Things on the farm are going well, I have settled into more of less of a routine in the mornings and after that every day has something new in store for me.
I rise and shine with the roosters every morning... 6am (except on the weekends) an since I'm usually the first one out of the house I take the dogs for a walk. The dogs are a huge Italian Mastif and a little pug. Both of them were orphaned because they have major health problems and Liela happily adopted them. They are great dogs but have a sad story and take a lot of care. When the doggy business is done it's off to feed and water the goats, rabbits and chicken. With the two of us working together (the strange German and myself) this usually takes about an hour. Thankfully Hartwig takes care of the pigs, they are HUGE 500lbs and have big teeth and have been known to chase. I haven't yet built up the nerve to cross over into the pig pen. They are hilarious looking and true to their name eat absolutely everything: walnut shells, coffee grinds, tea leafs, moldy onions, rotting potatoes... nothing will go to waste in this house. Then the German (the other helper) and I make ourselves a large breakfast, sadly what has always been my favorite meal of the day has become my least because usually it's just me and him as the kids are off to school with Hartwig. When Leila is up me and her go do the goat milking (I'm getting better everyday) and care for them which has come to be a lot.
Last weekend we took a trip to a friends farm who are being forced to moved off and they were in desperate help to get the place cleared out and cleaned. It was a great drive through the country, we passed through 4 of Austria's 9 districts. Lot's of big snowy mountains and lovely valleys, the little villages are so great! Once we got there the work was not so pleasant. A huge goat stable needed to be cleaned. It was filthy and back breaking but we managed to get it all done and it was definitely something to feel good about at the end of the day. From that farm we took 13 more goats with us which take a lot of tending to so the days have been very full. One has a bad injury on its udder and it has twins so only one of the babies is getting milk so we have to chase down another goat who has plenty of milk and get her to let the little one to drink from her. She doesn't like it though so tries to sit on the baby and it's such a struggle to hold it up and keep the baby there while 25 other goats are surrounding you seeking attention. I told Leila of my dry and troublesome skin and she introduced me to a great product. It's MUD! (though a special and expensive mud) I use it every time I shower as shampoo, conditioner and soap. It's really great... who would have thought!
I have been enjoying and learning to cook all sorts of Austrian/Hungarian dishes, baking lots of bread, digging up old and building new fences, bailing hay, sorting through grains, salad picking, etc. There is so much that needs to be done done daily in order to keep the farm running. They pretty much have helpers here year round.
The public busses that go from village to village are like luxory travel buses so clean and big and warm and modern. Definitely a step up from the filth of tri-met and infinitely better from those in Nepal that were I once had a goat sitting across the aisle for me and were also shared with chicken! and when they were completely full to standing room only on the inside people just climbed up and rode on top. The villages are so fun to wander around the narrow, winding streets, the ruins, shops... everything is so old, full of history and amazing.
It is plenty busy here and still quite cold. Snowing some days, windy, rainy, gray... where is spring?!? I am still exploring the country roads and trails and seeing the landscape. Yannic takes me exploring to his secret spots and there are some rocks around where we do some bouldering but it is super sketchy. I'm about twice his size and everything I want to grab breaks on me, ayia yai. When it's too cold outside Hannah is teaching me to hula-hoop and juggle and we have learned a duet together on the piano. It has been great to have a place to settle for a bit. I have a few more weeks here on the farm and have finally asked for and received permission to take some days off to do some travelling.
...no goat cheese yet
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