Unity Farm Journal - Third Week of December 2014

On Sunday, December 21, 2014 astronomical winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere (and ends on March 19, 2015).All the animals and vegetables will be stressed for the next 100 days.   It’s a cold and dark time that brings a struggle to survive.      Here's a photo of a chilly morning along the railroad tracks at Unity Farm, taken by Gary Beach, a Sherborn resident and author of "The U.S.Technology Skills Gap".One of our ducks, Mulan (they are named by my daughter for Disney princesses) died of pneumonia yesterday.   She aspirated water while mating (ducks are rough) and although we  treated her successfully with antibiotics, she had a relapse and died in a few hours.   She’s buried in our Japanese shrine area.   She was the most colorful of our flock, an endangered Welsh Harlequin.   Her sister, Belle, lives on to carry forward the genome.  In the Spring we may add a rare Ancona duck pair to the flock.Jack, our last surviving rabbit, is 13 years old and in his last days.   He’s blind in both eyes and recently had a stroke, paralyzing his lower body.   We keep him warm and hydrated, feeding him his favorite food, fresh broccoli.    He’s not suffering but is beginning to fade.The local predators are finding it harder to stay warm and well fed, so they are venturing into the barnyard areas.   A large Cooper’s hawk tried to grab a guinea fowl yesterday but my wife was able to chase the hawk...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - Category: Technology Consultants Source Type: blogs