April 11, 2009

Halocaust of the Worms*

My bedroom is littered with the corpses of a science experiment gone horribly wrong. I've been trying to start some veggie seedlings in my bedroom, with little success. A nasty looking mold had formed on the soil and so I checked with the all-knowing internet to see what could be done. The answer: hydrogen peroxide! Apparantly, the peroxide kills the mold and helps to add oxygen to the soil. Perfect. Too impatient to dilute the peroxide, I poured a few drops into each pot and listened to the beautiful hiss and sizzle of the peroxide killing the mold.

Emboldened by my assumed success, I felt the need for more action. And so, I grabbed a handful of worms from the compost and tossed one into each of the pots, hoping they would help aerate the soil. They seemed happy in their new home until I noticed that they were writhing around in very spastic un-wormlike contortions. I hadn't thought about the effect of the peroxide on their porous little bodies and had unwittingly dropped the poor little buggers into their coffins. At the very least, hopefully their shriveled little corpses will provide some much needed sustenance to my basil seeds.

RIP my worm brethren.

The lone survivor

The culprit

April 4, 2009

Medical Mission to Nigeria

I've just returned from a trip to Northern Nigeria with the Kaduna State Medical Mission. The mission was started by a group of Nigerian-born or bred doctors who now work in the States. They go back to Nigeria ~2x a year for two weeks, offering general medical services, surgery and pharmeceuticals. http://www.flickr.com/groups/nigeriamedicalmission/