The carboy is not as full as I expected after the first racking. Should the wine be topped off with a similar wine or water to reduce the surface area of the wine in the carboy?

That is not necessary as water can be a good source for bacteria to develop during the night. If you clean it properly a short rinse with water in the...

Try to clean the surface as well as you can and see if the color is still the same. When a tooth goes gray it may the sign of a...

The surface layer should form almost immediately, so there's no need to wait.

You can top a young pear tree if absolutely necessary (e.g., if it’s gotten too tall for its space), but it’s not great for the tree. Topping a mature pear...

That's carbon dioxide from the fermentation process. The yeast is still working, so that's good.

No, because you can end up trapping yourself and causing the fire to escalate. Keep moving forward and look for streams or rivers.