Up and down the mountain

There has been lots going on with finishing touches on work at the guesthouse and ranch, the final planting in the gardens and now the weeding, and guests have started arriving, and through it all, it feels like I am always in the wrong spot .. when I am up on the mountain I have things to do in the valley and vice versa ..  

But today we seem to be all set for the rest of the summer . 

Here are some up and down photo's, but before I do, There are two needs that I need to share.  The first is the Babushka we helped with her eye surgery a month ago.  It is now time for her final surgery . They are looking for help of $350 for this last surgery. The other need is a for a family we have been helping.  usually we have helped them with coal, but last winter we were able to get their house connected to the city hot water.  The house was nice and warm, but there is a bit of a learning curve.  She did not seem to realize that she has to pay for that heating bill of $50 a month for 5 months.  She has asked with help with this.  I would like to help with the bill and put her on an equal billing through us throughout the year so the price is less and so that the majority can be paid in the months that they work in the summer . To get them squared up with the city we need $250.

So lets go up the mountain  now. 

table is all set with fresh breed, borsolk, salads honey and jam all from the farm, ready for guests 

Marat finished the coffee table upstairs in the kashar .. it has a glass top and features itemes that were either found or made around the farm 

her you can see the big rooster, the goat and the rabbit all enjoying the morning in the new pen 

the calf and the little piglet like it to, but we are having a bit of trouble with the calf .. he wants to be with you so when you are in the pen he is fine but as soon as you leave he jumps the fence to follow you 

the boys cleaning the truck 

our guests getting a turn with the eagle at the yurts 

Back down at the farm, the cabbages are ready to weed .  

Taking a moment at the end of the day with some of the boys 

Yesterday was pay day , and after being payed, Mirlan came back to me and handed his money back to me and said " I don't need money for anything , I have everything I need , Maybe you could hold it for me and one day I can buy my own cow," We talked with him  and he understands the monthly expenses of a cow and he agreed that it would be good business for him.  The problem is that we are trying to keep the numbers of cows down right now, so I don't want to buy a new one yet, so we offered him Julies calf at a very fair price .. He agreed , and Just like that the calf needs more milk through the day, it needs chopped corn and it needs a vitamin salt lick, and now lives in the petting zoo ...  

Aigoola has been busy makoing more beautiful blankets for us , with the extra beds and giving away too many last fall we have had to make 18 more. 

The guests wanted to go horse back riding so Misha and a couple of the others went down to the farm to pick up the horses 

Some of the guests bought some stuff from the gift shop including one of Marats paintings 

A cool sun set photo of the sheep coming down out of the mountain at night 

today we started transitioning out of the green house and into the garden for the salads 

It was agreed that the kids could have ONE pig. and he can stay until September .. and we are not naming her 

Back at the kashar Marat built and installed the bench seat in the shower room 

and finally today back down at the farm we moved the herbs we started in the green house out into the herb garden .  Today we planted Basil, Cilantro, Chives, Oregano, and Thyme  

ready for guests

things are picking up with the guest house , we have 4 separate groups totaling 11 people, we are also trying to get ready for a group at the yurts tomorrow night.

We had the boys up working on the kashar all day today. 

the coffee table is now finished 

the railings went on the balcony today , and we did a clean up filling the trailer with garbage and the truck with tools and building supplies 

I caught Julie having a moment , she was sweeping and the chair looked a little too comfortable.

Under the stairs we put in lots of shelves where we can put in bags with pillows sheets and blankets ready to give guests when they come to the yurts

Final touches on the railings for the balcony 

so we are now basically finished .. even the toilet paper holder and towel hooks went up today .

I was very proud of Misha today, Aigoola had to be away and Sibera had classes, so he was the cook today with 11 extra guests on the farm.  Breakfast , lunch and an awesome supper, and he is all set and ready for breakfast tomorrow morning .  He is clean , organized and so eager to do a good job.  

Where are they now and were would they have been ?

Where are they now. Today Julie and I spent the morning with Larisa's daughter Tanya.  We took seeds and food packages to some families in needs.  Larisa has been helping these families for many years now.  If you look closely over the right shoulder you will see a photo from 9 years ago that was taken at the dump during Christmas celebrations.  They are still very poor but they are inside now. 

while we were at another family , the little boy was running around with a hunk of clay that he was eating.  The grandmother told us that if she takes it away from the kids, then they chew on the walls in the house ... We will definitely  have to put them on the list for some vitamins. 

Many were so glad to see us .  Today was not about just the food packages, but it was the beginning of the continuation of the burden that Larisa carried for the people of her community , and an assurance to them that life will go on, that they are not alone.

Next stop was such a wonderful stop for us, It was our first time to meat baby Arture.  Vlad and Allina are such great parents and the Canadian Grandma got her turn. what a contrast from the first part of the day.

Where could they have been .. 

As we returned to the farm after the day we had, I could not help think of where our kids would have been today if it was not for supporters like you. We spent the morning with the poorest of the poor.  Living in such desperate situations that they are eating dirt. 

I got back and the boys were over at our far garden trans planting peppers and cucumbers from the green house out into the far fields . 

 
I went right back up to the kashar to unload the wood for the railing and instal the new door upstairs.  it had been there for the winter but the window was boarded up and there was no door latch so today we had the windows in and I installed the latch and door handles .. tomorrow the railings .

At supper the kids sent a picture of supper on the farm... a far cry from eating dirt.

A couple of nights ago after another great meal, one of the boys followed me out to the car when we were going, when we were out of sight of the others, He gave me a big hug and said "Thank you for giving us such good food. "

rainy days

During the night we had a terrible wind storm at the Kashar , the kind that would have had us holding onto the walls of the yurt if we were staying there, Instead we were inside the Kashar house praying that the yurts would still be there in the morning.  Julie had visions of someones cow being blown through our bedroom window . 

When we woke up it was snowing and the mountain was white.  By 8:00 am the snow had lifted and was just settled on the ridge above us.   

 We were a little concerned about the crops in the gardens,  We had pushed things planting a little early so we could get the crops in before the spring rains . We run the risk of frost but it is better then  planting in the dry season and having to truck in water for a few weeks.   So far so good.  Down on the lower ground at the farm there was no snow . The long range forecast shows just one more night that will be close, then after that night time temperatures  will be back up into the double digits .  

So when we did a recap of where we are for blankets for the summer season, between the new beds we have at the kashar and that we may have given away a few to many.  So it was off to the bazaar for Aigula and Marat to get more materials to make some more . 

Aigula found this neat material to make some big over stuffed pillows to make a couple of the beds into day beds on the top floor of the kashar. 

Our girl Baktagul has gone back to Turkey to work, and is doing great.  She had spent the last few months as Aigula's assistant in the kitchen.  As  it would happen, with in a couple days of her leaving, Misha returned to the farm.  He would like to go to cooking school.  He is now doing a lot of the cooking on the farm.  I have been teaching him a few Western dishes and Aigula will teach him some traditional Kyrgyzstan foods.