Pizza party

 I complained Garry doesn't send photos of people so he sent some from the pizza party! He made it back in time. There's Elena getting out pizza and Oleg with his guitar. 

Their oldest son David

Hello Julia! 

If like me, you say what's on that pizza? 

Garry says chicken and lettuce on that pizza. Looks like they bought it, too.

That's Valentina with her son Nazar. Looks like it was mostly people who live in our house. Garry says its pretty noisy. They had cake too, for Nikolai's birthday earlier this week. 

Garry plans to go to church in Dnepro at Morningstar on Sunday, Marguerita is going to go with him. We'll see if he takes any photos. Garry still hasn't sent any photos of himself so you can see his haircut. 

Friday (and Saturday)

 

Friday morning Garry used his ultrasound machine to preg check more cows, I believe Yana had found 15 three to five months along cows for him. He was worried when the first cow wasn't pregnant, but the other 14 were pregnant, so another good day. He was going to do the rest Saturday morning, the ones bred 35 days or more, he said there might be about 20 to check. 

Afterward, he went to work on cutting wood to make the first truss. He tacks it together, so when he's finished he can take it apart and then cut all the pieces for the rest of the trusses they will make for the shed. He said he had problems reading the faded tape measure and cut a piece the wrong size, so he went to the village store and bought a new one. He was hoping to get the first truss done, but the electricity went off at 12:30. He knew it was supposed to be off from 2 to 5 pm, because it was scheduled, but apparently not exactly when it happened.

He had told me when he arrived that Max said there weren't power outages like in the winter, but that doesn't mean there aren't scheduled power outages, he said there have been a couple days with four hour outages, and one night it was out for 12 and came on at 8 am. 

He said they had some leftover wood around, so he didn't have to buy that much stuff - mostly boards- to make the shed, they will need to buy some truckloads of concrete and Max has ordered nails online for the nailer. So I guess next week they will be building. 

Anyway, he went back to the house and had lunch and a nap and then helped the guys bag up some of the brewers Kavas grains that came a couple days ago (so it lasts longer to feed later) Last fall they had bought 6 foot bags to bag up the beet pulp that Garry found to balance the ration because there wasn't enough hay to feed the cows all winter, that's what the machine they have uses. However, they were able to get some 9 foot plastic bags for free so they altered the machine to use them. 

He got back to the house before five, and the girls informed him the power was back on already. He cooked everyone at the house french fries- they have a lot of potatoes. He complained when I called that my electric stove is so slow, and he wished he had a deep fryer, or an air fryer. 

He was cooking  the last batch for himself, he said. Then he was looking in the cupboards for an extra blanket, he said the heat was turned off in the house for the year, and it was cold outside (8 C) and he gets cold at night, he's wearing a sweatshirt to bed. 

Saturday morning he said most of the cows were pregnant, I think he said three were not and they checked 17 maybe. So final count was about 45 checked and only five were not pregnant. He said these were 45 days since breeding so he'll do a few more before he leaves. 

He was in the city ordering more 2 by 4's  when I called because he'd finished that first truss and had cut about a third of the pieces he'll need to make 26 trusses. He said a couple of the boys were helping so he didn't have to carry and stack wood, he was just  using the saw and cutting them. Garry said there's enough boards left to cut on Monday before the rest of the wood he needs is delivered. He's cut enough to make eight, the plan is to build the trusses and actually build the shed when he comes in the fall.  He was hurrying to return to the village because there was going to be a pizza party tonight. 

Running around

 This week Garry has been keeping busy. On Monday morning he and Marguerita went to Zaporosia to drop Alona and Danil at the hospital to maybe get his tonsils out. Mothers always stay in hospital to take care of the kids. They were supposed to pick up a cake because it was Nikolai's birthday (yes, Danil's dad) but they forgot to buy one. 

In the afternoon they drove to Dnepro to pick up some crates to put milk bottles in when they are selling milk. Garry said he was surprised to find they went to a familiar place to get them. It was the building where we went to church for years as Morningstar rented the auditorium for services. At that time it was an old military truck driving school facility. 

Unfortunately, while they were running errands, the van wouldn't start again. This time Garry tried the fuel pump trick, but it didn't work. Garry and Marguerita hadn't had lunch by late afternoon, so they had waited in a cafe, and Garry was getting a huge burger when he called me to tell me about it. Max did come this time, and the van started when he turned the key. It's beginning to look like a timing thing- just wait and it will start.

They did get a cake this time, but he was pretty tired by the time he got home. Tuesday he was  busy running around the village looking for tools. Remember how they weren't going to build anything this time while he was there? They did so well selling the bull calves they were raising last year that they are going to keep more this year, that they decided to build another heifer shed for bull calves.

Wait, isn't that what they were building in the fall with Jack's team? Yes, but that shed - and the first two sheds -are full of heifers. They didn't get started building trusses on Wednesday, however.

Garry and Marguerita had to drive the van to Zaporosia again (he said he had her drive there- she is part of staff, and drives the milk delivery van sometimes) to take Valentina and her little boy to an appointment about his need for special assistance. They have been trying to get him officially classified so they will get assistance. He's two now, but can't do normal things, like sitting without pain. 

Garry was supposed to meet with a British man about how to set up a self sustaining farm mission while they were in the city. He talked to him for an hour at the Mennonite Center, but then the van wouldn't start again... they had already picked up Alona and Danil, so Garry walked everyone down to a cafe and bought them lunch, because the building he had been in was closed. 

Meanwhile he was waiting by the van for a mechanic to come look at the van. He'd called me (yes, he calls when he's waiting for the van to start for the third time) and he turns the key and it starts, and he went to pick up the girls and kids.  So they were able to proceed to Valentina's appointment- not really appointment, they had to wait in line for a couple hours, but not have to come back the next day. 

Oh, I forgot on Monday Max had them take potatoes to sell somewhere in Zaporosia, but they only sold half of them. I don't know if the mechanic ever looked at the van, or if he'll be calling me from the city while he waits again. 

Thursday and Friday mornings he started using the ultrasound machine he brought to preg check cows. On Thursday 14 of 15 were pregnant, but they were the very pregnant ones, more than 5 months along (it takes nine months).

Chicken barn remodel

 Those are photos Garry took of the chicken barn remodel that's happening. They got a grant through the local government for this. It will be for raising broilers ( the kind you eat). Right now the are installing a wood fired heater to keep baby chicks warm. Don't ask me, or Garry how this will work, we'll have to wait and see.

This is in the old tent barn that Jack and a few guys came with Garry and built sides and a metal roof was put on to replace the canvas sides and roof behind the house. It was originally built in 2010 to milk cows in until they moved to the old collective barn. The sides and roof redone after the war started, they wanted to raise chickens to sell. Hopefully this new remodel will be better for raising the chickens.

More photos

 Sunday Garry went to church in the village where they were celebrating Easter, he said church was two hours long with a guest sermon and lots of singing. He counted 85 people there, it was less crowded when the 25 children went outside to play. He forgot his phone, so no pictures.

In the afternoon Garry drove the van into Dnepro to talk at Lena's English class. The van didn't want the start when he went to leave so he called Max to come get him, however he did find the problem and phoned him back- the fuel pump needed to be primed. In the fall the van wasn't working but they have done a lot of work on it over the winter. 

He did stop at McDonalds before going home so he could get on the weekly chat he has with his father and siblings and took one photo of his dinner, he was excited about getting a jalapeno cheeseburger. Unfortunately there was an air raid and the restaurant closed, so he finished his food and call in the parking lot.

Monday he took some photos after a run into the city with Max for parts. The first photo is of the heat system they are working on for the remodeled chicken barn (it used to be the tent barn).

 A short spring bee video

Last fall Garry was very worried about feeding the cows over the winter, and that the heifers and dry cows were too thin. However, he is pleased with their condition now. He says the heifers could almost be called fat. They have been able to get beet pulp, brewers grains and today a 26 ton load of brewers grains from making Kavas drink came to the farm. You can see it going over the scale that was installed at the farm in the winter four years ago.

Apparently people already know Garry is there, because he said he drove 21 kilometers this evening to breed the cow in the photo. This is the only photo I've gotten of him, but you may be able to tell he got his hair cut on Saturday afternoon.

Photos from Saturday

Garry said the apricot trees are blooming although they're worried there may be freezing weather next week and no apricots this year.

 

Spring is so green 

I crocheted gifts for some of the girls, Leila enjoyed introducing her new dog to the other Muktars.

In the village

 

Garry made it to the village on Saturday before noon. Max picked him up around 8 in the morning, Friday night he slept on a cot at the ministry center in Kirvoy. He told me even though most of Ukraine is celebrating  Easter next week according to the Orthodox calendar the village church is celebrating this weekend with us. 

Hopefully I can add some of his photos and publish this post, I thought I got the last one up Friday, but the internet at the farmhouse is having problems. I did get one photo uploaded of what we called "the upside down flowers" which were always the first to bloom in the village.