work

Saturday, Sylvia and I now have a pretty good handle on milking the goats. The only problem is we aren’t getting nearly as much milk as we should be nor as much as my grandma is able to get out. We often max at a little over 2 cups in total. My grandma gets out about 5 or 6 cups. The goats are supposed to make about 8 cups total. A day we should be getting 16 cups of milk, but we only get around 5 cups.
I had to go to work today. Whenever I’m in public and living in a regular society I feel like I’m new in town. I have lived in Southampton for 14 years and I’ve worked at Annie’s all summer, but since it’s the only public relation I have and it happens once a week, whenever I go I feel overwhelmed with smells and sights. I know all the smells and I know all the sights, but not seeing them for a week at a time is a very long time. Living in the wilderness you lose complete track of time. I feel like I’ve been living like this for years, when in fact it has only been a little over a week. The tranquility and longer days are most likely the cause.
When I got back to the tent it was completely alone and around 9:30pm. Throughout this project I am working Saturdays 1-9pm and Sundays 11-6pm. Although it was late, I still had to milk the goats. This time my grandma was with us and I was sure she would get the same amount of milk we’ve accumulated since the last time she was here. I was right, she managed to get 5 cups of milk while we would make 5 in 2 days. I watched her very carefully and tried to figure out what she’s doing differently to get them to release more milk. Milking the goats takes around 30 minutes so about 10pm my family said their farewells and left. I was all-alone. Sylvia has gone to her friend’s for a party and called me saying she would be spending the night there. This would be the first night I’d be spending alone in the tent. I am a complete baby about being alone, especially at night, and better yet in the middle of nowhere. Surprisingly, I was fine. I was actually excited. The sense of security and the peacefulness of my natural surrounds made it possible for me to stay alone.

Today, Sunday, I woke up alone in the middle of the woods, surrounded by a very thick and misty fog and looking out to the open field is one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. It’s almost as if the sky and land were frosted together and in the mist you can make out the outlines of other woodland creatures. The serenity that embodies me is empowering.
This morning I was up at 6am doing my chores. This is a little earlier than usual because I had to go to work at 11am. My dad arrived from Colombia today. My dad visits for a couples weeks in the summer every year. He came over around 9 am and helped me milk the goats. He had never milked goats before, only cows, but he got almost as much milk out as my grandma. Then I biked to work and made plans with my dad for later. When I got off from work at 6pm I went over to my house to visit him. We spend the evening together and then went back to the tent to milk the goats. This time my grandma came and milked them. She got 5 CUPS of milk! I still do not know how she does it.