tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82280241562627311222024-03-13T11:20:31.696-07:00The Karma Farm (formerly Cluck-n-Neigh)Join us in our adventures (and misadventures) in compassionate eating, homesteading and (more) sustainable living.Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-1120579569655700532011-08-01T06:42:00.000-07:002011-08-01T06:43:33.954-07:00We've changed our name!<span style="font-size: large;">Well I mean really, if there are no longer any critters that say "neigh" around here the name Cluck-n-Neigh seems a little odd. Plus, it's still a sad memory for me to have had to give them away. Since I'm dedicated to compassionate living and generating positive karma and merit for the welfare of all beings, the new name makes more sense. Especially since I'm talking about the actual definition of karma as opposed to the strange non-Buddhist notion that karma is some sort of mystical judgement, scale to measure good and evil (and payback), or an "vibe" you "send" out to someone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, without further ado, we are now calling ourselves The Karma Farm! Though I do feel for the wonderfully talented JJ Tracy who created the hysterical logo for Cluck-n-Neigh. Sorry, JJ! So...uh...(feet shuffling)...wanna do another one? ;)</span>Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-43011753257230142232011-07-31T08:49:00.000-07:002011-08-01T06:34:36.409-07:00Give up? Me??Everybody together....AAWWWWW!!!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MpTLGcw-_Nc/TjV4jvvh8NI/AAAAAAAAAHI/cXj6r_tn6CM/s1600/nap+attack1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MpTLGcw-_Nc/TjV4jvvh8NI/AAAAAAAAAHI/cXj6r_tn6CM/s320/nap+attack1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Must.Nap.NOW.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GRo0QZZKamI/TjV4rRmJtnI/AAAAAAAAAHM/DZZYTe1MY2s/s1600/nap+attack3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GRo0QZZKamI/TjV4rRmJtnI/AAAAAAAAAHM/DZZYTe1MY2s/s320/nap+attack3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Yeah, I know I'm standing in my own food, but there's <i>always</i> room for naptime!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IWW13TucXiU/TjV4w616QkI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/Xpq4TL2cxcI/s1600/Overrun1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IWW13TucXiU/TjV4w616QkI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/Xpq4TL2cxcI/s320/Overrun1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Do you ever feel...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VQZNuqQUjUQ/TjV4yumP0VI/AAAAAAAAAHU/0w17N_GYksg/s1600/Overrun2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VQZNuqQUjUQ/TjV4yumP0VI/AAAAAAAAAHU/0w17N_GYksg/s320/Overrun2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Like everyone</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QQec_RgQGxs/TjV40mBS3dI/AAAAAAAAAHY/FGignDBPeJw/s1600/Overrun3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QQec_RgQGxs/TjV40mBS3dI/AAAAAAAAAHY/FGignDBPeJw/s320/Overrun3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Just runs...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WKxZzIVUp3w/TjV45y-kRnI/AAAAAAAAAHc/fweuSFAYSsg/s1600/Overrun4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WKxZzIVUp3w/TjV45y-kRnI/AAAAAAAAAHc/fweuSFAYSsg/s320/Overrun4.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Right over you?? </div>Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-33065143171336061292011-07-15T06:14:00.000-07:002011-07-23T21:19:49.236-07:00So You Wanna Live on a Farm?<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So uh...yeah...it's been awhile, huh?</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Okay okay, but in my defense, I've been overwhelmingly busy. It's been so hot (and it's no joke, it was 109 the other day with a heat index of 130) I've had to start working in the overnight hours. I've also been traveling back and forth across the state monthly to prep our home in Gatlinburg to rent it to family and close friends. I've also been driving with the hubby back and forth to Washington DC in order to find him some real medical care for his chronic Lyme Disease at <a href="http://www.jemsekspecialty.com/">Jemsek Specialty Clinic</a>. Top that off with some naughty masked bandits (aka raccoons) munching down on 5 of our chickens and yet another heaping healthy helping of human sick-minded bandit variety and our happy little flock of 80 is now....20.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sigh.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">...and...and...</span><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>THE DOG ATE MY LAPTOP!</b></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Okay, maybe not that last part. But the other stuff is 100% true. At first, I considered just packing it in and moving to Baltimore. Or maybe to some other big city featured in critically acclaimed yet popularly unnoticed television shows based on the premise of the slow death and decay of American culture due to poverty, selfishness and greed. Then I took a nap, and what do you know? I felt a little better. Rather than rent that U-Haul I sent out a mass email to our clients, friends and family explaining what had happened to our flock and soliciting their promise to help support us in whatever way they could, either by paying a little more for eggs or finding me enough clients to add in the fall that would make an attempt at raising another clutch affordable for us. They came through in spades. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">...oh, whoops! Speaking of being incredibly busy, I just got a call from the post office that our shipment of 25 chicks has arrived. Should they all survive and all be pullets like I ordered (it's never 100% accurate, though Ideal Poultry has an excellent track record for me so far) we'll be up to 50. That's our original number when we first started the business. I wish it were more, but for the time being we have to be sure our new security is working and/or school is back in session so the "little darlings" who had oh so much fun letting loose our birds to be scarfed up by dogs (most likely theirs) will have less time on their hands. So, I've gotta boogie to get the babies! That always brightens my day. Perhaps I'll continue this post while in the brooder. As I said before, I live just like Laura Ingalls Wilder, only with high speed internets and a generally bitchy attitude. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before I go, let me put a bug in your cyber-ear. While Michael is gone (about 8 months), I'll be looking for a roommate who can help with farm work, house work or both in exchange for lodging. But for now, it's baby time!</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Okay, I've returned from helping the new babes settle in and work on imprinting. So...on to my finding a roommate/farmmate while Michael is gone. Or at the very least a part-time employee and farm sitter. I've <a href="http://www.caretaker-jobs.com/search_detail_jobs.cfm?CFID=46679522&CFTOKEN=87764919&ID=46648">placed an ad</a> on a website called Caretaker-jobs.com and so far have had some interest. So, if you're interested in gettin' your farm on, you've come to the right place! Below are the details of the note I put on our Facebook Page:</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Small pay-as-you-can egg farm needs farmsitter/roommate/housekeeper to assist one owner while the other undergoes medical treatment out-of-state. We operate under permaculture ethics to maximize sustainable and compassionate living.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Details:</span></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"> Couples or singles welcome, but please no children.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"> Located 1 & ½ hours from Memphis.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Farm and/or housework experience a plus, but not required. Training provided. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">No dogs. A dog would upset the balance of our pack of four. Extreme weather conditions, on-site donkeys and wild coyotes present extreme danger to “outdoor only”dogs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">No pet birds (due to possible disease transmission). </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Absolutely no drugs of any kind.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Alcohol is permitted off-duty.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"> Dates flexible. Stay a week, a month, or the duration.</span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Perks:</span></span></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Room/board</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Gas for farm errands run. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Share in profits (after farm expenses) of egg deliveries made on behalf of owner.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"> For every week of satisfactory work, receive complementary 3-day stay at our creek-side mountain cabin just outside of Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Time may be banked for up to a full week stay at a time, a $1400 value.</span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">General Requirements for Applicants:</span></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Tetanus up-to-date and be able to provide that documentation</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">General good health</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">MUST be in good physical condition</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Able to lift and carry 50-60 pounds easily</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">No animal allergies</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Prepared to work in all weather conditions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Must understand compassionate farming sometimes means making emotionally difficult decisions such as sending stray dogs to the local kill shelter, killing a bird who is injured, culling roos, etc.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Must be willing/able (after training) to successfully and satisfactorily complete daily farm chores alone 2x per week</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Must be flexible in work schedules and how to prioritize what is to be done. Farm work is completely unpredictable at times, and there are no time cards or guaranteed "off" times. They do happen, but one must be flexible and be ready to get back to work in an emergency.</span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Specific Daily Tasks for the Farm:</span></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Assist owner in animal routine for 40 chickens, 2 donkeys and 4 dogs. This involves feeding, collecting eggs, cleaning nest boxes, providing fresh water daily, changing water frequently during hot days to ensure cold water, etc.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Assist owner in maintaining/repairing fence lines</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Learning our business model well enough to answer questions should you make any deliveries</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Grounds maintenance: Using weed eaters, riding mowers. Being present while owner uses tractor for bush-hogging (a safety issue)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Running general farm errands, possibly making egg deliveries on occasion to established clients</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">General maintenance/repair where needed (carpentry experience a real plus)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Occasional house/farmsitting for up to a week</span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Specific Projects for the Farm:</span></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Clearing fence lines section by section for installation of cattle panels and field wire (as materials can be afforded)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Putting together guinea house for next year</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Cleanup/Maintenance of garden around farmhouse (weeding, mulching etc)</span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Living Arrangements (General):</span></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">I have no objection to differing religious affiliation (if any), color, sexual orientation, political ideology, etc. I expect the same understanding of a roommate. Well okay, maybe I do object to one personality type. Absolutely no racist homophobes will set foot in this door. Other than that, it's all good.</span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Specifics on Living Arrangements (in a nutshell, life as a roomie):</span></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Share in household duties (cooking, cleaning etc)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Share in errand running (groceries, etc)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">ABSOLUTELY NO DRUGS. ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NO DRUGS NEVER EVER EVER...just in case I'm too subtle here, let me reiterate. NO DRUGS.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Alcohol is permitted so long as you aren't a "knee walkin' drunk."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Men are welcome but if you dip and drop a spit cup on the carpet, I. Will. End. You. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Vegans are welcome, but if you can't handle flesh in the fridge this is a deal-breaker.</span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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</span>Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-41975757780587763562011-05-10T17:26:00.000-07:002011-05-10T18:24:35.065-07:00The Best Laid Plans...I don't want to use that now infamous phrase about the avoidance of projectiles that have been released through firearms, because it feels like it would be akin to using the name of the Scottish play in a theatre. And of course, we all remember what happened after they declared the Katrina crisis over right after the storm passed but before the levies broke. <br />
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But so far we've had no calls for sheltering horses, and the Agri-center in Memphis has been able to handle their load. The mighty Mississippi crested here a day earlier, so we are now just in the "wait and see" phase where the levies are concerned. I'm relieved, as I have not finished the paddock. Yesterday we had the worst dog incident we've ever had when a starved pit bull wandered on to the farm. She was older, and had a collar on. But apparently she had been either a breeder or a bait dog. Honestly I can't even describe it. She was so lame and weak from starvation that she could barely move, but the moment I approached her, she wagged her nubby tail at me weakly.<br />
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So I spent the day side tracked trying to find her some help while attempting to report the situation to the sheriff's office as a case of animal cruelty. But the only way to do that would be to have called Animal Control, where they would have taken her to the hell hole they call a "shelter." There's a strict policy of not adopting out pits who have been fighting, even if they were bait dogs, so she would have had to go through all of that stress and fear and pain only to have a needle shoved in her and her body thrown into a mass crematorium. I took her to the vet on the off chance that she was chipped and perhaps lost from the Arkansas tornadoes, but there was no chip, and she had so many old wounds that whoever owned her didn't deserve to have her back anyway.<br />
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So instead, I sat in the grass with her, fed her and petted her. She gave me sweet little kisses as she tried to sit in my lap on numerous occasions, but her pain was too great. Finally she would give up and lie beside me while I continued to stroke her and call her a good girl. It was probably the first time in her life she'd ever had that experience. Michael was once again the strong one. We dug her grave together, and I recited the Mani mantra for her. Then I put on my headphones and walked away, turning them up so high that my ears are still ringing. I never heard the shot. She's now lying in our little pet cemetery, surrounded by other victims of humankind's thoughtlessness. At least for one day she got to experience a full belly and a loving touch, and she left this world with someone to mourn her passing and cry for her. This is one day I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I put a video of her on our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ClucknNeigh">YouTube Channel</a>, but fair warning on how horrific it is. I almost deleted it, but came to the decision that she deserves to be seen and cried for.<br />
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I pray that those who were involved in her torture somehow find their way out of the suffering they have created for themselves. Because anyone who would do this to any living creature has a darkness in their hearts that is incalculable to me.<br />
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As for you, sweet innocent little dog who only wanted a lap to sit in, I pray for your swift and higher rebirth. I can't think of any creature who deserves it more.<br />
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</div>Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-1219886685224045922011-05-08T12:14:00.000-07:002011-05-08T12:14:42.609-07:00Where's my Ark???I know I've been off for awhile, and believe me when I say it's been CRAAAZZZEEEEEE out here! But we're doing our best at the moment to get our farm prepared for the flooding. So far we are out of the zone, but we are mending fences in case we need to take in evacuated horses.<br />
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So for the time being, twitter might be the most up-to-date I get. Come follow me on Twitter! And of course, my twitter name is BahGAWK. ;)Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-32128742445433034072011-04-05T16:16:00.000-07:002011-04-05T16:16:03.736-07:00Hosting Our First WorkshopWith warm temps come my annual attack of chickenitis (the insatiable desire to see fluffy baby chicks following their clucking moms). Since we lost so many hens due to the theft that translated into a humongous financial loss, I decided to let nature take its course rather than order from a hatchery. Besides, it's more fun anyway, and I don't have to put those poor little ones through the stress of hatching and being stuffed in boxes headed for the mail. <br />
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Since I've had many people ask about workshops or just coming to visit us, I thought I'd make a day of it with a workshop for potential chickenthusiasts on starting backyard flocks. I put it up on our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#%21/pages/Cluck-n-Neigh-Farm/292538554662">Facebook page</a> in hopes of generating interest and spreading the word.<br />
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The workshop will be from 10 am - 3 pm on May 14, and are suitable for people ages 12 and up (provided anyone under 18 is accompanied by a legal guardian). <br />
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If you are in the Midsouth area and would like to join us, please email me at clucknneigh@gmail.com to reserve your spot as they will be limited.Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-46373800612201302912011-02-21T21:33:00.000-08:002011-02-21T21:33:25.504-08:00So Far, So GoodThough I'm disappointed the person(s) responsible for such a devastating loss to the flock never took us up on our offer to help, I'm at least relieved to say that since we put the note up and padlocked everything that involved critters there have been no more losses, and our egg production has quadrupled. Though it's not definitive proof that we were dealing with a predator of the <i>H. sapiens</i> variety rather than wildlife, it certainly could lend credence to the theory. Only time will tell.<br />
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In the meantime, we're on to bigger and brighter things. First up is doing what we can to follow through on making "Fort Chicken" as impenetrable as possible. And of course there's a lot of clearing up of brush from the winter's shenanigans to get working on. So we'll keep on keeping on, as they say. We won't be replacing the hens we lost this year, but will instead let nature take its course. If a hen decides she might like to take on the responsibility of raising a few babies herself, we'll let her go for it. The market will just have to wait another year for us, and that's just part of accepting that farm life is full of setbacks and unexpected losses. But we're not giving in, not by a <i>long shot.</i>Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-24299905223093204202011-02-18T01:08:00.000-08:002011-02-18T02:22:36.613-08:00Strange Things are Afoot at the Cluck-n-NeighWe've had a massive setback here on the farm, and I don't mind telling you it's downright discouraging. Last night I had a light bulb moment, and not of the pleasant kind. I had been wondering why our egg production seemed to be so poor. I had been blaming the wacky weather, but once it became less wacky I assumed production would go back to normal. There had been a few odd tickles at the back of my mind that seemed odd, but none taken alone were enough to raise suspicion. First it was an empty roost pole, but the hens had taken to roosting in a corner, piling up like a litter of puppies. There had been a few feathers here and there by the coop door, but I it looked like someone was molting more than anything else. Besides, I was doing my animal routine in the dark that week due to being in Memphis all day long.<br />
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Last evening around sunset, the picture became all too clear when I went looking for a few stubborn birds that for some reason hadn't come in from the yard. When I discovered an empty yard with all the girls safely roosted, it hit me like a thump to the back of the head. Chickens were missing. I looked more closely. A <b><i>LOT</i></b> of chickens were missing. By the end of the third head count, I realized all too late and with much disgust and anger what those tickles in my mind had been trying to tell me.<br />
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Someone has been catching, strangling stealing my chickens. Those feathers by the door were NOT molted, but the result of the heartless method one uses when they "wring" a chicken's neck by whirling it by the head like a bullroarer. Over 30 birds dead.<br />
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You may ask, "how on earth would she not notice for a <i>week?</i>" Simple. It happened while I was spending a lot of time in Memphis at <a href="http://www.pemakarpo.org/">Pema Karpo Meditation Center</a> for the <a href="http://www.nyingmamonlam.org/">Monlam Chenmo</a> (The Great Prayer Festival). I was leaving before dawn and coming home well after dark, doing animal routine by flashlight. So of course I wasn't noticing there were fewer black lumps in darkened corners. In other words, while I'm off the farm for some incredible teachings by <a href="http://www.pemakarpo.org/kgr.html">Khenpo Gawang Rinpoche</a> on a Tibetan text that has not even been translated into English yet (and might not be in my lifetime) and praying for world peace, some jackwagon has been killing my beloved chickens. For what? A quick meal? A mean prank? An insatiable psychotic need soon to graduate to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/">Dexter</a>-ical proportions? Frankly, all of these scenarios suck equally. Either someone in this neighborhood is so hungry they are reduced to foraging like a feral dog for food, or someone is so disturbed as to find it amusing to kill defenseless animals that do nothing but spend their birdie lives feeding the hungry. Double Yew Tee Eff. Add to that the realization that someone has obviously been watching our comings and goings to know when the best times would be to get up to no good and it's getting creepier by the minute.<br />
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But what really bakes the noodle is wondering how many times last week did I walk right by someone standing in the shadows, still and silent with a freshly strangled chicken in their grip?<br />
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Last year Memphis was given (and earned) the lovely distinction of being the <a href="http://www.memphisflyer.com/HungryMemphis/archives/2010/07/08/farmers-market-to-open-in-south-memphis">Hunger Capital of the United States</a>. One area in particular is also one of the worst food deserts in the nation. If you are unfamiliar with the term, a food desert is a community without access to any grocery stores. In other words, if you can't find it in the gas stations, you don't find it at all. Even if you had enough money to purchase fresh food, it is simply not available unless you have both grocery money and a car to get to the grocery stores in other communities. Things are turning around for the area though with the addition of the<a href="http://www.memphisflyer.com/HungryMemphis/archives/2010/07/15/at-the-south-memphis-farmers-market"> South Memphis Farmers Market.</a> This humble beginning was even noted by <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/07/19/just-opened-south-memphis-farmers-market">The White House </a>as a positive step in the right direction for a city long overdue. After our tremendous success and support from the community of Collierville, we were out of the red and into the black. Within one year, the generosity of a few made it possible for us more than <i>double</i> the size of our flock with the goal of making it to South Memphis, possibly making us the only provider of fresh compassionately produced eggs in the entire community. I had high hopes that it would happen this upcoming season. But now? I can't afford to. I am right back at square one. I do not even know if I will have enough eggs left to take to the <a href="http://www.colliervillefarmersmarket.org/">Collierville Farmers Market</a> without having to cut families in need off. This is the exact opposite of the entire mission of Cluck-n-Neigh, and I will not do it. The actions of one (or a few) have now directly affected an entire community who could have gotten great benefit from the eggs those now-dead birds would have provided.<br />
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So for now, we are on hold until further notice. Most certainly we won't be going to the South Memphis Farmers Market this year, and if we lose any more birds we will not be at the Collierville Farmers Market either. All we can do is hope that a few folks will help us out when and where they can so that we can make some serious upgrades to security out here. We can use help in any way you feel like giving it, be it financial, volunteer labor or ideas. Our paypal link is on the right hand side of the page for easy donations, and I've got a <a href="http://clucknneigh.blogspot.com/p/farm-wish-list.html">wish list</a> going if you'd care to take a peek for other stuff that would help us get back on track/continue the journey. Until we upgrade to more security, I have posted a simple sign that reads:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">We provide eggs to everyone, even if they cannot pay. Many families in need depend on these eggs. <b>If you take or harm the chickens, </b><i><b>many</b></i><b> families go hungry. </b></span> </div><div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If you need eggs, mark this page with an “X.” I will put eggs out for you in one of the feed cans, </b><i><b>no questions asked</b></i><b>. </b><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you have no way to cook them, mark the page with a “B” and I will boil them for you. </span></span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Do not hurt my chickens. </b></i><i><u><b>They've done you no harm.</b></u></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-14177356798093380432011-02-12T13:08:00.000-08:002011-02-18T00:51:22.934-08:00Claire 2.0, Pt 2Well I finally got around to my first recipe experiment for healthy baking. I had some old bananas that were overripe, so I figured it was the perfect opportunity for attempting a customization of the classic banana nut muffin. I started with the original that I found in my favorite cooking website, <a href="http://allrecipes.com/">allrecipes.com</a>. The original recipe can be found <a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Chip-Banana-Muffins/Detail.aspx">at this link.</a><br />
<br />
In all honesty, I did not make this original recipe. I figure discretion to be the better part of valor when it comes to food. No sense in making the lesser of two choices health-wise, and tempting my inner caveman brain to say "Hey! This one's better! I can survive all winter on all these calories! Let's make more!"<br />
<br />
So, I made a few changes for starters. Nothing too ambitious. I do not use electric mixers or anything, all is done by hand. Worked out fine. The new recipe is below:<br />
<br />
<b>Banana chocolate-chip muffins (makes 12 muffins) </b><br />
<u>Ingredients:</u><br />
1 1/2 mashed overripe bananas<br />
1 egg, beaten<br />
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
1 cup all-purpose flour<br />
1 cup spelt flour<br />
6 Tablespoons cold milled flax <br />
1/2 cup sugar<br />
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)<br />
1 Tablespoon baking powder<br />
1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips<br />
1/4 cup chopped walnuts<br />
<br />
<u>Directions:</u><br />
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease 12-cup muffin tin. In medium bowl, combine bananas, flax, egg and vanilla & mix well together. Using a serving fork makes for easy mixing.<br />
<br />
In large bowl, combine flours, cocoa, baking powder & salt. Stir in the banana mix until just blended. Fold in chips & walnuts. Spoon batter into prepped muffin tin until each cup is 2/3 full.<br />
<br />
Bake 15 - 20 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove muffins from tin and place onto metal rack for complete cooling.<br />
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So let's compare the nutritional information between the two recipes (drum roll please):<br />
<br />
Per muffin (original/new recipe):<br />
Calories: 318/164<br />
Fat: 17.2/5.3<br />
Carbs: 40.6/26<br />
Fiber: 2.4 g/3.8<br />
Protein 3.7g/4.3 <br />
<br />
Holy MOLY! Look at what just a small change in flour, or using flax instead of oil can do for a muffin recipe! Not to mention it was quite tasty. I don't know if I would have really noticed the difference between the original and the healthier alternative. Viva la spelt flour!Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-15683175356149710362011-01-31T18:53:00.000-08:002011-01-31T18:59:25.727-08:00Claire 2.0, Pt 1There's a relatively new sport known as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), that <a href="http://www.xspectre8.com/">Michael</a> and I enjoy. One MMA organization in particular is called Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). One of their commentators has a catch phrase he uses so often it's become a drinking game in some circles. As fighters stare each other down from their respective corners, the referee claps his hands together and shouts out "FIGHT!" The bell rings, and commentator Mike Goldberg's voice booms out:<br />
<br />
"And heeere we <b>GO!</b>"<br />
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That's what I imagine in my mind as I start looking into permacooking. In other words, I have no idea what is going to happen. It might end in a healthier me, full of wisdom and sage advice to share about how you too can grow, harvest and pound your own heirloom grains like quinoa, amaranth or spelt into scrumptious breads as healthy and ecologically sustainable as they are tasty and nutritious. Or it might end in tears and bald patches from me pulling my own hair out by the handful. I'm aiming for something along the midpoint of the spectrum of extremes.<br />
<br />
So what is permacooking, you may ask? Put simply, it's applying the three permaculture ethics (Care of earth, care of people and limiting consumption/sharing resources ) to how your food gets to your body. Though these ethics are simple, they do require a bit of learning to put into practice when it comes to food prep. There is quite a learning curve when you've been raised on McCorporate food and opening cans I can tell you!<br />
<br />
To help other newbies on the road to being permacooking gourmets, I thought I'd share the journey! So here they are, step-by-step instructions on how to get away from the corporate world of ultra-processed, cruelty centered foods of negligible nutrition into the wonderful world of tasty, nutritious and sustainable permacooking!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bxvj3xLSg-A/TUdsUOrQnnI/AAAAAAAAAF4/WeT-TF5vsmM/s1600/IMG_1824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bxvj3xLSg-A/TUdsUOrQnnI/AAAAAAAAAF4/WeT-TF5vsmM/s200/IMG_1824.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 1: Decide to document with photos. Dig old, stale makeup out of closet and apply due to deceased Steel Magnolia mother's voice ringing in ears about how "every lady needs a little bit of color!" </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bxvj3xLSg-A/TUdsrDZrq-I/AAAAAAAAAF8/b1VrhgFDW3M/s1600/IMG_1827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bxvj3xLSg-A/TUdsrDZrq-I/AAAAAAAAAF8/b1VrhgFDW3M/s200/IMG_1827.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 2: Lock self in bathroom to spare husband sounds of huffing an puffing as attempt to push earrings through piercings long ago closed from lack of adornment becomes increasingly annoying.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bxvj3xLSg-A/TUdtBdI-OsI/AAAAAAAAAGA/ZLioZSpH8GM/s1600/IMG_1829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bxvj3xLSg-A/TUdtBdI-OsI/AAAAAAAAAGA/ZLioZSpH8GM/s200/IMG_1829.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 3: Come to sudden realization as a farmer you haven't worn makeup in <i>years</i>. Remove makeup immediately.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bxvj3xLSg-A/TUdtUAj_DgI/AAAAAAAAAGE/RfNQfZ5b0kU/s1600/IMG_1840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bxvj3xLSg-A/TUdtUAj_DgI/AAAAAAAAAGE/RfNQfZ5b0kU/s200/IMG_1840.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 4: Come to second sudden realization (after about three hours) that "just a quick look on the net about DIY quinoa flour" has now become unbearably tedious. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>So, after all those steps I've come to the following conclusions.<br />
<ol><li>It's just food. </li>
<li>If no one likes it, I don't have to make it again.</li>
<li>Bad food = good compost, so there's nothing to lose</li>
<li>ON TO THE KITCHEN!</li>
</ol>So folks, stay tuned for the next exciting installment of Claire 2.0!Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-30000128368401069182010-10-15T10:47:00.000-07:002010-10-15T11:00:31.965-07:00How to Teach an Old Hen New ClucksSo maybe that's not <i>exactly</i> how the saying goes, but what can I say? I'm a chicken freak. <br />
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After much hand-wringing and a "where-to-begin" mentality in starting this permaculture conversion, I succumbed to an aspect of my personality that's been either help or hindrance when it comes to starting a project. More specifically it involves the various purchases I make towards that end. Depending on the desirable or undesirable outcome I refer to it either as the "karmically correct" purchase, or the "it was on sale" excuse. Only time will tell if this particular action was help, hindrance, or maybe even a bit of both.<br />
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The other day I went to Oak Lawn Garden Center. I had intended to look around and ask about special ordering some stuff for next season, but instead drove drive off with four fruit trees (two apples and two pears). It really wasn't my fault that such an impulse buy occurred. I mean, could I help it that the "50% off all trees" sign was so conveniently placed about 100 yards away from the parking lot and around the corner from the privacy fence? At any rate, knowing that it was better to plant trees in the fall rather than spring, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get that first fruit tree guild started. Okay, that first FOUR guilds started. Was it my fault they had four desirable trees instead of just one? Don't judge me!<br />
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So I've been spending the past several days with a shovel and a steady supply of Tylenol as I try to dig through the absolute worst "soil" I have ever seen. I put the quotations around word soil because there really isn't any. Less than 1/4" of topsoil that is a light, sickly brown. Immediately underneath that? Pure clay that is so compacted there is quite literally no evidence of earthworm activity. Not one single air pocket. It takes me an average of 9 hours and about fifty two uses of the F word to get the hole dug. As I do get the trees in the ground, I'm employing sheet mulching, a method of building soil from nothing. I am trying this for the first time under the guidance of the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gaias-Garden-Second-Home-Scale-Permaculture/dp/1603580298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287165559&sr=8-1">Gaia's Garden</a> by Toby Hemenway. <br />
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Sheet mulching is a beautiful simple way to build soil where there is none. I thought I'd give you a quick run-down with some photos of how this is done.<br />
<br />
The most time consuming part is getting the materials together.<br />
<br />
<br />
You will need:<br />
<ul><li>Enough cardboard to cover the area, making sure each piece will overlap by six inches. Remove any tape or staples.</li>
</ul><ul><li>Water to the site</li>
</ul><ul><li>"Green" manure such as grass clipping or old produce </li>
</ul><ul><li>Finished compost enough to cover about 1 inch of your area</li>
</ul><ul><li>Bulk mulch such as straw or hay. Bark mulch can be used, but keep in mind the woodier the mulch, the longer it will take to break down. Traditional wood bark mulch will take <i>years</i> to create soil.</li>
</ul><ul><li><i>Optional</i>: Bark "pretty" mulch if you have picky neighbors, or desire the more polished look after the good stuff's been put down.</li>
</ul>Unless the ground is moist from rain, you'll need to give it a really good soak first and let it sit overnight. Ideally you want the soil to have a "damp sponge" consistency throughout. Then you'll start building your sheet mulch almost like a lasagna. Layer as follows, making sure to water each layer until dampened all the way through.<br />
<br />
<ol><li>Green manure, about 1" thick. Water.</li>
<li>Cardboard, overlapped by about six inches to keep the weeds from growing through the edges. There must be no open areas for light to penetrate. Water.</li>
<li>Green manure, about 1" thick. Water</li>
<li>Bulk mulch, about 2" thick. Water as you go, because you'll be surprised at how much it would take to water all the way through a finished layer. </li>
<li>Finished compost, 1" - 2." If you don't plan on planting the area right away, you can get away with adding soil at a 1:1 ratio. Water</li>
<li>Either more bulk mulch or your "pretty" bark mulch. I chose the pretty bark because it's...well...pretty.</li>
</ol>Now when I plant the jonquil bulbs around the trunk of the trees (they are great deer deterrents and happen to be my favorite flower) all I have to do is dig through the bark mulch to get to the compost layer beneath. Will it work? I have no idea. Ask me next spring. On to the next project!Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-54503756844994786632010-10-09T18:32:00.000-07:002010-10-09T18:32:07.794-07:00There Goes the Blogorhood...For some time now I've subscribed to <a href="http://www.communitychickens.com/">Community Chickens</a>, a <a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/">Mother Earth News</a> publication devoted to my favorite feathered friends. <a href="http://www.communitychickens.com/"></a>I've found it to be my first go-to guide when I'm looking for new ideas or anything else poultry related.<br />
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Recently the call went out for bloggers with chickenthusiasm to submit samples of their writing to become one of their "Community Cluckers," volunteer bloggers for the online site. I couldn't resist giving it a try, so I threw my cyberhat into the pile.<br />
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I'm happy to report that either my writing is considered interesting enough, or perhaps the editors are desperate enough, but either way they've accepted me to be a Community Clucker! <br />
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So look for scintillating tidbits from yours truly to grace (or deface, depending on your opinion of my writing) the Community Chickens site soon! Now if I can just come up with some ideas...Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-69571731592456090222010-10-02T22:38:00.000-07:002010-10-02T22:38:05.102-07:00Permaculture: An antidote for Eco-Cynicism?For some time now I've suffered from a terrible and debilitating syndrome. Okay, not really. But it's a supremely dramatic start to a blog post if you ask me. Anyway, after much thought I finally gave the syndrome a name. Eco-Cynicism Syndrome.<br />
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Though it has only been within the past few years that ECS has really taken hold, there were two major factors in my life that made me vulnerable to it to begin with. My passion for the natural world was the first, and my education in <a href="http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/">Wildlife and Fisheries Science</a> was the second. A little bit of knowledge and a lot of love for our precious natural world can be a dangerous thing in times like these. <br />
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I realized I had ECS when I simultaneously reached my midlife crisis, realized my education only served to remove the veil of blissful ignorance that obfuscated the damage our planet was suffering, and reached the end of my "hope rope" that the human race would ever turn from its soulless doctrine of greed that has overtaken it in favor of a truly sustainable existence based on cooperation and community rather than exclusion, isolation and mindless consumption. In short, I was dangerously close to giving up on us as a species entirely. There didn't seem to be any point to living with sustainability and conservation in mind if there would soon be nothing left to conserve. My resulting emotional state was one of general malaise, hopelessness and cynicism towards the ability or interest of my fellow humans (with a few exceptions of course) to make any effort towards real and lasting changes that could mitigate the consequences of <a href="http://climate.nasa.gov/">global climate change</a>, or to accept any responsibility for it.<br />
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I spent the last several years trapped in a vicious cycle from the depths of ECS to an overwhelming compulsion to be as environmentally and socially conscious as I possibly could in a frantic effort to somehow "make up for" those who did nothing. Lately however, there was a rapid slide towards hopelessness and the temptation to go off grid not only in the sustainable living sense but also in the complete hermit sense. I was almost ready to shut the gates to our farm and start hoarding seeds and food in preparation for the inevitable societal collapse once the population at large realizes that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubbert_peak_theory">Peak Oil</a> is no longer a theory, but has in fact already occurred.<br />
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Needless to say, my head has been a gloomy place to live in. I kept an optimistic face on as often as I could around others while this inner nihilism ate away at my spirit. When a friend of mine at <a href="http://oakhillfarms.blogspot.com/">Oak Hill Farms </a>brought up his interest in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture">permaculture</a>, I nodded politely and thought no more of it. I was too emotionally drained to hear yet one more way I needed to change my lifestyle to be more green when I still have to choke through the haze of my neighbors' burning household garbage, industrial pesticides and herbicides. Fortunately for me though, the curiosity eventually took hold and I stumbled across a few podcasts discussing permaculture that included some of the most influential figures in the movement. Who would have thought it would turn out to be the tonic I so desperately needed.<br />
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In learning more about permaculture and its code of ethics (care of the earth, care of people, and limiting your use of resources and sharing of surplus), I came to a drastic realization that may very well change the way I view the natural world and my role in it. I realize now that though the philosophy of conservation may seem on its surface as the only way to approach natural resource management, it is not. In fact, it could very well be completely misguided at best, and completely ineffective at worst. The conservation model is at its heart a cynical one, seated in a primary philosophy of "not enough." We must have Resource A to survive, yet we teeter on the brink of permanently losing Resource A forever due to misuse, overuse or simply running out. Therefore, the conservation ethic tells us we must do all we can to slow this degradation and permanent loss as long as possible. This leaves a tickle in the back of the mind that our efforts, however noble, will at best postpone the impending crash of Resource A followed by the inevitable domino crashes of Resources B, C, D, E etc., until the entire system collapses in upon itself, leaving behind a dried up husk for a planet. <br />
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How cheerful! No <i>wonder</i> I was felt like I was in a rut. Fortunately permaculture offers up an entirely different world view, one of restoration rather than conservation. Yes, when it comes to natural resources, permaculture operates under the belief that <i>we can fix it, and we can make more.</i><br />
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It's a concept so simple that I can't believe it's not on the tip of every human tongue. Everyone's harping on about organic this and that, and that's all well and good, but how many people realize that organic is now big business, and as an industrialized <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoculture">monoculture</a> it is just as harmful as any other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_farming">factory farm</a>? How many people understand that organic certification movement has resulted in a <i>lower</i> quality of life for some farm animals (due to <a href="http://www.grandin.com/welfare/economic.effects.welfare.html">refusal to treat sick or injured animals</a> for fear of losing certification)? Permaculture works solely on the principles of doing what is right for every component of the natural system from soil and seed to knife and fork. Organic is just one tiny part of the bigger permaculture picture. The bigger picture is one of an entire ecosystem working in a natural way to not only preserve our natural resources, but to actually make them healthier and <i>add to them. </i>When was the last time you heard something so optimistic about our environment? <br />
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As I read and learn all that I can and slowly make the conversion of our farm to a full scale permaculture farm, I hope I'll be sharing a few success stories amidst the frustrations and failures that are an inevitable part of trying something new. So stay tuned!Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-58765579355571537002010-09-14T05:55:00.000-07:002010-09-14T05:59:21.687-07:00Stretching the WingsIn continuation of my earlier blog post about the importance of <a href="http://clucknneigh.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html">Farmers Markets</a> I am working on a new post about my newest project, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture">Permaculure</a>. It's still in my head working its way out, so all I can say at this point is that I'm thinking about the post. I hope to have more info within the next day or two, so I hope you'll stay tuned.Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-73561562291189403252010-08-22T12:59:00.000-07:002010-09-28T22:34:30.094-07:00Salmonella: Which Eggs are Safe?In the midst of a massive <a href="http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm223248.htm">nationwide egg recall</a>, I have had many people at the market say how glad they are to be buying eggs from pasture raised chickens so they can rest assured that these eggs are "safer" from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmonella">salmonella</a> than those of the large factory farms. I can assure you as an egg farmer of happy healthy pastured chickens that <u><b><i>nothing could be farther from the truth</i></b></u><b><i>. </i></b>In fact, one of the safest methods of producing eggs would be to put a hen in a cage by herself with no bedding or access to other birds. Obviously this would be incredibly inhumane and impractical, much like keeping your child padlocked in her room for her entire life would most certainly keep her safest from sexual predators. At some point a person must weigh the cost of safety and security against a life well-lived. <br />
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Consumers are often lured into a false sense of security by equating the labels of "organic," "natural," "cage free" etc to safety. In all reality, the way a hen lives her life has <a href="http://ddr.nal.usda.gov/bitstream/10113/36509/1/IND44295179.pdf">very little to do</a> with the presence or absence of salmonella. What does make a difference is the handling of the egg from nest box (or conveyor belt if in a huge battery cage McFarm) to your table. Responsibility is shared from farmer to processor to shipper to store to customer. Certainly the fewer the steps in between the farm and you can often give you the advantage, but an irresponsible farmer at the Farmers Market could just as easily sell you a carton full of <a href="https://health.google.com/health/ref/Salmonella+enterocolitis">salmonellosis</a>. So here are a few steps from store (or market) to table you can take to do all that you can to insure the eggs you eat are safe.<br />
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<ol><li>If at all possible, buy local from a local farmer. There are three big reasons this is a good idea. First, you can ask the farmer face-to-face what sort of safety practices they have in place. And if they can't give you a straight answer, WALK AWAY. Second, if (heaven forbid) there were a salmonella outbreak it would be smaller and more easily tracked and managed than with a multi-million egg recall covering nearly every state in the union.Third, farmers at markets tend to <i>care</i> about the people they feed and the critters and plants they do it with. </li>
<li>Do not buy a carton with a cracked or broken egg in it. Never mix and match eggs from the store, and never allow a farmer at a market to make any switches between cartons to replace cracked eggs. The entire carton should be thrown out. </li>
<li>Do not let eggs get warm. Keep them refrigerated. Yes, it is true they do not do this in Europe, but in America all eggs must be washed in a bleach solution (50-100ppm in water) before they can be sold. In Tennessee <a href="http://cpa.utk.edu/pdffiles/cpa154.pdf">it is illegal to sell eggs not washed in this manner</a>, end of story. Any Tennessee farmer who brags that they only use organic or eco friendly wash or does not use bleach is breaking the law. It's a <i>stupid</i> law that I disagree with and I never do this for my own eggs, but I comply with the law with all eggs I take to the market. The washing method so stupidly insisted upon in Tennessee does help kill pathogens on the egg shell at the time of gather, but it also destroys the natural antibacterial protective membrane (<a href="http://www.incredibleegg.org/egg-facts/eggcyclopedia/b/bloom">bloom or cuticle</a>) that covers the egg when it is laid by the hen. Without this protective layer the egg is now <i>more</i> susceptible contamination by pathogens. European countries do not use bleach egg washes and therefore have more confidence in not refrigerating their eggs. Side note: This is how I do things at home. I just knock any detritus off the shell and voila! Breakfast! I have been doing this every single morning for four years now and have never gotten ill from one of my eggs. </li>
<li>If you wash your eggshells off before cooking, do so with hot water only. Heat causes the interior of an egg to swell, pushing pathogens out. Cold causes the interior of an egg to shrink, <i>pulling contaminants in.</i></li>
<li>Wash your hands immediately after cracking eggs open. Soap and hot water. It is extremely easy to contaminate your refrigerator or counter tops by "just putting a few things up first" before washing your hands. </li>
<li>Thoroughly wipe down your counters and anything else that may have come in contact with eggs while you were preparing the food.</li>
<li>Cook eggs thoroughly. This means no sunny side up, no soft scrambling. Yolks must be solidly done, and scrambled eggs must have no liquid left. Never lick the cake batter or cookie dough, and kiss Mom's famous hollandaise goodbye. Or like me, accept that there is risk in life and enjoy it to the fullest! </li>
</ol>What I do want to point out here is that there is no specific food we can avoid to protect ourselves from food-bourne pathogens. Anyone who follows the news of food recalls can see they are on the rise, and hello vegans, it's not just animal products. In fact it was organic spinach that caused the deadly <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/e-coli/DS01007">e. coli</a> <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2006/september/">outbreak of 2006</a>. As of today there has been a salmonella outbreak in connection with the veggies used in some Northern <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/06/taco.bell.salmonella/">Taco Bell</a> restaurants. The answer is not to never again eat <insert evil="" food="" here="" name=""> The answer is to change how our food is produced. Until the USDA and FDA have finally gotten back regulatory power no industrial food will ever be safe. Some of us believe that is the way things should be, that we should move permanently away from the huge industrial complex of factory farms and back to locally and sustainably produced agriculture. Don't take my word for it. Take a peek at the clip from <a href="http://www.foodincmovie.com/">Food Inc.</a>, my favorite documentary on the subject of food production. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoRNnCoEx-k">Clip. </a></insert><br />
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<ol></ol>Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-39279271684753756332010-07-03T14:31:00.000-07:002010-07-03T14:31:32.556-07:00Farmer's Markets are Not Just a Place to ShopIf you have a Farmers Market in your area, do not miss out on this experience. They are all too soon closed for the season and we're forced back into the antiseptic aisles of megastores for the tasteless items trucked in thousands of miles and sprayed with hormones for artificial ripening and then laughingly referred to as "produce." But for a brief interlude we are the fortunate few who can savor the real produce of our land. Real produce is that which is planted in soil with love, carefully watched over and guarded with ferocity, and harvested with pride and a sense of accomplishment to be shared with those who are not as fortunate as we are to have the <i>honor</i> of working our land.<br />
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As we embark on our first-ever season as vendors of two local farmers markets (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/covingtonleader?v=wall#%21/group.php?gid=125328320830247&ref=ts">Court Square</a> in Covington and <a href="http://www.colliervillefarmersmarket.org/">Collierville Farmers Market </a>in Collierville), we expected to meet other small farmers and people interested in a more sustainable way of life. But what we did not expect was the number of people who stand at our booth for long periods of time talking with us. I can always tell when someone is about to tell me a story or share a recipe. The face goes slack and relaxed, the eyes twinkle a bit, and the corners of the mouth curl up in a half smile. Often an index finger points to me as they begin the ritual of "the story." It begins with a statement like: <br />
<br />
"My grandmother used to have chickens, and the way she kept critters out was..."<br />
<br />
Or<br />
<br />
"I used to see those kinds of cucumbers in my Nanny's place, but haven't seen them in years!"<br />
<br />
Or<br />
<br />
"You know what I like to do with this squash? I like to slice it thin, toss it up with a little olive oil..."<br />
<br />
THAT is why I keep going to the Farmers Markets, and that is why I do this work. <br />
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I wish I could effectively write about how profoundly this experience has affected me and the way I wish to continue to live my life and do my work. But to even attempt to do so would be like trying to describe the taste of Mrs. Sarah Walton's blueberries after she and her husband planted several bushes together over 25 years ago in a brave experiment just to see what would happen. How do you describe such a miracle in typeface? You don't. You just count yourself blessed to be one of the few people on this earth who has the good fortune to be able to say "I know exactly what they taste like because I just picked a gallon of them and when I popped a few in my mouth they were still warm from the sun and tasting of jonquils."<br />
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Do I make a huge profit doing this kind of work? Well, it depends on your definition of profit, doesn't it? If you are asking if I can take a world cruise each February off of my earnings, then no I do not make a huge profit. In fact, this first year I will be lucky to break even. But if by profit you mean that which I gain from hearing these precious memories long pushed into the back of a person's mind and soaking up practical knowledge passed down from generation to generation and not found in any text, then I am the richest person alive. Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-48603520164851644422010-06-20T16:52:00.000-07:002010-06-20T16:52:10.075-07:00So what do I do with all these cucumbers?For those of you who visited us at the Court Square Farmer's Market, you probably noticed the heirloom variety "Smart Pickles" we had for sale. Perhaps you had one of our free samples and were wondering just how we make our pickles. Let me assure you that it is RIDICULOUSLY easy. Forget the canning jars, water baths, burns and scalds. You can have fresh pickles in your fridge with less than thirty minutes of prep time. The most time you spend is slicing cukes and onions!<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
<br />
6 cups (about 2 pounds) thinly sliced cucumbers<br />
2 cups thinly sliced onion<br />
1 1/2 cup white vinegar<br />
3/4 cup sugar<br />
3/4 teaspoon salt<br />
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric<br />
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (more if you like more kick)<br />
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper<br />
<br />
In a glass bowl, put 1/2 your cukes on the bottom, layer with 1/2 your onion and repeat so that you have 2 layers. Combine other ingredients in a saucepan, bring to boil. Cook 1 minute, then pour over the cukes and onions. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate.<br />
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And that, my friends, is IT. The recipe says it's best to let them sit in the fridge for 4 days, but I never can wait that long and scarf them down by the first 2 days. They will also store fine in the fridge for a month, but then again, they probably will be eaten long before that!<br />
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I am still pulling cucumbers like crazy, so there should be plenty at the market this coming Tuesday. We'll be gone before noon though, as hubby and I are giving a presentation for the Exchange Club on disaster preparedness. Maybe we'll see you there.Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-37461074189738508492010-06-07T08:03:00.000-07:002010-06-07T08:03:51.661-07:00From the GardenNow that we are actually harvesting for the first time, I've started experimenting with stuff from the garden. I know that sounds fairly simple to most folks, but to a newly converted city gal it's big news. Plus, we actually have extra of this stuff to sell at the <a href="http://www.colliervillefarmersmarket.org/">Collierville Farmer's Market</a> this week. Which is awesome! More money = bigger and better hen house and more chickens.<br />
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Ingredients<br />
<div class="title"> </div><div class="ingreds" style="clear: both;"> <ul><li>1 lb Spaghetti(though I'm all about angel hair, myself)</li>
<li>8 <a class="deflink" href="http://www.bigoven.com/whatis.aspx?id=Garlic">Garlic</a> cloves, chopped </li>
<li>1/4 c <a class="deflink" href="http://www.bigoven.com/whatis.aspx?id=Olive%20Oil">Olive oil</a> </li>
<li>1/2 c <a class="deflink" href="http://www.bigoven.com/whatis.aspx?id=Parsley">Parsley</a>, chopped </li>
<li>1/4 c <a class="deflink" href="http://www.bigoven.com/whatis.aspx?id=Basil">Basil</a>, chopped </li>
<li>1/4 c <a class="deflink" href="http://www.bigoven.com/whatis.aspx?id=Chives">Chives</a>, chopped </li>
<li>4 tb <a class="deflink" href="http://www.bigoven.com/whatis.aspx?id=Sage">Sage</a>, chopped </li>
<li> Salt & <a class="deflink" href="http://www.bigoven.com/whatis.aspx?id=Pepper">pepper</a> </li>
</ul></div><br />
<div class="title"> <h2 style="padding: 4px 0px 10px;">Preparation</h2></div>Cook spaghetti until *al dente*. Meanwhile, heat the garlic in the olive oil until it smells fragrant, just a few moments. Toss in the herbs & remove from the heat. Do this right away as herbs can burn easily. Drain the pasta & toss in the pan with the garlicky herbs. Season & serve, but <b><i>do not add cheese</i></b> as it only interferes with the herby flavours. Be sure to add enough salt & pepper, however. VARIATION: Omit the basil altogether. Replace the sage with any of the following fresh herbs: marjoram; oregano; thyme; rosemary or tarragon. Conversely, reduce the amount of sage & add a little of all these herbs.<br />
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This can be a side dish with a protein, or you can just add your protein to the pasta. Details below. <br />
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Protein variation: For extra protein you can saute whatever you are using in olive oil, adding some more herbs (to taste) at the very end. Again, only add the herbs after the protein is actually done cooking. Toss herbs with the protein, chop protein up into cubes or strips, and toss in with the pasta.Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-15386630626140587972010-06-04T11:49:00.000-07:002010-06-04T11:56:32.324-07:00It's heating up!We're not just talking temperature here! Of course, that's the most obvious. Temperatures were soaring into the nineties even before June started. We are not amused.<br />
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As for the rest of the farm, boy is it going wild! We went to the <a href="http://www.colliervillefarmersmarket.org/">Collierville Farmer's Market</a> for the first time two weeks ago with only fresh herbs. We came home disappointed. All day there, I made $1.00. People are apparently intimidated by fresh herbs. Our partner farm, Oak Hill Farms, did great though. So it was fun keeping them company. Next week should be a little more interesting, however. I have several things starting to produce, so I hope to make at least a little bit of money. This will be very welcomed as we start to expand the egg business. I did have many people ask me about eggs and our pay-what-you-can philosophy inspired by the <a href="http://www.soallmayeat.org/">SAME Cafe</a>, but since the eggs are spoken for before they are laid I was unable to offer any at market. This is fine with me, as I'd rather keep it quiet and more personal. I didn't go into this to get rich, anyway! But we do need to increase our income before we can take on any new clients, so that's where the veggie sales come in. We are now supporting over a dozen families under financial strain and we would like to be able to do more, but without an income to offset the costs of more chickens and a new facility, that will be impossible. <br />
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Which brings me to my point, the shameless solicitation for help. We still want to provide free eggs to all who need them, but that means we need more hens. We've had a tremendous response, and are now starting to have quite the waiting list. This year we have added twenty more hens (give or take, depending on how many of our chicks are pullets) to the flock, which will put us to capacity at the facility we have now. I suspect that even these new additions will not be enough to meet the demand for our eggs both from those who can pay for them and those who cannot. So we are looking into expanding our flock next year even further, ending up with around one hundred hens. But here's where we need help. We need donations of time, knowledge, money or both to help get this project funded and finished by next spring.<br />
<br />
I've broken it down for anyone who is interested to look at. Of course you can email me for more details.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol><li>Money: Obviously building a new chicken house takes money, as does finishing our ramp up from a small to medium operational egg farm. I'm working on a paypal link, and I encourage anyone and everyone who likes the idea of pay-what-you-can eggs from pastured chickens to pitch in. </li>
<li>In-kind donations: I'm currently working on a wish list of items we need. When I finish I will link it. I will also include links on the merchants we use for supplies. We gladly take donations in the form of gift certificates!</li>
<li>We need volunteers to help with farm chores. In order to volunteer you must be able to work outdoors in all types of weather either in early morning or late afternoon/early evening. You must be over 18 years of age, and able to lift and carry thirty pounds safely. You must be reliable, as working with animals mean they depend on you. If you do not show up, the animals suffer for it. If you cannot come for shifts, you must inform us ahead of time so that we can make arrangements for our animals. If you don't like working with animals, we can always use help in the garden, and gathering berries and apples for market.</li>
</ol>In addition to the Collierville Farmer's Market, we will be at the Court Square Farmer's Market in Covington on Saturdays from 8-11. It is located just off the square under the water tower. The Grand Opening is on Friday the 18th, and we will be there then as well.<br />
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Speaking of Farmer's Markets, I need to get outside and get the blueberry bushes sprayed with sugar water or else the birds will get more blueberries than we do!<br />
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Be sure to check out our new videos on the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ClucknNeigh">You Tube Channel</a>. The <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zFikBy_Rx2s/RgEvqkTtcDI/AAAAAAAAALg/YXk3hE7hWCk/s320/buckeye_chick.jpg">buckeye chicks</a> have hatched and are adorable!<br />
<br />
Now I'm off to look into prefab hen houses and see just what sort of expense we are talking about. Shudder.Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-59989256197981650822010-05-11T18:56:00.000-07:002010-05-11T18:56:06.447-07:00New blog on oil startedSince I plan to be spending a lot of time on the subject of the oilcano and training to join the Oiled Wildlife Response volunteers I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog just dealing with that one issue rather than clog up Cluck-n-Neigh with stuff you may not be interested in. The blog is called Of Pelicans and Petrol, and you can find the link in our "Links" area. Or you can just click on the link <a href="http://ofpelicansandpetrol.blogspot.com/">here.</a><br />
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I will do what I can to document the experience in hopes to give you a more "inside" look at this incident. It is my fervent hope that in the end, we'll all discover that all this fuss was just a big old waste of time.<br />
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Now back to our regularly scheduled programming!Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-2733300149568215842010-05-08T08:10:00.000-07:002010-05-08T08:10:19.290-07:00Update on attempts at oil spill volunteeringWow, who would have thought I'd get<a href="http://blog.al.com/live/2010/05/confusion_with_volunteer_hotli.html"> quoted</a> in a local news paper from so far away as I've gone on this ridiculous journey to find a way to volunteer in the gulf. I have finally procured training by sneaking in to a veterinary clinic in Dade County. They are happy to have me, and my training for oiled wildlife response is the 16th of this month. All that's left now is the HAZWOPER, and that has still been blocked at every turn by either incompetence or deliberate obfuscation by the fine folks of BP. Interesting factoid: BP has been required to pay for the training for all volunteers who respond. I would suggest they might be trying to keep costs down by keeping volunteers out, as a result. But that would be cynical of me.Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-38556717659379490342010-05-06T11:43:00.000-07:002010-05-06T16:05:27.341-07:00Chicken Little was Right<div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">In his definitive work <a href="http://www.amazon.com/County-Almanac-Outdoor-Essays-Reflections/dp/0195146174/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273169100&sr=8-1-catcorr">The Sand County Almanac</a>, Aldo Leopold warned that the greatest tragedy in learning about the natural world is never again being able to turn a blind and ignorant eye to the damage being done to it. </span><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Being a typical bleeding heart and a wildlife biologist with an almost unhealthy attachment to the <a href="http://www.worldbirdingcenter.org/bird_info/images/brown_pelican390.jpg">brown pelican</a>, wetlands/marshlands habitat and the <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.visitfloridamaps.com/floridamaps/miami/florida-keys-map.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.visitfloridamaps.com/floridamaps/miami/florida-keys-map.php&usg=__DzG0vsobFpoMzcDYphBPgnYGZYM=&h=1115&w=1002&sz=148&hl=en&start=3&sig2=jpF2joF-AR1ra48J_BqJ8w&itbs=1&tbnid=1mvh07UfQNjDfM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3DFlorida%2BKeys%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=0AXjS6-GCoX6lwejicGxAg">Florida Keys</a> in general, this has been kind of a tough week emotionally. The <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/237268">Deep Horizon</a> oilcano continues to spew unabated as I type this entry, Tipton County is still a disaster area due to the flooding, and I've been feeling helpless. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">A few days ago as we finally began to dig out of the muck as a community, Michael and I put our <a href="http://www.zombiehunters.org/">zombie squad</a> hats on and went out to help as best we could with whatever resources we had. It did wonders to help us both feel better. But even with this, the gulf crisis loomed in the back of my mind. Since I'd felt a little better helping out in my own hometown, I thought, why not volunteer for wildlife rescue/recovery efforts in the Gulf? I discussed it with Michael, who supported the idea wholeheartedly. Rejuvenated, I began researching how to proceed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Here I sit, 48 hour later, dumbfounded. Though I don't know why I should be. I can describe the cleanup/rescue effort in one word. Clusterfuck.</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">According to my research <a href="http://www.osha.gov/">OSHA</a> (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires anyone working in an oil spill area to have <a href="http://www.osha.gov/html/faq-hazwoper.html">Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response</a> (</span><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">HAZWOPER) certification. This class training is expensive (around $350.00), and no funding is available to pay for volunteers to take the classes. But the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which is coordinating the rescue/recovery of wildlife affected by the spill along with the <a href="http://www.tristatebird.org/">Tri State Bird Rescue</a>, makes no mention of this certification on their application for professionals volunteering their services. Instead, they stress the 4 hour <a href="http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=10099">HAZCOM</a> certification. Did that mean they are accepting just HAZCOM, which is cheaper and quicker to get, or do we need both to satisfy both agencies? Just to be sure, I thought I should get clarification. I got the phone number for the BP/Horizon National Volunteer Information Hotline from USFWS thinking that would be the best way to clear up the confusion. Boy was I ever wrong.</span><o:p></o:p></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">You'd think they'd have, oh I dunno, <i><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">information about volunteering requirements</span></i>, being the <i><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">national volunteer information hotline</span></i> and all. I mean, is it too hard to give someone a FAQ worksheet to read from? If I’m the first person to ask "What are the requirements towards volunteering" then we really <i>are</i> in trouble. The woman could only say "you have to be certified to work with the wildlife." </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">"Well that's fine," I said. "I just need to know what certifications I need specifically so that I can go ahead and get started on training. That way I'll be ready to respond quickly if and when the time comes." </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">I could almost smell the smoke coming out of her brain through the phone line. She had NO IDEA what certification actually meant. I tried to clarify by saying "Well, do you mean we need a state sanctioned wildlife rehab license, or maybe OSHA certification for working with hazardous materials? Anything like that?" She put me on hold for about five minutes and when she came back, she <i><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">still </span></i>couldn't answer. She just said "They said to tell you that you need to be certified first."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">And THIS is the BP/Horizons info hotline on how to volunteer. The NATIONAL one. Sigh. We are doomed. </span></div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"></div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Anyway, I left a message for them to call me back with a list of certifications they need us to have so that I and others could at least get <i><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">started</span></i> on training so that we can be ready to respond quickly. She must have thought I was from Mars to be thinking that far ahead. But seriously, it seems silly to be sitting here on my thumbs and my framed Wildlife and Fisheries degree coupled with over 20 years of husbandry experience from red legged taratulas to red pandas to camels, a willingness to pay for my own certifications and <i><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">still</span></i> be considered unqualified to bathe a bird in dishwashing liquid when the worst oilcano in our nation's history is looming. But hey, that's just me. </span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">I did do a bit of research on my own (imagine that BP, people who can LOOK STUFF UP. What a concept!) HAZWOPER certification classes are very expensive and there is no funding available to pay for them. A person on their own will have to come up with around $350 for that one certification alone or to try and find a group discount situation. What was that again about BP footing the bill for volunteers? Must have lost the memo on that. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Know what I think? I think Chicken Little is now running around shrieking "I told you so! I told you so!" Only this time he's covered in oil and there's no one to help him get it off. All the volunteers are still waiting for the next certification class. </span></div></div>Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-80977998061527458582010-05-04T14:50:00.000-07:002010-05-04T15:31:09.665-07:00Zombie Apocalypse in West TennesseeI think Mother Nature just made my point for me better than I ever could in a blog, don't you? It seems she added quite the little punch to my blog post last week about self sufficiency with a massive storm and record breaking regional flooding. It has been said that the waters may have reached a <a href="http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100503/NEWS01/5030340/1002/Gov.+Bredesen+asks+Obama+for+flood+recovery+help">500-1000 year high</a>, and we don't doubt it judging from the devastation we've witnessed. Thank goodness we weren't injured or suffered any damage. Many many others were not so fortunate. Authorities are recommending that we hold off on helping so that a "more coordinated" effort can be facilitated by FEMA and the Red Cross. Estimated arrival time has been as long as two weeks. TWO WEEKS.<br />
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In the meantime, families are digging, barefooted and gloveless, through the wreckage of their lives now covered in muddy sludge composed of dirt, agricultural chemicals, roadway runoff and raw sewage. Do you think they should wait for two weeks before anyone steps up to help them? What if it was <i>your </i>family in this situation? Could you take care of yourselves for 2 weeks if you'd just lost everything but the pajamas on your back?<br />
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One of our special projects for some time has been the development of a midsouth <a href="http://www.zombiehunters.org/">zombie squad</a>, and if ever there was a need for us, it is now. Michael and I have been getting more and more involved in the organization known as zombie hunters. It's a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating people on how to survive the eminent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_apocalypse">zombie apocalypse</a>. Because in their words, if you're ready for a zombie apocalypse, a hurricane's a breeze. Think of us as the Red Cross, only on a small enough scale to actually accomplish something quickly. Like, say, survive. After all, what good is having a nice veggie garden if there are zombies rapidly (or maybe slowly depending on the subspecies) approaching?<br />
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More to come, I've got dinner plans!Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-48710262692382395042010-04-17T08:54:00.000-07:002010-04-17T09:15:48.397-07:00Self Sufficiency is NOT an option: Lessons learned from hurricanes, Lyme Disease and feral cats.Several of you have asked me to blog an update on the <a href="http://clucknneigh.blogspot.com/2010/04/wow-justwow.html">feral cat bite</a> and subsequent comedy of errors that followed as I attempted to get <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/medical_care/index.html">post exposure prophylactic rabies vaccinations</a>. I promise I'll get to it, but what's more important is that I share what I've learned first hand on now several occasions about self sufficiency and being one's own advocate. Because this is vital to all of our well being on any number of levels and in any situation. <br />
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Many of you who are good friends have heard Michael and me talk at length about our firm belief in self sufficiency, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivalism">survivalism</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_living">sustainable living</a> and why it is crucial to be prepared to take care of yourself in case of emergency or disaster rather than rely on a governmental agency to come to the rescue. It has sometimes been the source of amusement and bemusement to some, who occasionally give us a bit of a good natured poke as wacky survivalists. We grin and bear it, but we also keep the seriousness of the issue in the back of our minds even as we poke fun at ourselves. Michael's health care odyssey following an infection of <a href="http://www.ilads.org/">Lyme Disease</a> taught us both the importance of self reliance and trust in our own intelligence and ability to <i>find out for ourselves </i>rather than simply relying on someone with a badge or a piece of paper proclaiming their expertise. Had we not done this, we would have just bought the original diagnosis of <a href="https://health.google.com/health/ref/Amyotrophic+lateral+sclerosis">ALS</a> and Michael would not be alive today. This is not hyperbole, it is fact. Due to this experience, both of us knew full well how easily complacency and apathy kills.<br />
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I'll give you a funny, yet very good example of this. When a newly elected president is about to take office, he/she is given a sort of "grand tour" of the White House including the security features, to familiarize them with their new home and what to do in the event of an emergency. When President Jimmy Carter was receiving his tour, a secret service agent was filling him in on all the details of what to do if he had to be evacuated. The agent in charge was concluding the tour, and wanted to reassure the new president as to the readiness of the secret service to keep him and his family safe.<br />
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"Mr. President, you can rest assured that in the unlikely even that you have to be evacuated, Marine One is always on alert, 24/7, and is ready to take you to any of our safe locations at any given time."<br />
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"Really?" Carter raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Okay, let's go.<i> Right now.</i>"<br />
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Now, here's the scary part. <i>They couldn't pull it off.</i> <br />
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Though this is an amusing anecdote, it doesn't make it any less illuminating. Obviously the problem was addressed immediately and supposedly now they really are ready, but the question remains. <i>Are</i> they? Has it been put to the test? If the Presidential detail of the Secret Service, whose entire purpose is to protect one family over all others, was unable to perform under pressure, how do you think a mid level government agency is going to prioritize saving <i>your</i> family in the event of a massive emergency? One word. <a href="http://katrina./">Katrina.</a><br />
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Just recently I had a debate with a dear friend of mine during the evacuation of Hawaii for fear of an approaching <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami">tsunami</a>. Watching the news footage of the massive traffic jam as people tried to get to their designated safety zone, she asserted that the entire evacuation process was ill planned and should have gone more smoothly and quickly. There should have been buses available to take people to safe zones as opposed to everyone in their own private vehicles trying to get onto the same roadways at the same time to get to the same destination. If not buses, then helicopters to ferry people to safety. I pose this question to you, dear reader. If you were in a total evacuation situation and you were told to "sit tight" and wait for a bus or chopper to take you to safety, would you really sit in your living room with your kids and wait for the government to send you the promised ride, or would you get the hell out of dodge any way you knew how? A lot of people in Louisiana <a href="http://www.zcommunications.org/waiting-for-the-bus-in-new-orleans-by-bill-quigley">waited for buses</a> to get them out of New Orleans. They have a special word for them. Victims. Fatalities. Missing. <br />
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How about a closer-to-home example. You are reading this blog right now. Suddenly, your desk shakes. Next thing you know, the building is coming down around you. Earthquake! Let's say you are fortunate enough to get out of the building before it collapsed. Now what? Where are you kids <i>right now? </i>Remember, you can't call them on your cell because all circuits are busy as other unprepared people frantically try to reach loved ones or EMS (exactly what happened on <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/18/terror/main618272.shtml">September 11</a>). Do you have a plan to meet up with your family at a specific location? What about a backup place if you can't get to the first one? Let's be optimistic and imagine you are all at home, and all are thankfully uninjured. What's for dinner? Electricity's off, obviously. For how long? Hours? Days? Weeks? How long can you feed your family without electricity? If you are one of those people rushing through the grocery aisle every time they call for snow, I'm guessing not long. What about water? If you can't use the tap and have no electricity to boil water, what then? <br />
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I'm being melodramatic to prove my point, but hopefully it's made.<br />
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Look, here's the thing. I agree that our government <i>should</i> have agencies and facilities to meet our needs should disaster strike. I agree that as taxpayers, we <i>should</i> be assured a certain degree of safety guarantees from the agencies that we ourselves fund with our tax dollars. These people are paid to be prepared for any eventuality and I agree that they <i>should </i>be. I agree that our government <i>should </i>be better equipped to handle disasters, as should all governments.<br />
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But they <i>aren't. </i>And no matter how loudly you complain about how something <i>should</i> be doesn't magically make it so. So what are you going to do about it? Complain and wait to be the next victim? Or do something about it? Sure, you can contact your Senators and Representatives and insist on transparency in our disaster agencies. You can insist they be better prepared. Fine. But the fact remains that no one can wave a magic wand and make these sweeping changes overnight, and disaster doesn't wait until you are ready. That's why they call them disasters. Until they do come up with the nifty magic wand to fix all our ills, what are you going to do in the meantime to protect yourself and your family? If the unthinkable happens right now, are you ready?<br />
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...was that my desk trembling?Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228024156262731122.post-18155563907250486452010-04-13T14:08:00.000-07:002010-04-13T15:58:42.373-07:00Brainnnnnnnssssss<span style="font-size: small;">I'm blogging out of a sense of helpless frustration and impotent anger today. Throw in a dash in incredulity and a pinch of blind terror while you're at it and you've got the recipe for Claire's emotional state.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I've blogged extensively about my frustrations with the number of feral dogs and cats in our area and it seems that my karma is to deal with the problem more directly than originally thought. A few days ago I was bitten by a feral cat sitting atop our brooder and stressing our chicks out. I grasped it behind the nape of the neck but was unfortunately not centered enough. The animal managed to reach behind and deliver a nasty bite in my right hand, which immediately began to swell. Michael sprang into action, forced the punctures to bleed (not pleasant) and started me on Amoxicillan that night. We attempted several times over the next few days to trap the cat so that we could test it for rabies, but never saw it again.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This morning Michael found the body of the cat that bit me. It has been dead for approximately 72 hours. The incubation period of rabies is 2-6 weeks in cats, but transmission is possible for up to 2 weeks before an animal is symptomatic. Meaning if the cat bit me before showing symptoms and then later became symptomatic and died, it's possible that I was infected.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Just in case you've been raised by rabbits and therefore are unfamiliar with rabies, here's a primer:</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Though it is extremely rare in the US with only about 15% of humans exposed to rabies through an animal bite ever contracting the disease, it is considered 100% fatal once symptoms show up. A few have survived, but so few that they are considered <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlier">statistical outliers</a>. If you start to show symptoms, all they can do is help you make sure your affairs are in order and try to make you comfortable. <a href="http://www.fox.com/house/index.htm#home">House</a> is not going to swoop in and save your ass. You are dead. The recommended protocol, or so I thought, is to take a "better safe than sorry" approach when bitten by an animal of unknown health. Sure, the odds are extremely slim that I will contract rabies even if the kitty in question was infected. But let me tell you if you were in my shoes, I can bet you'd be fairly concerned. As far as odds go, rabies is not something you want to be left holding the proverbial short stick with. Because if you are one of those unlucky bastards to come down with the disease, it's a particularly gruesome way to go. Having a strong desire to avoid that outcome I called the Tipton County Health Department. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Cue circus music. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">10 AM: </span><span style="font-size: small;">Call TCHD and speak with a nurse. She tells me that a sample must be taken of the cat's brain to determine if it was rabies that killed it. I point out that the cat is dead and has been for a few days. In order to test the brain for rabies, a brain sample must be taken from a live animal and frozen. The virus does not live longer than 24 hours after an animal has died. But rather than take my word for it, she refers me to their wildlife officer/restaurant inspector (I am not kidding). He's out of the office, so I leave voice mail.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">1:30 PM: Thinking I might as well just get it over with, I call my doctor to set up an appointment to get prophylactic rabies shots. Better safe than sorry, right? The staff and nurses were very concerned and told me that I should get the shots immediately. Unfortunately rabies shots are administered only through our Health Department due to reporting regulations and whatnot. They recommended that I call the Health Dept back and insist on getting the shots. </span><span style="font-size: small;">They remind me that once symptoms start, the disease is 100% fatal. Thanks for the reminder, it had completely slipped my mind. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">1:45 PM: I called our vet at Munford Animal Hospital to confirm that there's no need to keep the cat's body because the sample is no longer viable. Veterinarian confirms this, and tells me I should begin treatment for possible rabies infection immediately. They remind me that once symptoms start, the disease is 100 % fatal. Thanks for the reminder, it had completely slipped my mind.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">3:00 PM: I call the Tipton County Health Department back and tell them I have still not heard back from their Rabies Officer and would like to go ahead and set up the injections just to be safe. The woman on the phone tells me that the Health Department doesn't give rabies injections, that I have to go to my Primary Care Physician. I tell her through gritted teeth that I was told by my Primary Care Physician that I can only get the shots at the Health Department. The woman (obviously) puts the phone against her chest and calls out "HEY, do we give rabies shots here?" Call is transferred to the nurse I spoke with earlier, who then tells me that they are very selective in who they decide to give the shots to.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">"Wha-a-a-a-a-a-???" I stammer out. "But I thought the recommendation was prophylactic treatment anytime someone gets bitten by a wild animal and they cannot locate it for testing."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">She actually responds "I know, you'd think that, wouldn't ya?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">We disconnect, I am speechless.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">3:30: To get a second opinion (because I'm still incredulous), I call the Shelby County Health Department. I explain that our local health department seems to be a bit less concerned than everyone else I've spoken with concerning my situation. They agree that it is strange that I'm being put aside, and remind me that I should probably start treatment as soon as possible, as a better safe than sorry scenario. </span><span style="font-size: small;">They remind me that once symptoms start, the disease is 100 % fatal. Thanks for the reminder, it had completely slipped my mind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">What's most annoying is when health care "professionals" point out that I really should be taking this seriously, yet no one seems to be interested in actually <i>doing</i> anything about it other than reminding me that I should be taking this seriously. Hence my gobsmackedness. So now I have to wait until tomorrow mid day, where they will decide if I should get the shots or not. If I come down with rabies, I am going to go down to the Health Department and BITE EVERY FUCKING ONE OF THEM. No jury would convict me. And besides, even if they did, I'd be dead before it ever went to court. I wonder if any of my victims would be granted a series of prophylactic rabies injections, or if this would be the start of the rabid <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_apocalypse">zombie apocalypse</a>? There's a zombie movie in here somewhere. RABID ZOMBIES!</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I can just picture it. As the fluorescent tube lights blink on for the first time of the day, a lone Health Department bureaucrat sits down at her desk, blurry eyed and sipping weak coffee from a mug that reads "Chocolate, men, coffee - some things are better rich." She taps her keyboard, and the screen saver of a desperate kitten hanging from a tree branch with the saying "Hang in there, it's almost Friday" is replaced by her Facebook login screen and the spider solitaire game she's been working on since last week. Today is the day she breaks her losing streak, she just knows it.<span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"> A strange groaning sound comes from behind her.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;">"Oh come on, Millie, it's not funny anymore," she rolls her eyes and bends forward, squinting at the line of cards in front of her. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;">In a flash, an preternaturally strong arm yanks her chair back, toppling her out of it and into the floor. Looming over her stands a disheveled woman in old Carhartt overalls covered in chicken poop, groaning and foaming at the mouth. The woman wheezes as she reaches down towards the terrified bureaucrat:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;">"Whyyyy didn't you give me the shhhhhhotsssss...."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;">Fade to black as the screams of the doomed bureaucrat fill the air.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;">Don't say I didn't warn you.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;">....bbbBBBRRRRAAAAAIIINNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS............</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"><br />
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</span></span>Claire Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05264767858179577519noreply@blogger.com1