Annie Burncott

I like hardcopies of everything - books, magazines, music, audiobooks. However, the world is changing, and as demoralized as it makes me feel,  I'm no longer able to get audio books on CD from the library, nor buy them new from pretty much any seller. I'm also being forced to borrow ebooks from the library, which I utterly refuse to do.

This is how I get around digital audiobooks. Also books.

We recently moved, but we used to live 1.5 hrs south of Vancouver, BC. You say Canada Left Coast, so I'm assuming that you're close. Perhaps this will help...

I buy up what I can and have become OK with CDs(and books) being used because I'm finding most things that used to be on CDs can now only be found in used stores. You'll pay a hefty premium for new. You pay a lot for these "vintage" items that are still in their original plastic wrappers.

There is currently a renewed interest in "vinyl," which is what we used to call "records." Along with vinyl, CDs are often sold in these stores as well. Seattle has a lot of these stores, and my guess is Vancouver does, too. Half Price Books, from Everett to Seattle, often has a very good selection of audiobook CDs. There are 2 on the Eastside (Redmond, Bellevue), one in Everett, then Lynnwood, and then another in Seattle.

Planning a weekend trip (or a LONG day trip) down to Seattle might be something interesting to do and be very productive. There are 5 HPBs you could easily check out in one day. HPB hours: 10am to 8 or 9 pm. And if you want to go for it all, there are two more south of Seattle, one in Olympia and the other in Tukwilla. And how about Powells in Portland?

I hate to say it, but hardcopy CDs are done, and if you want them, you're going to have to get them a new way.

However, for new releases, I've passed on quite a few, and I know I'm either going to have to accept that I won't be reading or listening to the new stuff, or I'm going to have to find a digital solution I can live with. Massive, huge, hefty seriously frustrated sigh...

Btw, I know what you're talking about with poor audio quality when you burn onto a CD. I've given up after several attempts. The last 3 books I burned onto CD the first consonant of each sentence after even a slight pause from the  narrator was omitted. It is super distracting and makes it impossible for me to get into the book.

Wishing you a satisfactory and fruitful solution!

Well...what I'm gathering is it's time to plant. We just had a morning of frost, but right back to high 30s mornings, so I'm risking it, if it is a risk. So many plant early in zones far colder than mine, and Bobby has planted already. Thanks Bobby.

Great, thanks Bengi!

Bengi, Like Matt, I'm interested, too. I'm all ears!

Well, I'm going to admit this, Wyomiles. For me, spring is a blessing and a curse. Sometimes all the work it brings is overwhelming, and I envy those with a shorter growing season. I suspect Robert is shaking his head right about now. I've considered a greenhouse, but I think, "Do I really want to be growing year 'round or close to it?" I'm kind of lazy that way...

Matt, I appreciate all the details. You're definitely warmer than we are, but we're just a few weeks behind you, it appears. What I am going to do for sure is stagger the planting the way you do. I haven't done that before, and it eludes me why I hadn't thought of that prior to your post. Thanks again!

Hi Matt,
Do you ever have snow or freezing after you've planted the potatoes? Do you remember the weather last year after you planted? I've always followed the guidelines of "plant mid-April" for zone 8, but I wonder if I could go sooner. I just called Territorial, where I get my seeds, and they said, "Plant for tax day, yup." But I wonder...Of course, I've got an idea now from you, which is try to plant some early and see what happens. I can stagger when I plant. Thanks!

Hello!

Ordering seed potatoes and wondering whether to have them sent mid-April or ASAP. Such a mild winter we've had and spring is already here! The grass is already growing. I'm in zone 8, four miles from the Sound. Yes, it can still snow, still freeze (not just frost!) for the next month at least, but I"m betting this warm trend will continue. Is anyone as optimistic as I and planted their potatoes yet this year or about to? When do you normally plant your potatoes? Last year I planted mine April 15, and they seemed to grow well, but I wonder if they could have been in the ground longer and gotten bigger. The plants weren't entirely dead when I had to harvest since the "rains" were coming. It was early October. Thanks!

Thanks, Lew, for all the details. I "saw" that farm of yours in the 70s because you described it so well, but I think the back-scratching-grunting comment was the clincher! I'm beginning to understand so much more as I read thread after thread on pigs. It's somewhat daunting, but then I read Kelly's reply (thank you, Kelly), and I think, yeah...2 kunes and she sees no impact yet. Kelly, how long have you had those 2 kunes on your 5 acres? Great suggestion about seeing where the pigs have been when buying them to see how much they've impacted the land. I'll do that.

You also asked how many pigs, and here goes another question. Currently, I buy 50 pounds of pork meat a month, and I'd like to know how many pigs I would need to raise a year to give me that amount of pork? I expect to freeze of course. I'll bet there's some kind of formula, and if anyone can send me there or can give me a ballpark figure, that would be great. I have this vision of keeping 3 -5 pigs at a time, but perhaps that's a bit naive...

Shawn, I appreciate your suggestion. When you mentioned Walter Jeffries the name clicked, and it took me a few seconds..."Isn't he that Sugar Mountain Farm guy?" I asked myself. I'd actually been to his site just before finding this forum, so thanks for suggesting him. At the beginning of any endeavor, there's a lot of sifting to get to know where the good information is to be found, and it's great to be validated that what I'd found actually WAS a good source.

Thanks again, everyone!

I've heard a lot about pasture-raised pigs, but has anyone raised pigs by letting them live on forested land in the PNW? I want to raise meat pigs without feeding any grain and give them a happy life. I have 5 free acres of thick forest with a little grassy area, but is technically all 2nd growth forest. I do not want my land cleared, and I wonder if pigs will destroy the natural setting I so love. It's my dedicated hiking place, but I wouldn't mind sharing it with pigs if they were easy on the land and would thrive. The kune kunes seem like they might be good pigs to consider. If anyone has any experience or knows of any specific literature that might address my questions, I would very much appreciate any info or direction where to go to find it. Any additional info that I didn't know to ask, I'd love to hear, too!