Settling into Our Routine and Taking in New Lessons
Ziegenhof & Käserei Eigelsberg, Austria
I’ve been reading a lot about what motivates farmers to include tourism activities on their farms. There seems to be consensus in research about economic reasons being of great importance, however, those are often closely followed by, or to some considered equally important as, many other reasons. The quality of family life, the quality of the working environment, the educational role of farmers, being part of rural community development, and other social aspects are frequently mentioned. From farmers’ motivations, it could be understood that they perceive farming as more than a job.
As we are spoiled (or tricked) by the availability of food around every corner and at all times, making us numb to its seasonality and locality, it’s hard for most people to picture the lifestyle of a small family farm. From what I’ve seen, the farmer lifestyle can only be sustainable with (very) good organization, requiring a lot of thought about how to simplify and optimize each task.
Speaking of organization, the goat farm I’m currently volunteering at has many aspects of its farm work thought through. Here, as you’re going about the daily tasks and realize you’d need, for example, a screwdriver, a detergent, a mop, a hose with hot water, or a calendar to write something down quickly, it’s all at hand, where it should be. This makes the tasks immediately more enjoyable and quicker to do. Work on a farm is, at its core, a pleasure. So much beauty is part of it. But struggling to find the right tool to keep up with the (always present) repairs can detract from that pleasure.
When the weather is nice, I like hanging out with the goats and observing them while they are grazing. On pasture, they stay together but keep some distance from each other. The pasture is surrounded by an electric fence, only about 50 centimeters high. In other words, any goat could easily jump over this. These goats don’t. They have more than enough space to graze and are not tempted by even the surrounding forests. I couldn’t believe it at first. When new goat kids are first let out onto pasture, each of them personally experiences what an electric fence is, and from then on, they simply do as the herd does.
It’s always amazing to me when animals show complete trust. Goats and cows, for example, have this motion of scratching the ground with their hoof a couple of times, just before lying down right beside you. Also, the herd’s male, named Vanda, has a nice character. Can you tell from the picture below that he’s lying down, resting on his horns, taking in the sun?
I guess, the ultimate functionality is comfort. Even more so, there are several luxuries on this farm, such as floor heating in the room in which we change before going to the barn. It’s the little things, like not finding your boots still wet from the walks on the damp pasture, or putting on a warm jacket before going to the barn in the cold mornings, that make such a difference. I have to say, having a regime of milking only once a day is looking better and better, considering the loss of milk is nowhere near as big as the amount of time gained. Combining my friend’s and my own work on farms adds up to quite a significant amount of experiences with different farm realities. I enjoyed our discussions on that, especially over some goat cheeses and goat sausage spreads like the one below.
Overall, food has been an important part of our routine. We alternate lunch preparation, so we each cook every other day. A lunch idea I will definitely make again is cream cheese dumplings, served on a reduced tomato sauce, and topped with crispy sage. I used some fresh goat cheese, but to recreate it you could also use ricotta. Combined with potato or corn starch, eggs, salt and pepper, it makes a nice dough, that’s easy to handle. I suggest using an ice cream scoop to make same-size dumplings. Fry them in butter for about 30 seconds on both sides. The dumplings are incredibly soft, perfect to pick up some of the tomato sauce (I suggest making the sauce a bit spicy) and paired with the crunch of sage leaves.
Another important part of the day have become our walks along the fields and in the forests around the farm. It’s a place fit for mushroom enthusiasts, although we stick to picking only the parasol mushroom, as neither of us are experts. We stumbled upon a beautiful wooden tiny house at the edge of the forest. After talking to the owner, the house is now at the disposal of cats. There is an opening on the side of the house, inside are beds and food prepared for the cats, and a camera to observe their behavior. Needless to say, the owner is a cat lover. Also, I want that house. To heck with the cats.
Oh Ana, you are a person with huge heart and immense sensual spirit! ❤️