November 6, 2011 Wairuna

Hello all,
The last couple of days have been quite busy so I didn't have much time to get on the computer and blog. Everything is going very well at the farm! I finally got to meet Pia the other host. She lives in Dunedin which is a city that is about an hour and a half away. She comes to the farm on the weekends only, she is such a nice woman...very sweet and kind hearted.
Yesterday it was just Ixart(that is how you spell his name I found out) Nolan and I. Shaun was at the market selling what we had harvested earlier this week. When we woke up yesterday morning it was a full out blizzard. There was a couple of inches on the ground and the snow didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon. It was freezing! Good thing my sleeping bag works so well! (Thanks Dad) Shaun told us since the weather was going to be bad we were just going to work in the tunnel house (the greenhouse) and do some minor maintenance and weeding. Weeding is quite boring but without it Pia was telling me today all the crops would be dead because the weeds suffocate the plants and don't allow them to grow...makes sense. Ixart, Nolan and I also had to feed the calfs which is absolutely hysterical to watch. Since they are only about two weeks old they are not very bright and they make it very difficult for themselves to mother properly. After they feed they all go around and try and suck each others  private parts because they think that the milk will come from there. It is hilarious. Even though it is funny to watch, you have to go into the pen and brake it up and yell at them because if they do that they can drink each others pee and if they drink to much it will result in death. Shaun hates this habit and is trying very hard to put it to an end.
Two German girls came yesterday to start there work on the farm. They were very nice but you could tell that they were not quite going to last on the farm. They stayed... ate lunch with us and then decided that they were going to leave. They had a car... They said it was to cold and the work might be to hard for them. At least they were honest.
Today November 6th, Pia, Ixart, Nolan and I were again down in the tunnel house. I planted salad today...two rows. Pia is very good at explaining things. She shows you how to do it once, then has you try while she watches to make sure you are doing it the right way. It is effective and it gives you more confidence when you are planting a crop. Especially lettuce which they sell a lot of. The weather has been so on and off this past week you never no what to expect.
Nolan and I are thinking about moving on soon because here at the farm you don't get any days off. We want to have more chance to go explore the island...doing some camping and hiking. Who knows where we will go next. Maybe we leave maybe we stay...
I'll have pictures again soon.

Ps. If I don't have your e mail and you want pictures...comment on this post with your e mail address and i'll put you in the contact list.
Thanks!

Jon