A Spoonful of Fluffy Cuteness

Black Chicks are Here!!!

Mrs.Black started to lay eggs last month, around the same time as Mrs.White.
I don't want more white chicks, so when Mrs. White started to get broody, I swapped her eggs with Mrs. Black's.

Here is the picture on the "Eggs Swapping Day", Mrs. White was a little reluctant when I removed her and did something to her eggs. Hahaha... Look at her expression, that fierce penetrating eyes!!!

Finally she thought "mmm... the eggs are still there, I'll sit on them". 

And she officially a surrogate mother to Black's eggs.

The pic was always in my phone, I just don't wanna jinx it. Haha

Anyway this morning, I was trying to check on Mrs. White, she wasn't very friendly, I got pecked a few times before I retreat. I don't wanna upset her.

And then, when I came back again, I realised there's black thing moving under her. 2 eggs were hatched!!!
Mrs. White did it!!! What a good mother :)

I dunno why these 2 have different feather, but both their bodies are black. I never let the White and Black together, so I can assure there's no way they inter-breed.
I am waiting for more chick to arrive. I hope... I hope, there'll be more...




PS: Now I know although the Mr. and Mrs. Black seems to fight all the time, at least they "did" it :)
#ayam cemani #ayam hitam #ayam indonesia






And what happened to Mrs. Black when I removed her eggs? I swapped them with some golf balls, so she doesn't think the nest suddenly empty. The trick worked. No sign of her getting upset.
Until today, Mrs. Black has laid 20 eggs in total, not stopping yet, more to come :)

Water in The Bottle

Check this youtube video about the The Truth of Bottled Water

The idea of Selling bottled water might sounds silly, who would buy things that are free and available abundantly around us? What's next? Even years and years ago Dr.Seuss have predicted something dodgy yet promising to sell when the environment collapsed, it's written in the Lorax. Bottled water, done. Does it mean next gonna be a hip bottled air, just like O'Hare advertisement?
Get a well-known celebrities to endorse ridiculous products, create an illusion that your life would be incomplete without it. And kaboomm!!! The product will be a hit!

As someone who spend almost 50 gallons of refilled drinking water per-week, I feel very bad watching the video above. Though, I think it's not as bad: I mean, we are not disposing the bottles right away, they get refill-ed (the 20L size that get chucked into a water-dispenser). Why we choose to buy bottled-refillable-water is about it's actually cheaper to buy rather than to boil tap water. Note that in Indonesia, our tap water is not ready-to-drink, we need to boil it to kill all the bacteria; the good thing about it is not-much-chlorine-in-it.

About those tiny bottled water that I could finish up in a few gulp. Gee, need to remind myself to always carry my water bottle. Save the environment, save the future.

Smoking Haze

Feels like my own shadow is constantly having BBQ, the smoke is following me, surrounding me, choking me.
Can't run, can't hide, it's everywhere I go.
Although, it might seems I am living in a fairy realms, somewhere in the cloud; except this one is toxic >.< Arghhhh...

I still don't understand why smokers voluntarily go inside a smoking chamber, aren't they gonna be suffocated in there?
Here, you got what you wished for, a giant smoking chamber.
Now we are all smokers. 

Amaryllis: The Bulb Harvest

I bought the bulbs end of 2010, planted it in front of my house. They bloomed once, and stay bushy until it bloom 2 weeks ago (some other cluster will bloom soon too). And they stayed hidden for years under invading duo: grass and jasmine.
I cleared up the grass and jasmine to find those few bulbs have multiplied  they have little bulblets sticking next to them :), and the mother-bulb (the original one) have grown so huge. I believe they can grow much bigger if  they were not confined with stone fences.

The one in the pic below will bear 2 sticks of flowers soon. So, I won't harvest them. What I did was putting a stick next to it, so it'll help to support the flower once it bloomed.

L-R clockwise:  a cluster: consists of mom and lil' bulblets; a closer look; the waist size of bulb-mommy... 

I harvest some of the cluster, see if I can rest them and later force them to bloom.

Here are some pictures of the harvest:

a cluster: after harvest

see the dint on bottom left is from her bulblets

the whole family after being decapitated. 

 So what happened is (theoretically), after removing all the greenies and cutting the root to manageable length, the bulbs need to be dried in open air, and then kept in paper bag for 1-2 months, so they can rest.
After the resting period, they can be planted and can be expected to bloom.

Never tried this before. Well I have 3 clusters, now I have harvested 1 of them, let see how it goes in a few months. So excited :)

Netherlands' gift for me: Amaryllis Bulbs

can't help it. need to show my pics. haha

One of the compulsory tourist stop in Netherlands is Keukenhof Flower Garden - a super huge flower garden, usually full of the country's trademark flower: Tulips.

I've tried planting Tulips in Indonesia several times, and none succeed. I give up!

So, this time I bought some amaryllis bulbs, the vendor guarantee that it'll grow well in tropics. I was sceptic, thus buying only 4 bulbs.

The bulbs I bought from Keukenhof

Blooming-size Bulb, ready to bloom in 6-8 weeks

 And guess what? Once I returned home, I was greeted with this huge red bloom. I realised that I always have Amaryllis growing in front of my room's window. OMG!

I bought it years ago in Berastagi, it bloomed once and never bloom again until now. Since the sellers in Berastagi don't know the proper name (they simply call it whatever they want, such Trumpet Flower, Red Flower...) I couldn't get information on how to grow it properly. 

Never know such jewel was always in my garden :) until she bloomed

But now that I know it called Amaryllis, I know that they are happy in tropics, although there are some tricks to force them to bloom.

Big big regret that I didn't get more bulbs from Keukenhof. I should have bought a dozen or more.
Officially bitten by Amaryllis-fever bug now. 

Miniature Greenies

Bought little ceramic cups, and here is what I made out of it: a miniature living plants on tiny pot.
They are now displayed at my agriculture store. Just to refresh the atmosphere :)
Cute, right?

Love the red leaves :)

Crossing Waterlilies

Last month, before I was away for trips, my 2 of waterlilies were blooming continuously: white and purple ones. So, I did some research about how they propagate sexually, I just wanna know if one day I can make unique hybrid.

Based on what I read on WGI website, I started to cross them. Here is what I did:

white flower as pollen donor (male) / purple flower as recipient (female)

I took pollens from white flower (1-2 days old), and place it into the nectar-bowl (stigma) of newly bloomed purple flower. Sometimes I drank the nectar before the pollination process, leaving it damp enough for the pollens to stick on.

the pollination process

 The next day, the stamens will curl to cover up the stigma, you can no longer see the bowl. I guess that’s when the magic happens.

what it looks like next day after pollination

Within a week, I checked the sinking flower if they rot or swollen. If they rot, the pollination failed. If they sunk and have curly stem and swollen butt, it’s a good sign that the pollination have occurred. Since I want to collect seeds, I put a clothbag. The butt will get larger and larger until ….

top left clockwise: See the diff on non-pollinated and pollinated flower / Pollinated flower has larger butt-size / Pod placed in clothbag to ease seeds collection.

I don’t know what happened next, cos I wasn’t around for a month. When I came back that night, I dipped my hand to check the clothbag (it was dark), I was so disappointed not to feel any pod in the bag. I can feel mushy stuff in it. I thought the whole pollination has failed.

The next morning, I went to check again, and guess what I found! The seeds have sprouted inside the bag! I missed the pod stage. The seeds already released from the pod, and sprouted into little plants. Oh, so many of them. Too many!

left-right: They sprouted inside the bag // handful of them // placing them in dirt

Then I removed them into a new pot, tried to dip them slightly inside the dirt. But they kept floating around. I hope I didn’t hurt them. Really hope they’ll stay alive and grow well.

Now I am away again, I hope when I come back next month, they’ll give me nice surprises again J

Note:

I guess there are some differences between my experience and what’s written in the website. I couldn’t argue about the exact period for pod stage, and sprouting age. But I know that it all happen within a month only, and I didn’t do any special treatment (cold-storage period) to stratify the seeds. They just sprouted.

Virginia is Blooming

The first water lilies that bloomed since I bought them :)
I guess the name is Virginia (Nymphaea virginia), a kind of hardy day-blooming waterlilies.
They are so pretty, aren't they? The flower will bloom in day time for 4 days, before the stem just go weak and it'll just rest. They started to bloom at around 6am in the morning, stays blooming until 3-4pm, and closes down during the night.

On the 1st day of blooming, the flower didn't fully open its petals, but it'll show the nectar cup right in the center of the flower (see pic, bottom right) 

I tasted it, it's quite fragrant with a subtle sweet taste. 

I heard a myth said, a sip of water-lilies nectar will rejuvenate for 7 years. I guess I'll have more sips when they bloom again. By then, I'll be immortal. Hahaha.

Passionfruit - Acidity and Sugar Content

There are a few kinds of passionfruit in Indonesia: orange-skinned and purple-skinned.

Usually the purple-skinned ones are unsuitable for table-fruit due to its extreme acidity; usually it's mixed with sugar to make syrup.

But what we have here is a purple-skinned passionfruit, with the aromatic smell, orange/red flesh, but still with high sugar content (ard 20 Brix). Making this variety to be a perfect table fruit. Just cut it, and enjoy :)

The picture below is to show how to check the acidity on our passionfruit. Just dip the indicator-paper in the juice, wait around 30seconds, see the colour changes, and check against the colour on the indicator box. Here my passionfruit's acidity is around pH 3-4 :)

Spider and a Lotus Bloom

Yesterday was the first day of Lotus Bloom, I saw a tiny green spider hiding inside the almost-bloomed lotus flower.
Took my camera, and he gave me a few cute poses.

This is the first lotus bloom at my garden. I planted it from a seed a year ago, finally, she gave me some flowers (see the video slide!!!)

And the Spider says "Good night, I wanna stay inside the bloom tonight"

KumQuats

Here is the picture of our garden's kumquat.
It's funny, it has more rind rather than the juice vesicles; yet still quite sweet (10 Brix) with a bit of citrus oil zing.
Mostly people preserve in heavy sugar syrup, but we like to eat it as it is
They look pretty, don't they?

Lotus Seeds

My quest for hunting lotus seeds been going very slow... All I got is the ones that I collected nearby here. And they have been growing well, but I want more varieties!!! Hahahha

I really want the Thai version which are more plump and fleshy-er than what I currently have.

Ling has been helping me by asking some monks to get me some seeds. 

Here they are, the monk got me 5 packages of lotus (no clue about variety and colour)... seems like all are "still" pink ones. They are now being soaked. We'll see how it sprouts :)

1st Harvest of the Year

Here's what I harvested from our garden yesterday right on the 1st day of New Year
May 2012 be a bountiful year.

L-R: Passionfruit, Papaya and Grapes

Xmas treats - failed

A friend threw a X'mas party at their house on this year Xmas. It wasn't a potluck dinner, but I just wanna whip something from my kitchen. Been staring at cooking website for days before the event. Bought SO-MANY ingredients - sigh, I know this's my "bad" habit; was planning so many cute sweet holiday treats...(such as meringue, berries in chocolate, etc) but...

The 1st disaster was the mixer didn't work (it was a gift, brand new, but it's a lousy one)

Then the oven's knob simply broken, so I couldn't make a guess of the temperature - couldn't adjust it. Haha.

I even couldn't melt chocolate properly, it just turn lumpy and sandy. Tell me why??!!!

Whole day of kitchen disaster.

I didn't give up, I went to my maid's house and made a mess there... She has a decent mixer and an oven, which works. This's so lousy, why me as the boss don't have anything that works properly? Hahaha

Anyway, the only "successful" things was this "Cupcake with Strawberry buttercream, topped with Strawberries or Mulberries"

My in-law insisted to bring it for the party, I didn't make much, so it's only natural that it's all gone. I wouldn't say it was a hit. It's obviously not. 

The only part that I am proud of is the mulberries, it's our garden's produce. Harvested the day before X'mas.  

Look how pretty they are - just like a blunder of black caviar :)

Jasmine

I guess the most productive plant in my garden is Melati Putih - JASMINE.
I started it from a cutting, and it now turns into crazy bushes and still growing.
Almost everyday I harvested a box of these fragrant jasmine. I only pick the bloomed ones. Some people harvest the buds rather than the blooms; said that buds has stronger fragrance - well, only true if you are after its oil.
Usually I'll put it in our vihara's altar.
Pretty. Fragrant. Calming.

PS: According to Mr. Google, the jasmine in the picture is belonged to Jasminum sambac - Maid of Orleans.
I dunno why it named that way, not even originated from there; it's local, it's Indonesian's. It's even our National Flower :)

Seedless Guava

Guava with seeds

Have you ever had guava? The usual one will have a core of thousand little seeds. Such a mess, hate it! especially when it has more seeds than the flesh.


But not Dad's Seedless Guava :) it's literally SEEDLESS.
I love it when it's not fully ripe, just when it still have the "apple" crunch; it'll taste so sweet with abit of sour hint.

Of course you can consume it when it's fully ripe. It'll have softer texture and tastes just sweet, without tartness - not my fave, but some people prefer it this way



Here are some pics of the fruit stages:

1. The flower to be, still very tiny.
2. All swollen up, ready to bloom in 1-2 days.
3. The beautiful white flower. Only bloom for 1 day, need helps from some bees to fertilise it. Bees love it :)
4. Sign of successful fertilisation: the flower will lose all the petals and it'll grow some hip.
5. Still growing :)
6. At this stage, the fruit is huge enough to start releasing enough scent to attract fruit flies; start wrapping the fruit to avoid the attack.
7. Dad wrapped the fruit with plastic bag (inside lined with papers). Plastic is actually not a good wrapping media cos it'll trap moisture - paper is a better choice; if you still wanna use plastic, poke some holes for sufficient draining.
8. Here what's they look like when dad harvested it. Plump!
9. See!!! I told you, it's totally seedless :)

Red Srikaya

A sweet surprise in our garden. We had a Red Srikaya, member of Annona squasmosa family.
This's the first time the tree bears a fruit. We didn't expect it to be red.
And it tastes awesome, just like the green ones.

 I guess it was our mistake that we hardly label our seed-initiated plants.
But, it's always a nice surprise to see what they turn out to be :)

Bite Marks

Saw a nice ripe papaya on our tree today

Thought it gonna be sweet and nice
So I picked it off the tree

But look what happened??!!!

See the bite marks?

Dunno who is the culprit: fruit bats, rats or birds?

Most likely fruit bats, I think :(

Sweet Potato

Here's a picture of our sweet potato, harvested last week.
This's the biggest among all. It weighs 1.4 kg.
This giant one fills my whole hand. Not too bad at all :)

I don't dare to cook it yet, but I've tried the rest - their taste was so-so, not as sweet as expected
Maybe cos we harvested them during rainy season
Maybe I haven't cure it long enough
Or maybe cos it's not "real" Cilembu variety (I got some off Carrefour and plant it here)

Better luck next time; this time, I am satisfied with the giant size