Shorter days

Jakobs scratching an itch probably but he does
do it so gracefully.

The days are getting shorter so quickly, it takes us by surprise most days, especially if it is overcast and miserable like today. Last week we were putting the animals away starting about 8pm, this week they are all shut up by then and it is so dark. The days are still warm though and I got a lot done in the garden this weekend. It would have been nice just to potter around the garden, but instead I had to get going with the tasks. We noticed that the forecasts are for quite a drop in temperature next weekend and there is a possibility of frosts. I was thinking about the sort of jobs that need doing before that, such as getting the squashes in, sorting out the beans etc. and then the realisation dawned on me....I'm working full-time. How do I get all those jobs done before the frosts? 

Is Brencis looking out for me?

Coming back from mushroom picking with a full
bucket. Chanterelles and boletes.

I made mental lists and tried to prioritise what I was going to do. Outdoor gherkins were pulled up as they had suffered in the cold - maybe I should have covered them, but didn't think about it until too late. Next year I will. I dug up the carrots, but as I feared, not many germinated in the drought earlier on this year. I read a tip that might help with that and that is to water them in well and cover with a plank - I'm guessing that plastic will do just the same job or perhaps use the fleece instead. At least next year I should be able to get to the fleece. Before it's stored away, I think it might be an idea to cut it up into veg bed sized pieces, then they should be easy to cover in the spring. The bed I dug over might not have grown many carrots but at least the hemp crop from there was good and it makes an acceptable tea substitute. I've also cleared more beds of potatoes, both those where the potatoes were supposed to be growing and those where they were not. 

Not all mushrooms are edible but they sure look
pretty. I stay clear of white gilled mushrooms as
they tend to be the more poisonous ones and the 
most easily confused ones.

More of the same kind

These may or may not be edible. I
need to check them out to make
certain of what they are. Even if a 
mushroom is edible, we will not 
eat them if there is something they
can be easily confused with.

I planted garlic too in one of the empty potato beds. This is earlier than normal for me but they are mainly the bulblets that grew from garlic seed last year so it might do them good to get an early start. It was also a way of emptying some buckets in the greenhouse. I sowed more carrot seeds recently to see what happens, since the weather is wetter now and sure enough there was no problem with germination this time, they seem to have enjoyed the damp weather. We'll see how big they get over this autumn and into early winter. I will be covering these before the cold weather sets in, but the soil was still a bit dry in that area and so letting the rain get to them first helps. Carrots can take quite a bit of cold if they are wrapped up well and the mice don't get to them first.

It would be nice if these were edible
as there were lots of them, as you can
see.

Rocket Ron and Ginger Tom in the
hamster cage. They have since been
upgraded to an old chicken ark. At
least they have more space to play
in there. 

There is also a greenhouse to sort out, so we can let the kittens run around more. This is especially important as Rocket Ron escaped twice this evening from the chicken ark until I found out where he was escaping from. Eyre was not happy with him and went for him both times, so until they are used to each other, exploring time will have to be under supervision. They have learnt to associate the rattle of the feed tray anyway, so that will be helpful in rounding them up. Today was a damp miserable day and so perfect for being in the greenhouse to sort through the accumulated junk... I mean useful items in preparation for letting them out. Ian has been making shelves in the shed this week and so the stuff can be stored away and more importantly found easily. Slowly we are getting sorted and it is a good activity to do after an hour or so on the computer. 

Ilvija and Chanel. It is going to be hard to tell these
two apart. Ilvija is now as tall as Chanel. 

The cooler weather has finally given us some respite from flies that are causing havoc with some of our animals. I've even been able to leave bandages off so that wounds can dry out. I been putting cream on the sores each morning to give them a layer of protection from any flies and to protect them from dirt and that seems to be doing the trick. Chanel had to be restrained again to give her fleece another wash and put more lotion onto her legs. She screamed and spat and made it more difficult to restrain her by sitting down straightaway, but I don't think she was quite as bad as last time. She does sound very dramatic though. I was a bit shocked when I started gently scrubbing her skin and stuff seemed to be coming off in clumps. On closer examination, it seemed like the treatment was actually working and it was the dry crusty stuff that was coming off. The gunk also seemed to be coming out of her fleece as well. This is good news, but I really wish we didn't have to restrain her so much to treat her skin issues. She is the stressiest of all of them. Aggie isn't much better but at least I can get close enough to put something on her, even if she does spit to show her displeasure. 

Herkules does look a bit tatty but he is 16 and has
8 boys to put up with and keep in order. At least his
wound is healing nicely now. 

Ian noticed today that the fleece is growing back on
Herkules nose. Wish he could put some more weight
on though. It's not like he isn't getting enough to eat
he gets more extras than all the other alpacas and
Ian makes sure that Tellus doesn't steal it. 

Mari is very little trouble. She doesn't often have
skin issues, she's a good mum but not overly 
fussy or protective and she's intelligent. She does
have some bad habits though and eating through
the fence and using the fence to have a good scratch
are two of them. She's also passed those traits onto
her sons. I hope she passes on some good habits 
like her easy going nature like she did to her son
George to the next baby.

Sadly our municipality lost its no Covid19 status this last week. It is probably just one person, but certainly under 5. The incidence generally in Latvia is still low and is lowest in Europe and compares well with the rest of the world. There was talk this week of increasing the point at which people coming into the country have to self-isolate from 16 per 100,000 to 25 per 100,000. I'm pleased to say they did not change the rules just because the countries nearby, and part of the Baltic bubble, are struggling to keep their numbers down. Both Lithuania and Estonia have seen recent spikes in cases of the virus. So has Latvia, some due to contact with other known cases and some due to coming from different countries. Not all are known cases though. 

A caterpillar of some sort. As you can
tell, I haven't identified it yet.

Just a little bit further to get that tasty piece of grass.
Veronica is our oldest alpaca at 17. Not very old
for an alpaca but she is showing her age.

I've had different discussions with different people about the various approaches to the virus. Sweden is held up as an example of a sensible approach to take. Not everyone in Sweden agrees that it is a sensible approach and to compare another country with Sweden is not generally appropriate. Sweden is a large country with a small population that is mainly concentrated in the south of the country. There are often pictures in the media of Swedes not practising social distancing, but this does not show the many numbers who stay home or have gone to their summer home in the country, far away from the city. Having a country home is not the elitist thing that it can be in other countries, like the UK, so it is available as an option to more people. Swedes generally have adopted different behaviour by reducing their contact with others and they are not supposed to gather in groups of more than 50 and so on... (link here). So not quite so lax as people make out. 

Mr. P looking dapper again.

In discussion

So what is a sensible approach that some people seem to advocate? Wash hands and social distancing and all will be fine? That works great here where the numbers are still low. Keeping the viral load down (in other words not being in places where you breathe in a lot of virus), practising healthy habits such as eating the right food, making sure your Vitamin D, zinc, etc. levels are fine. Great! Wonderful! That will all help, but it does not necessarily make people immune from the disease it may reduce the severity - maybe. How long do vulnerable people have to self-isolate so that the rest of the country can get on back to normal? If getting back to "normal" results in spikes where hospitals are overwhelmed that will not help those who are vulnerable. It puts them at greater risk. I haven't got all the answers, I'm not an epidemiologist. What I do know is that a pandemic like this was expected for a long time. They will happen again and we shouldn't be complacent. We have to find a healthier way to live that respects the limits imposed by nature. Going back to "normal" is not an option and we have to think about a different future. Not one that condemns the vulnerable to what must feel like an eternity of isolation, just because others want to get back to normal, but one that is inclusive and people feel safe again.

Josefs and Freddie, our two sweetest alpacas have
been having some fights just lately. They are 
probably sorting out hierarchies as they are at
the bottom. However, it seems like little Jakobs
is usually the one that sets off the disagreements.

Yes this cute little alpaca does like to stir things
up a bit. He also likes to rub on fences like his mum.

Kitten cuddles

Mr. P looking very dashing

Since the beginning of July I was down to 14 hours a week. That was fine with me as I had been working hard up until the end of June working on projects and my PhD. The earnings had been good too and so there were no worries about money. I even had a holiday - well no academic work but plenty to keep me busy on the farm. So I eased myself back into work and tried to get the project work that hadn't been completed done - still a work in progress unfortunately, but still..., it left me with time to do the farm jobs. Now that has changed, but that's okay because the farm jobs are starting to come to an end and rainy days mean there is not as much to do - well kind of. There are still lots of potatoes to dig and the garden to tidy up, but there is time to do that over the autumn, there is not so much of a hurry because everything is growing slowly. Anyway all that to say that I started back with full-time employment this week as there is still enough project money to pay me, so I'm sorted now up to December. 

The boys field is looking much greener this year
than last year. Last year we were struggling to
find them fresh grass. This year they cannot 
eat it fast enough.

Ian had to mow this to stop the weeds and trees
from taking over.

Rocket Ron and Ginger Tom

I mentioned the devastating news of the loss of all our new chicks a couple of weeks ago. We decided that our two cats - good mousers that they are - were not enough to keep the rodent population under control. One morning Ian was telling me about a dream he had of getting two more cats, one was a yellow looking cat and he called it Turmeric and the other Ron. Later on in the day I went to see the vet and asked if she knew of any cats that needed a new home? Her eyes lit up and she said, "You want cats! Come and look." There were two boy kittens, one ginger and one a dashing black and white. They were feral but she had been getting them used to people, they were doing okay and not aggressive. I took pictures to show Ian and he was amazed to see they similar to the ones he'd dreamt about. We sorted out the hamster cage that the incubator had been in and went to fetch the boys. We also took our older ones to get their rather overdue vaccinations done. 

One of older cats must have caught this. Up until
this year, we have not seen rats and our cats have
not caught them, so the numbers must be increasing.
So hopefully these two youngsters will help to keep
these numbers down.

Rocket Ron is a bit of a handful. Twice a day
we take them out for cuddles to get them used to us.
I call him fidget widget as he never seems to stop.

Ginger Tom, is a much shyer kitten. In fact one 
afternoon he took off during cuddle time. Fortunately
he dashed into the greenhouse and so we rapidly
shut doors and I blocked off the escape hole while
Ian caught him. The greenhouse needs some emptying
out before they are let loose. Far too many places to hide
for a little kitten.

Do not let that sleepy pose deceive you. She is an
ace mouser.

Our three original boys, from left to right,
Herkules, Tellus and Turbjørn

Turbjørn is still struggling and we are still waiting for the vet to come and x-ray him. We had just about given up when Ian got a phone call to say he would come the following day at 4pm. We were so relieved, but it was short-lived because about midday Ian got a message to say that the vet's car had died and it was in the garage for repair. So close! We've had to put cream on Turbjørn's ears because the flies have been bugging him and he can't shake them off. He's been going around with his head down and long overdue for some more deep physio, but there isn't much point until he's had his x-ray. Sigh! We had to be so careful with him when we were cutting his toe-nails, which was one of this week's jobs. Fortunately he wasn't reacting like he used to and more or less stood still while Ian cut the nails and I held onto his head very gently. 

This is my best side!

Freddie escaped toe nail cutting this time around, 
as his were already cut due to needing bandages
on a sore spot. We cut his toe nails to stop him
using them to tear the bandage off, just in case.

Star performer! Josefs

As I said toe-nail cutting was one of this week's jobs. We started off with the boys, as they are often the easiest, except for Brencis. Jakobs played up a bit but he's small enough to deal with. Joesefs on the other hand was an absolute star. I hardly had to hold him at all, just enough to let him know that he shouldn't go anywhere. I wish they were all like that, life would be so much simpler. Vanessa's girl's were next and they were okay. Much better than about two years ago. Vanessa has always been good, once you get a hold of her and I was able to use the proper hold that cups under the head and at the back of the head. The others were a little bit more of a handful, especially Vanessa's daughter, Valeria, but I've known worse and we got there with them. 

Vanessa has a good reason to smile
she was relatively well behaved and
now has properly manicured nails-
well for an alpaca anyway.

Vanessa's girls up on oak tree hill. They do seem 
to enjoy it up there. There are lots of flowers but
not much grass, so not sure what it is they are 
eating.

Amanda and Silla coming down from the 
oak tree hill. Pruning and mowing are their 
specialities.

Veronica with her wobbly legs. She's still getting
about and doesn't seem to be in pain, just a bit
slow at times.

However...... Veronica's lot!!! Oh my! Veronica was okay, she's getting old and finds it hard to get away anyway, We just have to try and make sure she gets her balance. Mari was a bit of a handful and ended up being restrained against a wall, but we managed - that does sound worse than it was. Aggie was not a happy alpaca and fussed and was difficult, but again we managed. Chanel! Now that was different. She usually cushes, which means sitting on her legs, so we can't get to them under normal circumstances, so we had decided to take up the restraining ropes. We got her fastened down like at shearing time and then got hold of her daughter to cut her toe nails. There would have been no point trying to do it without Chanel being restrained because she stands between us and Ilvija if we are going to do anything. She's a good Mum, but not helpful. After cutting her toe nails we gave her legs a wash to try and soften some of the crusty skin and then I put on some nourishing lotion. She was not happy about this process and she still hasn't forgiven Ian after three days. She just keeps spitting at him. For a change I think she blames him rather than me. Aggie blames me though for anything that she disagrees with, like changing bandages and putting on cream. 

Chanel's crusty legs. She would be much better
if she would let us deal with them. 

"Don't come near me or I will spit at you!" This was
today, three days later and she still has not forgiven
Ian. My coat on the day was a lovely putrefied grass
green colour. She obviously did not appreciate the time
and effort that went into making the lotion for her. 

Good job that Ilvija is no where near as spitty as
her Mum. She moans about toe nail cutting, but
doesn't spit. Phew!

Mari showing off her manicure

My boss paid us a visit to collect some blackcurrant bushes for his garden. We have a very good variety that roots from cuttings easily and I had also found some rooted suckers that were in the way. As his family are of farming stock, I didn't feel bad about asking for help with Brencis. As I have mentioned before we can't manage to cut his toe nails on our own, not yet anyway. Hopefully one day he will calm down. Brencis didn't cooperate very well but we did get him sorted out, with only a few minor bumps along the way. We paid for the help by giving my boss a lunch of freshly picked mushrooms and tomatoes, and potatoes from our garden, home-baked bread, pickled cucamelons and chutney. Grapes fresh off the vine for dessert. I thought that worked out okay, a fair exchange.

Mari and the photographer in reflection

We have reds and whites. Not sure what varieties
either of them are, but they do taste nice.

I then spent the rest of the weekend digging up more potatoes. Now the long rows are finished and I just have short rows to do, but still a way to go. It is much easier if the plot has not got weedy and some are weedier than others. I must remember to mulch better next year as so many of the potatoes popped up and got green. Fortunately we have so many, it isn't an issue and if they are still okay next year, then we can use them as seed potatoes. Blight was another big problem this year. I don't think I got the tops cut off early enough and it has been a particularly wet year compared to others. The alpaca manure I think was a bit too fresh for a wet year, perfect in a dry year though. The potatoes that had grown from those left in the ground from the year before did a bit better and not as blighted. We shall have to watch them carefully in storage and check them regularly. We've managed before and they have lasted the winter. 

A good capture by Ian, a dragonfly in flight.
I love to see these flying about, knowing they are
helping to keep the biting bugs under some sort of
control.

The shed is looking good. Ian's not happy with
the door as it has dropped slightly. Still it is
just a shed, so not great but not the end of the
world either. 

Ian has been busy finishing off a small shed to replace the little greenhouse that fell down. The shed is a bit bigger than the floor space of the greenhouse and a lot taller, so we have plenty of space for the growing pots, feed bags and general gardening stuff. It will be nice to get that all out of the greenhouse and so we can work on that to make it a nice workshop space with a nice greenhouse ambiance. Well that's the plan! Bit by bit we are getting there. 

Greenhouse ambiance.

Not quite greenhouse ambiance as
Jerusalem artichokes trying to escape

The insects are still finding this tree fascinating.
We would love to know why. A group of hornets
feasting on something.

Not sure what the grub is or what the flies are
up to. Hmmm! 

Aggie with her bandage. We are getting through
the bandages between her, Freddie and Herkules.
Fortunately Freddie's has now healed. Aggie's was
nearly healed and then she scratched it again overnight
and it swelled up again. Fortunately I have found
honey seems to be the most effective at reducing
the swelling. The animals are getting through 
more honey than we are. Herkules original sore
is now well and truly healed but not sure if the 
plaster started another patch off and this
one is more difficult to bandage.

Some squashes from the field curing in the 
greenhouse.

A very broad but short rainbow between the 
trees tonight.

Autumn rains

Hello! Can I help you?

We thought we had finished shearing in June, but we had a late request. Unfortunately they had a bit of a long wait, as we were waiting to hear from the vet about an x-ray for Turbjørn. We had hoped the vet would come at the beginning of August but we finally got a message to say it will be this next week. Poor guy. He's still eating and getting about but he's still not right. It will be good to get some answers as to what the problem is.

Turbjørn and his twisted neck

Aggie with her bandage. She and her stablemates were all kept in
 and so were the boys so that Herk and Aggie don't get their bandages
wet. They were finally let out this evening for a few hours after it
finished raining and only in the paddock where the grass is short.

A sunset that promised rain

It's a shame the shearing wasn't the week before as the weather was much drier. We planned to shear on the driest day forecast and we planned to turn up early as there was still rain forecast for the afternoon. Pah! It was a lovely drive there but as soon as we arrived we noticed the clouds on the horizon. Not being from around there we weren't sure how long the rain would hold off or whether it would come at all. Our host assured us it wasn't due to rain, so we set up and started on the first animal. We were just over half way through when the rain started. 

My sister posted pictures of the Duddon valley
which we used to visit as kids. Heather always
reminds me of the Lake District and so I was
pleased to find some growing on our land. It's
probably taken advantage of the increased light
after trees were cut down. I think I might have to 
relocate some to my garden.

George, you are not supposed to be eating through the fence!

Our host immediately organised some of the kids to hold umbrellas over the equipment while she held one over Ian as he sheared. Let's just say, it wasn't a pleasant experience and a good job that Ian doesn't take long and can speed up significantly when he has to. I felt sorry for one young lass as she was standing out in the rain until it was suggested she could fit under the umbrella too, so there she was a rather wet young lass, crouched under the umbrella protecting the equipment. As soon as we had released the alpaca we rushed to get everything under cover. Unfortunately we got rather wet in the process and a bit chilled and we still had two alpacas to go. 

Veronica at the front, our old lady, who should know better and
Mari, George's mother, both eating through the fence. Okay
so this is partly because they weren't let out of the paddock into
the long grass because of Aggie. No wonder the wire on the 
fence is stretched.

Silla looking a little damp.

We dried off as much as we could but our floor coverings were too wet to do much about. Our host managed to find some old plastic and carpet though for the dusty old barn floor that we had decamped to. As we got ready to start shearing the other two, the rain eased off and the sun came out. Heh ho! At least the animals wouldn't get wet getting them from the barn where they were to the barn where we were working. The last two animals were not as much of a problem. I forgot to mention that the first one was also a squealer, a wee-er and dribbled green spit everywhere. 

Nasturtiums in a pot outside our greenhouse.

Eggs in the incubator. I nearly created a disaster this week
when I accidentally unplugged the incubator overnight, 
however, it looks like it might be okay according to my
research. I hope so! Time will tell. These are in the
greenhouse where the cats keep unwanted critters away.

We rounded off the shearing with a good lunch and lots of chat. I at least had dry clothes to change into, but Ian didn't. He did get lent a jacket to put on though. Note to self: Always take a change of clothes and ahem, include underwear. Enough said! The trip back was mainly in the sunshine too, although we could see the dark clouds to the north of us as we headed that way. The rest of the week was pretty much the same, sunshine and showers on most days. 

Sedums relocated to my garden from the field before they get eaten

You can see Herk's bandage. At least he doesn't seem to be 
able to scratch these off but sometimes they do roll down a
bit. I also suspect that one of the types of plasters maybe
irritating his skin. Sigh! The original wound healed well, 
but now another section is raw. 

It's September tomorrow - how did that happen? It only seemed like a few days ago when we were looking at the calendar and thinking, goodness me it's August already. Another year flying by at tremendous speed. I seem to have spent quite a bit of time this last week sorting out the alpacas with skin issues. The flies have been awful. We were hoping the cooler weather would reduce them, but no such luck. The rain has also meant damp bandages and that is not helping, as it means more regular changes are needed. What they really need is some fresh air and for them to dry out - they would heal much better. But fresh air means they are being eaten alive by the flies, so they need covering and so it goes on. At least Freddie is finally bandage free and the flies haven't bothered him any more. One down, two to go.

Clouds after the rain

The marigolds look so pretty in the rain

The large tomato Ian photographed last week
finally ripened and yes, that is correct 741g

I have been interspersing academic work this week with gardening jobs and food processing for winter. I now have quite a few jars of boiled down tomato sauce and bottles of cucumbers. I also have dug up some potatoes. There were quite a few blighted ones, but there were also a lot that were perfectly fine and so we have one wheelbarrow full of potatoes from just the one row. Only another five long rows and seven short ones to go. 

Tomato sauce sterilising and soup cooking in the slow cooker

There are some full grown carrots in there, somewhere and
there are some seedling ones too. At least the hemp is gone
now and hanging up to dry.

Our red apple tree is now producing green apples. We think
the deer damage has killed the graft and this is from the
rootstock. 

We certainly live in strange times and one thing I cannot quite get used to is being told to do my research on a particular topic where I've disagreed with someone. Not just once but several times. It is quite bizarre as research is what I do. It's my job, it's my hobby. I had to stop using Google to do research on the internet because it couldn't cope with the diverse research I do. The algorithms were trying to be too clever and second guess what I wanted to know. It's not very helpful! I use DuckDuckGo now. The reason I don't need to have something second guess me is that I'm quite capable of inputting the keywords needed to get the information I want. Sometimes it needs a bit of tweaking, but I can find out information quite fast. I've spent the last 12 years doing it. I'm a scientist, but I'm also aware that scientists are biased to some degree. I'm a scientist who likes facts, but I also know those facts are set in a specific context and forms only one side of a story. Science is messy, full of uncertainties, is constantly evolving, revising itself as more knowledge is found. 

A Jerusalem artichoke flower

A bedraggled and battered garden after the rains. The Jersualem
artichokes at the back and marshmallow at the front.

The chickens safe but still pestered by the eagle

Does this mean that scientists cannot be trusted? Not at all, they are mostly working to the best they can with the current knowledge. It makes me cringe when people say, "Look at the facts!" or "We go by what science says," sometimes without really understanding the science behind those facts. Sometimes scientists need more humility and be able to say, "This is what we think according to the facts we have at the moment," but often people just need to know that science cannot say this will happen with 100% certainty. My first degree was in Pharmacology and Chemistry and people often wonder why medicines have such a long list of side-effects. The answer is that each person is unique and responds differently to the medicine. Mainly they will see a benefit in taking the medicine, but if not, then it could be any combination of effects, but usually they are minimal. In other words the manufacturer cannot guarantee with 100% what the result will be, although there are standards set to make sure that most of the time they do.

Ian says this looks like a pacman convention

Ian has been making progress on the little shed, in between
the rain. 

The same goes for vaccines. On the whole, most people will not experience many problems, some will experience minor ones and much more rarely some may have a severe reaction. However, getting sick with the disease a vaccine could prevent, is more risky. Injections are not fun and taking kids to be "stabbed" can feel traumatic. I had one that would go as white as a sheet every time and one that had to go with his dad because he wouldn't let the nurse near. What I do know though is that I was protecting my kids from something worse. It was a risk, but the risks from not doing it were greater. I do not want to return to the Victorian times when death and disease were constantly at the door. Over use of antibiotics and under use of vaccines could send us back to those times and not something I want to see. Healthy food and healthy environments will get us so far, but sometimes we need some extra help to stay healthy and I for one am glad we have modern medicines and scientists who are trying to improve what we know.

Some different mushrooms

A strange name for a strange fungi, Common Fibre Vase. They
look like someone has done a distressed finish on some wooden
flowers.

A rather large boletes mushroom

A cute mushroom, Winter Russula. Not one we eat.

Coral mushrooms

A trip up to the squashes

A meandering pathway

Squash plants growing on manure heaps

The winter squashes are growing well

Unfortunately the snails are proliferating in the wet weather.
I have been collecting them and feeding them to the chickens