Jay Angler

First, are you sure the coop is fully secure and there's not chance that some sort of vermin isn't disturbing the birds in their nest boxes?

Second, a picture of the boxes would help. Many boxes are deep and dark enough to really be a "preferred location."

Third, are you sure there are no mites in the boxes. Some mites can hibernate for years and then come out and bother the birds as soon as they smell them. Do you dust the boxes with Diatomaceous earth, as it discourages mites.

Once, you've confirmed the above 3, I would then see what happens if you keep the birds locked in for a week to see if they get the idea that nest boxes are the right spot. I have had Ravens fly right into an open coop to steal eggs, I've heard of both squirrels and snakes stealing eggs.

This thread might give you some ideas of nest boxes that chickens like:
https://permies.com/t/171763/Nesting-Boxes-Hens-Big-Put

I give this book 8 out of 10 acorns.

Patrick states early in the book, that he prefers to think of this style as being a "Food Woodland", rather than a "Food Forest, because he thinks of woodlands as being more open, with fewer overstory trees. However, he acknowledges that since people recognize the term "food forest", he's willing to stick with it. This book is written very much on the British ecosystem - maritime climate and moderate temperatures. As I am living on an island in an ocean, there is a lot that I can relate to in Patrick's book. His writing style is also very readable to me, although particularly at the beginning of the book, the information is very dense. The book may seem small, but it needs to be read slowly a section at a time.

The description of the different styles of fruit trees and their pros and cons, and the patterns he describes for small lot food forests were illuminating. This book is very "urban friendly". He clearly shows how you can have an effective forest on an urban lot, and how to get the most out of the land you have around your house. He identifies potential issues like wind-tunnels, frost pockets, water management, microclimates and soil types.

He also has a good section about plant choice, but this is from a British Ecosystem perspective. He's clear about not only the work building such as system, but maintaining it also.

This book is totally worth reading for anyone contemplating this sort of garden.

It’s been too damn long
Water running off the land
Not a damn, a dam.

Why wouldn’t the frog lend his hammer to the mushroom?

Because it’s a toad’s tool.

Robert Ray wrote: I agree with the leg elevation, however just one of the nurses told me to absolutely do not elevate the leg above the heart for any length of time because it would hamper my future mobility.

Good to know and follow!

I admit I was thinking 10 to 20 minutes, not all night!

I am definitely noticing the cooler nights and darker mornings! Mother Nature has worked hard all summer - she deserves a rest, although I hope she'll ripen a few more tomatoes for me first!

Robert Ray wrote:Ice, ice ice. ... I haven't been wearing the compression socks as directed, I will try them today to see if there is any help.  

Ice both controls pain and can help reduce swelling. Compression socks help to reduce swelling.

However, *properly* elevating your leg *also* helps control swelling. Proper "elevation" means the body part ideally is at a higher elevation than your heart. Remember that your blood, with the help of arteries that have muscle fibers in them, take the blood to your extremities, but veins are much thinner walls, and rely to some extent on muscle action to help move the blood. And swelling often relates to the lymph system which relies even move on muscle action to keep it moving up against gravity. I couldn't find a quick modern reference, and we've learned a lot in the 40 years since I took a college level anatomy class, so this is "old knowledge".

My point is, that if you're doing exercises frequently, and when resting, get the leg up on pillows so that it's higher than at least your hips, this will help reduce the risk of swelling.

DVT's - Deep Vein Thrombosis - ie blood clots in your veins are a serious risk under certain conditions and nearly killed a friend of mine when bits broke of the clot and lodged somewhere serious - thankfully not her brain. This was following a serious leg bone break, so I don't know whether knee surgery caries the same degree of risk, but this can even happen to people sitting too long on plane flights, so I am quite sure that regular movement, even if for short periods, is one protection.

Short answer is that the compression socks may be less helpful if swelling is controlled in other ways. They are difficult to put on, so if you're doing all the other things, you could check with the doctor to see if they're worth the effort vs putting that effort into more exercise.

Anne Miller wrote:So instead of watching TV folks watch Youtube?  Is this a trade off?

Youtube has some good science, history and current events options. I *know* it really sucks you in as badly as TV, although I have something that reduces the commercials. That's not so fair for the content creators, but without it, I wouldn't watch any of it and it's pretty much my only source of news (the version I 'watch', lets me read the news precise, rather than watching the video.

I try to mostly watch it if I'm doing something else with my hands, like sewing, but if I'm super tired, it can suck me in...

M Ljin wrote:I don’t watch TV and find it disruptive and obnoxious to be in a house with a TV on, especially after a long day when what I want most is to sleep decently, but instead have to bundle up outside in the cold and damp to get some peace and then make up for lost sleep by drowsing the next day…no fun at all.

Have you tried ear plugs? I can't wear plugs and over the ear ones stop me from side sleeping which is my norm. I'd be hanging all sorts of sound dampening blankets on the walls! I am very sensitive to both noise and light when trying to get to sleep. If I'm sound asleep, it's less of an issue.

G and P would both vote for mustard greens. They're similar to kale in that they're fairly cold tolerant - kale is frost tolerant, but I haven't tried mustard greens in frost yet.

My issue is that we're just too wet and cloudy for the plants to get enough sunshine to grow. Even my plant lights can't give most veggies enough to actually grow - just enough to stay alive, which doesn't make them a food source. There's a reason it takes so much electricity to keep greenhouse plants growing in the winter, and it isn't just heat. They end up running lights 22/24 hours which pisses off the neighbors (humans and insects alike), so many areas now have laws that they must have covers to block the light during certain hours.

My mother successfully used a version of the "wagon" in the spring to get seedlings hardened off. I think she had at least 3 wheeled carts so the most tender went in every night, the mediums on cooler nights, and they all got pulled in if a serious frost was predicted.