Norway - Welcome to the Farm
Updated: 7 days ago
Hei hei!
I am on day 4 of my Norway stay at Klovning Gard!
Norway is fascinating! The people are very kind and everyone I have met speaks English. I'm staying with a family at their farm in Aksdal. Many things here are different from the U.S. but, the prices are the same if not more expensive with gas seemingly double.
I'm slowly being introduced to some of the Norwegian culture. It began with brunost or "brown cheese." It is a very very rich cheese of goat and cows milk that is incredibly sweet. It is eaten like regular cheese, but just sweeter.
I have begun to get the routine farm work under my belt here. Wake up when the rooster crows. Walk the dogs, feed the goats and pigs, muck the hen house and horse yard. Yesterday I added some perches for the chickens in the hen house and dug a bit of a ditch for rain runoff to flow through.
I am here with another volunteer, Kathleen, from Austria. She has introduced me to the work and is a fabulous cook and roommate.
There is a lot to learn from watching how animals interact with each other.
For example, there is a horse here who is new to the herd and as you hang around them you see them bully the new horse; they will bite her, kick her, etc. She is very shy and timid and you can feel her nervousness. The host says that this is normal and takes about 4 weeks for the herd to accept a new member.
The goats started fighting today and butting heads over and over. I watched as one of the females came between them and nudge one of them off to seemingly break up the fight. They went back at it and she did this again. It was like two men getting in a bar fight and a woman coming and breaking it up. Turns out men are pretty dumb no matter the species.
There are 13 horses here of many different breeds from Icelandic horses to a Fjord horse (one of the oldest breeds in the world).
My favorite horse so far is Stjerne (Star), a 4 month old. She is one of the horses that will approach to be pet and nibble on your clothes. I'm told that it is her trying to navigate the world with her mouth as her hands.
Hoping to head to Haugesund for the day off tomorrow and the adventure continues...
Hi Bode, really loved the video with the various farm animals. Looks they are giving you a warm welcome! I like that you will use your day to get around, will look for the outcome.
Glad there is a worker as well and happy you have made friendship.
Send a few photos of your days. I will get some photos to you later. Love you, Papa