HOW TO BUILD A CHICKEN COOP FROM SCRATCH

Chickens, they’re so hot right now. Who doesn’t want a couple of these feathered friends in the backyard, laying eggs and making everything feel a little more quaint?!

I wanted chickens bad. I was like a man possessed, possessed with some kind of chicken obsession. However the deal was signed when I discovered this retro play equipment in the backyard of our new place. It is really too dangerous for little kids to actually play on… but it didn’t even matter, all I could see was the greatest chicken coop I had never imagined.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY ALL YOU CRAZY LOVE BIRDS

Happy Valentine’s Day! This is a cover of God Only Knows by the Beach Boys I recorded a few years back for my Casio Covers project.  I hope you enjoy. PV

OLIVE PICKING IN TUSCANY

Ciao bello! Ciao bella!

Finally our blog has caught up with us! We are currently at this farm in Toscano, Italia called La Serre. It is an organic olive farm, and the video below is just a quick look at what the work is like.

We have had the pleasure of working with some great people here, but in all honesty we have the most fun with Enrico, who owns the farm. He likes to spontaneously sing Bob Dylan songs while we pick, hence the song choice for the video. And he also says many very funny things, like “the pigs are smart… they eat twice a day… we eat three times… we are the pig.”

And when one of us tries to climb a little too high trying to get olives, Enrico yells out “we leave some for the birds!” It’s his nice way of saying “don’t try and be a big shot, get down from there before you hurt yourself and I am involved in some complicated litigation for medical expenses.” What a guy.

SO WHAT IS WWOOFING?!

This video is our entry into the WWOOF Canada 2013 Video Competition. The task is to make a video that shows what WWOOF is all about. WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms, and it is only because of this wonderful venture that we have been able to travel the world and share it with you all.

If you could hit the thumbs up ‘like’ button on the video on Youtube, you will be helping us to win the competition, and at this point in our journey the prize money would make a huge difference! Your help would be very greatly appreciated!

GEGANTS I CAPGROSSOS

One last La Merce video from our time in Barcelona. This one is of the ‘Gegants I Capgrossos’ or ‘Giants and Big Heads’! The parade involved giants walking the streets, all to converge on an old castle they entered. The event had a magical air, and also a very good sense of fun. The kids were excited to throw confetti at people, but the adults also took the opportunity to be silly and have a laugh. All in all, Barcelona knows how to have a good time!

BARCELONA FC

While in Barcelona it felt only appropriate to get to a Barcelona FC match. Apparently under the reign of Franco the colours of the Catalan people were banned from being displayed in public, so the Barcelona FC strip took on a heightened significance as a symbol of Catalonian pride. I attended expecting louts behaving badly, this was european football after all! But turns out I was thinking of English football. You could not buy alcohol, everyone filed in just before kick off, watched the artistry of Barcelona FC as they destroyed Real Sociedad 4-1, then just as quickly went home. So darn civilised! I’ve honestly never been to a sporting fixture quite like it! The video is just a little way to share the experience with all my football crazy friends back home.