Not a lot and yet...

Boys! Remember social distancing

It has been one of those times when work of the more routine kind takes precedence and that's not quite so interesting to write about or not appropriate to. One thing I can say is that things are ticking along slowly but in the right direction and we finally got a paper published in a journal related to the project. So that was a bonus. You can see it if you are interested in what I'm working towards at the moment (link here).

We've had a mixed bag of weather over the last two weeks.
Snow, wind, rain, sunshine. Warm days, cold days. I guess
it's just typical spring weather really.

This is my reminder to get off the computer for a few
minutes, however, this one is not so applicable in today's
environment. It's not normally applicable to me anyway,
but more so now.

One of the reasons for not posting last week was that I was trying to prepare for a pre-defence of my PhD. Basically that is like an oral mock exam in preparation for the final defence. I had to prepare a 25 minute presentation and then discuss my results with an opponent. I already knew what kind of questions would be discussed, but I only had two days notice - which is normal. The review of my written thesis was quite encouraging and most of the comments seemed very fair. It means I have a bit of work to do to improve my thesis but nothing horrendous.

A crane

It won't be long before the oak tree will disappear amongst
the foliage. 

Preparing though was a nightmare, partly because there were some urgent work tasks to do the week before. To be honest I only finished with an hour to spare and then I needed to prepare myself and the room for the presentation, which of course under the current circumstances, was online. I had to go back to the apartment to make sure that I had a good signal on my phone, as that is how I access the internet, so I went earlier in the morning rather than leaving that until the last minute. I also quickly trimmed my hair, as you do! After all that I still had half an hour and so I decided to spend that time listening to some music and calming myself down. Stressed or what! Fortunately by the time the presentation came around, I had calmed down and felt quite peaceful about the situation.

These were only little trees when we got the land

A view from Vanessa's crew's paddock

It was the weirdest presentation I have ever done. I had half an hour of talking to my computer and trying to remember to look at the camera. During the presentation I could not hear anyone or see anyone, only my own slides. There were several times during the presentation I made a mental note that something wasn't quite as smooth a transition from one topic to another as it could be, which was a bit distracting, but I mainly managed to get through without too many slip ups and within a good time. Phew! The discussion at the end was pleasant and I was able to genuinely thank the opponent for some very constructive comments that I felt would be helpful in preparing for the final defence. This was supposed to be the toughest part of the processes and so I was glad it went as well as it did. It was also nice to see my colleagues had joined me too.

Vanessa doesn't look amused. Just like her mother

We often call her Silly Silla, mainly because she sits out
on her own, whether it is rain or shine.

As I mentioned before we moved out to the land and have been here about a month already. It has been a bit chilly at nights but nothing too bad and just the one heater is enough in the morning to warm things through now. At least in a caravan there isn't so much to heat. At the coldest points we used a fan heater though. Of course it has been quiet as we haven't had any visitors, until this week. Three cars, each containing two people turned up at once. We weren't happy. They had had a test and been declared free of Covid19 and so felt it was fine to travel about as long as they obeyed the rules of only two per car and 2m distance. They obviously were not aware that does not mean they can still catch it or carry the virus on their clothes etc. Please people! Stay home! Stay safe!

Vanessa's crew have seen something 

It's just Sofie

Slēgts means closed

Unfortunately Google is still showing we are open, despite sending them an email to say we are closed. Not helpful that we can't just change the information ourselves. It wasn't a comfortable experience to have people drive on and expect to be shown around and so we decided to actually block off our roadway. Hopefully no one will be daft enough to drive on but it does mean that we now have to stop at the entrance to unhook the string and sign whenever we take a trip into the village.

Just coming back from my presentation to see Ian in the field
with his camera and computer. He was comparing the views
to some taken in 2009.

Ian's had a harrowing time 😃 He has been out with the
tractor and chain harrow to remove the dead grass and
flatten the molehills

It has been a fairly hectic time work wise but I have at least managed to get out and do some work in the garden. Several beds are now looking a lot tidier. Some Jerusalem artichokes have been dug up for the chickens and some for ourselves. Most of the strawberry beds have been weeded and old hay put on them to keep them mulched. Asparagus beds have been sorted and my herb beds. I even planted one row of potatoes into the alpaca manure that Ian has laid out over the winter.

No not giant molehills but dispersed manure heaps and silage
heaps, ready for planting up squashes next month

Levelling the base

Ian has continued to work on the new greenhouse so that there are two beds with plenty of well rotted manure in and he is gradually sorting out the landscaping so that we can open the doors wide. It doesn't help that we have an undulating land where very little of the ground is flat. He's doing all of this while the polycarbonate is off so that it is easier to work. It also means the beds get some soaking from the rain we've been having. It is better they get rainwater on to soak the dried out manure. As usual, spring has been a bit dry and windy at times, but we've also had some showers, so all is good and the grass is growing well.

Preparing the base of the beds

Wood edging in and a layer of dried grass harrowed up from
the fields

Some well rotted manure and the next layer will be rotted
wood chippings for a mulch but that will come later when
these have sunk a little

The girls are out. Mari is talking to the new girls and
introducing herself no doubt. Although they have met
before a while ago. I guess you could say our alpacas have
been in isolation since October when they were only allowed
out in their paddocks. Anyway girls, social isolation is not
being relaxed just yet. Another week or two.

Of course with the grass growing well the animals are itching to get out to eat it. It would be lovely to do that but too early and it wouldn't be good for the grass. The wet and windy weather we have had though did loosen some of the gates, enough for first Tellus to get out one day onto the field on his own - we can only surmise it swung shut after him, because we don't think he's quite that clever to get through a gate and close it behind him. He is clever, but not that clever. He's the one that backs into other animals so they can't spit in his face when he tries to muscle in on someone or get in through a door that someone is blocking. The girls also managed to get through their gate and it was a bit harder trying to get them back in, they sure didn't want to be parted from that bit of green grass.

Boo! Surprised you! Mr. Tellus at least on the right side of the
fence here.

At least here Herkules is cushed (sat upright) and not on his
side, but he's reluctant to get up from this.

It would be especially lovely to get Herkules out onto the grass as he is really struggling at the moment. One day we found him collapsed and he couldn't get up. There are few times he seemed to struggle to get up and yet once up, he doesn't seem so bad. We are not quite sure what is wrong with him, we did try and get some blood tests done, but the results were a bit weird - not weird in telling us something was wrong, but weird in the way that suggests the blood sample wasn't a good one, for whatever reason. We will have to make sure it is done again and see what they say this time. Ian will also see if he can get some slides done himself. The advantage of haematology training, albeit a rather long time ago.

Brencis gazing wistfully at the grass on the other side of the
fence.

The storks are back visiting our pond

Because it is so long ago since I last blogged, April 1st came and went. My chickens decided to play a trick on me. I had just finished giving some of them a good telling off because they hadn't been producing many eggs and went around to the back of the ark to put in their evening food when I found three eggs in the corner of their ark, just not in the nesting box. A little April fool prank I think

Smiley George. He's a clever chap, like
his mother and father

A grumpy looking cat and I'm the grumpy owner. She is
becoming a pest. She even tried to eat a squashed year
old egg and mouldy seeds today. It's a wonder she isn't sick

Ilvija looking like a cudlly teddy bear

Her mother glowing in the sunshine

Valerie glowing too

The pied wagtails are definitely getting out and about

The gooseberry bushes are growing

A very shaggy looking Jakobs in front

Freddie is such a sweetie

There's some grass here somewhere

Spring flowers

A time to dream

Look up as my friend in Colorado would say

This time more than ever is a time to dream. The weeks ahead are going to be tough, whether sickness comes to us or not. The worry etc. is going to be hard to bear, but we need to plan and dream for days  beyond the crisis. What's important now, should help us to focus on how we organise our life in the future. It's not about stuff, we are almost certainly going cold turkey on that. It's not about toilet paper, important though it is, but its about networks that help us to find dignity in contributing to a society and food to keep us healthy. Artists and musicians, we also need you now and we need you in the future, to help us get through the unsettling times and to dream and imagine a new future.

There is quite a lot happening up in the sky at the moment.
Migrating birds are returning

However, this has become a rare sight. A plane! An actual
plane! Normally our sky is criss-crossed with contrails 

One thing I think we have all learned is that we now know who the key workers are and we need to value them, not just the nurses and doctors of course, but also the cleaners, the volunteers, the supermarket staff, the delivery drivers, the postmen, the transportation folks, the bike mechanics - who knew!, the car mechanics, they are the people that keep our society running. We need to value them more. Then there are the scientists working on cures, not more pills to take for our obese society, important though they are. Cures do not bring in the money for pharmaceutical companies, so we cannot outsource our health to them anymore.

The storks are finally back. Ian thought they would come on
Saturday, but they didn't. It was so nice on Saturday with a
southerly breeze. But no they had to wait for a northerly and
a cold day. At least it wasn't Sunday which was freezing,
blowing a gale and snowing.

A very grumpy cat. We got most of the tablet down her, the
rest was frothed around her mouth, as usuall but then she
had no option but to clean if off. Hehe

There is so much more to think about, but adjusting to thinking instead of doing can be hard for many, especially when it is enforced. I've always been a bit of a daydreamer. Always had my thoughts on something else, as I'm going about daily tasks or getting lost in a book. I'm so absorbed in my thoughts sometimes that I forget to look up and take in the scenery. While I have my head in the clouds, imagining the bigger picture and trying to think what life would be like if we changed how we approached agriculture, the economy, community and trying to link it all together, I sometimes miss the bigger picture of our land in the sunshine. Ian the detail man is the opposite, he takes in the bigger picture of the land, while sometimes getting tied into the detail of how things should be done. It can make for some interesting miscommunications at times.

Cup of coffee anyone

This was taken on Saturday to show our grandchildren what
we had been doing. We had just sat down for our afternoon
coffee after spending the afternoon constructing part of the
new greenhouse that you can see behind Jakobs. After this
we had a WhatsApp chat and watched our granddaughter
blow out her candles for her birday

The weather warmed up at the end of last week and we managed to get a start on the new greenhouse.    These are part of our preparations in the downtime for the future. Little by little we are transforming where we live to be a place to gather and talk, to relax and contemplate, to visit our alpacas, to do courses. We don't want a constant flow of visitors, the introvert part of us would not cope with that, as we will need rest and recuperation between the busy periods, but we do want more people to be able to share what we have and to benefit from it.

3 sheets of 12m length polycarbonate. It is a
good job I'm reasonably good at maths and
problem solving. The instructions say to cut 4x
3m lengths to do the ends of the greenhouse, but
the problem is that if we had done that then
one sheet would have been too short to go over the greenhouse in one go. So we measured the arcs
and realised that we could only cut three sections
out of the four for the ends and the last piece
will have to be a patchwork quilt. There will be
enough, but there won't be a lot of wastage.

Ian finished off the ribs for the greenhouse today

One of our plans is to have a cabin for people to stay in, nothing fancy, just something simple. We even had a quote for it this week from one of the companies that we saw at the trade fair a few weeks ago. Unfortunately although they do not cost a huge amount, we still don't have enough for that, so we continue to work with what we have. At least we should be able to grow plenty of food this year. Our beds for the potatoes are ready and our garlic is beginning to poke its head through the mulch. They haven't been noshed over the winter by the mice this time. Soon it will be time to start planting outside, but not yet, it is still too risky.

A smiley and slightly toothy Josefs

It's greening up slowly, as it is still too cold. Most of what
you see is moss too. So the alpacas will just have to wait and
still eat hay.

My life hasn't changed that much beyond the normal rhythm of life we have here in our country place. We were out in our caravan a week earlier than before and we have spent the week adjusting to being out here. There is always something we have left behind that we suddenly find we need. I still have to travel back into the village anyway, for supplies and to tend to my little seedlings that are too tender to bring out just yet, especially with the heavy frosts we've had over the last few nights. I managed to pot up a few of the tomatoes now they have germinated and growing well.

Mind you, it doesn't stop them trying to eat the grass. Tellus
actually managed to get through the gate today. Ian doesn't
know how the gate came loose but Tellus was definitely on
the wrong side of it. Ian just about managed to get him
back through before all the others sensed freedom and
were heading for the gate. Soon chaps! Soon!

Mr. Tellus on the right side of the fence. His eye is also
better this week

Unfortunately on my last trip back into the village, I wasn't able to get any bread for Ian. They were completely out of that - then again it was a Sunday and not very unusual for out here. He does like toast in an evening and so he just uses the cheap white bread. Good job I did think to buy some yeast, to make some bread. My sourdough is great for buns for sandwiches but not so good for making a loaf. Mind you, the loaf I did make, wasn't quite right for toasting either. It was too thin. It tasted great and had a nice texture, just not the right shape, so I need to work on that a bit more. I'll have to bring out some loaf tins - of course they are back in the apartment.

Herkules got quite thin over winter and so Ian has started
feeding him extras. He gets his in the training pen, so he
can eat in peace. He now goes and stands in there waiting
for Ian. Smart guy! He seems to be losing his position in
the herd though. He was always the boss, but now the others
challenge him more.

Despite getting thin, Herkules is actually looking quite bright

I think Brencis looks like he's developing. a teenage
moustache

I have also travelled back into the village for an online meeting as the reception for my phone is better there. I'm used to online meetings, as I've mentioned before, I'm part of a project with colleagues in different countries and so we can only meet regularly via Skype. However, despite having regular meetings with my overseas colleagues, I'm not used to being involved in meetings with my colleagues from my own university, but since they are now all online and working from home, I don't escape so easily. Still it was good to catch up with them and get their perspectives on the next project that I'm involved with, which I officially start on April 1st, but have already been doing a bit of work for.

Mr. P is getting quite grey now and his black is changing to
a dark chocolate.

The face! It is just hilarious

One thing that I have realised during the Skype meetings is how long my hair has got. I did lots of preparations for a lockdown, but entirely forgot about having a haircut. When doing the Skype calls with a video on, I get to see how my hair looks and the longer it gets the older I look. I'm not generally so vain, but my hair is now really getting on my nerves and several times I have seriously thought about getting Ian's hair clippers out and cutting it very short. At least with three months in social isolation, I wouldn't need to show my hair so much, but then I would look pretty silly wearing a hat on a Skype call. Hmmmm! I do confess to doing some research on how to wear a scarf to cover up the shortness.

Jakobs is finishing off the tree I think. and Brencis enjoying
some downtime in the sun. I think he's missing the visitors
though. He's very chatty just lately. Hemdidn't come
for a chat though when we were chatting to our grandkids

George as smiley as ever. He looks like he might need a
haircut too

It always perplexed me why Latvians considered a hairdresser such an important part of the community. I enjoy my visits to the hairdressers and she does a good job I think, but it has never rated high on my agenda until I have a presentation to do. But even in a small place, you will often find a hairdresser. Now, however, when it isn't possible to get out and get it cut, I can see why. Here in the rural areas the price is not high for a cut, but it is priceless to not have hair in my eyes and to not look silly with a hair that isn't straight when it should be. So add hairdressers to that list of essential workers that keep the country moving. We won't die if we don't have a haircut, but we often feel better with a decent cut and that is worth a lot.

Another migrant who returned this week, a wagtail

Boo!

Mother and daughter staring at Sofie
the cat

Amanda, thinking! Dreaming! Planning...oh oh!

The new and the old greenhouse.

Bright but not green yet!