If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then...

Written to The Doors: Live at the Aquarius Theatre: The First Performance [LIVE]

Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine.
- Fran Lebowitz (1950 - )

This week began with us receiving ten, fertilized Galinha-d'angola or Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) eggs from Paula Zandomeni's mother, Fatima. In need of immediate incubation, we quickly and carefully placed them under the remaining dwarf hen, who went broody on us a couple of weeks back. A full clutch for a normal-sized hen is usually about 12 eggs, but considering that each of these eggs is an order of magnitude larger than her head and neck combined, packing in all ten eggs was a tall order. To her credit, she boldly met the challenge and all ten roundish reproductive bodies quickly disappeared beneath her maternal feathers. It will be something to see her reaction if the eggs hatch. Dwarf hen...Helmeted Guineafowl...the elephant of a question in the room is sure to be: Who's Your Daddy?

Our lone, remaining drake (Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds...drake is the adult male) had begun following the chickens around for company. On the one hand, it was good to see him out and about. On the other hand, he clearly missed the company of his own kind something awful. Thankfully, Clair was kind enough to bring a duck (the adult female) back from his mother's sitio. The newest addition to our ever-growing menagerie was most welcome. He is a drake reborn. The two have been inseparable since her arrival Sunday morning.

And while on the subject of integration (of sorts), we have begun leaving the door to the storeroom open a bit so that the kittens can begin to get used to the great outdoors. Needless to say their first view of the outside world was a bit overwhelming. Talk about Barbarians at the Gate. In fairness, it is no surprise that the chicks want to raid the larder...loaded as it is with 60 kg sacks of corn! More surprising was the cool displayed by the kittens -even when the better looking but less brainy half of Dumb and Dumber showed up to welcome her new neighbor to the bairro.

And in this week's crowning example of identity confusion, it is now official: I am referred to by most of the locals as Alemãozão or the big German. Because Johannes translates easily to João (think Johannes the Baptist...João Baptista or Batista or João, o Baptizador), Esben has been dubbed Alemão, leaving Pelle with the moniker of Alemãozinho or the little German. Lone is alternately known as Sra. Lone or Dona Lone.

Thanks to Lone's excellent legwork, Fazenda Alfheim's nascent medicinal herb production has been put on the map, literally and figuratively. As a result of her two meetings several weeks back with Professor Marcos Roberto Furlan, an expert on herbs and phitotherapy at Universidade de Taubaté – UNITAU and Faculdades Integradas Cantareira - São Paulo-SP, she was introduced to Sandra Pereira and Stela Vilhena, both of whom work at Pólo Vale do Paraíba - Pindamonhangaba (try saying Pindamonhangaba three times quickly!). Following their meeting in Pindamonhangaba, Sandra and Estela and two of their colleagues, Amira and Vinícius, visited us on Friday. As a result, Sandra was literally able to provide us with the GPS coordinates for Fazenda Alfheim (see below).

Point: 57
23 K 0471127
UTM: 7404635
Elevation (m): 726

Far more importantly, though, Sandra, Stela and Amira are leading an innovative project whose objective is to create a group of small producers of organic herbs in Vale do Paraíba. Fazenda Alfheim will now join this project. As a direct result of these meetings, Lone was able to secure 3,000 organic lemon grass seedlings, which she will pick up from one of the group's small producers on Friday, January 23rd. Like organic feed, organic seedlings are nigh on impossible to procure, so this is a real coup for our medicinal herb production. Moreover, the group is trying to acquire an essential oil distiller. Lastly, Amira has been hired by a cosmetics company, Suyra, which is interested in purchasing product from members of the group. In short, an entire value chain is underfoot after only four meetings spanning less than two months!

Another three days, another 150 fence posts with four-strands of Belgo Motto® Farpa Vermelha barbed-wire from Chico and Martins. Two more weeks and we will have four fully-fenced pastures, complete with gates and drinking troughs.

In addition, Martins returned on Sunday with his compadre, Ronaldo, who plows with oxen (arado de boi). I showed him the relevant fields, and we quickly reached agreement on terms and conditions. He will start work on Monday, January 19th. This will speed things up considerably as he both plows and sows. And because the oxen plow horizontally on the hillsides, unlike a tractor, they build up natural barriers to erosion.

Next week will be unusually busy, replete with two farm visits. The first in Jaboticabal, near Ribeirão Preto, which was set up by Paulo Basetto, the veterinarian, is at a medium-sized hog production (approx. 500 sows). The second is in Brejal, near Petropolis, which again is near Rio de Janeiro, at an herb farm, Provence, owned by friends of our very good friends, Márcio and Heather Magano, who will be joining us. A lot of driving (approx. 1,568 km), but a small price to pay for access to this level of know-how.

This week's flora and fauna photos are quite stunning. No idea about the flora, but the fauna is a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura). And while on the subject of birds, a shout out to Jan Blichert-Hansen, Lone's older brother and avid amateur ornithologist. Over the past three plus months, we have sighted several birds not on his (alleged) list of 102 Brazilian birds that he (claims to) have counted while on vacation with us -interestingly always when the rest of us were sleeping, including:

• the Bare-Throated Bellbird;
• the Red-Legged Seriema;
• the Savanah Hawk;
• the Scissor-Tailed Nightjar;
• the Lined Seedeater; and
• the the Golden Winged Cacique, which sings like a blackbird.

And finally, again on the subject of birds, an example of the power of an individual's idea (borrowed from the January 3rd - 9th 2009 edition of The Economist):

In 1900, when it was common for hunters to bag a Christmas bird for dinner and enjoy a competitive 'side-hunt' for sport at the same time, Frank Chapman, an ornithologist, suggested a count instead of a kill at Christmas time. Only 27 observers in 25 places in the United States and Canada took part in that first count. In the 2007-08 three-week count, now in its 109 year and run by the Audubon Society, 59,918 people took part and 57,704,250 birds were tallied.