A tad busy

I love this picture as it looks like a watercolour painting. I
gather the lens got a bit fogged up in the cold.

With last week's blog finally published I can now get around to this week's. Last week's blog would have been posted sooner but I was a bit busy and had some rather long days. It was a long trip to Lithuania and the following day was another long one too, but in the opposite direction to Estonia. I had a late request about two weeks ago to represent our department at the annual conference for PhD students at my university, I needed to head up there at some stage anyway and so decided to accept. I also fitted in a few meetings along the way. It turned out to be almost a military operation, with a great deal of flexibility and some people going above and beyond their call of duty. It worked anyway.

Mr. P. doing his best to disguise himself as a white alpaca
to fit in with the others

Joesfs glowing in the sunshine

The first meeting was in a lovely cafe, with some gorgeous cakes in Old Riga, (Bake Berry Konditorija) there I met a lady who is friends with our Polish felting tutor Galina. This lady does some wonderful work herself and I had wanted to meet her for a while. She doesn't speak much English and my Latvian is not great (mind you my Russian is even worse) but we managed. She gave me a few useful tips through by sketching her ideas and I gave her some alpaca fleece to experiment with. She was lovely and insisted that when I came back through Riga she was going to buy me a coffee and cake, which is what I did on the Thursday. 

Just in case you haven't guessed yet. Winter has arrived

The wooden trees my friend
made

I was meant to be dropping off some letters that had arrived at our old apartment for the new owners. as well The idea was to meet me in Old Riga, but on the day the lady was sick. After changing plans twice more I managed to drop them off with her husband at a bus stop just outside the National Library where my next meeting was. I then put my academic hat on as I was meeting someone from one of the Latvian Universities who I've met before. We had a nice lunch and a great discussion. It was nice to finally get to see the wooden trees that decorated the National Library restaurant where we ate. A friend of ours had made them in his workshop in our little town. He is the one that made our kitchens for our two apartments too.

Mother and son, Marie and Jakobs

A crystal oak tree

The meeting with the academic was arranged last minute as she didn't see my email until I was heading down to Lithuania the day before so it threw off my planning for the trip up to Estonia. On the bus into Riga I was trying to work out the best route and the bus and train timetables were not helping. I wanted to spend as much time talking with this academic as possible and so opted for a later bus, only it meant waiting in Valga on the border for a long while and getting in very late, which would have meant another very long day. I explained all of this to my friend in Estonia via Messenger, as you do and she offered to come and pick me up, a drive of about an hour. She said it was only fair as my daughter had driven all the way to pick her up from the airport when she joined me for a holiday in the UK. It was much appreciated though.

I think this is Valeria, but I could be wrong. I still haven't got
their names straight yet. (Update: I was wrong, it is Vanessa)

I asked if I could have a hand held mike because there was
no point me standing behind that lectern. No one would
have seen me. Well maybe a pair of eyes or just the top of
my head.

The following day was the presentation at the university and I was the third presenter of the morning. It was a good job I was able to get most of the presentation done on the bus journeys the day before, as I hadn't had much time to prepare beforehand. I was therefore really pleased with the response I got. Quite a few folks commented afterwards how much they had enjoyed the story. It was fairly easy for people to follow, especially compared to presentations on genetics or dissolved organic matter in Estonian lakes, important though they are, they take at least a bit of technical know how on the subject to follow along or understand the importance of the research. One person commented on the way I delivered a quote from one of my interviewees, as he felt it was a touching way to speak about isolation. It is one of the benefits of having read stories to children many times, that I can read with expression.

We've had a glorious few days

Vanessa's crew enjoying the spruce trees. Lots of vitamins
for them

During the first presentation the lady had a list of universities that she attended and one of them was the same as my friend, who I was staying with, had retired from. I messaged my friend during the lecture to see if she knew her. She did and very well. I was told to pass on my greetings, which I did. Later on in another conversation with my friend she said she wished she had known she was in town, so I suggested she come up for the coffee break. I had actually left the conference because I needed to get some work done downloading papers using the universities internet and I was sat waiting for my friend to turn up when the lady who had presented appeared to collect her coat. I leapt up to tell her that my friend was coming and wanted to say hello and fortunately she agreed to stay on for a few minutes. It was really neat to see them finally get to say hello to each other in person. You could tell they had had some good times together and I saw my friend's face light up at the thought of all the stories she could write about her friend's work. You can't take the journalist out of that Texan gal.

We had a rearrangement of chickens so they have more space
now. We culled the older cockerels when I got back. There
is no point feeding them over winter and they were taking
up space that the hens need. The older they get the more
aggressive they tend to be and so it is best for them to be
culled before winter. 

These are gifts from the lady I met on the Tuesday and
Thursday. Here you can see some of the wonderful things
she makes (link), if you are interested in any of her work
she can write in English.

The following day I got another lift down to the border so I could talk with my supervisor about various issues that needed sorting. He added an extra half hour onto his journey to a seminar so that we had a chance to talk and it meant I didn't have such a long time on the bus. So the good news is that I am further along with having a part time job on a collaborative project with other universities and I now have my work planned out for re-writing papers that need to be submitted. Plus I managed to get an earlier bus down to Riga and so went to the library again to have lunch and do a bit of work before meeting the lovely lady I met on the Tuesday, along with two other folks. One gave me back a scarf that she had taken to show her mother who had owned a shop at the time. Sadly that had to close shortly after and so that meant a potential collaboration came to nothing. The other was someone actually buying a scarf from me that I had made. 

It was a bit surprising to wake up to snow. This is from our
new apartment window.

So with my work planned out I had the Friday to read through the project description and add my questions to it and do some catching up on marking work for GCSE students who I tutor online. Saturday was spent out on the land to do some alpaca pedicures and refreshing my memory on what is needed for taking over from Ian when it comes to looking after the alpacas now he is away. Sunday and Monday I got a start on re-writing a paper that needs resubmitting before January that no one else has got time to do. Well that should keep me out of trouble.

The wild boar have been back too. Not what we want. We hoped the numbers would stay lower for a while or at least stay in the forest more. Perhaps the dry summer has forced them out as there may not be as much to eat. Hopefully the ground will be too frozen soon anyway.

This damage was mainly done on
Monday/Tuesday night

his damage was also mainly done on
Monday/Tuesday night

More from Monday/Tuesday. Ironic that the hunting tower
is at the top there in the distance

This was Tuesday/Wednesday night. Not good! We had only
just got that bank nicely sorted out after the damage done a
few years ago and now we have to start all over again. The main
problem is all the weed seeds that germinate from these. If it
would just turn up grass or herb seeds we would be fine, but
usually docks, ground elder and nettles seem to be the result

I just don't know

Oh so huggable! Well maybe. Alpacas might look cute,
but not many of them enjoy a cuddle.

I am not a sit around the circle, touchy-feely hippie sort, even if we do grow our own vegetables and raise alpacas. That isn't to say I don't like touchy-feely hippie sorts of people, I do! I have come across a number in my journey through life. I have immense respect for their counter-cultural ideas and their willingness to experiment with new ideas and new ways of living. Okay some of those things apply to me, but I still wouldn't describe myself as a hippie. Neither am I sold on capitalism though. Markets have their place in society, but rampant capitalism does not make happy communities, as far as I can see. All these things swirl around my head. Testing, sifting ideas. It all ends up a cacophony of noise at times, especially this week. The problem is that fear brings out the worst in us and I have seen the outcome in some of the responses to the atrocities in Paris.

Big bird is still going and is looking more healthy now,
than she has done in a while. She is also travelling further
and making herself a nuisance too.

Storm Desmond visited us too. Ian only commented
yesterday that the feeder was in need of some repair. I
think that is now an understatement. Fortunately the
main components are okay, it is just the side supports

I make no apologies for not going along with bombing in Syria. Does that make me a terrorist sympathiser as David Cameron seemed to suggest. I don't think so! I just don't think that is helpful to bomb Syrian sites when the majority of the terrorists are in the country where the atrocity occurs and not from Syria. There is a systemic problem here. Locking our doors and staying inside doesn't make us any safer. Knowing our neighbours and looking out for them, taking care of them, showing an interest all helps - and I am talking to myself as much as anyone else as we go into lock down over winter here in Latvia. It is too easy as winter hibernation mode sets in. I know there are no easy answers. Terrorism is not new, but it does thrive in fear. We have to make choices and choosing not to give into fear or take knee jerk reactions are just two of them.

Our nearly dry pond is now full to nearly overflowing 

A good chat with the neighbours is always a good idea

Likewise nations are no safer if they lock their borders. There are hurting, needy people out there, fleeing some awful situations, fleeing the situations we don't want on our doorstep. Stopping them coming and bombing their homes doesn't make the situation go away. Showing compassion and helping them settle to a new way of life for as long as they wish to stay is one way forward. Developing strong nations with people who care for one another is also a way forward. Will this all help? I just don't know, but what I do know is that the alternatives are far worse. We can't give into fear!

Looking very aristocratic

No! No! Don't roll in the mud please! 

So what has our non-hippie alternative living style week been like? I will tell you a bit about our ordinary week, well ordinary for us. Ian finally went to the doctor about his prostate (hope that doesn't embarrass anyone, but these things need to be discussed openly). It has been slowly bothering him more and more over rather a long time, and so he finally gave in and went through the rigamarole of enlisting a friend's help to translate. He went to see a "surgeon" at our local doctor's office. I have surgeon in inverted commas, because we are not quite sure what that title means here. He certainly does minor surgery from what we understand, but what else, we are none the wiser. Anyway he told Ian he needs an ultrasound scan and then he will be referred to a urologist and we will see where we go from there. He also got some antibiotics for a minor bladder infection and a prescription for a herbal tea. Herbal remedies are quite popular here, so it will be interesting to see how that works out. I have probably mentioned somewhere that I am quite into herbal remedies and looking at growing some more medicinal herbs.

At least Chanel is not rolling in the mud, just gathering bits
of grass instead.

Another of our more aristocratic alpacas

The hunters came eventually too. They just buried the wild boar that Ian found last week- what was left of it, after the crows had been at it. It was a bit frustrating as it would have been nice to know beforehand if that was the best thing to do. We were just not sure if it should have gone for testing or not. Maybe it should have, no idea., One of the hunters offered to buy our Lada though - the one that had the mouse living in it that had managed to store half a sack of sheep grain in the roof space (presumably by taking it piece by piece, unless it acted like a hamster and stuffed more than one piece in its mouth at a time of course). If the hunter doesn't buy it then I think it will be best to scrap it or sell it for parts. The only problem is of course, then we have to find storage for the spare bags of grain. Oh well. They also said that we will get some meat too. Well maybe that will happen, we shall see.

Who are you calling aristocratic? Just call me handsome.

Really settling in well now.

I got my paper uploaded to the journal yet again. In fact I have done it twice this week. I uploaded it earlier on in the week and on Saturday evening I got a reply that had about six very minor points. These points were quickly rectified or explained and it went back in again this evening. I really do think that will be it this time. So that just leaves me with a paper to proofread from someone else and my other paper to write and ...... well you get the idea, more writing and more thinking to do.

When is grub up?

I want food and I want it now!

I went to the art course again this week. This time there was a lecture on "Fantastic Art" or fantasy art. I managed to follow along with some of the concepts because the lecturer often used words which were just Latvianised English words and sometimes the context was easy to see. It does help that I have done some of this type of work before and so could follow what she was trying to put across. All good practice though to sit and listen to Latvian again.

Someone mention food?

The fence finished and the girls happily eating

I helped Ian over the weekend to finish the fence for the alpaca girls (and the youngest boy) and then helped him to move them.  It was rather interesting, trying to encourage them to make the journey to a new area. Part of the problem is that the temporary wire fence that Ian made from the orange, electric fence wire is not very visible against the brown grass and they went straight through it and into the area where they have been for a few weeks now. We managed to encourage Agnese, followed by Snowdrop up to their new area first, through the fenced off corridor. We wanted to fasten them into the new house while we brought the others up, but they were not going in when there was new grass to eat, so we left them in the paddock.

Still eating

The boys enjoying their change of scenery too, with their
new quarters behind them.

That left five more to encourage up to their new home. It was a real test of nerves. Too fast and they would panic and bolt through the fence, too slow and they would try to wander back. Little by little with Ian leading and with me walking slowly, step by little step behind. There were one or two times we thought we were going to lose them, right near the end. They didn't like walking across the muddy road for sure. It was such a relief when they walked through the gate and into the paddock area. The boys were much easier, as they didn't have as far to go. They practically walked up on their own, with just a little persuasion. They all seemed to have settled in well too, which is also a relief. We didn't want any haring around the paddock trying to convince them to go in at night. It is a little chaotic once inside, but that is because they haven't really established an order yet, but that will happen soon enough.

The sheep fence will be the next job. Glad to see they are
making use of the hay as a bed!

Such a cutie

One of our neighbours who has helped us with the alpacas before, contacted us and told us she had been doing some thinking too. The alpacas have been very therapeutic for her, she loves to come and see them and has been a few times over the year and brought various visitors too. She would love to see if the alpacas would be good therapy animals for those with special needs, similar to the ones she works with. Unfortunately special needs education and therapy is not well developed here in Latvia. It is changing but there is still some way to go and financial restraints within the country makes provision for activities difficult. Still it is a start and we will investigate to see if we can make it happen, meanwhile she is going to start coming on a regular basis to get to know the animals better. At least that will be good therapy for all of us. It is nice to know that there will be someone who can step in and help us, who knows the animals and the animals know them. We were worried with the higher numbers that it would be more difficult.

A race against time

The Amaranth after the frost. Hopefully
the seed is still fine and I have started
processing it.

I mentioned that last week we had our first frost and this week we had our second frost early on in the week with the forecast for even cooler weather on the way, this meant we had to get motivated to sort out some of our crops. We harvested all of our climbing beans, they were all just about ready for harvest anyway and then we harvested the cabbages, although they will stand some frost the forecast was for up to -7C and that is a tad cold for them, so better in the freezer than destroyed. We also harvested as many apples as we could. In addition I potted up the basil to take home. All in one day. Not bad hey! Those geese were definitely in the know.

A peaceful scene, belying the fact that Herkules has been
escaping for much of the week. He has been forced to stay
in with a little help from the more powerful electric charger.
It is not as if there is nothing to eat, just not first choice and
since the other two in particular have weight issues they can
jolly well stay in that area until they have finished the grass

The caravan in its winter quarters

I did cover some crops up in fleece, as it was impossible to harvest everything, but it wasn't perfect. The autumn raspberries did okay for a few days, but the number of hard frosty nights we have had finished them off. Such a shame as there were still plenty to come and they had been ripening nicely. The hard frosts has meant we can empty the greenhouse sooner than anticipated and since I am planning to be away this next week and then about five days later I will be away for a whole month, we decided that the chickens and the caravan needed to be put away in their winter abode. Another one of those markers in the year, that tells us the seasons are changing.

Of course the chickens had to go in first, even though it is
still dry weather outside. I still think they appreciated the
move, one of them laid an egg and they had stopped prior
to this

I know you are not supposed to move
asparagus, but it was not working
where it was and so we have chanced
it and moved it to a sunnier spot. The
asparagus bed had also got weed
infested and so another excuse to move
them. They look nice and neat now

As many of you know who have followed my blog for a while we often have trouble with wild boar (wild hogs) but lately there has been African Swine fever making its way through the country. It is an extremely infectious disease apparently, so I had a look at the updated maps showing the spread of the disease and it appears to have moved into our area now. Not sure if that is the reason we haven't had much wild boar damage this autumn or it is because the ground is so dry meaning there aren't as many grubs to dig up and eat. Whichever way the decrease in pig activity has been very welcome. If it wasn't for the fact that wild boar will be suffering, I would even go so far as to do a happy dance.

Wish I could say all the beds were as nice and neat. Maybe
next year

Ian working hard and wrapped up against the chill

I am not sure it was a good idea to let Ian go to our daughter's, it seems to have had expensive repercussions. He suddenly found out that a laser levelling device, a laser measuring device and an electric mitre saw were the must have items for the newest constructions he is doing. Wouldn't mind but he has had to take back the laser level already, though it did start working again after a bit of tinkering at the shop and now he will have to take the measuring device back. Not good for Bosch products really. I always associated Bosch with good quality and now not so sure. I've told Ian that he will now have to build the house to justify the costs. Hahaha! I wish. To be fair though, he had already requested an electric mitre saw to make the building of the alpaca houses easier and faster.

The base laid out

I helped with the first two uprights and the rest, Ian has
been busy with while I'm away

It wasn't the only repercussion. Our daughter has a blood sugar monitor and since diabetes runs in Ian's family he decided to try it out. Our daughter informed him that he was showing signs of being pre-diabetic due to his fasting blood sugar levels (she is a qualified nurse). That meant he needed to buy his own monitor when he got back home, more expense. Fortunately the monitors themselves are not so bad, but it is the strips that rack up the cost. I decided to try the monitor one morning too and what was even worse was that my fasting blood sugar was higher than Ian's. At least I can lose some weight to see if my levels will go down. I have lost the usual weight over the summer but I would need to keep an eye on it over the winter. Ian doesn't really have any weight to lose and trying to keep his calorie intake up without overdoing the carbs is going to be a bit of a nightmare. Thank goodness fat is getting less bad press than it used to.

Our little pest. If she can get in the way
she will at the moment. At least she is a good
mouser, just wish she would not leave them
lying around all over the place

Tellus in the frosty morning light

It is quite odd really, as one of the ways of managing blood sugars is to use less carbohydrates that cause the sugar spikes. What is needed is a slow release carbohydrate or a way of slowing the release down. Many moons ago while we were at university, we took part in some studies to observe how to modify the sugar spikes from foods like apples and sweetcorn. It is as if the research we were part of back then is going to affect how we eat in the future. We did something useful after all. Wish I could say the same about the paper I have been trying to get published. It has been sent back again regarding the quality of the English. I know this blog is not always written in perfect English, I am often a bit tired when I sit down to write it and it isn't an academic exercise and so I am not always so careful, but really my English is not that bad, nor is my co-author and definitely not the lady who proofread it. I am really quite bewildered by the comment and thoroughly exasperated by the process. Oh well! At least the editor made the changes she felt necessary and so I need to go through them and find out what the problem is ..... again!!!!

Herkules our escape artist

Turbjørn looking quite jolly in this picture

We had a brush with the law this week too. The regional police have been doing a tour of the area looking to generate a few Euros by some accounts. We were travelling back from the land and there was a BMW behind us and Ian was expecting it to pass us once we got onto the tarmac, but it didn't. Instead a police car overtook both of us with lights flashing and then pulled up in front of us. The policeman was unusually brusque. Once they realise we don't speak much Latvian the Latvian police usually try and deal with us as quickly as possible and are usually reasonably polite, at least not rude. Ian wasn't quite sure what they were asking for and so I explained that it was the driver's licence, but in the meantime the policeman seemed to be muttering something about in Latvian speaking Latvian. I realise that we should, but it would have been quite rude if we had just been visitors and at the time he didn't know whether we were or weren't, apart from the car being registered in Latvia. The policeman looked rather disappointed that Ian had zero for alcohol when he used the breathalyser and they couldn't find anything wrong with the car either.

An empty space where a caravan once stood

Estelle. Now is she pregnant or not? We think she is

To wrap up this week, I am in Jelgava on a course. The course description is something similar to the research the students did for me earlier on in the year about Sense of Place - how people are attached to places and what they feel about them. Should be interesting to hear some different perspectives. It was a rather early start as normal when I catch buses and it was also a very cold start, as it was minus 5C (23F) this morning. So after that early start, I am now sat in one of the university hostel rooms, which is noisy from the traffic outside and that is with the windows shut and I can hear voices from the room next door, but at least I am not sharing a room and the bed is comfy. I am also longing for a cup of tea, but there won't be one until later on in the day tomorrow because they do not seem to have a kettle in the communal kitchen area. They have mugs, two cookers and two frying pans, but I cannot see a kettle.