Slow Food

Why slow food? Because you move slow while making it? Because you are slow after eating this? Or because you need time to make it? :) - Of course, because you need much labour and time to make it. As I am busy farmer overloaded with too much daily duties, I don’t do slow food every day, but I try to do it sometimes. Today I am making 3 slow foods: goat cheese, goat yoghurt, bread. So tomorrow I should have at least fresh bread and yoghurt. The cheese needs more time. I have 11 eco eggs, so tomorrow maybe scrambled eggs with dill and lettuce? Or onion? I will see. Tomorrow I would like to make at least two flower beds for pink rose bushes. And maybe one for spring onion. I got inspired of new website I spotted. They do there so much beautiful things. Beautiful, wise, artistic. I like it. I think I will arrange nicely the new planned flower beds in front of the house. In next year I expect to have here young rose bushes.

In search of winter supplies

I am tired! I went for a bike trip to find straw, hay, potatoes and grain for the winter. The bike chain fell down a couple of times, so I had to walk the bike. I did around 15km. I came back with some grain for hens and small, but valuable shopping: oat flakes ;) and yoghurt which I am going to use to make my own yoghurt. How to make yoghurt? Where is google??? I need to use it. I have forgotten the yoghurt making procedure and need to refresh my memory. I haven’t been doing yoghurt for ages... But, I still have thermometer which still works, so it is a good start. I will need it to measure milk temperature. Okay, I have found some recipes. Time to get to goats and bring the fresh milk... ;) 

Cat Visibility

Cat visibility is constantly growing. I spotted her more than several times now. She is gaining more courage and is hunting wildly which is great thing. She was very noisy last night in the kitchen. It seems, that with each day there is less and less rodents here. That’s good. But I am sure she will have here a full time job for all autumn and winter, since rodents like to hide themselves in warm places during cold months, so they will be storming my house in the coming weeks and months. I have here also some winter supplies which attract rodents even more. I think I will bring one more hunter here :)

The Pumpkin Soup

I don’t have to eat every day a chicken (although I would like to :))) ), so I have decided to cook a pumpkin soup. It is already good, 5 minutes more and the soup will be ready... :) I can’t wait to eat it... Tastes good! :)

The soup was good. I think tomorrow I will eat the same. I am sleepy again. I need to rest a while and then I will try to do what I planned to do today. Maybe desert? I have got two puddings in the fridge. 

Mares had escaped. I managed to bring back two of them. Still the youngest is outside my orchard. This case is more hard. I need rope this time. My tricks which worked with two other mares doesn’t work with the youngest.
I need to use force this time. So I came back home to change shoes and find a rope.

Okay. The foal is back in the orchard. But it was not an easy task. However I didn’t have to use force. First I tried persuasion, then one of my techniques. Eventually I made the foal to come back. I am tired. I had to walk a lot chasing the foal. I also corrected the neighbour’s fence, but this part of the fence is totally rotten and broken, there is no current. I secured that part with a tape, but it’s not enough. It needs to be repaired better. This part needs new logs and wire. 

When I was coming home the neighbour’s son arrived on his quad. I yelled to him, that the fence is gone. He didn’t respond. Either he didn’t hear or he is wild. I am not sure. He was hidden behind bushes around 200 metres away from me. I started to walk into his direction wanting to tell him that this part of fence is broken, but when I approached him closer – he drove away.

I brought additional tape and cut off the vulnerable part of the fence from the rest of the orchard. I hope it will be enough to prevent horses against breaking into there. But this vulnerable part of fence has to be replaced with new logs and wire. Also in repaired part of fence should be current. Today no current. The neighbour is keeping here his huge herd of cattle and current should be on. I don’t want his cows to get into my orchard and destroy my fruit trees.

I went to hug mares that they are so politely grazing in my orchard. Especially the oldest mare is doing here good job. I think she reads in my thoughts :) I have given them some apples, big hugs and kisses. 

It’s already 8 p.m. Time to bed. I am tired. Maybe I will have a cup of tea only. Oh, I should have my special herbal tea against menstruation pains... Tomorrow... I will try to survive today without it. I feel strange, but not so bad like recently.

Cat Miriam

The cat allowed me to see her twice this morning. She emerged twice from behind my cupboards in the study.

This time she was close to my face and looked for a while at me. Directly into my eyes. I wanted to touch her, but also didn’t want to scare her. I let her to take her time with her taming. But it’s progress :) I am glad. She will learn soon that there is no need to be afraid of me. I am her best friend.

It seems that it is going to rain. I need to walk outside to do something before it’s raining.

I washed two windows at the attic. I washed them not, because I expect volunteers here or any other guests. I washed them for myself. I think I should start doing more for myself. For my own comfort and pleasure. The view from the windows is amazing. I like to listen to the wind whispering among leafs of trees growing in front of the house from the south. The Sun appeared. I washed the windows and need a rest now. My forces today are frail. I need to save them and manage them carefully. I think I will make lunch from young pumpkin. No rush today please... I don’t have to build a pyramid today. I may enjoy every moment of this day in slow pace, doing minor things. Nothing exhausting today.

Between Dreams

I fight with my overwhelming somnolence. I think I need to slow down and stop demanding from myself so much. I am overworked and overtired. Days are long enough, but I need more and more breaks before each task. I need to rest often. I feel like a bear who fell asleep in it’s winter dream. I am not well physically today. So I have decided to work only a bit, just basic and simple things. Nothing too heavy. I need to prepare for the winter, but also need to do it in slower pace than I planned.

I also think about the people who came to my farm this year. Some of them were eager to pull out from me personal information only to use them against me. It taught me stop sharing with them this. I think it would be wiser not to talk about myself, my problems and my life and my matters. Most people don’t deserve your trust.

For example pressed by Jeff I reluctantly told him how much I paid for my farm. The day when he was leaving my farm he told me something stupid: “I could buy your farm and even a few farms like yours. I am rich enough for it”. Well, I didn’t share my personal information about my farm to hear something like that. Besides, he was wrong. The price I paid for the farm 10 years ago was good deal for me then, but right now, if I would like to sell the farm – I would get easily 20 times more. The prices changed a lot during last 10 years, not mentioning, that the price I have negotiated 10 years ago was real occasion, because at that time no-one was interested in buying this farm and the owner was in a hurry, so he was happy to sell the farm for any money. Estate market changed a couple years later after I moved here. Poland joined EU and land prices went suddenly up. And still are climbing. They will be climbing till 2016 when they will get their peak.

                                           One of mine beautiful natural ponds...

So, if I would like to sell my farm in 2016 year, I would make much more money on it then now. But I don’t want to sell it. It’s my home. My chosen place in the world. I sacrificed 10 years of my life and hard labour working on my land and trying to survive here. I am not going to sell it. Never. And such commercial approach as Jeff presented was in my opinion rude or at least arrogant. I felt it was rude. I hosted him for 10 days. He was my guest. And saying something like that it was rude. I need to be more careful whom I invite to my house. But it’s difficult to know it before you meet people. Strangers always try to present themselves in good light from distance. They promise great help, but when they come to your place they often are becoming a hard work to you, another burden. 

My natural pond... I love this place :) Ir's magic!

I wish I could renovate the house till the end and could start renting rooms for money. I have enough of dealing with some difficult to deal with tourists who pretend to be volunteers. They can be a real nuisance for you. Better to leave the work for skilled professionals and start to charge tourists for their stays at my farm. Right now it is not possible, because the renovation is still not finished. But I hope that in next year it will be possible.

The new cat let me see her this morning :) She was behind the cupboard in my study. Probably she was chasing there mice. That’s good. She has a lot of job to do in the house.  

Tired, But Prolific

I am very tired today, but also very prolific :) I have just created 7 new websites :)
Now they need to be developed and to grow.

In the morning I was really tired. I woke up, ate breakfast, took a bath and went to bed again. I was resting or sleeping till late morning or rather noon. Then I got up and went to feed poultry, milk the goats.

In so called meantime I managed to write two letters and created 7 new websites.
I also got an interesting recipe how to make a nutella from plum jam :)
It’s already evening. I need to rest a while and if I have some power, I will wash windows in the attic.

A Sunny Tuesday

It’s late morning, but I woke up at night around 2.30, so it’s okay :) I had right to sleep longer.
The hunting cat awoken me at night. She was chasing mice in my bedroom and it made me wake up.
Now she is again invisible. It’s annoying, when your own cat hides before you, but she is new here, this is why she is so shy. Anyway, a few years ago when I got a first cat she was well tamed and not hiding before me at all. Kreska was friendly cat from the start. She was wonderful cat and excellent hunter. And so pleasant and nice to me from the start. Last week new cat seemed to be tamed, but she is scared of the new place and hiding still. She doesn’t show up at all. I know she needs more time to get tamed, but anyway it’s annoying. 

I went upstairs to see how the attic looks like. Jeff did there good job, but still it needs to be finished. Anyway, less job than before. I found my machine for making yoghurt. Now I need to find the little glass jars for it and then I would be able to make yoghurt again. Jeff likes yoghurt. Maybe some of my new guests would like eat yoghurt as well. For breakfast I have eaten oat flakes with goat milk and sliced banana. I made some order at staircase to the attic. It’s nice, sunny weather, so I would like to wash windows in the attic. Then milking goats. No. I need fresh air first and goats should be milked in the morning. So first goats.

Well, first I have watered and fed poultry and dogs, because they are much closer and the task was quick. Now I am heading to the goats meadow and by the way I am going to check if the fence around orchard is okay, but it looks that it is okay, because my beloved horses are grazing politely in the orchard. They do there good job with cutting grass short and precisely around the young trees. They are excellent helpers.

Well, I have milked the goats and checked a fence. It’s already a lunch time, but I am not hungry and don’t need to cook anything new, since I have dinner which I cooked yesterday. I think I will make only fresh salad to it. And pudding for the desert. The new cat received the fresh milk as well, but she doesn’t show up. It’s nice, sunny weather – I am going to cut some excessive apple branches and make some new seedlings from them.

I have eaten baked chicken with young potatoes and dill. I have cut some excessive apple branches and also aronia and made seedlings from them. I hope they will grow well. It’s already evening. I am tired and sleepy. Time to go to bed.

The Heavenly Oats!

I have milked the goats and prepared oat flakes with goat milk and bananas... mmmmmmmm....
It was marvelous! Moon Beans would be happy to tast it ;)))


Gee... I am so sleepy... time to dream! :)

A Sunny Monday

Beautiful day today. At last I could sleep back in my biggest bed :) I feel good today. 

Early in the morning I visited poultry and watered them, gave them food. I went to goats meadow to see how the goats are and to switch them. Horses are grazing obediently in the orchard.  

I need to finish making seedlings and wash the dishes.

Okay. I have washed the dishes and made the seedlings. I also made list of things to do. Time to start cook dinner (or lunch due to western customs).

I have made a delicious luncherodinner :) Before it I went to the village shop to buy potatoes and by the way I found there oats and bananas, so I am very happy about it, because I don’t need to go to Olecko to buy oats :)
So, tomorrow morning oats with goat milk and bananas... niammmm.... :)

I am happy I got back my personal space in my house :) It was quite an interesting experience hosting here all those volunteers, but I am already tired with it and want to rest from strangers... Also I need to prepare to the winter well. I have ordered 200kg potatoes for the winter time. Need to buy straw and make the windows to the stable. Need to make wood for the winter. Plant trees. Make a fence and lots of lots of other things. I will do only the most urgent things and rest will need to wait until next year, or until the next proper volunteers.

Jeff spent 10 days here. He was very hardworking, but toilet which he repaired stopped working at all.
Also washing machine still doesn’t work. Order in the attic is still not finished. Only the trees which he dig up are okay and ready to be planted. And his bedroom and bathroom are clean. 

There are always pluses and minuses of the volunteering. Now I want to have my house only for myself at least for some time. No volunteers, no stresses, no obligations. Absolute peace of mind :) I feel - I need it :)

Well, I may host here guests similar to me. I mean open minded, tolerant and friendly.

A Fight with Local Mafia

I was just happily having bath trying to relax after hard work of the last weeks, when local Masurian Mafia arrived wanting money from me. I said “NO!” and they started to yell at me and trying to threaten me. And I returned them the yelling as well and took some photos of them standing in my yard and recorded their threats with my mobile phone. I told them to get lost from my land immediately and if not, I would call the police. We yelled at each other for over a quarter of minutes. I was wet standing in the middle of my yard wrapped only in a towel and with wet hair. When I finished yelling, I was already dry :) So much fun in the sunny Sunday evening ;)
Eventually they left noisily my yard using klaxon at the car they arrived. I told them, that if anything will be missing from my field, they will be suspected first. I have them on the pics! I have evidence of their raid!

A Note of Sadness

I am not sad, but it is sad that we couldn’t create long friendship. The thing is, that he didn’t really mean “a friendship” but “a long term relationship” and this one didn’t work. I feel a kind of note of sadness, but from the other side much relief. The moment he left my farm I got back my good mood. I prefer my freedom much more than being tangled up in a tiring, unhappy relationship. Maybe it means that I will stay single till the last day of my life. Maybe. But I prefer that than being trapped in an unhappy relationship.

I went to the orchard to check if the gate was shut well and coming back I cut down some apple branches intending to make seedlings from them. 

I have returned home and decided to take a long bath. I need relax!

The Winter Supplies

It’s time to start making winter supplies. I have bought 50kg of flour which is not enough for all the winter, but at least something for a start. 50kg flour means 50 loafs of breads. For one person this is enough bread for 100 days, or a bit more. If I continue to feed volunteers, I will need twice as much flour, also twice as much rise, sugar, potatoes and other food. 

The empty beer tins - the souvenirs Jeff has left at my farm :) I hanged them at fence wire and switched on the current. The tins make some noise while moving with wind so are hearable at dark night and are much better visible for horses during the day than the wire. Thanks to the noise, at night the horses know where is the gate and can avoid it. Also the smell of bear helps them to locate the gate.

At noon Jeff said he decided to go to Warsaw. So he decided to leave my farm. Well, he was great helper, very hardworking, good man, clean and honest. But unfortunately too bitter with everyday as he was disappointed I didn’t want him. What can I do? Sometimes I fall in love and sometimes I don’t. This time unfortunately I didn’t fall in love. When I am not in love, I don’t sleep with an accidental man. I am not a hippie woman at all ;) I am rather Puritan lady ;) Very strict about this things. No love – no sex. That’s it :) So he was angry with me with each day more and more and it was tireding to me more and more. He became aggressive and quarrelsome. It was not nice. Although I am very grateful to him for his help, I didn’t feel good having him around. Maybe this is why I felt so drained from energy. The situation was making me more tired. I have got lots of work at my farm and any additional stress is not good for me.

A Foggy Sunday

I woke up before the Sun. Outside dog Satja looking into my window and mass amount of fog around. I woke up already tired. I think I need a proper rest. I am overworked. Yesterday I told Jeff to have his day off today. He needs to rest as well. He is a good man, very hardworking, active all the time. But also very stubborn, arbitrary and quarrelsome so I need to rest from him as well. At least for a while.

I went outside to take a pic of the dense fog. I heard a hen promising an egg. Now the hens have lots of good food and are starting to give eggs. Also shutting them in the chicken coup helps to have more eggs, because they are made to lay the eggs inside the chicken coup, not somewhere in the yard. Anyway, I have just 4 birds able to give eggs and volunteers coming here from time to time, so I need more eggs. I would like to buy a few hens more.

The Saturday Fencing

Gee... How tired I am today! Today morning horses got into neighbour’s meadow and didn’t want come back. I spent an hour chasing them and trying to make them come back. Then I lost my power and went to the home to finish cooking a chicken and onion. Onion was already black, but chicken survived and was “well done”. Well baked. After breakfast I went to the yard to rebuild the fence here in order to teach horses obedience. I sent Jeff to try to make horses come back. The horses luckily came back themselves from the runaway. I gave some apples to the Mother Mare, since thanks to her disobedient daughters came back. She was calling them all the time and waiting patiently in my orchard. 

I shut the horses into the yard and when my neighbour arrived to repair the fence I went to him ask if he is going to switch on current in this vulnerable part of our boarder. He said that yes and he was repairing his part of the fence and I was repairing other part of the fence. It took us some time. Then they (he and his son) went home to bring something to the fence and I went to my house to rest a while and take tools for repairing the fence. When I came back they have already finished their part of the fence and were gone. I went to continue repairing my part. I was interrupted by goat’s scream. I left tools in the safe place and went to check what has happened.

Goats got tangled together and needed my help. I spent there an hour trying to untangle them and then installed them in different spots to make sure that they would not get tangled again. 

I came back to the fence to continue the work. I was working until 5 p.m. until the fence was ready. Then I connected it with strong current running in the neighbour fence since his current is much stronger than mine.

Then I left home to rest and eat something. I let horses to go there. Now they will be learning to respect the current and not to break the fence. I need to finish cutting some branches over the electric fence and then it would be enough work for one day.

Jeff went to the village Internet cafe, so probably will be around 9 p.m. at home. I started to bake fresh bread for him. I am so tired today! I was planning to go to the village this morning to buy some more grain and also potatoes, but the horses changed my plans. I hope tomorrow it will be still possible to buy the grain and potatoes... I need rest tomorrow... But cannot... need to milk goats, fry jam and do million other little things...

The Grain Bike Trips

Today we went for two bike trips to Sokółki village to buy 100kg of grain for the hens and some shopping for us. Together we did 20km today including 10km with heavy shopping at bikes :)
It was good experience – the day was warm and sunny and rides were great – among beautiful nature. Yet practical one – we didn’t return with empty hands, but with lots of grain for the hens and some shopping for us. I bought 2,5kg chicken meat and 2 big cabbages, some sausage and onion as well. We also visited village library and got from nice Miss Krysia maps and leaflets concerning the area, so we are prepared for longer trips around the area. Perfect! Jeff also learnt where he can use broadband Internet connection and for free :)

A Sunny Thursday

Today is nice, warm, sunny Thursday. I woke up early, but then fell asleep again feeling weak, tired and sleepy.
Jeff went for a walk and to use fast internet connection in the village library. I wanted to take a bath, but the water wasn’t heat up at night, so it’s so so warm. In this situation I will take only a short shower.

I decided to make chocolate pudding for the breakfast, but it can make me even more sleepy.

I need to cut some more fruit branches and make new seedlings from them. Need to cook food for dogs and to finish frying jam before it will get rotten. New cat is sitting quietly in my bathroom next to the study. She is still overwhelmed by new place.

I took the shower and tried to start the washing machine, but it's not working. It looks like still the program is not working properly. I don't know how Jeff managed to wash anything in it.

I moved the cat from my bathroom to the store room. She is still very frightened. She spent all night on the high shelf in the study bathroom not moving at all. She needs more time to get used to the new place.

After a while I have brought to the store room a bowl of goat milk for the cat. She was in other spot of the room then before when I left her. It looked like she was already hunting. That’s great :) It means, that the cat has just started her job :)

I have washed the pot for making pudding and chopped some dry wood for starting the fire in the Big Big Oven.

In meantime the postman arrived and told me that he may bring me one more cat. I agreed provided, that it would be a female cat. Female cats are cleaner than male cats. I would like Miriam to have company here. She is young cat, just one year old and she needs company to play with. She would feel better here if she has other cat company.

Anyway, Miriam will have lots of fun with mice here... :) It’s killing time ;)

My favourite song recently:
Train – Drive By

I like also:
Maroon 5 Feat Wiz Khalifa - Payphone
Of Monsters And Men – Little Talks

A Cat

Recently, last year particularly since my personal effective cat disappeared last autumn – rodents multiplied excessively becoming a real nuisance. Jeff was having very surrealistic idea how to get rid of rodents from my house – he intended to cut grass around the house thinking it would help ;)

So, I have decided to tackle with the problem my way. I went to the village shop and asked people there who has a spare cat? Instantly I got 3 cat offers and one good tip where I can get the female cat right a way without waiting for catching it. So I went to an old lady living in the village close to the shop. It occurred, that she is having a kind of house for homeless cats and dogs, so I got the cat easily from her. Well, she knows me, this is why she has given me the cat without problem. She said, that she doesn’t give cats to everyone who comes to her. She gives animals only to people whom she trust – to people who have good hands and would care well for the animal. As she knows me and my love to animals since years, so she has given the cat to me instantly. I was so relieved and happy! :) At last a new house defender...  And beautiful one! We put the cat into the bag and I put the bag onto the bike and rode happily home. 

Back at home I asked Jeff to go outside and I have announced discussion panel (I try to implement the ecovillage style since I am having very special guests here who need special treating and Jeff, although hardworking and efficient helper/volunteer – needs a special treating as well). I told him: “Now starts discussion panel. I do the talking and you do the listening.” And I have explained to him how Polish women act with rodent problems – directly, without cutting grass around the house which is useless waste of time. I advised him to keep all the windows and doors in the house shut. It is necessary until the cat gets tamed with new place and host. I poured fresh goat milk into a nice bowl and brought to my study. Here I brought also precious cat and let her out. The cat jump onto the high shelf filled with empty bottles. 

Among empty bottles the cat found one full Champaign. I mean she made the bottle fall down from the shelf and in this way I discovered I have the full bottle. Luckily the bottle didn’t got broken.... :) Then I have discovered one more full bottle. With wine. Hmmm... so we got the cat and good reason for celebration now :) The washing machine is finally working and I got a new wonderful hunter at house – so we should to celebrate this now :)

At the evening I made a special dish. It occurred to be amazingly tasty. It was rice with tomato souse mixed with goat milk and fried baby pumpkins in slices. It was good. It went well with the bottle of Champaign, which happened to be sweet what was pleasant surprise to me.  

Dawn

I waked up at dawn. It was fantastic dawn, so I had to take some photos of it. The view was marvellous. I went outside to meet it fully. It was cool, wet morning. Grass was wet. Wild birds’s voices were coming from different directions cutting total silence of the dawn. My horses seeing me in the yard came to me to say “hello”. I took some pics of the wonderful dawn and went home. I think I should have better camera. This one is too imperfect and I cannot repeat by it the beauty of the wonderful dawn...

Washing machine is working!

Jeff is amazing. Simply said, he is just awesome. I think he is the best helper which I have ever had here. He is here only 5 days, but he managed to repair the bed and now my big washing machine! :) Splendid... So from now on I may host volunteers without sleeping bags...  I may wash blankets everyday if necessary. That’s good. We are also preparing a bedroom for some extra volunteers. It is located upstairs, so it can be used only in warm months, but right now is okay to sleep there. It’s not cold yet. We made big washing yesterday and today. Lots of wet clothes and towels, blankets are hanging now in the attic over the stable. We have lots of work to do today, but I think we can manage. We just have eaten good nutritious breakfast (fresh toasts from milk bread with spinach and fried eggs, some dill on top of it), now are drinking tea and soon heading to replant some fruit trees...