I'm not sleeping

Written to Be Good Tanyas: Hello Love

You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.
- Anonymous

Lone and I spent three, as opposed to the usual two, days away from Alfheim last week, which resulted in, among other things, our returning to our fazenda on Friday morning at 02:00. Unfortunately, there was no time for laying about or catching up on missed rapid eye movement (REM) sleep on that particular morning; the Instituto Biodinâmico for Rural Development, IBD, inspector, Maria Carolina Wilmers Manço, was scheduled to arrive at 09:30 to initiate our process of organic certification. Much to my chagrin -Lone is the Morning Good of the two of us- and my anything but rapidly moving eyes, Maria Carolina arrived about one and one-half hours late. Nevertheless, upon arrival she was all business, and soon thereafter, Clair, Rosana, Lone and I accompanied Maria Carolina and her colleague, Rosangela, on an extensive tour of Fazenda Alfheim; all in all we walked from approx. 11:00 until 17:00, and not less than 10 km, only breaking for a quick lunch. Together we visited all of Alfheim's planned and/or productive pastures and fields, from which we took a composite soil sample that will subsequently be analyzed for pesticide residues, reviewed farming practices and spent the final couple of hours until they departed at just after 20:30 going over every detail of the process to ensue. It was without question an exhaustive but also productive and satisfying day, and it culminated with Lone and I feeling convinced that we had achieved what had hitherto been a seemingly unattainable clarity regarding precisely what is required for us to obtain organic certification. Maria Carolina will publish a report of her visit in the next 20 days, after which one of IBD's technical consultants will review the contents and make his/her recommendations, ultimately submitting our project for formal approval. We will have ample opportunity throughout the process to provide additional input and comments.

We had another breakthrough, no pun intended, of sorts this week, when four of the ten Galinha-d'angola or Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) eggs hatched...with a little help from Rosana. Considering the fact that prior to arriving at Alfheim the eggs had traveled some distance to São Paulo, where they then spent a few days unincubated, 40% is an impressive result. No doubt there were a few awkward moments when mother hen met her chicks; nevertheless, all parties seem pleased in the aftermath. From these to these in just over 21 days...amazing!

On Sunday morning, Martins stopped by with another of his compadres who plows with oxen (arado de boi). Hopefully he will prove more reliable than Ronaldo, who was a no-show for reasons which have still not been explained adequately. With a little luck (7-9-13), plowing and sowing will begin on Sunday, February 14th, the very day in 1876 on which Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the telephone, as did Elisha Gray, but also the day that commemorates the death of St. Valentine, the name of several martyred saints of ancient Rome, marking Valentines Day. In all, it will take approx. two weeks to plow and sow each of the three feed fields.

After Martin's visit, Lone and I drove to Paraibuna to visit our good friend Beto Camargo, who had arranged for us to visit a farm in the region to look at some Nelore cattle.

Nelore or Nellore beef cattle originated from Ongole (Bos indicus) cattle originally brought to Brazil from India. They are named for the district of Nelore in Andhra Pradesh. The Nelore has a distinct large hump over the top of the shoulder and neck. They have long legs which help them to walk in water and when grazing. The Nelore can adapt to all except very cold climates. They are very resistant to high temperatures and have natural resistance to various parasites and diseases. More than 100,000,000 cattle in Brazil have Nelore blood, making them the majority breed in Brazil. This popularity came from parasite resistance and growth rates.

We ended up buying 20 Nelore heifers (a young cow over one year old that has not produced a calf). Once again, Beto's cousin, Abilio, will deliver the animals to Alfheim...by Wednesday if all goes well. Very exciting!

In anticipation of the arrival of the heifers, Chico and Martins will return this week to complete the fencing of the first four pastures and the area around our recently refurbished corral. Thereafter we will ask them to fence a large area around the pig pen, allowing the hogs to continue to range free, but not so free as to allow them to eat our feed crops.

Finally, Lone's tomato plants continue their impressive growth, and this week's fauna sightings include a spectacular caterpillar and a turtle.