27 October 2006
More soap and dirty goats
On Wednesday we helped to make another two batches of soap. They will be our last batches, as there is no more coconut oil and more isn't due to be delivered until after we leave. In the evening after supper we watched a video (Punch Drunk Love) in our room.
Yesterday we cleaned up the soap shop, then for the rest of the day we were alternately forking rotting manure-soaked straw from the goats’ shed and gardening. By the afternoon Sophie's back was aching and Rowan decided he preferred cleaning out the goats, so after lunch Sophie did gardening and Rowan did the goats’ shed. Gardening consisted of pulling or digging up all the plants in the flower beds and putting manure onto the beds. Sophie also dug up some onions and cut the heads off the calendula flowers to be dried (the petals go in the soap sometimes). It was hard work, but in a good way - we felt like we had really earned our dinner. It didn't rain too much (for a change). It was also nice to be in with the goats: they are full of character and generally very calm animals (unlike sheep), but also extremely inquisitive. They kept going in and out of the barn while it was being cleaned. They don’t like being out in the rain, but they seemed a bit nervous of the pitchfork. They also do a lot of chewing – they have chewed up the barn and the fences. When they decide to do a bit of chewing all nine of them do it, in quite a determined and persistent manner. You need sturdy fences with goats.
Yesterday we cleaned up the soap shop, then for the rest of the day we were alternately forking rotting manure-soaked straw from the goats’ shed and gardening. By the afternoon Sophie's back was aching and Rowan decided he preferred cleaning out the goats, so after lunch Sophie did gardening and Rowan did the goats’ shed. Gardening consisted of pulling or digging up all the plants in the flower beds and putting manure onto the beds. Sophie also dug up some onions and cut the heads off the calendula flowers to be dried (the petals go in the soap sometimes). It was hard work, but in a good way - we felt like we had really earned our dinner. It didn't rain too much (for a change). It was also nice to be in with the goats: they are full of character and generally very calm animals (unlike sheep), but also extremely inquisitive. They kept going in and out of the barn while it was being cleaned. They don’t like being out in the rain, but they seemed a bit nervous of the pitchfork. They also do a lot of chewing – they have chewed up the barn and the fences. When they decide to do a bit of chewing all nine of them do it, in quite a determined and persistent manner. You need sturdy fences with goats.
