The Chicken Test…

December 13, 2017 Munchkin

Shhhh…it is quiet right now. We went down to Punta Gorda today and it was amazingly quiet; I actually got through bank queues in record time. Everyone is laying low before the Christmas and New Year festivities. It is so nice just to experience this quiet…and back on the farm, none of the animals know about Christmas so it is nothing different. So, shhhh…don’t tell the geese it’s Christmas soon…they might get rowdier and demand a Christmas party!

Anyway we are preparing for Christmas:

We are going to roast a turkey in a huge dutch oven for Christmas and we have never done it before. So, tonight we are doing a test run with a chicken. Gnome is going to dig a pit, fill it up with coals and then stick the dutch oven in the hole and cover it up…kinda like an underground cast iron oven. We managed to find an 8lb chicken so I think we are going to be eating chicken sandwiches until Christmas day.

Anyway, I also would like to show my usual pictures of plants and vegetables around the farm:

What beautiful plants: tobacco. I just like looking at these plants; the leaves are so big and luscious. The flowers have a unique exotic floral scent that comes out on balmy nights:

Peanut butter fruit; when these ripen to a deep red colour, they taste just like peanut butter. The birds always get them so you need to get up early for these ones!

Vetiver: the roots are distilled to produce the classic vetiver essential oil. You need lots and lots of these plants to get a 1/2 oz of oil!

Can’t help it: I love looking at my vegetables! This is serosi or bitter gourd.

Ooooh, another butterfly. Aren’t they lovely…

Hope the chicken cooks well….

Amusing, Belize, Construction

We Can’t Lift The Gate!

December 11, 2017 Munchkin

Ha-Ha!! This is toooo funny!! This one is Farm Job #507 and has been on the waiting list for 18 months. The front gate fell apart due to termites and it has been such a pain (physical) for Gnome since he has to manually remove the gate every-time we need to leave the farm. So at long last we have got to this job…Gnome did all the measuring and designing and then we ordered the hardwood. He said:

“Aha!! This time I am making one big gate to stretch across so I only need to hinge one side…”

The brand new gate was designed with wheels to take the weight and on paper, it seemed like a practical and well-thought out design. Well, Gnome put the gate together and…

…we can’t lift it!! It’s way too heavy. In the picture you can see the old gate which is really quite wonky and needs replacing.

Okay, so back to the drawing board…Gnome will be sawing the gate in half and we will have two sides to the gate and yes, he will have to hinge both sides. Oh well, we just have to have a normal gate!!

Gnome:

“…well, not actually that normal! One side will be longer than the other!”

Ha-Ha, I just had to laugh at that. Also, the wood has just been freshly cut and not seasoned so they are all bananas. Whenever Gnome does a wood project, we usually joke about him lining up the bananas! Nothing is straight and nothing fits despite obsessive Gnome measuring!

Old gate when it was working:

When we have the gate up it will be a cause for celebration. Some more Harvey’s Bristol Cream, methinks!

Amusing, Belize, Pets

Star Trek Duckie!

December 9, 2017 Munchkin

We have a new little duckie to look after and this one has been raised on Star Trek: The Original series (as-well as the usual food, water, greens and Munchkin & Gnome love). This is funny: Duckie whistles to the Star Trek tune and when we switch off the sound, she sends out distress calls! I am experimenting to see if certain TV programs affect the intellect and temperament of ducklings. After telling Gnome that we might have an extremely bright Star Trek duckie, Gnome said,

“Munchkin…maybe you should get out a bit more.”

He has mentioned this already when I was going on about rehabilitating a bullied goose! This is just our silly banter.

Anyway, here are some fun pictures:

This was Day 1; she was a bit spaddled but otherwise able to stand. This is a picture of her really trying to stand upright with lots of concentration. Good Duckie!

This is Cape Duckie; it is getting a bit colder so we gave her a little cape to run around in. Also, Gnome is crocheting bits and bobs right now.

Yoga Duckie:

Duckie has been with us for 7 days now and is ready to go out; actually we are ready…they start pooping constantly and the fish tank (which is the temporary home) has to be wiped and cleaned every few hours. Time to go to the Guinea Pig creche for more schooling…

Amusing, Belize

Christmas Has Come Early!

December 9, 2017 Munchkin

Just a quickie! Look what treats we got today! Anyone in the UK will be saying, “What’s the big deal!” Well, the big deal is that we are in Belize and these things are hard to come by. Well, we had to have a little bit of everything to try out just before Christmas…just a smidgen…Ha-Ha!! Anyway, a big Thank-you to Joyce and Graham from British Belize Foods.

By the way, what happened to the coffee creams in Quality Street? They were always the ones left at the bottom of the tin. I like the red and orange ones and Gnome likes the purple ones. If you grew up with Quality Street, you will know what we are talking about!

Belize, Blog, Philosophy

Why Munchkin and Gnome?

December 3, 2017 Munchkin

Nobody (dares?) asks us but I think that it would be good to tell you why we use personae to portray ourselves. Firstly, we think that it is funny and we think it is fun to make fun of ourselves. Also, it is innovative because our writing is all original (our thoughts and personal experiences) and not a re-hash of some other website or some other person/expert/consultant/master of whatsits. It is our attempt at humour in order offset the extremely (we think) dystopic nature of news, television and media. Munchkin and Gnome want to to keep the magic of living whilst still keeping a firm ground on reality…that’s why we dig our own dirt, grow our own food and write silly stories about our animals.

Amusing, Belize

Goosie Bump Done Gone!!

December 2, 2017 Munchkin

So. did the bump go first or after? Our Chiney Goose (Chiney White) had an enormous bump (knob) at the top of the beak, which is characteristic of a Chinese goose, and the bump is slowly shrinking…

The former “second in command” goosie has been ostracised by the rest of the group and he has been forced to swim in circles on the pond all by his lonesome self. What happened??

So, the big question is:

“Did the bump go first which led to the bullying…or did the bullying come first leading to poor self-esteem and then the loss of the bump.”

Gnome’s response:

“Munchkin, maybe you should get out a bit more…”

Okay, so Gnome isn’t interested in goosie psychology (nor goosie psychotherapy or rehabilitation) so let’s move swiftly onto our usual farm pictures.

Here is a picture of our first sorrel (roselle) flower which means that we will have a Christmas harvest. This is a picture for Joanna (you know who you are!!).

This is a wild plant…it looks like a Christmas decoration, don’t you think?

Ooooh and an owl butterfly that wondered into our house. Aren’t they pretty…

Have a great Saturday!!

Casa Mascia Apothecary

Monthly Archives: December 2017