Life on the farm -er- mission



New and Old Goats

This week found us on the road to the other side of the Island and staying with the Andersons back in our original apartment.  We needed to go visit some of the people who had signed-up for food projects in the Mandeville area so we could get a better idea of the variety of situations and circumstances that we will encounter.  In our travels with President Collins of the Junction Branch we met with a non-member family who's nanny goat had just delivered three kids a few hours before we arrived.  You know, a baby-anything is cute but a baby goat is adorable.  Unlike our three "kids", the goats came out with hair!  And they weren't all red and wrinkled, and the goats seem to be born with their full vocabulary "Maaaaa". 

   



The North end of a South-bound donkey.



 

President Collins took us to meet a man who was not a member but who comes to church quite regularly.  He wanted to plant a garden and in preparation had his donkey living on the land to prepare the soil.  He said that it was important to have the soil packed down tightly so that the water would push up to the plants where the soil was loose.  I had never heard of the concept but then I've never had to rely on rain water alone for the success of my plants.  I'm certainly going to ask RADA if what he said has any merit.  He also talked about putting mulch around the plants to help hold the moisture.  That concept I had heard about so I thought it better not to make an ass of myself by questioning him about the donkey.

We also visited a member family who had signed-up to raise chickens but had since decided that they would rather add to their pig population.  We are fine with people changing their projects.  It indicates that they are thinking realistically about what they want to do and what type of project will be successful for them.  They had just purchased three rabbits and were now raising them for meat.  They are the first people we have found who are raising rabbits.

The grass hut is where President Collins may raise his chickens but it will take quite a bit of remodeling.  My "chick" checked it out but said it would take even more remodeling to get her to move in.

Grass hut, but no grass skirt

Below is a picture of a sorrel field which provides Shanna's new drink of choice - sorrel with ginger.  the fruit shown in the bucket is boiled with a little ginger root and makes a very dark red drink.  Think cranberry / raspberry / cherry, with a ginger kick.



Field of Sorrel

 



Today's sorrel harvest

 





We visited Godfrey Stewart High School in Savanna-la Mar to arrange for a handing-over ceremony for two project that they had received.  The lab benches and science equipment project was started by the Preeces and finished just before school started last September.  We had provided the reading lab and we were very excited to see how they had painted and decorated the room.  I think they were pretty proud of it also.

We took Elders and Sisters Flake and Herbert to Lime Cay Island on Monday for their P-day.  An old fridge floated in so they piled-in and headed for Florida - if they could only decide which way to Florida.