I’m not sure I can really tell the story of a “typical” day at La Chevrerie, since I’ve only been here for a few days, but I’ll do my best.

Around 7:30 Angela knocks on my door to tell me it’s time to get up. I make my way to the kitchen where Angela, her daughter Nina, and I drink strong french coffee and eat toast with jam. By 8 we’re dressed and in the barn. Nina lets the goats out in groups of 9 or 10 to climb up to the milking stand. The goats gladly run up the ramp and stick their heads into the trough at the edge of the platform where they find a sweet oatmeal like substance made of grain, sugar, and vitamins.

While the goats are being milked, I bring in fresh hay, two bales at a time, to put in the troughs in each stall. Each time I go to fetch new bales, Isis, Nina’s 14 month old dog, drops a stick at my feet, hoping that I’ll throw it for her, a request which is mostly ignored until I’m done with the work. The goats are much more domesticated than the sheep at Hof Schwarzes Moor. They like being petted, and don’t get scared when I come into the stall. One lamb in particular is especially friendly. Teuflichen (little devil, named after her mother, devil) is a little black goat who loves being petted and is very good at getting out of her stall. She can squeeze herself through astonishingly small holes… I tried to fix the hole she’d been squeezing through by nailing a piece of wood across it, but the next morning when we came in for the milking, she had managed to squeeze herself through again!

Once each stall has fresh hay and clean water, I sweep up the hay that’s fallen into the hallway between the stalls. Then I head inside to the living room to sit by the fire and study my German book for an hour or so. Some time between 9:30 and 11, if the weather is nice, I head back outside with Angela to walk with the goats through the forests and meadows in the area. As we walk, I feel as if I’m a kid again, tramping through the forest at scouts. Maybe I’m a charachter from Lord of the Rings, or a goatherd from Gont.

After about two hours of wandering, we lead the goats to the field where they’ll spend the rest of the afternoon, and head back to the house, where I read, eat bread and cheese, watch TV, or check my e-mail.

About an hour before dark, we head out to bring the goats back for milking and to the barn for the night. We wander through the forest and meadow for about half an hour, throwing the stick for the dog, and calling the goats on.

Since they’ve been out all day, eating grass and leaves, I don’t need to give them fresh hay, so once I’ve checked that they all have fresh water, I head back inside.

In the evening, Angela, Nina, Louise (Angela’s youngest daughter), and I may eat all together, unless people are off visiting friends, or Louise is at work. After supper, we often gather in the living room to watch a movie before bed.

I’m really enjoying my time here, and I can’t really believe that the week has flown by so quickly. In addition to what I’ve written above, I’ve had the chance to help put fresh cheese into jars, and make camembert. The time I’ve spend at Hof Schwarzes Moor and La Chevrerie has been wonderful. I hope that I can come back soon!

Posted in just one more eurotrip blog |

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