Day 12

Just 7-9 more days to go. I tried candling the eggs tonight but it is already too dark to see anything. The air pocket is on the fat end of the egg but that's about all that's visible. I didn't see any movement but my guess is that it is a pretty tight squeeze in there right now so maybe I ought not see too much movement. The wait is killing me! I hear that Daisy and Lily can feel the chick's heart beat now. I wonder what they are thinking ...

Day 10

It is Day 10 (of ~19). Checked 2 of the 4 eggs last night and this is pretty much what the eggs look like now (the video's not mine; it's from YouTube):

*fingers crossed*

An egg at Day 4 (This is what they look like now! ... but it's not my video)

Countdown to Hatch!

Success! I bought 3 silkie chicken hatching eggs on Ebay from muki1234, a highly recommended silkie breeder from TN. The eggs were laid on Feb 8 and arrived on Feb 11th and set under Lily and Daisy the same day. Melinda (the breeder) stuck an extra egg in the box so my chances of success are even greater! My little hens were already broody and took to mothering immediately! They sit all day, leaving the nest only once a day to eat, drink, and poop. Since it takes 21 days to hatch, I am counting down the days. They are hopefully hatching on March 4. There's a countdown clock to the right so I welcome ya'll to join me with the watch! I'm so excited! If I get a chance, I'll post some candling pics of the developing embryos!

Update: 2/14 (Day 3) - three of four eggs are showing spidering veins! That means embryos are developing!

Update: 2/16 (Day 5) - Maybe it was wishful thinking. Two of the eggs showed embryo development.

Update: 2/16, 7:21pm (Day 5) - Candled tonight and ALL 4 eggs show signs of life!!!! I'm so so so happy!

Plumpness!

Vermicomposting has a lot of benefits! Some tomato plants came up in my worm bin and I transplanted them in a little 12 in planter with 6 inches of soil ... and these are what I got! I've been fertilizing the plant with worm castings and O-M-G (!), the plants has burgeoned into a luscious bush dripping with large, plump tomatoes! At last count, there are over 50 tomatoes and I've already picked a dozen! It is still growing in the little pot and despite what I thought, it hasn't rooted below the pot. All its roots are getting the nutrients from the soil and castings and I've been watering it everyday since we haven't had a good rain for weeks. I love eating my fish tacos with tomatoes still warm from the sun!

Why don't we implement solutions when we know they work?

Check out this TED video about how psychology needs to combine with technological development to fully implement innovative solutions to some of the world's biggest problems.

Raised garden bed, step 1

I have filled my raised garden bed halfway with hay and chicken manure (from Lily and Daisy) and soil so it is taking it's sweet time to decompose. I think it should be ready soon. I am slowly filling the bed with more soil but it is slow going as soil is practically non-existent in the area. I have some starts ready to go, including some parsley, dill, green onions, oregano, chives, and both tomatoes and bell peppers that came up in my vermicomposting bin (yay!). And, I see some acorn squash coming up as well! Maybe I won't need to go to the grocery store as much. 

Is this going to make much of a difference to the world? I know it won't be obvious ... but I used recycled lumber that would have been decomposing at the dump, fertilizer from my chickens and worms (free!), and starts the would have gone to the dump as garbage instead. Maybe I'll make a teeny tiny dent in my own sphere of influence ... and maybe a little more on my purse. :)

One giant step

The first giant step is to separate recyclables. The next giant step is taking them to the recycle center!

Worm ball!

I cleaned out my worm bin today and removed all of the castings, which amounted to about 3.5 -4 gallons worth of material. This is what was left, a hefty ball o' worms that ranged in size from teeny tiny (whatever age that is!) to adult-sized. I've only seen this kind of images on YouTube so it was cool to actually carry a ball like this. Pretty nifty if you ask me!

I should add that I LOVE my vermicomposting bin. It cost me about $3.50 to start! I get rid of all my kitchen scraps and junk mail, have little or no fruit flies, no smelly garbage, I got lots of beautiful fertilizer, and I get to play with worms! 

Best Tasting Water!

According to MSNBC article, "Take a sip! America's best tap water." by Mike Celizic (Todayshow.com, July 20, 2007), Salt Lake City is the winner, followed by Boston and Columbia, S.C. 

I have something to say about this. I've tasted the water in Boston, MA. I mean, I rarely will comment on the water when I visit a city ... but the tap water in Boston is SWEET and YUMMY and surprisingly noteworthy! I am serious! I never thought I could say that any place tap water that rivals Hilo but I have to say that it certainly deserves that title! Boston deserves a special trip just to see if I'm right. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. 

But then, they only test water from 12 cities ... and if they tested the water in Hilo, I think they'd be pleasantly surprised too!

Wise words

"In wildness is the preservation of the world." - Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau, in one sentence, explains my life's work.

What did the salad say on its honeymoon?

Lettuce alone!

Heh, it was too tempting to share my childhood joke. I thought it was pretty funny back then mostly because I didn't know what it really meant but the adults laughed. Now, it's just lame. This is a pic of my lettuce, just shortly before I harvested the leaves. They were lovely! Very tender and fragile and pure loveliness. It's a variety developed at the University of Hawaii. It was supposed to form a head like Manoa lettuce but it decided to grow a long stalk instead. I think my front porch was a little too shaded for this variety.

Perionyx excavatus, anyone?

In Hawaii, these Indian Blue earthworms (Perionyx excavatus) are pretty common vermicomposting worms and are much more active than the *ordinary* red wrigglers (Eisenia foetida). I don't think you'd ever find red wrigglers hanging out on the insides of your worm bin. They grow faster, they reproduce faster, and zip around and are so much more fun to watch! My friend Jennifer gave me a bunch of red wrigglers and they are pretty sluggish compared to these that have, I dare say, personality! And yes, that is castings on the side. Poop all over the place!

Lily and Daisy's home gets an award.

I'm in a celebratory mood, just coming off a high from a great birthday retreat with a bunch of 6 Aries women I met through a dear friend Melora. We call ourselves "Rambo Wahines" ... Get it, RAM-bo? Hah! (wahine = women in Hawaiian). Our birthdays are all within 12 days of each other! We all celebrated by singing "Happy Birthday to us" over a circle of candles on a vegan cake that Melora made. DELISH!

Oh ok, here is the good news. I found out that Lily and Daisy's coop won a "Golden Feather Membership" for coop designs at Backyard Chickens (dot) com! I think that is a hoot! It was a lot of fun to build and getting an award for it is like icing on a chocolate vegan cake! LOL Oh, and here is the link.

Diet eggs

I call these my "diet eggs" because they are tiny ... much smaller than the large size I used to buy from the store. They are from Lily and Daisy and are absolutely yummy! I've already given away 3 dozen eggs and have more than enough for myself!