Farm education part 1. The origin of the word screw.

If you have been reading my blog, you know we have three little piggies. They are growing and growing, and now are quite sizable pigs. Mohawk and Mother are together, with the thought that they would mate and produce more little piggies.....well, when they grow up. Surely not now, while they are still only babies themselves! But Mother keeps getting fatter, with some large, suspicious nipples, and we caught Mohawk mounting her repeatedly. Very shocking. But that's not the worst of it! We were watching Mohawk harass poor Mother, and out came the pig penis! We almost died laughing! It is, literally, corkscrew-shaped! Hence the origin of the verb "to screw." That was yesterday evening, and his aim was horrible; we saw about 3 inches of it and naively thought that was all there was to it. Hahahahahaha. This morning at feeding, Mother got tired of running and just ate (food being her primary motivator), while Mohawk did his business (sex and procreation being his primary motivator). When they were done, i.e., Mother had had enough, she ran to the corner, and Mohawk was disengaged, revealing over a foot of dangling penis! We have to separate those pigs! We almost fainted! Who knew?

A hectic day - start at dawn!

It's 6:30 pm and we're on our way home from the Ali'i Farmer's Market with a truck full of of chicken and pig food. (Consists of papayas, avocados, chicos, mangos, and lettuce, all too ripe, too green, or too bruised to sell.) 

Our day started 12 hours ago, as we tumbled out of bed. We had a quick cup of joe from last night's brew with a bowl of cereal and yoghurt. We then prepared the chicken and pig food. The chickens all shared a 5-gallon bucket of chopped butter leaf lettuce, a 5-gallon bucket of papaya cut into quarters, and a 3-gallon bucket of brown rice mash. This morning, their mash contained cooked brown rice, chicken skins, crushed chicken bones, and soy milk. They also received some layer pellets and scratch. The pigs got some cracked Mac nuts and a 3-gallon bucket of mash. Their mash contained brown rice, molasses, roots, lettuce, papayas, onions and peppers. They also got a few scoops of pig pellets and cracked corn.

After feeding the livestock, we picked out 4 of the meat birds and butchered them. Final weights, 5, 5, 5, and 5.25 lbs. We cleaned everything up, froze the birds, grabbed our pot luck dish and some eggs in a homemade shopping bag for a housewarming gift, and jumped in the car to drive north to a bridge party at noon. 

After the party (around 5 pm), we went by the farmer's market to pick up our truck load of fruits and veggies.

A long day.

6 more chickens will find their way to our freezer tomorrow morning....

Day 2 of complete bed rest

Well, the hip feels better (who wouldn't, with total bed rest?). Therefore, I am not going to the doc today. I think I will recover, if I let it heal. So I am continuing with anti-inflammatories and some pain meds, and staying off it. Hopefully it will keep improving.

In the meantime, I have caught up on all 10 recorded episodes of Revenge. I am now working on the 8 episodes of Criminal Minds waiting for me.

I've also responded to all the web site change requests in prep for our meeting later this month.

And all because I cannot do the things I normally do. (Yardwork, drive, sew, cook, feed animals, etc.)

And I'm finding time to blog (about what I'm NOT doing, hehe).

Poor Pat is stuck with all the farm chores AND housework AND waiting on me.

I did manage to walk out to the chicken yard today because Pat put the babies out into the big pens, with the older chickens. They have been in the brooder for 6, 7, and 8 weeks (3 hatches) and are really ready for the outside! Pat put 3 into the chocolate pen. They had to hide from the big birds for awhile; then the big birds got bored and the new girls are now staying together in a corner, getting used to their new environment. The other 12 went into the main pen. They all ran into the coop area, where 3 stayed together under the counter and the rest are under the nesting ledge. They are very busy investigating the pen, via small forays, and then running back to their group, where they feel safe. There's one we call "Chappy," or "Cowgirl," because the fronts of both her legs are covered with very fine feathers (looks like fur). The name arises because the feathers on the legs and feet are only on the front, resembling western chaps. She looked very cute, running around the pen! We think most of this batch are hens, but we're never really sure until they either crow or lay an egg! One of our laying hens has 3/4 inch spurs!

I also sewed my missing buttons on - now that's something I never find time to do!

If I'm still laid up tomorrow, I'll start practicing my oboe!

The fall must have been worse than I thought!

After falling, pushing through the pain, performing with the band on Saturday, on Sunday I found I had pain and swelling in my right hip. Huge pain. I can stand still and lay flat, but cannot sit or bend without stabbing pain. Unwilling or unable to sit in a car for 45 min to go to the ER, I stayed in bed all day today (boooring). We'll see what it's like tomorrow. If it's not better, I'll go for x-rays. Aaargh. Meanwhile, I have just learned that my wife makes a mean chicken soup! Yum!

Aargh! I broke the primary rule for aging again!

I simply must pay more attention when I walk. I had a big day ahead of me this morning...get up, feed the chickens, feed the pigs, gather eggs, get cleaned up and dressed, have breakfast, conference call at 9, leave for Kona at 10, stop at the feed store, stop at the mail box, stop at the bank, stop at the farmer's market and drop off my fruit bucket and 2 live chickens, direct and play in a bridge game, sell two frozen chickens, stop at Starbucks, pick up my fruit bucket, buy vegetables, drive home, make dinner, practice for tomorrow's performance, stop at Corey's and get her phone number, start editing a paper... Go to bed. Somehow, when I was feeding the chickens, my little favorite friends, my mind strayed...I started doing a cost/benefit analysis on the rest of my day. Before I knew it, BOOM! I stumbled on a rock, and fell to the ground, hitting my forehead on a rock, then my jawbone, then my neck, shoulder, elbows, hips, knees, and came to rest with my face in compacted chicken manure. Of course, I screamed as I fell. The chickens did what they do best - they panicked! They squawked, sounded the alarm, lined up and looked at me. I could almost hear them saying, "Help! Mom fell! We can't pick her up! What do we do? Somebody, come help!" And it worked! Our tenant, Jeana, came running out, "Aunty, are you okay?" And helped me up. I was grateful; the chickens were grateful. But it's a rough way to start the day. I hurt all over. But nothing's broken or bleeding. Concentrate on the task at hand.

I love my chickens, I love my tenants, and I must try to be more present! Sheesh!

Anyone has a chance tomorrow at 10 am at Punalu'u Bakery in Naalehu the Ohana Band, Ka'u School of the Arts, is playing at the Spring Fling. There will also be hula and singing and crafts and the like.

Go to the beach - another thing I should do regularly, and I did it today!

I just love living in Hawai'i, and I should definitely go to the beach more often. This afternoon, I went to Ho'okena with a friend. The day was overcast, with rain threatening, but the sun peeked out every now and then. The advantage of poor weather on a weekday - low attendance at the beach. And the water around our island is so pure and clear. The sand at Ho'okena is black and white, which makes it look brown, but in the clear water, you can see each individual grain of sand, the white ones, and the black ones, swirling around. Then, through the swirl, you can see the ocean floor, the water is so clear. Then, for our enjoyment, as we sat on the beach, visiting and enjoying each other's company, a large group of dolphins (about 20 -30) did water aerobics, jumping, twirling, swimming together, trying to outdo one another, for us for approximately an hour. They looked like they were having loads of fun, and were very close to the shore - no binoculars needed! What a wonderful day! I love living here!