Monsanto et al

I haven't had time to blog, but that doesn't mean I haven't had time to engage in all things garden and seed. I'm currently taking a class that requires the production of a term paper, the topic of our own choosing, to be completed throughout the course (which teaches you how to write a term paper, essentially). Sure, I know how to write up college papers, but everybody needs an "easy A" class once in a while. Gimme a break.

My topic is Seed Monopolies. The above chart represents the major seed companies and all the little distribution companies each one owns or is tied to in one way or another. Scary. This is originally from an article on The Ecologist, Revealed: how seed market is controlled by Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, Dow & DuPont, published in October of 2010. According to the article, this "graphic illustrates how just five biotech giants have increased their control of the global seed market, promoting monoculture farming and making it harder for farmers to find alternative sources of seeds."

Where Did the Time Go?

I am all apologies today, folks. I know. It's been forever. I blame college. This quarter (sixteen credits at school plus full time work) has been really rough. I'm thick in midterms at the moment (please don't ask about my Statistics midterm last night), and there are only four weeks left in the quarter. Registration for Spring quarter is next Tuesday. Seriously. Where the heck did the months go?? Sitting at my computer today, I realize now that I have spent next to no time at all doing the things I enjoy since classes started in the first week of the new year. Somehow the house isn't a total wreck (credit is due to the best girlfriend in the world) and the chickens haven't starved. Still, I feel like I'm on some sort of uphill grind, and I really can't stop to look at the scenery until I've pushed to the top.

What have you missed? Not a whole lot. It's winter, after all. The chickens stopped laying for a while (I'm sure you remember the whining last fall), they started again with a vengeance, a langstroth bee hive arrived in the mail, I learned to knit, a few snowdrops and crocuses and the tips of garlic are up in the garden, and the annual Flower and Garden Show is next weekend. Of course I meant to write about a lot of that stuff. Still, sleeping is far more attractive than spending another hour in front of a computer upright.

And I apologize again, but I now need to finish some homework, clean up the house, apply to Western Washington University, pick out my classes for Spring quarter at EvCC, eat lunch, and zip off to work.

I miss boredom.

Partly Cloudy withToo Much Rain

The sun is shining, but the clouds are rolling back in. My weather widget says we can expect rain through Sunday, and even then I don't expect things to get better. I guess it's just that time of year in the Pacific Northwest again. The girls, as you can expect, are less than pleased about the weather. They truly enjoy their outside time, and being confined to their enclosure is less than pleasing to them. Today they received a handful of strawberry tops, the last of the season. The patty pan squash are less appetizing, and the most recent one I left for them has been pecked at in an apathetic manner. Perhaps I am not the only one emotionally effected by the dreary grey days.

I built a "chicken ladder" for them a couple of weeks ago, and it appears to be unused so far. All the best chicken resources say that you need to provide your hens with a roosting pole inside their coop. My attempt has backfired. They still cluster right next to the door, waiting for me to open it in the morning, then push their way out and down to the food. I am convinced that they are not bright. Not bright, but definitely hungry. They are currently consuming food at an alarming rate. I can't blame them. It's been cold both day and night recently. I think I've been refilling the feeder every three or four days, adding in some three-way scratch to keep them happily pecking away. We are on our last bag of developer feed, and we may need one more 50 pound bag before they are old enough to lay. Going by the calendar, they should be six month old and ready to give us eggs by about MLK day, January 18, 2010. I am not, however, expecting to see eggs before late February, given the lack of daylight at that time of the year. A friend and co-enthusiast of urban chickens was in one of the classes I taught at work last week, and she suggested lighting the coop to promote more laying. While I've read about that option elsewhere, I'm concerned about reducing the hens' overall lifespan and laying ability. It just sounds so unnatural!!

Yesterday was also an information drop-in day at Everett Community College, where I will begin my quest for a BA in Environmental Planning and Policy. I met with the head of the department, and she gave me lots of useful information about this new degree program which is a blend of Western Washington University and the Huxley College of the Environment. I'll be starting my freshman year in January, and I only hope the math and English classes are as easy as I expect.