Dame Plum the Kelpie dog rushed up to greet me. You’re not meant to be here, the thought popped into my awareness. Down at the edge of the forest was where the careless dog had consumed some wombat and/or wallaby poop a few weeks ago. And that’s when things went badly for the dog. She had a nasty seizure, but survived. It probably would have killed me, or at least caused seriously internal problems. As everyone knows, wombats are a burrow dwelling marsupial, about the size of a pig, and live in that part of the farm. At night they amble around the orchard consuming the herbage and low hanging vegetation. They’ve been on the continent for so long that they can consume the multitude of toxic mushrooms growing in the forest, possibly without harm. Dame Plum would be wise to avoid their scats for that reason, but no.
Surrounded by the tall trees, the dog just stared up at me looking proud as. Hey boss! I’m here. Let’s do some work! Ooo, is that a juicy wombat poop over there? Dame Plum is 100% supervised nowadays, and the short, sharp, loud command of: “Oi!” will get her attention and stop whatever mischief she was up to. Her report card would read: Mostly well behaved, but sometimes easily distracted.
Fortunately, Sandra had walked the Kelpie down to the forest edge and had been monitoring the unfolding dog situation. I’d been working there cleaning up the century or so of loggers mess. All those pristine logs and half rotten branches were being dealt to. The local tree species here (Eucalyptus Obliqua) is a hardwood with a density of about 750kg/m3. That’s some very tough and heavy timber. And with all of that stuff laying on the wet ground ground, there are a lot of mushrooms growing in that area.
Most, but not all, of the forest materials can be converted into firewood. And we do that processing even if the core and outer edges of the logs are beginning to show signs of decomposing. It’ll dry off and burn as heating fuel just fine. Some of the branches and logs however, are like wet sponges. Those we burn off. The ash produced from the fires is a very good fertiliser for the forest floor in that area.
The mess has been laying there in the surrounding forest since the saw log recovery efforts following on from the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires and the century of logging before then. That’s what cheap land looks like. They’re now all overgrown by luxuriant plant growth, so it’s hard to even see what is under all that greenery. And in winter it’s a cold, wet and dirty job to extract them. Anyway, the recoverable logs get cut into discs. The discs then get stacked in a neat pile, and in a week or two when hopefully the ground is drier, we’ll split the discs into firewood chunks, then haul the stuff back up the hill. Easy, but hard.
Super observant readers will note that the old tree stump shown in last weeks blog has now been ground up. All the sawdust produced was mixed into the soil and will be a good fertiliser when combined with the ash. Using that stump grinder machine is hard work, but it gets the job done. Funnily enough cutting the tree stump into discs actually broke the chainsaw clutch! Fortunately, I can fix such things:
You know what? It’s a rather sobering moment when you realise that the very wet and half rotten, not to mention covered in soil stuffs burns hot, even in a wet winter. In high summer, those materials would probably burn hotter and quicker than the surface of the sun. Over the years we’ve been lucky so far on that front, although there has been a close call.
Unfortunately one small tree had to be felled and you can see the leaves in the above fire. A hazel pomaderris (Pomaderris aspera) was quite diseased and had somehow pulled out of the ground, leaving it on a funny angle with an exposed root system. That’s not good. Those are rainforest trees, and generally I look after and encourage them, but that one was a falling hazard near to the end of it’s life. And the bonfire was just there…
Back to Dame Plum who was staring intently at me whilst we were both standing at the forest edge. Sandra arrived a minute or two after the dog. Kelpies can run fast when required. Admiring the hard work, Sandra made the friendly suggestion: Instead of hauling all the material to that fire, why don’t you just start another fire over there? Note to self: Try to look cool and in command. Reaching deep inside my brain whilst searching for something particularly manly to say I blurted out: I didn’t think of that!
Sometimes the truth hurts. So admitting it was a good idea, I grabbed a few coals from the existing fire and dumped them in an appropriate spot. Plonked some really wet and green leaves on top. The next layer was some bark. Then I went feral chucking on the most rotten and wet of forest materials. I’d never seen a bonfire produce so much smoke before. But it sure did save me lugging all those materials over to the original fire. Good thinking on my part! (Sandra groaned aloud when she read that last sentence).
It took about half an hour before the flames began to consume the mess. And what happened to Dame Plum? She forgot about the wombat poop and was distracted by the family of magpies which live here.
The tall trees growing here are worthy of the hard work.
In the above photo you can see a bit of sunshine. We’re now beyond the crucial three weeks either side the winter solstice. The sun is getting high enough in the sky each day that the solar panels are just beginning to generate enough electricity to fully charge the house batteries. And on the very day that period of time ended, one of the dozen chickens produced an egg. And it’s blue!
All the same, it is very wet outside and this week is forecast to bring more rain each day.
Most weeks we have to spread around the huge quantity of coffee grounds we’ve been bringing back to the farm for fifteen years. They’re a good soil fertiliser, but in the volume we apply them, you have to add some additional minerals. I’ve written about this process previously, but this week we made a short video showing how it’s all done.
The coffee ground mixture is also added from time to time in the raised vegetable beds. And how good do these raised beds look for three weeks after the winter solstice?
Whilst I was working down at the forest edge, Sandra had been busy making Sake (a Japanese rice wine), Olive Oil Soap, and big batch of Kiwifruit wine. That was the second batch of Kiwifruit wine we’ve made this season, and it’ll take a year before it is ready to consume. Even after picking all the fruit for that purpose, plus several trays for the breakfast of home made toasted muesli, yoghurt and mixed fruit, there are still heaps of the kiwifruit on the vines. The local birds and other forest critters need to eat well too.
Oh, and here are the trays of fruit waiting to be added into the breakfast fruit mix.
I won’t mention that we eat the skins of those fruits. Oops, broke my own rule there! Many years ago a friend who hailed from New Zealand corrected me in this most controversial of matters, and I haven’t looked back.
It’s still very much winter, and the weather forecast suggests there is a chance of snow down to 800m tomorrow (a higher elevation than the farm). We’ll see how that works out. But there are early signs of the spring which is to come.
Some folks in the readership have an interest in nut trees (hey there Goran!) and I thought this next photo of an Australian nut variety would be interesting. It’s a Bunya Pine / Bunya-Bunya (Araucaria bidwillii). It’s very closely related to the Monkey Puzzle tree, which is hardly surprising given Australia and South America were connected long ago. The Bunya tree is much hardier from what I’ve observed of the two varieties. The huge nuts are roasted up, and were highly prized by the Indigenous folks.
We have three hazelnut trees growing, and this winter all three of them have catkins. I do hope that the trees are compatible for the purposes of pollination, because the nuts we’ve grown so far are excellent tasting.
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 9am is 5’C (40’F). So far for last year there has been 512.4mm (20.2 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 472.8mm (18.6 inches)
Yo, Chris – “Mostly well behaved, but sometimes easily distracted.” I probably got a few of those, on my report cards. But, is it distracted, when you intentionally divert your attention to something else, which is far more interesting than what is on offer? 🙂
I must admit I skipped through the chain saw repair video. I don’t think it will come in handy, in my near future. 🙂 But I think it’s commendable that you put it up, especially since there didn’t seem to be another video like it, out there. Sometimes, when one goes looking for something on the internet, the information is just not there. I think you’re also being a “good citizen” by paying back, some of the wonderful videos that helped you out.
The word for the day is “hyperbole.” 🙂 “…burns hotter … than the surface of the sun.” If that’s the case, you’ve solved the problem of fusion, in your paddock. Your fortune is made!
Ah, that’s sad about the Hazel. Oh, well. Dealing with plants is one heartbreak after another.
I laughed out loud, at your interchange with the Editor. And, I seldom laugh out loud. Garbo laughed, but I’m a harder sell.
The magpies are distracting Dame Plum, so they can have the wombat poop, all to themselves. 🙂 Might make them a little ditzy, too.
Nice that the chickens are kicking back into gear. And that your getting occasional enough sun, to charge up the solar.
I watched the coffee ground video, with interest. Interesting. That you have a bag mix of bone and blood meal. I’ve never seen that here. It’s either one, or the other. But then, I’m usually after one or the other. Next time I’m at a supply store, I’ll have to pay attention and see if there’s a bagged mix.
That’s an artful raised bed, what with the contrast between the two greens.
That’s quit a crop of Kiwi fruit. It always seems like a bit of a grind, processing a large crop, of anything. Local blueberries hit the store, late last week. I’ll give it another couple of weeks, and then it will be what seems to be, an endless round of wash, dry, freeze and bag. But, worth the effort. And not far behind will be dehydrating tomatoes. No red yet, but soon.
I see the King Parrot, but where’s the Rosella? Maybe that bit of color, on the right? They probably don’t want to upstage the King’s. That could lead to a trip to The Tower!
Your Daffodils look promising. We won’t see the like, for months. Down in Portland, houses of a certain age (1920s & 30s) are likely to have an enormous Monkey Puzzle Tree, in the yard. And not grand houses, either. More middling class houses. It must have been a craze, during that time period. With enough on offer, to feed demand. Of course, they may have started as house plants, and then were moved, outdoors. Maybe.
Good luck with the Hazel Nuts. Maybe, mature enough that this will be their first year of heavy production.
The Hakea reminds me of well established Rosemary. Though the Rosemary leaves aren’t so sharp. But, having one stab you in the gum, can be uncomfortable.
In local news, Yardbirds has been sold. That’s where the Club was, before. The vast flea market, with several small businesses. Also, a bit of a permanent caravan park, out in the car park. A couple hundred (and that’s not hyperbole) middling and poor folk, displaced from their lively hoods or living spaces. It sold to an LLC (no transparency), along with a legal firm. No response as to what they plan to do with the building (probably, tear it down), and land. It sold for 2.4 million dollars. Lew
Hi Lewis,
Hehe! Alas, what you say is true. Sometimes the subjects taught were quite dull and uninspiring and lead to sleepy dribble on the desk – or produced thoughts of being elsewhere and doing other things! Speaking of education, this morning, the Editor and I were discussing why it may well be that critical thinking is not taught at such places of learning. We’ve kind of settled on the explanation that the lack is not due to an error, it’s a function of the system. And that’s how civilisations decline. Maybe? 😉
A wise move to skip the chainsaw repair video. This ‘ere dude has an interest and need for such machines, although it is not lost on me that folks across the ages have utilised two person cross cut saws and also axes. Far less energy intensive. And those manual tools would be handy in a dust up too. Barbarians would know of such matters and could judge the balance for the perfect axe and handle combination. It would be a matter of life or death for those ancients. You’re entirely correct, there is a social obligation there, and thus the bonus video.
Respect, and hyperbole is a fine word with an excellent pedigree. In all honesty I could divulge the secrets here and now in relation to the technique, but see absolutely no reason to make the researchers life easy. And the moment the Editor read that sentence was pretty funny. Not only was there an audible groan, but who could neglect ‘the look’. Withering! Have you ever been on the wrong end of: ‘the look’?
Hmm, I’d not considered that aspect about the magpies. Interestingly the parrots are more inclined to chow down on the poop. The only time I’ve observed the magpies doing that act was when they were training a real youngster. Probably needed an energy boost, or gut inoculation, or something like that. Ditzy birds would have a lot of trouble getting ready for take off. Very Darwinian!
Yeah, when the sun does shine now, the electricity is fine. But err, today half an hour of sunshine. The snow was a no-show, it was just too warm (although it felt cold enough). Did a bit of paid work this morning, and looking at the rain radar you could see we were in between rain storms. Headed down below to the forest edge and got the chainsaw and stump grinder onto the other fire blackened tree stump. Well, the job wasn’t finished before the rain arrived and for the record, it was quite icy feeling. Still the job was completed, and we were able to huddle around the bonfire and keep warm (and dry off) when needed. Brr!
We’re into mud season, and I hate mud. Oh well, I may have to spend a day over the next week or so cleaning and attending to all of the machines. We do clean them up after each use, but at this time of year it’s hard to get them thoroughly cleaned and ready for the next job.
Dunno about your part of the world, but eggs are in short supply down here and also expensive, so I appreciate the chickens producing any eggs. Purchases are limited to two dozen eggs at the supermarket.
Thanks! Yeah, with the videos we’re doing all sorts of topics, so there is something for everyone. Well that is interesting indeed. The two fertilisers are sold pre-mixed, and that’s the only way you can get them in this part of the world. Presumably in your part of the world the blood comes from an abattoir and the bone comes from a rendering plant? I used to work down the road from a rendering plant, and oh man, the smell was epic on hot summer days. Just to add to the odour fun, there was a sheepskin drying plant nearby as well. Fragrant, but dealable and the fertilisers are top notch. For your info, that 33 pound bag costs me around $60. Fertiliser is getting quite expensive down under. How does that compare with your prices?
🙂 One of the things which has become glaringly obvious to me about production from the garden is that the stuff comes in waves, and you have to know how to preserve for later in the year when there ain’t much to harvest. Yup, you do have a lot of that work ahead of you, but when those winter winds are blowing, it’s good to be able to reach into the preserves and grab some tasty produce. I was wondering when you were going to start the blueberry harvest and preserving.
That’s the crimson rosella. It’s on the right hand side of the photo and they’re red and blue! Hehe! Yes, that would be a dark tower indeed! 🙂
Interesting indeed because the Monkey Puzzle trees were a bit of a thing down here as well. Unfortunately, the trees grow to quite the huge size, and are likely to fall over. Absolutely, what could possibly go wrong with planting such a monster sized tree. And the leaves are pretty spiky. Hey, don’t you sometimes wonder why someone would plant a massive tree like that right next to their house? I’ve seen plenty of squashed houses over the years (even in the big smoke), and it is rarely a pretty sight.
One can only but hope the hazel production is good. Some of the handful of harvested nuts were saved from last season, and I probably should get them started in the greenhouse. They taste so good.
Ouch, yes that would be uncomfortable getting a rosemary leaf sticking into ones gum.
How do small traders compete in that sort of a market? They can’t, and I’m glad that the Club had the good sense to abandon ship and find new digs. Man, there are days I hear stories from people in business and I really do wonder about ‘the great walking away’. It can’t be good. Even we’ve done our own take on that story.
Go Frankie! What a song.
There were a lot of rocks and one Moby rock. We’re sort of cleaning up around those so that they’re easier to spot. If you can’t beat them, acceptance is a fine alternative. Kept the bonfire going today, and it was a lovely thing to have when the rain felt icy. It was a pleasure to down tools and store them all away today. But all of the minor forest litter in that area has now been fed to the flames. There’s still more work to do there, but the hardest part of the job has now been done. We have to wait until the soil dries up a bit before the job can be finished.
15 is pretty young, and I can see how everyone would be protective of the kid, whilst outsiders would be shaking their heads in disbelief. Such paths no know age, and everyone travels upon a different road. But as to the burning man festival, well, I’m not much of a fan of festivals and absolutely hated the hippy festivals my friends dragged me to. You can see how such things would get gentrified, and then lose their original appeal.
Getting up at a reasonable time for H might be the best outcome? But then, who knows what dogs can learn, and H’s breed has a good brain, but they can be wilful.
🙂 The Editor was totally chuffed with Ruby’s promotion (and of course she was also promoted as a consequence). Dog training is hard and takes work – as you’d know with H. Actually the bandana is for dogs who are deemed out of control, and sometimes some folks get to wear them as well. Imagine if life was as easy as dog obedience school?
Say, that’s a lot of bicycles which you thoughtfully dodged.
Really? Those were all good films. Very memorable. Hey, I went to the cinema to see all of them excluding ‘The Thing’. Exactly, life is short and the Robert E Howard stories are perhaps better than the film. Did you ever see that recent Dungeons and Dragons film?
🙂 Yes watch the cheese intake. I’d heard of that sort of tension building, but then I live out in the forest. The tension is very real.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Early educators made no bones about it. Regimentation, responding to bells, marching here and there, were seen as training for factory work.
Then there’s the “saw pit.” You wonder what terrible things, a guy might have done, to end up “down the hole.” Or, as simple as a coin flip
I’m usually the one, giving “the look.” 🙂 It has many variations. There’s the old “fish eye.” Not to be confused with the “stink eye.” The eye roll. I can even do the skeptical one raised eye brow. A la, Mr. Spock.
Maybe, the wombat poop gives the Magpies enough gas, to make them lighter than air? 🙂
Yesterday’s high was 79F. Overnight, it was a steady 57F. Forecast is for 82F, today, and 92F, tomorrow. There was a bit of a breeze, around sunset, last night. And it was rather cold. I even wore my light jacket, when I took H out later. I picked currents, this morning. Wore my jacket, again. It’s overcast, but no rain in the forecast.
Nothing like clay mud. 🙂
The Master Gardeners, were here, this morning. I was telling them about your video The soil one. Several use some coffee grounds, so I told them about the lime, blood/bone meal additions.
One of them got stung. An in ground yellow jacket nest. We had one and the same general vicinity, year before last. It’s well away from our usual Inmate gardens.
No one was picking the currents, so I picked a couple of pints, this morning. They’ve been washed, run through the salad spinner, and are drying in a colander. I’ll put them on a cookie sheet, with parchment paper, in the freezer. Then, bag. I’ll use them as a replacement for my dried cranberries, in breakfast. I’m about due to order in another 25 pounds, of dried cranberries. Stock is getting low. The currents were just about perfect. Ripe, but not soft. Came off the branches, with few stems. I might pick some more, tomorrow morning.
If things go according to plan, I might run up, this evening, to the store that has 25 pound bags of Bob’s Red Mill rolled oats. I’m running a bit low on those, too.
We bailed out of the Yardbirds building for a number of reasons. Half the time, the toilets were on the fritz. It was freezing, in winter. Down at the other end of the building, where the public rest rooms were, you could occasionally smell sewage. Yes, what becomes of all the small traders? It all boils down to real estate. You need a fair sized building. There are plenty of commercial spaces around, that are vacant. But someone has to step up and assume responsibility. For the entire venue. Some of the tenants in caravans, in the car park, had been there for 20 years. Many were disabled, or on small government pensions. Finding equally reasonable space rent is near impossible, in this area. Or, any area, for that matter. These days.
H seems to be getting the hang of the stairs. Sort of. She was up early this morning, but not too early. Still, she couldn’t seem to find her way up the stairs and went into her whining and woofing routine. I might have better luck, if I move the stairs from the foot of the bed, to the side.
Though I was never a player, and don’t care much for fantasy, I did watch the “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” film, last year. It was fun, and worth a bowl of popcorn.
I read a bit more of that book, about supply lines, last night. Both Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were concerned with supply lines. They were friends, and often discussed it. But, then shareholders pretty much took over companies and corporations. Only interested in dividends. Having large back inventories, was not something they were interested in putting money in. Basically, everyone skimps on investment and maintenance, and things get very fragile. When something like You Know What comes along, or even trade wars, ships stuck in canals, bridges collapsing, things unravel.
I also read some more of “The Way of the Hermit.” The first 75 pages or so, discuss his childhood, and then there’s a bit about when he traveled, alone or with a companion, in the wilds of north western Canada, Alaska, and the Yukon. There are tales of bears. 🙂 He’s back in Scotland, now, wandering about. Trying to find a place to settle. There’s a ripping ghost story … 🙂
For dinner last night, I took some of those volunteer potatoes, and cut them into bite sized pieces. Nuked them in slightly salted water, for 12 minutes. Drained, and threw several dollops of plane yogurt, on top. Along with some ground pepper, parsley and chives. It occurred to me later, that other than the yoghurt and pepper, everything had come out of the garden. Lew
Hello Chris
I liked the coffee grounds video and thought the length about right.
Here it is pouring with rain, my heating is on and I had to put the light on at 4.0pm which is completely nuts at this time of year.
Son’s goats came here yesterday and mascerated my Jerusalem artichoke plants. Even worse they ate my purple bean plants which had been doing particularly well. I have had a word with Son. Fortunately he can replace my beans has he has a few awaiting re-planting.
Inge
Hi Chris,
A quick pop in here. Life has been a bit crazy lately. Much to do with Marty. We had a tour of an assisted living facility which looks quite nice. He’s now on the waiting list. Then there was the 3 hour evaluation by the county senior services to try to get him some assistance before he moves which will most likely be some months.
We did host Cecily’s 50th birthday party last Saturday. It turned out very well but we also had Doug’s friend in from out of town for 5 days and Carla went into party planning overdrive which meant many details for the party.
We keep getting some pretty heavy storms and quite a bit of rain. The mosquitoes are quite bad. I was very glad I had purchased a net mosquito shirt which also covers the head and face when I visited the bluebird trail last week as mosquitoes were particularly bad and covered the shirt – not pleasant. There’s been significant flash flooding not far from us and we are expecting more storms tonight.
Tomorrow I go to Devil’s Lake in Wisconsin with my sister, Julie and Cecily for an overnight trip. Next week I go to California to visit my aunt who until recently lived in Chicago. My daughter, Carla, is going as well. I am not looking forward to the plane flight.
With all this going on it’s been a challenge to keep up with everything growing. I harvested the first cucumbers today and the beans aren’t far behind.
I hope to be able to check all your doings more closely once all these activities are over. I did want to mention that a bought myself a lounge chair so I could lay back and watch the stars. We do have some light pollution but the skies are pretty good. Looking forward to viewing the meteor showers – there a good one in August.
Your greens look great and in winter! I’m jealous.
Margaret
Chris;
We call them retainer rings here. Ornery things whatever you call them. Always seems hard to get just the right angle and access. My wrench has reversible springs, so can either spread exterior rings, or squeeze interior rings.
My chainsaw is the Stihl MS271 with the 18″ blade. Big enough for me, I am not clearing huge remainders of a sawlog jumble like you.
I am spoilt, as the repair shop nearby is pretty good, and I would have to go there to buy parts anyway.- There are some manufacturers starting to only sell parts through distributors/contractors. DIY repair will likely get trickier as they try to monetize as much as possible . It’s already very difficult for many auto repairs.
Have been busy mowing, weeding, and beating back the brush. We’re having a wet, warm spring and summer. Things have gone feral. I can’t imagine trying to bend a bit of rainforest land to my will.
Other locations have had fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, but we have dodged them all so far.
Garden is great, so that’s to the plus. This was our largest shelling peas harvest ever, and the tomato plants are climbing out of their cages.
Already harvested the garlic, it’s drying down in the barn loft.
Chris,
Sadly, there is no mass transit from Spokane into the Idaho towns. Connecting would make too much sense.
The rain poncho. Stories. There are many. It saved my bacon once when cross country skiing and the snow turned to rain. Kept me mostly dry and surprisingly warm. I’ve used it as an emergency tarp a few times also.
Wait, what? Chris is interested in proper land management?!? Is this something new? Have I missed something? 😉
Yes, the salmon reintroduction is a good thing, however…if the water is too warm, will any survive to spawn? Time will tell. Trout in the same streams are facing similar issues.
Thanks for the K’garui fire management article. Fascinating read. Good to see that some scientists are working with the traditionalists. Wish they’d start doing that with our forests. Oh my! This must be some of that land management stuff you’re interested in? (Okay, I’ll turn off my snark generator.)
Good job with the forest clean up. It is so good of you and the magpies to distract Dame Plum from the wombat poo to allow the parrots to get a natural high. It’s so good to see everybody working together. (Ooops, I guess my snark generator won’t turn off.)
I like those nice little short dog commands. “Oi!” works for you. “Hup !” has always worked for me. The dogs seem to instinctively know what I mean regardless of the situation.
The other morning, on a sudden a chickadee let loose with a sharp noise. “Alarm”, I thought to myself. Sure enough, all of the birds became quiet and still. A sharp shinned hawk flew through the yard about 6 meters above the ground. A few seconds after the hawk flew by, all bird activity started again. Remarkably, on our walk the next morning, I noticed some motion in one of the large linden trees, Twas the hawk just sort doing its morning stretches or something.
You are lucky. Sandra only groaned. The Princess would most likely have smacked me upside the head with something hard. I hope that doesn’t give Sandra any ideas.
That water droplet picture is really cool. I so enjoy looking at the trees when they look like that. And our wire fencing, too.
The king parrot is obvious in the picture. Then I noticed the crimson rosella in the upper right corner of the photo. The color gave it away.
We had a “cooler” day today. 35C. Back to the 38C range tomorrow and maybe 40C or higher by Saturday. There’s no clear idea when the 32C and higher heat will end. We might set a record for consecutive days above 32C and for the number of days in one summer at 38C or higher.
DJSpo
Hi Inge,
Thank you very much for the feedback on the video, and believe it or not, your words of advice in relation to the gentle art of writing from many long years ago were guiding me in the background. And the major word heard during the entire process was ‘concision’! I so instructed Sandra who does all the preparation and editing of the videos.
In another life you would have made an excellent drill Sergeant and always had the loyalty of those under your command. When working in the big end of town, I always knew the team reporting to me had my back. That sort of loyalty is earned, comes with a cost, and is never freely given.
Sorry to hear that summer has left the building. I agree, that does sound completely nuts. The climate is very weird of late, and not at all consistent. It’s quite hard for me to comprehend what is going on here right now with the Antarctic blast. Half an inch of rain fell today, and then some, and the outside temperature at almost 9pm is 46’F which is far warmer than I’d expect at this time of year. The snow forecast was aspirational at best.
Naughty goats end up as a tasty stew – this sort of wisdom may need to be communicated. 🙂 When we used to live in the inner suburbs of the big smoke, there was a nearby organic Indian restaurant, and the goat curry was seriously good.
The goats guts are clearly in fine condition. However, my gut feeling is that unless your growing season suddenly warms up, the replacement beans may not be all that productive. However, please bear in mind that the climate here in February and March flipped a switch and suddenly became hot and dry – all without prior notice. If those sorts of conditions eventuate for August and September, your bean crop will be fine, maybe.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Margaret,
🙂 Always a pleasure to have your company and get an update on the unfolding Marty situation.
What kind of wait list for the assisted living facility are we talking about here? Margaret, no joke, I would have wilted under a three hour evaluation from a bureaucrat.
Happy birthday to Cecily! 🙂 An auspicious age to reach if I may add. That’s probably too much social stuff, and my head is beginning to hurt. You need a medal, or something like that!
Is that mosquito shirt hot to wear? The bee suit does protect one from the ungentle insect stings, but far out you get hot wearing the suit. Swarms of mosquitoes is a thing when the awful combination of heat and humidity picks up. The only time we’ve ever encountered such a horror was one a single occasion way up in the far north east of this continent. Margaret, it was awful and what’s worse was that they went Sandra. Anti histamines are a wonderful medicine.
Hopefully your place dodges the worst of the storms? Fingers crossed.
What a fascinating place to visit. Hope you all enjoy the trip. There’s some of those types of lakes in the south west of this state, and often the are in volcanic craters. Quite salty water.
That’d be a three hour flight at a rough guess? I’m biased as I’m a nervous flyer at best, and so dodge such activities by inclination.It’s nice to take Carla along, and who knows, your aunt may be over west soaking up the sunshine? The home will be good I reckon given her daughter is nearby.
Yummo! Nothing finer than summer produce.
Oh yeah, what a good idea. Why not enjoy the stars in comfort? And when those meteor showers are good, they’re very good. We had one a few years ago and I was amazed at how fast the meteors shot through the sky.
🙂 We might not starve, but truthfully I’d get awful bored. And history has been unkind to those who rely on potatoes.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Steve,
Man, your comment is like total catnip for me! 🙂 How good are Stihl chainsaws? The MS271 is a worthy machine and they used to call that one the ‘wood boss’. Good name, huh? A higher engine output is always good with those machines, but most of the time it comes down to a sharp chain as well as a clean and well dressed bar.
I’d not heard of that name for circlips, but it makes a lot of sense. Your wrench being reversible is an outstanding idea. How have I missed one of these handy tools? Thanks so much for mentioning the wrench.
There’s a lot of mess out there to clean up. But it’s an excellent source of firewood. A lot of the timber is very dirty and so I always use the semi-chisel chain which can cope better than the full chisel chain. One does get tired of sharpening chains, which I did by hand file for a decade. Not sure how you feel about such matters, but after a decade the stripes were earned and a mains powered chain sharpener machine was purchased. Sure it takes off more metal than a hand file, but the downwards and sidewards cutting angles are perfect every time and adjustable. I still use the hand files, but it’s nice to be able to use a sharp grinding disc.
Lucky you, and such local places are a virtual gold mine of assistance and err, parts and consumables… I’m getting all of the generic parts online nowadays, and having to navigate that unusual world. But specific parts have to be ordered through a dealer, yup. And um I tell ya what, without such a business, you become doubly careful to treat the machines with care, lest you break components.
The right to repair is a challenging matter, and I’ve noticed that chainsaws are now being sold with electronic fuel injection. Hmm.
Hehe! We’re almost, but not quite rainforest. Just a little tip either way with the climate could produce all manner of outcomes. Do you get blackberry thickets?
Fingers crossed you continue to dodge the more severe weather.
Yummo for fresh sun ripened summer produce. 🙂
Garlic is a good keeper, and the old timers used to say about down here – plant on the shortest day, and harvest on the longest day. You’re not far off that harvest date at all, although I can’t recall when you planted out the cloves.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
What? No buses run the route? I guess crossing state lines would present some problems for the owners of the service.
Oh my, well I didn’t expect that you’d use the poncho as an emergency tarp, but top thinking! And presumably this was in an urban environment and not out in the wilds? When I was a kid in cadets at the more English than the English grammar school, they’d send us out on bivouac, and we never had tents, just these heavy duty ground sheets we’d link together to make larger shelters. I’d hate to think what would have happened had we be subjected to heavy rainfall.
You betcha I’m interested in that subject! 🙂 Although I can only speak for myself here, and as you quite rightly sort of note and hint at, western culture is completely and utterly misguided in this regard. Thus the snark?
I’ve never had the opportunity or pleasure to experience to observe and attend an indigenous cultural burn, but I’d like to. In the meantime, there are books. Seems like folks from down under have made connections with folks in your part of the world on this subject. I often wonder if some of the plant diseases which devastated some of your original forests, like say the American chestnut, could have been lessened through cultural burning. The clean up process also attends to some of the nastier elements in the soil, like soil diseases.
Speaking of books, I’ve begun reading your book recommendation of “There, There”. It’s confronting, but I’m also enjoying being in that world. Tommy Orange can recount an engrossing tale. Respect. As an over educated working class guy, the narrative is unsurprising mostly because such things happen. Hope you understand? One good turn deserves another, and if you are more interested in the land down here, I’d recommend the book: Fire Country by the indigenous author, Victor Steffensen. His words and vision were in my head when replying to you about the decline of the berries on the rez.
Dude, even in really hot and dry country down under, trees traditionally used to line waterways. It’s only when the trees are removed, for whatever reason, that the shade is reduced and the water heats up. That’s commonly understood to be the issue with trout down here.
A fine snark too! 🙂
Yeah, ‘hup’ would equally work with the dogs here. It’s more the sound and projection of the command don’t you reckon?
That’s proper hawk boss energy. The bird is displaying to your good self, Dame Avalanche and all the lesser birds in the area, just who the boss really is.
Hehe! I’d be very unhappy if Sandra tried that technique on me and rest assured I’m not providing such ideas. 🙂 She’s probably got a strong right hook, and hey, I need to protect what brain cells there are! Imagine the rubbish I’d write if I lost some. I’d end up saying things like: Solar power is good as a technology, but it doesn’t scale to power an industrial civilisation. Then everyone would get upset with me… Do we really want this?
Thanks! Yeah, I liked the water droplet photo, and recall an image of ice on your fence.
The crimson rosella’s are a very colourful bird. They also travel in groups, so there’s a family of about six of them living here all year around. The King parrots are somewhat larger, but lesser in numbers.
Oh my! DJ, I really hope you don’t break that weather record. Are the nights cooling down much? It’s warm here tonight at 8’C. That never happens, except it is.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
So, the cheeky scamps knew what they were doing with education. Makes sense, until there’s no factory work. Then what does education mean? The Editor and I were discussing this issue and the lack of training in critical thinking skills. I may have cheekily mentioned that it was a feature of the system, not a problem to be resolved. Anyway, maybe it’s my experience with factories, but they’re not easily replaced. I’ve always believed that they’re better maintained on the just-in-case principle. In the past couple of months, the last polyethylene plant was closed down, as was the second last nickel smelter. Yay for us, we’re meant to be the clever country, except it doesn’t look all that smart to me. Oh well… Both are very useful materials.
Out of curiosity, does the Club ever discuss such matters about how a person ended up down the hole? Or is that an issue to discuss with one’s sponsor?
Now I’m really scared. 🙂 Please spare us all the ‘fish eye’, and in Europe the ‘stink eye’ also is done in combination with certain hand gestures. Best to not be on the receiving end of one of those either! The role of Mr Spock seems to be a constant in that fictional universe, so there could be a job there? I hear such roles pay well. My best facial expression is ‘blank distracted professor overdrive’. It’s effective to combat folks who are in a high state of emotion and for all sorts of reasons are restrained from violent deeds. In my line of work it’s occasionally useful. You’d be surprised how upset people can get when it comes to the subject of mad cash.
Haha! That’s funny, and you might be right. I’m thinking they’re more like Cheech and Chong. 🙂
If you exclude the 92’F, your weather sounds very pleasant. Stop it. 🙂 It’s winter here, and that evening would translate to shorts and t-shirt weather! Although 57’F is on the cooler side of things. Such temperatures makes for a better nights sleep.
Clay mud is slippery stuff. We’re spreading the saw dust around a bit so as to dry the clay out a bit. Mind you over half an inch of rain fell last night.
Good stuff, and I appreciate you mentioning the coffee grounds video to them. A little bit of coffee grounds will do good, but too much can throw the soil mineral balance way out of whack. Let’s just say that I’ve done the tests there! 😉
Did the sting site swell up? I’m not a fan of those insects and still have to remove the particular willow they were feasting upon (they were actually eating the sugar filled aphids on the leaves).
That’s a fine plan to harvest the unpicked currants. And black currants taste pretty similar to cranberries. Not the same, but a close substitution. Yeah, the stems are a bit of a pain. Probably why the berries weren’t picked?
Did you managed to nab the bag of oats? Dude, I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s been something of a comedown to have to go back to steel cut oats after enjoying years of stone ground organic oats. The Editor contacted the stone ground company the other day, and candidly the response was not good. They offered to do a one-off supply for us, and then nothing. I may have made a remark about hanging on too tightly. Time to let that one go me thinks.
People have been known to make other arrangements when the public toilets are on the fritz. Hmm. One cannot hang on indefinitely. They had similar troubles in London during you-know-what. I’m of the opinion that 1 public toilet per 11,000 people is well below average. And I agree, getting into a large commercial real estate agreement is no small thing to take on board lightly, unless you have no assets and no chance of income, but then you wouldn’t get the lease. That’s one cruel and sad story about the folks being moved on. Where can they go? Property down here is even crazier, if you can believe it. Overall the situation is analogous because medical stuff is usually affordable.
Did you run the experiment with H by moving the stairs? Dogs can take a while before things get locked in.
I played a few digital versions of the game, and thanks for the film review. I was wondering if it needs to go on the to-watch list.
Oh my! That’s it exactly with the supply line issues. And yup, the longer term focus has been lost from the wider community as well. If you asked someone the question: What are we striving to achieve in this society? I reckon they’d have a hard time answering it. Heck I would too, but at least I’ve comprehended that the forces haven’t made much sense since the mid 1990’s. The goobermint simply reflects the population. If you really want to alienate people and make enemies, ask them how much of this stuff is sustainable?
Ooooo! Lewis, I’m hooked. You know my book weaknesses. 🙂 Well done. No spoilers. How did he just wander out into the wilds up there? Surely he’d have to have dodged the goobermint folks? Even my grandfather and his WWII drinking buddies had to dodge the goobermints. Oh there was some wild talk from that lot!
What a fine meal, and isn’t it an excellent achievement. Top work. 🙂
Worked late tonight doing paid work, but had an otherwise enjoyable day. A tasty muffin was consumed. Always good.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I read a bit more in the supply line book, last night. Interesting about how this all came about. It started with Toyota, as far as the “just in time” stuff went. But they weren’t as over-the-top as present day. Interesting, they came to America, and studied the Ford plants, and … our supermarkets. Say, with milk, how do you hit the sweet spot between having enough on hand, for your customers, but not so much that you’re dumping spoiled milk? But people took the concept and ran with it. To extremes.
Then came the business consulting firms. Mainly, an outfit called “McKinsey.” “Lean” became the battle cry. Company employment offices became “Human Resources.” A lot of their fees were determined by how much they could reduce costs, but add to the bottom line. The bottomline being dividends paid to shareholders, and lush salaries and bonuses for the C suite.
There were warnings, that the supply line was pretty tenuous. Back in 1999, a huge earthquake in Taiwan, wiped out one of the leading computer chip companies. Whole industries ground to a halt. Then there was the Japanese earthquake. A plant that made 1/5 of the world’s silicon wafers, shut down. Again, whole industries were effected. Books and articles were written, about the lack of resilience in the supply line systems. Did anyone pay attention? Of course not. A lot of those books and articles spent whole chapters predicting a pandemic posed special risks. Well, we know how that turned out.
There’s also quit a bit on how The Land of Stuff, became the factory floor of the world.
I’m having my own little go-around, with supply lines. 🙂 I was running low, on my floss pics, for my teeth. So, I ordered some through e-Buy. They didn’t show up, so I started looking into the tracking. Turns out, they were sourced from an outfit in …. Houston, Texas. I don’t know if it’s made the news, down there, but Houston was hit with a hurricane, and flooding. Millions of people are still without power. But, it looks like my small shipment is finally in the postal pipeline, and should arrive Saturday. In the meantime, I ran out, and had to buy a pack, at a local retail outlet. Cost me two or three times what I paid, on-line.
Usually hear origin stories, of addiction, in first step meetings. “What it was like, what happened, what it’s like now.” The durg-a-drunk-alogue. 🙂 It’s an identification thing. Hopefully, a new comer will hear their own story, or part of their story. Know they’re not alone, or, particularly unique. It’s easy to … wallow in the whys. A sponsor can keep a person on-track, as far as … making progress? There’s a lot of “closing the door on the past.” How we got from saw pits, to recovery, I’ll never know. 🙂
I feel kind of bad, telling my Idaho friends, what the weather is like, over here. But they keep asking 🙂 . It was 79F, yesterday. Overnight lows were in the mid 50sF. Today’s forecast is for 92F. Probably, because we’re not going to get quit as much ocean breeze, as of late.
The person who was stung was our Master Gardener, who is a woman from Scotland. She’s pretty no nonsense, and wasn’t making a big deal out of it. Don’t know if it swelled, or not. I talked to her a bit, about “The Way of the Hermit,” and the sting didn’t seem to phase her.
Our currents are the red ones. Look like little rubies. Who knows why our communal areas are rather under utilized? Laziness? I finally got around to covering our communal strawberry bed, with bird netting, last night. They’re ever bearing, and there are plenty of green one’s on the plants.
Yes, I picked up the 25 pounds of Bob’s Red Mill, old fashioned rolled oats. It worked out to $1.69 (and a few decimal points), a pound. Not bad. I’ll bag it up, in gallon bags, put it in the freezer, for a few days (just to make sure there are no critters, in there), and then put the bags in airtight food grade plastic buckets.
I think H has finally got it! With my encouragement, she has been going up the stairs. Yesterday, when I went shopping, when I came home, there she was on the bed. Had did that all on her own. Last night, she got up twice, and used the steps, coming back. Woke me up, but at least I didn’t have to get out of bed. I’ll give it a week, and then move the steps, to the foot of the bed. More convenient than the side. I hope that won’t throw her.
Well, 50 years ago, I’d say crossing borders was a lot easier. Only once, did our hermit have to dodge the border patrol, by taking a long hike. But that was only because he’d overstayed his visa.
He’s found the place where, on a loch, that he wants to build his cabin. but it turns out it’s on one of the largest estates, in Scotland. No, not that one 🙂 . So, he has to go to the laird, hat in hand, and ask permission.
As far as the cabin building goes, I was pleasantly surprised he took his inspiration, from Proenneke’s “One Man’s Wilderness.” He was an older duffer, who retreated to the wilds of Alaska. There’s a couple of interesting books, and a couple of documentaries.
I was looking through my library hold list, and awhile back, had put a DVD on hold. “Arcadia.” Just because it’s sci-fi. What I didn’t notice, at the time, is that it stars Nick Cage. It ought to show up, fairly soon.
Saw an article last night, about the climate, that you might find interesting.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/12/opinions/climate-crisis-change-extreme-weather-infrastructure
Lew
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to assure all of you that Mike and I did not wash away in this morning’s very heavy rain. We received about 3.9 inches of rain today between about 5am and early afternoon! Since the soils were nearly saturated from previous rain, there was considerable flash flooding in low-lying areas, even closing some of the interstates. Mike and I are too high to flood, so we very sensibly remained indoors until the rain stopped.
After very little rain in June, the big faucet in the sky opened earlier this month. At our house, so far in July I have measured a total of 10.2 inches of rain!!! Of course, this is the US Midwest, where extremes are a common occurrence.
@ Margaret – did the derecho Monday night affect you? Hope all is well there.
Claire
Hi Claire,
Glad to hear that yourself, Mike, the house and garden all survived the dreaded very heavy rain. Almost four inches of rain is a lot to cope with in only a few hours. Possibly a good way to test all of the drainage systems? 🙂 Hopefully the sun shines soon and dries the upper layers of soil. How did that big river near to you cope with the heavy rainfall? There are benefits to living on higher ground.
Droughts and heat waves are bad, but there are times I feel that heavy rainfall is more consistently damaging. And with extra energy in the atmosphere, more moisture is held way up above the land. Looking at the 28 day forecast (which is not always accurate), there is some rain forecast for each day. Where the vegetation is not well established, it’s like a sludge pit out there right now.
Oh my! 10 inches of rain is a lot for a bit over two weeks. The upside is that perhaps you won’t have to water the garden beds for a while. 🙂 Hope the plants are coping OK with the deluge?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Yes, I’d recall the just in time movement beginning in that general area of the world. It is worth noting that they also deployed a model of continuous improvement. Both were notable achievements and really elevated their products. It’s always interesting to look at which vehicle brands are ranked as the most reliable.
I’ve read that one particular rocket company in the US has an accountability program where engineers, designers, and components folks all sign off against every part. Such scrutiny probably focuses the mind wonderfully.
That’s a really interesting point about finding the sweet spot between over and under supply. It’s part of the difficulty with accommodating the needs of the leaf change tourists up this way. A business has to have enough staff to cope with peak demand, and then try and balance that against making an excess of mad cash once the tourists have gone. I’m observing efforts of the local general store to woo back the locals, given the three months of tourists have returned to where ever it was they came from. Who was it that said: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Why would anyone want to do that? It is possible some of the locals feel that way now, and I over hear loose wild talk from time to time.
It is very possible that such changes brought in a very short term way of thinking which may not be all that appropriate for the longer term survival of such behemoths. My general understanding of decline is that in a contracting sphere of real wealth, one persons gain, is another’s loss. Maths is not my thing, but comprehension of the concept of diminishing returns, does not require a grasp of abstruse equations.
I recall both environmental events which took down complex electronic manufacturers. And err, we had to source a replacement vehicle during the health subject which dare not be named. Dude, they had us over a barrel, and whilst the mechanicals of the car appear to be solid, the radio was one of those devices which were hard to obtain in those days. So the manufacturer appears to have chucked in some rubbish device which is not great. Still mustn’t grumble because obtaining the replacement vehicle was the overall goal.
Did the book mention that how once you offshore manufacturing of err, stuff, you become beholden to that country? The weather news did not mention serious storms and power issues in Texas. Such an innocuous name, Beryl. Doesn’t sound like the sort of name which will cause lots of dramas. And yes, that is generally the problem with supply lines when ‘rationing by price’ becomes the norm. You can get a replacement car, or floss sticks, but it’s gonna cost ya.
The Editor went into the big smoke this evening to see the Banksy exhibition with friends, which strangely was held in a pop up shop in a shopping mall. A very unusual and interesting choice, but empty shops are notably desperate for any rental income. Quite a lot of social commentary in the exhibition, but that’s a good thing. The behemoth could stand some poking. 🙂
Yes, a very solid point there, and who does know the journey from saw pit to recovery, other than those who’ve traversed the winding ways. I’d not been aware that people initially recount their stories. There’s healing to be found in honest stories.
Oh no! Your Idaho friends are perhaps suckers for punishment? It rained here again today, and may in fact be doing so right now. 🙂 I don’t care though, the warmer weather will arrive sooner or later. You’ll know when they break, when the talk begins to steer itself in the direction of a move heading westerly. Your weather does sound rather ideal. We’ve got rain forecast for every day for the next 28 days. Nothing unusual about that at this time of year, but I might have to spend some time working out what the heck we can do outdoors.
Very good to hear, and always good to see acts of stoicism on display. Had the master gardener been to that area of Scotland?
Ah, the red currants. Right. To be honest I can’t taste any discernible difference between red and black currants. They’re both good. We grow both here, and the black currants seem to be the so ever slightlier hardy plants. Hope the netting over the strawberries works and those green berries turn into tasty full red ripe ones. Yum! But too hard for me…
Hope you are sitting down, because we pay about $2.50 a pound for the rolled oats. Cost of living pressure is real. That’s a good idea with using the freezer to kill of any insects eggs. What a mess it is to discover that weevils have infested the grain / flour. Not a pretty sight. Nope.
I’m in charge of the rawhide chew distribution this evening, and I feel that the dogs have taken advantage of my distracted nature. With the editor off gallivanting around the big smoke at exhibitions I’ve been keeping the home fires burning, literally. Plus I worked late. So I gave the dogs three chews and can now only find one. Ordinarily the dogs have a limited time with the chews… Oh well, can’t do everything!
Go H! The dog is clever to have learned the usage of the stairs. Lewis, candidly I was wondering the same question. Ook! H will be fine, maybe. They say when moving a bee hive, it’s best to perform the relocation process slowly over time. Ah, you two will work it out, you’ve gotten this far in the process.
I reckon you’re right about the border crossings in those days. Things would have been looser. It’s a long border, and not every location would be monitored.
Hmm, an interesting problem there that the hermit had. He’d be facing eviction for sure if he’d not taken that path. Seems like the family who own that big a tract of land have some ideas. It’s been remarked upon before that the Vikings had long eyed off that part of the world. It’s a good looking log cabin, and I’ll check out a video of the older duffer who set off on that journey in Alaska. He’d probably think we live in total luxury here! 🙂 I tend to believe such comparisons are a relative concept.
Arcadian looks like a good film. Is it technically a zombie flick? It was hard to discern from the trailer what was in store, but you knew it wouldn’t be good. I saw a poster for that film yesterday.
I enjoyed the article, but the renewables will save us element kind of lost me a bit. Sorry. Maybe it is because I had to run the generator again today. Oh well…
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis cont…
Watched One Man’s Alaska (2024) – Dick Proenneke In His Own Voice Living Alone In a Wilderness Log Cabin.
Thanks for mentioning the bloke. Sometimes a dude just needs some time-out and quiet. I get that.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I’m quit liking the book on supply lines. Learning a lot. It’s well written. Very readable. The bit I read last night, was about the rise of container shipping, and the building of container ports.
Yes, the rise of The Land of Stuff, as the shop floor of the world, was more or less a political move. As soon as they could join the WTO (World Trade Organization), it just opened the whole thing up. There was money, lots of money, to be made.
The author mentioned that the wealthiest family, in the world, is the one that owns The Store of Walls. The bunch that write a lot about the fall of civilizations, seem to think that wealth inequality has a lot to do with it. It doesn’t end well.
My floss pics have made it as far as Olympia, just north of here. I figure I might have them delivered, tomorrow.
Lucky Editor! That sounds like a fascinating exhibit. Pop up venues, seem to be the thing, these days. At least here. Especially on toward the holidays. Lots of eating places, also use that mode of operation.
There was more in our newspaper, yesterday, about possible plans for Yardbirds. “At this time, it’s thought that the initial repairs may take two years. During that time is when we will look for the right use for the building,” LeMay said. “Some suggestions have been car related activities, parking, storage, auction, dealerships, modular homes, theater, drive-in, community center and warehousing.” They also said they had no plans to tear it down, but would start by cleaning and repairs.
Oh, I figured your segue was one of Chris’s patented non sequiturs. I figure you have a Royal Warrant of Appointment 🙂
I read some more of the hermit book, last night. He mentioned that there’s probably nothing around his place, that he hasn’t tried to make wine out of. Nettles? Really? The bread he makes is Bannock.
https://w.wiki/AgmA
The Lord and Lady of the Manor, have really treated him quit decently, over the years. He became one of their ghillies, for about 15 years. Mostly, summers. It was kind of part of the deal, to live and build on their land.
There are hair raising stories, of some of the storms, he’s ridden out. One drove him right out of his cabin, to shelter under a fallen tree. Another was so bad, (trees crashing down, left and right) it drove him right out of his patch of forest, and found him clinging to the rails of a nearby rail line. Snowstorms that last for days. He didn’t say much about it, but seems to feel the climate is changing, and getting more unpredictable.
And then there’s the creatures and critters. He much prefers winter, as in summer, he’s bedeviled by midges, horseflies, deer flies and ticks. A crow with a broken wing, that he befriended. Pine Martins that can be a real nuisance. Though they have their uses, to keep rodents and rabbits, in check. Looks like the next chapter will be about his gardens. That ought to be interesting.
Last night I buried some more kitchen scraps, and put in just a couple of hills of corn, and a couple of hills of yellow zucchini. I think I’m too late, for the corn, but, they’ll be something for “decor”, around the porch, at the Institution. I’m pretty sure the zucchini will be fine. I planted it about this time, last year, and got a fine crop. And it’s the right phase of the moon 🙂 I’m spraying the bug stuff, around the hills, so the pill bugs might not get the seedlings. I’m also going to deploy more potato traps. I’m going out, nightly, to hunt for slugs and bugs. Not too many pill bugs (though it doesn’t take many to do real damage), or slugs, either. The occasional earwig.
90F (32.22C), yesterday, with not much wind, so it felt really warm. Overnight temps were in the low 60s. Forecast for today is 84F (28.88C). This morning, it’s overcast with a bite in the wind. Lew
Hi, Chris!
Poor Dame Plum; she is doing it hard. It is too bad that your fungi keeps growing all winter as you never have a chance to be sure that fungi is the problem, even with watching her so constantly.
I did watch some of your chainsaw video. It is very generous of you to make one about a problem that no-one else has made a video of. I know where to go if my son ever runs into the issue of: How to repair the chainsaw clutch when the drum has seized!
Two heads are betterer than one . . .
Well, Halleluja! – there is the sun!
Hey – I didn’t know that you could eat kiwi skin. Thanks!
I much enjoyed the coffee grounds video. And there is that Dame Plum always sticking her head in.
It was 100F (37.8C) Monday and 101F (38.3C) yesterday. Just supposed to be in the 90s today and we have still only had one good rain since the end of May.
I have been cooking up passata the last two days as the tomatoes are coming in pretty well and the mosquito netting has mostly kept the squirrels off. What worries me is that they are not blooming anymore and I think that they stop doing so when the temperature gets over a certain point? It has definitely gotten over a certain point.
Do you ever grow sweet potatoes/yams? It is one of my favorite vegetables, though we don’t get a whole lot of big ones growing them in our garden. I grow a separate bed of sweet potatoes just for the leaves. I eat them raw and cooked.
My mother is out of quarantine – everyone in the whole place had to stay in their rooms for 10 days. I knew she would give them what-for once she felt better, and she kept popping out with her walker and they had a bit of a chore to send her back each time. 🙂
Pam
@ Claire:
I’m so glad y’all are okay! What I wouldn’t give for some of that rain – but not all of it!
Pam
Hello Chris
I thought that ‘One man’s Alaska’ was absolutely wonderful.
The rats have taken more than half my potatoes.
The sun is shining, wow!
Inge
Hi Inge,
Glad to read that you enjoyed the short film. The footage of the wildlife was impressive. Don’t you think that it is interesting that some folks can face adversity (the early industrial accident to his eyes), then head off into wilds and thrive?
I can’t imagine living anywhere else now.
Aren’t those rats naughty? They’re not like an iconic Banksy art rat providing solid social commentary (the Editor went to the artists exhibition last evening)! Nope yours (and the ones here for that matter) are up to mischief. Always was it thus. Is your son also having difficulties with the rodents, and has the subject become a general topic of discussion on the island? Just curious to see whether other people have noticed the increase in rodent numbers.
At least you still have half of the potato harvest left.
Yay for sunshine for you! 🙂 And about time too. If your recent summer weather were an employee, I’d sack them. Perhaps this is too harsh a view, but the cold and wet summers quite trouble me because they are very difficult to navigate. Not impossible, just very difficult. Hmm.
It only rained a tiny little bit today, so we were able to head outdoors and continue the clean up work.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
Sadly I have to fess up to an act of Dame Plum foolery late this afternoon. So, you may have noticed we’ve pulled out all stops and done a huge clean up of the loggers mess? The wombats were consuming the mushrooms which grew there, and Dame Plum is an idiot who may be stripped of her title. Patting myself on the back for a solid clean up job, and feeling more confident, I took Dame Plum into the area and she was out of my sight for less than twenty seconds as she slipped behind a log.
Pam, it was enough time. She had a seizure. It is so consistent, and then I brought her back to the house and fed her a lot of activated charcoal with her food to hopefully soak up at least some of the toxins, and can only hope that it was enough. We’ll see. Regardless as to how it turns out, there will not be another time for her in that area without a lead.
Thanks! The chainsaw video will be a slow burner.
So true, and you can’t know everything. A second brain often sees things you yourself might miss. I’m sure you’ll know this feeling, but in the past I’ve been accused of taking a ‘Chris look’, although I have no idea what that actually means.
Oh yeah, my New Zealand friend was horrified to learn that we originally used to peel the skins of those fruits. Apparently the skins are quite good for your health.
Rest assured that Dame Plum can stick her head in places where it don’t belong, and is on the couch right now behind me looking mildly bashful. The best thing she can do is sleep it off. She just enjoyed a nice scritch on the top of her head. Dogs huh? 🙂
Yikes! Hopefully it rains soon in your part of the world, and that the weather cools somewhat.
Things are otherwise here right now, but subject to change at short notice and without warning. A storm is due to hit here tomorrow.
And that’s the great thing about a goodly run of hot weather, the tomatoes do well. Respect! I love home made passata, yum! That’s the general consensus about tomatoes in that they fail to produce flowers and new fruits after a certain temperature is reached. Fussy plants, which probably need some local breeding in order to adapt to local conditions.
You may be surprised to know, but I’ve never consumed sweet potatoes. A friend of mine living in a warmer area than here, has them growing in his garden reliably year after year. How do you prefer to cook them?
Hehe! Well done to your mother, and sometimes a person needs to dish up the ‘what for’! Hope things return to normal there.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Yeah, shipping containers are like a standardised form of cargo from factory or distribution centre to truck to ship. There’s some great utoob footage of them falling off the sides of ships in huge ocean swells. They’re not all insured either…
Was it a political move? I’d not realised that. That land of stuff is also a very complicated area to do business in for foreign companies, or at least that’s what I’ve read. A lot of mad cash has been made, but plenty has been lost there as well.
🙂 Is the bunch you speak of ‘the Clublets of the latter day Romans’ (sic), whom talk of wealth inequality and falls of Empires? Your continuing classical education over the years has suggested to me that such behemoths fall for 99 reasons, and rarely for the silver bullet. Although that mineral is a very useful industrial material. But on the other hand, wealth inequality has reached alarming levels. History has much to teach us, and I’d have to suggest that when super yachts become a thing, then we may well be in a replay of the 1920’s – and we all know how that played out.
Have you ever had stuff lost in transit? That’s happened a few times over the years, but still it’s rare. It amazes me that the delivery systems are as good as they are. Did the floss picks turn up? The Editor likes those things too. I’m a bit old school and use the basic floss, although a friend tells me they’re covered in dodgy chemicals.
The exhibit received a very good review, and the Editor was impressed. The dinner afterwards was a bit err, weird. Some sort of boiled seafood place and the Editors meal came out in a bowl, but at a nearby table the food was served from a plastic bag – presumably a poaching bag? Anywhoo, it got stranger. The contents of the bag were dumped onto the paper lined table and the people ate with gloves. So much waste… But the description of that arrangement kind of gave me this uncomfortable feeling in my guts. I’d never heard of such a thing. And apparently there was a lot of conspicuous consumption going on with over ordering. Hmm.
A pop up is a good way to test the market without subjecting your house to the risk of a three to five years of lease payments, which you can’t get out of.
Oh, well that’s a surprise for the site. Hard to know what plans are in store for the Yard birds site until they’re implemented. Talk is cheap, in that regard.
And yes, well, you know what, non sequitur’s are a thing here. It happens and sometimes the brain jumps around a bit to different topics. There’s a lot going on. 🙂 Hey, Dame Plum had another seizure this evening. Totally my fault, I trusted her for a few moments. Maybe it was twenty seconds max. She ducked behind a log and proved herself to be a complete recidivist. The rain was early this morning, so today was part cloudy, and we headed down and continued the forest clean up job. Anyway, at the end of the work day we took Dame Plum into the Bermushroom Triangle, and yup, a total complete and massive error of judgement. I thought we’d done enough there, but no, apparently not. She’s sleeping it off now, but I fed her a lot of activated charcoal which may help soak up some of the toxins, or create a really massive vomit mess. Fingers crossed. And never again. She’s blown it.
I’ve consumed the Selkirk style Bannock, and it’s very good. We have a similar sort of tradition down here: Damper, but there are also Bush Bread. The Indigenous folks grew a lot of millet and other varieties of grain seeds, and also knew how to detoxify certain plants.
Thanks for mentioning the job of the ghillie. It would have been quite an important role, although carrying a clan chief over a watercourse could be a problematic activity. Imagine if you dropped the chief into the drink? Things would go badly from there. Those roles are still active today. What a description of the ferocity of the storms in that part of the world. You wouldn’t leave your cabin lightly during such a storm. The climate is mostly unpredictable here. And there seems to be a lot of rain in the forecast, and it looks to warm to me for snow at this elevation.
The Alaskan bloke mentioned the biting insect issues as well. Interestingly I follow the adventures of a bloke living in a cabin he made himself in Michigan, and he mentions the biting and stinging insects too. He’s quite amusing. It’s on utoob and his channel is called ‘Surviving Ringworm’, as you do. 🙂 A funny name for the disease because it is a fungi, and not a worm I believe. Anyhoo, it’s an interesting topic anyway, and moving here I now breathe through my nose for the vast majority of the time. Probably a good idea to do that anyway even when sleeping, but early on you suck a few insects back and that is a very unpleasant feeling. The horseflies, or deer flies, or whatever you want to call them are part of the experience. Is that a proper non sequitur? 🙂
I’ll be interested to hear about the hermit’s garden. The growing season that far north would be short and sharp I’d imagine? Dunno.
Sorry to say, but I agree with your guess there in relation to the corn. However, they grow fast, so you never know. Zucchini’s are related to Triffids, this is known. 😉 They never seem to stop that group of produce munching critters.
How’s the weather in Idaho at your friends place? Today reached a maximum temperature of 41’F, brr!
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – All this talk of rats! 🙂 Of course, rats, and other rodents, are reservoirs for plague. There are some theories, that particularly wet years, in the Steppes, caused a rodent population explosion, that set off the Black Death. And probably a lot of other historic plagues.
There was a recent case of plague, down in Colorado (along with a few more bird flu cases.) Of course, these days, caught early and treated with antibiotics, plague isn’t quit so lethal. Doctor’s are generally on the look out, for it.
During You Know What, containers, in some ports, were in short supply. And, piling up in other ports. Getting space on ships was a problem. Especially, if you weren’t one of the big players. They got precedence, as they’d pay whatever the rate was. Which was raising by hundreds of percent, day by day.
Usually, farmers here, would send produce back, in the empty containers, once they had been offloaded from Asia. Almonds, were used as an example. But, the shippers weren’t willing to wait an extra day or two, to load produce. Many containers returned to Asia carrying … air.
Every once in awhile, a container floats up on the Washington or Oregon coast. I think it’s pretty much salvage. I remember reading stories about containers full of running shoes … and one that was full of motorcycles.
Judging from the book, it’s a bit easier navigating doing business in the Land of Stuff, and other places. Usually, there are now bilingual middlemen, who can expedite business. Same with shipping. A few of them are expats. Are they part of the Lenocracy? I think, yes and no. They do provide some service and value. It’s been too long to remember all the details, but when I was brining in 40′ containers of tat, from Britain, I had a shipping agent, in New York. Who shepherded my container, from Britain, all the way to my front yard. Negotiated all the customs stuff, and who knows what else. Making sure all the “i’s” were dotted and the “t’s” were crossed. So the container didn’t get hung up somewhere, due to some strayed piece of paperwork.
Oh, I was thinking of Tainter, et all. And the guy who wrote “After 1177 B.C.” Sure, there are all kinds of reasons, civilizations fall, but wealth inequality, and a feeling that the ruling class has fallen out of touch with the common folk, is usually mentioned.
Here, during and after our “Gilded Age,” people became aware of how filthy rich, some people were. Blame the rise of cheap media, in a lot of forms. So, then you get a reaction, from the folk. Pressure applied so presidents like Teddy Roosevelt do a lot of monopoly busting, with the support of the folk. Social and civic programs gain a foothold, so the folk don’t get too restive. FDR got a lot of his Depression programs, off the ground, though there was a lot of complaining, from the well healed. But they were worried that there might be some kind of revolution, in this country, that would bring them down.
During Queen Victoria’s time, the folk got a lot more benefits and rights. Mostly, because the French Revolution was still fresh in the minds of the ruling class.
I’ve never had anything lost in transit, that I can remember. Or, anything I’ve shipped, either. Of course, tracking can be arranged, these days, which make it harder for crims. Or people who just claim they never received a shipment. There are more lucrative and less dangerous ways for them to commit crimes, these days.
I have to use two kinds of floss. I use the pics (after every meal!) and also a pre-cut string thing, with a bit of nylon filament, on the end, to get under the bit of bridgework, I have.
It sounds like The Editor, had a good time. The restaurant, however, sounds a bit gimmicky. I’ve never felt comfortable with some of those places, that have big tables, and you sit down with strangers. Never been to one, but have heard of them. “Family style” is fine, as long as you’re sitting, with family or friends.
Poor (and naughty) Dame Plume. Bermushroom Triangle is a hoot! Well, those shrooms must be tasty, going down. The way she makes a bee-line for them.
It’s amazing how many different kinds of food, made from many different kinds of things, made in many different ways, pass for bread. As a species, we do like our starches! 🙂 And all the other nutrients (such as protein) that go along with it.
The Scottish hermit mentioned the traditional roll, of grille, and the carrying of the lord, over the water. These days, he’s more of a hunting guide. And also, I think, a conduit of information, to the Lord, as to what’s going on, on his land.
Ah, the Hermit in the garden. He has a chapter titled “Brown Gold and Wild Brews.” Not to bore you, as I know you’re not very interested, but it talks a bit about soil. 🙂 To quote:
“There’s a lot said and a lot written about all the things you can grow in a garden but not enough said about the essential element that sustains all that life. The brown gold. The muck Your soil needs just as much care and attention as what you grow in it if not more so.”
There’s hardly anything that he hasn’t tried making wine from. Though he admits, that some of his friends kindly say that some of his brews are “an acquired taste.” 🙂
I didn’t do much in my garden, last night, except water. Need to do a few things, this evening. 81F, yesterday. Overnight lows were in the mid to low 50s. Today’s forecast is for 83F. We’re still getting a nice breeze. Lew
Chris,
Sleeping under tarps works okay. Problem is, no netting. Mosquitos and other bugs can infiltrate and make your life more than miserable. I know the U S Army had small tarps, called “shelter halves”. Two of them could lash together to make a water proofish shelter for two. In fact, I just saw some for sale at the local military surplus store. I never used them. Dad did in Holland and Germany in World War 2.
When I assisted teaching teenagers basic survival skills, they all had to build shelters for 2 out of all natural materials, then spend a night in the shelters. If it rained, we found out quickly who had built good shelters and who hadn’t. I’ve built and slept in these. There IS a definite skill required to build one. Having it waterproof is an art form.
Thanks for the update on “There, There”. It does get you out of your comfort zone, for sure. His writing style does reach out and grab you. Thanks for the book suggestion.
I’ve seen parts of the lower Yakima River that still has trees lining the banks. You may be on to something – let some native trees grow along the edges, provide some shade, maybe the water won’t get too warm for salmon and trout. That’s a better idea than the snarky one I came up with many years ago: Every 30 meters erect a solar powered ice making machine in the water. Via solar power, in comes water, out goes wombat poop shaped ice into the water. I’m sure some idiot will think that that idea can actually work.
Oh, the weather records. The record for consecutive 32C days is 15 set in 2017. That will be tied on Friday. We will have another week or so of such temperatures. Sunday is forecast for 40C or 41C.
No, not really getting cool at night. On paper, the low temperatures look ok maybe 17C or 18C. However, it is still 25C or higher at midnight or later. The low will hit about 4:30 a.m. and then the sun comes up and it starts heating quickly. It used to cool quickly here except for maybe 3 or 4 days a year.
Wednesday the weather was brutal as it clouded over. Hurray! It only got to a mere 34C! Boooo! It never got below 20C. Stayed inside all day Thursday due to outdoor air quality issues.
Wednesday was also our anniversary. Double anniversary. Been together for 33 years and married for 18. A good meal was had. Good drinks were drunk. There may even have been some apple pie and ice cream involved.
The Doggy Cheese Tax occurs here. The Princess finally got to watch it. Open the refrigerator, get out the cheese and Dame Avalanche appears as if by magic. Taxes have been levied this week. Cheese taxes have been paid. Cheese has been pleasurably consumed by the husky.
Ok. Now you and Lew have done it. I mean, you’ve really done it! Dick Proenneke indeed. I often watched the original version of the video. IIRC, he may have mentioned the names Spike and Hope in it. The Carrithers couple. Spike had a cabin on Twin Lakes and a guest cabin, aka Hope’s cabin. They had met Dick circa 1960 when they were all employed by the Navy on Kodiak Island. https://www.nps.gov/people/richard-proenneke.htm
I understand that the wood stove Dick moved into his cabin was a gift from Spike – it was the stove Spike had used in his cabin.
You may be asking how I know such things…Well, in 1970 Spike and Hope Carrithers moved into the house next to ours. They were great people, although Spike could be rather crusty. He was tall, lanky, a retired Naval captain. Very no nonsense. One of their grandsons spent the summers with them, so he and my sister and I spent countless hours together each summer for several years. After Spike died in 1996, Hope spent most big holidays with my parents until she died in 2006. My parents are buried next to Spike and Hope, my extra set of grandparents.
They always had a dog. It was always a female beagle. Each and every one was named Missy. They even had a beagle named Missy at their cabin on Upper Twin Lake. https://jukebox.uaf.edu/media-gallery/detail/3276/19420
Spike gave me his old Alaska backpack. He had handmade it. I used it a few times until the canvas and wood both began falling apart. Then there was the day that we looked out the back window. There was a HUGE bear in their yard, lying on a tarp. We went out to investigate, only to find that they were putting it out to dry after they had cleaned it. It was a Kodiak bearskin rug from their days in Kodiak. They eventually built a drying contraption to keep it off the ground. Once a year it was outside drying. Once a year dad’s dog would get a good shock. Rakhi the Samoyed would get her hackles up, then run, then bark, then run. Calm down after an hour, by which time it was obvious the monster bear was going to leave her alone.
DJSpo
Hi DJ,
I agree, sleeping under tarps allows in all manner of biting insects which love nothing more than disturbing one’s sleep. I’ll note that the better designed tee-pee allows a fire in the centre, which produces smoke that sends the insects elsewhere (most likely in my opinion), due to the insects natural fear of an even bigger fire. The tarps we used to use in cadets were exactly those sort of shelter halves. You could keep the rain off, and the moisture from seeping into your bedding, but the insect problem was a step too far. Oh my, your dad would have experienced some atrocious conditions on those battle fields at that time.
Sandra’s dad was older when she was born, and six of of her seven uncles on her mothers side went off to fight in WWII, and bizarrely all returned (a few had caught malaria).
Dunno whether you are interested, but as cadets we did the few days of bivouac at the Puckapunyal army base. It covers 400km2, so you can walk through the forest for a fair while. Proving that times were different back then, I doubt schools nowadays would take teenagers to an army rifle range and let them fire off some .303 rounds. What could possibly go wrong? The army ration packs were a highlight in that they’d keep you alive, but it was hardly gourmet fair. And I held serious doubts that the product labelled as ‘chocolate’ was in fact chocolate. I often wonder how the WWII troops were kept fed.
Oooo! What an interesting survival skill course that would have been. How did you get involved in that? And yes, the results would speak for themselves. It’s one of those situations where the quality of the shelter didn’t matter, until it did. 🙂 We’ve all been camping when the weather turned filthy. A pivotal life moment for me was at a hippy festival when the heavens opened and everything got washed out. The hippies, who’d previously made a poor impression by critiquing my sensible country wear, suddenly all chucked the tie-dye clothes and had to do the best they could in trying circumstances. I recall observing one tent floating along a suddenly filled with water billabong. Hmm.
‘There, there’, is an interesting insight into the day to day urban experiences. I get the impression the author has penned himself into one of the fictional characters. In many ways it is a tale which needs recounting. It’s what you get when one dominant culture seeks to smash another, and then introduce the worst aspects of the dominant culture. Sorry to say that, but you know what? There is an enormous debt there, which will be paid in full. Hmm. The thing is with the individual stories, I get those. Deadbeat dad – tick. Complicated mother who loved a drink – tick. Sister who went off the rails – yep. One grandparent on each side trying to hold things together – tick. I watched all that sort of stuff going on which looked to me basically like a side effect of the dominant culture, then went and did something different with my life. Far out, what else can you do? Dunno.
It’s also not lost on me that the title ‘there, there’ can also be used as words of condescension. The author is a smart bloke.
Well yeah, that’s what the trout fishing folks down here are working towards – shade near to the river beds. The question in my mind is: what did the river embankments in your part of the world look like before the current situation? The answer might surprise you. Even in the hottest and driest parts of this continent where the rivers seasonally run dry, there are trees lining the banks. What happened to your lot? Go the snark! Did I just hunt the snark? 🙂
Oh my gawds! Not a record you want to experience, but all the same you seem to be. The weather will change, soon, maybe. I’m feeling that the autumn is getting shorter each year.
Your area now has a lot of people living in it, and there will inevitably be the heat island effect which keeps the temperatures higher later into the evening. You’ll know if that’s the case if weather stations in nearby rural areas show lower temperature readings. Your homework… Hey, a few years ago the authoritas moved the city thermometer from a built up area to a park next to a river. Hmm…
Happy anniversary to you and your lady. Congrats, and it is a notable achievement. 🙂 Respect! 30 and 29 years here.
Doggy cheese tax is a real thing, and demands to be paid, or else. Glad to hear that your lady witnessed these sorts of canine stand over tactics. Huskies are not to be denied! Weren’t they in Game of Thrones?
No way… DJ, it is such a small world sometimes. What a bunch of characters they all would have been. Explains a few things… 🙂 Did you ever get up to Twin Lakes? It sounds pretty remote country, even today. I’m impressed that Dick could over winter in such an extreme environment, although in the video he did say that he looked forward to the spring thaw. I was impressed that he avoided taking down the big game for meat on the basis that it would have been too much for him (and no doubt it would have attracted bears). Mate, they don’t make them like that any more. City life ain’t for everyone.
Poor Rakhi the Samoyed having to encounter bear essence. Distressed at first would also be my feelings if encountering one of those bears.
Cheers
Chris
Chris:
Poor, poor Plummy. I wondered if her title could be revoked. I guess we shall see. Maybe the stress of the honor is too much for her.
I would like to know what a “Chris look” is, also. Not that I have to worry about it . . .
It’s a lot cooler today. We had a shower, but not enough to do any good. You should see the pastures/paddocks and yards in town: Brown as can be.
I used to breed – or they bred themselves – my tomatoes and saved the seeds, but then the blight started hitting hard every year and I started bringing in fresh seeds. I don’t think it made any difference at all.
I boil and mash the sweet potatoes or roast them in the oven, whole or sliced. Cook them like any white, gold, purple, russet, etc. “real” potatoes. I found a great new use for them. I use them to make my curry sauce instead of coconut milk. Coconut milk is too high in fat for some stomachs here. I boil them, mash them up, add some water, and then the spices. Best curry I ever had and you get the plus of extra nutrients. Don’t forget you can eat the leaves, too. Ones at the tips of the vines for raw, any of them for cooked. It helps if you dunk the cooked ones in cold (or ice) water after cooking. I do that with things like caulifower, too.
Pam
Hi Lewis,
Far out, there is one wicked-as storm outside. Lot’s of wind and driving rain. A nice evening to be inside chatting with friends! 🙂
We had plans today. Then the weather intervened. The Editor accepted reality, and the consumption of a gourmet pie and lamington were one of the highlights of the winter day. The pies really are good. But yeah, we dodged the horrid winter weather and ran the wood heater. May even have had a long nap this afternoon. The dogs guided my adaption to circumstances in this instance.
I’ve noticed the same pattern down under with rodents. Wet years produce an abundance of rats. And there’s some nasty diseases associated with the twitchy nosed little critters, not just plague. When Dame Plum and I hunted out a lot of the rats a year or two back, I washed up afterwards for those reasons. But those critters are opportunistic, so I reduce their housing and abilities to hide, which makes it easier for predators to pick them off. We do the same thing with rabbits. I’m really uncertain whether there is a better long term strategy. The rabbits are an odd problem in that I could simply go out and shoot them all. But then the predators would go hungry, and new rabbits would arrive, and you’d be back where you started, but with less predators. There’s a sort of rough balance in there where there is something for all, but not too much stuff in any one corner. Dunno.
Some of your prairie dogs carry plague don’t they? But absolutely, that’s one to get onto early. Incidentally, the Black Death came on the back of two poor harvests, so the population in lots of areas of Europe weren’t doing so great when it arrived.
I’d read about the shipping container shenanigans during you-know-what, and it defied my comprehension. At the time I knew folks who were trying to purchase them. Talk about expensive. I guess once the price of containers rose high enough, the shipping companies would be happy to cart them around the planet. Hey, your empty container return story suggests that imports were cool, but exports were not cool. Hmm.
Containers mostly sink, but sometimes they float in these waters as well. Quite hazardous for shipping I believe. Makes you wonder just how big a ship needs to be before it can shrug off hitting a floating container with no damage? Hey, I can’t imagine that the motorcycles were in good condition after having been in the ocean for a while. 🙂
The book matches what I’d heard about doing business in the land of stuff. Foreigners need to team up with a local company and/or representative who can smooth the sometimes obscure waters. They’re probably a necessary evil when business processes become too complicated. That was a great idea using a shipping agent to handle the details. I guess you could learn the system from beginning to end, but how many things does a dude need to know. Sometimes you have to pay to ensure other people worry about the details, and just hope that they don’t mess it up.
Some of my paid work is like that. The systems are too complicated for business owners to navigate, so I hold their hands through the process and try and make life easy for them. I honestly have no idea how people in business not having access to that service manage to cope. Most of my competitors cost base isn’t as low as ours, so we can do that work on the cheap, which engenders loyalty and stops problems before they become monsters. The accounting profession is itself struggling with providing these sorts of services at a price point that businesses can pay for – the fee expectation is too great. We’re way ahead of the curve on that front.
I agree, increasing wealth inequality does tend to make people ask the hard questions like: why am I working so hard? And that history was known to me and is just so weird. If you know that your behaviour and expectations are undermining the very supports which provide such privilege, why would you not make any changes to address the problems? And I’d be interested to hear your thoughts, but my best guess is that ‘enough, is never enough’ and it is as simple as unchecked greed running amok.
Ah yes, the French Revolution did focus the minds of the elites, not to mention all the other folks, in other parts of the world.
So true, tracking really does take away opportunities for scam artists to complain that they never received the item and so want a refund. The things I’ve seen in business over the years on that front. On a related note, I’d read that drivers license demerit points are apparently up for purchase, who knew? So you have a limited number of these points before you lose your drivers license for a period of time. So some cheeky folks are selling their free points to take the rap for folks who struggle with that issue, but have the mad cash to do a work around and pin the blame on someone else. Cheeky huh? NSW government establishes taskforce to investigate drivers manipulating demerit point system.
Did you see the news of the big interweb hack attack?
You haven’t mentioned your teeth in a long while. How are they doing? Have the picks turned up in the mail yet?
At the restaurant, the poaching bags were squeezed directly onto the table. Candidly I was left wondering whether the seafood was local and fresh… Hmm. But I’m like you there, and hate such gimmicks. Generally accepted food utensils and serving ware have been time tested in all manner of circumstances and economic conditions – probably hard to improve upon. 🙂 And absolutely, I’m also uncomfortable with such long tables sitting shoulder to shoulder with people I’ll never see again. Nope.
🙂 You’re probably right, the dog is dirty as for the ‘shrooms. I’d forlornly hoped that the clean up work put an end to the canine mischief, but no. I put Dame Plum to the ultimate test, and she failed. And now we know.
Yum! Yum! Starches… 🙂 Plenty of plants provide lots of tasty starches. But yeah, all the other stuff too. And that’s where yummy gourmet pies enter the picture. So good!
In reading about the job of the ghillie today, that was more or less what the responsibilities sounded like. You’ve made me wonder whether I’d follow a clan chief who was a bit soft about getting his feet wet, when he expected others to do so. Probably not. And that’s not a bad way for the lord of the land to learn of the goings on.
Hehe! I’m hardly bored with such talk, and yeah very funny! Cool, the hermit has a very sensible outlook on life, not to mention poop and soil. And people say the same thing about mysterious home made jams. The kiwifruit jam we made last year was something of a flop, and I’ve been slowly feeding it to the chickens mixed up with oats. They seem to like the stuff, but it tasted like tea to me. The other jams work out very well, but just not that particular fruit.
Nice weather. Hope your time in the garden is enjoyable. It’s filthy outside here tonight. Wind and driving rain. Oh well, that’s winter for you.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
Yeah poor Dame Plum. You’re probably right, the stress is getting to her and she’s slipping into substance abuse territory. She’s earned her title for rat hunting duties, but candidly is an idiot with this situation. It’s consistent though. If she’s kept away from the area, there are no seizures. She heads into that area, and gets seizures. The facts speak for themselves, and clearly there is an environmental element there which is a problem for the dog. You’d think that she’d learn to avoid the area as being bad news? I have been wondering if she somehow her consciousness blacks-out during the seizure. Have you ever had a dog which got them?
You don’t have to worry about such things, but I have it on good authority that the Chris-searching-for-lost-things-look is inadequate and could be better. Pah! Everyone’s a critic… 🙂
Far out, and hot and dry summer is not good. And yeah it produces those colours in the landscape, and you can smell the dry vegetation can’t you. Hope the brief shower today wet things down a bit, at least. Are there any signs that a cooler spell of weather is on the cards? There’s still a bit of summer to go. How’s the well holding up? Or, sorry I forget, do you have town water, or even both sources?
Pam. Know thy enemy! You read it here first. We’ve got blight in the soils here too. You may recall the Meyer Lemon tree a few years ago coming under severe attack from blight? Well, those critters are an Oomycete, which is a fungi like critter. As everyone knows, fungi thrive in acidic soils, like err, where tall trees grow. Anyway, to combat the pesky little soil critter, you may note that the lemon tree is surrounded by crushed rock with lime? No. Oh well, it is. That lifts the soil pH from acidic to closer to neutral. And I fed the soil around the tree with lots of Calcium Carbonate (Agricultural Lime) which incidentally, tomatoes thrive in. It’s true, tomatoes like additions of agricultural lime to the soil. Anyway, the tree is now thriving and producing more lemons than I know what to do with, although we may press and freeze some over the next week or so. And I add lime to all of the soils where tomatoes are grown.
Plus, I won’t mention that I once tried to dodge crop rotation and not grow the same plants in the same area year after year. Oops, broke my own rule there! 🙂 Pam, I tried so hard to avoid doing that because it simply adds more complexity to the planting arrangements. Oh well. Someone once said life wasn’t meant to be easy, and surely they were making that up? Maybe?
Thanks for the preparation tips for sweet potatoes. Roasting them sounds good to me. Oh yeah, coconut milk is good, yum! But alas, it can be a touch rich so doesn’t reach the kitchen here either. Although I do add a bit of coconut oil (which is probably fattier again) to ours and the dogs breakfast – eczema used to be an issue before I altered my diet. What a lovely sounding curry. I hadn’t known that about the cauliflower (although it is rarely purchased here and too hard to grow because of those moths). Thanks again.
The weather is feral here tonight. High winds and driving rain. Oh goodie, it will get even windier tomorrow. Ook!
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Cattle often break down river and stream banks, and de-tree them. Some laws were passed, in this state, to address the problem. Also, logging operations have to leave a buffer zone, along banks.
Sounds like you’re having some filthy weather. Here, 82F (27.77C), yesterday. Overnight low was bumping up against 60F. Forecast for today is for 83F. Tomorrow, 91F. And then back down, again. Pretty much constant breeze of less than 10mph.
Rats, rabbits and predators. As with the poor, they’re always with us. 🙂 . Yes, our Prairie Dogs are a reservoir for plague. And Deer Mice, for Hanta virus. It’s the Wild West, out there!
You have a smart approach to your business. LOL. That’s why the other accountants hate you. 🙂 I suppose, a lot of the big firms price their services, so high, so they don’t have to deal with “the little guys.”
Yes, greed. And, a bit of keeping up with the other multi-billionaires.
That was an interesting article, about the demerit points. But I don’t quit know how such things are transacted. I mean, it’s not like they’re coupons, or something. It’s not like selling a kidney or a liver. But then, I don’t understand carbon offsets and swaps, either. Because I don’t have to.
All the articles about the computer failures, over here, seem to blame my old nemesis, a security certificate.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-outage-crowdstrike-security-update-impacts-airports-hospitals-banks-around-the-world-151137547.html?
Besides a lot of other things, supermarkets in Australia, were mentioned. Also, in several of our states, the three digit emergency numbers, are down.
As with the weather, I don’t say much about my teeth. Hubris, you know. 🙂 The pics showed up, yesterday. Right now, I’m having more problems with my … digestion. So, I’ve been hitting the yoghurt hard, and cut all the cheese out of my diet, until, hopefully, things return to normal. Dinner, for quit a few nights, has been a can of fruit (peaches or pears), yoghurt, and a few dried prunes. The usual oatmeal and four fruits for breakfast / lunch.
I finished “The Way of the Hermit,” last night. Such a satisfying read. I see there’s quit a few videos about him, on U Tub. Search, “Ken Smith, Scottish Hermit.”
LOL. I was mistaken. I planted the corn and green zucchini, night before last. Last night, I planted the yellow zucchini. I put that in my stock tank. The soil was a little low, so I tossed in a bag of the good garden soil, and mixed in some composted chicken poop. I’ve been spraying the hills, with the bug spray, to try and keep the pill bugs, off the seedlings. I’ll also deploy some potato traps, in a preemptive strike. I’ve been going out, every night, and knocking back the pill bugs and any slugs I find. Seems to be less of them.
The other day, our customs seized 90 giant African land snails. Are these people out of their minds? That’s all we need.
Some of my tomatoes are beginning to turn red. I also discovered a volunteer tomato, growing out of the bark mulch, behind my stock plant. Probably, a cherry tomato from last year. The ground is so hard, I couldn’t push the prongs, of a tomato cage down, to protect it. But then, thought to just turn over the tomato cage, as they are funnel shaped. I might throw a little fertilizer at it. See what happens. Last year, I don’t know how, but a tomato volunteer showed up in my hanging petunia basket! I let it do its thing, and a few cherry tomatoes, were produced. Quit tasty.
I’ve been watching a new six part documentary, “A Brief History of the Future: What Comes Next is Up to Us.” The presenter globe trots all over the world, looking at this project, and that. Growing tuna in a lab, AI art projects, talking to indigenous people and spiritual leaders. Sea farming, by growing kelp. A lot of it is pretty pie in the sky, and, I suppose will keep doing what they’re doing, as long as the grant money and venture capitalist money keeps flowing in. And the oil keeps flowing.
But one interesting project, is what the town of Langholm, Scotland, is doing. The town scraped up 2.2 million pounds to buy 5,300 acres of land. I guess you could say, it’s become the town’s commons. They’re rewilding a lot of it, and replanting long vanished forests. An interesting project. Lew
Chris,
Puckapunyal looks an interesting place. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t let teenagers fire live rounds now. They never let us do anything like that, for that matter.
The military seems to have a lot of, ummm, food that is of dubious ancestry. I’ve heard that the MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) have gotten a lot better. I’ve never tried one. Don’t plan to, either. All I know is that dad’s stories about food indicated the quality was ok, but the quantity could be lacking, especially during long battles.
The weird church had a camp for teenagers each summer. Teaching survival skills was one of the main things it did. In addition to the shelters, we taught a lot of knot tying, how to use those big 2 man crosscut saws, lighting a fire with flint and steel, and how to align a map and compass then go on a compass course from camp to a spring to another spring to camp. Oh, we would also hike 2 miles to a fantastic rock. The teenagers would climb up a path and rappel down. ALL of the counselors and instructors had to do ALL of the above about 3 weeks before camp. I did NOT like the close order drill that was also taught and found the religious curriculum to be more indoctrination than anything useful.
After a couple years, the survival camp was for the 12- and 13-year-olds only. The older boys had a 4-day, 3-night canoe trip down the St. Joe River in Idaho. It was in July, so the water was not high enough to be dangerous. Wearing life jackets was mandatory. The older girls also did the same canoe trip a few weeks later when the water was even lower.
When we lived in southern California, we camped a lot. It was always dry. I learned by age 4 or 5 that one NEVER under any circumstances pitches a tent in a dry riverbed. Those things turn nasty with flash flooding during thunderstorms, some of which might not even be visible to the unwary camper. Sounds sort of like your billabong carrying tents away.
You saw that, too? What happens when the dominant culture seeks to smash another? Yup, Tommy Orange’s books sort of show what the inevitable result is. It takes a lot of effort to move into a more positive direction, doesn’t it? And that list of things you checked off? I observe those on the Rez regularly. “There, There” is a story that needs to be told, as you said.
I’ve seen photos of the Yakima River from the 1800s. No trees in many places. I’m thinking that some of the other Columbia and Snake tributaries were similar.
Ah yes, the heat island effect. A city paves and concretes everything. No dirt and earth. Ugh. So the temperature must be higher than nearby rural areas. And water doesn’t drain the same, either. No place for it to soak into the earth. Modern cities are poorly designed.
30 and 29 years? Good on you!
Never made it to Twin Lakes. Spike and Hope did have a cabin on Tacoma Creek, a little over an hour north of Spokane outside of tiny Cusick, Washington. We visited there a few times. About 10 km further up Tacoma Creek from their cabin is where we held the survival camp for the teenagers.
DJSpo
Yo, Chris – Interesting article about the IT outage.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/19/business/recovery-global-crowdstrike-outage
Sounds like it’s going to take a long time, to fix. Lew
Hi DJ,
It wasn’t just you who was surprised they’d let us fire off live rounds either. It was a proper shooting range too, just out in the middle of the forest. Perhaps being the 80’s, things were kind of different? I don’t recall any incidents either. Being cadets we were all decked out in surplus army gear, old back packs and all. We were all stratified into proper military hierarchies. I was a corporal and responsible for a lance corporal and a team of eight. We did alright that group. Whenever people decry children soldiers, it gives me pause for thought because I can understand how such a situation would come to pass. And for some people, you know, the rigid structure and guaranteed social group would work for them, and is possibly not a bad idea at all.
Just had a look. The army cadet program is still quite active, although there are a few disclaimers in relation to recruiting. Yeah, sure if you say so… 🙂
Dude, when we were travelling in Vietnam (Australia was described as imperial running dogs, which kind of amused me) it’s not my usual thing, but in the south the tour stopped off at a shooting range where we got fire off AK-47’s and M-16’s, as you do when on holidays in distant countries. I’ve had some strange experiences when travelling, and that was one of them. I must also add that the American made machine was the more accurate of the two. Sometimes when you step one foot into a foreign culture, you get to observe your own culture as an unexpected side benefit.
Dubious ancestry indeed. 🙂 Mate, I’m sure we weren’t provided with the top of the line ration packs! The thought of a meal ready to eat, kind of unsettles my stomach. It’s a finely tuned machine you know, and the sensitive person has to be concerned for any food which affronts to the stomach. Thanks for mentioning your dads experience, and an army can’t march far on empty stomachs. I’ve heard some stories of what the Axis military had to deal with. Fuel was scarce, but sometimes food was even more scarce.
Glad you got out from under the influence. Ah, I see. I had to look up what was meant by a close order drill. I’m so with you there. Dunno about your thoughts in relation to that, but it’s been my impression that such drills are just another form of indoctrination. Make sure you follow this order, and to the letter! Yes, indeed. My reading of history does not inspire confidence in groups requiring such obedience. Hmm. I’m a bit more loose in such regards, as are you I’m guessing?
The images of the Saint Joe River are stunning, and the Bitterroot Ranges where it originates are something else. Wow! I would have loved to have gone on those canoe trips, although maybe tuned out when people began talking religious dogma. I’m probably a bit loose on that front as well! DJ, what can I say, my views (and probably yours too nowadays) would be an affront to them all, and then the whole natural scene of the river canoe trip might be tarnished – for them! 😉 What a journey that canoe trip would have been.
Oh my! Yes, I see what you mean about camping in Southern California. It wouldn’t rain much, but when it does… Ook! What surprised me about the hippy festival rain situation was that the person who’s tent it was floating away, didn’t seem capable of just mucking in and rescuing the tent and all the gear. I hear reports that festivals produce an awful lot of rubbish nowadays, and it’s good to see that the kids are so environmentally aware. Apparently it is not uncommon for people to leave all of their camping gear as rubbish. There are groups who collect the stuff, clean it, and sell it off for charity. Completely nuts if you ask me.
Yes, sadly to say, that’s what happens. And doubly yes, the easy path, is often the harder path in disguise. Man, I looked at how the people around me were dealing with life, and walked away from them. The thing is, I then tried really hard to fit in with what was required by the culture, and basically found it to be deeply unsatisfying. By 2008, I’d had enough of that too. But then what do you? Hmm. Always intriguing to arrive at that point in life. My gut feeling is that the issues within the Rez, and not to mention the wider society, will begin to mend once the grip of the dominant culture declines, and that’s already happening. A lot of pain and hurt though for everyone, sorry to say. I’m sure you have some thoughts in this matter, but there’s no expectation to speak them aloud here.
Are there any descriptions, or say early paintings of the Yakima River prior to the gentle art of photography? It is notable that within only 17 years of colonisation, the land management in this state had changed so markedly that by 1851 a quarter of the state (which is the land mass of the UK) burned over a few days. Hmm. Things can change fast on that front.
One of the benefits of moving rurally is avoiding that heat island effect. Spokane is big, but Melbourne is much biggerer again, and wow those hot summer nights did not cool down. That bothered me. Good if say a person was thinking of planting sub tropical plants there though! It’d been years since I’d experienced a frost in Melbourne.
Thanks, and respect to you two as well! 😉
I get that about never making it to Twin Lakes. Not many people would! Man, you’ve been quite fortunate with the people you’ve met over the years. Good stuff.
Far out, it rained here again on and off for most of the day. It’s been a very cloudy winter, and it got me wondering. Had a play around with the solar power statistics for the past couple of years, and sure enough, we’ve run the generator for about twice as long as in any previous winter. However, I’m not at all sure whether this is because we’re also reducing our tiny reliance on propane for occasional cooking. Dunno, but it is probably the case.
Anyway, it’s very wet outside. Ook!
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Yeah, the crowdstruck software upgrade issue is a doozy! IT people everywhere will be frazzled for quite a while. Honestly, the costs from that mess up will be so huge, that their board and senior management should probably announce their resignations. And what’s really interesting about the crash, is that it’s really a problem for, and if you’re dealing with large corporates. Most smaller business won’t have that sort of software installed. I’d not even realised that anything was going on, until I read the papers. How are you coping with the epic software crash? Have you even noticed?
You’re right, and that happens here too with creek and river edges and cattle. And the buffer zone for loggers became a thing a long time ago, although they seem to have put a recent ban on harvesting timber from forests other than plantations, and destroyed that industry. I’ve noticed that most community revegetation efforts tend to focus around waterways down this way, and I was sort of the belief that this was the case because those are usually crown lands.
Yes, the weather was again filthy today. Cold, wet and windy enough I gave up on all pretense of working outdoors. Instead, just pottered around the house doing things that needed doing, and just generally taking it easy. I’ve had the wood heater going all day. We might get a brief lessening of the rain over the next few days.
Hopefully some sun arrives soon. On a whim half an hour of mucking around with the solar power data proved to me what I’d already guessed. We’d run the generator for not quite, but almost twice as long as any previous year. The thing is, I don’t know whether that is the case because we’ve weaned ourselves off propane for cooking (not that we used much in the first place), or the winter weather is especially bleak this year.
After another day of hiding inside from the damp winter weather, your part of the world is sounding remarkably pleasant weather wise. 🙂 I’ll bet the plants in the garden are enjoying the conditions?
Ah, yes, very amusing and quite true. The rats most likely will outlive our own species by a significant margin. It happens. Far out man, the hanta virus is not something you’d want to experience. You may recall the cheeky rats who got under the house and couldn’t get out a few months ago? Well I burned that insulation, and wore a mask. A lot of rat droppings.
Hehe! Yeah, probably it is to do with the pricing structure for services, but for sure there is a lot of hate there. Hmm. It’s interesting, but through my network of contacts (formal and informal) with other accountants, you can see the pressure of them resisting the move to what is basically our model. I don’t see that they have much choice in the matter.
The greed bit I can see, but it blows my mind to think that folks with billions to their names could worry themselves with what their peers are doing. Talk about monkey business! 🙂
Fair enough about the demerit point system. People are basically appear to be claiming they weren’t driving at the time of the incident, and it was this dude over there, and the dude signs off and takes the cash. It did amuse me that some French dude allegedly took the rap for a whole bunch of people for cash – and has possibly since skipped the country? Honestly, I’m with you though because carbon credits make no sense to me either. More monkey games perhaps? And given carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere seems to be increasing, is the credit system working? Heck, on that basis, I should be paid for all the growth the trees are doing on this property. I now rest my case and will happily accept cash and/or checks. 🙂
Very wise to not say anything about the teeth lest ye tempt the dental gawds, and mum’s the word in this instance. Say no more! Oh well, that would be uncomfortable in the guts. Do you reckon you may have picked up a bug somewhere? I’ve heard it remarked upon that too much fibre can also upset the guts.
Thanks for mentioning the hermit, and book. I’ve got some quiet hours this evening and will take a look at utoob.
Stock tanks are a bit terrifying when it comes to observing the ever declining soil levels. Is the stuff compacting, leaching, stolen by another inmate, or being converted into plants? Maybe all of them? Dunno, but it happens here too, and there’s not much for it other than topping the soil levels up. What do you reckon is faster growing, the green, or the yellow zucchini? Those soil dwelling critters are pesky-as when it comes to seedlings, and you are more diligent than I in that regard.
I see your African land snail madness, and raise you this: Beekeepers fear almond pollination could be varroa mite ‘super-spreader’ event. Words cannot describe my complete incomprehension at the unfolding bee disaster. Oh well, they were good whilst we had them, and sooner or later the wild colonies will adapt. But what a lot of pain.
Good stuff with the tomatoes, and that’s really early for the ripening to begin. It’s funny where plants end up volunteering isn’t it? And that happens with tomato plants here as well, although usually they’re a bit late in the season. One hot summer a few years ago, a self seeded tomato grew on the edge of the driveway which is surfaced with crushed rock with lime. I didn’t water the plant once all summer, and it produced pretty well. Not great, but given the level of care and attention it received, it was an amazing result. Tomatoes respond well to additions of lime to their soil.
That kind of future sounds a bit scary, and did the presenter sample the lab grown tuna? There was a bit of media talk about lab grown meat a while ago. It seems all quiet on that front nowadays. Do you hear much about that story? Oh yeah, keep up those money and oil flows, or else.
The Scottish Tarras Valley project is fascinating, and big. Really big. It’s ambitious, and hope the folks can do some good work there. Thanks for mentioning the project, and it seems really grassroots, so something may be achieved. I see they have a tree nursery for the local species forests. The problem tree there is apparently the Sitka Spruce which hails from your part of the world. A very big tree, but presumably the ones growing there they want to thin out, aren’t so tall, maybe. It’ll be interesting to see where that goes, and at least the group appears to have some income coming in to cover the costs.
Hopefully the weather here is drier tomorrow, or at least less windy. Well there you go, I thought it was windy: Strongest winds in 1 to 3 years impacting parts of southeastern Australia. The Kilmore Gap is sort of in this area and I’d say 55mph is pretty windy, yeah. Some of the gusts hit the side of the house with a whump. At times like that, you’re grateful for the house design which specified having to deal with high wind loads. There’s a bit of tree damage, but not all that much.
Cheers
Chris
Chris:
You are as good as Poirot with your seizure detective work. When a I was a child we had a Jack Russell Terrier that had seizures, but it was definitely epilepsy and he had medicine. I was too young to be involved in his care.
We only have a well for water. It is holding up – well.
I do remember that Meyer Lemon tree and that you brought it back to life. I have tried liming the tomatoes’ soil, but it didn’t seem to help; maybe it wasn’t enough. I have a feeling that it is too late in the season to add any now, and they are already quite blighted, though still producing. I do pretty well with crop rotation, considering the sun and space limitations.
You be careful under those trees!
Pam
Hi Lewis,
Watched a few videos of Ken. The bloke’s got some spirit in, and also to him. Why’d they want to take into town?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
It’s been a journey with Dame Plum, but trust is now gone, and she’ll have to slowly rebuild it. But the Burshroom Triangle is out of bounds for the dog, there’s a bad spirit in there.
Far out! Glad you used Poirot, and not say Sherlock Holmes. The English chap was super smart and all, but he seemed like a really difficult bloke. 🙂 Have you ever read ‘The Hounds of Baskerville’? Maybe it was just me, but Dr Watson seems to have done most of the detective leg work, and the great Holmes, well, he was not very nice the cheeky scamp and swept in at the last moment and took the honours. Probably not a team player… 🙂
Jack Russell terriers are really sparky personalities aren’t they? Lovely dogs. Do you remember if the dog seemed happy enough with his lot in life? Dame Plum seems OK with the situation, although she hasn’t been able to limit that particular behaviour. Right now, she’s sound asleep on the dog couch and things could have gone worse for her. Oh well.
I now recall you mentioning that you’d limed the soil where the tomatoes grow. Honestly, it is hard to know how much is too much lime to add to your particular soils, and for all any of us know, it could just as easily be another soil mineral deficiency – or anything else to do with the garden for that matter, like the crop rotation.
To be honest, I can’t afford to get soil testing done down here, so instead rely on observation and best guess. It’s really expensive, and there’s so much area that I wouldn’t even know where to take a sample anyway. The whole question of soil mineral testing is in the too hard basket, for me at least. And the other stuff, like crop rotation, that’s hard too because garden space is limited. You’d probably know that feeling too. Oh well we all learn as we go, don’t we? 🙂 One mistake at a time, or sometimes more than a few mistakes!
The crop rotation issue is partly behind the reason for the second greenhouse project, and that isn’t going to be completed until at least next year, so we’ll try planting tomatoes yet again in the original greenhouse – and fingers crossed and hope for the best.
Is a larger vegie patch on your mind if you do eventually move?
Thanks for the warning too. A few chunks of trees have fallen in the winds over the past day or so. Future firewood. It’s cold here tonight, but at least the winds have settled down a bit. We might even get a couple of dry days in a row.
Very funny too, and I got a good laugh out of your well pun!
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I haven’t noticed anything, as far as my computer goes. I did notice that the daily e-mail from my Idaho friend was unusually short, and the format looked odd. Here’s an interesting “take” on the situation, from a computer engineer. It’s not behind a paywall, but I don’t know if you can view it, Down Under.
https://www.businessinsider.com/crowd-strike-outage-travel-chaos-tech-expert-2024-7?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=topbar
I do have one e-mail account, supported by “the other guys.” I hardly ever use it, except for dual authentication purposes. I’m almost afraid to open it.
Your probably onto something, as far as the generator use. Even though there are so many aspects to take into consideration. LOL. I love those responses to studies, that say something like, “Well, all fine and good, but they didn’t consider this …. so the data is skewed.”
Weather can get pretty wild, around any mountain pass or gap. They’re like wind tunnels. Our high yesterday, was 84F (28.88C) and today’s forecast is for 92F. Overnight low was in the mid 50sF. But, we’re going to get into a cooling trend. Prof. Mass has a post about it. Our forecast for tomorrow also includes a “slight chance of shower.” We’ll see.
Speaking of weather, last night I watched a new documentary, “Twisters: The Real Story.” It talked about the original 1996 movie, “Twister,” and the kind of sequel, “Twisters,” (plural) which hit the theaters, this week. I’ve got a hold on the remastered 1996 movie, which the library has on order. I’m sure they’ll get the new one, in a couple of months. There were interviews with meteorologist, and storm chasers. And lots of incredible footage of tornados and the aftermath. The US has around 2,000 tornados, a year. But a lot of them are small, and only last 5 or 10 minutes. The number and ferocity, since 1990, seems to be increasing. Or, is it just better reporting?
We had a case of Hanta virus, out in our east county, several years ago. Killed a guy. The Deer mice pee, the pee dries and gets airborne.
That book I read, “Status and Class,” talked about people and money. People were asked how much money, is enough money. The response was, a bit more than the other guy. And that held true, for all classes. From the middling folk, to the super wealthy.
Ah! I see how points could be bought and sold. I wonder how someone figured that out? I heard an interesting “vehicle” story, today. A fellow was rear ended, and his vehicle ended up in the shop. Several thousand dollars damage. When it was done, the shop hadn’t been paid, yet. He hadn’t got a check from his insurance company. A very big and well known one. They said they had sent it. And maybe it had strayed or been stolen. But they wouldn’t re-issue another one. He contacted our State insurance commission. His situation wasn’t covered under the law. Soooo … he managed to get on a Seattle TV station, that had one of those “The consumer is getting screwed” programs. With all that negative publicity, the insurance company shook loose another check, in short order. But why? Why did he have to go through all those gyrations, just to get what was promised. Insurance companies are getting worse and worse. Ah! I actually found the article. The fellow is our relief postie.
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/chehalis-man-state-farm-thats-not-very-neighborly/RDVNN5D7FNGV7HX4JZA2HAEUVA/
LOL. I don’t think my digestion problem, is due to a bug. Or, I should say, I’ve maybe got the wrong bugs, in my system. It’s not a case of the trains not running on time … it’s a case of peak rocks in my toilet bowl 🙂 If you get the drift. Another dinner of peaches, yoghurt and dried prunes. This has been going on for about two weeks. But, things seem to be getting a bit better.
“Why’d they want to take to town?” LOL. That didn’t make much sense. OK. In the book, Ken Smith suffered a go around with cancer. All told, he was away from his cabin for about 7 months. After that, they gave him a GPS medical alert device. Which he said, probably saved his life, as he had a stroke. I’d say, the powers that be, have decided, perhaps Ken is to the stage of life, where he shouldn’t be living so far out, and on his own. Never mind what he may need or want. He’s had a rough life, and, is about as old as me. From what I’ve seen here at the Institution, after a certain point, other people start making your decisions, for you.
By the way, a hazmat cleaning is necessary for the apartment where the guy died. It’s costing about $10,000.
Stock tank garden plot. All of the above, except for other Inmates stealing soil. Last year, the green and yellow zucchini, seemed to grow at the same rate. It’s a bush variety. It’s interesting, but the two pumpkin barrels I planted, were planted six days apart. Their growth is now equal.
I think I’ll hit my tomatoes, including the volunteer, with a bit of garden lime. As it’s been brought up, a few times. I gave the volunteer a bit of composted chicken poop, last night.
From our “Isn’t that nice,” department. The night manager planted some Romaine lettuce, and he’s harvested quit a bit off his four plants. I commented that they were about set to bolt, and then explained to him what bolting is. He isn’t going to save the seed, but said he was letting it bolt, so I can have some seed.
I also got curious about my Oregon Spring tomatoes. Wondering if I can save the seed, from them. I did a run down the rabbit hole. Some people say it’s a bit mealy, but others, say not. The flavor isn’t top notch, but better than what you can get in the stores. Mostly seedless, until late in the season. It’s what’s called a “stabilized hybrid.” Had to figure out what that was. Apparently, they will breed true.
Honey bees seem in short supply, so far, this year. But other pollinators seem to be picking up the slack. Not a pollinator, but it looks like a good year, for dragonflies. I’ve been seeing a lot of those, around.
I’m beginning to feel a bit guilty, about my almond milk. Besides the bee situation, it takes 1 – 3 gallons of water, to produce each almond seed.
The footage on the Tarras Valley project was interesting. They showed the nursery, and people out planting trees. A community effort. They had a few interviews with the residents, and one elderly lady was saying, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it would have a positive effect down generations. That was one of the themes of the documentary. People fail to take a long view, on a lot of things. Lew
Hi Lewis,
A big nothing burger was how it looked like to me, but then like you, I was completely unaffected by the outage. Ten hours in an airport queue, and feelings may be somewhat different – but then I don’t use airports. I don’t use the online versions of Macrosofty Orifice 365 either, or whatever they want to call the software. You can purchase an off line version which installs on your computer, and that’s what I did years ago. It still logs in to check for license validity, but that seemed unaffected. I’m unsurprised that your Idaho friends email was a bit off, they may use the online Macrosofty email program. I don’t need or want their servers despite the friendly offers to pay regular subscriptions.
The blokes take on the outage was really interesting, and it made a lot of sense – don’t send out updates on a Friday afternoon, or whatever he said. One of the interesting comments I’d read was that you could reboot your server computer 15 times and somehow that fixed the problem. Like, what the heck does that mean, and why would that work?
I see what you mean about being afraid to open the email program. If it’s accessed through Safari, you might be OK, maybe. I had to add the ‘maybe’ just in case things went badly for you and you ended up cursing my suggestion! Look, you’re going to have the thing sooner or later – maybe doing so on a business day might be the wiser path?
Hehe! Yeah, it happens with studies which are based on data. Life is inordinately more complicated than what those things may pretend. 😉 Anyway, we’ve reduced our dependency on LPG, but have doubled the generator use. So far for the year we’ve have used up 17 gallons of petrol. That’s about twice as much as previous years, and it’ll be expensive to eliminate that cost. If I wanted to do a cheap work around, I’d simply build an outdoor wood fired baking oven for use during winter. That would resolve the use of the generator. It’s not that difficult a proposition, but the Editor may have other plans. We’ll see. I’m working on her with this concept.
I hear you about the wild winds around mountain gaps and passes. One benefit of the location of the farm is that it is mostly protected from the winds. It’s very rare for strong winds to hit here, but then there was that minor tornado Christmas gift many years ago. Another regret is not taking a photograph of that swirling cloud as it approached. I’d never seen or experienced anything like it before.
Lovely weather, and the cooling overnight lows would be good to experience during summer. Not so good for the plants though – the cooler night time temperatures cool the soil and slow the plant growth.
That twister film has been plugged down here. Looks like it will be a fun film! I also wonder about whether it is better reporting, or maybe there are just more people dotted around the land? A lot of the minor tornado’s which hit in this part of the world are usually in very remote spots – sometimes folks live in such places.
Hmm. Yes, mouse and rat droppings caused a good deal of grief to a farmer up north. He survived, but was hospitalised for a while. Best to mask up and breathe through your nose when encountering that stuff. The nose has a few more filters than the mouth, but still, it’s risky.
Oh far out! The book on status and class is probably right, but I dunno, maybe I’m not wired right because I just don’t care about such things and instead try to run my own race, and set my own goals. Dunno. But yes, I can see that playing out in the wider society. It’s unhealthy.
How’d they figure it out? Well, give a bloke a KPI and they’ll game it sooner or later. That’s probably how. 🙂 People have a degree of rat cunning which is powerful. The video was not allowed to view. That’s some bad behaviour, and things may be different down here because the insurer will send you to their panel beater, and all you have to do is drop off the car, then pick it up again.
I see, all is now clear and I hope your guts soon feel better. 🙂 It takes a while to retrain and repopulate ones gut flora and fauna, but it is worth the effort. Best not to get them out of whack in the first place, but it is easy to do.
Ah, in the brief documentaries on Ken Smith, nobody mentioned cancer, but they did mention the GPS alert device and stroke. Honestly, the bloke looked like a fish out of water in the hospital. How does one then take control of the decisions for their future if well meaning folks decide your choices are not aligned with theirs?
Far out! At least the hazmat business will be interesting to view from a discreet distance. What the heck? It’s possible such heavy costs may skew future choices?
Hehe! I only threw in that inmate soil thefting business because I felt my reply was too serious. 🙂 It sure made me laugh. Hmm. Pumpkins I believe, grow in accordance with the soil temperatures, so that may explain the similarities you’re observing? Maybe.
Good stuff, and it is a truth universally acknowledged that tomatoes enjoy additions of lime. Nice score with the lettuce seed. That stuff is very reliable, although I no longer grow lettuce.
Tomatoes will hybridise a bit if you’re growing lots of different varieties. To be honest, growing a couple of different varieties tends to invigorate seed stocks, so I wouldn’t worry about such matters. They’re one hardy plant, if conditions are just right.
Man, the honey bees as a species are taking some serious body blows, but in the long run they’ll be fine. They just won’t be as compliant and easy going as people expect them to be nowadays. I can understand that outcome! 😉 The almonds here will flower next month, and I’m always on the lookout to see if anything else will pollinate them. The dragonflies are a good sign of your garden. Really good. Happy days!
Hehe! Dude, fresh almonds are amazing tasting. Guilt, what is this thing? 🙂
I’ve been saying that for years in relation to a lack of vision. It’s not my fault if few people want to consider the future. But the Tarras Valley project is thinking on a big scale. I’d wish that such things took place around these parts.
Cheers and better get writing!
Chris
Yo, Chris – Yes, the reboot your computer x 15, is right up there with “Turn your computer on and off.” But you have to hold your mouth, just right 🙂 . Computer voodoo.
I run into the Night Manager, from time to time, when I got out to water the garden. Two nights running, the Great Computer Outage of 2024 (are their t-shirts?), has come up. He keeps insisting, “It’s a hack!” I don’t know where he gets his information from … probably Face Plant. I explained the articles I’d seen, from fairly reputable sources, especially the engineer. But he seems unconvinced. I suppose it’s easier to blame bad players (and, we’ve certainly had our fair share of those), than flaws in the system.
The temperature yesterday was 90F. Forecast for today is 81F. There was some loose talk, in the forecast, about a possible shower today. It is a bit overcast, but I’m not seeing it.
Tornados can just about happen anywhere. We’ve had a few humdingers, in this part of the country. One thing I found interesting about the documentary, is that it seems our “tornado alley” is shifting to the east. No speculation on why that may be.
I think some of that “Keeping up with the Jones” is, perhaps, a feeling of, “They’ve got something I don’t have, therefore, they are depriving me of it.”
I’m about done with the book about supply lines. Part of the way the book is put together, is following one guy’s container shipment, from The Land of Stuff, to the SE U.S.. So, the author gets to examine the problems with the ocean going container ships, the ports, trucking, the rails. A lot of it boils down to pure owner greed, and trying to satisfy stock holders. On the backs of the people that actually move the stuff. I’m getting into the part where they’re talking about re-shoring … moving more industry, closer to home. Not putting all one’s eggs in one basket, The Land of Stuff. But, it’s really hard to disentangle from that system.
I had a thought, yesterday, that maybe I’m getting TOO much fibre in my diet. Last night for dinner, I went back to my more usual meal, rice, garbanzo beans, a tomato. But in smaller amounts. With yoghurt and prunes on the side … and lots of water. Time will tell. Can’t rush these things. 🙂
About the best you can do, is have medical directives, in place, before some medical crisis comes along. With designated people to make decisions, if you can’t. Otherwise, it defaults to the medical industry, or, relatives. I’ve got a couple of people, as my medical … proxies? I made sure they were on the same wave length, as me.
I watched the Alaskan video, last night. I know I’d seen a couple of videos, about him, in the dim and distant past. Nice that they cleaned up, the old footage, a bit. There was an interesting side bar video, that I also watched. “Off Grid Living is a LIE!” It was pretty interesting. About a couple, who have built several cabins, mostly in Alaska, over the years. I think they work almost as hard as The Editor, and you. 🙂
I finished watching the six part documentary, “A Brief History of the Future.” It was pretty good. Not all pie-in-the-sky or Pollyanna-ish. It did make some interesting points. These days, when people look at the future, in popular media, such as movies or books, it seems it’s mostly a dark and dystopian future. Might be more constructive, to view the future, through a different lens. That some things might get better, due to some people being innovative, and trying something different.
I think Mr. Greer, at his blog, touches on this. When he disavows the idea that we’re going to run right off a cliff, rather than a more stair step approach. The documentary made the point, that humanity is at a bit of a crossroads, and that there are still possible paths forward, that aren’t quit so fraught.
By the way, there was one segment, where schools in Dubai (!) are teaching their kids critical thinking.
Well, I went to pick the reddest tomato, last night, to discover something had ate out, most of the bottom 🙁 . Probably, pill bugs. But, that tomato was the lowest one, on the plant, and was resting on the ground. There are two more, also resting close to the ground. But they’re still in good shape. I might pick them, tonight, and let them ripen, inside. The rest of the tomatoes, on that plant, are higher up.
There’s been a couple of articles, about Kei trucks. Interesting little vehicles. And not too expensive. Just for poops and giggles, I checked it out, and they are street legal, in this state. Also, at least my insurance company, will insure them. Lew
Hello Chris,
Thanks for the photo of the Bunya-nut tree. I only read about it in books like Sand Talk and Fire Country, but never saw a photo. It is indeed very similar to the “monkey puzzle tree”, both in the Araucaria family. I have a few of those trees here in pots, and I will plant them out next spring. They are for patient people, since they only start to flower and set fruit after fifty years.
In Holland, those trees were popular in the 1970s, and now that the trees start to flower and give fruit, they are too big for the small gardens there… I have eaten from one tree in the town where we used to live, but the owner had it removed last year.
Here, life is busy as always, and we have an excellent summer, at least for the trees. Rain twice per week and everything grows like crazy.
This week we have had visitors, so I have some catch-up reading to do of the commentariat. Again a big thanks to Chris, Editor and all the amazing contributors to this blog.
The week before, I read two interesting books that are not intended as recommendations, but just as a thumbs up for anyone. First out was “I want a better catastrophe!” by Andrew Boyd. Premise: We are f***ed due to climate catastrophe. And now what? Lots of humor and personal stories. The other was “The great derangement” by Amitav Ghosh, a great author. A short book with eloquent texts. I had missed this one when it came out in 2016, and I think it is relevant today too. About how power and empire has it’s own short term survival first, and any other rational long term thinking on second or third priority.
I really liked his text analysis of the 2015 Paris Accord as a religious text full of hopes and faith and magic spells.
Harvest season is in full swing, with courgettes (summer squash), tomatoes, cucumbers, beet roots, swiss chard, fresh potatoes and gooseberries. Enough for us and some to share. Hazelnuts start to form on the bushes, and we have picked some green walnuts to pickle.
Peace,
Göran