First Day of Farmwork!

Last night ended with Alix, Erin, and I headed to the local pub to check out the Orange Day celebrations. As we were walking there (45 min walk!) we were worried about whether it was open as yesterday and today are national holidays. But all of us were too cheap to actually call them and ask, so upon entry into the town we were met with drums and bagpipes, oh yes the pub was open and packed!
We started off with Irish cider which is quite good and made new friends right off the bat. The pub is quite small, basically one room and people of all ages were there. Very interesting to see children in a bar, it was a family friendly atmosphere and everyone was in high spirits as most of them had been in the parade that day.

Alix & Erin had been to the pub last week so they knew the owners and we met a lot of other locals. We ended up spending the night talking with the local postman who filled us in on all the goings on. The locals were astounded that we would come all the way from America and France to volunteer on farms doing manual labor. It was quite funny because they were a bit inebriated and kept exclaiming "Are ya sure ya aren't getting paid?" When we replied "No" and laughed the postman said he could get us a job in the post office. (:

They then proceeded to convince me to try Guinness (I have never enjoyed it stateside) and I tried it with black currant liqueur, whoa it was sweet. After that I had a regular one and it was quite good! We only paid for two round all night, apparently when you are foreigners everyone wants to buy you a drink! Works for me!

It was really interesting with this packed pub (they are non smoking here , whew!) where everyone knows everyone. Once everyone had consumed a bit to drink they convinced a local guy into playing the bagpipes upon request. He played beautifully. After that it became pass the bagpipes around the men to let them all have a go. Beautiful music was abound, friendly people, and smiles were on everyone's faces.

We finally decided to leave at 1 a.m. but we could have definitely stayed longer except for farm duties at 9 a.m. Thank goodness the ONE cab was available in the area to come pick us up and give us a ride home!

This morning it was up and at em for farm duties! Alix was given the task of showing me how to feed the animals, they are so cute! First we fed the large male pig Ricardo who is on my flickr and SO cute. He has huge ears and they basically cover his eyes. He gets very excited about the food and it is a bit overwhelming as he is MASSIVE. He has huge tusks that curl out of his mouth as well.

Next we fed Trixie, the momma pig who has piglets that are white and black and just about the cutest things ever. I really wanted to pick them up and give them hugs and pet their little squiggly tails but Laura said that they would scream and then Trixie would take us down. Thus I just admired them from afar.

After that we fed 9 pigs that are across the road (Laura & John have 120 acres). These pigs scream so loud when you walk up to the fence and they are super excited about eating. So you have to push them aside to get in the corral without letting the pigs out, it is a bit of a feat. After the pigs we walked up to count the angus cattle to make sure that they didn't escape during the night. It is a bit of a hike up the hill to see them, but it is so beautiful. I felt like singing "The hills are alive... with the Sound of Music!" I resisted today but tomorrow might be a different story.

Post cattle count it was time to gather eggs from the hens and feed the chicks. I have decided that chickens are not the smartest animals. At 10:30 we had to clean the hen house after we let the hens out. The hens are outside during the day and go back inside during the evening because of foxes. Cleaning the hen house was quite simply the most disgusting job that I have ever done. The ammonia smell was so strong and feathers, wood shavings and poop were everywhere. We put the feathers/poop shavings on the raspberry bushed as mulch so now when I eat a raspberry I will not be able to get that thought out of my head!

After cleaning the hen house we brought straw to all of the pigs for their houses. Laura thinks that pigs are smarter than cows and chickens because they do not poop where they sleep. Not quite sure what the IQ quotient on that is.

Then it was time for weeding! We are on our hands & knees or standing bending at the hips. Alix and I weeded onions all day while Erin hoed leeks. This farm business is tough work, there is always something to do and not enough time to do it.

During the week we have lunch with Laura & John in their house. Their house is huge and was built in the early 19th century. Today on the menu was roasted bell pepper soup with homemade bread, it was so good. For dessert we had yogurt with plums & honey, YUM. Of course we had a cup of tea at the end and then it was back to more weeding.

Thank goodness for my Ipod as I would be so bored without it. Everyone listens to their Ipod when they are working, I alternate between listening to the sounds around me and listening to music. Alix and I are enjoying exchanging slang words in our respective languages and sharing stories of our lives as well which is quite enjoyable.

By the end of the day my fingers and arms were so sore that I could barely pull out weeds, some of the weeds were so big that they were taller than the onions!

Tonight we made homemade pizzas with ingredients from the organic store & the farm. Mine had tomato sauce, fresh basil, fresh zucchini, and fresh tomatoes with olives, artichokes, and feta. It was amazing.

There is such a sense of accomplishment with looking at a row of vegetables and knowing that you have helped to nurture these plants that feed us. When I was weeding if you get close enough to the onions you can smell them, and it is .a wonderful scent.

I am so exhausted but my heart is full and happy. I look forward to a full day tomorrow. The girls and I are going to Ballyclare which is 6 miles away after work to go shopping. We will be traveling via the bicycles that Laura & John have offered to us. I just hope it isn't raining. I am looking forward to shopping as I did not bring enough warm clothes. One polar fleece does not cut it!