes and bringing down the mighty, but we cannot be complacent. I am not sure what the outcome will be, but my trust is not in politicians, banks or businesses for my future or the future of this land or the future of the rural areas, my trust is in God alone. It appears I am not the only one who stake their future on a God who really can change things in a major way and willing to live by that, another person who I greatly admire for stepping out to do things differently, sometimes in a very physical way by walking, he has staked his colours to the mast so to speak and spoken out that he is going to trust God to change the trade routes and follow where that will lead. If you want to read more, here is Steve Lowton's blog, hope it inspires you in the same way it inspires me.

Our kittens are getting big, and cause much consternation
as they charge around the apartment after each other, but
then they look so cute all curled up together on the chairs.

One last thing to mention is a paper I saw published on the internet on the problems of mico-nutrient deficiency. This is a problem in Bangladesh, but it is also a problem in developed countries too. The reasons in developed countries is the awful diet that many have, leading to an overabundance of calories but a lack of essential nutrients. Obviously in places like Bangladesh it is a lack of adequate food generally. Industrialised farming also leads to problems as cows fed solely on grain and not the mixture of grasses of course will produce meat of lower quality and our lack of fresh fruit and veg doesn't help either. The stupid thing is that much research is being done on adding the micro-nutrients to foods such as rice which are just high in carbohydrates, when the answer is so much simpler as the above paper mentions. Eating a range of foods that are available locally and can be grown on a small scale to supplement diets is both cheaper and far more sustainable. Even in cities some foods can be grown to increase nutrient intake, from herbs in pots on windowsills to a few containers outside the back door. The other advantage in growing a range of foods is that if adverse weather hits, some will be more likely to survive than others. So expanding the range of foods grown will not only improve the health of people in Bangladesh, it could improve many local communities health and improve sustainability of whole communities.