Upcoming Adventures

Almost.....but not quite
For a couple of days early in the week, Veve and I thought we might get to share some of our adventures with my sister, Sharon.  Unfortunately, the timing was incredibly bad as we were trying to get her to come over in March which is year end for the Canadian government.  With her being in the accounting field, that is about the worst time of the year to try to go on vacation.

Zurich
Shortly after she advised us it was a no-go, I got an email from Mind My House with a new posting in which a home owner just outside of Zurich, Switzerland was looking for someone to look after their 4 parrots from March 1 to 12.  We applied but were turned down as some other people had applied before us and she went with them.  Then we applied to a couple of HelpXs in France and were promptly turned down.  We were getting a little nervous when we got an email from Switzerland saying the first house sitters had backed out and were we available. 

So, we are off to Wadenswil, Switzerland on February 29th to take care of 2 parakeets and 2 African Grey parrots. 

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Agde and Vimy Ridge, France
After our parrot adventure, we intend to head to Vimy Ridge to get some military history for Michel and then off to see Diane, a friend of his family.  She is like an extra sister. 

Diane only just moved to Agde recently.  Her grandson is in Agde on a soccer scholarship and her husband is a project manager with a major oil and gas firm and manages large projects in northern Africa so Agde is very well situated for her.

Wadi Rum, Jordan
In early April, we have arranged another a help exchange with Zedane Al-Zalabeih of the Bedouin Meditation Camp in Jordan!  We are very excited to be spending a month in the desert.  Look at the bottom of the map of Jordan below and you will see the city of Aqaba.  Wadi Rum is just east of it.

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Turkey
Then it is off to Istanbul to meet up with Monique (kayak girl!! We love you for introducing us to this wonderful sport!) for a bit of touring and then a glorious week of kayaking!  We will be starting the kayak trip in Koycegiz and making our way through Koycegiz Lake, down the river/estuary into the Mediteranean Sea and making our way to Gocek.  The map below shows the land route from our start point to our destinations but you should be able to figure out the water passage from the map and my description above (cause I have smart friends and family, right!).

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And then we start collecting the bread crumbs we have left during our journey so we can find our way home.  Yes, the year will be drawing to a close as we head back to Montreal to visit the family, pick up the car and make our way back across Canada.

Birthday Wishes to Agent 008

Dear Agent 008,

I am a bad spy..........I totally missed your birthday!  Remembered it on my birthday!!

Hope you did something fun and got some good pressies!

Sasha

Cornwall Highlights

St. Micheal's Mount
On our first weekend at the farm, David took us out with him and Frankie on their Sunday walk.  We went to St. Micheal's Mount.  It is interesting because there is another site in France called St. Michel's Mount and they both are islands just off shore and when the tide comes in, you can't get to them except by boat.  We had a great time walking on the beach and playing ball with Frankie.  Unfortunately, by the time we got to the end of the beach with St. Micheal's on it, the tide had started to come in and as you can see in the picture below, we couldn't get to the island.

I am not sure if it is considered an extreme sport when you kite surf in the kind of weather that Cornwall has in January.  It wasn't freezing but there is no way you could have gotten me into the water on this day.  We were wearing touques and mitts!

Porthleven
On the first Saturday at the farm, all of us went to Porthleven, a very cute fishing/vacation village not far from the farm.  The ocean was amazing as it crashed into the cliffs.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.

We also stopped in at a great pub for some ale and crisps (Frankie's favorite after walk snack).

Dyeing Fibre
Angela and I dyed some yarn from her alpacas.  I did yarn from Tamaroo (not part of the herd anymore).  She also had a small amount of fleece (I can't remember from which alpaca - may have been Brilliance).  We used annatto seeds to get this great butter cream color.

Learning to Drive a Tractor
During our second week, David offered me the opportunity to learn to drive the tractor.  I jumped at the opportunity!  I am turning into a real farm girl on some levels.  I have a great time driving the tractor and even got to pull tree stumps out with the tractor.  I can't say the same thing for learning to use the chainsaw.  Don't worry, no accidents - it's just that I don't enjoy using the chainsaw the way I like driving the tractor.

Anyway - back to the tractor. Frankie believes that she owns the tractor and so she sits in the seat whenever it is being driven.  It leaves precious little room for anyone else's butt so there is always a little maneuvering that needs to happen

The yellow in the picture is the seat - note where I am in
comparison to the seat!

Michel pulling tree stumps!
He is my hee-man!

Touring Truro
Our second weekend, we went into Truro on Saturday and toured around downtown.  It is a nice little town.  We decided to see the movie "The Artist" which is pretty close to being a silent movie.  It is a good show and can recommend seeing it.

The Lizard
The Lizard is the most southerly point of main land UK.  Last weekend, I went with David and Frankie for a walk to see it.  Another amazing coast line.  We walked along the top of the cliffs to get to the specific point called "The Lizard".  Can you see the lizard in the picture below?

Spot the Lizard - it has nothing to do with the 2 shetland ponies!

Look at the green lichen on the rock.

My poor pieds were tired by the time we were finished as we had walked 7 miles - can't remember the last time I walked that far.

David and Frankie heading towards the Lizard.

No matter where we go - a portion of my farm look
comes with me.

Green Acres is the place for me.......................

I love being a farmer's helper!  And Michel does too!  Who woulda guessed? 

However, after 2 weeks on the farm, I am confident in the knowledge that I could never be a farmer.  I don't mind the picking of poo and the hard work - it is that you never get a break - not even on the weekends.  I love weekends too much to give them up.

That being said, we are having such a good time, we have committed to stay until the end of February.

But now for the 411 on where we be:

The Players
David (human) - married to Angela, an retired electrical engineer, now the main maintenance guy on the farm and a lover of long walks, especially with Frankie.

Angela (human) - married to David, the alpha to the alpacas, a cat and dog lover and the person who knows all the steps to make the alpaca fleece into yarn.

Frankie (thinks she is human but is a dog) - Frankie is a collie and is an integral part of the running of the farm.  She believes that all HelpXers are merely placed on earth to play ball with her.  She is such a good dog that you can't help but love her.  She also has the saddest puppy dog eyes that it breaks your heart.

Harvey (cat) - like most cats.......we are only here to serve him at his whim.  He is also an extraordinary hunter.  Almost daily, he brings his prey into the kitchen (maybe still alive) and proceeds to eat it. I generally have to walk out of the kitchen as the crunching sound kinda freaks me out.  One day, after he had is "treat", I had to point out that there were remains on the floor ......apparently he didn't want to eat the intestines.

Ralph (cat - aka: Fat Cat) - he has the easy life.  He is not as prolific a killer but is a great eater.

Ralph brings home the bacon!!

Chickens with No Names: There were 2 chickens when we arrived but one died last week.........it's ok though, I had only met him once so we were not close.  The remaining chicken went to the neighbors' friends who live on the Isles of Scilly in St. Agnes.  The chicken got to fly as hand luggage to get there!  But she will live a life of tranquility as there are no natural predators for chickens on the Isles of Scilly.  Lucky girl!

The Alpacas
Aurora (f) -  Huacaya (pronounced "wa-kai-a"), herd leader of the girls, white/faun colored

Tabitha (f) - Suri (their coat is different from Huacaya and more prized), white/faun colored, mother to Cenicienta.

Cenicienta (f) - Suri, daughter to Tabitha, white/faun colored.  Tabitha and Ceni (for short) are very close.

Orla (f) - Huacaya, black colored but with spots of discoloration (this is considered a flaw), mother to Gitana.

Gitana (f) - Huacaya, dark brown, daughter to Orla.  They are not as close as Tabitha and Ceni.

Luna Lana (f) - Huacaya, white/faun colored and the cutest looking of all the girls.

Brilliance (f) - Huacaya, white/faun colored, the last to get anywhere and probably considered the least attractive.  However, she is my favorite because she actually lets me touch and pet her.

Brilliance - Brilli to close friends - like me!!!

Asteroid (m) - Huacaya, a gelding, white/faun colored and a real bully.  You have to be aware of where he is all the time because he may decide to run at you or try to intimidate you.  The other day, I was walking in the field (about the 4th time that day) and I looked up and there he was, running at me.  I shouted at him to stop and held up my hand and he stoped a couple feet from me but continued to "posture" to let me know who was in charge.  He got sold this past week and will be moving to his new home in the next couple of weeks.

Cappucino (m) - Huacaya, stud, white/faun colored and the eldest of the boys.  If Asteroid wasn't so pushy, Cappucino would probably be leaders of the boys.

Flecki (m) - I don't know his full name, just his nickname.  Huacaya, a gelding, milk chocolate colored.  He was sold at the same time to the same people that bought Asteroid so he will be leaving also.

Tolstoy (m) - Huacaya, white/faun colored.  The prettiest/fluffiest of the boys.

Principe (m) - Suri, brother to Ceni and son to Tabitha, white/faun colored.

Interesting Alpaca Facts

• Males and females are kept in separate fields so the boys don't fight over the girls and so there are no unwanted pregnancies.
• They are "communal" pooers which means they have "poo patches" in their fields where they all go to the bathroom - makes picking poo easier.
• Female alpacas can get pregnant at any time but it takes 11 months for her to come to term.
• When they are stressed, the herd members hum to one another to try to ease their stress.
• They spit - so far, not on me or Michel!

 
Daily Schedule
The rythem of life is busy but slow at the same time.  It runs something like this:

7:30-8am - get up and get ready - this really doesn't take much - it's throw some water on your face, brush your teeth, put on long johns and multiple shirts/sweaters and head down for breaky.

9am - Head out to work - Mitzi helps Angela feed/clean up after the girls - Michel works with David doing odd jobs (fixing fencing, preping a gate for hanging, fixing broken tools, etc)

10:30am - stop for tea

11:30-12 - Head back out to work.  Usually odd jobs for both Michel and Mitzi

1-2pm ish - Stop for lunch.

2-3pm ish - Head back out to work.  This is usually when we work on the hedge.  Imagine the wonderful stone walls that Cornwall is known for.  Cover it with trees of many sorts, bramble, bracken and fill it with animal holes.  Now make the vegetation grow out from the wall about 5-7 feet.  Our job is to cut all this down to reclaim many square feet of field, help get rid of the animal life (badgers, rabbits, moles, voles, etc) and make it easier for David to use the tractor to manage the fields.

5-6pm - Head back in to start supper.

8-9pm - Finish eating dinner and start relaxing (aka: watching the Vicar of Dibley)

Weather
Cornwall weather in the winter is constantly changing - from raining to drizzling to mizzling (a misty drizzle).  It does stop from time to time but it is never far away (only mear minutes or hours - never days!).  The majority of the time there is some kind of cloud cover but just last week we had two days that were predominately sunny - very exciting! You get used to it though and English people are as preoccupied with talking about the weather as Canadian's are. 

Farming Fashion 
The standard uniform when working is a full rain suit. It is just much easier rather than carrying the gear with you and changing in and out of it when it stops/starts raining.

Michel and I like to wear fleece long johns underneath to stay toasty warm.  Like mountaineering, layering is very important.  Most days, I have on a t-shirt, wool turtleneck and a light fleece sweater. 

I can now understand why Wellies are such a big thing here.  With all the rain, there is mud everywhere and it is the only way to keep your feet dry.

Getting ready in the morning is also easy because you only need to slap on some deoderant, wash your face, brush your teeth, don your attire and you are ready to rock and roll.

Here, I sport the "no rain pants" option as we are about to head into town to do some shopping.  Life is great when you get older and don't care what you look like.  However, some fashionistas may note that my lovely tartan wellies match the green of my coat.......a complete accident!

The latest in farm fashion

And now for some fun pics..........................................

Frankie and Harvey after a hard day of work!!!! 

I am sending this into John Deere for their 2013
calendar!!!!

After a year of knitting - Sharon's Xmas gift is done!!!
Now I just have to mail it to her.

Angela makes Chicken Pot Pie for dinner.

But Michel gets a special Chicken Pot Pie w/o mushrooms.
Can we say spoiled!!!



An Excuse.....a poor one, but one none the less

Big apologies to everyone about not blogging about the farm as of yet.  I am working on a big posting but we generally don't finish the day until about 7 or 8pm (when we have had dinner and done the dishes) and we were both pretty exhausted every night the first week.

As well, I am also going to use David and Angela as scapegoats as they have introduced us to an old TV series called "The Vicar of Dibley" and when we have had energy, we have been watching it.  I am pretty sure Liz showed me an episode or two but seeing it from the beginning has put everything into perspective.  It is very funny.  However, we are coming to the close of the series so I will continue to work on my blog.

The big news of the day is that Angela and David sold 2 of their boy alpacas today (Asteroid and Flecky).  They will stay on the farm for a couple of weeks about the new owners put up some fencing and shelters.  However, they will leave before we do.

We are both loving the farm - will tell you more in my next post.