Aloe Vera: Priceless or Just Free?

Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Xanthorrhoeaceae
Subfamily:	Asphodeloideae
Genus:	Aloe
Species:	A. vera

The ancient Egyptians referred to the aloe vera as the "plant of immortality".  It was given as a burial gift to deceased pharaohs.  

It is well known for its soothing, moisturizing and healing properties and is often used to treat burns.  Aloe vera gel is also used commercially as an ingredient in yogurts, juices and desserts.  One does need to be cautious; however, since at certain doses aloe vera can be toxic when ingested or topically applied.  We have used our aloe to treat burns, though we have never attempted to eat it.

As we mentioned in a past post, our aloe vera plant Albert is prolific.  He simply will not stop reproducing; it is getting ridiculous.  We have Albert's progeny distributed all over the house.  These baby aloe veras used to live in numerous pots on the floor of the living room (it looked like a regular desert oasis); however, since baby Liam had taken to crawling (and putting everything in his mouth) these plants are no longer safe on the floor.

They have all been subsequently moved into Ian's office and they are driving him crazy.  As such, it is time to part with them.  All except Albert, of course, he is an important part of the family.  If you have always been thinking about creating your own little desert oasis full of Gael Glen Farm aloe veras - here is your chance!  We are selling our baby aloe veras for a very reasonable price - free!  Reserve yours now!  We are very serious - please take some.  We would hate to compost these useful and attractive house plants.  We simply have too many.  We are being over run!  Help!

Distasteful Daffodils

We have officially moved on from crocuses.  Our daffodils have flowered.  Aside from being beautiful, daffodils are great because their bulbs are very bitter and are naturally not appetizing for squirrels.  As such, the squirrels are not interested in digging them up and storing them away for a winter snack.  So, lucky for us that means our daffodils stay where we plant them and the bulbs continue to divide so we have more and more of these gorgeous flowers every spring.  Can't beat that!

Got Molt?

Iago: "Look at this. I'm so ticked off that I'm molting." (Aladdin, 1992)

My hens do not seem to be as annoyed as Iago but they certainly are molting.  Chickens here on Gael Glen Farm usually replace their feathers in the spring and fall.  The molting process involves them shedding a large number of their feathers, especially from their tails and bums, and then growing new ones.  During the in-between stages of the molt, the hens look quite sickly and pathetic.  Many of them have bald patches on their backs and bottoms and the chicken run and coop look like they have had a huge pillow fight - every night!  Hens also stop laying during a molt; they redirect their energy from egg producing to feather growing.

Bum bald spot

This hen's tail feathers are falling out and the feathers
she still has are looking pretty scraggly.

A chicken's new feathers sprout from follicles in the skin, somewhat like human hair.  But whereas hair keeps growing almost indefinitely, feathers grow until they are fully formed, then stop.  In birds with stripey patterned feathers (like our Cuckoo Marans), the alternating bands of lightly pigmented and heavily pigmented feather material are laid down while each feather is growing.

New feathers emerge looking like quills but eventually puff out to resemble normal feathers.  

New hair quills are growing on this hen's back.

The feather growing process usually takes two to four weeks. Once a feather is grown, the blood supply to the follicle cuts off and the feather maintains its form until the next molting cycle.  Sometimes a new feather is broken by another bird before it is fully formed and when this happens the would-be feather bleeds profusely.  

Hen with a broken, bloody feather on its bum.

The bottom part of a feather is made up of downy barbs for thermal insulation.  The vanes (tips) of feathers are for flight.  Each vane is made up of barns and extending from the barbs are a series of short branchlets called barbules. Tiny hooklets tie the barbules, and ultimately the barbs, together - kind of like avian velcro!  This complex arrangement creates the strong but light structure of the feather. 

You can see the two parts of the feather well in this photo -
the bottom for insulation and the top for flight.

I wonder if our chickens are in competition for who can grow the nicest tail? If so, this hen is winning so far. She clearly seems to be the one to beat!

Hen with a beautiful tail.

A Little Crop, Clip and Snip

Pruning has been on my mind lately and we finally got time to "crop, clip and snip" the grape vines growing over our pergola.  It is always a good idea to do this as early in the spring as possible so the vines do not waste energy growing buds and new leaves on branches only to have them pruned off.

Before shot: vines everywhere!

Ian taking a turn at clipping.  Liam and I were encouraging him from
the lawn and trying our best not to put grass in our mouths.

Always helpful Emily.  She spent a solid hour carrying away one clipped vine at a time and leaving it at a new place in the yard.  She evenly distributed upwards of 60 vine pieces across our half acre yard.  It was fun to walk the entire area afterward picking up all her carefully placed vines and relocating them to the vine discard pile.  I think this might have made her feel the tiniest bit under-appreciated (she looked pretty grumpy - though that could just have been her usual expression) - she worked so hard as placing them all just so.

Wow - we can see the sky now!

After shot: nice and neat.

Turkey Score

Score: Turkeys 2; Ian 0

Ian's gear and turkey decoy.

Ramps - still yummy.

Our last post about turkeys elicited some good advice from our readership that we thought we would pass along to help any other aspiring (though perhaps similarly unsuccessful) turkey hunters out there:

" At the beginning of the hunting season the Tom [man turkey] has too many hens [lady turkeys] to service and is not interested in calls [aka Ian's attempts to sound like a lady turkey]. Be patient and hunt hard on the last few days of season. Hens are now satisfied and Tom will be crazy and follow the calls from any willing artificial hen [aka Ian]. I suspect that late season hard hitting hunting works best. Not sure most hunters have the patience to wait."

Thanks for the tip!  We love getting comments on our blog posts so if you have any advice or input on the subjects of our posts, please pass it along either via the comments function on the blog or in a private email to either (or both) of us.

Maple is Making News

Ian and the Scouts are famous!  Their maple syrup adventures have been featured in the community newspaper.  Check it out!

http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/news-story/4483226-stittsville-scouts-make-maple-syrup/

Five Year Fizzle

I have heard of the seven year itch but the five year fizzle?  The appliances we got around the time we bought our house five years ago are all kicking the bucket at the same time!

It all started with our toaster which has been on its way out for a while now.  Only one side still toasts and honestly, even that side has seen better days...

Last week our kettle kicked the big one.  True to form Ian took it apart but could not put it back together.  Sigh.  So we pulled out our old white kettle from the basement.  We initially replaced this kettle because it was not working right so Ian took it apart and could not put it back together.  Aside from being extremely ugly, the kettle's lid does not close (this perhaps has something to do with the spare spring Ian had left after "re-assembling" the kettle) and the automatic shut off does not work.  It is a fire hazard.  Seriously.  We need to buy a new kettle stat!

And now I think our fridge is on the way out.  The freezer is making a seriously loud buzzing sound and the fridge has started emitting a sulfur/natural gas smell.  Not sure why since the fridge clearly does not run on natural gas but this cannot be good.

Why does everything have to go at once?