How would things work generally speaking or would there be any serious difficulties if one applies as a Canadian? Must we be American or is having good wholesome American homestead values enough? Also, my dad was a US Marine in Vietnam so I can apply for citizenship that way. And, my great uncle (regimental sergeant major) commandeered the last surviving Canadian war tank on D-Day in Normandy, France WWII (Iām mentioning it because Iām a little bit like those guys)
Dan Ohmann, that was pretty funny actually! I can tell you that I have friends who did their pigs, after becoming very close to them, and they (the farmers) nearly had a nervous breakdown doing it. The more we identify with our animals, name them, cuttle with them etc., the more traumatic an experience it is for us to cull them, hence the demand for the local butcher. Having said that, it is also nearly impossible not to befriend them on account of their cuteness. But as far as kids go, (I don't have any but if I did...) I would find a way to make it interesting for the little guy... if possible, having some kind of spiritual ritual or prayer is always good. But your little guy looks pretty young so I am not sure how much he will retain either way, not to mention even be curious about all that blood death and gore. If anything, I would try to include some reference to the old ways, like Viking animal sacrifices for example where blood and death are not understood as merely 'blood' or 'death', but that these things can take on greater symbolic meaning; blood being the sacred liquid of life, death being a passage to Valhalla where lies our true citizenship. Or you could go the Maya way...
Remember, they are no longer animals once they are dead!
I know all about lower back pain; and the worse part about any pain in general is not having anyone to relate to. So I feel for ya, Paul.
Those large work-out rubber balls are really good for back issues - but you really need to spend time on them (10-20 min, at least a few times each day), stretching and doing various movements, roll over them back and forth, place your hands on the ground and roll your shins over the ball so you get into a folded kneeling position with your upper body folded over your thighs like they do in India or wherever it is; then go backwards until you are (nearly) balanced over your stomach on top of the ball, squishing it; it should always be a flowing movement and not abrupt or block-like movements; but even just merely rolling over onto them with your stomach feels great and it really stretches the back if you do it right (have a couple of strong woofers pull hard on your legs and arms while you are on it after you have stretched on it a while, before getting off and the G force (gravity - a theory, folks!) compresses your back again - I would get two of them if I were a giant.
Apart from those big squishy rubber balls, the BEST stretch I do is to stretch from side to side. Stand strait with feet at shoulders' length apart, stretch your arms upwards while keeping your stance, then visualize the side-to-side plane as though you were butcher slicing through your own body with a giant cheese slicer cutting your body right in half so that you have the front half and the back half - now bend exactly sideways within that plane, over one leg (the other leg can lift off the ground a bit to help you balance out) - SLOWLY - so that your arms slowly move like the hands of a clock from noon to 5PM-6PM (if you can). The leg that you bend over ought to be straight so that the only main pivot point is really your hip bone. Visualize each vertebrae stretching the spinal cartilage so that each side of your vertebrae opens up the opposite side that you stretch towards, starting at your sacrum, lumbar vertebrae etc. right up to your head where by this time your head/arms should be at 5PM. Then - SLOWLY - bend back up in reverse, but again visually starting with your sacrum. Then to the other side. Do this maybe ten times each side, a few times each day. It takes time to do; each side should take you 2-5 minutes - longer if you're really into it. You'll see how you will feel after just one complete stretch - don't try too much at a time. After a few times you should start to really feel AMAZING right after each stretch, if not then it is not the right stretch for you. IF IT IS EASY YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.
Another thing, besides spas and being in the water, swimming hard, or just floating there for an hour like a dead carcass... is to get yourself a workhorse and a few pillows, place it legs' length away from a railing or picnic table, then bend over it with your stomach over the padding/pillows located on the top of the horse while placing your heels (wear boots) under the railing or picnic table and slowly straiten your back out with all of your weight mostly between the top of your hips and stomach (feel around for a good spot; you should be able to balance your body over that spot) on top of the horse (I recommend a steel horse for you, Paul; make sure it's not a rusty old thing that will break in half and stab you in the torso before hitting ground). Try sets of 5-10 at first bending down over the horse - SLOWLY - with your arms extended, hang there a while, then flex backwards back up strait (horizontally); do that a few times a day with a little opium and you should be fine.
PS - If y'all are wondering why I edit stuff so much it is because the NSA is cyber harassing my grammar and changing things like "do" to "to", "knowing" to "nowing", "mutt" to "butt", "where" to "here"... but, hopefully I am just paranoid.
Thanks for the response. Correct, when looking south at noon there is a slight band of shade no more than ten feet long from the base of the tree line out to the tip of it's shadow cast out into the garden area (a good place for planting shade-happy crops there, in that southern arc of shade, I figure) though for the most part the space will get at least 6-8 hours of decent sunlight. But there are a few 2' x 3' x 2' rocks and two 3' x 3' x 3' that might ideally be moved... fire pit... benches... pool rocks... spa rocks? I don't know. There is one 5' x 10' x 10' natural bowl depression/spring which could be made into either a pool/fountain or spa. But I would like to avoid using a machine... horses? How many? Or leverage mechanisms somehow?
Then what to plant? Its only about 1/2 acre, so main crops like potatoes etc. but what else?
What would you guys do with this 1/2 acre garden space?
So the 1/2 acre garden space in the back is pretty rough. I cut some second growth 2"-5" birch, a few years ago already so I doubt that they are not likely much good for fence rails (there's literally only a single cedar on this property). Maybe one 3' x 3' x 3' rock, a few smaller ones at about maybe 2' x 2' x 2'; some mostly smaller "carry-size" rocks, and some left over trunks and root systems from the birch I mowed down a few years ago. The rest is mostly blackberry and raspberry growth that must be tended to, or entirely cut back. Strawberries grow wild here too, but they are microscopic. The land is fed by a spring uphill which nearly dries out in August (unless I fix that with some digging, a pipe/pool system, and a fountain (there's really only enough for one decent spring/pool area which would be about 10' x 10' x 20'. Or should I just go ahead and plant a bunch of grass there and spend the rest of my life mowing it before it grows in order to drown out the noise pollution of my neighbours who spend their entires days mowing their lawns the size of fields in order to drown out the noise pollution of their neighbours who spend their entires days mowing their lawns the size of fields in order to drown out the noise pollution of their neighbours etc.?
Here's a short video of about half of it, looking SW at a few deer this morning:
I will try some version of this, as I am highly against the NOISE POLLUTION generated by those wood-chipper machines, so I rather avoid encouraging these Wild Soundscape MURDERER MACHINES as much as possible while I am alive on our Earth. Having said that, though, this idea of yours at the core is a great one! So thanks for that! Likely what will end up happening is that I will be harvesting dead leaves twigs et. al. from the forrest floor and mix that in a bit each year. My only worry with stealing the whole mixed woods forrest floor carpet covering from our forrest is that... it might render the soil a little too acidic, yeah? So I might not necessarily be all that into balancing it out with bags of limestone powder; or what else might y'all suggest for this? Or might I focus more on dead-healthy wood chips and mulch madness?
Wow, Jason, thanks for a great reply! I had not even thought of using plants to breakup the compact driveway (and some gravel; maybe a few inches of crushed rock)!
"...oilseed radishes for biological tilling. They throw big roots down deep, then die and decompose, leaving holes. This was a key part of how Fukuoka rehabilitated his orchards."
Maybe I ought to do a mix of annual produce and as you have suggested what Fukuoka did... cuz, I'm impatient! And I doubt that even the angriest of starving pigs would be all that nosy about rummaging through a driveway most entirely void of life. Maybe I ought to envite Paul over to help dig it all up with this old rusty shovel I have... you know, cuz he's a giant who does those sorts of things with ease and joy.
As for drainage, its pretty decent. What we see in the pics is mostly (what I call) spring sweat which tends to dry out by August. I am more concerned about how much soil I ought to use (about as much as in a raised bed, I figure; 6-8"), and about the quite compact gravel getting in the way of root systems - as far as the perennial shrubs go. The other generic garden crops I am not too worried about as they tend to have fairly shallow roots. Because this is the highest part of the land, I thought what I might do is keep piling giant rhubarb leaves etc. (any other suggestions for this?) to make a thick soil get thicker and thicker and thicker like that guy did in that video I saw not too long ago (guy sticks in a five foot pole into his earth and makes the pole disappear)... or I could keep dumping more soil from the magic soil faery yard, with the obvious disadvantage of $$$.
Anyone suggest how many dump-truck loads I might need (2-3), and relative cost for that sort of impulsive action?
Idea is to leave the back wild this year (1/2 Acre), but order a truckload or two of rich soil and dump it right in front of the house next to the deck on the driveway where it (maybe 1/8 Acre) is mostly unused space but sunny for at least six hours of the day give or take, in spite of the 50' tall maples et. al..
Just wondered what folks thought about this. Must I dig up the drive for root space (perennial shrubs, blueberries, etc.; general garden stuff, spices, carrots etc.) or can I use the uneven landscape (some spots as low as four feet, such as where my sheepdog, Piano, dug up) to make up for that? Might I have to murder a few gorgeous maples?
The fact that this is being asked likely implies that tractors are in fact not entirely necessary. Should they be, however, we really ought to figure out a way to make them (and every other archaic engine)... SILENT.
Hi y'all! I would love to take up this challenge. Sill in limbo over here but at ANY MOMENT I might just move to another location. I've always been in love with Montana, and still haven't visited there... yet. But I love the whole permies thing, and would like to give it a go in an area where people speak ENGLISH (I live in French Quebec). Land is cheap here, people tailgate you on the road and no one speaks to each other because we are always unsure if they are English or French! So the English crowd competes for the few available English contracts with local folk, while the French do the same, provincially. So its like a pocket of resentment within a bigger pocket of resentment, within an evn bigger one (the US, and the rest of the world)! Can you feel the tension?
Other than that, though, the landscape, water, trees and animals are just wonderful. If any of you are around in the east come on up for a drive, its beautiful here in the summer time! The winter is cold as fuck, though. Alas, some folk really love winter.
Hey guys! Love all the podcasts; have you guys discussed the carbon capture system, explored here by MrTeslonian? Ever wonder why there are chimney fires? There's carbon fuel in them there pipes! We are literally PISSING GASOLINE OUT OF OUR CHIMNEYS!!!
Wood stove runs a generator "final video" make's gasoline, and propane:
It appears that the bees like to drink water out of clay (not murky clay water, but rather fresh rain water in a bowl of wet clay), I have noticed. One August summer day when the water was getting scarce I noticed over and over again that the bees would prefer a small puddle of water, just, right there on the driveway where there is a puddle or bowl-like depression of clay on the ground in the sunshine, full of fresh rain water, instead of going further away to a river source or a pond or even a spring in the shade not all that much further away (where Kermit hangs out). So then it occurred to me that if we placed a bowl of clay with fresh water in the sun close to their home, they might like it better; after getting out of bed, a little stretch, then a quick drink of (wet) clay water close to home before getting the day going might bee just the thing to look forward to early in the morning, instead of having to spend (waterless) energy in order to get some water further away. We might also experiment with putting up a few of these natural clay bee-baths, along the edge of a forest etc.
Another thing that I have noticed is how the bees are telepathic.
They will repeat certain thoughts that might concern certain people, for certain reasons, all according to the bees. How it works is that they are capable of picking up our ping or brainwaves, process it, in their own time (bees like other animals simply vibrate at a different harmonic than we do so to us they appear fast, but in reality, they are just people, like us), and just like a parrot they can then carry that electromagnetically-pulsed message and repeat it elsewhere, in this case, by using their wings; effectively repeating specific tones and rhythms, which basically serve to deliver a specific message of thoughts, which the bee finds particularly valuable enough to share with you. So, bee careful what you say about your neighbors, lest a bee decide to buzz it up in your neighbors' ear!
Also, bees can recognize individuals, much like crows can, especially if they get to know your genetic signature up close and personal, such as simply familiarizing themselves with your finger prints!
Crazy, right?
All we have to do is LISTEN... and bee.
Thanks so much for the podcast! Y'all keep me sane with all your dialogues about stuff that actually matters in life!
Hey you guys! Just wanted to say that my reality would be seriously distraught/disfigured/directionless if it weren't for y'all earthy folk. Listening to your podcasts keeps me EXPONENTIALLY much more sane.
I am still learning the ropes as far as this site goes. Bare with me, folks! Skol!
{Reposting the repost}
Hey guys and gals!
After seeing Paul's post on Facebook today concerning the life celebration of his aunt, Donna, and after only scanning the Permies forum here at a glance, it has occurred to me that there is perhaps no room for all our "drama" and other issues orbiting rather distantly around the core of what permaculture is all about, and perhaps this is a good thing to some degree, regardless I decided that while I am testing the page/forum/computer tech etc. that I might just as well go ahead and create a new topic where we can shy away from the particulars of our craft in order to allow some room for some more personal stuff, such as was shared by Paul on Facebook earlier. In which case I will repost what concerned me there:
Paul:
"When I was 16 I was rather ... different. I suppose you could say "broken". My aunt donna lee took me in and showed me "family" in a way I had never seen it before. She gave me a mountain and asked for a bucket of dirt in return. I fell short on that bucket. I have enough to say here that could fill six or seven books. She died a few weeks ago. I recently returned from her "celebration of life" (not a funeral or memorial). All sorts of weird feelings. Today I present the six of clubs from the deck of cards that alexander ojeda and i made a couple of years ago. Not only do I think that "husp" is the most beautiful and important thing to come out of my twisted brain, but .... if you zoom, in on the card and look at the shoreline ...."
[Image of the six of clubs from the Husp (Horticulture of the United States of Pocahontas) deck of cards that Paul created which references his aunt, Donna]
Me:
"See, the thing is that I wrote the above analogy to an oak tree because, while Paul might see his aunt in such a light, it is also good to remind ourselves at certain times in life that we too are literally "enlightened" by those we look up to along our way, and that this enlightenment doesn't just stop. It goes on, literally forever.
By our actions we pass this light onto others. So, maybe it was/is part of her that I and surely many others recognize in you, Paul, that we identify with and find meaningful purpose in.
All I know is that when I 'met' Paul online I instantaneously felt healthy inside and hopeful. Watching Paul in his videos etc. was like staring at a new undiscovered but highly effective medicine. Medicine for a broken heart and a broken soul nearly completely withered away from existence.
After having gone through my own "different" experience, though I am much older than Paul was when his aunt took him in, even though Paul and I are not related, or that we haven't officially met or even texted much, if at all, I intuitively felt "taken in" by the Permies group. I saw a "family" that I could belong to. I saw something healthy to do, productive, hands-on, industrious, a vast community of others to exchange with in time... the permaculture lifestyle would resonate deep within me right at the time when I needed this most (not all that long ago).
Now, chances are that I am not the only one who would find a second chance at life, and something to look forward to that was earthy and good; wholesome. So, while we sometimes look up to others, and look back at our shared past with them in honour of their life and memory, we tend to forget that their light shone on and for us also, and we were infected by that light so that we too would then pass on this "torch" to others, maybe without even realizing it.
"You know, a mighty oak tree gets blown down by seasonal winds, is swiftly slammed onto our earth with all the acorns scattered about, everywhere... and we do our best to harvest them all, but some escape the clutches of man and root right where they lay, unseen at first. In turn these grow into their own might, only to perpetuate the cycle all over again, endlessly. She was no doubt one of these acorns, one of these mighty oaks. But so are you.
We all come from somewhere.
I am slow when it comes to joining new groups of folk (once bitten, twice shy - eviljesusfreaks; long story), but for me it is as though Paul & co. already HAVE taken me in... simply because of living the way that you all do, and by embodying the values (the light) that you all have within you. And maybe that is enough for me, and others. Maybe we never even meet up in real life, maybe we never have a conversation or ever even exchange emails, and maybe I never figure out how to contribute to the forums because I am so retarded when it comes to registering and figuring out stuff like that - but - the bottom line here is that it doesn't matter if all that other stuff happens or not. It is nice that we have it all set up online so we can exchange our ideas and all that stuff but, really, it is only the cherry on top of the sundae. What matters here are the choices we make that allow us to become the people we are in the first place so that we can help others find themselves when they lose touch with their identity, purpose, and core values in life. While it is nice to be a part of our clan, and all that goes with it, it is even nicer and much more valuable to just KNOW that our clan even exists in the first place. So, thanks to your aunt for leading by example so that you might become the man you are today, inspiring others to do the same. And thanks to you too, Paul, and to all who continue to sow their good seed in our good earth so that one day someone might stumble upon such a place where the might of oak trees covers the land as far as the eye can see.
There is no death, only a change of worlds. - Algonquin proverb. "
After seeing Paul's post on Facebook today concerning the life celebration of his aunt, Donna, and after only scanning the Permies forum here at a glance, it has occurred to me that there is perhaps no room for all our "drama" and other issues orbiting rather distantly around the core of what permaculture is all about, and perhaps this is a good thing to some degree, regardless I decided that while I am testing the page/forum/computer tech etc. that I might just as well go ahead and create a new topic where we can shy away from the particulars of our craft in order to allow some room for some more personal stuff, such as was shared by Paul on Facebook earlier. In which case I will repost what concerned me there:
Paul:
"When I was 16 I was rather ... different. I suppose you could say "broken". My aunt donna lee took me in and showed me "family" in a way I had never seen it before. She gave me a mountain and asked for a bucket of dirt in return. I fell short on that bucket. I have enough to say here that could fill six or seven books. She died a few weeks ago. I recently returned from her "celebration of life" (not a funeral or memorial). All sorts of weird feelings. Today I present the six of clubs from the deck of cards that alexander ojeda and i made a couple of years ago. Not only do I think that "husp" is the most beautiful and important thing to come out of my twisted brain, but .... if you zoom, in on the card and look at the shoreline ...."
[Image of the six of clubs from the Husp (Horticulture of the United States of Pocahontas) deck of cards that Paul created which references his aunt, Donna]
Me:
"See, the thing is that I wrote the above analogy to an oak tree because, while Paul might see his aunt in such a light, it is also good to remind ourselves at certain times in life that we too are literally "enlightened" by those we look up to along our way, and that this enlightenment doesn't just stop. It goes on, literally forever.
By our actions we pass this light onto others. So, maybe it was/is part of her that I and surely many others recognize in you, Paul, that we identify with and find meaningful purpose in.
All I know is that when I 'met' Paul online I instantaneously felt healthy inside and hopeful. Watching Paul in his videos etc. was like staring at a new undiscovered but highly effective medicine. Medicine for a broken heart and a broken soul nearly completely withered away from existence.
After having gone through my own "different" experience, though I am much older than Paul was when his aunt took him in, even though Paul and I are not related, or that we haven't officially met or even texted much, if at all, I intuitively felt "taken in" by the Permies group. I saw a "family" that I could belong to. I saw something healthy to do, productive, hands-on, industrious, a vast community of others to exchange with in time... the permaculture lifestyle would resonate deep within me right at the time when I needed this most (not all that long ago).
Now, chances are that I am not the only one who would find a second chance at life, and something to look forward to that was earthy and good; wholesome. So, while we sometimes look up to others, and look back at our shared past with them in honour of their life and memory, we tend to forget that their light shone on and for us also, and we were infected by that light so that we too would then pass on this "torch" to others, maybe without even realizing it.
"You know, a mighty oak tree gets blown down by seasonal winds, is swiftly slammed onto our earth with all the acorns scattered about, everywhere... and we do our best to harvest them all, but some escape the clutches of man and root right where they lay, unseen at first. In turn these grow into their own might, only to perpetuate the cycle all over again, endlessly. She was no doubt one of these acorns, one of these mighty oaks. But so are you.
We all come from somewhere.
I am slow when it comes to joining new groups of folk (once bitten, twice shy - eviljesusfreaks; long story), but for me it is as though Paul & co. already HAVE taken me in... simply because of living the way that you all do, and by embodying the values (the light) that you all have within you. And maybe that is enough for me, and others. Maybe we never even meet up in real life, maybe we never have a conversation or ever even exchange emails, and maybe I never figure out how to contribute to the forums because I am so retarded when it comes to registering and figuring out stuff like that - but - the bottom line here is that it doesn't matter if all that other stuff happens or not. It is nice that we have it all set up online so we can exchange our ideas and all that stuff but, really, it is only the cherry on top of the sundae. What matters here are the choices we make that allow us to become the people we are in the first place so that we can help others find themselves when they lose touch with their identity, purpose, and core values in life. While it is nice to be a part of our clan, and all that goes with it, it is even nicer and much more valuable to just KNOW that our clan even exists in the first place. So, thanks to your aunt for leading by example so that you might become the man you are today, inspiring others to do the same. And thanks to you too, Paul, and to all who continue to sow their good seed in our good earth so that one day someone might stumble upon such a place where the might of oak trees covers the land as far as the eye can see.
There is no death, only a change of worlds. - Algonquin proverb. "
