Fiskemannen

Well, of course I am now so far behind in my blogging that it's impossible to fill in all the missing pieces of my experience in Lygra so far.
By now, I have been here for half a month, so I am feeling quite comfortable. It's always once I seem to get used to being in a place that I have to start thinking about leaving it and moving on to the next. I have about another 10 days here, so I don't have to worry about leaving yet I guess, but still...
I finalized some plans for a farm in the Loire Valley in France next month. I hope to spend a few days in Paris as well. I keep thinking about what I will do when I get home eventually though, since that time is slowly approaching. In some ways it's nice that I don't really have a home or job right now to come back to, because it means I can start over pretty much anywhere I want. On the other hand though, I know I am going to want some stability and the chance to start my own life as soon as I am back home, and I still can't decide whether I want to do that in NYC again or not.

Anyways, that's a whole other topic that shouldn't even be breached in this post (although if you have advice, do feel free to email me).

This past week has been pretty fabulous. Like I said before, I am getting really accustomed to the lifestyle here. It's really simple, but I don't feel like I'm missing too much. Earlier, I felt like I was lacking a bit of contact with the outside world, but this past weekend we had a lot of visitors staying at the house, so it didn't feel isolated at all anymore. Plus I am beginning to enjoy the isolation. I didn't think that was going to happen, to be honest. But it has! The other day, digging potatoes, I found myself mesmerized by a particularly beautiful dung beetle, and thought about how in my previously overstimulated life I would not have been able to appreciate the purple and blue tones on it's little shiny back. When would I have time to notice a dung beetle? (Not to mention, where would I find one?)

Friday- Monday were sheep gathering days here. Erik keeps his wild sheep in 3 different flocks, 1 on the home pastures, 1 on outer Lygra in the heathlands, and 1 on an adjacent island whose name I can't remember. We rounded the sheep up and then the farmers decided which ones were right for slaughter. I helped tie the rope around the necks of the chosen ones, and after they were put on the boat to transport them to Lygra, we had to lift them up onto the dock and into a trailer which then took them to Johan's barn. The new wwoofer Chantelle and I rode back a couple kilometers on the wheel guard of Johan's tractor, holding onto the roof. I feel like a real farm girl lately. It's becoming a bit more natural, finally.

During down time, I went fishing with one of Erik's visiting friends who works as a cook on big fishing boats and knows a ton about fishing. So much fun. I love fishing. I've caught things before, but there's always been some dude there who wants to do the killing and gutting, so after I reel it up my job is done. But Ingvar let me do the whole thing, so I murdered my first living thing. This past Sunday. It felt very strange, but I love eating fish, so why not know how to catch it and kill it myself?

I did draw the line at the sheep slaughtering, though. I get really squeamish around all that blood and flesh. It's too much. There were 2 sheep who died during the rounding up process.. one broke his leg trying to escape over a tall fence and had to be shot, and another one was already small and weak, and got trampled by his flock when they were in the holding pen. Isn't that one of the most tragic things you've heard in a long while? I remember seeing him looking especially tired earlier on, but to die just from lying down in the wrong spot? Ugh. It was really horrible.
So Ingvar and Erik had to take the carcasses home and skin them and hang them and all that. They did not need my help, so I stayed inside with Annette drinking tea thank god.

We ate especially delicious food this past weekend as well, because Ingvar is not only a fisherman but also a wonderful chef (double bonus!). Yesterday he made us sheep heart stuffed with apples and horseradish and braised in Danish ale and pig fat. Might not sound good, but it was one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten! He also made pate from the sheep's liver. Also delicious. At the moment I can't remember what other incredible things he whipped up over the few days he was here, but let's just say we were all super spoiled, and threatened to go on a hunger strike if he left (which he did, and we didn't).

Today we focused on domestic concerns. Mainly having to do with apples. We siphoned the apple cider into bottles, made lots of apple juice, and apple jam, and apple & mint jelly!

Glaciers and stuff

Well, I've had a busy week!
Right now I am very sleepy and very full. We went blueberry picking today, and came home and immediately cooked up some delicious blueberry pancakes and stuffed our faces and now everyone is napping. I'm baking some more bread, and later this evening Anders will teach Sara and I how to salt and cure and cut the meat..
This meat here:
So, last weekend, my hosts Anders & Hilde went to Hilde's farm on the island, leaving me and my wwoofer buddies Pete & Ginny to take care of Ytre Aasen here in the mountains. We decided to go for a mini road trip, which Pete entitled the Magical Mystery Tour (very original). He was the Navigator, Ginny was the DJ/Caterer, and I was the Trip Photographer. First we went into the town center of Foerde, where there is little else but a large shopping center (a mall, essentially). We went to the mall and browsed around H&M. I hadn't seen that amount of people in such a long long time, it was like sensory overload, and I will admit that I actually had a wonderful time. It's amazing to realize that I could be overwhelmed by the "crowds" in such a tiny small town in the middle of nowhere. NYC might just blow me away! No, but honestly, I really do like people a lot. Not so many that you can't move without running into someone, but more than like 2.

Our road trip led us to the Josteldalsbreen Glacier (largest glacier in continental Europe) and along the Sognefjord (one of the longest fjords in the world). We stopped at loads of roadside viewing spots to take photos, and ooohed and aahed a lot, and listened to Led Zeppelin, and overall it was very nice. Lots of amazing nature, all right along the roadside.

On Sunday we went bilberry picking up the mountain again, and when we came home we gathered up the lambs from the pasture into the barn. Anders came home that evening and together we all marked the fattest rams with a green crayon on their foreheads, to be picked up for slaughter in the morning. It should have been a similar experience as the ram wrangling on Skorpa, but somehow it was a lot more depressing. I didn't even take any photos. Maybe it was worse because I am now alot more fond of the sheep overall, and I feel a greater connection to them than on my first day at the farm. But I think it was also because they were gathered together in these enclosed pens, indoors, to wait overnight for their sad fate. The rams on Skorpa were ushered into those metal crates only moments before the boat came to pick them up.
I also bonded with one of the fated rams in the sheep house this Sunday. He got my attention by attempting to nibble on my hand, and then was so sweet and so tame, and just stood there wagging his tail and looking up at me... it honestly broke my heart. Pete saw me petting this sweet little guy and said "If it was your farm, I have a feeling only two lambs would make it onto that truck in the morning" and Anders said that if the little lamb had been a ewe they might have kept him because of his sweet temperment, but they really have no use for rams on the farm, so he had to go. What an awful night! I attempted to be brave about it, but I felt really awful in the morning when I heard that truck leaving. I did shed a few tears too, behind closed doors. But it's all part of the farm experience, I suppose, right?

On Monday night, we had a new arrival. The German wwoofer Sara came to stay for about 12 days. She had been here before for 5 weeks in the beginning of the summer, and is stopping by again before returning home. She is only 1 year younger than me, and also is traveling alone for the first time (although she's been on the road for months and months now, and I am just beginning). It's wonderful to have more company and meet a new person, and she's very cool as well, which is a bonus. Anders' daughter Vilde is also visiting from college in Bergen for the weekend, so I think this weekend will be a lot of fun. On Saturday we are going to a local arts festival, and on Sunday cooking a big Greek feast. Finally something I know about! Greek food! haha

Frost is coming soon. Today the air was very chilly and the leaves are turning beautiful colors.
On Tuesday we went hiking up a mountain to search for the remaining sheep that are still at large. It was stunningly beautiful, and there were tons of blueberries all along the way for snacking on. Wonderful!

Wednesday was spent digging up the rest of Anders' potatoes. 6 hours on our hands and knees in the dirt! It actually was not so bad. We rummaged with our gloved hands in the overturned dirt for the hidden potatoes, and it reminded me of being a kid again (because I think that was the last time I played in the dirt for so long).

Today was grey and chilly, but we went back to the foot of the mountain where the blueberries were really thick on the bushes, and between the for of us (me, Sara, Anders & Hilde) picked 20 kilos of blueberries. Amazing!