Does a Bear Poop in the Woods?

On our recent family vacation to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina/Tennessee, we explored many hiking trails.  We explored the possibility of being able to 'bear' the smell of each other after not showering for a week while camping.  We also explored the answers to some of life's great questions, like the one posed in the title of this post.

Benjamin participated in the Junior Ranger Program and to help us out with some of these questions, we traveled to the Sugarlands Visitor Center outside of Gatlinburg, TN so that Benjamin could sit it on a scholarly dissertation entitled, "Yucky Animal Stuff."  Ranger Lloyd was in charge of the class and had a firm handle on the subject matter.  He told the kids that he was going to be using the word 'Yucky' a lot and that every time he said, 'yucky,' the kids should respond by saying, "Ewwwwww!"  They gladly obliged.

Ranger Lloyd

He asked all of the kids if they collected anything.  Benjamin raised his hand and told Ranger Lloyd that he collected coins.  Others told him they collected rocks, and LEGO's, and other things.  Ranger Lloyd said that he is an avid collector himself.  He collects BEAR POOP!  Except he said to never call it poop.  He said that the scientific word for it is 'scat' and the he is a Scatologist.

Ranger Lloyd had a 'potty mouth."

Ranger Lloyd said that he'd like to show his collection and he passed around real bear scat where the bear had been eating raspberries (red), then real bear scat where the bear had been eating blackberries (black), and then he pulled out what he called his 'crown jewel,' a very, very large bear stool sample.  He handled it with reverence and kept it neatly wrapped to preserve the mint-condition of this specimen.

The crown jewel

There were other yucky (Ewwwww!) things we learned.  He explained that a skunk sprays his stench from glands in his anal cavity that project the sticky substance forcefully.  He told us that it takes a skunk 10 days to replenish his stink so he doesn't want to spray, so the skunk first will warn you by hissing, then he will begin tapping his feet on the ground, then he'll turn in circles, then he'll lift his tail, finally he'll stand on his front legs with his tail up.  That is the skunk equivalent of DEFCON 1.

He told us that opossums have the same type anal scent glands but they can't forcefully project the scent, so they hiss, play dead and then emit a scent that smells like rotting flesh.  Lovely!  He explained about how cows chew their grass and swallow it and then burp it up and chew it again (chewing their cud) and that the stomach acid helps to digest the grass.  He told us that rabbits do a somewhat similar thing, except they chew grass and poop out something called 'cecal pellets.'  Cecal pellets are sticky and black.  Rabbits will eat their cecal pellets and by going through their digestive tracts the second time, it enables them to digest it. Then they poop out fecal pellets, which are the 'Cocoa puff' looking things you see in the woods.  I never knew this.  I tell you, you learn something new every day!

Ranger Lloyd and his skunk pelt

I guess the thing that stuck with us the most was a song.  Ranger Lloyd told us that he liked Bear Poop so much that he made up a Rap Song about it and wanted to teach it to the kids.  He passed out the lyrics and asked everyone to sing along.  The lyrics go like this:

It starts with an "S" and it ends with a "T,"It comes outta you and it comes outta me, I know what you're thinking, but don't call it that,Be scientific and call it SCAT!

(Kids were then invited to punctuate the rap with that familiar sound when you cup your hand under your underarm and pump your elbow up and down.  You know that sound.)  That's a clever song.  We sang it many times driving around the mountains in our rented van until we all have it etched upon our brains.

Benjamin (and our entire family) learned a lot of things on our trip.  For attending 3 excellent Ranger Presentations, Benjamin earned a Junior Ranger Badge from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to go along with the one he had earned in the Rocky Mountain National Park two summer's ago.

Badge of Honor

I almost forgot, Ranger Lloyd drove home the point that the answer to the question, Does a bear poop in the woods? is an unequivocal, "YES!"  They most certainly do and we've seen the evidence, up close and personal.  My hat is off to you, Ranger Lloyd for a job well done!

Taking Soil Samples

Today was a good day to get something done that I'd had on my to-do list for a while: Taking soil samples. Soil samples are a good idea and help you determine your soil pH and available nutrient levels in the soil, enabling you to be a good soil steward so that you can grow grass for your animals in the pasture and vegetables in your garden for you!  If you don't take care of your soil, you'll have low yields and waste a lot of time.

Benjamin has been studying soil in science and I figured it would be a good lesson to have him help me so that we could talk about soil structure, erosion, and fertility.  We took 3 separate soil samples, one from the garden and two from separate areas in the pasture.  Soil quality can vary from area to area even within a relatively small plot, so it is important to take different samples.

I dug a hole about 4 inches deep and Benjamin put several handfuls of soil in an old yogurt container.

Taking the first sample.

You want to label the soil so that you know where it came from.

This sample came from the middle of the garden

We then walked out to the south side of the pasture.  I dug a hole with a shovel and it was like trying to dig a hole in some cement.  The ground is hard and dry.  It was so different from the soil in the garden that I've been composting and amending the soil with organic matter year after year.

Rock hard soil

Benjamin asked, "Dad, how're we going to sample this soil.  It's hard as a rock?"  I told him that I'd chop it up with the shovel. 

Softening the hardpan soil

Benjamin was then able to scoop up some dirt and put into his bucket.

We labeled this as well.  The dirt from the pasture was lighter colored and a finer consistency than the garden soil.

The sample from the southern part of the pasture

We walked on to the northern part of the pasture and Benjamin loaded the last bucket with soil for the sample.

Last soil sample of the day

This sample was fine, hard, and dry like the last one, but had lots of roots in it.

Sample from the Northern part of the pasture

The sampler only needs about 60 grams for the analysis, so I googled a conversion to find out how much to use.

I used a Sharpie to mark on each ziploc bag, the location where the sample was taken, along with my name. Then I began spooning the soil into the bags.

Spooning in the soil

Weighing the soil is important.  I want to put a little more than 60 grams in the bags, but not too much as it will increase the shipping cost.  Any leftover was put back out in the garden or on the pasture.  I don't want to give away my dirt!

I included a little more than .13 of a pound

Note the difference in color of the soil below.  The sample on the left came from the pasture.  The one on the right was taken from the garden.  It looks darker and richer and is the result of many years' work in adding compost and organic matter to build up the soil.

Comparing pasture soil (left) to garden soil (right)

Finally, here are the soil samples all sealed up, labelled and ready to be mailed for analysis.

Ready to be mailed

I'll pop these into a box and mail them and will look forward to receiving the results of the analysis.  They are going to send the results in an Excel spreadsheet with a calculator for crop nutrients so that we can easily determine our fertilizer needs.

I'll report back once I receive the analysis back.  It all starts in the soil, so you want it healthy.  If you take care of your soil, your soil will take care of you.

Our Second Bird has left the Nest

A new day has dawned both literally and figuratively.  I took a vacation day today, but not to relax.  We had important business to attend to.  We got the cow and goat milked and all the animals in the barnyard fed and watered and then started our day.  Today we're moving Russ into the dorms at LSU as he'll be a freshman there this Fall majoring in Animal Science in the College of Agriculture.  Laura Lee will be moving out of the dorms and into a house and will be starting her sophomore year there as well. Whoa!  Two 'kids' in college. Only one left at home.

The morning sun peeking out from behind the hay bales

We loaded Russ' truck with all of his belongings and he backed out of the garage.

Loaded down truck

We also loaded down Laura's car and our other car with all of her stuff.

Loaded down car

We headed off to Baton Rouge in caravan-type fashion with Laura Lee leading the way, followed by Russ and I was the caboose.  Russ' truck sort of looked like the Clampett's jalopey truck in the photo below.  We had it loaded pretty heavy and used ropes to tie everything down.

Photo Credit

We only had one little issue on the trek to the capitol city.  Somewhere around Crowley as we were doing 70 mph down I-10, the back cushion of the sofa blew out of the back of Russ' truck.  Darn it!  The vehicle in front of me swerved to miss it, I did likewise, but the driver behind me had slow reflexes and hit the cushion head-on.  I saw the stuffing fly!

A sofa without a cushion is like Rice without Gravy, bacon without eggs, Simon without Garfunkel, or Batman without Robin.  So I got off on the next exit, drove back west to the next exit, re-entered the Interstate, located the injured cushion, and pulled over with my flashers on to see if I could administer CPR. The cushion will require some TLC and many stitches, but will recover (no pun intended!).  At least good enough to be used by some college students.

We arrived on campus without further excitement and pulled up to Russ' dorm.  I must say I was impressed with the University for making the moving in process efficient.  There were at least twice as many cars on campus (students & parents helping move in) resulting in a major traffic jam, but students associated with residence housing assisted in directing students to their respective dorms.  As we all pulled up in front of the dorm, student volunteers helped unload the vehicle and stack everything on the sidewalk so that the driver could move the vehicle quickly and park, enabling other 'Clampett jalopeys' to do likewise.

Welcome, Russ!

But that was not all.  Other students appeared out of nowhere to help.  They were mobilized to pick up all the refrigerators, clothes, and other items and carry it up to the students' dorm room.  Various LSU athletes were doing this.  I thought it was a very cool thing.  Russ had 3 football players that helped him move his stuff up.  They were polite and helpful. One of the players that helped Russ was #18 Lamin Barrow.  Read the quote below about #18.  I'd say the Tigers made a good choice for #18 as Lamin was doing a good deed 'off the field' yesterday!

The wearing of No. 18 is a special honor within LSU’s program. The tradition dates back 10 years to quarterback Matt Mauck, who was able to lead the Tigers to victory in the 2003 BCS National Championship Game. The player bestowed the honor is supposed to uphold the university’s values both on and off the field.  Barrow is an absolute stud linebacker. He was second on the team with 104 total tackles in 2012 and is considered a first round NFL draft prospect. Source: Yardbarker.com

Here is Russ in front of his dorm.  It is a dorm that is entirely dedicated to Agriculture Majors.  I looked around and couldn't find a cow or chicken in sight, though.  Strange.

Russ' new home

We quickly got him all situated and posed for a family photo or two in his room.

A serious one

And not so serious!

As we walked to the LSU Police Department to get a parking permit for Russ' truck, we walked directly in front of the Military Science building and Benjamin posed in front of one of two cannons that line each side of the entrance that have particular historical significance.  William Tecumseh Sherman (yes, that Sherman), believe it or not, was the First Superintendent of Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy back in 1859.  This would later become LSU.  In 1861, Sherman resigned, returned to the North and participated in the War of Northern Aggression :).  After the war General Sherman donated two cannons to the Institution that had been captured from Confederates at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.  These cannons were used to start the Civil War.  Benjamin poses with one of these cannons.  Very cool!

Benjamin the Cannoneer

The next two photos should probably be subtitled, "The Coke Man Needs a Raise!"  In the Barnes & Noble bookstore on campus, I took a picture of Benjamin in front of a display made of varying 12 packs of soft drinks.  Look at the detail of the football, with laces, going through the goal posts and the Stadium.

Nicely done, Coke Man!

As we were about to head home, I took a photo of Russ out on the back 'porch' of his dorm with a view of one of the lakes.  There are geese and ducks out there that people were feeding, which reminded me that we would need to head home to feed our chickens and turkeys and cows and goats.  Which also reminded me that I would be missing the services of my right-hand man on the farm:(

We started the day with a new, hopeful day rising.  A day opening a new chapter in the lives of our kids and one bringing change around our home.  As the sun sets, it also closes a chapter of our lives.  Without being overly dramatic, it's hard when your little birds take flight and leave the nest. 

Cypress trees on the lake

Geaux get 'em, Russ!  Geaux get 'em Laura Lee!

Making Homemade Vanilla Extract

Have you ever looked at the label on "Pure Vanilla Extract?"  The first ingredient is:  Water.  Then it has Corn Syrup in it.  That's sort of odd to me.  I don't quite understand how the word pure can be used.  I did some reading on it and it is labeled Pure because it is made using vanilla beans in the process.  

Water?  Corn Syrup?

I also looked up the ingredients in McCormick Pure Vanilla extract label and they include:

• Vanilla bean extractives in water,
• alcohol (35%),
• and corn syrup.

And that is PURE Vanilla.  I did some reading on artificial vanilla extract and I don't think that's something that you want to use.  It's made with lignin.  This is an extract from wood pulp.  Eating Wood?  If not made from wood pulp, it is made from secretions from the anal glands of a beaver.  Yep, you read that right.  I'm not embellishing.  So I wonder, what person sat down and thought, "Gee, I bet these musky secretions from a beaver's nether regions would taste great as an ice cream flavoring!" 

So we opted against using Beaver Butt Vanilla and decided to make our own homemade vanilla extract. It is so easy, it is embarrassing to show you the process, but we will.  You can also realize a savings by making your own versus buying it.  I'll show you that as well.

First, I got online and ordered some real vanilla beans.

25 Vanilla beans

These vanilla beans are from Tahiti and there are 25 in the vacuum sealed bag and it cost me $12 including shipping.  The vanilla beans come from an orchid and are grown in the South Pacific, West Indies, and South and Central America.

Tahitian Vanilla beans

There is nothing simpler to making real pure vanilla extract as there are only two ingredients.  We are not drinkers, so the hardest part was buying the Vodka for making it.  "Mrs. Jones, we're not buying this fifth of vodka to go home and make Screwdrivers.  We're making vanilla extract."  Yeah, sure you are.  It sounds like a lame excuse, but it's true!  You can use either vodka or bourbon to make it.

All the ingredients you need

Well, you do need some other ingredients, but you don't have to buy them.  You need some bottles to bottle the extract in.  We're using a Red Wine Vinegar bottle and an Orangina (a French carbonated citrus beverage) bottle.  Just clean them first.

Clean bottles

All you do is take a really sharp knife and split the vanilla beans almost in half.  You want to open them up to expose the vanilla seeds that are inside the pod.

Splitting the fragrant vanilla beans

750 ML of vodka translates into a little over 3 cups of vodka.  The recipe calls for 4 split vanilla beans for every cup of liquor.  I measured out the contents of both of my bottles.  The one on the left holds 2 cups and the one on the right holds 1 cup, so I added the correct number of beans to each.

Dropping split vanilla beans into each bottle

Now all you do is pour the vodka into the jars, using a funnel, making sure that the alcohol covers the beans.

First this one

And now this one

Put the cap on and shake vigorously.

Shake it up

And that is all there is to it.

Our work here is done

All you have to do is put them in the pantry and store them in a cool, dark place.

As good a place as any

Every day or so, shake the bottles.  You want to leave them at least a month, but the longer you leave it, the better and more robust the flavor will be.

The waiting game

Here is the cost analysis:

• $12 for 25 beans with shipping included  so cost per bean = $0.48
• 750 ML Absolut Vodka $20.75  (750 ML contains 25.36 oz)

Comparable product:
McCormick Real Vanilla Extract 1 oz at Wal Mart = $2.74 or $3, including taxes

Cost per ounce to make:

Vodka = $0.82 per ounce
Vanilla beans = I used 12 beans for 3 cups ($5.76 for 25.36 oz. equating to $0.23 per ounce)

$0.82 + $0.23 = $1.05 cost per ounce to make versus $3 per ounce to purchase at Wal Mart.

After one day, I peeked in to shake the vanilla extract and it is already changing the color to look like vanilla!

Vanilla Extract in the making

Not only is Vanilla Extract cheaper to make than buy, you just know the taste is going to be better.  Better tasting than Beaver anal secretion gland extract, for sure.

Being at the Right Place at the Right Time

This afternoon we got 3/10's of an inch of rain.  Yesterday we got 8/10's of an inch of rain.  We have been in drought conditions at Our Maker's Acres Family Farm.  Our pasture definitely needed the rain.  We only had 2 inches in July and only 3 inches in June and only a half an inch so far in August, so the rain in the last two days has been a blessing!  Later in the post I'll show you some cool pictures.  I think they are anyway.

The rains gave me an opportunity to test a new toy out as the ground is now soft enough to stick the probe of my voltage meter in the ground for testing the electric fence.  I bought it for ten bucks and wanted to see if it worked, but it has been so dry that the ground has been harder than the surface of a pool table and I would not be able to get the grounding probe into the ground - until today.

Here you can see the probe stuck in the ground at about the 3 o'clock position in the photo below.

The Grounding Probe

And here is the indicator on the electric fence voltage tester.  It hangs from the 'hot wire' and a wire runs from the bottom to a grounding probe.  It has five lights on it.  The lights will light up based on the strength of the charge.  It clues you in to where you might have problems where something is grounded out or if your charger is pushing voltage through the wire.  If all 5 lights light up, you have a strong charge.  Guess what? The charger lit up all 5 lights in every section I checked.  Awesome news.  The little solar charger is keeping the fence 'hot' and the animals stay in the paddock that I want them to be in.

Prior to having this, I would pick up a blade of grass, lick it to get it wet, and lay it on the wire.  If I felt a tingle, I knew the fence was hot.  I guess you could call that a Redneck Voltage meter.  It was free.  Now I'm all fancy and up-town with my $10 tester.  

No more lickin' grass...

So as I was walking around testing the fence, I looked up to take in the scenery and lo and behold:

Wow!

Isn't that cool?  It couldn't have been more perfect timing.

Rainbow over the barn

Rainbows are so cool.  The rainbow represents a promise (Genesis 9) between God and Noah that He would never again destroy the world by flooding.  I think they are beautiful, especially over the farm and home place.  I went to the western edge of our property and watched as the shadows lengthened in the late afternoon and the rainbow spanned over our land.  Beautiful!

"Ain't that purty?"

In fact, it made me so happy, I wrote a song.  Here goes (with apologies to Judy Garland):

Somewhere under the rainbow, way down low
Jeff Davis Parish is where we live and it's northwest of Thibodaux.
Somewhere under the rainbow, a red barn lies
You've got to watch where you walk,
Or you'll step in a big cow pie.

Someday I'll wish upon a cow
And wake up where the flies are now behind me.
Where troubles melt in the summer heat,
In the grass, not on the street,
That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere under the rainbow, our cows moo
Our chickens run free in the pasture
Fertilizing the grass with poo!

Crazy?  Yeah, probably.

Stunning!

Unfortunately, I didn't find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but I'm not complaining.  I'm blessed.