Several dozen vultures circling over my property...  Either they found a really great thermal to climb, or the end of the world is nigh.

I've never seen this many congregate before, it's actually a pretty awesome sight.

#farm #nature #wildlife #birds

https://image.nostr.build/f37fd41ff0e921c7fea8f345530606c25a2843e2c2be3870e14f270845fc774d.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/07ec6fd03016f9b78c02ef299d224e68530092dabdf4174b87fa0d1488964cfb.jpg


He just did it again...
 https://image.nostr.build/8e972ba0a016f928a6c1cea0a126cb611d8f47448f4f590b848aa58b164eed31.jpg


This fuckin' guy... Fur like velcro, and he has to roll in leaves and grass clippings every damn day.  He's lucky he's awesome enough to be worth it.

#dog #cute #dogstr

https://image.nostr.build/9c46b37a52ea8231d23a2c28aab7f66d700265deb338075de1844e1fac235316.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/10ee70b0b39a15135fa57777b9d2e45c51a2d6e9785814f60f1190a496f25b4e.jpg


Helmet For My Pillow, by Robert Leckie.

The shit the Marines went through in the Pacific in WWII is unbelievable.  Then to think that most of them came home after that insane experience and just went back to normal life, selling insurance, repairing refrigerators, driving taxis...


Let's talk about watering wands.

The one on the right is store-bought.  It costs about $14, and after a season or two of moderate use, it will leak all over the place, and you will throw it away in a fit of unbridled rage.  Its soft aluminum tube will bend if you raise your voice at it or use it in a strong breeze.

The one on the left is homemade from inexpensive plumbing parts.  The aluminum rosette on the end costs about $5, the rest of the parts total another $5.  It is sturdy and durable.  If it doesn't get left out to freeze in the winter, it will last many years.  It comes in infinite lengths and configurations, because you're making it yourself.  If you make it using threaded connections, you can replace the valve if it ever wears out (but it won't wear out).  Since both ends are garden hose connectors, it can also be used as an impromptu control valve between two hoses of you unscrew the rosette and attach another hose to that end (I do this when running a sprinkler, as it's easier to fine tune the flow with the ball valve on the wand).

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

https://image.nostr.build/1bd8edbb14a0234cdcf3786fe3a2db8d97cb094deeb6615833daf8384846d42b.jpg

#garden #water #farm #diy #grownostr #tools


That's really cool.  I've been seeing more reptiles every year since I bought this place (10 years ago).  The little green anoles and pink geckos are almost an infestation.  Frogs and toads everywhere, too.  I think that's one of the most satisfying things about developing this homestead, watching the wildlife increase and diversify.

My dad passed away right before I bought the property, and he was a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan.  For the past several years, we've had a growing resident population of cardinals.  They're one of the most abundant birds on the property now, which makes me so happy.


Yet another neat ectothermic creature hanging out in my composting area.  This one is a Texas spiny lizard, and he's copping a little bit of an attitude with that look.

https://image.nostr.build/a27970143a220b11c8c4618fbb719b555f5f0f27f669ef440802be0c3392a985.jpg

#lizard #texas #garden #wildlife #reptile


Planted sunn hemp for the first time this summer as a cover crop in some garden beds.  I knew it would grow tall, but I didn't expect the flowers to be such a beautiful shade of yellow! The photo doesn't do it justice, in person, in the sunlight, they're almost luminous.

#garden #flowers #bloomscrolling

https://image.nostr.build/a1b5f3bd3bb049d708bca398e9dcb72c56ccce97f919dfb9206be5937bc60cae.jpg


Tiny adorable kittens are the trickiest trap in the book.  They're irresistible, and trick you into loving them, allowing them to grow up and do all the a-hole things cats do.  But by then, you're in too deep.

Good-looking cat, though.  What's his name?


More than a year ago, we built some Johnson-Su bioreactor bins and filled them with wood chips.  They've been cooking along quite nicely and breaking down into an awesome soil amendment.  I was watering them last night and saw that they're full of wee tiny baby frogs!  I counted at least a dozen of the little guys.  Nobody told me that this was a possibility, so now I have to postpone harvesting from the bins until the wee tiny baby frogs are all grown up and moved out!

https://image.nostr.build/97419f9d1399aea8a7be07571994d98a1b7ac646003ff418385d1d31e7614cf4.jpg

Unfortunately for the frogs, they live in a tough neighborhood.  I've got snakes living in the leaf mold bins right next to the bioreactors.  Good luck, wee tiny baby frogs!

https://image.nostr.build/c5696a0156e55c1b8efd7c074516027d961db83b89a63db9ea0b8d21a80c0119.jpg

#garden #snakes #frogs #farm #wildlife


What variety are those?


I had a tooth implant installed today, and the dental assistant told me to try to avoid touching the stitches with my tongue.  This is an impossible request.  95% of my brain power all day has been devoted to trying to control my tongue, and it ain't working...


I set up a couple of large bins in the spring and filled them with leaves to make leaf mold compost.  They've been breaking down all summer and are some beautiful compost now, but I found this guy making a home in one of them yesterday.  Just a harmless green snake, but when you reach into a pile of leaves and feel slithering scales, your heart stops for just a second...  He moved on up into the tree pretty quickly, and I harvested the compost much more carefully from then on.

#garden #snake #wildlife #farm

https://image.nostr.build/7cb1b02268e13787a164439f3bae6ca8c45c99f6a0771257a2d30cdd6b63604c.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/92837918485d25f2c54abf238dfd934dcaf6fad3d7c265dbfe50c204c9159a22.jpg


https://image.nostr.build/8e7cbdce6273c565c7082ad18fe9f031971b5308befd54b25ca46bf82a47e2a7.jpg

#flowers #bloomscrolling #garden


I've been considering getting one to play with.  Is the fan very noisy?


Yesterday I was working in the front yard, cutting up some limbs that had fallen out of our pecan trees.  Two of the neighbor kids ( are 4 and 6) came running over to "help".  They enjoyed chopping up the smaller branches with loppers and then I taught them how to use a hand saw.  Much fun.

While we were doing that, two older boys (age 10 or 11ish) from down the street showed up, carrying an old ironing board with a kayak seat strapped to it and wheels from a lawn mower.  They are building a "go kart" and needed me to weld the front axle to the swivel caster they intend to use for a steering mechanism.

It's so heartening to see kids doing real things instead of just staring at screens.  I didn't think kids tinkered around like that anymore.  Maybe our society is finally leaving the paranoid safetyism of the past couple generations behind, and we're getting back to kids getting dirty and skinning their knees.  I sure hope so.

#diy #grownostr #kids


I can't even begin to tally how many hours I of my youth that were spent on BBSes.  I started out with a 300 baud modem on my Commodore 64, in 1985.  Nothing was more frustrating than being 90% through an XMODEM download of some new game and someone in the house picked up a phone and kicked you off the connection!

Computing was so much more fun back in the day than it is today.  Primitive, sure, but a much more interesting challenge.  I think that's what I like about my recent forays into microcontroller programming and DIY automation stuff - it reminds me a lot of that golden age of home computing.


I couldn't agree more.  I have had zero trouble with my Starlink in the year I've had it.

It's a little pricey, but worth it for how much better it is than other rural internet options.


It took me fifty years to suddenly realize that "critter" is just a colloquial version of the word "creature".

I'm smart, guys, I promise!

#language


That's so infuriating!  I know the feeling, after watching a tree trimmer guy pour gas into his chainsaw (and spilling plenty all over the ground) right under a 250 year old oak tree.  Literally five or six steps away from a concrete driveway.

Finding anyone in America who gives a crap about doing their job well is becoming nearly impossible.


Who fucked up worst in the past week?


295kb on mine.  Amethyst 0.88.4 on GrapheneOS.


Does the glass have sharp edges, or is it tumbled or something to smooth it down a bit?


Okay, sure, he doesn't look terribly smart, but he's really a dog genius.

https://image.nostr.build/fef85405dcd68ada381b7c2600222bbae8d215003eb6d8d95281724b1af879c4.jpg

#dogstr #dog #grownostr


Have you tried staring at a brightly lit screen just inches from your face that contains limitless information, communication, and entertainment options?


Pineapples aren't stocks.  Technically, they're braces.


You have days without a blue screen?


Once you get Linux installed, this site is a good place to look to find suggestions for alternative software to replace the functionality of your Windows programs:

https://alternativeto.net/


This is the way.

Dual boot until you can't stand the hassle of using Windows anymore.  A second hard drive greatly reduces the chance that installing Linux will break your Windows installation.

As you discover Linux equivalents to your Windows programs, you'll find yourself booting into Windows less and less.  But if you jump in with both feet to Linux without any experience, you're more likely to end up frustrated and unhappy.  This is a transition that most people need "training wheels" for, and having the safety net off your Windows installation being untouched gives you more confidence to experiment with the Linux side.  Booting back into Windows is just enough of a hassle to motivate you to learn how to do your stuff on Linux, but leaves you with your old familiar options if you really need to get something done.


This afternoon, I was out in front of the house working on transplanting seedlings.  Two young men who work for a roofing company approached to ask about inspecting my roof for damage from recent hailstorms.

I talked to them about that for a few minutes, then they asked about the plants I was working with.  We ended up talking about the garbage produced by America's industrial food system, and both of them said they were interested in growing some of their own food, but didn't know how to start.  Long story short, I gave them each a surplus pepper plant with instructions on how to transplant them into a larger pot and care for them, and some fresh vegetables from my garden.  They left stoked with enthusiasm for learning a new skill that could put them on a path to greater self sufficiency and better health.

Good luck, Austin and Cody!  I hope you have  success with those peppers and it inspires you to go on to a lifelong joy of gardening.

https://image.nostr.build/da8ea2cce02885f1c337525d9b2e1215da67d35b7c32f9382a2bbd4447fdd3be.jpg

#gardening #grownostr #growfood #growyourown


I use my dehydrator as an incubation chamber.  Holds temperature really well, and can be dialed in fairly precisely.  And a two gallon container will fit inside, so I can make a lot of yogurt at once.

I used to use the cooler method.   For more consistent results, fill it with as much hot water as you can.  More thermal mass means it'll hold a steadier temperature.  Wrapping the whole thing in a blanket helps, too.


I know all cats like cardboard boxes, but this little idiot has an unhealthy compulsive obsession.  Literally any paper product left unsecured for 30 seconds is commandeered.

https://image.nostr.build/68ba5527244211101d54782e326e42a7331e88888b76a7d2d34ab2d72ffddd48.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/fc766b45218017a1d6f1410692c80eb67321372f1ddead0be144c5b54e9320ff.jpg

#catstr #cat #grownostr


My first thoughts are either a food grade drying oil like walnut oil, or homemade milk paint, both using finely powered charcoal as the pigment.

Walnut oil will polymerize and cure, so shouldn't continue offgassing to affect your food's flavor.  Use a fan to move plenty of air over it for a few days to speed oxidation and curing.

Milk paint is essentially just curds from nonfat milk blended up with pigment.  Curdle the milk using lime or lemon juice, strain out the curds, and then blend it up.  Add water to thin if, needed.  I'm not sure how milk paint will do in a humid environment like a dehydrator, so you may need to seal it, perhaps with a coat of walnut oil after it's fully dried.


My inner Alex Jones is wondering if this isn't a setup to take Biden out next.  He's traveling to Texas next week, wouldn't it be a great way for the powers-that-be to get him out of the way by killing him in a "red" state?  And since someone took a shot at Trump today, they can have a pro-Trump patsy all ready to go, claiming "retaliation".

I'm not saying that's going to happen, but I would have zero surprise if it did.  It's not very clever, but I don't think these deep-state "intelligence community" guys are particularly creative, and they don't really have to be.  Most of the public is dumb or apathetic enough to just accept any narrative that they hear repeated three or four times.

The fact that all those rooftops just a couple hundred yards from the rally were left unchecked is a major red flag that something "spooky" went down today.


What a piece of crap.  It doesn't even connect to the internet or have Bluetooth like all the latest Wal-Mart disposable appliances!  😉


I remember seeing Matt Frewer on some show maybe in the early 90s and thinking that he looked and sounded a LOT like Max Headroom.  Then it clicked, and my childlike innocence died that day.  Dude was just  a foam rubber costume and editing tricks.  I've never been able to trust anyone since.  😉


Loofah vines coming on strong this year.  If you've got space for them to climb somewhere, they're a fun crop to grow every few years.  They last a pretty long time in use, so a couple vines will provide a few years' worth of sponges, which store indefinitely once dried.

We just let them dry on the vine (not a problem in our hot summers), but they do take a fairly long season to grow from seed, fully ripen and dry, 120 days or longer.  Once dried, you simply peel them, slice them to the desired size (a serrated bread knife works great), and shake out the seeds.  On first use, you'll want to rinse them out thoroughly, as they can retain some residue from their former life as a gourd.

I've been told some people give slices of the dried sponges to rabbits as chew toys, as well.  We don't raise rabbits, so I can't verify that.

They're also just an attractive vine in their own right, with lots of bright yellow flowers.  It wouldn't be a half bad ornamental even if you didn't collect the gourds.

https://image.nostr.build/b35897663bf83c3cbe497800ddcfd3528fab404b50bdc42ded343e480f70a112.jpg

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#garden #homesteading #plantstr #flowers


Same here.  It's a great exercise to learn the ins and outs of the mechanics of the gun.  Then I document it with photos showing the serial number for insurance purposes.

If it's a rifle, I usually boresight it to verify that the sights are at least in the ballpark before shooting it.  You'd be surprised how often they're pretty far off.


I don't know if it would do anything to stimulate root growth, but since honey has antibacterial and antifungal properties, it probably does help to keep the cutting from rotting before it can sprout roots.


All I do is poke the cuttings into potting mix in 4-inch square pots, water completely, then put the whole tray of pots into a big clear plastic tub and place the lid on loosely.  Put it in the shade where it can't get any direct sunlight (it's basically a mini greenhouse, so it'll get really hot inside if the sun hits it).  Check it for moisture levels frequently to make sure it doesn't dry out, and they will probably be rooted in a month or so.

Rooting hormone helps, but isn't strictly necessary for elderberry.

Unless you're in a real hurry to replicate the plants, you'll probably have better luck if you wait until it's a little cooler, but you can still root them in summer.


Very cool.  What hardware are you using?


Did you get a sourdough starter from someone or start your own?


The episode where he discovers "Baba O'Reilly" is just so dang good.  It's rare to see a character who is good and innocent not just presented as such, and not just as the butt of a bunch of mean-spirited jokes.


I should note, this recipe requires 5% vinegar (white or apple cider) if you're going to put them up.  Some vinegar out there is now 4%, thanks to "shrinkflation".  If you use that weaker stuff, you can still put them up in the fridge, but they won't be shelf stable and safe to store at room temperature.


Pickled peppers are one of the easiest things to can, and they are such a great addition to the pantry.  These are Mariachi peppers, one of my favorites.  Good mild heat, great flavor, and very productive plants.  Highly recommended.

https://image.nostr.build/3b0fddae805cdfb541a5b11c5497b1e8a26a8f7fd4fba7e08b9ae5cd3b6bff4f.jpg

The brine I use is dead simple, and works for any kind of peppers:

1¼ cup water
1¼ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar (optional)

That's generally enough brine for two pints of pepper rings; multiply as needed.  Just cut the peppers into rings, place in jars with a clove of garlic in each, pour boiling brine over the peppers and put on the lids with 1/2 inch headspace.  If you want to eat them soon, keep the jars in the fridge.  If you want to put them up shelf-stable, process them in a boiling water bath for ten minutes.

#canning #preserving #prepping #homesteading #garden #foodstr


I'll bet Kamala Harris is walking around the White House dropping copies of the 25th Amendment like she's throwing candy in a parade.  Nobody's taking the bait...


The trick with onions is getting them in the ground as early as you can in your season, and choosing the right day-length varieties for your location.  Onions start to bulb when the number of hours of daylight reaches a certain point (the actual number is determined by the genetics of the variety), so getting them in the ground and growing as far as possible before the days get that long is key to getting nice big onions.


My guess is it's residue from the anti-abrasion coating they spray on glass bottles and jars when they're manufactured to keep them from getting scratched in handling.  I don't know if Ball uses that process, but lots of glass container manufacturers do.  It should wash off with soap and water, and it's a good reminder to always wash new jars well before using them.


I always make sure to revoke network permission for keyboard apps, but having one that doesn't even try to spy on you in the first place is a much better solution.  I'll check it out!


Looks like a water beetle larvae to me.


Still adorable so far.  😊


This is my new favorite band (for now).  If you like Southern style rock, like Drive-By Truckers or  Lynyrd Skynyrd, you owe it to yourself to get Whiskey Myers into your life.

If you walked into a tar-paper shack bar in the middle of the desert and saw that the bartender was a rattlesnake with an eyepatch, odds are the jukebox would contain only Whiskey Myers music.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0aJHieJ3vcM

#rocknroll #music #grownostr #southernrock


This crape myrtle tree has been putting on a heck of a show this year.  All of the crape myrtles around here have been impressive this spring, but this one drops those delicate white flower petals like snow into our backyard.  Beautiful!

https://image.nostr.build/d9f0c3c818731139db5764be903fe34f2666c86affad4260d4e3f6065f23617b.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/e7fc8de692fdd3e29a92cb394a0610889d9f6e222d6e923bf98b6c90922f58a7.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/d21bdcab70d5c6595c22f0d3f9b6947bda9938f5e2b5e8137c025d83e712e3d9.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/d66dec1e0b7bce38469cc34103ca63097db1e2e7a349d9e20067bfe7f6d2b08e.jpg

#garden #flowers #bloomscrolling #bloomstr #grownostr


I've never seen the movie, but the book is great.  Another excellent one with similar themes is "Alas, Babylon", though that one is not quite so dark.


Wrangler's "Riggs" line of cargo pants are my go-to.  I used to wear the Duluth firehose pants, but I grew to hate the pockets on those.  The Riggs pants hold up to abuse nearly as well, and I find them more comfortable and better designed.  The front of the legs is actually two layers of fabric, so if you wear through the outer layer of the knees, they're still usable, albeit no longer suitable for formal affairs, coronations, royal weddings, and such.


I gotta be honest, that actually looks like a lot of fun.


This guy's videos should give you a quick primer on each step of the process.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_Aetb7e8ejx5_9L20uaPUbwDJHCNmEsN


I haven't seen canning done with a sous vide circulator before.  How long do you process those for, and at what temperature?


It's definitely a repair that takes some time and skill.  If you're going to attempt it, I recommend getting a piece of drywall and practice a little.  It doesn't take that long to pick up the technique, but if you practice on something you can throw away, you'll have better results once you move to the real wall.  The main difference between a great drywall guy and an amateur is the amateur takes five times longer and does a lot more sanding.  😉

And thanks for the zap!


https://image.nostr.build/4ea568bad3f2e48244f81d7a5eb78ac6755d5da64444452f0c78bba4ca0caf53.jpg

Look, he's not saying you *have* to rub his belly, he's just saying

https://image.nostr.build/dfcc7bdbd4a8bf077882ecfc8ca2e409fda294ef99c561fb1aacc2979d433a9b.jpg

#dogstr #dog #rubmybelly #grownostr


One other thing, those joints are jacked up due to movement of the walls.  The popped nails and sheared joints mean the walls have moved relative to each other.  This might be normal long-term house settling or seasonal movement of, for example, heavy clay soil under the house, or it might be a more serious foundation or structural issue.  If it's the latter, your repair will probably crack again as the movement continues to occur.


You'll need to remove any loose tape and drywall compound, then re-tape the corners.  That involves laying in a thin bed of drywall compound, laying the paper tape into it, and using a taping knife (like a big spatula) to smooth the tape into the compound and squeeze the excess compound out from under the tape.  It will look like hammered shit at this point, don't panic.  You let that dry, then apply a thin layer of compound over top, smoothing and feathering it out to blend into the wall. Let that dry, then sand it down smooth and apply another coat, feathering it out further this time.  The goal is a seamless transition, so you may need several thin coats, sanding in between, to get it to look good.

It's a specialized skill, and it takes practice, but it's not very complicated.  Just takes patience and a strong sanding arm.  Make sure you get it all as smooth as you can before priming and painting - it's much harder to sand out any imperfections once there's paint on the wall.

The outside corners might not have paper tape, they might have metal or plastic corner bead that's attached with nails or screws.  If that's the case, and the corner bead is solid and not loose, you should be able to just knock off any loose drywall compound, give it a rough sanding, and smooth over a couple of new layers of compound.

For the inside corners, after the initial bedding in of the tape, you'll want to work the walls one at a time.  Do one side, let it dry, then do the other side.  Let that dry, then sand both sides together.  Repeat.  Unless you have a lot of practice, it's very easy to screw up the side you just finished if you try to do the opposite side while the compound is wet.


I've tried several times you get started with Strike, but they wouldn't accept my bank account or any debit card I tried, so I was never able to get any fiat in to get sats out.  Sounds like all I'm missing out on is the potential for headaches and bad customer service.


Great idea!  I've got access to some vines that are loaded, I think I'll do the same thing...


My vote is for bottom left.


This is an interesting old-school (19th century) book with lots of info on how they finished wood back in the day.  A couple of caveats:  some ingredients may be uncommon and hard to locate today (or go by different names now), and some of this may not meet modern ideas about safety.  But it's an interesting book about techniques that have gone by the wayside in favor of polyurethane sprayed on particleboard...

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17935


Normally butter, but for that recipe, being an Italian herb bread, I would try olive oil.


Yes, it's solid state.  Samsung is regarded as one of the best solid-state drive makers.


Samsung T7 Shield.  They cost about $100 for 1 terabyte.  Nice pocketable size, with IP65 dust/water resistance.  Very good transfer rates, and a durable rubberized case.


Whoever wrote that article is interpreting the situation all wrong.  Bytedance isn't in denial, they're playing chicken, and they're betting that Biden will blink first.  And they're probably right.


Heh, I totally get it.  I can just picture two people standing there, slightly confused about the next step.  "We used to have a guy for this, didn't we?"


Do you have a recipe for the giardiniera, or do you just wing it?


The easiest message in the universe to communicate is telling a dog you've dropped something edible on the floor.  You tap your toe near the item, and the dog eats it.  This is universal; no dog, regardless of its intelligence level, fails to understand this.  Even people who have never been around a dog will do this instinctively.  It's *the* core element of the 60,000 year old cooperative agreement between humans and dogs.

It is, on the other hand, utterly impossible to convey the same information to a cat.  It would be easier to construct an entirely new language based on prime numbers to communicate with alien gas orbs from the planet Zargon than it is to get a cat to understand you dropped a small bit of chicken and it's RIGHT FUCKING THERE.

https://image.nostr.build/29c8fb0520f03f8d42490c53d902f11cf525ddffe1a482eebb9ec3ee19bf1b9d.jpg

#dogstr #catstr #grownostr


Well, then, the birds around my place must be extremely happy.  They usually get more than half the crop before I can!


Give 'em 12 words on a piece of paper with no explanation.  If they can figure it out, they deserve the sats.  If they can't, sell them hints.  😉


GrapheneOS does have wifi calling, but whether it works or not depends on the mobile carrier.


Kind of a strange request, but okay:

https://image.nostr.build/b2d32f8883a19e63507bad676ea088a149adeec5c3387823379749c8c38901bd.jpg

These three are kinda shy.


You might investigate using vital wheat gluten to enhance your dough.  It's gluten extracted from wheat and milled into a fine powder.  A little goes a long way, like a tablespoon per loaf of bread, and it can really pump up the protein content to help make an airy, chewy loaf of bread.

It really helps to lighten up rye and whole wheat breads, or breads using other grains like oats, which all tend to come out dense and heavy from a lack of gluten.

You could also try adding it to your high quality AP flour to bring the gluten content up to a normal bread flour level.


I just harvested my first fig yesterday!  It was the only one on the whole tree to ripen this early, so I don't know what's up with that.  All the others are still quite green.


I've got a dog, but despite being a world-class jumper (relative to his short legs), he's not fast enough to catch them.  Chasing them is one of the great joys in his life, though.

Miraculously, the rabbits aren't doing any damage to the garden or orchard, so I'll just wait until they're nice and fat this fall and put a few in the freezer.

https://www.squeakyfrogfarm.com/nostr/Bionic-Duke.mp4


The rabbits around here this year are out of control.  There are tons of them, and they seem to have no fear whatsoever.  Look at this cocky asshole, just lounging around like he's a lion on the savanna.  Hey, dum-dum, you're a *prey* animal.  Start acting like it!  At least get out of the way so I don't have to step over you.  We used to have an agreement where rabbits at least pretended to be afraid of people, but apparently they are no longer honoring that deal.  Frankly, it's a little disconcerting to be stared down by a widdle bitty bunny wabbit like he's a gang leader in a prison yard...  They're up to something, and I don't like it.

https://image.nostr.build/daabc85e3635ab8676224d70ccfe0e8de62cd7a9cbc189c4056fc1cb6f3dcad1.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/42e7ed008d979fd62af675a8ae34772cedd943dfe717629b13515cebf8050adf.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/76b5277e2c9d255608c71c72415acdf63c3d451b5262689bfb1b717e4fa7bc9d.jpg

#animals #farm #homestead #garden #rabbits #nature #overconfidentrodents


I can smell this photo, and it's making me hungry.


Honestly, I'm kinda surprised it was only a 2:1 ratio.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJI2w96UEGffdgk9R_JeKLV7IKlfVrd6dMIdvACTH_vg84pPWUw9ceHlTTCiJFbc1JcUxzwfzPZn_HFq4f1V676wtK-bW5Q0nDbUPPVkGSb1KliTO9CQYPo_mgRZO2eQ5RM9HEGDv0IN4/s1600/blog_growth_administrators_physicians.jpg


WARNING: Long note incoming...

I have a friend who doesn't nostr that came to me with a problem this morning. She has a goose acting funny and this is the message she sent when I asked what was up.
"Yesterday morning she was super wobbly and shaky, yesterday was like she was exhausted and just sat. Couldn’t get up, but would drink. Last night she acted like she wanted to nibble on her grass but mouth wouldn’t open. When drinking her mouth didn’t open either. Thought it was vitamin deficiency so i got a rapid vitamin that was packed with b vitamins and niacin, and then put apple cider vinegar in her water and had her drinking some of that before we went to bed. Today she has all the want to move but when she tries to stand she just ends up sitting upright on her butt."
I'm looking primarily for vet advice but if anyone has any experience that sounds like this, could you chime in as well? I don't want my friend to lose her goosey gal.

#asknostr #farmstr #goosestr #poultrystr #vetstr #addingallthehashtagsicanthinkofstr


That's pretty slick if you have the right situation for it!


When your body is trying to heal from trauma or disease, isn't one of the most important things that you get plenty of protein so your body can build and repair tissues?  I would expect this kind of food during recovery would result in poorer outcomes for patients.

And good luck in those hospitals if you have a soy allergy.


I've been pretty disappointed by the lack of Nostr content focused on moving liquids from one container to another, so let's talk about "jiggle siphons".  The name says it all, a jiggle siphon (aka safety siphon) is a magnificently simple invention that lets you get a siphon started by just jiggling it up and down a few times in the container you're trying to extract liquid from.

https://image.nostr.build/0ad32c92e9108fe53acce62f0179f87caf692b10ab051117081a7baea4ece11f.jpg

It's a simple check valve (a glass marble inside the valve does all the work), so as it moves up and down in the container, it forces a little liquid into the tube each time, until there's enough to get a siphon flowing.  If you've ever sucked gas or aquarium water into your mouth trying to start a siphon that way, you'll understand the value of this.

I've got a couple of copper ones I use for gas and diesel (it's much easier to get fuel out of a full gas can using this siphon than to try to dump it out with the crappy nozzle on the can), but if you just need one for water, you can 3D print one out of plastic and steal a marble from a little kid.

https://image.nostr.build/e49dfa74bd98272c0a5a6c22e1e87d3f09b5fb3af0d8980f4e6663e694877df0.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/46d6a87de1eaa95052922c5c39da065b66d0dcf2b8169730aa041395b16cec45.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/562afc8fa47610a0254e9aac28e2f6671b267967ba05720ccaff371e5e238716.jpg

Here are the CAD files I used to make mine.  You can use OpenSCAD to customize it to fit whatever size tubing and marble you have.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4337772

#diy #tools #3dprint #3dprinting #homesteading #grownostr


Why I garden:
1) The food can be better see tomatoes.
2) The food may be impossible to find anywhere else, giving you varieties, flavors, qualities that no store is selling.
3) It is an act that connects us to all our ancestors and connects us what it is to be human; that we have been adapted/ created/ evolved for. Not gathering /growing / preparing your own food is a modern invention that is inhuman in a literal sense. “human” should be what our species does and have been doing since there have been humans. And for 99% of human existence, it did something that is closely resembled by gardening.
4) As Should be surprising to no one, that doing an activity that resembles what your species has done 99% of it’s existence feels good and is relaxing
5) I develop skills which are practical in a disruption to modern life
6) I spend less currency feeding myself
7) Done well the nutrient recycling from waste streams (composting) to gardens, is the equivalent of growing money. #gardening #grownostr


Me, too!  A couple of years ago I left the front door open while I went out to tend the chickens and came back to a much bigger one hanging out on the umbrella stand in the entryway.  Few things will get your heart pumping like an unexpected indoor snake...  😆


Yeah, the snake was under the bed, and the cat was *very* interested in killing it.  The house was built in 1930, so there are probably lots of places a little guy like that could squeeze in.


I find the same goes for the majority of junk that comes across the Mastodon gateways.  If I want to be on the "fediverse" and get drowned in nonsense, butthurt, and censorship, I can set up a Mastodon account very easily.

I wish Amethyst would let you filter notes  based on the NIP-05 domain.  That would clean up the feed very nicely without having to mute hundreds of accounts.


Nice!  Totally out of idle curiosity and nothing else, where are you going to bury them?  To save you the time of typing out a long description of the location, just send the GPS coordinates.  😉


I was awakened this morning by a commotion in the bedroom.  Turns out it was this:

https://image.nostr.build/b939a094fd88c07c36d34e7b66aeb84cb36df755a1d93baf0d30e41051318b32.jpg

Trying to kill this:

https://image.nostr.build/27e5242f3f0c04f3fdf477ff4731cd3b2482b1d1dfd065528bf96994ddf06081.jpg

Who said living out in the country was quiet and peaceful?

#catstr #caturday #snake #farm #homestead


I've got three of those, and they've been great. The oldest one I have has been in service for about five years. Don't expect to find parts or be able to rebuild it once it wears out, but they start reliably, run quiet, and are lightweight.  They're not going to run an air conditioner, but they'll run some lights or small appliances or keep a fridge cold during an outage.  I don't do much camping, but it seems like one of these would be perfect for that.

For $170, I figure if it saves a freezer full of food during an outage once in its life, it's more than paid for itself.

It's very simple to install a cheap hour meter on one of these, too, so you can keep track of maintenance easily.


What the heck is the deal with cats and cardboard boxes?  You can't leave a box unattended in this house lest you return to find it stuffed full of cat.

https://image.nostr.build/7b9fbfa930145db48e4a132f71d150ff5a1a2694a9e1daae608e15d65a0d2e90.jpg

#catstr


😁 No kids here, and the petals really are attached to the flower.


OK, I've never seen this before.  Some kind of weird mutation or something caused this flower to grow petals in the wrong place.
 https://image.nostr.build/d616e6b85beb4671d6be08cf924e7cc73a2d0df1ad7d06628da393ef5013cd5f.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/4f468df1c4aeeaf0be8993664c42fc8cd0e5c81977506608e00afe7c98673eba.jpg

#flowers #bloomscrolling #garden #nature


I always chuckle when I see "plant based" soy or almond milk.

Real milk is absolutely plant-based, too.  You put grass into a cow and it is converted into milk with incredible efficiency.


You mean like this?
 https://image.nostr.build/385d3c8794830329d623a58e5363ebb6f319e3a10253539081e424d0081fcbb5.jpg

Oh, wait, that's a towed house.


Slick!


I use Kodi.  I run it on older PC hardware running Linux, and on Raspberry Pis running LibreELEC.  You can find refurbished Dell Optiplex Micro computers on eBay for under $100 that work great for this purpose.  Small, decent i5 processor, quiet fans, they're pretty nice as set-top boxes.

I use cheap RF remotes to control the PCs, but one of the cool things about the Raspberry Pi is that the HDMI port has CEC enabled, which means lots of TVs are able to pass remote signals through the HDMI to control it, so you might be able to use the TV remote.

My main use for Kodi is as a frontend for my  over-the-air DVR system based on MythTV, but Kodi has a plugin that will stream from your Plex server, too.


This creepy-looking fellow is an assassin bug, called so because they are badass predators that kill all kinds of pest insects in the garden.  This one is from a species known as a "wheel bug", after that cog-like structure on its back.  Don't kill these if you see them, they're helping.

#bugs #garden #nature #photo #grownostr

https://image.nostr.build/89744842522614feea46a345283a3cb33c21f328140683ed08526c0abe25bdc4.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/a902969b6566650c89b675ca2e36fa43288381bb2d14d31ed3c58c3e127b450f.jpg


I follow it.  Feels like it goes in bursts - I'll see a lot of interesting things with that tag, then nothing much for a while, and so on.


Saw this one in a store in San Antonio once...

https://image.nostr.build/141e475fbe2b9593b1b140d56c1ea7b81940cfdad901e97377b0dc18a1953d49.jpg

Not sure what people were doing with it before, but I sure hope that sign got them to stop it...


Yikes, that's even worse than mine!  It's conceivable that someone with limited cognitive ability might get confused and pee in that tray, but I would hope that drinking out of the toilet (a public toilet, no less!) wouldn't be on anybody's radar...


You're on Nostr, so there's a high probability that you are, indeed, a fruitcake.  At the very least a weirdo.  😉

But that stuff about the economy is nonsense.


I've never made a meme before, but I saw this in the bathroom at a doctor's office, and decided it couldn't be left un-memed.

#meme #funny #grownostr
 https://image.nostr.build/f2ae54f506766fe0bcb4fac98729da86ada2fea98c851aee5115ee6dbc6199f1.jpg


I'd thin them, and transplant the ones you remove into other containers.  They're likely going to crowd each other and not produce many blooms unless you go wild with the fertilizer.


If you want a pixel-level editor like Photoshop, then Gimp is the go-to for Linux.

If you're looking for a "digital darkroom" package more like Adobe Lightroom, I like LightZone, but RawTherapee and Darktable are good options, too.


Homemade salsa, in two simple steps.

Before:
 https://image.nostr.build/caa04802845b3161a8bb9e9eaee9ce51c29a96cd2299f16df7f16592449d1df6.jpg

After:
 https://image.nostr.build/5a89451c059819f5a021d00aa975dacc95403334bdad0a16f70c86a686b589e8.jpg

#garden #homesteading #growfood #foodstr #farm #grownostr


Not gonna lie, if something that looked like like that popped up out of the ground at my place, I'm not going to check if it's a fungus.  I'm selling the property and moving.


https://image.nostr.build/2080e136ae46b5c9c8cb6c79df84ae14bba1193e64e63d5e7491f0da2babcc80.jpg

#flowers #bloomscrolling #summer #garden


Posting cat-related content is like 30% of the nostr game, so you're doing great!  😁


That sucks.  Duke has had occasional seizures throughout his life (maybe 2-3 per year), but we've never been able to link them to anything.  They don't seem to coincide with any medication, food,  or activity, he'll just lock up every few months, and then be fine for a long time.  But it's scary as hell every time it happens.

I'm sure fleas and ticks have a role in the ecosystem, but, like mosquitoes, if there was a magic button I could press that would make them all disappear forever, I might be willing to roll the dice...  😉


Our dog Duke (terrier mix) had a bad reaction to Trifexis, too.  He was sick for days after taking it.  We switched him to Bravecto, and he's never had a reaction to that.


What filament are you using?


https://www.cryptocloaks.com/product/bitcoin-preferred-7-sticker/

You can pay with Lightning, too...


That little watermelon from a few days ago is quickly shedding it's "wee" status.  It's quadrupled in size.  At the current rate of expansion, my calculations suggest it will be approximately the size of an Airbus A340 by the end of June, and nearly the diameter of Earth's moon by August.
 https://image.nostr.build/76fb2faf4d5b15f8fc949f69970be0d8f8c94d68216ebfdf7ac41a098ec0ad3f.jpg


Interesting...  So what's the idea here, you mix the salt and Vaseline together, or do you sprinkle the salt onto the Vaseline?  Do you have to reapply when it gets rained on or watered?


This beauty is a Texas Star hibiscus.  We plant them everywhere we can, because they're one of the few things that will bloom in the summer heat here.  The photo doesn't really capture the richness of the color, though.  That red is incredibly intense in person.

https://image.nostr.build/dd8f5b938a365b6c3f80fe58a8ed3d3dbb154d9d48bf26fc565e0536cc677858.jpg

#garden #flowers #bloomscroll


Right now, we only have six totes going and are using the bottom shelf for some other plants we're starting from seed, but you get the idea.  Top row is lettuce, second row is lettuce and bok choy.

https://image.nostr.build/c5ef1f1ddeefa73d42e914e1d167e23c504be51a936bb0a4e81ca263fa824573.jpg


https://image.nostr.build/6e065a9f7a8a7f1f6a8a828b3f11705e8479d0327b7003df61f176cf7ff521fe.jpg

Here in Texas, it's too hot for at least half the year to grow lettuce and other greens outdoors.  So we have an indoor hydroponics setup for that.  Using these 3 gallon Rubbermaid totes, we can fit 54 plants on a small wire rack shelving unit (six plants per tote, three totes per shelf, three shelves high).

If you stagger your plantings right, you can keep a continuous supply of fresh greens coming indefinitely.

You don't even need special grow lights for growing leafy greens.  We just use inexpensive LED shop lights.

You don't need pumps and valves and plumbing.  The very simple Kratky method works just fine for lettuce, spinach, etc.

Basically, what I'm saying is, if you have electricity and four square feet of floor space, you can grow more lettuce than you'll want to eat.  We sell the surplus to neighbors, who love having access to greens that are literally harvested just minutes before they receive them (you can't get fresher than that) and have never been sprayed with any pesticides, etc.  We don't sell a ton of it, but more than enough to offset the costs of electricity and nutrient mix, so whatever we keep for ourselves is basically free.

#garden #homesteading #growfood #hydroponics #grownostr #farm


Somehow I doubt that sticking a tiny yellow pepper into an egg will cause the pepper to grow 4x in size and turn red...  But I bet it would fill your house with the aroma of rotten egg incredibly well!

It's equally unlikely that putting *seedless* grapes into a banana will cause them to sprout roots so quickly that the banana doesn't even have time to turn black!  😉


We've got lots more of those creatures, too.  My theory is because we had such a hot, dry summer last year (I think you're somewhere near me), it killed a lot of the coyotes and hawks, so more prey animal babies survived this spring.  I definitely didn't hear as much coyote singing this past winter as I usually do.


You gotta appreciate machinery that has the entire operator's manual printed right on it like that.


OK, that is a damn cute baby!


I kinda like aggressive vines.  They feel more alive than static little shrubberies that don't grow much from day to day.  You turn your back on melon or cucumber or squash plants, and they'll grow a foot or two before you turn back around.  There's a slow-motion sea monster vibe to coming out to the garden every day and seeing where they've sent new tendrils and what they've latched onto.

My main problem is I'm never willing to give them all the space they really want to take up, telling myself every year that I'll do a better job of controlling and directing their chaotic growth.  Then suddenly it's June and I've got a watermelon growing eight feet up in a peach tree and cucumbers slowly engulfing the entire garden like a very un-frightening horror movie.


Wee little watermelons and cantaloupe have begun to appear in the #garden!  These are probably my favorite things to grow in the summer...

#homesteading #farm #growfood
 https://image.nostr.build/b2bada001f3acec7da34fa628efe14af8223b386a80ffe403a70de7cdabb2c02.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/b90a7e5b138a821c18edb02250bd14af3df98ffea42e94cd8b1e6525a56c91f4.jpg


I kinda like that. My wife has been calling her "Minnie" (as in "Minnie The Moocher", since she just showed up and expected to be fed and catered to), but I'm not in love with that name.  I think I'll give your suggestion a spin and see how it fits!


Absolutely!  If you do it right, two or three chickens can be just a few minutes of your time each day in exchange for lots of eggs and garden fertility.  And the eggs are *way* better than anything you can buy in a store.


What variety are those?


It's amazing how productive they can be!  We just have one 3'x6' bed with these cucumbers in it, and I'm harvesting five pounds of them every couple of days.  That's from maybe 12 vines planted around two circular cages for them to climb.

https://image.nostr.build/e6e2f1bb1c0c6705c6e79f1a1d1d1c0a5df662ffcbb7bfa82c36eaae19d7ee41.jpg

There's another variety we like called "Picklebush" that doesn't really climb.  It grows more like a zucchini plant, kind of low to the ground and compact.  Those will grow great in large containers without needing any support, and start producing fruit very quickly.  It's a good variety of you want more cucumbers but don't have enough trellis space.


It's amazing how productive they can be!  We just have one 3'x6' bed with these cucumbers in it, and I'm harvesting five pounds of them every couple of days.  That's from maybe 12 vines planted around two circular cages for them to climb.

There's another variety we like called "Picklebush" that doesn't really climb.  It grows more like a zucchini plant, kind of low to the ground and compact.  Those will grow great in large containers without needing any support, and start producing fruit very quickly.  It's a good variety of you want more cucumbers but don't have enough trellis space.

https://image.nostr.build/e6e2f1bb1c0c6705c6e79f1a1d1d1c0a5df662ffcbb7bfa82c36eaae19d7ee41.jpg


It's a pretty simple recipe.  For the brine, the ratios are:

2 cups water
2 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt

Depending on how you slice the cucumbers and how tightly you pack the jars, a quart jar uses about 1.5 to 2 cups of this brine, so you can scale the amount you make by how many jars you have.  Usually, I'll pack the first jar with the cucumbers, then fill it with water, and pour the water out into a measuring cup to get an estimate of how much brine each jar will take, then use that to calculate how much brine to cook up.  My canner holds 7 quarts at a time, so that's generally the size of the batch I will make.  That usually takes a triple batch of the above ingredients (12 cups liquid in total).  7 quarts is about 10 lbs of cucumbers or so, if sliced lengthwise into spears.

The process is easy:  mix all the brine ingredients together (you can omit the sugar if you're doing low-carb, but it does help balance the sourness a bit.  Don't worry, the pickles are still quite sour!) in a pot and bring to a boil.

I always use quart jars with these pickles.  Put a sprig of fresh dill and two cloves of garlic in each jar.  You can double these amounts if you want more dill flavor or a bigger garlic hit.   Pack the jars with your cucumbers (either whole or sliced into halves, spears, or chips).  No matter how you slice them, the pickles will stay crunchier if you cut off about 1/2" from each end of the cucumber and discard it.  Add 1/4 teaspoon of Ball "Pickle Crisp" (calcium chloride salt) to each jar.  This makes the pickles much crunchier and eliminates the need for the old-school method of soaking them in lime or a salt bath to draw out some of the moisture.

Then pour the hot brine over the cucumbers, filling the jar to within 1/2" of the top.  Put on the lids and rings, and process for 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.  You can omit the canning process and just let the pickles cool overnight before refrigerating them, if you are just making a small batch to be kept in the fridge.  In that case, you can probably omit the Pickle Crisp, too, since you're not going to be cooking them in the canning bath, they will naturally stay crisper.

Either way, don't eat them for at least two weeks, to let the flavors do their magic and fully work into the pickles.


 Seeds + soil + time = garlic dill pickles!

https://image.nostr.build/0f534794f101270502f0ed456b4f054e99198c43ef9a95a80d575bc104562c0d.jpg

#garden #homesteading #growfood #canning #preserving #pickling


https://image.nostr.build/31372fe85f3ea63736330ff942a83b182714929b09a1e61704ac0292abfc366b.jpg

#meme #memestr #liberty


You're exactly right about the Stihl saw.  Mine is the only 2-stroke engine I've ever had that starts up reliably every single time.


If you live near a Northern Tool store in the US and are looking for some raised garden beds, they've got 3x6 raised bed kits on sale for $35 now (that's half price):

https://www.northerntool.com/products/ironton-galvanized-steel-raised-garden-planter-6ft-x-3ft-container-length-72-in-container-width-36-in-material-galvanized-steel-model-np-pb101-5006137

We put several of these in last year to expand our garden, and have been very pleased with them.  They're fairly sturdy once filled with soil, and have folded edges on the top and bottom so they're not razor sharp like the cheap ones you can get from Amazon (we've got a couple of those, too, and they're far inferior to the Northern Tool ones).  Given the cost of building materials, you probably can't even make one this size out of wood for $35, and galvanized steel should last much longer.  After a year of use on ours, some of the fasteners have rusted a bit, but the galvanized panels still look like new.

I posted this same deal last year when they went on sale, but they were $42 back then, so this is an even better deal.  They have other sizes on sale, too, but the 3x6 has the best discount right now.

https://nostr.build/i/22a7635307b39a638b84bc1f176bfbbd8ac689bd45214cf72f1d6fb004f76fcd.jpg

#grownostr #growfood #gardening #garden #deal #bargain #homestead #farm


Unlike most warning labels, this one does not say "can" or "may".  It says "WILL".  There are three gruesome endings possible with this machine, and the manufacturer (and basic physics) essentially guarantees at least one of them will occur if you fuck around.

#warning #safety #farm
 https://image.nostr.build/d53fdb861fe58ffba59f4a5aab36651a8aeaba77b39336d68c7eb996fcbe00c7.jpg


#flowers #bees #bloomscroll #garden #grownostr

https://image.nostr.build/bef8ddb1159a88733a312a129a9eef8c9297bbb358a330ce22e4b8e4a064ff23.jpg
 https://image.nostr.build/ec88b988de56dbf3ebecd8aff6d0c7005610733d9ede6b8f2a9822f046df476e.jpg


Everyone should grow something in their backyard, or on their apartment balcony, or on their window sill.  A tiny amount of food security goes a long way if every person does it.  #grownostr #GrowFood #EatRealFood https://i.nostr.build/mlAq5.jpg


If it were me, I'd try avocado, loquat, peaches,  figs, papaya, and mango.  Look for more cold-tolerant varieties, because you probably still get the occasional frosty night there.

Pride of Barbados might be a good support species for your environment.  They like heat, prefer very we'll-drained soil, and being legumes, should fix nitrogen.


Found this on a new computer for one of my clients.  Who is this label for?  How large is the population of people that are smart enough to disassemble a laptop but stupid enough to eat the battery they find inside it?
 https://image.nostr.build/d132b7112432a5ba83434d91a493da3846a310af26a556447b3b16849cc9658c.jpg

#dumb #warning #computers #societyisdoomed #grownostr


Nice job catching a picture of that whiptail.  Those things never stand still long enough for me to snap a photo.  Fast little guys!


OK, so it's possible that this dog escaped from a laboratory where he was genetically engineered to be perfect for slo-mo video.

https://www.squeakyfrogfarm.com/nostr/Duke-acrobatic-catch.mp4

#dogstr #video #dog #grownostr


Pixel 7 Pro with GrapheneOS on it.  Nice hardware, it's too bad it comes with tons of Google spyware from the factory.  But Graphene fixes that!


My new phone's camera has a slow-motion mode, so I've been playing with that today.  My dog is basically a Muppet, so he's a great slo-mo subject.

Thinking about making a TV show called "The Six Million Dollar Dog".

(That's about 85 bitcoins today...)

#dog #video #bionic #GenX #dogstr #grownostr

https://www.squeakyfrogfarm.com/nostr/Bionic-Duke.mp4


You're going to have a heck of a show if all the rest of them open at the same time...  Beautiful!


It's one of those kinds of #Caturdays...
 https://image.nostr.build/a58373ce0b2ce1208f7603c83ad6fa42732fbfa1e7bf8e3d9b586ec6fdac3c0f.jpg

#cat


It's one of those kinds of #Caturdays...
 https://image.nostr.build/a58373ce0b2ce1208f7603c83ad6fa42732fbfa1e7bf8e3d9b586ec6fdac3c0f.jpg


Lots of mentally ill people everywhere, and their numbers are growing by the day.  Modern society ain't good for much, but it's incredibly efficient at manufacturing psychos and nut jobs.


#flowers #garden #nature #plants #photo #grownostr

https://image.nostr.build/20360bbdec32e66ba17449ff8c725c65e8a8532c1cc96e72a884da601da1f5f9.jpg
 https://image.nostr.build/930b6031dcc94fbe06d11752c602823e22209d3e1a8a0cc9c056d78722ee78fd.jpg
 https://image.nostr.build/45a42a31542420a97687fa07f64fcf94c984294e8e065a3e3bfed432caee2b6d.jpg
 https://image.nostr.build/bdcf154f9893c3bf169cb24ed732d894acb8ecc43e5fef2f2c6f4ef402ffb355.jpg


#proofofwork #garden #food
 https://image.nostr.build/b741c9676d923ec9f6b6eab80ee0e497b608af47ee57bb05ca1ef530d7cacfc6.jpg

 https://image.nostr.build/54c9becfd11e5584ec66e64e9f061bb2bb578fd29f895d57828e745cf7db09c5.jpg


To establish dominance over a rooster, you must defeat him intellectually.  Engage him in a debate about free will vs. determinism, or the ethics of cloning.  Or challenge him to an essay contest.


I'm not sure how practical it is, but Bluesky is definitely a joke.


My wife just finished her last round of chemotherapy for breast cancer this week.  We've been going to the same treatment center just about every week since December.  The number of people going through that place is astonishing.  Hundreds of patients a week; it's always busy.  You kind of expect to see the older folks there, but every time we've been there, there have been at least a few under-30s getting treatment, which is always kind of startling to see.  Way more women than men getting treatment, too.  I was expecting a roughly 50/50 mix, but it seemed more like 65/35 if I were to make a guesstimate.

But the worst sign is, when we started going, there were 32 treatment chairs.  A couple of weeks ago, they added 8 more, which is really more than can comfortably fit in the space.  That's a 20% increase in capacity, which they wouldn't invest in if they weren't expecting to need it.  And it's going to make the nurses' jobs harder, and increase the likelihood of someone making a dangerous mistake.  Not good at all.


At our house in town, I built a bunch of nice raised garden beds along the sidewalk, where we grow vegetables and flowers.  The whole front yard is pretty much flowers and gardens, very little grass. It's a busy street, and we get lots of complementary comments from people in the neighborhood.  One year we had a huge trombocino squash hanging on the trellis and people were stopping to photograph their babies next to it...

A while back we started finding little gifts left in the raised beds with no explanation.  A ceramic bird hung up on the trellis, a Christmas ornament in December, etc.

The most curious thing so far has been these little rattles/chimes/whatever they are.  We have no idea what they're for, or who left them.  They have something inside that makes a soft little ringing sound when you shake them.

Does anyone know what these are, or what the characters on them represent?
 https://image.nostr.build/5e1fc1ae17aaa080e0349991e05e84454ca1b2e9ca88efbe6eeda09e93a339de.jpg

 https://image.nostr.build/a84e816f3040dc5b0206bb490125fc63396cddedf23b09018cd243e5accb8a2b.jpg

#asknostr #garden #art #mystery


Picked peaches in the orchard yesterday.  Probably should have done it last week, some were overripe and serving as a buffet for the local insect population.  I was surrounded by butterflies the whole time.  Wonderful experience.

https://image.nostr.build/010f8aa3fd7deb8cded1f96733f215621110a1050c5796b9a9ea42aa452d38b9.jpg

#farm #garden #food #butterfly #homesteading #grownostr


Linux
GrapheneOS
Tor
Gardening
Reloading ammo
Beekeeping


Stargazer fish, I think.


I've known quite a few dachshunds in my life.  They have all been awesome little dogs.  Never met a wiener dog that was a jerk.


No, you use the post pounder as a fulcrum.  Lean it against the post, snagged under a tooth, then pull the top of the post toward the pounder.  That forces the post upward.  Repeat as needed on subsequent teeth to ratchet the post up out of the ground.

Here's another video showing the same thing:

https://youtube.com/shorts/HCqpRfj1KBs

Ingenious.


Guys, I'm fifty years old and only now just learned this technique for pulling T-posts out of the ground.  This is clearly a failure of the educational system at all levels.  I honestly feel a little betrayed by the whole of society that this exists and nobody told me about it.  You all just let me sweat and grunt and wiggle posts back and forth for hours like a chump.  I've pulled almost as many muscles as posts trying to extract them the hard way, when I could have been yoinking them out of the ground with almost no effort this whole time.  Anybody who knows this trick should feel obligated to teach it to at least five other people.

#farm #tools #diy #garden #backpain #grownostr #themoreyouknow

https://video.nostr.build/34d60e8e3c0b92b4a58ff391825e3cc27c6809de47017711338fb9004e73acde.mp4


Looks like web worms to me.


Not much happened today, so here's some photos  of the tiny feathered dinosaurs that patrol my orchard, converting grasshoppers into delicious eggs.  This is a much better way to eat ze bugs.

#chickens #farm #eatzebugs #homesteading #grownostr

 https://image.nostr.build/aced49325a255a2118fc5cd824a4fa71e8cf1f6566a7449512151509300722e3.jpg
 https://image.nostr.build/f2d0a4b073de5355cfda4246e232c4930820be50718ddd528ce4929a71a3ed9d.jpg
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I don't think this would end the way Duke thinks it would if the fence weren't there...

https://video.nostr.build/00fe1da82c65558e3a953c4538def8211df9050325ee76d7e0dcac64121ad496.mp4

#dog #dogstr #farm #cows #homestead #grownostr


I heard you guys like #ballstr!

 https://image.nostr.build/c98b850c2e753ac5e74eb630e0e9ad67bfdb656af7e940b8125dc3160ec03211.gif


GM Nostr!  Feels like it's going to be one of those days...  This little butthole woke me up at 4 AM meowing outside the bedroom window wanting attention.

#tired #cat #catstr

https://image.nostr.build/7faa40af557f3ef73571b4517b8a646df8a1643ffcfa12c1c5323d9b55e97dd9.jpg


How does it taste?


Stamping is easier if you have a big hunk of metal behind the washer.  I put my washer and jig on top of a 25lb barbell weight and got good results.


Glad to see I'm not the only one who sometimes gardens in the dark!


This mushroom ketchup of which you speak... I'm intrigued.  Tell us more!


They're a copy of the Winchester 1300  imported from China by Savage, with the quality that implies.  They work, because pump shotguns are about as forgiving as you can get when it comes to guns, but the machine work is a little rough out of the box.

For about the same money, the Mossberg Maverick 88 is a better shotgun in my opinion.  It's also a budget gun, but the corners are cut in places that aren't as noticeable as the corners that are cut to get the Savage down to that $200ish price point.  The action is smoother, for example.

They're not the junkiest Chinese shotguns on the market, but unless you find a screaming deal on one, you can generally do better for the price.


Thank you for posting this.  I lost my mom in the same way, suddenly and out of the blue.  Then I lost my dad a few years later after a year of cancer treatments that ultimately didn't work.  There's no good way to experience that kind of loss.

People often say that it gets easier with time, but I don't think that's quite accurate.  It doesn't really get easier, you just get better at living with how difficult it is.  Mom passed 14 years ago, Dad was ten years ago, and I still have moments where I'll think of something about one of them and feel this overwhelming sorrow at the loss.  But that sharp, hard pain that would accompany such thoughts in the early years has dulled quite a bit.

Happy Mother's Day to you and all the other Nostr moms out there.  My wife and I spent the day making cookies for all the moms on our street.  Here's yours...  🍪😉


Marigolds will do fine in containers, you could just put some in pots around the outside of the garden, or use some kind of hanging/window box type planter on your fence.  Or put them in pots and move them around the garden through the season wherever you have room.

You might lose a tiny bit of the companion planting benefits by not having them share soil and root contact with your garden plants, but the insect repelling benefits will remain.


Your videos have the best surprise guest stars!  First it was the cat, now it's a dog with a stick.


If you want to keep deer off of new trees, you can make a deer repellent from eggs and milk.  Beat a couple of eggs together with a cup of milk, add to a gallon of water and mix thoroughly.  Cover and let it sit outside somewhere warm (not in a sealed container, though - it will pressurize and explode if you do that) for a day.  It will stink, but if you paint or spray it on your trees, it's pretty effective at keeping the deer away.  After it dries for a day or two, the odor subsides below the human threshold, but animals can still smell it.  Putrefied eggs are the main ingredient in commercial deer/rabbit repellents like Liquid Fence.

You can add cayenne pepper or garlic (or both) to enhance its effectiveness, also.

In my experience, deer require a multi-pronged approach to control.  Barriers, repellents, and startle mechanisms are all part of the equation.


Precious, indeed!  Rock on, brother.  Best of luck with your potatoes and whatever else you're growing this year!

Does the short season and harsh climate mean you don't have as many pest problems as more southerly gardeners have to deal with, or are the bugs just quicker at getting down to business up there?


Dang, Alaska and Texas could not be much more different, climate-wise!  I'll be harvesting potatoes in a week or two, and the tomatoes are just starting to produce.  It will all be dead by the end of June, though, murdered by my old nemesis The Sun...


Can't do either of those - I know humans with those names!


I kinda like that name...  She's a weird little cat, but very friendly now that she has decided that the guy putting food out for her isn't a trap.


Okay, gang.  Time to quit screwing around chit-chatting about Bitcoins and protocols and art and homesteads and whatever other frivolity ya'll engage in around here.  Focus that nostr brainpower on this cat for a minute.

She started hanging around the farm a couple months ago, and has finally got comfortable enough to let me pet her, so now she needs a name.

Based on her physical characteristics, I think she might be a sister of the other little stray that started hanging around here a couple years ago, Junebug.  And she doesn't really meow, she makes a croaking sound like a tree frog  (see the video for that).  So I'm pretty sure she's a cat, but there might be some frog or toad DNA in the mix.
 https://image.nostr.build/dc240345a11f3b870c95bdd97ea2199e70054788da29c948924d43c77de4fae7.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/19d5e8b8c7999aa3f486409099332e916bcd6bf5cac63be82681d6c2693ad668.jpg

https://video.nostr.build/50a4e5747eafc1306a273772717757a8e718c39054be1aa5750b6eac5f73dc73.mp4

#cat #farm #asknostr #grownostr #catstr


Definitely a fungal problem in the soil.  Probably fusarium from the looks of that stem, but there are other similar diseases, too.

You can look for cucumber varieties that are specifically mentioned as resistant to fusarium and other fungal disease and try those.  Another technique (I haven't tried because it gets too hot to grow it where I am) is to companion plant celery with the cucumbers.  Apparently the celery produces chemicals in its roots that help control some fungal diseases, including fusarium.


Looks like fusarium crown rot to me.  It's a fungal disease.

What variety of cucumber was this?


I 3D printed a soil block maker over the weekend, and I'm giving it a try now.  Seems to work pretty well once you dial in the moisture content of your soil mix.  Time will tell how durable it is (I only used 40% infill to save time and materials on this one), but it's basically just an experiment for us to see if we can incorporate soil blocks into our growing.  If it works out, I can invest in a larger/more durable one.
 https://image.nostr.build/3526a59c8511c25961660fc51485cf17a20d21727c124a52c015a4db63b29769.jpg
 https://image.nostr.build/4bb9cda83f4a65a814f895999aa0950731a0acaa2bb371380f9567c0c25bbc85.jpg

This is the file I used (it's not my design) if you're interested in making one of your own:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3444101

#3dprinting #gardening #homesteading #grownostr #plants


College.


GM and Happy Cinco de Mayo, ya'll!
 https://image.nostr.build/066ac62da94c8d9d426c94614184024d9545bf89c400110000b5fd8e5641815e.jpg
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#dogstr #catstr #dogs #cats #cincodemayo


Hill Country is beautiful, but it's tough homesteading.  There isn't much soil out there.  We looked at some properties out that way when we were shopping, but ended up buying a place to the east of Austin.  All of the places we looked at to the west were rock with a few inches of topsoil.  The place we have now has deep, beautiful soil that can grow anything that's suited for the climate.

I've got a friend who had a nice place in Johnson City, with a gorgeous view, but the whole thing was one big rock.  Digging a well was going to cost so much, he ended up going with a big rainwater tank.  Just some things to consider as you start shopping around.

But as far as the political climate and attitudes you're looking for, as long s you start away from the cities, you'll find people like that all over the state.


You sound like exactly the kind of people that we here in Texas need.  The climate here might not be pleasant to adjust to from California weather, though.  Good luck on your escape plan!


Kittens are the biggest bait-and-switch scam ever.  They're infinitely adorable, hilariously entertaining, and incredibly lovable.  Then, once they get you emotionally hooked, they turn into cats and start sleeping all day, making noise all night, breaking your stuff and being assholes about food.  I love my cats, but sometimes it's like having the worst roommate in the world...  🐱


Beautiful photos!  As much as I love the spring garden, with its tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers and melons, my favorite season to grow here is the fall and winter.  The garden is so much easier then, without having to worry about watering all the time, and every bug, bird, and rodent in the county trying to eat your harvest.  And it's so beautiful with all the different types and colors of lettuce, kale, cauliflower, etc.


Squeaky Frog

Homesteading IT guy running a plant nursery in central Texas.  I like dogs and cats better than people, but some people are okay, too.


Have you ever had horsemint honey?  If there's a lot of horsemint in the flower mix, the honey actually has enough thymol in it to give you that cooling, minty feeling on your tongue.  Not my favorite honey, but it is good for sweetening herbal teas.  Some people absolutely love it.

I've got lemon balm coming out of my ears, all from a couple little starts a few years ago.  It's insanely prolific.


I'm running my node using the software from Start9 on an old laptop, but they sell  turnkey servers that are really easy to get running out of the box.  It can do other server type tasks besides Bitcoin, too, if you later decide to explore self-hosting some of your own digital life.

https://start9.com/


I've lived here in #Texas for almost three decades, and this year is the first time I've ever seen this particular native wildflower.  It's called Blue Curls (Phacelia congesta).  Sometimes called Caterpillars or Fiddleneck for the way the flowers grow in neat little curls that unfurl over time as the flowers bloom in sequence.  Bees seem to love it, so I'm planning on collecting some seeds from this roadside patch I found and establishing it in my pasture somewhere.

https://image.nostr.build/0ccae94c6d69a158237a987b76bc394d49de52bba137d6bf96de695d45174435.jpg
 https://image.nostr.build/ef6a8eefc2362bf8f4da6af72953ec50acd2b92b16fdae5133eaf04daa52d505.jpg

#grownostr #garden #flowers #plants


The pineapple element is mostly just in the aroma, and in my experience it dissipates a lot when you dry the leaves.  The flavor is a lot more sage-y and less pineapple-y than the smell.

You might try making tea from the leaves.  Sage tea is used for its anti-inflammatory benefits, though the taste isn't for everybody.

You can propagate it fairly easily from cuttings, so you can make more plants to give away to friends, or to bring one inside over winter if you live somewhere that the outside one won't survive.


You're not the only ones!


Love the surprise appearance of the cat!


It's really amazing how many people are irrational about snakes.  Those tiny little grass snakes or brown earth snakes aren't even big enough to get a bite on you, even if they were venomous.  Yet people still freak out about a little snake the size of a pencil.  A lot of folks out in the country will still kill any snake they see, which is stupid.  Then they'll complain about having mice and rats everywhere...


One of the neighbor kids is a little girl who loves animals.  Every once in a while she'll catch one and carry it around with her for a while.  Not many wild animals will tolerate that!


GM nostr!

One of my favorite things about living in a warm climate is having cool little lizards all over the place.  The Texas spiny lizards and geckos we have are jumpy and nervous, and run away at every disturbance, but these green anoles are very chill.  They'll hang out with you and watch you while you're in the garden, and only run away when they feel seriously threatened.  I know a guy who trained one that lived in his woodpile to be hand fed.  He'd catch bugs and feed it, until it eventually learned to recognize him and would come out for a treat whenever he walked by.  They're cool little dudes.

https://image.nostr.build/968c71bfcdb2967bc45f6dd41414c69ab5f8f1060f071e9fdedff983640ac5e3.jpg
 https://image.nostr.build/4aa6193a25612916f8b95d90bbd686dc947f3f1e593bd5f25dfff22d82e64d3f.jpg

#lizard #animals #grownostr #texas


Have you ever seen a "militia" group or whatever this is supposed to be that wasn't composed of at least 30% middle-aged fat dudes?  They're not even trying to make it remotely believable.  This is equivalent to pretending to bust an Islamic terror cell and all the members are Japanese women.

I used to think that stuff like this was attributable to incompetence.  Now, I still think that some of it is incompetence.  But the really egregious stuff, like this imbecilic "Patriot Front" bullshit, is about humiliation.  They do this stuff right in front of our faces to send the message that they can get away with whatever they want to do, no matter how preposterous it is.  This is "deep state" bureaucracy rubbing our noses in the fact that they're above the law, and want to make sure we see that.  It's intended to demoralize us.


By "old school", I assume you mean something like "competent, intelligent, diligent, and conscientious".  My wife is an engineer of this type, and not many of her colleagues seem to be.  Certainly not the younger ones.  It seems like the engineering schools have finally fallen to the "everybody gets a trophy" mindset that has taken down most other fields, and aren't producing a very high quality product any more.

The scary part is, even if the decline is arrested and reversed, there's already two generations of not-very-good engineers in the pipeline that can cause a lot of damage in their 40+ year careers.  There aren't enough old-schoolers to go around, so some of the seats inevitably get filled with people who shouldn't be doing that job.


If you don't have a source locally (sometimes garden centers, especially ones that cater to organic growers, carry them), you can buy online from Uncle Jim's.  There's a hydroponics/aquaponics store around here (Brite Ideas) that carries them, so you might check out local options in that arena as well.

https://unclejimswormfarm.com/order-stuff/composting-worms/


As much as it sucks, Facebook and Nextdoor are your best options.  I hate using both of them, but we get a lot of traffic from both when we have our plant sales.

Also, start a mailing list (Mailchimp isn't great, but it's free for basic, small-scale stuff) and ask people who buy from you if they want to be on it.  Plant people are often repeat customers, especially when you add new varieties to your catalog.  As long as you limit yourself to only sending out announcements occasionally and not annoying people, that's a good way to build up a customer base.


Incredibly naive.  Those goals could not be *more* incompatible with the goals of government, especially the sort of government embodied by the freakin' CIA.


Don't get me wrong, lettuce has its place.  But on a sandwich with fresh tomatoes?  It's basil, hands down..  Every.  Damn.  Time.


Welcome, fellow Texan!  🐂


That's a great analogy.  Twitter and Facebook are the seed oils of the internet.  They're unnatural, toxic, and promote inflammation.

Meanwhile, Nostr is bacon grease...


Step 1:  Grow "lettuce leaf" basil in your #garden.  This basil makes huge, crinkly, crisp, delicious leaves (see photo below).

Step 2:  If anyone in your household tries to make a BLT sandwich, smack them gently but firmly with a spatula or similar item, while shouting "NO!", and replace the lettuce on the sandwich with a leaf of this basil instead.  Throwing the lettuce on the floor and stomping on it is optional, but does add dramatic flair.

Step 3:  Thank me for making your life better.  A BBT sandwich is far superior to a BLT.

#gardening #grownostr #food

 https://image.nostr.build/90e581c4c0220ef4624fd4195f360a297e196c235ec4af5aad4854ae8acfdc87.jpg

alt A hand holding a frickin huge leaf of tasty basil


What breed is she?


Chickens are immune to uroshiol, the oil in poison ivy that causes allergic reactions.  So they can eat that stuff with no ill effects.  They're generally smart and tough enough to avoid getting hurt on thorny plants, so the raspberries are not much of a danger to them.

I'd dig up the raspberries and move them, since they're more far valuable to you than as chicken feed.  Brambles transplant very easily, so you can probably expect a good success rate with transplanting them.  Find a new location that gets similar sun exposure to where they're at now.

Are the chickens going to stay in this area all the time?  The main concern I'd have would be if they are ranging the rest of the property, they'll eat the poison ivy berries and litter the seeds in their droppings all over the place and spread the ivy to new locations.  Also, if you're handling the birds, the uroshiol oil can transfer from them to you and give you a rash.  You can reduce that by always washing (scrubbing with a washcloth) your hands and arms after handing the chickens to remove the uroshiol before it absorbs into your skin.  Over time, the chickens will probably kill out the ivy by eating it all, reducing the need for these precautions in the future.


I've got three donkeys, and even if I were the kind of scumbag asshole who thinks it's OK to abuse animals, they'd be the last ones I'd mess with.  Not only can they fuck you up real bad from either end, they have long memories and are very capable of nursing a grudge for a long, long time.  If you hurt them, they'll remember it and come back for revenge at a time and place of their choosing.

The lion may be "the king of the jungle", but the donkey is the king of FAFO.


The gardens of the guys who built Stonehenge must have looked like this...


If you have a backpack sprayer, you can use a diluted soap mixture (3-4 Tbs liquid soap per gallon of water) and hose down the entire tree, concentrating on the underside of the leaves.  That will help knock down the aphid population and let the ladybugs catch up to them quicker.  You can also try just hosing the tree down with a sharp stream from a hose, to try to knock as many of the aphids off the leaves as you can.  Be careful with that method, though, because you could knock the fruit off the tree if the stream is too strong.


I wouldn't describe myself as a gardener.  I think "gardening-obsessed plant psycho" would be a more fitting description.


The key to onions is getting them in the ground as early as you can and making sure the soil is nutrient rich.  The reason is that onions are day-length sensitive.  They start bulbing once the days reach the number of hours of daylight that the variety has been bred for.  So, the bigger you can get the plant (each green leaf will be a ring in the eventual bulb) before that starts, the bigger your onions can potentially be.  Fortunately, onions are pretty cold tolerant plants, so putting them in the ground a month before the rest of the garden is possible in many climates, especially if you use some simple protection measures like a cold frame or just covering them with a sheet at night.

There's a breakdown of the three basic day-length types on this page:

https://dixondalefarms.com/product-category/onion-plants/


Yeah, they're covered in those tiny little needle-like thorns, so it's best to relocate them somewhere out of the way.  That's not too difficult, though, since they're tough as nails.  As long as you get a little bit of the root and keep them watered, they transplant very easily.


Jam or syrup.  Sometimes if we don't have time to preserve them properly, we'll just freeze them for future use.  The best way is to freeze them individually on a baking sheet, then package them up, so they're not frozen together into a big block.


#Dewberry season is in full swing here in central #Texas, so we went to check out a small patch I had spotted a few weeks ago.  Turns out to have been a bigger gold mine than I originally thought, yielding almost 5 pounds of berries, with probably that much more still left to ripen!  This was just a small unkempt area next to the road in an urban area of commercial/office spaces that I happened to walk past on my way to a medical appointment.  It pays to keep your eyes open!

#foraging #payattention #grownostr #eatwild

https://image.nostr.build/bbdd71f98c33087c1f0bf0be3598d8954d2cd502840aaf518f94b529a72cbca4.jpg
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Sounds like somebody that has more money than he can afford to lose tied up in BSV that he bought at a high point...  Staring down the prospect of being broke can really bring out the crazy in people.


MATE all the way.  GNOME 2 was my go-to for years, and GNOME 3 eats total ass, so I'm stuck with MATE.


Yeah, it hurts like hell.  Almost an electrical shock kind of pain.

But at least they don't chase you, like bees and wasps do if you get too close to their nests!


#Texas tip for today:

Always look first before reaching into any underground valve boxes.

 https://image.nostr.build/28547fb46c6608bbbdc9b8fdaa6543f305f0990569db5d3a23d95909d3db1588.jpg

#garden #homesteading #scorpion #safety #themoreyouknow


This site can be useful in such situations.   It won't tell you why they're flying around, but it will tell you whose chopper it is (police, ambulance service, etc), and show you exactly where they're circling.

https://flightradar24.com


My first thought is overwatering, but since it's so close to the other one, that seems unlikely, unless there's a reason the yellow one might be getting a lot more water or have worse drainage.  It looks like there might be a sidewalk there - does the water run off that directly onto that plant, by any chance?

Any chance there's a dog involved?  If they're in a spot where a dog might be peeing on them, that could explain it.  Sometimes they'll just keep peeing in the same spot and just murder a plant.


Good morning, Nostr!

I'm not really a "good morning" person, or a #coffeechain guy, either, but what the hell else am I supposed to do with this photo?

 https://image.nostr.build/aaac711d892a6d5fa27bd001832b5e32e697b29ff89639a5334476f99740b47c.jpg

#garden #grownostr #morning #coffee


Very nice!  I like the incorporation of a couple little benches (assuming that's what they are) so you can sit and hang out with your garden.  Very efficient layout for the space, too.


This is like a "Where's Waldo" for garden nerds...  👍


You might be lazy, but I'll bet you aren't "snail-hitching-a-ride-on-another-snail" lazy.

#garden #grownostr #takeiteasy

 https://image.nostr.build/c2123e38044cd15b271df234775f0dcafd796f781f5e2d9267daf80bcfa08fee.jpg


I usually let the chickens out of the mobile coop for a couple of hours each day to let them stretch their wings and get some exploration time, if I'm going to be working near enough to keep an eye on them (hawks are plentiful here).  Today, with 15 acres of freedom to choose from, they did this.  You'd think they'd be sick of each other being stuck together all day, but this is how they choose to use their liberty...

https://image.nostr.build/1cfbd6a5a4a24fc868668778c42da3766855b4c69d072dab00885ff71f7dc49c.jpg

#chickens #farm #homestead #grownostr


This is the one that I use.  It's customizable, so you can input the exact size of your washers and letter stamps and get one that fits very well.  The first one I tried, the hole for the stamp was too tight, and using it was a pain.

I also modified it a little from the original (added more letter slots for longer words) so I can use it to make ID tags for the trees in my orchard.  Smaller trees, you can hang the washer on a limb with wire, and when they're big enough, attach it to the tree with a stainless steel screw.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4785256
 https://image.nostr.build/bdce540633e0e7bcf76247ae0bc76a8adb7b9071750d65826ff1214a38c1e42b.jpg


We have a house in Austin and our farm in the country.  One thing I've noticed is the stark difference between country kids and city kids.  There's a much, much higher proportion of city kids that act like little monsters.  Country kids will generally be more polite and well-behaved, and able to interact with adults and other kids in normal human ways.

We went to an event at a country cowboy church our farrier invited us to a while back, and out of maybe 30+ kids there, of all ages, not one had a tantrum of any kind all day.  A similar group of kids in Austin likely would have produced at least a half-dozen screaming meltdowns.

I have some theories on why this might be; there are definitely multiple factors at work.

Glad you made it home safe and sane.  😉


Hey, nostr:npub15879mltlln6k8jy32k6xvagmtqx3zhsndchcey8gjyectwldk88sq5kv0n, I was recalling the other day how I originally found your show, and thought you might find this amusing.  It was a post on The Onion's old AV Club site, back in 2011 when the Onion didn't suck.

So I searched for it, and sure enough, it's still posted there.  I don't know if you've ever seen this before, but if not, hopefully it'll give you a chuckle.

https://www.avclub.com/week-of-aug-25-aug-31-1798228778

"Jack Spirko’s daily monologue isn’t just the rants of a paranoid redneck waiting for the apocalypse; the show discusses useful tips self-preservation in tough situations and day-to-day life. TSP can cover everything from how to use a gun to how to pickle cucumbers and all the miscellaneous things you never considered when you wrote out your zombie apocalypse plan on 4chan. The host has heavy libertarian leanings (obviously) but the clear, simple episode titles allow you to choose carefully, maybe skipping the one about carrying a gun every day for another on planting an autumn garden. Thankfully, Spirko does his research, breaking down complicated issues into plain English. Episode #731, Preserving The Harvest, is a perfect introductory episode, as it offers suggestions for preparing fresh vegetables and game for the winter. When the economy collapses, Spirko will be the only friend you have left, so get used to him now."


Harlequin bugs.  They'll reproduce like crazy if you let them.  Look on the leaves of those plants for their eggs, too.  They're very distinctive - little white barrel-shaped eggs with black stripes.  Almost always laid in two rows of six eggs each.


I have put all of mine on pallets so far.  I thought that would help reduce the likelihood of them being invaded by fire ants, but that didn't work.  The ants still moved in to two of them.  I may omit the pallet on the next few and see if there's any noticeable difference.

Without the pallet constraining the size, you could increase the diameter a bit and get a couple more air vent tubes in there, to offset the lack of airflow from underneath.

I suspect you're right about soil contact helping to increase the diversity of the life in the compost.  It will be an interesting side-by-side experiment.


#carrotbooty

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#garden #grownostr


Beautiful dog!


Duke's mood today:  contemplative.

#dogstr #dogs #grownostr

https://image.nostr.build/4f614951c8f1b66f7c90cff813034b88d69fc677a136d256809509e15203b96c.jpg


Yes, the flowers, once pollinated, will make little bean-like seed pods.


It's called "Purple Express".  I'm in Texas, where we grow cabbage and other brassica crops through the winter.  This is one I didn't harvest in time, so once the weather started warming up, it bolted.


While you might think this is a telepathic alien plant from Zeta Reticuli sent to conquer our world, really it's just what happens when you let a red Napa cabbage go into full bloom.  It's really pretty incredible how it goes from a well-behaved little cabbage to this outlandish riot in just a few days.  Next year, I hope to be able to set up a time lapse camera to catch the process.

https://image.nostr.build/3f2f20b677c8f91d4fa245ee1c5107a8e4c9fea041447689e71635bc3c784879.jpg

#grownostr #gardening #flower #vegetables #TelepathicAlienPlantsFromZetaReticuli


If you're in the Austin or Lockhart (Texas) area, we're having our first plant sales of the season this weekend, and will be having sales through the month of March.  Mostly vegetables and herbs, but we have a few ornamentals as well.  You can find the schedule of sales and locations at our website:

http://squeakyfrogfarm.com

All of our plants are grown with "beyond organic" methods, though we aren't certified organic.  And if you pay with Lightning, we'll give you a 20% discount!

https://image.nostr.build/429a7febfffd42741d20195b0e3668e68b44ae9357eda06e4d2f869d3cf5a7cb.jpg

#gardening #plantstr #austin #texas #grownostr


What I really don't understand is, who's buying that?  Even the newest of newbie gardeners is going to look at that sad display and keep walking, aren't they?  And yet, you see it every year, so they must be selling at least a few of them.  I suppose that's why the prices are so high - for every plant they do manage to sell, two or three end up in the dumpster behind the store.


This is just disgraceful.  A few barely sprouted okra seedlings in a cup of sterile potting soil for five bucks.  Remember, folks, friends don't let friends buy Bonnie plants.  Find a local grower to buy plants from, or start your own from seed.

Okay, I confess, I have a small nursery business, so I've got a financial interest in promoting support for local growers 😉, but come on, this is ridiculous.

#gardening #grownostr #plantstr #ripoff

https://image.nostr.build/dd8a07e63c8628550f56617e0e8f666218b968511d665ef5c537956868b3fc19.jpg


I just poke them whole down into the soil at different spots around the roots of the plant.  Some people dissolve them in water and then apply it that way.


It definitely works to help the plants resist blight. It's not bulletproof, but it's a great cheap method to give your plants some protection.

I use three tablets around the plant when it's transplanted, then another dose every 3 weeks through the season.  As the plants grow, I'll increase those additional doses - one tablet the first time, then two tablets for a couple of applications, then three each time for the rest of the season.  We have a short season for tomatoes most years, the Texas heat burns them to death by July or August.


#proofofwork

https://image.nostr.build/569690fa7415e1dcd05520cd52c15dad8709bd34a1b77ffbd3b0b60756c859ee.jpg


I just signed up the other day and had the same experience, not much activity in my area, and most of it was months ago.


There's a great smartphone app called PlantNet.  You can take a few pictures of a plant and it will try to identify it for you.  I've had pretty good success using it, especially if you take pictures of different parts of the plant, like leaves, flowers, etc.


A couple of years ago, while splitting firewood, I found this piece of barbed wire embedded in a log.  Now I keep it on my front porch as a daily reminder of three things:

- Think as much as you can in terms of longer time scales.  Overcoming that fence was a decades-long project for the tree.

- Nature doesn't care about what people want.  That tree didn't stop growing just  because somebody put up a fence.

- You might be as big, tough, and resilient as an oak tree, but a chainsaw can still fuck you up.

#deepthoughts #grownostr #homesteadphilosophy

https://image.nostr.build/cc17255638ec0bb89b77691707196a1a21acd4502081e59f651505c4a22412d5.jpg


Cool device!

If I understand it correctly, the heavy stuff like rocks falls down the vertical shaft, and the lighter junk gets sucked into the vacuum, leaving behind the seeds?  Do you have to adjust the flow on the vacuum for different size seeds?


The pallet isn't strictly necessary.  After a couple days, the material is settled enough to remove the pipes and leave behind air tubes through the material, so lifting the whole thing up with a pallet lets more air through the whole thing.  It probably speeds up the process a little, but it also means you have to water them a little more often as they dry out from the airflow.

A side benefit is I can put pallet forks on my tractor and move them around if necessary (though it's a little wobbly and unstable, so it has to be moved very carefully).


Put together another bioreactor in our long-term compost area yesterday.  This is a shady spot in a corner of the property behind the orchard where this stuff can sit for a year (or more) and let the fungi do its magic.  Now we've got five bioreactor style bins (the four on the right were filled with woodchips last March, the one on the left is leaves, grass clippings, and coffee grounds) and two bins for growing leaf mold.  My goal is to double this capacity by the beginning of summer.

https://image.nostr.build/ef7bec8aaa28cb9c48b0892102787df49de8fbb311800a9014a24bad87c33dc8.jpg#m=image%2Fjpeg&dim=1920x1440&blurhash=%23XG8.ZRPR*juoLaeV%40ofRj%7EWRPj%5Dj%5BoKjZWBofWA.8RiWVaxWUj%3FaekCjYkXV%40WBWVRkWVa%7DbIjsW%3DWAoMWBR%2BWWf%2BkCayoejZofjuazofofoeWVn%25jafkbHj%3Foeofj%40j%5B&x=43f209f85dccce835cb3b20c703ce4616ed4d09bf2f19794c79563a4ab50312d

#gardening #permaculture #compost #gardening


Individual kernels may contain different genetic information, but the ripening of the kernels (and other physical aspects of the cob) are mostly controlled by the mother plant.  Think of it in animal terms - each kitten in a litter may contain different genetics from its siblings, but they're all born at the same time.


Yes, it's pretty amazing what you can do these days with a cheap $200 3D printer!


A rat decided to chew into our chicken feeder and crawl up into the feed.  Quite a surprise to open it and find a rat trapped in there on top of the feed!  Our cats are not doing their job...

I 3D-printed a new part and now we're back in the chicken-feeding business.

#chickens #diy #3dprinting #grownostr #homestead

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https://image.nostr.build/ccd78b327f5d19daee1f6a6a1376e3a1f1b04d3dc618faf46b141f30df722cee.jpg


Just went out to the barn to get some more firewood to feed the greenhouse stove and discovered a skunk sheltering under the floorboards where the woodpile is.  He must have chased away the possum that was under there during the last cold snap.

Thankfully, we built a second woodshed last year and there's a good supply of seasoned wood in it.  I think I'll get what I need from there for the rest of the evening...  😉

#homestead #farm #wildlife


But not too much love, I guess.  She kept all the good meat for herself and brought me the head!  😂


Thanks!  We mix up our own potting soil with live compost, which I think gives the plants a better start.  Most nurseries use a sterile mix and liquid fertilizer.


We've been transplanting seedlings this week.  It can be a little tedious sometimes, but it sure is rewarding when you look at a greenhouse full of thousands of little baby plants that didn't exist at all a few weeks ago!

https://image.nostr.build/42d8e731689a8daa34d6f03b71c955b8cade2e871ec1480ddc7216e8582e1fae.jpg#m=image%2Fjpeg&dim=1920x1440&blurhash=%23QF6B%5EMxV%40ofocRot6Rkt6_4M_WAbFWDbEWEbEf9-%3DM%7Boba%23k9bFj%5Bfja%23%5E%2BWCWBofoea%23oeWCj%5B%25MoeR%25j%3FRlayWEfQjuxtWEWBazkAWCj%5Bf8j%40xaj%3FWEWBWCk9j%5Bj%3FWV&x=cd2665732ddbb8966a5fb930289fea52de3d36e5a168fe291b21c02c6172b03d

https://image.nostr.build/2c8c2ac9eb997973cff99c846a5b3fadc3ac733ab2653a2ab90ae9772be0b837.jpg#m=image%2Fjpeg&dim=1920x1440&blurhash=%235F6B%3A%3Fo0%3D-.9i%252ICozVt-%3B9kI%5ESjxwW%2BxuoZbXpu_2%7EUSjNGbbs%2Cfh%2539%25b%7B.7ohs%3DogVtRRf3xvNNNNtRoIRQk7oaxGtSo%7EV%7DRW%3Fa-%3At7WBS0kDNfx%5BoxIBIURPV%40s%3A&x=5524a78fa193e48c1fbf049f8e875eeddae31adc0cf3d2fc2eadc845cd5a3135

https://image.nostr.build/6fbaed4153ddbf6e1884318214bd16c3688768e2096e0632b62c20ef8c74a6eb.jpg#m=image%2Fjpeg&dim=1920x1440&blurhash=%23PG%5ByNo%23NaWBRkodWBoLWB_MjFoet6offkWCs%3AWB.8f9RkRjoLfioeoLWC%25gs%3Bxat6WCWBjsfQayozNHaeoet7ofofWEoetRogayWANGRkayoLfjsmj%5Boet7s%3AoeWCR*j%5B&x=1be6e0bf726c2e1cf02d0a079b6835a3fb098bc347e8b5dee08de8102d3d30f2

#gardening #nursery #greenhouse #grownostr


A strip of tape (masking tape or packing tape - some kind that's not too sticky) placed on the counter in the spots where they jump up can be deterrent.  The trick is to put the tape sticky side up (tape it down on the ends with a couple other pieces).  They'll jump up, and absolutely hate the feeling of something sticky on their paws.  You should only need to do this for a few days.  If they're intelligent and not too stubborn, they'll take the hint.  Very headstrong or dumb cats may never learn, unfortunately...


For reference, this is what a remorseless rabbit-killing machine looks like.

https://image.nostr.build/a22e413b06b05ed9d071100a6598a964c3ef7fb6d25baffe5ea606388af7bafa.jpg#m=image%2Fjpeg&dim=1920x1440&alt=Cat&blurhash=%23NH2p9_4x%5DWXslofjsWBWB-%3Bn%24-%3BRjWCM%7BWCkCaeMxWVROV%40%25NbIWBoJazWW%25NR%2BM_RjbIRjoztRj%5DozRjRikCt7ofRjRjoeogWWWAaeofxuWAWBofWBWBozWBWAflozt7&x=639dc00948cabd5c1a8956b53db39215bbee9dd71c389103e6c629dd27110465

#cats #homestead #sweetlittlemurderer


Whatever happened to just giving someone a Valentine card?  😉


My sweet little cat just brought me the decapitated head of a rabbit she must have just killed.  Is that good luck or a bad omen?

This cat is the same size as a rabbit, and she's now killed two that I know of.  The last time she dragged the whole bloody corpse into the kitchen through the open window.  I guess I should be happy it was just the head this time.


When I was growing up, my grandma was the head lunch lady in the rural school district where she lived.  I never asked how it happened, but every once in a while, we'd come back from visiting her with a big-ass box of those frozen rectangle school pizzas in the back of the station wagon.  Lunches and snack times were awesome for a month or so after those visits.

Sometimes I do miss eating delicious garbage...