It's my Birthday!

I'm hanging out with my dogs, cat and chickens and contemplating what it means to be 28. Melana's out of town today, so I'm just relaxing. There are no plans for cake, but it's nice birthday none the less! Thanks for reading!

The cake is a lie!

How to post on this blog

Hey everyone. I have a real update coming soon but I thought I would answer a question that came across my email recently. How do you post on this blog? All you have to do is follow the directions below.

First: Click the comments link. The comments link can be found at the bottom of every post.

Second: Type your comment. Here is where you add a comment. I have enabled comment moderation because this is a family show. That means that I need to give the ok before anything gets posted.

Third: Type the word verification. This word verification ensures that you're not a spam bot. Because spam bots run wild all over the internet, us humans have to put up with these boxes. Simply type the word in the box. In the case above, you would type "junotedl". If you cannot read the word for some reason, reload or click on the stick figure in the wheelchair for assistance.

Fourth: Choose your identity and post! Contrary to popular belief, you do NOT need a google account to post a comment. You may choose any number of identities from your name (Name/URL) to Anonymous. If you have an OpenID, such as AIM, you may post with that identity as well.

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Agouti Sighting

I saw one of these the other day! It was pretty cool because I'm currently working on a project to try to bring these to domestication. More on that later. For now, aren't they cool?

Agoutis are hare sized rodents that live in forests and burrow in leaf litter. I want one! Actually, I want several to breed and eat my kitchen scraps.

Ticos consider agouti meat to be tasty, so they have been hunted relentlessly and driven out of many areas in Costa Rica. I would like to have farmers raise them as an alternative to cattle or pigs. They breed like rabbits (literally) and can be raised in forests so that land doesn't need to be clear-cut as it does for cows.

Sadly, this is not my picture. I didn't have my camera with me at the time. A good thing, too because we were caught in a monsoon and got soaked to the bone!

If you'd like to read more about agoutis and their agricultural potential you can do so here!

Chicken coop!

This kind of got buried a bit ago, but I wanted to announce the completion of our new chicken coop! This is significant, not only because it will allow us to raise our very own chickens for eggs and meat, but also because it offers a model of sustainable home agriculture even for those who have very little land.

It is also significant on a personal note because this is the first free-standing structure I have every designed and built. As you can see below, some of the craftsmanship betrays my amateur status, but as long as it continues to be functional I don’t think the chickens will notice how ugly it is.

Below you can see the progression of construction from zero to finished. 

The only tools we used to make this were a hammer, wire cutters and a hand saw...oh, and nails. 

We started with four A-frames, supported by a central "spine".

Normally, I would have wanted to use a lot more wood in this project. But with a limited amount of money, (not to mention having to carry all the materials from the hardware story on foot) stretching a fine screen seemed to do the same thing at lesser cost. Even if it is a little less sturdy.

The rain fly can be raised or lowered to allow the chickens air/shelter depending on the weather

Recently, we have also purchased 4 chickens specifically for egg-laying. Because both groups of chickens tend to fight, we've sanctioned off a section of the yard for them. Here is what it looks like now: 

These are the same little guys from the June 2 post.

 To continue with all things chicken, I killed the first of our chickens today to make room for some of the new ones. Melana had the pleasure of plucking and cleaning it.

Not as happy as she looks about this.

Our first harvested egg!

Melana and I are often stuck wondering why more people don't raise chickens. If you have questions, just ask!

Happy 4th! Plus contest!

On this, the anniversary of our nation's independence, I pose to you this question.

Which founding father's name is a synonym for the word 'signature' and why?

Only students K-8 may answer to win the prize in the form of a Costa Rican post card sent to your home by me! Please email answers to peteman126@gmail.com

Happy Independence Day!

100th post!

Thanks for reading! Let's make it to 200 posts!

On Frogs

So, last night we found something pretty spectacular in our room. I’ll start by saying that there are certain animals Melana normally has me remove from the house. Among them are things that need to be removed by necessity, bats for example, and other creatures that need to be removed because they are harmless but exceptionally creepy. I know, I know, not all animals can be super models, but when it comes to what gets to stay and what needs to leave, I DO discriminate (apologies, Buddhists). There is really only one class of critters that regularly causes disagreements when Melana hands me their eviction notice. The animals in question are frogs. I like frogs! Frogs like to snack on airborne pests, and thrive under the same conditions that mosquitoes do. The more mosquitoes in the house, the more likely there are to be frogs in the house eating mosquitoes. Sadly, they seem to creep Melana out in a special way. For Melana, frogs are guilty of a crime of locomotion. They jump to get around, and this means that they are always only one jump away from her face. I’m not sure why frogs would be attracted to this piece of real estate among all the other surfaces they could jump to, but there you have it. 

So I regularly eject frogs from the house. Humanely. Biologists, don’t freak out. I have a special, non-soap washed cup I use to catch them and I don’t touch them unless they jump on me first. 

Last night, however. I met my equivalent of a celebrity. Check out this beauty.

That is a Caribbean red-eyed tree frog. A beautiful specimen. Tree frogs like this are often centerfolds for the rainforest and it’s not hard to see why. Their big, red eyes and painted underside make them stand out against a white backdrop. When in trees, however, they are shockingly difficult to spot. They are just spectacular. 

Frogs have a special place in my heart due to the class of animals they belong to. Amphibians often get a bad rap. Like, Vanilla Ice bad. Folks think they’re slimy, gross, disease spreading, etc. Little boys smash them with rocks and little girls step on them after little boys put them in said little girls’ hair. 

Amphibians are the most threatened class of animals that exist today. Because of their permeable skin and sensitivity to climate changes, amphibians experience extinction and habitat destruction at alarming rates. The run-off from a single farm can be enough to poison a stream for all amphibians that live there.

Amphibians are not only important because they represent an evolutionary link that ties vertebrates to the ocean, but they also control mosquito populations in some of the most malaria ridden areas of the world. By the way, whereas many animals only eat airborne mosquitoes, frogs newts and salamanders will often inhabit the same areas where mosquitoes lay their eggs and also eat many of the larva before they can leave their nursery pool. Additionally they and provide important links in the food chain wherever they occur.

If you are interested in amphibian conservation and what’s being done in your area, you can get information at any local aquarium or zoo. Also, you can check online at http://amphibiaweb.org/maps/index.html to find out about amphibians that live near you!