Rabbit Poo

I hit the Jackpot!!! No, not the Lottery, though I would love to win that too. No, THIS Jackpot is a little more down to earth. I found....a source....of RABBIT POOP!

Ah, rabbit poop...the ultimate in organic gardening fertilizer. High in nitrogen (part of what makes plants green) but not "hot." You can put those wonderful little pellets right next to your plants and it doesn't burn the plants at all. And PELLETS!!! It's like nature pre-packaged those little buggers just for us dirt bums. They are light weight (no more hauling tons of horse hockey) and the earthworms love them too.

So like I said, I not only found a source of rabbit poo, I found a SOURCE. This woman has 300 of the furry little poopers going at it all day and night. I filled my trailer and maybe cleaned a tenth of the area she had "under bunny." So next time I may even gather enough to cover my lawn with an inch or so...no smell, no clumping so why not? I may have the greenest weeds on the block!

Faye Part 3....the Aftermath

I told you about the rain that Faye dumped on the Florida pennisula. The 18 inches in my backyard drained fairly fast. The 3 feet of rain in other areas are slowly draining as well. And it's all draining into the St. John's River.

The news reports of flooded roads and homes shocked most of us as we usually don't receive so much precipitation in such a short period of time. My view of the river first hand humbled me more than I can say. Yes, homes were flooded, but I didn't think of the wildlife and the ecosystem as a whole. They were also devastated and nothing brought it into such focus as the plight of the marsh bunnies. In a little bitty area of 100 by 10 yards, there must have been 100 bunnies. They didn't run when we approached....they had no place elso to go. It's hard to see the bunnie but the glowing eye gives it away.

I took these pictures the end of August. My husband says the river is still flooded.

Our Beautiful September Days

Living in Florida can be challenging at times. Brutal summers and relentless hurricanes make some people crazy and they move away, thankfully! Still, September brings a new spring for us. This is the time to plant the big garden, the time when bug populations diminish and temperatures moderate to not only bearable but pleasant. When sunsets become golden instead of steamy, I remember why we stay in Central Florida.

This morning I took my trailer and gathered a load of grass clippings from a nearby neighborhood. I will put them in my compost pile so that I can continue to improve my soil for my little garden plots. I guess in the grand scheme of things this isn't much. Still, I can't help but believe that if everyone did just a little, Mother Earth would be much eased in her distress. I'm not convinced about human induced global warming. I am convinced that we are to be stewards of the land, responsible for her wise and compassionate use.

Goober Peas (Peanuts for the Uninitiated)

I see from the comments to my last blog that there are some of you out there that are a little out of touch with the natural cycle of life. You guys need to watch "The Lion King"...you know, the Circle of Life! Stuff has to rot and decay for other things to grow. That's just how it is. We will all eventually go the way of the worm and return to the Earth's embrace.

So, for y'all that are a little queasy, today's blog is on peanut butter. Last year I grew my first small crop of peanuts and harvested a couple of pounds of good Virginia peanuts from my southside raised garden bed. I roasted them and today shelled them in preparation for the great smushing. My blender made short work of the legumes but I had to add a bit of peanut oil to get it to smooth out. That's okay. As the peanut butter sits, the oil will rise and I can pour the extra off. A touch of salt brought out the flavor and it tastes just like the freshly ground product you can by at a local health food store. Fresh and organic!

It takes some time to do stuff like this and I don't think I'll try to grow enough for my PB&J needs for the year. Still, it feels good to know I can.

Sustainability

My word for the year is ....sustainability. I've started shredding my newspaper and adding it to my compost along with the coffee grounds I get from Starbucks, horse manure I gather from nearby barns, grass clippings from my neighbors' yard and any sort of vegetable waste that comes out of my kitchen. The plan is to take the resultant compost and use it to fertilize my garden, the results of which end up in our tummy!!!

Well, I had a new use for my compost reveal itself yesterday! As I stirred the upper layer of newspaper with fresh grass clippings, I noticed some little crawlie things squirming in the compost material. I picked one up and low and behold, I'm growing mealyworms in my compost pile!! Just so happens my chickens LOVE mealyworms. I guess it's a little gross picking mealyworms out of rotting crap but I'm saving on chicken feed now and my girls come running whenever they see me scavanging in the pile. I feel so loved.

Hhmmm. Since I eat their eggs everyday, I guess I'm eating mealyworms too!! And if you think that's bad, just try not to remember what part of the chicken from which the egg comes out.