No more Schunkeln

Back in September I Bliped a farmers barn being done up for a village party, organised by the village youth. The annual event is called "Let's Schunkel" , and to schunkel is to sway side to side (holding a glass of beer) to music.

It's "Gründonnerstag" here - Green Thursday  or as many of you may know it Maundy Thursday, washing of the feet (CofE equivalent Maundy Money), Last Supper etc. Why it's called Green Thursday isn't fully known, perhaps symbolic of trees now coming in to sap; traditionally meals today with herbs, spinach, fried eggs. At church services you will usually see the priest with a green sash, shoulder "scarf". When the church bells toll at services this evening they then "fly to Rome" until the first service on Easter Sunday, the village youth walking around the streets with wooden ratchets to signal the full hour while the bells are silent.

Today is also the last time to swing your leg and do some schunkeln as from tonight all forms of non-religious musical entertainment, dancing and sporting events banned - no discos, most cinemas closed, no music group playing in the pub etc etc - for the whole of Good Friday which is the major day of the year in the protestant church. Basically everything shuts down on Friday and apart from a quick dash to the shops on Saturday, it stays that way until Tuesday.

So today everyone is dashing about getting all the jobs done. It was chaos on the roads - not cars but tractors. I started off by delivering Flash to Angie out riding so that he could do the last 30 minutes of the ride when she is anyway going slowly to cool down the horse. Photo shows her riding over a field which had been slurried but not yet finally prepared - will be the last time until Autumn that she can ride over a field.

On the way home spotted Farmer Müller loading his slurry tank and stopped to have a chat as he also has a brand new Deutz (5110). I climbed up in the cab - makes my Jeep cockpit look primitive and resembles a Boeing flight cockpit. He wanted me to come for a ride but I had to decline. MrB later told me he had taken a ride recently and was dumbfounded by the technical possibilities. Farmer Müller is the one who provides the barn for the Lets Schunkel party. With the space age seat in his new tractor, he won't be schunkeling over the fields anymore. He's also the farmers representative for the village and as I have written some time in the past, he and his family were the first ones to help us out when we first came here - a lovely family, always friendly, smiling, waving and helpful - people who make a community.

As I got back home MrB called to say he would come over to try bump starting my tractor but was still busy with repairing damage wild boar had done to a farmers field. As the official hunter, he is responsible to repair such damage. I said I would come out and help him tread back the sods of earth. At the drive gates had to stop and photograph the farmer who rents the field next to us turn off the road to unload a few tons of slurry to enrich our weekend - behind him in the traffic jam Farmer Müller with another tankload.

Couldn't find MrB and on turning around to try another path, saw yet another massive Fendt with slurry tank heading my way at full speed. Got out took a photo and he screeched to a stop, blocking my escape. He clearly had a problem with my camera! He didn't open the door, simply sat with motor idling. I climbed up and opened the door and we then had a laugh when I explained who I was and what I was doing. He had apparently recently heard of people photographing for farmer unfriendly uses!. As he moved off, young Farmer Stefan came out of the forest loaded with wood logs and again we had a chat. Then phoned MrB who had finished without my "help" and was now on his way on his lovely small Eicher "vineyard" tractor - small but probably has a bigger punch ratio than most of the big boys.

We then tried bump starting my John Deere. Motor turned, smoke poured out but no sign of it starting. Seems like it may have seen it's final day in our service and will no longer be schunkeling me and my kidney stones.Sure the repair isn't that bad as such old machinery (built 1965) is relatively straightforward but still a few thousand Euros! However it means the machine would be out of action for months. 

When MrB had gone did surf a bit to see what was on offer, grabbed a bit of late lunch and then fell in to deep depression and sleep for the rest of the day.- Mourning Thursday for me.

Oh and forgot the two cats sitting outside the village "laying to rest chapel" just below the church, where coffins are on view prior to burial. Happy Easter.