All posts by Munchkin

The Gateway To Our Farm.

February 13, 2017 Munchkin

I thought I might share this interesting concept with you. Gnome had planted a “Kapok” tree right at our gate, when we first moved in, just as a marker. So we wouldn’t get lost??!! It is known for its seed pods which produce a cotton-like material which can be used to stuff pillows, mattresses and the like. Moreover, the material can be woven to make fibre. It sounded like a useful tree to have around. The tree was a fast grower and in about three years, it was really, really tall…sorry for not being very technical but it just appeared to stretch right up into the sky. Because it was so tall, it was definitely not hard to miss (we always found our gate…Ha-Ha) and so it was always one of the first things that Belizeans commented upon if they chanced upon seeing us at the farm.

We were then told that this tree was known locally as a “Ceiba” tree. That makes sense since the latin name is Ceiba petandra. Further enquiries reveal that this tree is actually sacred to the Mayas. It is known as a World Tree which embodies the four cardinal directions. According to Mayan Mythology, this tree also connects the centre of the earth to the sky; it is the gateway between these two worlds. This is indeed an esoteric concept that appeals to our imagination especially when it is planted right at the Gateway to our Farm.

Our Gateway:

It really does look quite magnificent in real life, like something out of a fairy tale. Every morning, we watch the toucans on the tree making their funny ribbbitting noise.

Other nice birdies on the tree:

Very popular tree all around…magical!!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Saving Money

Good-Bye Yellow Wellies!!

February 12, 2017 Munchkin

Alas, I had to scrap my pair of yellow wellies. These were a spanking pair of wellies that I picked up in Brodies a couple of years ago. I loved them so much that I wore them all the time…even with my street gear and my prim and proper doctor’s attire.

Anyway, it is soooo wet in Toledo you have to wear boots…well, that is what I think after living here for 13 years. I distinctly hate wearing open toed shoes here because I don’t like getting mud in between my toes (just a personal preference). Anyway the boots have a history and we (Gnome and I) have romantically dug dirt, planted trees and done the farm chores together with these boots. So much so that they got into a real state. They became a rather manky yellow:

Duckie even imprinted on us because we both had “yellow feet.”

Anyway, they started getting too many holes and cracks so there was no point in wearing them as they had lost their purpose of protection. Of course, Gnome got a hold of the throw-away before I cast them into the fire.

“Oh, they are made of a very good material…you can make rather good gaskets with that….I’ll take them thank-you very much!”

And so my dear yellow wellie boots will live on as gaskets…I had to ask him: What’s a Gasket??!! He demonstrated by making the first one for the blender so that the liquid would stop leaking out:

Ahhhh…that’s what a gasket is…it forms a seal between two things to stop leakage. Munchkin learned something!!

Pretty handy and it works well so I can’t complain. Long live the yellow wellies in Gnome’s transformation magic.

Amusing, Belize, Pets

Saturday & Sunday Child.

February 4, 2017 Munchkin

Yes indeed this concludes the Fortune Telling Guinea Pig Marathon! What a lovely lot of piggies…plus duckie of course. We’ve posted the last two together because Gnome said:

“They look so alike…everyone will think that you are posting the same picture again. Why don’t we put them together instead…”

It was also because we couldn’t separate them…these two are as thick as thieves…they’re conspiring to overthrow Munchkin and Gnome!

Saturday’s Child works hard for a living (I was a Saturday Child, by the way) and the one that is born on the Sabbath Day is Bonnie and Blithe! These two were a bit camera-shy.

Belize, Farming, Pets

Friday’s Child.

February 3, 2017 Munchkin

We are nearly done with the Guinea Pig Parade!! So, Friday’s Child is Loving and Giving.

Just to mix things up a bit, we have a non-piggie as Friday’s Child.

This little duckie has given us a lot of joy over the last few weeks. Yes, he has imprinted on us since we ended up raising him from day 1. However, he still a very well adapted duckie, passing all duckie milestones perfectly. He is starting to feather, dabble in mud and quack like a duck (instead of the peep-peeping noise). As Gnome says,

“There’s nothing wrong with being multi-cutural…”

Belize, Farming, Pets

Thursday’s Child.

February 2, 2017 Munchkin

Thursday’s Child has Far to Go. This is our little runty of the litter; below 3rd centile for head circumference, body weight and length. For babies it is vital to get the first feed within the first 24 hours to get the colostrum. Once they get this, they are usually bouncing around by 48 hours, eating grass, grains and anything it can get its mitts on. Getting the first feed can actually be a problem with multiple pregnancies (which is common amongst the cavies) especially when female piggies only have one set of teats. The smaller, less aggressive babies can get ignored and fall by the wayside. When we see this happening, we sometimes give them a boost by hand-feeding them with cow’s milk on the first day. It is important to note that baby guinea pigs do not have a good swallow reflex so you can’t actually syringe feed them; rather, you have to hold a teaspoon in front of them so that they can lick up the milk.

This one has managed with a little bit of help from us. She was one of four and wasn’t getting enough milk. See…she’s fit and healthy now…looks like a little white rat with no tail!

Amusing, Belize, Pets

Tuesday’s Child.

January 31, 2017 Munchkin 2 Comments

Tuesday’s Child is Full of Grace. I deliberately picked one out that looked like a little highland cow. This one sat and posed like he knew that he had to give it his best. They all have different personalities and some of them can’t stay still and get very jittery. The mothers are all doing fine and doing what guinea pig mothers do.

Little Highland Cow:

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Pets

Monday’s Child.

January 30, 2017 Munchkin

We’ve got 7 new kids on the block lined up as calendar kids for the whole week. Whoopeee…I hear you all shout…what fun!! Just had 7 new guinea pigs in the last week from 3 mothers. First baby checks done; all fit and healthy!!

Monday’s Child is fair of face.

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Mini Garden For Dry Season.

January 29, 2017 Munchkin 2 Comments

So we continue with The Chinese New Year celebrations. Yes, it can keep on going for about two weeks…yay!! To honour the new year, Gnome gave me a brand new wheelbarrow. Oooooh….and it’s red too so very, very auspicious. This is a big deal for me because I’ve been using this wheelbarrow for years when it should have been thrown out years ago.

Brand New Lucky Wheelbarrow:

Great, so now I can use this to cart veggies and greens from our new mini garden. We’ve set this up for the dry season since we don’t have huge resources to irrigate over this period of time. In years past, we’ve usually eaten chaya, which is drought resistant.

But of course, variety is the spice of life!! Now we have endives, rocket, bok choi, parsley, Krim tomatoes, bitter gourd, horseradish, eggplant and jalapeños. All set to load onto my wheelbarrow for Munchkin yummies!! All Aboard The Munchkin Express!!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Pets

Happy Chinese New Year!!

January 28, 2017 Munchkin

Hello and Happy Chinese New Year to y’all!! It’s the Year of the Rooster by the way, which means action, taking the chance and getting things done properly. Probably means other things too so best if you go read it up yourself…I don’t claim to be a Horoscope Munchkin. Today has been an auspicious day for us on the farm. Look!! We have 8 (Auspicious Number for Chinese) eggs to incubate. Last night we followed the duckies around, nonchalantly of course, and found their secret nest.

Yes, my evolved duckies, we know you’re hiding something from us:

Secret Duckie Nest in Bush:

We found 6 eggs last night and then 2 this morning. Lucky 8!! Try this number for Boledo today!!

Casa Mascia Apothecary