Muckin' About

Well here we are, fifteen days into our big adventure and we are definitely doing new things.  But before I go on, first I must comment on the fact that it did not take us long to fully transform into Canadians - this post is being written inside a Tim Hortons, where I am drinking an iced coffee, double-double, and eating a few donuts (after all, it IS a Friday).

Work on the farm is exactly that - work.  And, honestly, some of the hardest work either of us have ever done.  We start in at 9am and do things like replenish the goats' hay and feed the pigs, which is the most intense gauntlet one can run (the term "pig out" is no exaggeration).  After that, it's all down to random farm chores.  Some of our time has been spent planting raspberry bushes, some of our time has been spent sorting and hauling wood, and some of our time has been spent mucking out stalls which is, hands down, the most disgusting job I've ever done.  I don't want to go into too much detail, for fear of grossing you guys out as well as inducing horrible flashbacks but let's just say that I don't intend to ever complain about cleaning out a cat box again.

We usually get a couple-hour break in the afternoon and then work again in the evenings.  We are fed well, the dinners have been fantastic.  Last night it was bangers & mash, before that it was lamb curry and the first night was home-grown pork chops and root veggies.  After dinner, we usually head right to bed and, no joke, sleep for ten hours.  Our muscles and joints are sore, we have gotten probably too much sun, and are covered in black-fly bites (oh my those things suck).  Often while we are working, we marvel at the audacity of US doing farmhand work and there are definitely times (like when we are a hour into mucking out a stall) when we wonder if there are any reasonable B&Bs nearby and consider grabbing our stuff and doing a runner.  But then when we are finished, like right now, we feel good, at least to some degree, about the work that we've done and the exercise that we've gotten (though of course we then ruin it by going to Tim Hortons).

Heather and Neil, while they have been working us a bit too much I think, have been gracious hosts and we have enjoyed hanging out and chatting and working with them.  We have been learning, above all, that farming is damn hard and anyone who has the will to try and pull it off is an admirable human being.  I think we have also learned that farming is probably not our calling, no matter how much we enjoy The Good Life.

Oh yeah, there was a baby goat born this morning.  Usually goats are born in pairs but this one was a solo act, but was almost big enough for two.  He is about as big as the 6-day-olds.  Speaking of them, I had the sad and very unfortunate task of assisting with the de-horning of one of them and that was a heartbreaking three minutes or so.  Basically, to keep the horns from growing, the baby stubs are cauterized with a special iron.  It happens very quickly, and they get over it even faster, but that poor baby's scream will haunt me for some time, I'm sure.

Of course it could be worse.  We could be helping out on a meat farm and I could be called in to assist with that.  Fortunately this is not a kill farm.  Well, except for the pigs, but that is not often and does not happen on site anyway.  That does remind me, one of the male pigs keeps getting out of the pen, despite it being electrified, and he frolics around the back field all day.  There is nothing funnier than watching a really large pig gallop across a field.  Sadly, those sort of antics have pretty much secured him the next slot on the chopping block.  We shall hopefully be long gone before that goes down.

I have also been having fun driving the tractor all around.  It makes hauling crap a lot easier.  And it's just fun.

Aside from farm stuff, yesterday we took a longer break in the afternoon and paid a visit to Lunenburg, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a really cute old town.  It got the designation because it has remained virtually unchanged over the last 200+ years and is perhaps the best example of an early colonial seaside town.  We walked the streets and tried our best to get some photos.  Because of the narrow streets and the bad lighting, the photos do not do Lunenburg justice.  We had lunch at a place called the Salt Shaker Deli where I had what Lonely Planet called the best seafood chowder in Canada.  It was pretty brutal.  Whole scallops and everything.  I want another bowl of that now.  Krissy got fish cakes that were tasty but quite salty.  From there we paid a visit to the Ironworks Distillery which is housed inside an old blacksmith shop and has a still that is about as Steampunk as you can get.  We tasted lots of different spirits before settling on a Rhubarb Esprit which could be quite dangerous.

We still have three full days here before we head up to Halifax.  There are still lots of sites we want to try and visit and there is no doubt a lot of work still to do at the farm.  Today, we worked so hard and so far past our usual quitting time that we are off for the rest of the day.  Must regain sanity and proper use of our limbs and faculties.  All in all, however, and despite the intensity of the work we are doing, I really would be lying if I tried to say that this was not a fun, or at least rewarding experience and it is one that we will definitely remember for the rest of our days.  And once it's gone and past us I am sure we will look back on this fondly.  Because we are not miserable.  Not in the least.  There is much to enjoy by being here and I would not trade this particular experience for anything in the world.  But I will also be glad when it is time to move on.  We are just tired.  Very very tired.

But it still beats working in a bank!

Oh, and since this wasn't quite a narrative, there were no good spots to break for photos so here are a few for you guys.  There will be more soon, I am sure.

Hans loves the baby goats.

Krissy loves the baby goats and they love her back.

Mama has some hay and baby has some mama.

Baby is sneaking some hay.  Delicious hay.

St. John's Anglican Church, in Lunenburg.  Founded in 1753.  We have seen a lot of cool looking churches on this voyage.  This is one of the most impressive.  

The inside of St. John's, taken from the balcony.  We are not church people by any stretch of the imagination but there is no denying the beauty of a place like this.

The streets of Lunenburg are lined with these cutouts of, I am guessing, every major fish that traditionally came through the port.  They were all done by someone named Fisher.  No joke.

This is a good example of some of the super colorful buildings that line the streets of Lunenburg.  The red & yellow building in the foreground is a private dwelling, I believe, while the green building behind it has been converted into a pizza joint.

  

Another of the brightly colored buildings in Old Town Lunenburg.  This one has been converted into a fancypants cookware shop, like an even more exclusive Sur La Table, called Cilantro.  The color of the building suits that.

This is the Ironworks distillery, in Lunenburg.  This shop occupies a very old blacksmith shop, hence the name of the distillery.  They have a lot of tasty varieties of the hooch.  We bought one bottle and there is a good chance we may make a return trip before we leave the area.

I get up, I get down.

A look down Cornwallis Street, in Lunenburg.  Note not only the cool and totally unique architecture but also the totally rad street lamps.  This is that kind of town.