David LaSuertmer

Hey all, like many of you, I'm dealing with setting up a homestead in a highly regulated county. We are required to have a septic, even though we would rather not use one.

SO... here's my thought. A cistern masquerading as septic?

Would anyone be willing to help me think through what this might entail? Is it possible? (of course, anything's possible). But how difficult would it be to pull off?

Initial thoughts/questions:
I know that you can't actually use a septic tank to hold drinking water...it would have to be a proper food-grade cistern.
Would I get the cistern officially "approved" and then the ol' switcheroo could happen?

Bonus points if anyone wants to peruse our county regulations for more context...
https://www.co.monroe.in.us/topic/index.php?topicid=160&structureid=108

Thanks for the help!!!

I have a few BL trees (somewhere around 30 years old) in my backyard, with what I believe are hardened/petrified Reishi mushrooms growing several places on them.

I apologize for not having done my research before asking these questions, but....

1) Is there any (human) use for a super-hard Reishi mushroom?
2) I heard someone say anything growing off of a BL tree is possibly unsafe for consumption. True/untrue?

Thanks!

I'll share something kind I did today! (quick back story...I'm part of an intentional community (bloomingtoncatholicworker.wordpress.com) that has a lot of interaction with the homeless community, so when I encounter folks on the street, I try to engage them in some way, even if it's not giving them money (which it's usually not). )

Anyway, this morning, I got into a conversation with a dude who had obviously been sleeping outside (it dipped below freezing last night), and we ended up talking about how he had recently gotten a bike (which has been great) but didn't have a lock for it, so he could never really go inside anywhere because he didn't want it to get stolen. Crazy, right?! So, anyway, we decided that we would meet up tomorrow at a certain time and spot and he would come help me make some check-log terraces on my back hill for a raised bed, then we'd go to the local hardware store and I'd buy him a bike lock.

Pretty cool!