Friday, December 26, 2014
Joy
Nostra, the former stray Buenos Aires street dog, found by mini-Female Handler last year, taken in, nurtured and loved, who now has an almond orchard to race through, an endless supply of birds to chase, open land to roam and hunt, a soft special bed to snuggle up on every night, cats to boss (don't get me wrong, I get the better of her each and every time), and an endless supply of goat bones to gnaw on, is overjoyed to see mini-Female Handler as she arrives at the farm for the first time in 10 months.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
The ups and downs of November
I didn't mean for so much time to go by without pawing away at the keyboard, but it did. I am highly distracted... These were the highlights:
- We lost two kids. Very sad... Needless to say they did not die of natural causes but rather they were prey for animals higher up on the food chain. Chochi's girl is the lone survivor. And she was given a name: Alita. Ala means wing in Spanish. Her ears look like wings, and because she is little, she got the "ita" on the end, or Little Wing. If you should start humming the lyrics to Jimi Hendrix' "Little Wing"...that would be ok.
Alita is a charmer, and we anticipate she will be a good milker. She certainly comes from the finest of stock.
- Senior Male Handler came down for a visit. I kind of like the fellow, and I think he kind of likes me too. Here he is learning the fine art of making cheese from clabbered goat milk.
- We lost two kids. Very sad... Needless to say they did not die of natural causes but rather they were prey for animals higher up on the food chain. Chochi's girl is the lone survivor. And she was given a name: Alita. Ala means wing in Spanish. Her ears look like wings, and because she is little, she got the "ita" on the end, or Little Wing. If you should start humming the lyrics to Jimi Hendrix' "Little Wing"...that would be ok.
Alita climbing the tree for the choicest of young leaves
Alita is a charmer, and we anticipate she will be a good milker. She certainly comes from the finest of stock.
- Senior Male Handler came down for a visit. I kind of like the fellow, and I think he kind of likes me too. Here he is learning the fine art of making cheese from clabbered goat milk.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
The secret to an abundance of roses...
The secret to this living bouquet is...goat urine and goat berries...
Sunday, October 5, 2014
The ants go marching one by one...hurrah, hurrah....
WAIT, no hurrah!
In Cradle to Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things, Braungart and McDonough write about ants and specifically the leaf-cutter ant.
Leaf-cutters drive Male Handler insane (absolutely bat-shiester crazy). They are not just collecting decomposing matter, they are cutting leaves, healthy dark green leaves, attached to almond tree stems, and hauling them underground. They can strip a tree in two days flat leaving it naked. And the leaf-cutter nests consisting of a series of connected underground chambers can be enormous, encompassing the root system of several almond trees leaving the roots exposed. During any dry season, this can be the cause of death for a tree. It's a matter of constant vigilance. Fortunately the leaf-cutters so far this growing season are focused on the other things and have not touched the almond trees.
A leaf cutter ant at work, and possibly two along for the ride.
In Cradle to Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things, Braungart and McDonough write about ants and specifically the leaf-cutter ant.
Ants also recycle the
wastes of other species; leaf-cutter ants, for example, collect decomposing
matter from the Earth’s surface, carry it down into their colonies, and use it
to feed the fungus gardens that they grow underground for food. During their
movements and activities, they transport minerals to upper layers of soil,
where plant life and fungi can use them as nutrients. They turn and aerate the
soil and make passageways for water drainage, playing a vital role in
maintaining soil fecundity and health. They truly are, as biologist E.O. Wilson
has pointed out, the little things that run the world. But although they may
run the world, they do not overrun it. Like the cherry tree, they make
the world a better place.
Leaf-cutters drive Male Handler insane (absolutely bat-shiester crazy). They are not just collecting decomposing matter, they are cutting leaves, healthy dark green leaves, attached to almond tree stems, and hauling them underground. They can strip a tree in two days flat leaving it naked. And the leaf-cutter nests consisting of a series of connected underground chambers can be enormous, encompassing the root system of several almond trees leaving the roots exposed. During any dry season, this can be the cause of death for a tree. It's a matter of constant vigilance. Fortunately the leaf-cutters so far this growing season are focused on the other things and have not touched the almond trees.
A leaf cutter ant at work, and possibly two along for the ride.
Do these look like decomposing matter as described by Braungart and McDonough. I think not!
Overall, the book was excellent. My problem was really confined to the reverence given to leaf-cutters.
Bet you didn't know I was such a feline inteligente!
Uruguayan Goats Climbing Trees!
It was only a matter of time before the kids actually listened to me...the wise feline!
As you may recall, I mentioned in this posting that I thought the goats should learn to climb trees. Within 4 weeks of birth, they were climbing trees!
As you may recall, I mentioned in this posting that I thought the goats should learn to climb trees. Within 4 weeks of birth, they were climbing trees!
Next in their training is...flying goats. They'll need to learn how to get off the tree fast. It has been brought to my attention that unlike felines, goats do not always land on their feet...
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