Humane Mouse trap:)

The house here at Govindas Farm is nearly 150 years old and has no insulation in the walls at all. This presents a problem of making the interior difficult to heat in the winter months and hollow walls make a fantastic protected super highway for our local population of deer mice. Deer mice have very cute features big ears, big eyes and are tan coloured with white bellies. These cuties are also very athletic! Perhaps that is why they are called deer mice because they can leap out of a 5 gallon bucket as easily as a deer can hop a garden fence to nibble on your organic veggies. Gaura Nitai and I have actually witnessed the mouse run around the wall of the plastic pail so fast that it works it way up the side and then just runs out of the opening. We don't like to cause injury to the mice but neither do I want then running through my hair in the middle of the night. After many failed attempts to catch  them  we found that this nickel and jar worked very well.You will need,                                            
                    1-wide mouth glass jar
                    2-1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter
                    3-1 nickel..5 cent piece

Place the blob of peanut butter on the wall of the jar near the bottom. Turn the jar upside down and balance the jar (the side with the peanut butter blob) on a nickel. The peanut butter loving mouse will enter the jar and when he jumps up to lick the peanut butter his weight will cause the nickel to fall. Voila! You now have your slightly unhappy mouse. He will be fine until morning. The next morning we take him on our 5 mile japa walk and let him go in the woods as far away from the house as possible because they have a built in GPS. I'm thinking about putting a paint mark on our catch and release mice to see if they are the same mouse just doing a little tour and then coming home again. It always reminds me of the Flintstone cartoons I used to watch as a child...the beginning of the cartoon when Fred Flintstone puts his saber tooth tiger outside for the night. The tiger runs around the house ..jumps in the window..and as Fred is busy placing the stone milk jugs outside the front door the tiger locks him out! Anyways let me know if this little trick helps to keep your ashrams furry critter free.

Hare Krsna, Kokum Lal
                  

Mmmmm...Dandelions

Spring has sprung.........finally! It's been so cold here at Govinda's Farm. The leaves on the trees are just beginning to peek out. The good news is...the dandelions are in bloom!!! So many people are of the opinion that dandelions are just an obnoxious weed....an enemy...something to war against...a despoiler of the front lawn. Not here at Govinda's Farm....we LOVE dandelions..the cows love dandelions and the alpacas love dandelions. Why? You may be wondering.....because dandelions are just so darn nutritious. All winter long most of us have been in hibernation mode and eating "comfort" food. Food that is high in calories and fat. This is turn makes our blood thick and our livers get sluggish. Basically our innards need a good spring cleanse..and dandelions due to their bitterness and high nutrient content does the job beautifully. I found this great explanation online.

Traditionally, dandelion leaves are eaten as a spring tonic, to gently cleanse the body with the change of seasons, but they are also edible in summer and fall.

Eating dandelion supports the liver and kidneys, which are burdened by the breakdown of cells as the warmer weather thins our blood and mucus. Dandelion tastes mildest before it flowers, but the greens may be eaten throughout the growing season, for the high concentration of calcium, potassium, iron, Vitamin A, and other nutrients, the vitality inherent in uncultivated plants, and the joy of being able to eat one’s lawn.
People troubled with digestion may find it helpful to eat a few dandelion leaves--the fresher the better--about 20 minutes before eating. The bitter taste, largely absent from the American diet (except for coffee and beer), will stimulate secretion of digestive enzymes, making the meal easier to digest. Those who haven’t yet acquired a taste for healthful bitterness can rip the leaves into small pieces, and they’ll blend right into salad or soup. Simmering the leaves in a little water for ten to fifteen minutes reduces the bitterness, and application of a dressing (try oil, vinegar, and soy sauce) further enhances the flavor. (If possible, drink the cooking water so you won’t lose the priceless nutrients.)

Read more at Suite101: Dandelion: Greens for spring cleansing and general nutrition | Suite101.com http://violet-snow.suite101.com/dandelion-a20289#ixzz1uhC7Nn7o

There you have it folks...go pick some dandelions from your front lawn...wash them nicely. I soak mine in the sink with a half cup of vinegar. Put in blender with 4 cups of water. Buzz that up for a few minutes and voila! Chug...chug. Then do that again a couple more times a day. After a week...you'll feel lighter...healthier and you won't be able to stop smiling at everyone you meet. Of course your neighbors will think that you are completely nuts when they see you picking dandelions to eat but give them the line I use from Alice In Wonderland. Alice- Father? Am I mad? Father replied,"All the best people are."  Hare Krsna,Kokum (Cree for Grandmother) Lal

The Flooded Compost Toilet Adventure.

Hay for throwing down the pooper.

The human manure is completely turned into worm castings after 4 months.

Mona Lisa tells us how to use a compost toilet;)

We haven't posted anything for quite some time perhaps in mourning for our friend Matt who was the poster....is that even a word? Anyways don't worry Matt isn't dead but he did have to leave to find a "real" job. We miss his gentle wit. Unfortunately you will just need to put up with me for now:)

So much has been happening here at the Farm but for now I'll  bring you all up to speed on the compost toilet....does it work...as in does it stink?  You see the compost toilet is situated right off the kitchen....NEVER..an ideal location but it couldn't be helped as that is where the original toilet was  situated when we bought the house. Due to our high water table on the farm the sewer is just plain pathetic...as in backing up. Gord thought that a compost toilet would work well. I on the other hand was a little less enthusiastic as I have endured many failed attempts with icky toilets in the past...but being ever adventurous and out numbered..two guys to one me...I had to surrender.I even tested out the design for the peepee bowl (stainless steel bowl from Ikea. Sorry Lalana it was pressed into a higher service) as ladies plumbing bits are a little different that guys.Anyways the design appears to work quite well. Poop goes straight down into a barrel in the basement and then the deposit is covered with a dry material ...such as hay...wood chips or soil. Peepee goes into the bowl with a hole drilled into it ...hole is attached to a hose and is directed to a five gallon bucket ...also in the basement. Peepee bucket is emptied once a week and is used to fertilize the fields. Amazing growth happens when plants are watered with urine. Now all this worked well. Sometimes when the wind blows a certain direction..such as down the vent stack...a waft of blow back assaults my delicate nasal passages. When that happens I do one of two things..I either throw more soil compost down the hole or I wet a towel and place it over the toilet seat. Usually though I find the entire thing quite inoffensive.
A few days ago I noticed that when ever I washed my hands in the sink I could hear what sounded like water running into a barrel. Not a good sound as anyone who composts knows that to much water will absolutely kill...dead the microbial action in your compost as well as drown the poor worms who are busy eatin' and poopin' to their little hearts delight. When I finally convinced Gord to check out the problem the house was smelling majorly yucky...light 10 incense sticks yucky. So he wandered down to check the problem out and sure enough the silly sewer pipe was backing up and dumping the grey water right into one of the capped off holding barrels. What a mess. It took an entire afternoon for Gord and Ty carting buckets of wasted human manure out to feed the trees...and covering it up..so that Minnie (Lalanas' dog  or more honestly Lalanas' accessory  because she the dog is all blinged out with a pink sparkly doggy collar)wouldn't go and roll around in it. Ty did very well at this crappy job..although he did request me to switch jobs because my job was to dig up a small bucket of earthworms to "seed"  the new barrel.  I sidestepped the change by reminding him  of the Liquid Beauty   story..



but non-the-less he was hoping to bond with Gord in a different way.
The happy ending to this learning experience is that the guys dug a new dry well for the grey water so flooding won't happen again. Only 1 of the 4 compost barrels was ruined. The one barrel that was ready for "the great unveiling or uncapping" turned out fantastic...all the human manure was composted...so no smell and the worms were abundant..happy and they certainly were busy in the dark..because there are thousands of wiggling babies.....doing what worms do best....eating, pooping and generally making magic soil .
This little experiment worked quite well and now all we need to do is finish the decoration of the pooper...a few tiles ought to make it less of an eyesore and I would love to find a wooden toilet seat as I'm not a fan of plastic. Also one bit of advice ...I read that we can use moss instead of toilet paper for us ladies....not such a great idea...really...I tested that out for 3 days..oweee:(
This adventure gives new meaning to the saying,"Take care of your own crap"!
Bye for now, Hare Krsna, Kokum (Grandmother in cree) Lal