Category Archives: WWOOFing

Capon Keepin’ On

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Travel Musings, WWOOFing

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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

Posted by in WWOOFing

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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

Posted by in Destinations, Travel Musings, WWOOFing

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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!