Day 5 here at the Phelps' farm. We've closed the night with a few pizzas and a Herman the German cake that Stacy made from scratch for everyone (our host had been preparing the cake part for a week or so though). It's incredibly peaceful here. I'll do my best to post some pictures tomorrow, but may it suffice for now to say that we are in a valley with beautiful green mountain ridges bordering us for miles on. We're about 15km from the town of Dannevirke, 10km down Waitahora Road. The road is windy and wild and every corner you take you're greeted by another all-too perfect scene of rolling green hills, sheep and cattle (with newborn lambs and calves running amok), and tall trees shrouding bits and pieces of the otherwise sunlit land. Unless it's cloudy and raining. Then it's just half of what I described.
Work and life here is very routine-oriented for the most part, as I think I mentioned last time. I think it's great, and especially love that we can tackle our main jobs either really early on and be done by 12 or 1, or take our time and finish everything up before our hosts get home around 5. The freedom of choice here is nice, and I don't expect we'll have this luxury at most farms we work on.
Anyway, this is kind of how the day goes.
Wake up. 6:30? 7:00? Whenever they knock on our door. Dress for a mess and then get some coffee. Milk the cows and feed the calves. Search for duck eggs. 4? Not enough. Keep the ducks in their little grassy confines until 7:45. 5 eggs? You're good. Two moms are nesting, so 5 is all we'll get each morning. Ducks are free to wander the acres of green lands until dinner. Release the crazy octet of turkeys and make sure they have barley or some equivalent food to chow on (I've still never seen them eat any of it though). Check for chicken eggs in the coop nearby while the turkeys make threatening gobbles and eye you hatefully with their beady little black eyes... Then feed the chickens and head back up to the house for breakfast and more coffee. Talk about the day. What needs to get done? This, that... the other thing, too? Kay. Goodbyes are said and then we decide, as mentioned, when to tackle our tasks. Work some, have lunch, chill/work some more, then prep or cook dinner for our hosts.. then... Feed the calves. Milk the cows. Call the ducks. Feed the ducks. Lock up the ducks. Hassle the turkeys into their coop. Be gobbled at hatefully--again. Feed the chickens. Finish and wash up for dinner. Eat. Laugh. Go on an adventure or go to bed.
And adventure we did, night before last! Kim, one of our hosts, took us down through the bush late last night (9:00PM), in search of the fabled glow worms.. With crummy sneakers, layers of raggedy work clothes and headlamps perched on our foreheads, we set off deep into the bush, descending steep hills and then following an icey-cold stream for an hour or so. It was amazing to pause every few minutes, shut off our lamps and see tiny, blue dots speckling the walls above the stream. The longer we waited, the more they appeared. We arrived at one spot Kim referred to as "the cathedral," seating ourselves on rocks on a muddy shore and taking in the sight of hundreds of "stars" all on the cliff wall, going up probably fifty or sixty feet and as far down the path ahead of us as we could see. It was simply amazing.
Today was much less eventful aside from pizza and Herman cake. But it was a good day, nonetheless.
That is all.
You two are going to have so many stories to tell your little ones. We are glad things are going well.and you are having such a great time. We are proud of you and miss you both so much!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Mom, Dad, and Shaun