A little wetter day

This morning it was clear, Maxim helped Garry start feeding the cows and was off with the loader tractor to get the air seeder around 6:30 am. Garry finished feeding the cows and was off to finished planting the peas/barley seed by eight o'clock- and the sun was still shining. Maxim returned with the seeder around 9:30- while the water truck was delivering water for our cistern. Victor drove in with the mission Lada right after I went out to take some pictures of the seeder. Garry got back by ten, but by the time the air seeder was filled with alfalfa seed and calibrated, it had started to rain- really rain, so they couldn't use the seeder.



We get "Dnepro city water" by truck like many people in the village (if we run out we can pump water from the well (we have two wells, we dug a new one for the barn last summer, but both have "salty" water, which is fine for showering, but not so tasty, even after going through our two-stage filter for drinking/cooking water. So when we have some in the cistern, I use bottled water for tea and most of the cooking (Garry says it doesn't make the food taste different- but I taste it- so I'll boil pasta or potatoes in it, but not in the soup.) I'll run a taste test this week to see how it is.

Garry had yet another dentist appointment for his bridgework- they made a mold- at 4 pm so he was not home when it did get sunny- Max and Victor went out and tried to plant some alafalfa seed when the ground dried out some, but came back to the yard and switched tractors because of the oil being low or something, so hopefully it stays dry for planting Friday. Several people in the village have asked Max if we could plant a little piece for them this afternoon, so maybe they will be busy when they are done with ours.

The milktank is supposed to be in Dnepro, but we are not sure when they are bringing it out and installing it. Maybe there will be photos of it next week. We are also having more company coming from Manitoba.



I am writing the blog at midnight today- blame the Phillies and crocheting. When Garry headed to bed I changed the channel and discovered the Roy Halliday was pitching (a 3pm Eastern time on it the later evening here- it's the 8th inning and the Phils are up 11-0- if you don't know I grew up in NJ and root for Philly) Tonight I restarted my sweater I have been crocheting again. I finished it a couple days ago and discovered that it was way too big (for me- Seth suggested that Noah could wear it, but it was supposed to be my sweater.) I was starting to pull it apart when I took this photo a couple nights ago. Yesterday I started a different pattern- and tonight I decided I didn't like it, so it also got pulled apart after about a dozen rows of the back. I now have 5 rows of a bobble stitch that I think is going to be the keeper- one size smaller also. Hopefully I finish it before I am tempted by another project- I have made three little ponchos since the first time I started this sweater last year! There is a really cute pattern for a little hoodie, if I could find that pink camo yarn, our granddaughter could wear it to kindergarten next year.

Dry enough to seed

This morning Garry was up early, the day dawned dry but overcast. He helped Max load up Oxana's milk (the lady milk buyer) and figured out why it has been a problem for him lately. She used to come with a driver and helped load the milk she was buying into her containers and they would put it in the van. Now she sends a driver and Max has to do all the lifting- not just help with it (the driver is only paid to drive) Garry was unimpressed with the new system also- considering she's always after us to drop the price she's paying for the milk. It sounds like we will be taking another price cut- but still above what the truck that drives around the villages, buying people's excess production is paying- 2 grivna a liter- about a quarter of a dollar.





The rain held off and so Garry and Maxim went and borrowed (rented?) a seeder one of the neighbors is trying to sell- Garry would consider buying it if it had a box for grass seed- but it doesn't. They also went and picked up the barley seed- they still couldn't get the oat seed as originally planned- (and got the cows fed, ect) I was busy making soup to bring to team meeting. We left home as Maxim was ready to get everything going with the tractor. It started to sprinkle on the windshield as we drove out of the village. Luckily it didn't last, and Max got the big field planted in the barley/peas mix (they could only buy half the peas Garry wanted so they will be a little light) In the morning Max will go pick up an airseeder first thing while Garry finishes planting the grain mix- there is smaller field attached to the big one. Then (barring rain- the forecast looks like todays) they will get the alfalfa seed on the fields.

Garry has found out that the seed needs to be purchased the fall before planting, as it has been hard to buy what he wants now. So he will be doing that for next year!

We had a good time at team meeting as everyone was there. The boys enjoyed hanging out with the Bellamy teens- and playing Killer Bunnies (its a card game.) At the end of the month the Bellamys are returning to Canada for a month to get their oldest son settled in Alberta- he finished his homeschooling last year, and plans to get a job. They have been in Ukraine for eight years so it will be an adjustment for him, even if he's a Canadian. Not to mention for the rest of the family leaving him behind this time.









After lunch we had to hurry off, and stop at the building downtown where the Ukrainian-Canadian Dairy Commission is- Garry needed to purchase more semen for breeding cows (we had to bring the liquid nitrogen tank in with us. He could not breed two cows that were in heat earlier in the week as he was completely out- and his favorite cow was ready to breed tonight (the Holstein that had 32 liters a day) I waited in the car for quite a while- the guy that knows the price was out to lunch- but they finally decided on a price so Garry could pay and leave. I took pictures while they were gone- they was a nice playground/park across the street. You can see its warming up outside- but babies and small children are still bundled up. Here is one of Garry and Jonah carrying it back out of the building.

We drove home so Garry could see how Max was doing seeding- check out how green the winter wheat fields are getting!- Mooshka had been locked out of the house while we were gone- the kittens were very happy to see her!

about that weather forecast....

So this morning when Garry checked the weather on the internet, of course the forecast for the week has changed from sunny until Friday to 50% chance of showers for Wednesday (and the rest of the week.) So Maxim spent the day cultivating the field again in the hope that the rain holds off and they can plant this week- along with eight gardens as he was heading back this evening. Here are some other ways people are getting their gardens cultivated- the people-powered harrows (the lady next door hired a guy to harrow here garden- you can see him in the background of one of the pulling the giant thing out of the hole photos) This evening I saw the guy with the white horse harowing the garden behind ours- back behind the silage pile, and this morning there was an old tractor blowing clouds of exhaust as it worked up the garden beyond the little alfalfa field two houses over.

Garry hooked the tractor to the disks this morning after finishing feeding the cows and cleaning up the barn this morning. He went around the field he was hoping to burn off- but the stuff didn't want to burn- too damp with the sun already hiding behind the clouds. The ground was really too wet to disk anyway.

After lunch Garry had to drive to Dnepro to the dentist so I went along to get some groceries while he was there. For some reason my SCU card wouldn't work in the ATM, so I had to wait until he returned to go though the checkout. Getting grivna from the cash machine is the easy way to change money here (you can exchange US dollars or euros at banks and money exchange places, but except for the 5 dollar change for foreign transactions the cash machine is great - try to find ones that will give more per transaction to make that 5 dollars worth while.) Too bad the camera battery was charging- as usual saw great photo ops while without it- like a white horse pulling a full load of hay on the outskirts of the city- with a big red tassel on its bridle.













I grabbed the camera when we got back for the photos of the neighbour pulling the big block out of the hole. Several guys worked getting a cable around it, and out it came- looked like it weighs a ton. Even the babushska came over to the fence for a closer look (or maybe she was telling Victor how her chickens might fall in the hole- I didn't ask.) It's now sitting on its side further up the fence. The boys were back to work on the hole until dark (around 8 pm.) Victor had come while we were gone, bringing the bags of pea seed in his van. It's even treated seed- at least the plastic burlap bags are dyed purple- so it should have some fungucide on. They still need to get the oat seed - the guy that is supposed to sell some has been unavailable- there had been discussion of getting barley seed instead. So either there will be lots of action in the morning, getting ready to seed---or not much at all, just watching the rain fall.

Beginning, continue and finished

Beginning-




Today the cultivator was borrowed (we are fixing one in lieu of rent, but there may be two eventually I think) and Maxim spent most of the day driving back and forth on one of the fields we are planting this year. He got back around 7 pm, and unhooked the cultivator before I got out to take a photo (he hooked to the dump wagon to empty the dirt from the hole.) Rain is in the forecast for Friday, so Garry would like to get something planted before it comes, since the fields are dry enough to go now.

Victor spent a lot of time buying the alfalfa seed, trying to track down some oat and pea seed to plant with it. Garry wants to plant them as a "nurse crop" to crowd out the weeds in the alfalfa. They are annual crops while the alfalfa will winterover and grow for many years. The peas and oats (and the young alfalfa plants) get cut and turned into silage for the cows to eat, and then (if it rains) the alfalfa will get cut for hay (or haylage- wet hay that is fermented) a few times this summer, hopefully.

Continue






The hole saga continued today- the teens were back after school this afternoon to dig more dirt out of the hole- as you can see the giant block is still in there. They are down to the bottom on three sides as darkness fell and they were done for the day.


Finished







Garry's brother John's visit drew to a close today- he spent the day helping Garry again. He has enjoyed playing farmer (John works in a hospital)- he even tried milking a cow by hand on Friday- he got Yana to video him with his camera. We had pancakes and McGyver night early this week (we finished season one last week so moved on to season four today) Garry drove John to the bus depot in Dnepro- he is taking the bus to the Borispol (Kiev) airport like I have done- since he flies out at one Tuesday afternoon. The bus left an hour late, so Garry got back home later than expected, but John is on his way- the bus will arrive at 6 am.

Luckily he remembered to take the cow swivel snaps out of his luggage today- Garry's dad brought them in September to hook the cows to the chains, but accidently took about ten back to Canada with him- it would have been too funny if they went back again!

What's in the hole?

It’s a balmy 14 degrees Centigrade (as Ukrainians say- well maybe they think it’s a little cool, but the centigrade part)- its April already, the crocus are blooming, the tulips are getting further up in the front yard, and Victor is spraying the fruit trees he trimmed last Saturday. We had a tableful at dinner- 9 people (the four of us Garry’s brother John, Victor, his son Denis and daughter Dasha.) Dasha doesn’t eat much, she’s ten, but she did take an extra helping of the corn- we are still eating from last year’s garden, and it tastes really good. We also had had lasagna, potato and cabbage salads, and I warmed up the leftover April Fools “cake” – still have some left for anyone who likes quick bread with chicken and tomato sauce inside. Victor had brought some plain donuts and cinnamon buns, so no one has eaten the lemon cake I baked yet. They are suspicious- it looks very much like yesterday’s April Fools cake.








The guys- along with several Ukrainian lads today- are digging yet another hole(next to the other two storage pits along the fence line but closer to the house) to become a pit for the brewers grains- as you can see, they had a small or maybe large problem- it is already full of something. Victor says there was supposed to have been a windmill on the property one time, so this may be the foundation- it has four metal rods sticking out of the cement and appears to be bricked on the sides. They are digging down around it- the pit is supposed to be a meter deep, and they are not there yet (neither the meter of the bottom of the object!) The two finished pits are full- we got a load of brewers’ grain on Tuesday you can see Garry filling the wheelbarrow full while getting the cows' dinner in one picture. Garry plans to build a low cement wall on three sides of them to hold more in (sometime when they get more fed so the level is below ground level.) There is one more hole digging in the plans-they will get good use out of the forms they made. He would like to be able to get an entire 27 ton load eventually, and put it into the pits and cover them, for when the brewery is closed down for weeks during winter holidays.

News flash- they did get down underneath one corner of the object so the hole should be empty on Monday when it is finished. The thing appears to be one meter deep (and about a foot underground- so this hole will be a little deeper- Garry says he wanted it a little bigger anyway.

This morning Garry got the cows outside for a morning romp in the barnyard for the first time this spring- here are him and Max hooking up a couple of cows- it took a while to hopefully get them back in the correct stalls to enjoy their morning feed. The milking ladies let them know if they were back in the right places when they milked at noon, I'm sure.

April Fool

This morning after a good night's sleep Garry was ready for April fools - so was Maxim- telling Garry that the cows only made 400 lters of milk yesterday. Garry called Victor and told him the cows were stolen last night. The he came in and tried to convince me it was team meeting and I needed to bring pies - in half a hour. I decided to get him back. We had soup for lunch and I told him I had made cake for dessert. I got Garry to cut it, and he licked his finger off and realized the "icing" was mashed potato- the bundt cake had a filling of chicken and tomato sauce. I didn't take a picture, because I was trying to keep them from realizing something was up.





Garry and his brother had cleaned up the front yard this morning, Garry trimmed the grape vines, and after an afternoon nap (all the driving yesterday had got to him) he rotatillered the garden and they planted onion sets. Mint was trying to help- you can tell he's recovering nicely form wahtever was wrong with him. Maxim finished the new door for the milk house while we where gone. The one they bought last fall took a beating over the winter, so Max welded one and painted it blue.





More signs of spring- the crows- Varona in Russian -were nesting as we drove down to Crimea we noticed there were a large number of stick nests built in trees- easy to see with no leaves on the trees yet. Crows seem to be very social birds as you can see in this picture. Garry says he saw the herd of cows from the neighbouring village out on the fields today (I am assuming that was not an April Fool's joke, but you never know....)

Cherry blossoms in Crimea

We took a drive down south to Crimea on Wednesday, stopping in Bachtisarai where after lunch the guys climbed up the mountain to the monastery and all the way up to the ancient cave city (I decided to sit it out and visited with friends, since I had done it before.) Then we continued on to Stevasopol where we stayed at the Best Western.

We left home around six am and Garry was driving through fog (around 8:30 he said he thought it would have been gone by ten am- we were past the border (its really just where the checkstop was in the old days) around eleven when the sun finally burnt through the mist. There wern't too many holes in the road, but Garry passed a lot of slow moving trucks and old Ladas. As we got further south we saw the fields grow greener, and cows, goats and sheep out to graze. Between Bachtisarai and Stevastopol we saw the first cherry tree in bloom.















The Hotel Stevasopol must have been for the Soviet big bosses in the old days when it was a closed city (the Russian Black Sea fleet is still stationed here) with a grand staircase we climbed to get to our third (top floor) rooms. The rooms were nice with bathrooms that have been renovated with North American style (our one double bed room had a circular shower but the guys' two bed room had a tub, they tell me.) I had to take a picture of the "do not disturb" sign with the "no bugles" -it made me laugh.

We walked to McDonald's for dinner, and in the morning enjoyed a breakfast buffet unrivaled by any hotel breakfast we have had in Ukraine. Seth was sad when he discovered the that there was free wi-fi as he had left his laptop at home. Then we walked around the waterfront by the downtown hotel, before heading out to sightsee.









Garry followed the GPS directions (I was happy to be jammed in the back seat with the boys while John did the interpretation of what the GPS really meant by turn right here) to the Panorama- the front desk had helped him get the right names in for where we we planning to go. Garry got to the casa (ticket booth) at 9:28- but it opened at 9:30 so we walked around the building while Jonah tried to befriend the cat population. As you can see the daffodils were blooming. I understand that it had snowed three weeks ago, but had been in the 20's (C around 70 F) since then. We got our tickets and went inside. This time Garry convinced the lady to turn on the English version of the commentary, which presents (in the round) the events of the defense of Stevastopol in 1853-1854 during the Crimean War - I think the day portrayed is June 6th- which of course highlights the defense of the city by the Russians from the French and English troops.



Then we drove to our second site- the ancient Greek ruins, which date back to the 5th century BC, if I remember correctly. It's a UNESCO world heritage site. It is also the site where the Prince Vladimir was baptised and considered to be where the Orthodox church was founded in Russia. After Ukrainian independence, the church was rebuilt here. It had been turned into a museum during Stalin's time to display the ancient artifacts found here but was badly damaged by German shells during WWII, and abondoned.

We only got in trouble once when a guard did not like the boys climbing up on the wall (mostly they let you wander everywhere at these places) but we checked out the church and went down to the shore to find even more stuff than we did in October when we come with Garry's parents. Seth and Jonah climbed down some steps to the Black Sea (Jonah stuck his hand in and said it wasn't cold) I took a photo of the guys under the fog bell - cast from melted French muskets from the Crimean War- I think. Then we headed home around 1 pm, getting home around seven, just after darkness fell (we did stop in Zaporosia to eat.) All was well at home.