Moringa Trees, Living Fences, Pesty Goats, and Baby Chicks.

Some time ago I wrote about my challenges with growing moringa trees.  I had carefully planted seeds according to directions, nurtured, watered, admired and mothered seedling trees.  Then one day while on my morning "moringa check in", I saw that all the tiny leaves on the tiny trees were gone.  I was devistated!  I had already invested in a fence that would keep goats and other animals out of Kay Timoun garden.  It seems that the goats went through openings and under the fence and invaded the garden, devouring not only the moringa trees but all the banana trees, as well.  I managed to salvage three tiny seedling moringa trees with only a few leaves on each seedling.  I carefully instructed our gardner how to transplant the baby trees:  the hole must be this deep and this wide and put donkey dung in the bottom.  No short cuts were to be taken.  Cover the newly transplated baby trees with a mesh woven straw cover.  I watered often.  Today I'm thrilled that the transplants have "taken" and are thriving.  They are still small; the largest is only about 15".  I'm looking forward to large bushy trees whose leaves will make a great tasting and healthful salad.  Needless to say, as the trees grow larger, we will plant a "living fence" around them for protection from hungry goats.   Living fences amaze me. Leaves sprout out and up from cut off branches of larger trees that are "planted" in a row to form a fence.  The "tree" fence serves to shade the garden from Haiti's all day hot sun.  We are preparing for the next planting season by reinforcing our fence and extending it to completely surround the garden.  God pity the goat that tries to get through!  Our first planting will be watermelon, and lots of it!  The Kay Timoun children eat watermelon every day when it is in season, in the summer.  Homegrown and organic, it's just as sweet as can be!

I laugh at myself when I think about all the energy I spend on nurturing not only a garden, but on chickens!  We have chickens here at Kay Timoun.  We had our problems keeping young chicks, as we had problems with keeping young moringa trees.  Although we had our baby chicks and mother hen sleep in the protection of our outdoor kitchen, a wild cat managed to get into the kitchen and eat all the baby chicks.  How sad!  We lost our baby chicks to a hungry cat!  I was ready to give up on raising chicks and use the eggs, but Carole, having lived in the Haiti countryside for many years, knew just what to do.  She now gathers the mother hens together every night, along with their babies, and puts them to bed inside the house.  They are safe and sound till morning.  I'm fascinated watching how mother hen cares for her babies.  They follow her all around pecking and scratching at the ground.  As soon as there is the slightest threat, she squats on the ground and all the babies scurry to nestle under her wings.  (Reminiscent of a bible verse?)  I am so delighted whenever a new batch of chicks hatch!  Hey, look at this, baby chicks!  Seven of them!  "Don't count," warns Wozlo.  I don't understand but I suppose it's some Haitian superstition.

So, this Boca lady is having a great time here in rural Haiti, being right down in the nitty gritty of life.  The loves of my life are the twelve children that I care for.  They fill every day with joy.  I'm blessed!