New life

From Kaziņas Bonijas siers which translated is
Bonijas Goats Cheese

We finally got to see our friends new goats this week and I forgot to take our camera. Fortunately she has a Facebook page, so you can hop over there and see some really cute videos of little goats jumping about (link here). Goat babies are exceptionally cute, but the climbing antics of one in particular did not make Ian feel like we ought to have any goats at all. One climbing alpaca and three nervy sheep that occasionally make some extraordinary leaps are enough for us to handle. Still it was fun to visit.

We've had some rather nice days. Today was not one of them.
Today the snow was melting and it was foggy. This picture
was taken yesterday (Sunday)

You did what? Argued! Well I never!

I told our friend we had had a humdinger of an argument last week and she was shocked, even more so when I explained that we had only had maybe around four such arguments in over 31 years of marriage. She couldn't believe we actually raised our voices to each other anyway. Like I said last week it isn't normally our style. We have been much better this week, we've still had our disagreements but not as bad. I even let Ian drive the car this week and be on his own out on the land. I will still go back and help with the hay shifting. He did tease me the other day and said he got the snowblower out, which he hadn't. He had got the tractor out though and used the spring tine tractor attachment to scratch the road as it was getting rather slick with ice. At least putting some grooves in before it set solid will help to prevent it acting like an ice rink for now. Why none of us had thought about that before, we don't know, although it is not the normal use for a ground preparing implement. That goes with other lessons learnt this winter of why we shouldn't put the hand brake on in the car when it gets down to the low minuses and why most people here leave the car in gear instead. Doh! We live and learn!

Kiss and make up! Hah!

Our boys have actually been arguing a bit this last week or so.
It is to do with the Spring. They are the same every year.
Don't feel too sorry for Peedo in the middle though, he is not
always on the end of it, sometimes he starts it. Nothing too
serious though.

We did joke that we wondered if our neighbours thought Ian might have lost his driver's licence when they saw me doing all the driving. You know how rumours can fly about. It is so rare that I drive the car these days and I have to say I was quite relieved to hand back the keys and get back to my own routine. I do enjoy being out on the land, but I also enjoy being able to set my own plan for the day at my own pace (I guess that has added to some of the friction over the past few weeks). Therefore today was spent writing messages, answering emails, reading for my studies and marking someone's homework for the Sociology course I tutor. I also downloaded some information for the Development Studies unit I will start to tutor in September. Not too bad for one day's work.

Looking artistocratic

Soaking up the sunshine. It's nice to see them outside for a
change

It was amusing to read some of the sections of the book for the new course. In one of the case studies I fundamentally disagree with their assessment of the outcomes from the development project. From my previous studies I know that hydroelectric projects are rarely good development projects for people or conservation and are often mired in controversy, so to say it had achieved certain millennium development goals (the standard set for development projects by the UN, that actually finished last year, but the new ones are still under development) seemed rather trite at best and downright untrue at worst. It will be interesting encouraging students' critical analysis of development projects and I would hope by the end they will be able to see that even if the World Bank is behind the project, it does not guarantee a good project. I am quite relishing the challenge.

Ian has been working with Chanel and halter training. She is
quite jumpy - literally. 

Slowly but surely and little by little, the former laboratorytechnician is helping her to become calmer and starting to
walk on command - but only in the alpaca house at the moment

It is now 13 years since we left the UK this last week and eight years since we arrived in Latvia. A lot has happened in that time. Three children have left home, we have gained a son-in-law and daughters-in and out of law and five grandchildren. We also mustn't forget the 10 alpacas, four sheep, upteen chickens, two cats and 13 hectares (33 acres) of land. A bit of a change for a stay at home Mum and a laboratory technician. Also in that time I have got a Masters degree and nearly finished a PhD. Ian has learnt to shear alpacas, cut their toe nails, trim teeth, learnt to card and spin the wool, learnt how to plough, dig ponds and a myriad of other land related tasks. It has been fun and amazing that we have been able to do so much.

While I was trying to take photos of Ian halter training
Chanel, Aggie was nuzzling my neck. She wouldn't talk to Ian
at first after his absence but she has now more often than not
switched allegiances back. I think here she was just being plain nosy

Someone else enjoying the sun

We have become so very comfortable in our lifestyle out here that we could not really ever envisage going back to live in the UK. The very thought of getting stuck in some traffic jam on the over busy roads sends shudders down our spines. Being determined not to go back was one of the reasons I decided not to ever vote in an election in the UK. How could I vote for something that did not affect me personally? Why should I make a decision that would affect someone else and that they would have to live with and I wouldn't? However, I registered to vote this last week and got the confirmation of registration today.

We couldn't work out why Veronica had straw on her back

We wondered if it was to encourage Brencis to be weaned.
I'm sure it isn't really, but he will be by the end of the week
or at least we hope to move him up to the boys place soon.

Plotting something? Or just having a natter? 

I will be voting in the EU referendum, because it could affect me personally and not only those back in the UK will have to live with the consequences, but so will I. Not just me but our neighbours too. The integrity of Europe is under threat from so many sources and the peace and stability of the last few decades is wavering (this article from by the Guardian is an interesting article and reflects our thoughts too). I feel that now more than ever there is a need to draw strength from each other in unity, but not the sort of artificial unity, but one that debates and grapples with the future issues in a meaningful and respectful way. Anyway, in short I shall be voting.

The first signs of Spring in our greenhouse.

This rather stylish looking carder is called the Ekelund and
designed by a former Volvo engineer. One day we may
get one.

I mentioned that Ian has learnt to spin and he cards the wool by hand at the moment. We realised this wouldn't be a long term solution and so we decided we needed to get a drum carder. There is a wonderful electric version, but a tad expensive for us at the moment at £2100 + vat - if anyone feels like investing in one for us, then we will gladly accept donations

In the absence of an emoticon, here is Aggie's thoughts on us
getting donations

A wide carder by Classic Carders

For the time being, we decided to opt for a hand carder. Not as fast but this wide drum carder means we can card the fleece for felting, spinning and to make fluffy linings for clothing at a reasonable speed and certainly faster than using hand carders. It also means that even if we were to go for an electric one at a later date, we can still use the hand carder for demonstration purposes and felting classes.

Our new cockerel from our friend at the goat farm. We didn't
think we should breed for egg layers from our cockerel that
has frost bitten feet, so we needed a new one. The comb on
this one is a bit of a mess and he has a few feathers missing
on his back after a run in with a male turkey. He didn't come
out of that very well and was separated. It has been amusing
watching him trying to exert his authority over the females.
He's not particularly aggressive, but just enough for the
females. We do have one particularly aggressive female
in there and she has been testing her boundaries by
nipping him on the back where he has lost his feathers. It
hurts, bless him, but he is standing up to her. She still tries
though and she circles around him trying to get to his back
 and he circles around to stop her - a bit like a dance.

Proof that Spring has sprung, well in the greenhouse anyway

Ordering it wasn't without issues though. For some reason the system didn't like Ian's card and it ended up getting blocked. Several days later and we managed to get it unblocked - I'm sure it would have been quicker to phone, but I preferred to use the internal bank's messaging system, rather than sit in some interminably long telephone queuing system, listening to some awful tinny music. Once the card was unblocked I was also able to order some felting needles and silk in preparation for felting scarves and little animals (making little animals from felt you understand, not felting little animals, which would be cruel). I just hope it all works well. Having never done dry felting before. I have also heard that the small felting machine that someone has given to us has set off on its journey. It has travelled down the country from Northumberland to Sheffield and should set off on the next leg of its journey sometime next week (I think that's the plan). I should have asked for transfer pictures to watch its progress.

Not best chuffed

Still fuming a little! Hah! Just a little warm after digging
through the snow. Our caravan can get quite warm and in
contrast to the outside temperatures. Just in case you are
wondering, "not best chuffed" means we were not
pleased. British understatement.

Things got a little strained this week. We have had more snow and it was starting to accumulate around the greenhouse. Ever since our first one fell down under the weight of snow we have been anxious not to let it accumulate too much. Ian would normally get the snowblower out to clear it, but I had already moved one dumping of snow away from the sides by hand and this had now turned to ice. Using the snowblower was therefore far too difficult for me to handle in that particular case. I can just about manage when it is not so compacted, like I did last week, but dealing with the ice blocks was impossible. Part of the problem is I'm not strong enough, but I'm also far too short in the leg to get the leverage required.

Feeding hay to the sheep. They usually don't wait for it to be
unstrung and put in place.

Funny how animals will use and reuse the same trail, over
and over again. The hay on the path is just to cover the poop

I started to work on it by hand. My plan was to go slow and steady. I might not be as strong as Ian but I can do many things if I take my time and go at my own pace. Ian picked up a shovel to help. Not quite sure what I said, but Ian's frustrations at not being able to do much boiled over. It is hard for him, as he is used to being active and now he was being forced to curtail his activities. He shouted and I shouted back. Nothing particularly remarkable in that you may think, but in all of our time of marriage we have rarely raised our voices to each other. Sulked yes! We can do sulking! But argued with raised voices, nope! Not our general style.

The deer must be getting hungry to visit in broad daylight

Ian has been teaching Brencis to walk with the halter. The
first lesson was inside

Fortunately it didn't end there. By the time we had finished we were joking and I sent Ian off to communicate with the alpacas and walk Brencis. I also told him he should go and read his eldest brother's email to him, warning him from experience, not to try too much too soon. On the whole, Ian has been pretty good and taken things easy or in "friendly mode" as the Google translation of the doctor notes said.

Brencis has quickly got the hang of it though - well most of
the time

Agnese though is very good and walks
without tugging

Despite the snow, there are signs of Spring. One morning as we drove to the land, a small group of cranes flew over. They didn't hang around otherwise we would have heard them. They probably saw the snow and decided to keep flying. The animals and chickens also seem a little antsy, as if they sense the changing seasons and are getting frustrated at being kept cooped up by the snow. I'm sure they would sympathise with Ian. The Schisandra chinensis or five-flavour berry is starting to bud. It is usually the first to show signs of waking up from its winter sleep. I decided to risk planting some seeds in the bed I prepared in the greenhouse for early spring greens. I usually plant broad beans and peas for an early crop in the greenhouse, but not always quite so early.

Estelle too is very compliant. She sometimes fuses about having
her halter on, but once it is on, then she behaves

Mari, though, hasn't quite got the hang of it and perhaps
more nervous as a newbie

Two of our younger chickens appear to have suffered from frostbite on their feet over the winter. It's strange, because although it has been cold, it hasn't been as cold as previous years. We suspect it is more the dampness of the winter combined with cold snaps that seem to have caused the problems. Normally the cold weather dries the atmosphere out but not as much this year. We have always looked out for males over the winter, as they are susceptible to frost bite on their combs and wattles. One year we had to put a protective cream on one of our cockerels. The problem is that their large combs and wattles get covered in water when they drink and if it freezes they are in trouble. We have never known chickens get frost bite on their toes before though. The toes have gone black and some have already fallen off, leaving what we think are cockerels with club feet. They don't seem infected though and from research on the internet, it seems the best thing to do is let nature takes it course and just ensure they are not infected.

Not cooperating. 

Still not sure about this. She was better the day before and I'm
sure she will be walking along as good as gold soon. She has
the right temperament for it.

Notice the skis all forlorn by the caravan. I daren't use them,
as I dare not have an injury at the moment. I have managed
one session this winter

Our oldest chickens are also having problems, this time with scaly leg mites. Fortunately we think we have caught it early. They are getting cream on their legs to smother the mites and I cleaned out their hutch with some vinegar and put a load of mugwort down, which is a strewing herb to keep bugs at bay. It does seem odd that they have got the problem now and I wonder where they have picked it up from at this time of year. Maybe the hay or something or just getting old. I will make sure I add some wood ash to their bedding tomorrow, but needed to pick some more up from our stash.

Our youngest cat, Eyre, is no longer a little kitten. 

Treats are always welcome

Two pieces to finish with. Firstly a piece of advice, check all pockets before putting clothes in the wash and I mean ALL pockets. Mobile phones don't like hour long 40C washes. I now have a phone that switches on, but the buttons don't seem to be working. A job for Ian tomorrow no doubt to see if he can work some magic on it. This is the second time I have tried to wash phones and at least the first time the phone survived. And lastly I want to leave you with a link. It is a longish piece as it is the edited version of a speech given to #FOSSILFREEFAITH (link here) and it is a thought provoking read on why churches today should be at the forefront of cutting fossil fuel use and investments.

We have a dream of a Church that instead of being renowned for how little it cares for creation, is renowned for how much it cares.

We have a dream of a Church that stops watering down its mandate with theological hair-splitting and nit-picking – at times so heavenly-minded that it is of no earthly use – and instead reclaims its calling to change the world.

An unwanted visitor. We have had quite a bit of pig damage
again. The ground is not frozen hard under the snow. We
are hoping it just looks worse than it is.

If you agree write Amen and share - no, no...... seriously I do hate it when I see that on Facebook, as it usually is a Facebook like farming page - really I ask for the sake of our children, your children and my children, think about how we can tread more lightly in this world.

Sofie

Aching!

Looking wintry again

We've been taking it in turns to ache. Ian of course from the operation, but that is clearing up nicely and me from having to do battle with a snowblower, because finally we are getting snow in some quantity. Unfortunately the snow is not the sort we would normally associate with February, the light fluffy stuff that occurs at very cold temperatures, it is the heavy, wet stuff and that is harder to shift.

It has tended to drift over the last few days

Good job the chickens aren't in there this winter.

Ian did get to come home on Wednesday, although it was rather late. I heard he had got the all clear about 4:30pm and fortunately I had already put the animals away and was just outside our home when he called me. It still took me a little while to get sorted before I set off and arrived at the hospital at 7pm. We then had to go and pay for the operation before leaving, which added to the delay. The journey home was a protracted affair, with toilet stops and having to take the longer route home to avoid the atrocious Latvian dirt roads. They were not the sort of roads you want to take shortly after an operation and I was worried that further damage would result if we went along those.

They are in the greenhouse instead. Note the covering on the top.
That is there after the brown chickens escaped three days in a row.
This wasn't enough and now they are completely covered with a
fleece, which rests on a large cardboard box to give us the height
to get underneath for feeding and egg collection

Mari eating and Agnese having down time. It is hard to tell
Estelle and Aggie apart now, as they both had the same father

Of course Ian wanted to see his babies, the alpacas, as soon as possible. Not sure that was a thoroughly good idea, but he is recovering well generally, so not too bad. Aggie, his favourite, wasn't talking to him, the traitor! Obviously her allegiances are with the one who feeds her and since that is me at the moment, we are friends. That makes a change, normally she runs a mile if she sees me, as she thinks I will be treating her or party to toe-nail cutting time.

Snow clearing duties around the greenhouse.
That will have to stop now, there is too much

Contented sheep, despite the weather

Taking over the jobs that Ian normally does has meant getting lessons on using the tractor as well as the snowblower. I used the tractor to take hay to the animals and managed fine, apart from one minor detail. Ian forgot to tell me how to tip the front loader. I could raise it up and lower it, but couldn't work out the mechanism for tipping it at all. In the end I lowered two hay bales for the sheep, over the fence as low down as it would go, then walked all the way around to the gate, which of course was on the opposite side and then just pushed the bales out. It worked. The next lot of hay, there was too much snow to get the tractor out safely and I hadn't had snowblower lessons, so just managed with a sledge.

Ice rain overnight meant that one morning I had to fetch a hammer
and screwdriver before I could get into the boys alpaca house and
through the girls' gate. The ice had effectively glued them up and it
was difficult to get prise them apart. 

Brencis is still feeding from his Mum, but she will only feed
him outside. It was quite a dilemma for her the other day as it
was snowing quite hard. He will have to be separated from
her quite soon

Today getting hay for the sheep was even harder because the snow has got quite deep for my little legs and was over the top of my winter boots - the problem of kid size boots. So once the snow had stopped falling, I got on with the snowblower and spent about two hours trying to sort out the paths to the sheep and the boys alpaca house. It was tough work and doesn't help they are such a distance and not exactly a flat route to the boys. Even though Ian had shown me how to use the machine yesterday, the snow overnight was sufficient to need the paths doing again. It's a good job the alpacas don't eat as much as the sheep and also there is sufficient storage for them in the houses that I don't have to top up as regularly.

Some serious icicles forming

Wet alpacas! I fastened them in today because the boys were
messing about. First Herk was sitting in the doorway and he
won't shift meaning two of them were outside. Later on they
went in, much to my relief. Looked again later on and this
time it was Herk being kept out by the others. He was
saturated, which is not good when temperatures may drop
next week. 

It is with some trepidation at the moment that we are watching the news about the EU referendum. I sincerely hope that Britain does not exit the EU, otherwise that makes it very complicated for us here in Latvia. Our permanent residency is dependent on Britain being part of the EU and therefore there would be a chance it could be revoked. There are also different rules for EU members than for those who come from other countries regarding land ownership, so no idea how that is affected. As we left the UK within the 15 year period - just! - I am seriously considering registering to vote in this referendum. At least my vote will count and it affects me personally. Normally I stay out of British politics, because I have no intention of going back there.

We have had a little problem with snow drifting into the boys
house, but the new one seems to be orientated better to avoid
the weather. Still could have been worse. Hay stuffed into the
over hangs stops the worst of it.

One rung was moved off the top of the hay storage and the
bales unstrung to allow the girls access to more hay, without
having to go and fetch it from the barn.

A little running around

We'll be good, honest! At least I hope so.

I'm looking after the alpacas this week as Ian is in hospital. Ian went in for his scheduled surgery today and had four bladder stones removed. He had been expecting major surgery as he was told keyhole surgery was not an option and he would be under general anaesthetic. Instead they did not make any incisions at all and it was done with an epidural. Hopefully if all goes well, he will be home by Wednesday.

Narnia struck again!

I'm not going out in that!

He was expecting to be in a week and he wasn't sure if that was a seven day week or a work day week, so only two days is a bonus. I had to leave him at the hospital this morning as they wouldn't allow me in while they prepped him for surgery. I did get a text to say when his surgery was going to be and was rather surprised to get another one from him in the afternoon. I was expecting the hospital to ring, as I was still expecting him to have a general. So why the change? I have no idea and will probably find out more later on in the week.

Half alpaca, half mountain goat. None of
the others do this. 

It might be a nuisance, but snow does make for nice pictures

At least this does mean that the six-eight weeks I was planning on being home to see to the alpacas might not be necessary. It was funny to see the alpacas today, they obviously sussed that I was not in treatment mode, but there to look after them, as they weren't running away at all when I arrived with the bucket and shovel to clean out their alpaca houses. In fact I had a hard job trying to clean out the girls shed, because they kept getting in my way and coming to see what I was doing. At one point Agnese nearly poked me in the eye with a straw she had in her mouth because she was being so nosy. The sheep also decided I was their best friend and I ended up getting soaked because they kept brushing up against me when I was giving them some feed (their fleece is obviously holding a lot of water at the moment). One of them let me scratch her on the nose too.

The pond near our apartment building

The pond out on the land

This last week though has been a sorting out week with lots of running around trying to get all the pre-op tests done. First Ian had to go and get a blood test taken, then the following day an ECG and an x-ray - fortunately these were all done at the local village hospital. After that we had to take a drive to the big town to see an anaesthetist. It is all rather different to the UK system, or at least the way we remember it. There was a bit of an issue with a few of the results not being available when we saw the anaesthetist but fortunately they had them at the big hospital. He was warned that if all the results were not there he would be sent home, a trip of nearly two hours, because the regional hospital where he would have the operation was even further away. The distance is one reason why I won't be visiting until it is time to pick him up. It is too far and too costly to drive there and back and not really an option with animals to see to.

I was good and cleared around the barn as
instructed by Ian. The problem apparently is
that when it melts it leaks straight into the
barn, so needs clearing to keep the barn dry

Herkules looking more perky now

The regional hospital was half way between us and our Estonian alpaca friends, so we decided to call in there first and get some of the new feed, they have developed with an Estonian feed merchant, to see if Herkules continues to improve on it. His skin seems to be looking much better and beginning to get hair on his legs and ears again, He lost a lot of hair in those places due to a mite problem. He also looks brighter in Ian's opinion. As Ian had to be in hospital at 7:30am we also decided to stay overnight in a hotel nearby to the hospital. It is the first time in my life we have spent Valentine's day in a hotel. The hotel was lovely and the evening meal was delicious but not exactly a romantic weekend away.

A moody sky this afternoon before putting away time

The boys like to be out in the snow even if the girls don't.
Well when I say snow, they don't mind being out in the snow,
just not when it is snowing - sensible types. Sometimes!

As a side note, the meal had potatoes with it, three large ones and I thought I was going to have a high sugar reading in the morning. I didn't! In fact I had one of the lowest I have had for a while. Either I have to go back to the drawing board to work out how that happened or put it down to the fact we missed lunch, albeit a piece of fruit cake due to our travels. Working out what makes my blood sugar levels high or low is a nightmare. I wish it was simple.

Peekaboo

Prepping for early seed time. I put black
bags on these today to melt the snow,
because it still hasn't melted completely
after two days. We will grow hardy
greens, peas and broad beans to get an
early start on fresh veg.

The other major news this week is we made it onto Facebook. Or rather Griezītes alpakas has made it onto Facebook (you can see it and like our page here - link). That was nearly more traumatic than the thought of surgery. Ian will be running that mainly, because he can upload pictures on a regular basis. Ian is not a fan of Facebook and so trying to explain how it works and also trying to work out what a page does and does not do myself has been well...... trying at times. Little by little we will get the information out there about what we are doing and hope to do, as well as getting to grips with what we can achieve with having a Facebook page. We have a few ideas that we are hoping to organise over the summer, so keep in touch, especially if you are in Latvia.