We have a nice stand of poison Hemlock. Thankfully I'm not sensitive to touching it. I've mowed it before, but I try to do it when the air is moving or at least limit my exposure. This year it's a fraction of what it was, but we've still got plenty. I don't think I've used weed killer in my life, but this is one plant that had me thinking about it. If there were ever a reason to pull out the weed killer, this plant would be it.
That said I'm not 100% sure this is poison hemlock in the pics. I can't recall how to tell it from look alikes.
Missouri redbud trees after the rain this evening. The blossoms can be used to make a mild flavored jelly.
#grownostr
#homesteading
#ozarks
Yeah ours are nocturnal as is the cat.
If you are doing more than a few you will have to reheat the water. The only reason it wouldn't work for at least a couple is if it can't hold a few gallons of water over 159 degrees.
You can heat water on the stove top too, but you need a thermometer and then you have to carry it to wherever you are doing the deed.
After listening to #[0] at The Survival Podcast talk about all the things you can do with a sous vid machine, I pulled the trigger.
I'm going to try salmon tonight.
But what I'm really seeing here is a machine to effortlessly heat scalding water to process a couple chickens...
I'm not at all sure about leaving it in the water during the scalding since that is a very dirty process, but I can see heating it up to 160°F, dump it into a bucket and the water should hold above 142° Fahrenheit long enough to scald and pluck a few chickens. As the water cools, the scald time will go from tens of seconds up to a couple minutes.
Lots of people complain about how difficult chickens are to pluck. It's just not true. That is, assuming you get a good scald. If you don't get a good scald, they won't pluck with a plucker either.
Divide the estimated scald time by 3, do three dunks and check the large wingtip feathers each time you pull up. When they slide out effortlessly it's done. If they don't, keep scalding. Stop scalding and start plucking.
With turkeys the largest and hardest feathers are the tail feathers, but they can pretty much be forced out by the time the wingtips are loose.
If you haven't tried it, you should note that waterfowl are more difficult...
#grownostr
#homesteading
#tsp
Trucker here. CDL-A driver.
I wonder who will be the first to implement a fair and efficient modernized freight logistics load board system on nostr?
It is time for this.
#grownostr
We have two Pyrenees mixes. One is still a puppy at around 100 lb or so, but he has this super deep voice so the other dogs pretty much told him he could do most of the barking.
The female is a couple years old and she brings in all sorts of stuff. She enjoys being fed but she could probably live off the land if she were free to roam.
Thankfully I really like beef. But yeah it's not the most interesting way to eat.
I have been unable to lose weight pretty much my entire adult life. I could gain muscle and maintain, but not actually lose weight. So slowly, it has been creeping up over time to roughly 45-55lbs over the ideal.
A little while back I started taking Berberine and was able to lose 10 lbs with no other changes.
Then I started the carnivore way of eating (went off Berberine), with no calorie restriction, and have lost another 15 lbs in just a month and a half while putting on muscle, again with no other changes.
I'm now BACK TO THE WEIGHT I WAS 22 YEARS AGO!!!
I could go on about the other positive changes it has brought about as well.
Mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction bite.
Carnivore is magical.
#brainenergy
#grownostr
#carnivore
I absolutely love this comment someone made about Facebook layoffs:
"The core problem is that the people really are mostly working very hard, but they are making the work for each other."
Yup.
Full comment and credit here:
https://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=22846020&cid=63451246
#grownostr
Nostr is late to the party, but I welcome it with the enthusiasm one could only reserve for the guy bringing the pizza who got stuck in traffic.
#grownostr
If you are wondering if Nostr has legs, this thread should remove all doubt. #[1]
#grownostr
#newstr
#[0]
#newstr
#grownostr
I made a batch of biochar that looks similar to that, but not quite as done last year. I left it in a plastic barrel that filled up with water over the winter. Mind you, this was pure charcoal. No inoculation, no ammonia, no seeds, no dirt, nothing added.
I was questioning whether or not it was going to be good as well. So I'm not suggesting it is optimal, but I saw a few seedlings growing in it under about 2 inches of water and they looked quite happy. I'm not saying it is optimal, but I'm confident it's going to be just fine.
I used to have a small yard with two Dobermans and I composted it with redworms. I didn't put it on my garden though. I put it back on my grass when it was well composted.
Do you live in the Ozarks or anywhere in the native range of the Ozark Chinquapin?
You should be a member of the The Ozark Chinquapin Foundation.
They are BRINGING BACK THE CHINQUAPIN by crossing carefully selected blight resistant trees.
By being a member, you can get access to a precious few of these small chestnuts for planting, and be part of this success story. Not only that, chiniquapins are long lived, bear every year, are loved by wildlife, and will bear viable seed within about five years of starting from seed.
https://ozarkchinquapinmembership.org/
#chinquapin
#grownostr
#ozark
#chestnuts
It took me awhile to figure out why this barrel design works as well as it does. It's in a similar class as an open cone or barrel with a saddle cut. A similar design is a barrel with no holes that is tipped over about 45° up from the ground. I like the latter but it is more complicated because you need a way to prop up the barrel.
There's really nothing wrong
with a barrel with a saddle cut, but it is harder to cut out the hole for that than it is to drill the holes, and it requires water to quench it. Also the saddle cut is typically left with a sharp edge which is a bit of a hazard.
I've never tried an open conekiln, but generally it would need to be quenched with water as well. The purchased variety are expensive and heavy, but I imagine they're very nice to use. The dug variety, well I live in the Ozarks, so digging is too much work and it isn't portable.
My barrel design does require a lid, although you can probably modify a barrel with a solid end. Otherwise it is as easy as drilling holes, burning off the paint, and presto you have another charcoal kiln! It's easy to move around and can go anywhere on the property without needing quench water. If you feed it carefully and have dry feed stock it doesn't make too much smoke, but obviously there is no spark arrestor.
I made this biochar last weekend. I used up brush I got from a cedar tree that I needed to clear up.
Essentially this is a substitute for a burn pile. It took me a bit to figure out why it works as well as it does. I have two barrels that both look about the same that I did together.
I'll soak it in water for a while and try to activate it with something and chip it.
I also threw some old bovine bones in the dogs had brought up from somewhere.
