Moving

Just a quick update.  I'm leaving this current farm and going up north to Chiavari, a town near the coastal Genova.  This farm was great and I loved working with the animals, but I'm ready to learn about cultivating some vegetables and really getting to know the farmers.  Hopefully I'll be able to post soon after arriving at the new farm.  

Here's a look at the past few days.

This is Marco's accommodations.  Marco takes care of all the animals and has become one of my favorite people on the farm.  He's just a mellow guy who keeps his calm even when half the goats have run away to the olive grove and the others, with the kids, have followed the sheep into the stable.  I think this wooden house fits him perfectly.  

Most of the kids have been born.  It's amazing how fast they grow.  Two weeks ago they were just born and learning how to walk.  Now they are running all over the place, hanging out together, and jumping down cliffy slopes.  Yesterday I got to actually watch a birth.  It was pretty incredible to see something enter the world and experience its first minutes. 

The weather has been pretty extreme lately.  One day it will be nice and sunny and I can work in a t-shirt.  Then the next day it will be rainy and windy.  In any case, its still beautiful.

Oh, did I mention it snows too?  I was in the fields with the animals and it started coming down.  Crowding around the goats for warmth I thought "How crazy is it that I'm a shepherd in the south of Toscana and its snowing?"  It was really a cool experience (pun totally intended).  

When I'm at the next farm I will miss the animals.  I have grown attached to them and have enjoyed working with them.  I'm really lucky to have gotten this photo.  She's a tough goat.