Ding, ding, ding!! You guessed it! Well done and apples for you, Heather!!
I did not know that English ivy, common ivy vines could get this massive. These are the vines that were strangling a majestic Douglas fir tree in the wooded part of the property where I live. Some are/were even thicker than this!
Who knew there could be such a thing as ivy wood to burn for heat?!
Now I wonder if anyone else has a picture for a brain teaser.
greg mosser wrote:poison ivy or one of its rhus brethren?
Sooo close! Though from a scientific/botanist classification, not in the same family or even the same order, but it IS from the same 3 top-most "clades" (as I look at Wikipedia as a guide...I'm certainly not a botanist) as poison ivy.
I have a new one, which admittedly I would suck at playing but I think a lot of permies would excel at.
Here's a picture of something I pathetically hacked up with a pruning saw for miniature firewood. It's not seasoned yet, but I brought it in to dry by my woodstove.
Can you guess what this is?
Apples for correct guesses after at least a few folks have given it a try.
Jayne's hat, besides the bold colors, was, as his mother made it, lopsided, definitely oversized and baggy in weird places.
One holiday season, I tried to buy a wool, handmade version on Etsy for a gift, but it was sold out. So I settled for this acrylic yarn version, branded by the Firefly swag brand (whoever that is), and modeled by my son Forrest, in the winter sun in downtown Missoula back in 2014.
I think even this "official" version was less lopsided, uneven and misshapen than the "true" hat knit by Jayne's mom, but it's still recognizable by brown coats, nonetheless!
This is a thread for celebrating all kinds of gadget-y things that might be a permaculture or homesteading solution. Things that work off-grid, are compostable/recyclable, are made or used by hand, solve a problem, stack functions, etc.
Whatcha got (or found on the Internet) that's like this?
That bingo card was created by this group: Rogue Permaculture Pogs, https://permapog.com/. They put up three definitions for their name:
Rogue: : to weed out inferior, diseased, or nontypical individuals from a crop plant or a field
:An independent or uncontrolled person that is not authorized, normal, or expected
Permaculture: “The conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive systems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of the landscape with people providing their food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.”
~ Bill Mollison, the Tasmanian son of a fisherman who first coined the term 1978
POG: The term comes from the word "pogue," which is Gaelic for "kiss." It was started by disgruntled Navy sailors of Irish descent who served during the American Civil War. They were upset that others, would never leave shore, would get to stay home and get all the kisses from the ladies while they were out fighting.
Then, Marines caught wind of the term, adopted it, and began using it themselves to describe anyone who wasn't involved in any type of combat. The term eventually found its way into the Army where it become POG (Person Other than Grunt.)
With their main goal being:
01.
–
EDUCATE AND EMPOWER VETERANS WITH PERMACULTURE. PROVIDE ACCESS TO LIFELONG NETWORKING, DIRECT ACTION, SOLIDARITY, AND MUTUAL AID.
I just thought it was fun to get the backstory on the fun bingo card. I'm going to add this to the Cascadia forum because they are in Western WA State. Thanks for posting Nicole!
I love this question Heather. Thank you for sharing how surprising and difficult and strength building this year has been for you.
There is so much I want to say about this, but some of it is far too tender. So I'll share some of the easier parts.
the pandemic required me to move twice in one year, instead of once, which was incredibly difficult, but which turned out for the best in a lot of ways.
I enjoy working remotely, not leaving home most days of the week, and I think it's really cool that this is becoming a new normal for a lot of people who can work from home. It saves so. much. time. and energy. and money.
I am re-shifting my priorities in really good for me ways that I didn't think were possible.
I love the idea that these experiences in 2020 helped us grow. I'd love to hear more from others, too.
We have lots of different favorite song threads, (like this one), but this is a thread for nature sounds.
Sounds of the forest, leaves rustling, rain falling, of water babbling or rushing by, waves crashing, or crickets chirping. That kind of thing.
When you are stuck indoors, at the computer, or trying to sleep, do you have a favorite source for using nature sounds as "white noise" to help tune things out?
There are SO many different tracks to listen to that I learned that too much insect buzzing is the opposite of relaxing to me, as are water sounds that are too overwhelming, or some of these seemed to have irritating (to me) traffic sounds in the background, too. And noisy primates or odd birds didn't calm me either. Ha!
But if I found a track that sounded soothing, I could play it (I assume it loops?) while I worked and I do think it helped me concentrate. Who knew?
Charles Rehoboth wrote:We put in a Calville Blanc tree last year, this makes me really really look forward to it bearing fruit. I had not realized that's the right thing for Tarte Tatin.
Tarte Tatin (tart tah-TAN) – A famous French upside-down apple tart (actually a sweet upside-down cake) made by covering the bottom of a shallow baking dish with butter and sugar, then apples and finally a pastry crust. While baking, the sugar and butter create a delicious caramel that becomes the topping when the tart is inverted onto a serving plate.
There is one rule for eating Tarte Tatin, which is scrupulously observed. It must be served warm, so the cream melts on contact. To the French, a room temperature Tarte Tatin is not worth the pan it was baked in.
Charles Rehoboth wrote:Hey, a little off subject but does anyone know why Northern Spy takes so much longer to bear fruit? I had thought the 14-year figure sounded a little fanciful but then talked to a friend who commented that her family's Northern Spy had just borne fruit, and sure enough, they put it in 14 years ago.
Sorry, no clue there. Did you try a search for Northern Spy apple on permies.com?
Mathew Trotter wrote:Man. The Calville Blanc D'Hiver is certainly the craziest apple I've ever seen.
Yass! I love that it has "ribs" like a pumpkin.
Mathew Trotter wrote:We have a local harvest festival every year (except this year) that samples out over 200 varieties of apples and pears, plus a smattering of other fruit. Hands down the best apple I've ever tasted is King of the Pippins (or Reine de Reinettes in French). It tastes like a baked apple pie full of spice. I need to hunt down some scions for it.
There was an apple festival near Vancouver, Washington where we were able to sample over 200 varieties of apple, and that's where I tried the Calville. I might vaguely remember the King of the Pippins, too. It's SO amazing that we can have so much more variety of flavor than what we (usually) find in stores.
Mathew Trotter wrote:The talk of damage and antioxidant levels reminded me of a study on bumblebees that found that if they emerge before there's ample nectar sources, they have a very particular way that they damage plants in order to force them to start flowering early. They weren't able to replicate the same process mechanically in the lab.
It's a crazy world.
I think I saw a video of bumble bees peeling open crocus (or saffron?) flowers. It is amazing and even more so that there can be inherent food value in what nature does for us. Nature is crazy like a fox!
I'm creating a new thread with a post I put here in a thread about how ugly can be delicious:
Jocelyn Campbell wrote:Ugly fruit can be more nutritious. I was certain I'd posted about this on permies before, but after multiple searches, I guess I was mistaken.
Eliza Greenman, https://elizapples.com, has been in a wide variety of press for writing about how ugly fruit develops more antioxidants and flavor from unsightly "damage" of one kind or another.
Eliza and other "fruit explorer" friends are interested in heritage or lost varietals of apples and mulberries - especially those that are good as hog feed or homestead use. She knows an incredible amount about cider apples and orchard maintenance / restoration. I highly recommend following her posts.
Montana Gold-ish A lovely, warming blend, perfect for fall and winter. Though I actually like it year-round.
Also, I typically do not like rooibos, but I like it in this blend. Somehow, it's just the perfect base for these spices.
Note: even if you don't like powdered or liquid stevia, you might like the dried *leaf* of stevia in this.
1 cup rooibos
1 cup cinnamon stick pieces (crush or break up cinnamon sticks)
1 tsp ground cloves
3 T. orange peel
1/2 cup stevia leaves
Optional
If adding both lemon flavored items, maybe use the lesser quantity of each.
I forgot to write down my quantities on these, so add to your taste or liking.
2 T. to 1/4 cup lemon grass, optional
2 T. to 1/4 cup lemon balm, optional
1/4 cup nettle, optional
I was out of rooibos, but wanted this tea, so I used rose hips, and added a touch of cardamom.
Jocelyn Campbell wrote:When we were kids my dad made us a three story Barbie/doll house out of wood. It even had a Swiss chalet style deck, a fancy sloped roof, and stairs. It was far better than the pink plastic crap houses from the store.
EDITED to add 1970's pic of the dollhouse.
My mom loved to make things out of papier-mâché so she used cardboard tubes from oatmeal or toilet paper, plus cardboard boxes from Velveeta cheese, etc. as the base forms for the Barbie house furniture. The couch even had 1970's purple and brown plaid fabric glued on as "upholstery" that even covered some actual foam cushioning for the seat of the couch.
In the upper left you can see the plaid Velveeta cheese box couch.
In the lower right you can see a papier-mâché table made out of a toilet paper tube and probably an oatmeal carton lid.
And check out that groovy 1970's Barbie and the Jetsons' style plastic kitchen thing-a-ma-jig!
The picture was too overexposed to show the stairs in the kitchen that go up to the deck (where an Ernie puppet is hanging).
The smart design on the sides having that open section between to strips of wood allowed for more play access and imaginary doors.
(That's my little sis, maybe age 4 or so, on her knees in front of the dollhouse.)
I had never heard about this and I know a lot of people growing rape and looking for strange new crops, Danish lentils anyone? so I went looking for it. It's very rare it seems, I found it sold 2 places online for eating most places sell it for skin care. Since they sell most of it flavoured with lemon oil I'm going to guess it's actually pretty vile tasting but at $67 per liter I'm not going to be finding out! One of the reasons for the price is the yield the half that of rape. What I did find was that it is very high in linolenic acid and at around 25% protien it could be a very good crop for feeding pigs on a homestead. (rape has a bitter taste that pigs often refuse) If it is easy to process and cultivate of course.
In-fact the main use here seems to be trying to reduce imports of soya beans as animal feed and instead use things we can grow here, including camelina and even processing grass into protein supplements (letting animals actually EAT grass would be way to easy)
Wow, that is expensive in Denmark! Maybe it's becoming more common in the States. The first link I provided:
Jocelyn Campbell wrote:
This is a brand that is grown in Eastern Washington State: https://camelinagold.com/
works out to $13.20 per liter or $50 per gallon. Though I imagine shipping overseas would be cost prohibitive.
I've bought (and been gifted) Camelina Gold and it is similar to a strongly flavored olive oil, though with its own unique flavor. I did have some go rancid once, and wasn't able to use it. Though when fresh, a chef friend of mine used it in place of olive oil in a fresh mozzarella, tomato, cucumber, onion salad and she loved it. And this chef has a very picky palate.
I think if this oil becomes more common (again?), and farmers learn they can grow it in place of canola, with easier processing, it won't be long before the price becomes more affordable.
When we were kids my dad made us a three story Barbie/doll house out of wood. It even had a Swiss chalet style deck, a fancy sloped roof, and stairs. It was far better than the pink plastic crap houses from the store.
EDITED to add 1970's pic of the dollhouse.
My mom loved to make things out of papier-mâché so she used cardboard tubes from oatmeal or toilet paper, plus cardboard boxes from Velveeta cheese, etc. as the base forms for the Barbie house furniture. The couch even had 1970's purple and brown plaid fabric glued on as "upholstery" that even covered some actual foam cushioning for the seat of the couch.
Since I grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, Seafair is (was?) a big deal with hydroplane races on Lake Washington (the 25-mile long lake that separates Seattle from the suburbs where I grew up). One of our favorite toys was made out of a scrap of wood cut out in a hydroplane shape. Neighborhood kids would use a rope to tie the hydro to the backs of their bikes and drag them on the ground behind their bikes in fast pedaling hydro races!
There were loads of doll clothes sewn by my mom, too.
Then, for my kids, my parents made a play tipi which was a HUGE hit! They sourced the wooden poles, drilled holes and fastened them together just so. Plus it had a natural colored canvas covering cut and sewn to fit by my mom, along with actual leather lacing to tie things together in all the right places. My mom even made a circular fleece mat that doubled as a slumber bag that was the perfect size for inside the tipi. The canvas covering was lost, but the poles were still intact and went to my daughter for my grandson. My daughter has been sewing a new canvas cover for the poles which is pretty awesome.
Shameless pic of my daughter wearing the one I sent her, using the front pouch to hold some of her cucumber starts so she has a hand free carry wine into her garden!
Also, because I think it's funny and ridiculous, and sort of, maybe, could be modified for something more practical, there is such a thing as a teacup holster.
When folks are fighting off something, I combine a variety of things depending on their symptoms. If you add honey or stevia, almost any combo will work.
For example, for a respiratory cold/flu: mullein, oregon grape root, chamomile, rose hips, strawberry leaf, nettle leaf.
Your mullein chocolate mint combo, Vida, reminds me of a tea I had at a restaurant and then attempted to recreate at home. It was called "chocolate safari" though I can't remember the brand or company. It's ingredients were cocoa nibs, rooibos tea, mint and stevia. Somehow, I didn't grind the cocoa nibs enough, so then I added cocoa powder and it was better. Left the stevia out so folks could sweeten as they please. Fun! (The jar ran out when Erica Wisner was last here and I think she had fun concocting the next batch for us. )
Here, we have a brand of teas called Montana Tea and Spice. While they are local, they aren't organic and they contain stevia which some folks don't like. So I started using our bulk organic tea supplies to create our own versions. See the attached .pdf of their tea blend ingredients from the catalog on their website. (If you don't want to try to copy their blends, please order from them, because they do make excellent teas!)
The two I've recreated so far are Montana Gold and Evening in Missoula. Personally, I find that adding stevia makes the flavors "pop" a bit more in my homemade versions of these blends, but I imagine honey, or other sweeteners would do the same.
Someone asked for my recipes for these blends I've recreated. All ingredients are, of course, dried. Plus, these measurements are based on purchased, cut and sifted herbs commercially available. If using home dried herbs, you might need to make sure yours are crushed evenly to a cut and sifted type of density or increase your measurements for a larger, less dense dried leaf size. I use all organic or homegrown organic ingredients for the most nutritive tea possible.
If you do make your own, organic blend, it might be fun to make extra to give as a gift!
Montana Gold-ish A lovely, warming blend, perfect for fall and winter. Though I actually like it year-round.
Also, I typically do not like rooibos, but I like it in this blend. Somehow, it's just the perfect base for these spices.
Note: even if you don't like powdered or liquid stevia, you might like the dried *leaf* of stevia in this.
1 cup rooibos
1 cup cinnamon stick pieces (crush or break up cinnamon sticks)
1 tsp ground cloves
3 T. orange peel
1/2 cup stevia leaves
Optional
If adding both lemon flavored items, maybe use the lesser quantity of each.
I forgot to write down my quantities on these, so add to your taste or liking.
2 T. to 1/4 cup lemon grass, optional
2 T. to 1/4 cup lemon balm, optional
1/4 cup nettle, optional
Evening in Missoula-ish One "part" could be a teaspoon, a tablespoon, a quarter cup, whatever quantity works for you. To make a huge batch of the blend, I would use 1/4 cup measure for one part.
The original from Montana Tea and Spice included stevia, cherry bark, and wintergreen, but this blend has so much flavor on its own that I typically didn't add the stevia leaf. This was also so that folks could sweeten to their own tastes instead of having it pre-sweetened with the stevia. And I usually didn't have the cherry bark or wintergreen. It was lovely and complex and similar enough without those two ingredients. The vanilla powder is optional as well, but it really brings the flavor up similar to the one you can buy.
1 part chamomile
1 part rose hips
2 parts lemon grass
1 part nettle leaf
2 parts peppermint
2 parts spearmint
1 part raspberry leaf
1 part strawberry leaf
1 part lavender
1 part red clover
2 parts lemon peel
1/4 part ground anise
1/4 part vanilla powder
Optional additions:
(?) part cherry bark
(?) part wintergreen
(?) part stevia leaf
I love a hazelnut, rice/quinoa, and sautéed veg stuffed squash for a winter holiday meal, but this one just might be on the menu for vegan family members some time soon.
I recently learned Glechoma hederacea has medicinal properties good for the respiratory system. Haven't tried or used it myself but just thought I'd mention it.
zurcian braun wrote:Wow these are all awesome responses, thank you! Excited to know that chaga has a home over here too.
Jocelyn, do you make tea with the whole roots of Oregon grape?
Yes, unpeeled, dried root pieces. Though usually never on its own. I'll make an immune support herbal tea blend with things like elderberries, rose hips, feverfew, ginger, lemon, mullein, along *with* the Oregon grape. The other items help hide its not so great flavor.
Rose hips! Those are hard to forage for here because they tend to turn to mush, but they are one of my all time favorite tea components as well.
Yarrow is a great antimicrobial, too, though it might taste even worse in tea than Oregon grape. YMMV.
I agree that roasted dandelion root on its own is rather awesome! Sometimes I'll add some hazelnut or toffee flavored stevia to roasted dandelion root tea and it tastes like a caramel tea - a fun treat!
One of my favorite medicinal tea ingredient is Oregon Grape - here west of Cascades it's usually Mahonia aquilfolia. Though it's quite bitter. Not typically used for it's flavor, but it's powerful anti-microbial action.
)
