Settling in to Duruxa Life

Kindra at the local market in town.

 It's been a week and a half since our arrival to Duruxa, and so much has happened!  (Austin here bloggin' again, by the way.)  We started formally WWOOFing last Monday, and it is lots of physical work.  I helped James finish a huge stone wall that he has been working on for three and a half years.  We cleared bushels of stinging nettles (which are a major pain of a weed!), threw huge logs of firewood down a hill to dry out, and shoveled tons of cow manure from barns for the neighbors.  That last task, shoveling poo, is Duruxa's payment for the raw milk that the neighbors give us.  Raw milk is soooo delicious; I thought it would be super gross, but actually it tastes amazing.  Kindra also spend a decent amount of time harvesting and replanting carrots in the circular garden. 

Slugs on the chopping block; these pests are a major nuisance for the garden.

The beautiful view from the circular garden,

James in celebration over the wall we finished.

To top it off, Kindra and I rescued a kid (young female goat) with a hurt leg on the nearby mountain!  Once we found it, James came and helped us carry it down to Duruxa for the goat's owner to come check it out (the goats on our property belong to someone else).  James has been incredible to work with; he is very dedicated but incredibly kind at the same time.  Really, the whole community is amazing; it has been so special to see how they make decisions and work together on tasks.  One task coming up this week is planting a huge field of corn!

Our rescued kid at Duruxa.

There are a few new additions to the farm: first of all are two babies kittens from a wild mother cat that nests in the barn.  We nicked (to use a British term) the kitties from the mom, and they reside a black cardboard box and drink cow's milk mixed with water, although they are getting constipated and perhaps need a different kind of milk.  Also, Dane's sister, Carly, just arrived Wednesday from Santa Barbara to take up residence at Duruxa for a while.  Kindra and I have known her a little from IV Church in SB, but are so excited to get to know her better. 

Dane and Mali have fun in a "tribal" dance one evening.

We also took an epic hike with Dane and Jillie Saturday over the ridgeline of some amazing montanas nearby.  Saya, the Duruxa mountain dog, joined us.  It felt so good to hike for a good portion of day, drinking all our water from local springs and climbing along beautiful views.  We had amazing conversations with Dane and Jillie during this time; we feel so much more connected to them.   

On our epic hike.

Go Kindra!

Group effort.

Dane and Saya near the summit of the ridge.

Dane and a local farmer chat it up in espanol.

I am sure much more happened, but it is hard to remember it all, and time is flying!  This region of Spain is unbelievable.  More to come...

Photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/117860913937238604610/albums/5874570106035095985?banner=pwa