- Episode 1
- A Chance to Watch and Learn
- Agnes’s cousin Frank lived in Southern Illinois, where he ran the family farm. It was handed down from Frank’s grandfather.
- Of course! Agnes thought. What better place to visit during the long Memorial Day weekend at the end of May than a real, working family farm, owned by a member of her own extended family.
- It was also the perfect size for the twins to explore, about 10 acres including the farmhouse, with pigs, chickens, several milking cows and a “truck farm” style vegetable garden. Frank also owned 80 acres of corn and soybean about a half-mile or so down a dirt road, but Agnes wanted the twins to experience farming at a size they could relate to more easily.
- Mort agreed, so together he and Agnes began preparing for their next adventure. Perhaps Mort’s dad would want to come along. It wouldn’t be too strenuous and he’d likely welcome the trip.
- What do think, Dad? How about coming with us to the farm?”
- Mike readily accepted the invitation. This would offer a good chance to get closer to his grandchildren, and to Agnes as well. He might even get a few more clues about Mel’s rare resistance to heat. Perhaps the trait was inherited from Agnes. Certainly it wasn’t from his own son Mort, who had quite normal responses to heat and cold.
- A Long Test Drive
- Through his activities in various professional associations, Mort came into contact with a lot of scientists outside of his own area of expertise. If we’re going to be taking road trips, he reasoned, why not use the best available – or even experimental – technology that produces the least polluting emissions? Something even better than the hybrid car that he and Agnes owned.
- Mort knew several scientists who were working on fuel cells for cars. He would find out if there were a car available for him and his family to “test drive” over the holiday weekend. The nearly 300 miles each way on the highway plus some driving on rural roads during their stay would be a good test combination under actual conditions that a consumer would drive.
- Meanwhile, Agnes contacted her cousin, who was delighted at the prospect of seeing her, Mort and the children. When she let the twins know, Mal asked “Can we bring Rufus too? Even though our neighbors took care of him while we were at Yellowstone, I know he was lonely when we were gone.”
- “I suppose it would be alright,” Agnes replied. “I’m sure he’ll be curious about the chickens and pigs, and I think Cousin Frank and his family have several dogs. I’ll ask him, though, to be sure.”
- The Maloneys were in luck on all accounts. An experimental car that runs on fuel cells was available for that weekend, provided they keep a log on their experiences and write a report for the company.
- Certainly, Mort responded, especially since it was an SUV that had plenty of room for everyone – even Rufus. And both Rufus the twins’ dog and Mike, their grandfather, were most welcome, said Frank (not necessarily in the proper order, he apologized)
- So the Maloneys prepared for their next weekend adventure down on the farm, printing out several online maps, showing the whole trip on a single page and then several more with finer details closer to their destination. They left mid-afternoon on Friday so that they wouldn’t arrive at the farm too late, although it would be already after dark.
- Meeting the Farm Family
- Martha, Frank’s wife greeted the Maloneys from the porch when they drove up to the farmhouse. “Hello everyone. Welcome to our home!” Frank came into the kitchen soon after the travelers unpacked the car. “Hi Cuz,” Frank said to Agnes with a hug. “Good to see you again, Uncle Mike. You too, Mort. And these are your children. Glad to see all of you.”
- Martha explained that Frank had been napping, since he got up every morning at 4 am to milk the cows.
- “Wow, that’s awfully early,” said Mel. “I don’t think I ever saw the clock at 4 in the morning. I don’t get up until 6:30.”
- “Well, the cows can’t wait until then. They get milked at 4:30 in the morning and at 4:30 in the afternoon,” Frank explained. “Why don’t both you and your brother help me tomorrow afternoon? We’ll see how well you do milking.”
- “Gee, I don’t know,” said Mel. “I wouldn’t know what to do. I don’t want to hurt the cows.”
- “You don’t have to worry about that,” Frank laughed, “unless you pull their tails, and I wouldn’t do that if I were you. They have a pretty mean kick.” But don’t let me scare you. I’ll be right there with you.”
- “It sounds neat, Uncle Frank,” said Mal. “I’d like to try milking the cows. Bet I’m better at it than my sissy sister!’
- (Mal and his sister were taught to address their elders as “Aunt” and “Uncle” out of respect, even though they knew the adults weren’t their REAL aunts and uncles)
- Rufus was tied to a tree with a really long piece of rope so he had plenty of space to sniff around and still be safe from wandering too far and getting lost or hit by a car on the road. He didn’t seem to mind, as he was pretty tired from the trip and the other dogs on the farm decided to mind their own business and leave him alone.
- The adults stayed up for awhile after the children were tucked into bed, enjoying coffee heavily laced with fresh milk and homemade strawberry pie as they chatted.
That After-Rain Freshness
- It rained overnight, lasting until about 7 the next morning, so there was no bright dawn to awaken the twins early. Frank was just about to come in from the morning chores, hungry for breakfast, when the twins appeared in the doorway, eager to start the day.“What a perfect chance to learn something about country living,” Frank thought.
- “Well, good morning Mel, Mal. Did you sleep through the storm? It’s still a bit wet out, but the sun will soon take care of that. Before we get some breakfast, step outside a minute and tell me what’s different from the city after a good rain.”
- “Wow. What’s that interesting smell?” asked Mel. Mal sniffed the air, tilted his head and looked quizzically at Frank. “It’s kind of nice. Where is it coming from?”
- “It’s stronger by the grass than the driveway.”
- “Do you think it’s coming from the grass?”
- “I never smelled grass that smelled like this. It’s in the air,” Melody observed.
“Yes, it is in the air,” Frank acknowledged. “But how did it get in the air?”
- Mal stooped down, sniffed the grass, sniffed a bit deeper, and then whooped: “It’s from the dirt!”
- “Very good, Mallory. Let’s go in for breakfast and I’ll tell you what I know about where the smell is coming from.”
- Over breakfast, Frank explained that scientists recently discovered how a particular bacterium in the soil makes the chemical responsible for the nice smell. He also explained to the rest of the family around the breakfast table that the chemical is also responsible for some of the strange flavors that develop in fish and some other foods, wine and even water.
- Mort was listening keenly. “I’ll bet the food industry would be really interested in learning how to control that chemical process. Where can I find out more?”
- “Let’s do a quick Internet search after we clean up the dishes,” said Frank.
- “Can we use the computer too?” asked Mel.
- “You children have plenty of time for the computer when you’re home. You should make the most of the short time you’re here,” Frank advised kindly, with both parents and Mike nodding in agreement. “Besides, Aunt Martha would enjoy your company in picking more fresh eggs and feeding the chickens. After that, you can come with me to the locker to pick up some meat.”
- Chicken Feed and Fresh Eggs
- The kitchen was quickly put to order and the twins raced outdoors to wait for Martha. Some chickens were strutting around in a large fenced-in area; two cows were leisurely munching some grass and one cow was vigorously licking a big pink block that looked like a huge square strawberry Popsicle. A bit farther off the twins could see a faded red barn and the separate enclosure where the pigs were kept.
- Martha came out in a few minutes, with a bucket filled with grain.
- “What’s that?” Mel asked.“Chicken feed. There isn’t enough food in the yard to keep them healthy, so we give them this soybean meal for them to peck,” said Martha. “Here, let me show you how to scatter the feed and then you try.”
- Martha took a handful of feed and swung her arm in a graceful arc, releasing the feed evenly from one side to the other.
- The twins each took their turn, but the result was mostly little piles of feed here and there, rather than Martha’s nicely-even scattering.
- Once the bucket was empty, Martha took the twins over to the chicken coop to collect the eggs that were laid since she first collected them several hours earlier. A number of hens were sitting on the nests. Martha reached under a hen with her hand and pulled out an egg and gave it to Mel. “It’s warm. We put our eggs in the refrigerator when we get back from the store.”
- “Yes, you need to keep eggs cool if you don’t want them to spoil. Or to hatch, but then they need to be kept even warmer so the baby chick inside can develop properly,” Martha explained as she took the egg from Mel and put it in the empty chicken feed bucket. “Do you want to try finding some eggs?”
- Mal wasn’t at all interested, but Mel said she would try. For her first try, Mel moved a bit too quickly for the chicken, which squawked, flapped its wings and hopped off the nest. But there weren’t any eggs anyway. Her next try with another chicken was more successful.
- Martha congratulated her. “There you go. You’ve got the hang of it.”
- Six eggs occupied the bucket as Martha and the twins headed back to the house.
- When Martha and the twins walked into the kitchen with the basket of freshly-gathered eggs, Mike and Frank were ready to go to the meat locker in town.
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SOME LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION
Fuel Cells for Cars
Wet Earth Smell
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- Our Farm: Four Seasons with Five Kids on One Family's Farm (September 2008)
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- LINKS: BOOK 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION TO THE BIOFABLES SERIES
BioFables 1 Teaching Brief
BioFables 1 & 2: Word Counts, Reading Levels
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