6/3:
My pants are so wet they stick to my legs and my fleece is slimy with mud and grease. Rain is back on schedule so silage work continues although now harder and faster. Rosie, Emmett and I are standing on the silage pit. After having already put down the tarps, it is now time to weigh everything down with tires so we wait above while Tom and Brennan load up the backhoe with slimy odl tires. We fing them out over the vast expanse of tarpo and moldy water oozes out, running down into the shed. To keep motivated we make competitions for ourselves, who is the dirtiest or who can fling the furthest.
Showing posts with label Rosie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rosie. Show all posts
Friday, June 4, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Silage
6/2:
Around here people still talk about "the olden days" on a regular basis. It's silage time now so of course it comes up even more often these days. Rosie explains that in other times, silage was a big happening about the community where all the neighbors came together to help each other out, each contributing what they could. Nowadays it's all done through contractors who come to work the whole day (8am-11pm). They're serious about their job and almost never utter a word except a few mumbles when they come in to devour their lunch.
Around here people still talk about "the olden days" on a regular basis. It's silage time now so of course it comes up even more often these days. Rosie explains that in other times, silage was a big happening about the community where all the neighbors came together to help each other out, each contributing what they could. Nowadays it's all done through contractors who come to work the whole day (8am-11pm). They're serious about their job and almost never utter a word except a few mumbles when they come in to devour their lunch.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Rabbit rabbit!
6/1:
My arms and legs ache. Not so much from hard work, but from nettle burns. I spent a good chunk of the sunny (!) afternoon carting wheel barrows full of stinging nettles down to Clovis' compost pile. Rosie taught me to use bruised dock leaves (which always grow together with nettles) to calm the welts but even with this trick I still feel slight throbbing in the affected areas.
The day was a lot less dairy-centric than yesterday because Tom pulled me aside to help with all the animals that had to be moved.
First Rosie, Brennan and I loaded up onto the moto to go pick up a newborn calf in the field and bring back its mom for milking. After heaving the slumbering calf into the back, we had to convince the new mom to follow. We managed to get her started with some cajoleing so we set off down the road to walk the mile of road back to the farm. Despite a lot of cow chasing and near escapes we made it back remarkably quick and left mother and child alone together in a pen.
Next on the list was to move three sows and their litters. First we moved the fierce wild sow with her tiny piglets in with the rest of the wild pigs. The second two moms were easier because they had been put into farrowing crates from the very beginning. After moving the moms first, we chased the piglets around the tiny room and caught them one by one, holding them by one leg as they shrieked bloody murder. After this crazy early afternoon of animals, I went back to weed more nettles before checking on the newest batch of chicks. I had found a few cracked eggs in the incubator in the morning so I sprayed them and waited for a few hours for the real hatching to begin. Sure enough when I went back, three new chicks had emerged and were peeping about the warm interior. One of life's greatest miracles fo sho.
My arms and legs ache. Not so much from hard work, but from nettle burns. I spent a good chunk of the sunny (!) afternoon carting wheel barrows full of stinging nettles down to Clovis' compost pile. Rosie taught me to use bruised dock leaves (which always grow together with nettles) to calm the welts but even with this trick I still feel slight throbbing in the affected areas.
The day was a lot less dairy-centric than yesterday because Tom pulled me aside to help with all the animals that had to be moved.
First Rosie, Brennan and I loaded up onto the moto to go pick up a newborn calf in the field and bring back its mom for milking. After heaving the slumbering calf into the back, we had to convince the new mom to follow. We managed to get her started with some cajoleing so we set off down the road to walk the mile of road back to the farm. Despite a lot of cow chasing and near escapes we made it back remarkably quick and left mother and child alone together in a pen.
Next on the list was to move three sows and their litters. First we moved the fierce wild sow with her tiny piglets in with the rest of the wild pigs. The second two moms were easier because they had been put into farrowing crates from the very beginning. After moving the moms first, we chased the piglets around the tiny room and caught them one by one, holding them by one leg as they shrieked bloody murder. After this crazy early afternoon of animals, I went back to weed more nettles before checking on the newest batch of chicks. I had found a few cracked eggs in the incubator in the morning so I sprayed them and waited for a few hours for the real hatching to begin. Sure enough when I went back, three new chicks had emerged and were peeping about the warm interior. One of life's greatest miracles fo sho.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Gubbeen at last
5/30:
I immediately show my true colors -- when Rosie picks me up we walk up to her little white car and I go straight for the right side. She smiles and I sheepishly walk around to get in on the left side. Kipper the bulldog is in the back and he greets me with a big doggy smile. The drive is nearly an hour and a half but it goes by in a flash for me. We pass countless towns, each beautiful and quaint with cobblestone streets and tiny colorful houses jammed together. I want to stop at each town. Rosie keeps apologizing for the fact that there's no roadway btu I assure her that I ADORE the tiny country roads and little sights we get to see. The radio quietly plays opera and Irish music as we cruise through green in a light misty sprinkle of rain. We finally round a corner and I see ocean, we've arrived at Schull and we pull off the road to see Tom at the Farmer's market. I shake his rouch hand and he feeds me salami with pistachio in it while Rosie hands me slices of Gubbeen. We stop at the stand next door to buy some Irish soda bread which looks dark and hefty. After getting two gourmet burgers at another stand we chew and swallow as we walk the main (and only) street of Schull. There is a film festival going on this weekend so the town is covered in blue and yellow confetti and streamers. We say hi to everyone that passes. In just the one street there are probably about 4 or 5 pubs. Rosie promises we'll go. We pass a bookstore, fish monger, grocery store, pharmacy, health food store and a handful of other stores before we come to the end. We turn around to get the car and then we drive for a few minutes until we get to Gubbeen House. We turn off the main road and enter through a beautiful wooded area that opens up to reveal a fairytale bunch of buildings. More cobblestones cover the ground and 300 year old buildings make it look like I've just stepped into a postcard. I can see why people believe in fairies, gnomes and leprechauns around here.
I take my bags over to my luxurious trailer (with electricity, hot water and even a bathroom!) which looks out to a buttercup-covered field.
After changing shoes Rosie takes me to tour the farm. The smell of cows scents the air gently as we walk the paths until we reach the dairy. The smell of cheese, brine, whey and salt fill the air. We pass hundreds of cheese rounds and I get more and more excited about my first day tomorrow. We meet Rose who comes every Sunday to brine and wash all the cheeses. After our tour of the dairy Rosie takes me to see the animals. A handful of chickens peck around the yard and a huge goose with a shining orange beak hisses viciously at us. Rosie sends a kick in his direction and he quiets down. We pass in to the incubator room where a rucous of peeping comes from dozens of chicks. Back outside peacocks strut about as we walk over to see the newborn calves, ducklings and piglets. Then Tom invites me for dinner and we eat delicious lemon sole, chips, and peas. I meet Rosie's boyfriend Brennan and then almost collapse from exhaustion on my way back home. The door of my trailer has barely closed before I land on the bed fast asleep.
I immediately show my true colors -- when Rosie picks me up we walk up to her little white car and I go straight for the right side. She smiles and I sheepishly walk around to get in on the left side. Kipper the bulldog is in the back and he greets me with a big doggy smile. The drive is nearly an hour and a half but it goes by in a flash for me. We pass countless towns, each beautiful and quaint with cobblestone streets and tiny colorful houses jammed together. I want to stop at each town. Rosie keeps apologizing for the fact that there's no roadway btu I assure her that I ADORE the tiny country roads and little sights we get to see. The radio quietly plays opera and Irish music as we cruise through green in a light misty sprinkle of rain. We finally round a corner and I see ocean, we've arrived at Schull and we pull off the road to see Tom at the Farmer's market. I shake his rouch hand and he feeds me salami with pistachio in it while Rosie hands me slices of Gubbeen. We stop at the stand next door to buy some Irish soda bread which looks dark and hefty. After getting two gourmet burgers at another stand we chew and swallow as we walk the main (and only) street of Schull. There is a film festival going on this weekend so the town is covered in blue and yellow confetti and streamers. We say hi to everyone that passes. In just the one street there are probably about 4 or 5 pubs. Rosie promises we'll go. We pass a bookstore, fish monger, grocery store, pharmacy, health food store and a handful of other stores before we come to the end. We turn around to get the car and then we drive for a few minutes until we get to Gubbeen House. We turn off the main road and enter through a beautiful wooded area that opens up to reveal a fairytale bunch of buildings. More cobblestones cover the ground and 300 year old buildings make it look like I've just stepped into a postcard. I can see why people believe in fairies, gnomes and leprechauns around here.
I take my bags over to my luxurious trailer (with electricity, hot water and even a bathroom!) which looks out to a buttercup-covered field.
After changing shoes Rosie takes me to tour the farm. The smell of cows scents the air gently as we walk the paths until we reach the dairy. The smell of cheese, brine, whey and salt fill the air. We pass hundreds of cheese rounds and I get more and more excited about my first day tomorrow. We meet Rose who comes every Sunday to brine and wash all the cheeses. After our tour of the dairy Rosie takes me to see the animals. A handful of chickens peck around the yard and a huge goose with a shining orange beak hisses viciously at us. Rosie sends a kick in his direction and he quiets down. We pass in to the incubator room where a rucous of peeping comes from dozens of chicks. Back outside peacocks strut about as we walk over to see the newborn calves, ducklings and piglets. Then Tom invites me for dinner and we eat delicious lemon sole, chips, and peas. I meet Rosie's boyfriend Brennan and then almost collapse from exhaustion on my way back home. The door of my trailer has barely closed before I land on the bed fast asleep.
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