Sunday, March 24, 2013
Kombucha Week 1
My kombucha starter has been in the closet for 1 week today, and it made a floating blob! As far as I know, it's supposed to develop a film across the top that eventually develops into a disc, or the SCOBY... but nothing I do ever goes by the book. This Floaty Blob has the yeast legs that are naturally occurring in kombucha, so I'm thinking it's a good start.
It has also been pretty cold here recently. After a few beautiful, sunny days, we were betrayed this weekend with snow. Naturally, Nate and I both got colds. I think the cool temperature in the house may also be contributing to the SCOBY's slow growth, and I'm OK with that. Everything worth having is worth waiting for.
Sick, cold, and dreaming of warmer days, I ordered this new ice pop mold. My mother would scold me for spending so much money on it, but I'm becoming wary of plastic. I can't wait to push the ice pop envelope with unnerving recipes!
Finally, a photo of our stalwart Willis keeping an eye out for the dog:
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Making Kombucha

Anyway
I'm using GT's Organic Raw Kombucha to start my mother (the filmy/pancakey colony of bacteria floating on top of the batch of kombucha), per this recipe. Anybody who knows me knows that I am going to exhaust every other option before I order an expensive mother offline... it's just a culture of bacteria, after all, what's the big deal? I will update the results here.
Our Dominique chicks ventured outside of the chick pen today for the first time. Boy, it took a long time for them to get up the guts to come out, I guess they got hungry.

I did the first full hive inspection since last November today, and I am happy to report that the bees look textbook healthy. The queen is present and laying, making the ideal rainbow of brood/pollen/nectar pattern that I've read about but have never seen in my own hive before. I hope the two new nucs (bee colony nuclei, or starter hives of 5 frames) I get this spring from Wild Mountain Bees do as well!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
This Day in Birds
We have been noticing bird activity more and more recently, especially since setting up a bird feeder right outside the back door. Birds are amazing and diverse, and it's incredible to hear the variety in the sounds they make. Here are a few visitors we have seen at our feeder so far:
Carolina Chickadee
This bird is so adorably small and puffy, and I love the severity of its little black hat. This bird means business at the feeder, but always keeps an eye out for any party crashers.
Wikipedia Fun Fact:
Carolina chickadees are able to lower their body temperatures to induce an intentional state of hypothermia called torpor. They do this to conserve energy during extremely cold winters. In extremely cold weather conditions they look for cavities where they can hide in and spend up to fifteen hours at a time in torpor; during this time they are awake but unresponsive; they should not be picked up and handled at this time, as the stress of being held may cause their death.
Tufted Titmouse
This guy distinguishes himself through his amazing triangle-shaped mohawk, and is always scaring off the chickadee. They seem like they always visit together, though, so they may formed a mixed-species flock.
Wikipedia Fun Fact:
Tufted Titmice nest in a hole in a tree, either a natural cavity or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. They line the nest with soft materials, sometimes plucking hair from a live animal such as a dog. If they find shed snake skin, they will try to incorporate pieces of it in their nest.
Maybe there is a titmouse nest somewhere with Kubla's hair lining!
The Pileated Woodpecker doesn't bother with our bird feeder, but it's always shocking to see it and realize that this bird is pretty big! He's no raven but he's no phoebe, either, and he spends his day smashing his face into solid wood looking for food. Check out this cool footage of the pileated woodpecker close up:
Carolina Chickadee
Wikipedia Fun Fact:
Carolina chickadees are able to lower their body temperatures to induce an intentional state of hypothermia called torpor. They do this to conserve energy during extremely cold winters. In extremely cold weather conditions they look for cavities where they can hide in and spend up to fifteen hours at a time in torpor; during this time they are awake but unresponsive; they should not be picked up and handled at this time, as the stress of being held may cause their death.
Tufted Titmouse
This guy distinguishes himself through his amazing triangle-shaped mohawk, and is always scaring off the chickadee. They seem like they always visit together, though, so they may formed a mixed-species flock.
Wikipedia Fun Fact:
Tufted Titmice nest in a hole in a tree, either a natural cavity or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. They line the nest with soft materials, sometimes plucking hair from a live animal such as a dog. If they find shed snake skin, they will try to incorporate pieces of it in their nest.
Maybe there is a titmouse nest somewhere with Kubla's hair lining!
The Pileated Woodpecker doesn't bother with our bird feeder, but it's always shocking to see it and realize that this bird is pretty big! He's no raven but he's no phoebe, either, and he spends his day smashing his face into solid wood looking for food. Check out this cool footage of the pileated woodpecker close up:
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