Variety the spice of life!

The snow started to melt and then it snowed again

It has been a varied week as per usual. One day out on the farm, other days sat working on the computer and another doing ordinary jobs like cleaning - only they don't seem that ordinary to me at the moment, but something slipped into the schedule out of sheer necessity. Don't expect a spotless house if you visit. This week I also taught at a workshop and I actually got paid for it, which was lovely.

But you have to admit, it does look pretty

A weird build up of ice on the car

The workshop was such a joy. It was actually quite simple in many ways, but it connected with the people in a way that sparked some amazing interactions. I didn't have a huge amount of teaching time, so they were more discussion starters to get people thinking. I first had a game to show how the local economy could work better, showing people how money can flow when we think creatively. We then looked at wider networks and where people had connections to other places.

My glass sculpture from a glass workshop after my presentation.
It will be fired and given a frosty look

Working on an activity, artists and workshop attendees

My last exercise was my favourite and linked artists with others to tell their stories. It was interpreted in some quite different ways, which was brilliant. It showed how interactions with artists can initiate new ideas and how artists could also convey the information in visual forms that communicated well with others and were great for conversation starters. I was also sent a sweet letter afterwards, that thoroughly blessed me, thanking me for taking the workshop. It felt like we, the leader of the organisation and I, had both appreciated the work each other had been doing.

Other pieces created in the glass workshop

Mr. B. seems to have settled in well now. Here he is eating
snow alongside Turbjørn. All the alpacas have been eating
snow again this week. They have got fresh water, honest!

As I said I also spent sometime out on the land. The mite problem is kicking in, as it seems to do every year as soon as there is a hint of spring. Hopefully we are now much more aware of the issues and know how to deal with it, but it is worrying that it keeps coming recurring. It won't be enough to keep using the same treatments over and over again and so we will have to keep an eye out for alternative treatments too. At least it only seems to be a problem for the girls at the moment, the boys seem fine, even Herk who usually seems to get the problems first. That was a relief as our youngster Mr. B. (or Brencis for his full name) has only just been moved from the girls place and thus was a likely carrier of mites.

Peedo, finally has a nickname and from now on, will be known
as Mr. P. Here he is looking a little frosted after stopping out
in the snow. He could have gone inside

No signs of concussion now

Ian got a little worried about one of our cockerel's this week. He found him flaked out and being stood on by the other chickens. He got hold of him quite easily and laid him on the floor by the side of the ark and he didn't move much. He then realised that it was not a good idea to leave him there in case he recovered and wasn't able to catch him, so he put him in our usual recovery place, the cat box. He put water and food in there and almost immediately he started picking at the food. Not much later he seemed to have made a miraculous recovery. The only thing we can think of is that he must of slipped off somewhere and concussed himself.

Chanel enjoying the spruce tree

Mr. P. investigating what Ian is doing

He's been fine ever since. So fine in fact that he actually started crowing just before I was due to set off for the workshop on the Friday. I had literally just got to the door when we heard the cockle-doodle-doo. Even our new cockerel hadn't made that sound so far since we got him and so we were shocked. We headed back to see who was responsible and saw the shocked look on the previously concussed cockerel and thought it must have been him. Then the new one started so we changed our mind, but next a competition started between the two of them. It was almost like a fanfare to send me off on my new adventure. It hasn't lasted though, none of them have crowed since. The new cockerel though, has finally gone in to the hutch part at night. He just didn't seem to understand or bother to investigate why the girls all disappeared every night.

The signs of an unwelcome visitor, dog footprints around the
alpaca enclosure. The dog had raced around too. Herkules
sounded his warning cry but Ian didn't get to see the culprit,
just the evidence.

A frosted forest of grass

We have taken on one of our friends to help us with the farm. It is much easier for her to write emails and get price lists and so hopefully we will get things running more smoothly. She will help us with the alpacas too and be available for visiting groups too. It is a bit of a step of faith that having someone available to help over summer will help us to get things moving in the right direction to be able to support our lives here.

This oak tree has grown around some barbed wire that must
have been nailed to it in the past. How long ago
did that happen?

Not time to plant anything yet!

It is unlikely that the farm will be our only source of income but it needs to be getting us there. At least we do get most of our food from off the land, although it is going to be close this year. Our freezer stocks are getting low. We have loads of frozen berries and tomatoes and not much else, we also have stores of potatoes, beetroot, carrots, onions and squashes but most of those are low too. At least I do know what we can eat in terms of leaves that are going to start to appear soon so there will be fresh onion leaves, dandelions, nettles and a whole host of other greens that are good in Spring. Of course it is not the end of the world if we run out, there are still the shops, but if we can avoid it, we will.

Frosted sheep too. You can tell their coats are keeping them
well insulated as the snow doesn't really melt in the cold

Signs of spring in the greenhouse. When the sun comes out
the temperatures actually get quite high in the greenhouse

I often hear moans about the youth of today, but let's be honest, when was there ever a time they weren't moaned about? I'm sure folks used to moan about my generation too. I think we need to give these kids space to re-think their future, not one constrained by the greed and selfish of our generation.

Different generations getting along

The storks are not back on their nest yet. 

I get heartily sick of folks knocking these generations for being self-absorbed, but has anyone asked them? Selfish? That's rich coming from the generations that have over- used resources to such an extent that some of them, if not many of them, will either run out or be badly polluted. A same generation that moans has saddled the next ones with debt to furnish their comfy lifestyle whilst they might not live to reap the storm of the future trajectory that we have set this planet on. Selfish? Let's give the younger generations a break and help them to put right what we started and to re-imagine a new day. I think this Guardian article sets out the problems they face quite well

Ian has been looking at my Kitchen Aid mixer, which is showing
signs of wear. The delight though is it is easy to take apart and
the parts to repair it with relatively easy to obtain

Signs of Spring at our other apartment too

I have been digging out a few poems I wrote a while ago and this one was originally written in 2009, but I think it still has echoes for today, as the chill snowy wind blew around this week.

When the wind of history blew

When the wind of history blew

The banking system shivered

Drew its coat around itself

and carried on

Tree felling before Spring to give space for more growth

When the wind of history blew

Governments trembled

Threw some money into the banking system’s begging hats

then carried on

When the wind of history blew

The people paused and

For a moment considered a future different

To one they had relied on

When all seemed to be restored

Once again they carried on

Not as much snow here, but a cold, cold day

But a few saw the cracks

Opened up by the wind

Growing, creaking its way into the system

Space is being created

Space into which a new Kingdom will come

Quietly without much fanfare

But sweeping across the nations

Blowing through

Sculpting a new tomorrow

It's a girl

Agnese and Veronica. The extension
has come in useful, as Ian has been
able to fasten Veronica and baby in and
yet she can still see the other alpacas.
They are like siblings, can't bear to be
apart, but spit at each other if they get
too close

Little Agnese was born to Veronica on Tuesday of this last week. Ian helped a little with the birth, as he thought Veronica was struggling to push, but nothing major. All, however, did not go to plan. Agnese didn’t really get going with the feeding and we had to get our neighbour in to help us milk Veronica to get some colostrum off her. We got some but not a huge amount. Feeding didn’t really get going, as she seemed to have trouble finding mum’s milk and even when she did find it she definitely had trouble latching on. Our vet gave us some oxytocin to encourage the milk supply and we tried to milk her ourselves, but we were totally in experienced and not getting much at all. Our nearest neighbour was not able to come and help, so another of our friends came. Our neighbour and our friend, both have experience of milking cows and not really alpacas, but at least they were more successful than we were. We managed to get a good bottle full of milk and finally little Agnese or Aggy as Ian calls her, cracked the feeding lark. That was of course after a visit to yet another of our friends, who has got goats, to stock up on goats milk, as a substitute. Our friend came a few times too to ensure that Veronica’s udders didn’t get so full that Aggy couldn’t feed. So we have been extremely grateful for such wonderful support and the lessons we learnt from Benedikts.

This one reminds me of ET

One of the chickens coming to investigate

We thought all was going well, until today when Ian noticed that Aggy seemed to be straining to pee and now we are beginning to wonder if Aggy is not getting enough milk from mum. Oh boy! On advice from our friend we have locked up mum and baby, so mum can get extra feed and isn’t neglecting baby. She seemed to be doing quite well at first. We are now thinking that we won’t mate mum again this year, but give her a rest. Alpacas can get pregnant within days of giving birth and have 11 1/2 month pregnancies and it is quite normal to have a feeding mum who is also pregnant. We wouldn’t want a birth much later on in the year, as shearing a pregnant alpaca is not our idea of fun, so she will get a rest for a full year. We are still waiting for baby number two. Snowdrop is looking relatively unperturbed, but looks absolutely enormous.

Chasing off Sofie. She had only come to have a look

Up and about

I could have done without the drama really, as I have had work to complete, so I have been working in the caravan for some of the time. I managed to finish my essay, well sort of. I did the first two sections and a conclusion but I guessed it was enough and I was right, as the tutor gave me an A and said it was thorough and well written. It didn’t feel that way and I felt I was throwing stuff at it, in the end, but I do have the advantage that English is my native language and not that of my tutor. The day for completion was Friday and I finished it on the Thursday morning. I didn’t have a choice as I had a workshop to prepare for the Friday and I hadn’t more than an outline sketch for it. It was nice to relax a little in the afternoon doing the planning and preparation. I even got out the scissors and paper and made some window outlines and a flower picture from torn paper. It felt so good to be creating something for a change, rather than reading academic papers and typing.

Okay another cute picture of Agnese

Talking of academic papers, I had a reply back from the journal where I submitted a paper to and as expected I have to make some revisions to it. The three reviewers liked the theme, but said it didn’t contain enough sociology theory in it. That is a bit frustrating, I know it is a sociology paper, but there is a need for some inter-disciplinary work to be done on conflicts. It is a people problem and that definitely fits in the sociology framework, but there is more to it than that. I am trying to get my head around how it will fit in and what amendments to make. Hopefully I can chat through with my tutor soon on the subject.

An amazing piece of work. Not really
sure if it is macrame or crocheted, but
impressive nonetheless

The room where the workshop was held and where they
were preparing for an art exhibition

As I mentioned I had a workshop to prepare and that was good fun. The coordinators of the organisation I was using for the connection came and translated for me and we spent a bit of time at the end chatting about the outcome of the day. It was wonderful to hear people talk about how they believed ideas could work since the founder of group, who I had prepared the workshop for, had moved into the area. She really encouraged people to be open and contribute and they took the initiative to get things done. Quite a change from many small villages in Latvia, where they is such a sense of helplessness. They were also even beginning to think about life after project grants and how to become self-funded - an enormous step to take after reliance on top-down initiatives from state led programmes. That is not to say the average Latvian is at fault here, but it is a legacy of the Soviet system that imposed quotas and didn’t encourage an entrepreneurial spirit.

This rather intriguing set up is a giant
photo of a meadow. You sit inside and
imagine you are a child again. The size
of the photo is meant to be the size that
a child would perceive the meadow to be

Hay sculptures, there was also a hay castle, but didn't manage
to get a photo of that. They hold a hay festival every year
and make hay sculptures. Here is a link to another sculpture

The ferry wending its slow way across the river

Getting to the workshop was a bit of an adventure though. I borrowed a car from a friend, the only problem was that the radiator cooling system wasn't working properly. I did okay for the first hour, but then started to suffer from overheating issues. I had to stop a few times to let the car cool down. I also had problems with roadworks, one that blocked a short cut we usually take and another major one through the town of Jekabpils, where they are replacing a rather nasty junction with a roundabout. In the end I was 3/4 hour late, but fortunately they were flexible enough and understood. On the way home though, I knew to turn on the fan heater full pelt and then the fan up high to blow the excess heat into the car. Fine on the asphalt roads, but not so good on the dirt roads. I was following someone, so we could take a different route back and avoid the roadworks, and had to have the windows wound up due to the amount of dust thrown up. There was that much dust that at times I couldn't see the car in front and wondered if I had lost him. Still we got to the alternative crossing of the river, one of the few remaining ferry crossings. After that we got to the asphalt and winding down the window was fine.

The ferry man

"Just don't say a word! You're next" Tellus, the one with
harness on managed to espace from his holding pen. He
didn't get too far though and he is easier to catch than
his brother.

After that rather heavy week, it was time to wind down and relax, with a little alpaca shearing, as you do. Ian’s contraption worked and we managed to shear the alpaca boys ourselves, all three in six hours. Although that doesn’t sound like an improvement on last year at two hours an alpaca, that did include rounding them up, separating one off and ensuring the other two didn’t go far - or tried to. It also involved a tea stop and a quick sandwich. Toe nails were also cut and one of them had their teeth trimmed. I ached the next day though from ensuring they were pinned down, particularly their head. I didn’t do a lot of physical work, but having to kneel or just be draped over an alpaca on the floor is heavy on the knees and back at times. Ian didn’t give them a close shave but he did cut the hair on the top of their heads. It didn’t look quite right though, Turbjørn could have done with some being left on top I think, but we will have to remember that next year. Ian won’t be winning any shearing competitions this year, but at least it is done and they don’t look too bad. You should have seen the looks on their faces, as they emerged from the shed though. You could almost hear them hiss and say, “I know and don’t you dare laugh!” In fact they seemed to spend a bit of time sniffing each other, as if they were checking to see who it was. They are quite unrecognisable as the same animal that went in.

Making friends again! Ian's sweatshirt was
black when he started, but was felted
with white fibres after shearing

We went home for a shower and then returned for a night in the caravan. We are staying out on quite a regular basis these days. One of the reasons was so that Ian could be up early, before the rain to do any chores that were needed, one of them was moving the sheep fence. That thought must have been in my mind, as early the next morning I heard, or at least I thought I heard, the sheep bleating. I swear that I could hear them reasonably close to the caravan and that would have meant that they had escaped. I looked out of the window, but I couldn’t see them. In the end I got up, even though it was 4:45am, and went out to look. They were where they were supposed to be, after all. Well we were both awake by then and so decided that we would get on and move them straight after an early breakfast and then the job would be done before the rain came. It was good timing indeed, so after a second breakfast we snoozed as the rain fell. The rest of the day was spent tidying up the greenhouse. Pity I can’t say the same for the rest of the gardens at our apartments, the weeds have suddenly started popping up and I am going to have my work cut out sorting that little lot out. Oh well! Another day perhaps.

Finishing off

No that isn't a mark on the camera, it is an insect on the
window that decided to take a peek at me working. This is
a view out of our other apartment where I have spent much
of the past few weeks working.

I have just one week of my course left, I managed to get another assignment finished and handed in today but it took me three re-writes before it was something I felt I could hand in and I am still not really happy with it, but it will have to do. I also had one of those oh no! moments in the middle of the night as I had actually posted my assignment already and then suddenly remembered that I hadn't completed all the references, fortunately my tutor was very understanding and I got the offending references sorted long before the noon deadline.I also have a re-submission to hand in and that is taking some doing too, it will have to be done by the end of the week though but it is slow going. The worse part is that I can't even remember reading through some of the articles from earlier on in the course and it makes me realise just how much the noises from our apartment has been affecting my concentration. Working in the other apartment has been a real blessing as it is quieter - well apart from one when there is a little chatterbox chattering away in the corridor like today. A strong urge to learn the Latvian for please will you be quiet welled up but he was too little for that to be of any use. Mind you our upstairs neighbour was very impressed with my Latvian today as I paid the management fees and she thinks I am very clever, which is very funny as my Latvian only really stretches to a few words and most of the time the words like "es nesaprotu:, "grūti" and "lenak" are used, in other words "I don't understand", "difficult" and "slowly". I think the fact I try at all seems to impress.

The newly completed workshop

The view while I worked along with this winter's wood pile
drying

I also spent a bit of time on our land finishing off the assignment, sat in our newly completed workshop with its wonderful view. It looks really good, although the wood for the doors were purchased from a local sawmill in the end rather than sourced from our forest like the majority of it. It was taking too long to select the wood for it and we were just anxious to get it done in the end. At least any similar constructions will be planned a bit better but you live and learn. At least we now know what type of wood works well and the saw table will make other projects easier too, such as a wood store and a toilet (It's alright for guys but I need a toilet).  We will have to work out the best way to construct a composting toilet as we have plenty of sawdust from all the construction work and then we can use the compost for the apple trees, and before you get squeamish if it is properly composted then there is no danger to human health and if it is used on something like trees then it is even better as the fruit won't come into contact with the compost, just derive plenty of nutrients. Still not sure? Then check out this link for all you wanted to know about composting toilets. 

Getting there, at least the doors are on now

Our polytunnel is nearly there, the windows for ventilation still won't open but the doors are on - only just though as they had been put up and a wind blew them open and bust the hinge of one door. The guys were out there this morning fixing it but it was before Ian went out, so we still don't know if it is supposed to be finished or not yet. Still until we are sure, there is no payment, so I am not in a hurry. At least now it is usable and we even got some soil packed around the foundations and Ian has rotavated the inside so that we can plant vegetables in it. It looks less like a building site now and more like a decent growing space, only months late but heh! Another steep learning curve. 

The scar left by the electric company that hopefully will
not become infested with ground elder and instead become
a walkable path, that we can keep clear.

The electric guys have not taken long to get the cable laid, we only signed about two weeks ago and already they have cleared a path, dug a trench, laid the cable and filled it back in again. It is a bit of an ugly scar that runs the whole length of our land but it is actually quite useful for us. In Latvia the road company are responsible for land up to 11m (36ft) away from the centre of the road, but where that point was we didn't really know and as most of our land runs along the road it is handy to know. The electric company have laid the electric cable 12m away from the centre of the road (I guess so there is no danger of those responsible for road maintenance digging up the cable) with a 2m scar, so we now have a clear boundary between that part of the land which is the road companies responsibility and that which is ours. Very good! Also very handy is the new heavy duty cable which we will be able to get a supply off at a later date, supplied by green biogas electricity sited just a few miles down the road. 

Teletubby land?

The Latvian countryside looks gorgeous at this time of the year with swathes of yellow from dandelions and cowslips amongst the spring green grass. Just about all the trees are in leaf now, the oak is not quite there yet but you can see it won't be long and the aspen is now shimmering in the breeze as only aspen does. This time of the year reminds me of teletubby land, not that I was ever a fan of teletubbies but the gently rolling, very green, hill where they used to live looks a lot like the area where we live, everywhere looks like a scene straight out of a fairy tale book, very pretty. The weather has been good for gardens, warm and showers and our neighbours are still very busy out in the gardens, lots of potatoes have been planted and it is interesting to see the various techniques used. Some employ tractors to ridge the ground and then they plant the potatoes into the furrows, they then use the hand ploughs (photo here from last year) to plough the ridge over the potato. Some of them work their way along a ridge and open up a gap, pop the potato in and then cover it up again. No one as far as we can see uses the English method of hoeing up the potatoes gradually over the summer, they are all ridged up ready. Summer definitely feels like it is on its way now the house martins are back and the cuckoos are doing their nut, they could send you cuckoo as well with their incessant calling - fun at first but annoying after a while. Talking of noisy birds, storks don't have voices but they do have clattering beaks and they make a right racket, not so sure I would want to encourage them near anywhere I live, the view of the stork's nest I have from the other apartment is fine but it is far enough away not to hear it. Can't understand why Latvians would want to encourage them to nest next to the house.

A bird cherry, I think! We have also found some in the
forest and so it looks like the forest is a lot more diverse
that we thought at first.

All sounds very idyllic doesn't it? It certainly does feel like a dream come true. Okay it is a bit frustrating when things don't get done but with views like these and no commuter traffic to get to work it still feels rather dream like, as if one day we will wake up and we will go back to ordinary life. It is amazing to read how lots of people are beginning to find out the simpler lifestyle and make do and mend is actually quite liberating in many ways. Fiona from the Cottage Smallholder website was talking about the joy of finding out how to live simply and all the discoveries it has brought along the way despite the hardship of having been quite ill with glandular fever. Even the Times online has been waxing lyrical about the benefits of simpler living. It makes me laugh a little to think that this is the way we have lived for a long time, bringing up three kids on a tight budget meant that all the skills I learnt from my parents and grandparents like cooking, vegetable gardening and sewing have all proved to be useful. At a time when many people were giving up on doing that sort of thing because it didn't seem worth it, we were making do and mending. Must admit that can go a bit to far like when our toaster was repaired so often that it only eventually toasted half a slice of bread, I was so relieved when Ian's mum bought us a new one but it has all paid off though. We only had a mortgage and the odd car loan along the way, we learnt very early on that credit cards were just not worth the hassle, and making meals from scratch with cheap, nutritious and tasty ingredients became second nature (okay my daughter still hasn't forgiven me for the lettuce soup, she is still scarred from it) but it has meant that where others cannot afford the leap we have made because they have huge loans to pay, we have been free to grasp the opportunity presented and are now reaping the benefits. We are still going to have to find ways of making a living from all of this but things are building, even down to the cuttings I took of the newly purchased blackcurrant plants a couple of weeks ago which seem to have taken and means around another 30 bushes. Hope they taste nice and produce plenty of fruit and juice for us.

Blackcurrant cuttings doing well

Update on Ian's back! He is much better than last week and manages to do most things but it is very strange how the old back twinges during the shopping and that basket was heavy I will have you know!