March 9th, 2010
Spring got here in a hurry this year, even though it arrived about two weeks later than usual. A week ago, ice was all over the place her–water troughs, hoses and every other drop of water on the farm was frozen solid. Not so this week.
As soon as the farm ponds thawed, the peepers came alive, singing their lungs out day and night. I have yet to see a peeper, but word has it that these chirping harbingers of spring are tiny frogs that make a huge sound.
All I know is that they are the sound of springtime, and their round the clock hollering is a welcome sound.
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November 14th, 2009
Are these nameko mushrooms?
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A few years ago, we bought a “grow-your-own” nameko mushroom kit from Fungi Perfecti, a mushroom grower’s supply company in Washington State. Namekos are supposed to be some of the most delectable mushrooms on planet earth, and we were pretty excited about growing them.
Though I diligently followed all of the instructions that came with the kit, the mushrooms never grew. So, after the sawdust growing medium turned into a moldy mess, Dave persuaded me to give up on them.
Then, he disposed of the sawdust growing medium somewhere in our yard (he can’t recall exactly where).
Fast forward a few years. A tropical storm has just come through, creating very unusual weather conditions for November: 55 degrees F and pouring rain for five days straight.
Now that the rain has stopped, mushrooms of all kinds are popping up all over the farm, including some in our backyard that look suspiciously like namekos.
The question is, are they namekos? Or look-alikes that will cause us to worship the porcelain throne all night if we eat them (or, worse yet, send us to the hospital).
To Nameko or not to Nameko, that is the question.
Tags: growing mushrooms, mushrooms, nameko
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October 22nd, 2009
Putting the finishing touches on Calabey's haircut
North Carolina’s winter weather is really variable. In any given winter week here, it’s common to have temperature changes of over 50 degrees. A case in point: this week we’ve had highs in the mid-70’s and lows below 30 degrees.
These extreme temperature swings make it necessary to give the ponies funny looking haircuts, called trace clips.
A trace clip leaves fur on the ponies’ legs, face and the top of their necks and bodies, but has their bellies and the underside of their necks clipped.
Why the funny haircut? Well, it helps keep them from overheating during strenuous exercise on a warm day, but leaves them with enough fur to stay pretty toasty on chilly nights.
And the ponies don’t think it looks funny; they think it makes them look really cool!
Tags: pony body clip
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