Inspired by our favorite book of the week (Herman and Marguerite - An Earth Story) and because I promised something interesting today.

The rings on an earthworm’s body help it wriggle forward and backward.  (Like many of us, I have rings of my own, unfortunately they wriggle up and down and are not as useful.)

Worms breath through their skins much like fish and can live submerged in water for a time.  (Today I am wishing I could breath through my skin.  Did you know that someone with a cold expells about a gallon of mucus daily?  Sorry… gross and off-topic… back to the worms)

Worms don’t have ears but they can feel vibrations.  (I can’t feel vibrations but like most moms I can feel the sound of silence.  You know… “the kid’s have been quiet way too long” kind of silence.)

Worm’s don’t need eyes because they live and work in the dark earth.  (Mother’s need two sets of eyes - one in front and one in the back of our heads- because we live and work in the presence of children.)

A worm can grow a new head or tail if it loses one.  (Boy, wouldn’t that be a useful skill.)

The earthworm is like us in that its body uses blood to deliver food and oxygen to its muscles and organs.  Unlike us, however, a worm has five pairs of hearts.  (Any mom will tell you that her one heart holds enough love for all.)

For more interesting tidbits on worms check out these resources:

• The Worm Woman’s Website
• Worm Facts
• NIEHS Kid’s Pages
• Discovery Kids

Two more eggs today… white … we’re thinking it’s the same hen. Our worms (for vermicomposting) arrived yesterday and in all the excitement about the eggs got put aside until this evening.  We (Sister & I) pulled out the bin I had previously prepared.  A medium size rubbermaid container with a lid into which I drilled holes down each side and placed a simple spout in one end near the bottom.  The holes are so the worms can breath and the spout is so we can collect the “worm tea” that accumulates at the bottom (and to keep the worms from drowning… apparently).   To the bin we added strips of newsprint torn into strips and dunked in water.  We squeezed out as much water as possible and fluffed the strips a bit before putting them in.  Then we added the worms.  Sister was a bit hesitant at first but then she really got into it.  “Are we going to name them?”  “Let me think… 500 red wrigglers with names….  Umm, no.”  Brother ended up being the squeamish one.  “Do you want to hold a worm, Brother?”  “Oh, no tanks.”  On top of all of this we placed a full sheet of newsprint which Sister sprayed down with a simple water spritzer.  We will keep this sheet moist and place our food scraps (no meat) under it.  So now we wait… and hope that Papa who recently had a renewed interest in fishing doesn’t think we are simply breeding bait. Also this evening I whipped up a batch of homemade insect repellent.  I can’t stand to put Deet on the kids (or myself) any longer.  Tried a bottle of Buzz Away (main ingredient: citronella) because it got such rave reviews from Good Housekeeping amoung others but the smell was so bad it kept away more than just mosquitos.  The new recipe is almost oderless and comes from the book Healing with Herbs by Penelope Ody though I got it via ParentHacks.  Will wore it on his run tonight and didn’t get a single bug bite so I’d say it works.  Read the rest of this entry »

Confession #1 I know way more about worms, trash, and manure than any person ever needs to - certainly more than any person ever need to admit to.  Before I can truly focus on the layout, planning and such for next spring’s garden I must think about the soil and that requires thinking about how to make good soil and that requires soil amendments and the best bet there is compost.   I don’t want to buy compost.  For the size of garden I’m planning that could get expensive not to mention that I want an organic garden which would mean organic compost (ie more expense)  Soooo, that led me to the project of the day.   How do I create my own compost?  We live on a relatively large bit of acreage with plenty of grass and trees.  We have chickens that provide ample “fertilizer” on a daily basis.  We generate a good deal of kitchen scraps and paper trash.  How can I take advantage of all that waste?  A compost bin.  Did some internet research this morning and purchased a book and now I am an expert.  Surely, it is irrelevent that I don’t have any practical experience yet, right?  Tomorrow, I am ordering the worms for the vermicomposting and hopefully will also purchase the materials to make a more traditional compost bin.  With any luck, next spring (or fall) we will have homemade Miracle Gro.

Confession #2 My mother’s birthday party was yesterday and I did not get her anything.   I had decided that in honor of simplicity this year I would buy gifts for children birthdays and only get cards for adult birthdays.  Then my sister starts planning a little shindig to celebrate Mom and naturally sibling competition set in.  I couldn’t let her plan the party AND get a gift.  I must find something better than just a card…   Earlier in the day I took Sister to a girly, girly dress up party for one of her classmates.  It was very cute.  Each of the girls picked out a simple necklace, made their own bead bracelet, got their hair done and their nails painted.  After the party, I had a little time before the next one so we walked next door to Michael’s to see if we could find a small gift and voila! a cutie little shelf that would fit perfectly with the sunroom decor.  Sister found a purple flower and to “pay the money” we went.  We left feeling frustrated and a little sheepish with only the purple flower in our bag.  Turns out the cutie shelf was a display - an example of what one could do if one had the time or inclination to take a raw piece of wood, sand it, paint it, decorate it, and add a clear top coat.   It’s not quite true that I didn’t get my mom “anything” for her birthday.  Sister gave her a flower and I gave her a card and yet another embarrassing story to tell for years to come.