Eggs, Ticks and the end of the NHSC...

Though the PBS fund drive is taking its toll on our daily routine we have managed to accomplish a handful of things around here (except pledging to PBS). Once, there was a decrepit leaky shack built onto the rear of our house which housed our washer and dryer; now, it is no more. Slowly rising in its place is the new structurally and aesthetically sound laundry room. It has been a slow process because Florida in August is ridiculously hot and full of ravenous parasitic insects. I'm a big fan of symbiosis in most of its forms, but I freely exercise my evolutionary advantage when it comes to ticks. Buckley and Lula are just collecting them.



The Chicken update: Morrissey, our beloved coiffed chicken, has disappeared and is presumed to have become fox, coyote, bobcat or owl food. He was at a disadvantage because his hairdo blocked his vision. Cymande hopes he became baby owl food because that's a cuter image. Mr. Wonderful, the alpha cockerel, also met his end one afternoon to some stealthy predator. That was okay because he was kind of mean. Two more roosters met their end to a less stealthy predator, alas...me. We invited a friend to show us how to do such a thing and he talked me through most of it. It was surprisingly simple and not very disturbing at all. I was comforted by the fact that the cockerels were starting to fight and were harassing the pullets...too many cockerels in the pullet house. We had cockerel and vegetables from the garden for dinner that night. It was wonderful, and no one got sick! Also, the egg laying has begun and as of today we have a broody pullet proudly sitting on 13 eggs. The roosters that are left are like professional birthing coaches: they squawk proudly when a hen lays an egg.



Our friend David stopped by on his way to his new home in Pittsburgh. He completed his contract with the National Health Service Corp on almost the same day that we did (August 16!). We celebrated surviving the past three years as NP's "serving the underserved" and did some debriefing (the occasional HIPPAA [or whatever] violation included). David has elected to flee Florida. We will soldier on, but henceforth WILL take time for lunch and WILL NOT tolerate entitled belligerence from anyone great or small. So, more time in the field...more time on the porch...more time with the chickens...more time with friends...more time for leisure.

Common Name: Cow Killer

Dasymutilla occidentalis
Description:5/8-1", antlike, antennae beadlike, thorax and abdomen above: red, covered with short erect red hair, body below and head: black, males winged, females wingless.
Habitat: meadows, forest edges, clover fields.
Range: New York to Florida (Old Wire Road) and Gulf States west to Texas.
Food: Adult drinks nectar. Larva feeds on bumble bee larvae.
Life Cycle: Female searches for bumble bee nests and drops 1 egg beside each brood chamber. Larvae invade brood chambers, feed on bee larvae, and pupate in victim's brood chamber.
Behavior: Run quickly and fight ferociously. They get their name from their painful sting which is so severe that many people claim it could kill a cow.

June and July

The rattle of the dirt road jalopies have only been drowned out by the annoying drone of four-wheelers and a dump truck mysteriously delivering dirt to our neighbor; such is July in Columbia County. Thankfully, the summer thunder storms have arrived and the transformation from dust to dirt is complete. The absurdity never ends though. While I'm on hiatus between albums Charles has been laying down the latest tracks for his second record and Cymande is beginning her bathymetric quilt all whilst wearing our pedometers. Call David and Allison for an explanation of the pedometer wearing.




My parents visited and then left us, but only after we enjoyed a creationist birthday cake (apes and dinosaurs cohabiting the cake surface) that somehow incorporated backwards g's (giving the appearance of 666); truly a sight to behold. Buckley, the dog, has continued to grow and grow and grow, but let me repeat, "he is not long for this world," as evidenced by his need to cross the road and bark in the face of canine mortality. Speaking of mortality, we lost a couple chickens and rooster to two pitbulls, but such is the life of free ranging poultry. Buckley and Lula attempted to stop the slaughter, but it was too late.





David, Allison, Cymande and I all celebrated the end of our NHSC contracts with wine and sangria and food food food. Of course, I was on-call and I attempted to manage my supreme grumpiness with minimal success, but...ahh, more rain.

Grumpy, Cinderella and Other June Visitors

June has been a busy month on OWR. We were visited by my partents (Connie and Lee) and Cymande's sister and family (Shannon, Tobias, Kira and Lucas).
Shannon and family made their first visit to Lake City and we gave them a taste of Northern Florida culture. Lucas, 17 months old, also tasted some chicken poop. We made trips to Itchetucknee Springs, Ponte Vedra Beach, Poe Springs and of course, Disney World. Kira spent her days picking blackberries, watching Cinderella, swimming, watching Cinderella, beading and watching Cinderella. Lucas spent a good amount of time teetering on the edge of our porch and seeking out more dangerous venues to experiment with. He is developing a real passion for sweeping. Shannon and Tobias seemed to readily adapt to the slow pace of OWR. Disney World...as we all know, Disney World is where Cinderella lives. Below, you will find a picture of what a 3 year-old looks like when Cinderella cruises by atop a parade float. Kira met all the princesses and then became one on her return from Disney World thanks to the faeries of the old oak.





My parents made their annual visit and the customary gorging and entertainment ensued. They stayed down the road at Slow and Easy RV Park in a mobile cabin. Every night upon our return from work they would have dinner waiting for us. Charlie was given the nickname 'hogbelly' by my father and is still trying to work off the calories. They left too soon, but we know they will return. We would like to thank our visitors for their generosity, low-maintenance personalities and happiness they brought to Old Wire Road.

Four Items of Interest

The mobile coop has been roaming where the deer and armadillos play.


The onions have been harvested.


The carport has been destroyed and rebuilt. Here we find it in midconstruction.


The Lion's Mane mushroom has fruited and we agree that it is the lobster of the fungi kingdom.

Everyone is in Trouble/The Wild Fires

Several rules of Old Wire Road have been broken. Buckley, Lula and the chickens are all in trouble and are being sentenced accordingly. Puppy culture dictates that any free time needs to be filled with entertainment or boredom will deoxygenate the dog brain and mischief will ensue. In Buckley's pursuit of constant stimulation he has eaten the covers off books, carried away and hid various priceless items, pulled the compost bin off the counter at 3AM and while attempting to nest in a blanket, but finding it did not suit his needs he just peed on it. Lovely. Lula is guilty of failing to provide proper canine guidance and at times contributing to his behavior. Oh, and as I write this Buckley has thrown up a massive pile of food and in it lies the corncob that he had stolen. The corncob is in trouble too. Everyone has now been put to bed.


The pullets have been enjoying the great outdoors while the cockerels are awaiting their mobile shelter to be built. I have not built the mobile shelter and because of this I am also in trouble. The chickens are misbehaving by piling in the corner of the coop at night. Manual positioning on a roost seems to remedy the problem. Newest bits of chicken knowledge: (1) when you place a chicken on a roost, it just stays there. it doesn't even seem to wonder how it got there. (2) it's much easier to catch a chicken in the dark. they can't see you coming. You may wonder how we can see them in the dark (and no, it's not our night vision monocle). This shall remain one of the secrets of Old Wire Road...



This past couple of weeks southern Georgia has been on fire and we have been subject to significantly smoky skies. Today was the worst.



These photos were taken during the day, not at sunset. The sun is completely blocked out.
Ash and soot are falling from the sky like a light snow.
We are not in danger, but it is kind of worrisome and makes us think about what would happen to plant life in this region if the sun were blocked out like this for more than a couple of days. We are hoping that the wind shifts, and of course for rain.



We've heard "armageddon" whispered by more than one person, and we can't help but wonder about prehistoric natural disasters (astroids, volcanos, george bush) and various potential fates of our planet (astroids, volcanos, humans).

The Amazing Cucumber Story

i've been meaning to tell this story for a while. it may or may not actually be amazing, but it's quirky, and i like it, and it's true.
a while back, i was preparing for our friend jenn to visit, so i went grocery shopping. that particular day, i had to take the BIG BLUE VAN instead of the mini for some reason or another. If you're not yet familiar with the BIG BLUE VAN, here it is behind cute, mean Gregg


as you can see, the BIG BLUE VAN is BIG and BLUE. anyway, on my way home, i had to stop short and all of the groceries went sliding and i lost my cucumber. i searched the van for a while, but i could not find the cucumber. gregg searched the van, but he could not find the cucumber. i was bummed. "my kingdom for a cucumber!", i cried.



jenn, wonderful jenn, arrived the next day from Boston.
she stepped off of the plane, reached into her carry on and handed me a cucumber. it was almost as if she had cukes in her carry on all the time. really though, it was from her brother's garden in vermont and she picked and brought it especially for us. it was the most beautiful, most wanted cucumber ever. she had not known that i had been pining for a lost cucumber.

coincidence? i think not! i think the universe knew just what we needed...

so, anyway, now we grow our own cucumbers! here are this year's cukes. how cuke!



oh yeah...we did find an old shriveled up piece of vegetable matter in an apparent vegetable fugitive hideout in the van a few weeks later. it didn't even really rot. it just dehydrated.

Jenny B, Buckley and Pete the Bunny

Recently, our friend Jenn came to visit us. She has been here for visits in Summer, Winter and now, Spring. We visited Poe Springs and swam briefly. Our picnic table was a micro-ecosystem where insects clashed and cheese was sliced with the sharp edge of a cracker. We spent most of our time on Old Wire Road with 27 of our newest (and youngest) friends. The 26 chicks are doing great and appear to have doubled their size in two weeks. Number 27 is our new dog who shall be known henceforth as Buckley. Buckley appeared in our carport at 3AM after an Of Montreal show in Gainesville. We initially called him Pete the Bunny, but after his hillbilly brother showed up two days later we decided that his brethren should bear the name. We dropped Pete at the shelter and kept Buckley. Unfortunately the locals seems to think we are an animal dump. Fortunately, there is a great shelter in town. Spring in Florida is a wonder!