May 30, 2012

Day 10: Cape Clear, Co. Cork, Ireland

This morning, we got up, had a spot of breakfast and went right to milking the goats! I have never milked a goat before, but I’ve milked cows, so I thought it couldn’t be much different! After a bit of practice, I got the hang of it and went to town! The group of us milked as many goats as would cooperate, and then called Ed to come in and do the rest! They much prefer him J

He is the cutest when he’s with the goats- singing to them, sweet talking them, and milking them with absolutely no problems whatsoever.

The milking parlor!

Onis :) Love her!

Sandy milking

The man of the hour- Ed! Singing as he milks Mint and bonding with Lavender!

Zoe recording Ed singing to the goats

Feeding Vivienne in the milking parlor

After they were milked, we fed the milk back to them since we didn’t need to keep any more buckets for ice cream or cheese making at the time. I thought it was a bit strange at first, but they were raised on it and they love it!

I also spent some quality time with them after the milking J

Baby! (That's actually her name)

2 of da babiessss

2 of the teenagers reaping the benefits of leftover grain. It almost looks like their tales are making a heart!

Cupcake :)

Some of the goats just lounging around!

For lunch I had some leftover soup and a tuna sandwich. The can of tuna was the coolest thing- it’s canned with the mayo already in it and also with sweet corn! It was absolutely delicious- I wish we had it at home! After some tea to finish up, we started our trek around the island. We were to be flyering on Ed’s behalf for citizens to vote ‘No’ on the upcoming referendum. I’m not entirely sure what the whole story is, but essentially, the referendum, if passed, will put the Irish government in line with a whole slurry of rules and regulations about the taxing system and internal regulations. From what Ed says (granted, it’s a biased, strong opinion), Ireland would not be in control of its own country anymore and would be a pawn of the EU. It felt a bit strange to be flyering to citizens about their own government, but mostly, we just encouraged them to get out and vote! Civic duty in another country, look at me!

Anyway, on our way around the island we saw a lot of great sights and ran into some really great people too! We were over at the bird observatory and met a couple from abroad that was visiting the island doing some bird watching. They mentioned that they’d be meeting the warden of the observatory shortly to do some bird ringing and that we should join them, so Sandy and I went right along!

Bird ringing, contrary to my first impression, is not the ‘wringing’ with the w (thankfully), but is when you catch wild birds and put the small rings around their legs. Each ring is emblazoned with a specific code that can be traced back to the Cape conservatory, so that if the birds migrate and are caught again, their migration patterns/size/weight can be tracked in the system. It’s quite an interesting process, actually! There were very fine nets that were set up in the trees, about 30 feet long, stretched between 2 bamboo poles. The nets were layered and quite loose, so the birds would fly into the net and fall into a pocket of netting, where the warden would then delicately lift them out. They’re engineered in a way that the birds won’t get hurt; it actually takes a 5 year training course to get a license to even set up the nets. Anywhere, while we were watching, we caught 3 birds, one that we ringed and 2 that already had been ringed! An interesting surprise, for sure!

Steve, the warden of the bird observatory

The first bird that was being ringed- a chiffchaff!

Here he is again

The Grey Tit (teehee)

Here are some sights from around the island too (props to Zoe and Sandy for taking these!)

Ruins on the island

Close up of the Foxglove

Cowssss

More ruins

Gayelan and the landscape

Zoe on the harbor

Lawn decor along the lake on the island

Beautiful walk :)

Another scenic viewpoint

On the way back, Sandy and I ran into a guy that she had met previously at the shop down the road, Finbar (LOVE the name) and his dog- also named Sandy, who entertained us for a while we waited for a ride from Ed’s son back up the steep hill to the house. We also bought some nice snacks for the gang at the shop J Typical Irish things- Jaffa Cakes, Cheese and Onion Taytos, a Galaxy bar and a lemon for dinner!

Sandy (the dog) and Finbarr! 

Yummm

For dinner, the four WWOOFers made seasoned chicken, garlic mashed potatoes and lemon & garlic spinach! It was fun to takeover the kitchen for a bit, and the result was delicious!

Aftewards, we made some bread and butter pudding (a twist on regular bread pudding, with goats milk) that had apples and grapes in it. While that was cooking, we just chatted with Ed for a bit and had some tea at the table. After we had the pudding when it was done, it was time for bed! Early morning again tomorrow!

Favorite part of the day: I think today I really bonded with the goats, as silly as it may sound. They have a special way about them and they’re just absolutely adorable and so affectionate. My favorite, by far, is Lavender. Like I mentioned previously, she’s older and probably at the bottom of the herd, but she’s special and so kind.

World, meet my friend- Lavender.

<3