Independence Days Update: Snow Falling on Spruces
Sharon December 28th, 2009
The big projects these last few weeks have been taking place in the house rather than outside it - we’re rearranging furniture to make the better insulated apartment home for the winter. We’re still hoping to eventually find housemates to take over the apartment and/or the two downstairs guest bedrooms, but for this winter, we might as well be cozy in there. I’m also cleaning out. The fact that 10 people are coming for an apprentice weekend here in two weeks is a compelling pressure to get this house cleaned up and marginally organized!
The big crisis is that Selene has meningeal worms, and Mina may as well. These are parasites transmitted by white tailed deer that are carried by snails. The goats accidentally eat the snails and the parasites end up in their spinal cords causing paralysis, blindness and brain damage, and eventually, death. It is most common in the northeast after a wet year with an unusually warm fall – pretty much precisely what we had.
It isn’t contagious to people or other goats, but it is a nasty thing. It can be treated by heavy doses of wormer – much heavier than are used routinely, but you generally only know about it when symptoms show up. Selene is getting really large doses of wormer to treat it, along with anti-inflammatories, and seems to be recovering. She’s walking well, although with a limp, and she tried to jump up on the stanchion yesterday, something she hasn’t even attempted in days. Still, it is a miserable thing to deal with. We’re about to start treating Mina, who we suspect may be in the very early stages of the same thing, and are going to treat the whole herd preventatively. I hate it when my goats are sick!
This means that I probably won’t be doing cheesemaking with my class of apprentices, which sucks, since I don’t think the milk will be clear of wormers. It also means we have to think about strategies for reducing the snail and deer population near our pastures. This means I’m more inclined that before to add another dog – keeping the deer far from our pastures becomes a priority. I’m also thinking I need to add ducks, geese or guinea hens to keep the snail load down.
Otherwise, a quiet week here – lots of cooking and baking, lots of little projects. Eli is on vacation, which is not his favorite thing in life, but he’s dealing ok so far. He dislikes disruptions to his routine, and he loves school, so this is annoying to him, but he’s reasonably gracious about it. It helps that it is snowing today – Eli loves snow. In fact, I looked out the window to see that he’d gone out in his pajamas and was swinging fiercely, a 9 year old in footie red pajamas with penguins on them, surrounded by a haze of white. It was a lovely picture!
This week’s big project, besides more cleaning and rearranging and getting the book in order (It has to go to the publisher 3 months from tomorrow – let’s just say that I’d like to be a lot further along than I am) is the seed order. The boys are excited to place their orders as well, and are also anxiously awaiting Murray McMurray’s chicken catalog, since they are allowed to select a bantam breed of chicken to raise to show at the fair this spring. I’m also plotting the acquisition of bees.
Otherwise, it was a quiet and lovely week, such a relief to have Eric’s grading finished and a little time to pay attention to the house and to the family. We’ve also had a lot of fun with friends – skating, movie nights, etc… The kids have already picked out movies for our staying-up-late New Years (we go to bed about 20 seconds after they do 
) – Charlie Chaplin’s “The Gold Rush” and the Monty Python Alum version of Wind in the Willows “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” (which Eric and I saw in theaters when it came out, but which I have little memory of).
There’s enough snow coming down today to keep us comfortably at home – the kids are hoping for enough to build snowmen and sled. There will come a time when we’re tired of winter, longing to get into dirt. But for now, winter is welcome, pushing us inwards, getting us focused on home. The snow is falling on the spruces, on the housetops, on the ice and the world is pleasantly at peace around us.
Ok, actual update:
Plant something: Nope
Harvest something: Some kale from under the snow, a few eggs
Preserve something: Nope, lazy week
Waste Not: The usual composting, reducing consumption and feeding things to other things. Made it through all of Chanukah reusing the same four gift bags . Have been feeding the autumn apples (the ones that aren’t good keepers) to the goats and rabbits.
Want Not: Nothing, really.
Eat the Food: Made dim-sum style turnip cakes from our turnips, which were extremely yummy. Pumpkin gingerbread was a hit at Eli’s school, although just a touch overly sweet for me, new cranberry bread recipe invented to use up sour milk was great.
Build community food systems: Too sleepy from overdose of baked goods.
How about you?
Sharon
Sharon