Duncan

Small town, lots of Totem Poles. We are living near Duncan in the Cowichan Valley in the SE part of Vancouver island about an hour north of Victoria.

The dogs

Beau the dachshund and Bella the sheepdog. Jack the lesser haired Pomeranian sometimes visits and unfortunately Dillard died when we were away in Salt Spring Island. He had a good innings making it to 14 with one eye.

The Farm

Red Bell Farm sits on 20 acres: there is house with 4 bedrooms, a workshop, a barn for the hay and animals.

work

feeding the animals, pruning the fruit trees (sometimes from the tractor!), harvesting vegetables, planting garlic & blueberries, moving things in the tractor etc the jobs never run out! A local farmer had problems with the feds and so we received 4 of his huge Berkshire pigs - 3 sows and 1 bore Leroy who, after a few drinks at the infamous daily cocktail hour, we deceided to ride. The Pig Rodeo - Yeeeha. Don the cowboy hat, grab some rope and away we go...not sure what would happen or if we would get crushed but sounded fun at the time! Leroy was a feisty beast and took me round the field at full pelt: hang on and enjoy the ride.....I think I lasted about 8 seconds and got 30 meters on my first attempt. pretty scary.....extreme.

Everyday we collect the waste from a local supermarket and feed all the animals. its incredible how much perfect food is thrown away and the animals are certainly well fed. We also keep a lot of food to eat, especially the pastries!

The Animals

4 Goats, 4 Horses, 3 donkeys, 3 cows, 19 sheep, 1 llama, 25 duck, 15 chickens, 1 tuckey, 3 dogs, 2 doves and 4 cats! did I forget anybody? Yes, pigs - 15 of them (including 3 pregnant sows).

Red Bell Farm

We have been working on an organic farm with loads of animals, fruit, vegetables and other volunteers. We have been with 2 german girls, Fatiha from Algeria (above), Malte from Germany (above) and Mai from China. Hot tub surrounded by mint plants at the end of the day with home brewed beer and cider is essential.

Washington State

Drove through fields of wheat which was as far as the eye could see up round Mt. Raina and it's snow capped peak. Last night of the trip couchsurfing with Dave, a stencil artist and his wife in Bremerton, just across from Seattle.