Remoras Are Pretty Awesome

Who knew? Remoras attach themselves to the bottom of sharks and eat the scraps that are left behind. Apparently, they also really like bread. Awesome.

Caribbean Getaway

Theo and I had the most amazing/exciting/relaxing/enjoyable/etc vacation ever. We went with my family to the BVI and spent ten days sailing, swimming, snorkeling and celebrating the holidays.

I had meant to catch up with things I wanted to write before I left but never got around to it. I did, however, clean out my room at my parents house for the first time in years so that counts for something. The next few days might be a bit of a mash of vacation and farm related stuff as I catch up.

We decorated the boat for Christmas (there was a tree down below but we didn't get a picture).

After carols on Christmas Eve, we had our traditional sweet rolls (quite a feat when cooked in a galley!) on Christmas morning. We did a secret santa this year instead of lots of presents. I got Anomia from Mom, a new card game which is really really fun.

Theo and I spent Christmas day collecting firewood. Nothing like limbing and bucking on a beach!

After grilled lamb chops for a mid afternoon dinner (so good!), we built a fire for hotdogs and s'mores. Quite the Christmas.

On New Years Eve (locally called Old Years Night) we went to a great beach party. A local artist makes huge steel figures (this idol was complemented by giant balls and cubes), fills them with wood and lights them on fire for New Years and Full Moon festivals. Right at midnight what you see below was doused in kerosene and lit. The circles were fire crackers and behind all this were torches. All was well and good, except the wind was blowing from the water right onto the beach. We spent the first few moments of 2011 dodging smoke and embers.

We're Back!

Our Winter Break was also a break from writing because this happened:

Not just the pelican landing (and pooping) on the boat, but a spectacular vacation. Theo and I are currently doing laundry, getting used to the cold again and heading back to the farm. More to come!

The Wonder of a Blow Torch

All the chores get harder right before we bring the animals back to the barn for the winter. Thankfully, these last few days it's been a breeze just walking across the barnyard with a few buckets of water. The cows are in the pasture behind the lower barn and the sheep are cozy in their straw inside.

Before all this happened, however, there were days of frozen buckets, frozen faucets, frozen valves and frozen water troughs. We spent a frustrating week driving the monster truck (an enormous, red behemoth with two 50 gallon tanks on the back) out to the cows. The trick was to leave the tanks empty and the valve open at night so that it didn't freeze shut. One night, however, we discovered that our vigilance just wasn't enough. Caught between needing to get to an engine mechanic class and the approaching darkness, there was only one answer to the frozen pipes. The blow torch.

We spent a chilly few minutes while Theo heated everything up until it worked. This was after the chilly thirty minutes spent looking for the blow torch in the first place.

But, the cows got water, we got dinner before our class, and the blow torch got a new permanent home where we always know where it is. Success!

Jersey: The Dramatic Cow

I apologize for the poor quality of this picture, but it's worth pointing out that Pride, our dairy cow was thrashing around so much it was impossible to get a good shot. Our vet, Dr. Ledeoux, was showing us how to give an IV which is an important skill for a farmer when the vet is either too far away or unavailable. We tied Pride's halter to a post and he put a small needle in her jugular. All hell broke loose.

I admit that getting shots is not the greatest thing in the world. However, it's not as bad (I imagine) as being eaten alive by rampaging tigers, which is how Pride was acting. She immediately dropped to her knees and, hanging by her halter, began to flail around as if she was dying.

Dr. Ledeoux assured us that this was completely normal behavior for a Jersey and something about their breeding causes them to put on a show like this.

Goodbye and Good Luck!

Our Head Grower, Nate is leaving us to start farming in Northampton, Ma. We're very happy for him and very sad since he's a great teacher and great friend. In the best way of saying goodbye, we drank beer, ate s'mores and burned brush. We're looking forward to getting to know our new grower, who will join us this winter and hopefully we'll have a great season together!

We Are Not Deer!

Hunting season is going strong in Western Mass and sometime you just need to stick dish gloves in your pockets to keep from getting shot.