A Week with Thomas

Last Sunday, Gudrun left the farm to enjoy a well-earned week of rest on the island Juist in the North Sea. Being left alone with Thomas gave me the opportunity to do a bit more work outdoors, to help him with the animals, and to make cheese by myself. We also got to know each other better and made the most of Gudrun's absence by watching Django Unchained (too violent for her taste) and skipping salad at lunch.

On Thursday it was time for us to take the ram to another herd of ewes so after milking, we lured him into a trailer and drove him up to "Frau Wolf's" meadow in pouring rain, introduced him to the females and left them to bond over the feed we took along. That same morning the herd of 28 teenage rams broke out of their pasture and decided to hang out by the side of the road where the grass is greener. Thomas had been saying for a few days that they should be driven into the outdoor stable so we organised for that to happen after lunch, Thomas cleared the space and then stocked it with straw. It takes patience and determination to coax a herd out of its field and on to the road but we managed well and Thomas seemed pleased. The sheep too look pleased now that they are sheltered from the rain and are regularly fed freshly mown grass.

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To welcome the ewes, I spent today hoovering cobwebs and repainting the indoor barn with a mixture of water and limestone. This makes very runny paint and lots of spray but the advantage is that any mold is killed off. Tomorrow I will add a second coating and when the time comes for the sheep to move in, the floor will be carpeted with straw and the feeders filled.

Yesterday, Thomas and I drove to Bad Essen to collect the juice from 400kg of apples gifted by one of the men who helped out while Thomas was ill. The woman who owns and runs the local cold-press showed me around and explained the various steps to make juice from any fruit. The press is in operation during 6 months, starting with rhubarb, then berries in the summer, and finally apples and pears in the autumn, and needs to be cleaned before pressing organic fruit such as our apples to wash out any pesticides. In total, 168 liters of juice were extracted but we only brought 120 back to the farm since there is still juice left over from last year to sell. What we left will be sold in the juice shop on site.

I felt confident enough to make cheese by myself on Monday and Wednesday, and thankfully everything went according to plan. Gudrun came home full of praise for my work and happy that she won't have to make any more cheese this year! We are no longer milking so the workload is somewhat reduced, and Gudrun and I have more time to go on walks, press flowers, collect walnuts, watch films by the fire and bake apple pies.

Sascha xx