this is so beautiful!

I don't know if people fully appreciate how great it is for young folks to be of service to their family and community. They learn hard skills and get comfortable with failure and problem-solving, but most importantly they learn that they are an integral part of the social web.

We can say "you're wonderful" or "you're smart" all day long, but there's nothing like actually trusting them to help with something that's needed.

Amazing! I'm just up to the chapters on oak trees in my Tree Crop book. They're quite impressive.

We have lots of baby oaks growing at the edge of the forest and we'll be routing the animals around them until they get bigger.

oh! this is wonderful. Amazing that you wrote it in high school 🤩

Looks great! I don't remember my recipes - though I found them easily online - but soaps using animal fats are wonderful. A friend of mine who work in cosmetics used one of our bars and immediately said something about the feel being completely different than whatever is now used. She loved it.

nostr:npub13kwjkaunpmj5aslyd7hhwnwaqswmknj25dddglqztzz29pkavhaq25wg2a probably has some good suggestions.

Welcome, Efrat! We sometimes get people claiming to be someone else, thus the request to verify on another platform. But you probably gathered this already...

In any case, welcome. Glad to have you here!

No suggestions, but I'm glad you're doing this. I've watched young men in my life struggle with guilt for things that have nothing to do with them, and they seem to have no aspirations to be men.

thank you 🙏

One of our chickens was looking poorly this summer and we noticed her hanging out as close to us as she could. I wasn't surprised when I found her dead under her roost one morning - something was clearly not right - but there was something so sad and tender about how she clearly wanted to be near us as she was struggling. (I'm still trying to figure that out... she associated us with food and care, I guess?).

Anyway - I'm sorry, Maria! Here's hoping you get some sunshine soon.

Nvm! it finally worked today 🙂

I'm still new to it, so I'll have more to say in a few years! But basically biochar holds water and nutrients so it's an excellent soil amendment.

We use the word "biochar" pretty loosely. Technically, what you're making in the retorts is simply charcoal, and you inoculate the charcoal with compost tea, leaf mold, urine, etc for several weeks to make biochar before adding it to the soil.

My goal is to fold the charcoal directly into our waste streams (into the chicken deep bedding, into the compost bin) so that our compost already has the charcoal as part of it.

If you want a fun video on the inoculation process (which also gives some background on biochar)-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhrU06ma1z0

Hey, all

I know it seems easy to rag on Swan - and I agree with Matt's dystopia comment, obviously- but I can tell you as a new pleb who's trying to get her family on board that it's helpful to have bitcoin-only companies out there. Swan has a simple interface (KYC, I know... but simple) and they actively encourage self-custody.

Also notice that it's not Swan itself that's anticipating the FinCEN regulation by cutting off connection to mixer wallets (assuming they're being honest in the letter).

And they tell customers exactly how to go around the new rule.

This is before the regulation even goes into effect. It may end up being a lot like the pharma mandates: private* businesses do the govt's dirty work without the state having to ever finalize the laws.

Which means there's no one to take to court over constitutional violations.

* "private"

mud kiln is in the second half of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjBTKe8Y44c&list=PLGnWLXjIDnpBVRqu5lz5JGaQxjPs7q3CJ

You've made biochar before? If not - it's probably helpful to do some small systems before making something large. You'll get to see how your stock of choice burns best.

We have a two-barrel system which works ok. In a few hours I'm actually about to do a second burn on our latest batch because the first one wasn't enough - I find it tricky to get a hot enough burn unless I only use tiny twigs in the retort and make sure to have a high BTU wood on the outside.

This winter I'm going to try a conical pit in the ground to see if that works better. There's a good YT video on this. Second on my list is a small mud kiln because if it works that's what I'd most like to see as a permanent feature on the land and it just seems cool. I'll put links to both of those as a reply to this post.

My favorite way to gradually accumulate a nice pile involves putting a small retort in our wood stove. The retort is just a hotel buffet pan. Works perfectly every time and we're building the fire anyway so it's almost no extra work, just part of our usual routine. In this photo, most of the wood around it has already burned down but the gases coming out of the retort are burning (it's quite hot!).

Looks great, Maria! It's so fun to see your projects.

Hope you and the baby (and of course nostr:npub1jrx2fk666k5nt8vgak9xwyxlgcwh8fl9rvpwvvcpdthuqkcnptrqdfhtaq) are doing well! The first few days can be magical but also really intense! There's no way to fully prepare yourself to have a brand new tiny human in your life 🥰

Sending lots of good wishes your way!

21 reasons Bitcoiners are a natural fit for homesteading

#3 You value community

We all need community, but it tends to be underappreciated in today's world. Bitcoiners - at least the ones that I've met- seem to truly appreciate the company and ideas of others. There is plenty of infighting but also an implicit understanding of the importance having others who see bitcoin in the same way. Imagine being the only one who sees the disaster of fiat money and the beautiful promise of bitcoin.

Working on your own land makes the importance of community very tangible.There is much talk of "self-sufficiency" when people first think of homesteading, but it takes very little time to realize that you can't be fully self-sufficient and probably don't even want to try. There's something about being more connected to your basic needs - food, water, energy - that makes it very clear how important it is to have people nearby that you can trust and rely on, people that you can share ideas with, people with whom you can pluck chickens or put up fences, people who need or value your skills and opinion, or just people whose company you enjoy around a fire. You'll sense a weight lifted from your shoulders as you realize that you will need to learn a lot of skills but you don't need to learn ALL the skills.

#community

#homesteading

#21reasons

21 reasons Bitcoiners are a natural fit for homesteading

#2 you can cultivate low time preference

If you were into fast returns and cheap satisfaction, you wouldn't be hodling. You understand that building something real, something that will last, is more worthwhile - and far more satisfying - than owning cheap objects that give fleeting enjoyment.

It takes time to build the soil, takes time for plants to grow. Some of the trees that you put in the ground tomorrow will be glorious in 50 years and can feed your grandchildren.

It also takes time and patience to learn a whole set of new skills, but since you're not in a rush, you enjoy weaving that learning into the rhythm of your days.

#lowtimepreference

#homesteading

I've thought a lot about goats - and others - eating underbrush, and a lot about Native American practices of managing by fire, but megafauna was not on my list... Thank you for this!

21 reasons Bitcoiners are a natural fit for homesteading

#1 You have a deep understanding of the importance of sovereignty

Just as you don't trust the banking sector with your money, you don't trust the agricultural sector with your health. You like exploring all the ways that you can reduce your reliance on fiat systems and feel the grounded calm that comes with knowing that more of your family's life and well being is in your hands where it belongs.

#sovereignty #homesteading