The Good, the Bad and the Lovely
It's been a challenging start to farm life. Let's begin with the positives: the people here are amazing, Jon and Laura are so dedicated and have hearts of gold. And it's a pleasure working with Rieke and Thorge, they don't shirk and they're always positive and funny. The animals are lovely, Eira the welsh sheepdog is incredibly charming and keeps us all sane.
On the other hand there's the weather. When it's wet, well, let's just say the mud gets everywhere, and the chickens live on a very steep slope so everybody gets covered in mud pretty quickly. When it's sunny, don't get me wrong the sun is glorious, but at night it's bloody cold. And getting out of bed into an air temp of -2°C is no joke. Seriously. -2°C at 8 o'clock in the morning. Also the frost froze all the water in the pipes this week which means lugging buckets of water all over the farm so that the birds don't die of thirst. They are soooooo thirsty!!
We have all been ill, taking it in turns to skip days of work which obviously slows things down. And everything here seems to break down at incredibly inconvenient moments. Oh and lets not forget that we are worryingly close to running out of wood. That little thought sits at the back of my mind and eats away at my sanity.
Nonetheless! The stars are magical. The sun on the bare trees is magical. Eating meals together, despite the mayhem, is magical. It's all round pretty magical here. It's a taste of something real, something that I have been looking for, and maybe something that we're all looking for.
It becomes clearer every day that our society is in a pretty dire situation. Climate emergency, politics, plastic pollution, environmental degradation, these are things that we are aware of constantly, and often talk about. And yet, against all the odds, Jon, Laura and Esme are enjoying life and constantly loving each other, which is such a privilege to watch and be a small part of. They have been hit with so many set backs over the past couple of months, like really serious set backs that cost them money and labour and no small amount of stress, but they still laugh and cherish moments with each other and their daughter. And they still have room in their hearts for me, Rieke and Thorge!
I am endlessly amazed. Sorry I dont have any picture of them. It doesnt feel right to take pictures.
And finally, a small update on me: I have become much better at building fires but have eaten all my snacks :( and mum, dad, marianne and josh are coming to visit on Friday. I cant wait to see you guys! (And also please bring snacks. Snacks are very important).
Thank you for reading. More updates soon, and I also post little snippets on Instagram
A break in the rain - and Rieke in the bottom left corner
On the other hand there's the weather. When it's wet, well, let's just say the mud gets everywhere, and the chickens live on a very steep slope so everybody gets covered in mud pretty quickly. When it's sunny, don't get me wrong the sun is glorious, but at night it's bloody cold. And getting out of bed into an air temp of -2°C is no joke. Seriously. -2°C at 8 o'clock in the morning. Also the frost froze all the water in the pipes this week which means lugging buckets of water all over the farm so that the birds don't die of thirst. They are soooooo thirsty!!
Checking eggs for cracks
We have all been ill, taking it in turns to skip days of work which obviously slows things down. And everything here seems to break down at incredibly inconvenient moments. Oh and lets not forget that we are worryingly close to running out of wood. That little thought sits at the back of my mind and eats away at my sanity.
Nonetheless! The stars are magical. The sun on the bare trees is magical. Eating meals together, despite the mayhem, is magical. It's all round pretty magical here. It's a taste of something real, something that I have been looking for, and maybe something that we're all looking for.
Alan the alpaca - alpacas keep the foxes at bay
It becomes clearer every day that our society is in a pretty dire situation. Climate emergency, politics, plastic pollution, environmental degradation, these are things that we are aware of constantly, and often talk about. And yet, against all the odds, Jon, Laura and Esme are enjoying life and constantly loving each other, which is such a privilege to watch and be a small part of. They have been hit with so many set backs over the past couple of months, like really serious set backs that cost them money and labour and no small amount of stress, but they still laugh and cherish moments with each other and their daughter. And they still have room in their hearts for me, Rieke and Thorge!
I am endlessly amazed. Sorry I dont have any picture of them. It doesnt feel right to take pictures.
And finally, a small update on me: I have become much better at building fires but have eaten all my snacks :( and mum, dad, marianne and josh are coming to visit on Friday. I cant wait to see you guys! (And also please bring snacks. Snacks are very important).
Thank you for reading. More updates soon, and I also post little snippets on Instagram
Best send me a full list of preferred snacks; plus do you need a thermal bedtime hat? 😘😘
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