Author: Carrie

Summer In March

~ Carrie

Summer_in_MarchIt’s been warm here – upper 60’s to 70’s. Sounds comfortable, right? Sure, and it would be ok if it was late May or June. It’s not, though – it’s only March. Our big old silver maple is showing buds and will soon sprout leaves. The grass is also turning green.

The local forecast shows these temperatures continuing into next week. Sure, it’s fun to run around in shorts and flip flops (or rubber boots for farm chores), but these aren’t the right temperatures for this time of year. According to an “almanac” source, the mean temperature here last year was 43 degrees; in 2014, it was 47 degrees and in 2013, it was 39 degrees. It’s 2 p.m. and it’s currently 70 degrees. Continue reading “Summer In March” →

Day 12 Rabbit Kit Update – The Runt Grows

~ Carrie

Waldo_ImprovementThe rabbit kits are now around 12 days old – Ava kindled a day before Loretta – and their eyes are opening. This morning, all of Ava’s kits were out of their nest box and huddled together on the cage floor. Five of Loretta’s were out, too. Now that they can see, they’re going to be pestering their mothers to nurse every time they get out of the next box – and the does get annoyed. Continue reading “Day 12 Rabbit Kit Update – The Runt Grows” →

What You See Isn’t What You Get In Processed Food

~ Carrie

Whipping_Cream_CarrageenanWhat in the world is carrageenan doing in heavy whipping cream?? When we buy “heavy whipping cream”, we expect that it contain only that – heavy whipping cream! Apparently, that’s just a fantasy in today’s food culture.

When the runt of Ava’s litter needed hand-feeding, we ran out to the local grocery store to buy the needed supplies. This was a store that offers “natural” and organic food, along with a heck of a lot of conventional food. Fortunately, goat milk was available (though not raw, of course). No organic heavy whipping cream was available, though several other conventional ones were. Continue reading “What You See Isn’t What You Get In Processed Food” →

Duck Egg Incubation – Day 36

~ Carrie

Waiting for the duck eggs to hatch is like watching water boil. There’s a plethora of advice available about how to optimize an incubated hatch, but figuring out what works for a specific environment, type of egg, and incubator is a multi-factor challenge. Humidity needs, for example, vary by location; optimal humidity in an arid location would differ from a humid location. It’s challenging to keep the humidity at hatch above 65% relative humidity here without constantly adding more water, but putting slices of sponge in the water wells has helped maintain the higher humidity. Will that still be necessary in the summer? It may not be, but we won’t know until we try it. Continue reading “Duck Egg Incubation – Day 36” →