Author Archives: sarabutton

Meet Coco

13 Thursday Sep 2012

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This is Coco. She’s a a Cinta Senese (pronounced CHEEN-tah sin-AY-seh), which is a Tuscan breed that goes back for quite some time, probably even before the Middle Ages. The name comes from the Italian word for “belt,” which is “cinta.” (Well, really it’s cintura, but you know how language goes…)

The videographer of this masterpiece is Lenny,  the eldest of the three kiddos on the farm where I’m wwoofing. Big thanks to Lenny for his wonderful narration and camera work, and to the other featured actors in this clip: Sonny, Freddie, and Rob.

Coming soon: Video of the killer rabbit! Ducks! And *dun dun DUN* THE CAPON.

Disclaimer: No pigs were hurt in the filming of this video. 

A Few Lessons from the Farm

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

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Running along the furrows
Pigs really will eat almost anything. Except crab apples. Don’t give them too many crab apples.
One of the best snacks is fresh fruit straight off the tree, especially figs. Can’t go wrong with fresh figs.
MMMM. Fichi. 

It really is better sometimes to suck it up and wake up nice and early with the dawn so you can avoid working in the heat.
Italy has scorpions.
Compost needs daily care—it must be churned and added to and mixed every morning. You can tell if it’s starting to work if the compost is warmer than regular dirt.
Tomatoes are one of the easiest plants to grow and maintain.
If you add cilantro to anything, you’re going to get approximately a zillion health benefits.
It’s wise to think about where your food is really coming from. For example, I never realized that almonds grew on trees, mostly because I never, ever thought about it.
Chickens have personalities. They also poo a whole lot.
Chickens snacking as I clean their enclosure.
When you have a pig and a dog, any leftovers you don’t want to save will never go to waste.
Owning animals is a big commitment; remember that it’s a lot harder to find a house sitter when someone has to tend to fowl. 

Photo of my Day: Polly Portraiture

07 Friday Sep 2012

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My new best friend is Polly the dog. She hang out with me while I work around the farm, she’s my new roomie and keeps the basement apartment from getting too lonely, and she is stinkin’ cute, especially when she’s walking around and suddenly pounces on something randomly moving in the grass.

Basically, she’s the coolest dog I”ve met since I left my own snoosy goose behind in Tucson. Here are some pictures of Polly, so you can see how cute she is.

Polly is hilarious. 

Exhibit A: She wants her belly rubbed. But sometimes, whether anyone is rubbing it or not, she freezes in this position for minutes at a time. This makes me laugh.

 Polly is a good friend.

 Exhibit B: She keeps the bed warm while I’m working. How considerate! 

 Polly is one of the most adorable, sweetest dogs on the planet. Exhibits C-E.

HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE THIS FACE!?
Looking regal by the wooden sculpture garden.

My new friend Polly and me. 🙂 

Capon Keepin’ On

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

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So ya know the other day when I mentioned that I was the caretaker of 3 capons and one is trying to kill me? I guess it’s time you all got an explanation.
My nemesis

The first day I was shown around the farm, I was introduced to the capon. A castrated rooster. Okay, cool. No big deal, it’s just another one of the birds. They’re supposedly a lot more docile, as they lack the hormones a regular rooster requires. I was not concerned about this.
Until I was wandering around in the afternoon on that same first day, taking pictures. The chickens were pecking at the ground with the big capon nearby as they tend to do. They’re doing their thing by one of the apple trees, and I went to take some photos of the geese. I turn around, and there the capon is right next to me, staring me down. My host had warned me that sometimes he likes to flap a bit at people to exert his dominance, and so I tried to walk around him. Regardless, he flapped at me and I couldn’t even tell if he got much off the ground; a big bird flapping towards you is a bit startling, and I instinctively yelped and ran away. Mistake. Every teacher knows that the problem student should never be shown any sign of weakness and an animal is no different. I walked away totally freaked out, but figured it would be a one-time episode.
Later that day, when we were feeding them again and I was in the chicken enclosure, it was obvious that the capon was watching me, even through the chicken wire. SO CREEPY.
Day 2 was even worse. I was already timid about being around the capon after what had happened the day before, so I took a little stick with me while we were opening up the enclosures of the chickens, where the capon hangs out.
Usually, the chickens all run out and roam the farm during the day. The capon, however, decided to do something different. I had to leave the enclosure to turn on the water, I think. The capon stood in the doorway and stared me down. I had my stick, so I stood in front of him and kind of waved it at him. Nothing. Totally unfazed. Rob came over and started clapping at it, saying that that usually worked. Eventually Capon moved; I walked through the door and looked behind me AND HE STARTED CHASING ME! I literally screamed like a little girl and ran away (again. Wah wah). Rob was cracking up, and I did, too, and still do as I imagine what it must have looked like for a grown person to be running away screaming from a two-foot-tall bird.
 This episode, however, did not quell my fears of the blasted thing; rather, they amplified them. My host, laughing, said he had never seen him do that to anyone before. The damn thing smelled fear and I was wearing it as a perfume, apparently. I truly understand what Hitchcock was going for with the birds—their flapping wings, their talons. Ugh.
From that point on, I started having a physical reaction whenever I saw the capon. The reaction was fear. My heart rate sped up, and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach flapping away. AT A STUPID BIRD. I felt so silly. I was sure to carry around a stick—a big one this time. I dreaded the next feeding time.
That afternoon, I was attending to something and I noticed the capon was wandering by itself. We were heading the same way, and I really didn’t like the look he was giving me. So, I decided to accept his challenge. Rather than run away when he started walking towards me, I held my ground (and my stick). Bamboo out, I yelled at him all the instinctive things that came to my head. Most of it was just “HAAAAAA!” but a lot of it sounded like I was trying to be Robert De Niro.
“Yeah, I’m watching you. Oh, you wanna fight? HAAAA! Come on! Yeah, that’s right, keep walking, punk.” Seriously, that’s about how the conversation went.
 The capon responded with his eyes: “I’m still watching you.”
After the yelling bit and getting the capon to go the way I wanted him to with some stick jabbing at the air, I felt a little better, although not completely satisfied. I was curious to see what would happen at feeding time.
The dinner hour rolled around, and Rob came with me since I was still getting the hang of things. We kept our eyes on the capon as we went about our feeding and watering. I was in the enclosure checking for eggs and such, and I noticed the capon creeping a little closer. Rather than just waving the stick at it and yelling, I gave it a little poke and it actually made some contact with its breast. The beast flapped back a little and decided he would let me go for the time being.
That poke changed things. Just the fact that his reaction was to back down once I had asserted myself more was heartening. It reassured me that he’s not some superpowered creature that’s invincible to flight or fight instinct. I am, after all, much bigger than he is.
So, this morning (Tuesday), I thought things were a lot better. I was starting to do all the chores on my own, and with my trusty stick by my side I felt confident that my parents wouldn’t need to die of shame if I were killed by a barnyard bird, since that wouldn’t be happening. The butterflies had gone away, and with my trusty De Niro impressions, I was ready to conquer the world. Well, the bird enclosure, at least.
The morning went without a hitch. The capon went where I wanted him to go when I wanted him to do it, and I wasn’t really scared while I was getting my work done. Fast forward a few hours, and it started to rain. Actually, it had been raining on and off all day, but the weather couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a real downpour or not. I was in the main house, but had to run down to my apartment to get something. I turn the corner and what do I see? You guessed it: the capon. Where? IN FRONT OF MY BEDROOM DOOR. LOOKING INTO IT. EXPECTANTLY. (Okay, so perhaps the ‘expectantly’ description is an exaggeration, but that’s what it felt like…)  I swore aloud in shock ran away and back up to the house to get my stick.
To be fair to the capon, and to me, when I went back down and armed, he had gone. But I have no idea why he was hanging out there, because when it’s rainy the birds usually go into their enclosure to escape the elements, NOT INTO A HOUSE for crying out loud. What a stalker.
This afternoon was a lot better. I’ll let you guys know how the Great Capon story unfolds…

On the Farm: The Beginning of my WWOOFing

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

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The view from my little apartment looks onto the many trees and in the distance on the right is the animal enclosure.

I started WWOOFing the other day, as I mentioned in my last post. My job is to take care of the animals, which mostly just means feeding and watering them, making sure their enclosures are clean from their poo, that sort of thing. The other main job I have is to tend the compost.

Because this farm doesn’t produce commercially, the number of animals is much smaller compared to other types of farms. But, for one person it’s a fine amount:
The evil capon. See the compost bin in the back? In the blue!
  • A few ducks
    • Mama & Papa duck

     

      Their offspring


  • A handful of quail, both full-grown and babies that were just bought.
  • A rabbit. For the kiddos? They used to breed them but stopped.
  • 8 chickens, mostly for eggs but also for meat once in awhile.
    • Chickens snacking 
  • A capon, which is for meat at Christmastime. Apparently capon meat is incredibly tender and flavorful. Not sure what a capon is? Me neither! At least, I wasn’t until this one decided to become my worst nightmare. More posts on that to follow in the near future.
    • This photo was taken before it scared the crap out of me. See how close it was for me to get this shot? TOO CLOSE. Look at those talons. And its beady little eyes. Yeesh. 
  • 2 or 3 tortoises. Not sure how many there are because I rarely see them…they’re cute little buggers, though.
  • A pig! Her name is Coco, and she’ll be around for maybe another year. Mmm, fresh prosciutto.

Coco. 
My favorite animal by far is Polly the dog. She’s awesome. She is not for eating.
Isn’t that the sweetest face? 
Polly likes her belly rubbed. She also likes to lay like this for a really long time sometimes even if nobody is petting her, so she looks like a Frankenstein doggy with her paws up. Hilarious.
My day starts around 7:30 or so, and I eat breakfast, clean up, and take leftovers to the pig. She eats everything, pretty much, as pigs tend to do. She also gets a mixture of meals and orzo and such, and that all gets mushed up with some water.
Then, I go down to the bird enclosure, where all the flying guys are. They all basically eat the same thing except the quail and the rabbit; otherwise, they get a mixture of mushy meal and some corn. The chickens get let out first so they don’t eat the breakfasts of the other animals whose doors can stay open (mostly just the mama & papa ducks, who don’t get eaten and are the only ducks who have free license to roam around the farm during the day). I collect eggs, and in all these enclosures I sweep up the poo so I can add it to the compost.
For the compost, that needs care and attention. Everything in moderation, as Seneca said, and it’s true of creating compost, too. Basically, compost consists of remains of organic matter from both animals and plants, and they jive together with soil and minerals and bacteria and fungi. We put in food leftovers (never any meat, because then maggots will develop and leave you with unusable compost), animal poo, plants like leaves, stuff leftover from weeding the garden, even broken up cardboard boxes or woven cloth can go in. The trick is to mix it all up and be patient, because good compost doesn’t develop overnight and if there’s too much of one thing—especially dry plant matter—then it won’t work.
One interesting thing I learned about compost is that you can’t add human fecal waste. Why not? Because there’s too much inorganic crap in our systems. Sad, isn’t it? And yes, that even goes for people who mainly eat organic food, etc. because we’re exposed to so many other things.
My other duties include bits and  bobs that need to be done around the farm, at the discretion of my hosts. Today, for example, I started planting some broccoli (a project that will have to be finished tomorrow, as it’s been quite rainy) and gathered fennel to be dried. I get to play with the kids, and we eat meals together, as well. So far my free time has been spent writing, and soon hopefully I”ll be able to make it into Orvieto to see friends. I also need more toothpaste…

Where I Am for September

02 Sunday Sep 2012

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Sorry I’ve been so bad about posting lately. I have lots of excuses, I swear. Here are a few:
1. We were moving Boris into his new apartment in Istanbul.
2. We didn’t have internet in Boris’ new apartment in Istanbul.
3. I had to get to Orvieto! And that took awhile…
4. The internet here at the farm was out after a storm.
5. I’M ON A FARM. There have been lots of cool things to learn.

So, the whole farm thing. I”m starting my WWOOFing, and as such, I’m working 6 days a week for a few hours a day on a farm near Baschi, Italy. I’m the official caretaker of the farm’s animals, which include a bunch of chickens, some quail, a rabbit, a pig, the second best dog in the world (second only to my own), 3 capons (one of which that is trying to kill me, more on this later), a grouchy cat, 3 tortoises, a few ducks.

I’m also in charge of the compost, which is an integral part of organic farming. I’m really looking forward to learning how to take care of the animals, as well as how to use them for food. Yes, I will be helping to slaughter and butcher them; in fact, we’re going to try to get to a duck tomorrow.

The farm covers about 10 acres, and also is home to fruit trees of all sorts: mulberry, fig, apricot, pomegranate, apple, and quince. There are also olive trees, and the family here sells their olive oil to a restaurant up north.

More photos and updates coming soon! I promise! 

Kitties of Ayvalik: A Photo Essay

31 Friday Aug 2012

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Boris & I recently spent some time in Ayvalik, Turkey, which is in northwestern Turkey on the coast. From there, we hopped a ferry to Lesvos, but not before seeing some kitties ham-ing it up.
I thought this kitty was dead, but he was just sleeping.

Book kitty! 

Much more excited book kitty.

I love how the little guy is eavesdropping their conversation.

Dinner time: pasta from the dumpster.

THIS is what I should have put for my green entry on Capture the Colour. Oh, well. I love how colorful Turkish buildings are.

Sleepy kitty.

This cat had the most piercing eyes, and it approached, sat, and posed 100% for the camera. 

Capture the Colour Photo Contest

27 Monday Aug 2012

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For the past six weeks I’ve been admiring other travel bloggers’ submissions to Travel Supermarket’s Capture the Colour Photo Contest.  Anyone can enter, but for some reason it took me until today to decide to do so using photos I’ve taken in the past few months. I was timid about not having my many photos from previous years on this computer, but now I guess I have a number of shots that are more worth including. Besides, it’s a really fun contest idea and it has a load of great prizes.

Red: Ayvalik, Turkey. We had just taken an 8-hour bus ride from Istanbul, and were ready to resume our tradition of watching sunsets. The first glimpse we caught of it was from a tiny alley just off the water, and I practically started running to the shore when I saw how brilliant the colors were, evident just from the reflections in the car windshield. Needless to say, the sunset itself did not disappoint, but part of the beauty was the teaser that got us there.
Sometimes the preview is just as good as the feature film.

 Blue: Ankara, Turkey. We were being guided by our friend’s good-natured brother (in the navy shirt in the back), and he was the perfect embodiment of Turkish hospitality. We became fast friends with him, and he happily did everyday things with us, like taking my boyfriend (in the blue smock) to his first Turkish barber shop for a beard trim.

First beard trim with our new friend looking on.
Yellow: Sonoma County, California. I had recently quit my job to travel and write for a year, and my extended family decided to take a trip to northern California. It would be the first time that I would fly abroad and they would not be able to see me off due to the trip, so every day we spent together was truly precious. This photo was taken at one of the beaches near our rental in Jenner. At the time of this photo being taken, my father was ten feet away from me creating beautiful sand art and my mother was reading under the umbrella. It was a beautiful day, and the sands were dotted with the bodies of jellyfish. 

White: Thessaloniki, Greece. We had taken a bus to the top of the town and explored, eating fruit and people-watching in a tiny square before meandering some more. Greece is home to many white-washed buildings and many stray cats, and here I found it fitting that we spotted both complimenting each other. The cat slunk through the alleyway with the power of a miniature panther. 

Green: Isle of Skye, Scotland. It was our first day near Glen Brittle on the Isle of Skye, and we had been told that among the countless sheep dotting the countryside there were also ruins of a clan long-established in the area. We ran into another hiker and he joined us for the trek, even giving us a lift to the trail head after having known us for 10 minutes. Here the stone remains look out onto the abundant green overgrowth in what had once been the courtyard of the castle. 

And now, as part of the contest, I nominate 5 fellow bloggers to participate in Capture the Colour. Sorry for the late notices, guys. :-/ My nominees are:

–Regina of ReginaRae.Com
–Tarreyn of TarreynLand.Com
–Kat Carney of Kat Carney Photography
–Lori from Random Road Revelations
–Lily from A Modern Writer’s Adventures and Misadventures