bruce Fine

about 8 or 9 years ago my neighbor built a barn with cull poplar from local sawmill. it is still holding up good and strong. I use poplar for kindling and if i'mm running low on good dry firewood it dries fairly quickly in dry sunny days once split up and can be the difference between freezing and staying warm.

im about an hour northeast of Knoxville

been toying with idea of planting a few varieties of asparagus but the only way to buy them at a reasonable price iid to get 1000 of each variety at a time

is plastic a necessary evil in building a greenhouse? trying to recycle plastic for a greenhouse iS probably a non starter. ive been wanting to build a greenhouse for years now but it is slow going accumulating  enough window glass to put it together

I made a huge mistake trying to use tung oil to put a finish on a new surplus unfinished axe handle. I sanded it down lightly with 220 grit sandpaper and brushed on a light coat of tung oil. I hung it up to dry over a dehumidifier and 24 hours later it had not dried not even a bit. I just wiped it off with some clean mineral spirits and hung it back over the dehumidifier. hopefully it will dry and maybe I can coat it with shellac, lacquer or varnish.
what would you use to put a finish on an axe handle that won't take forever and a day to dry?

Ive got a giant pile of tree bark and need to find a good way to use it. the pile has been getting higher and higher as I split my firewood to be stacked up for next winter. a lot of it is from red and chestnut oak and up to an inch thick by 14 to 18 inches long. by the time I get all 9 ICB totes filled and the woodshed filled with split stacked firewood im guessing there will be close to a cord of bark that has fallen off or I removed from logs.

those safety switches that have to be held down while pulling the trigger make them just that much more difficult to use. I fixed that problem with some electrical tape to hold it down but that only lasted temporarily. I guess surgery is need to jump the wire eliminating the safety with. kind of reminds me of those spring loaded shutoffs on new gas cans that have to be pulled down in order to dispense gas out the spout that many times causes spills of the combustable refined dinosaur juice.
the extra long blades made for cutting branches actually work very well once you get the machine to run. but in no way compare to what a chainsaw will do. but battery powered sawsall has its place in pruning and cutting.

I recently had excellent experience, first with what I will call an overnight tailgate party the adventure began. I pulled in a large parking lot about 3 p.m. prepared to spend the weekend and sleep in my vehicle. at about 10p.m. volunteers in bright green construction vests came around passing out numbers starting with whoever got there first. they ask if you want medical, dental or vision care.
right before 6 a.m the crew in construction garb came to get the first group of about 100 people. to go into a giant auditorium type building. no id or payment needed what so ever. they ask questions about your health history. you can tell them whatever you want. everyone is accepted and given whatever help you ask for.
I got a complete vision exam and two free pairs of prescription glasses, since I'm an old phart one for reading and one for everything else. and I got complete dental care,
the services I received would probably have cost at least $6000 if I had gone to a private practice dentist and opthomologist.
by Sunday afternoon the volunteers which included literally hundreds of doctors and dentists and other professionals, helped out at least 1700 people all for no charge.
If something like this might be good for you find the pop up clinic schedule at RAMUSA.org. they travel all over the country throughout the year.
it is first come first served so if you go it is best to get there real early and camp out in the parking lot.

recipe, ok, here is mine.
chop a large strong onion, one onion per pie, and sauté  in butter and shake in a bunch of black pepper to your taste
if you like to chew use a whole bunch of raw broccoli or if you like you can add in half or less cauliflower. or you can boil it for 5 or so minutes till broccoli or broccoli and cauliflower softens a bit. this is not a quiche, this is vegetable pie. its better to have too much veggie mix than not enough. if it all won't fit in pie shell extra can be used in stir fry or something else.
make pie crust or get frozen ones
in large bowl mix fried onions and broccoli together. the past few times making this I chop up the broccoli in bowl with Alaska Ulu knife
for deep pie shell/pan 5 lg eggs, for traditional pie height 4 eggs will usually do it.
in bowl good for beating eggs add eggs and a bit half and half, milk or cream. not too much though , add about a table spoon of pressed or chopped garlic, and about as much sdalt as you would put in bread, like maybe a teaspoon or a bit more if you like salty stuff.
with onions mixed throughout the bowl of broccoli get a layer that just covers the bottom into the pie shell. sprinkle in some sharp cheddar or similar cheese. now fill in the pie shell with the broccoli and onions mix.
beat up the stuff in the egg bowl real well but not to death.
make a pocket in center broccoli so egg mixture will soak in amount the veggie mix. pour egg mix in slowly so it soaks in all throughout the veggies.
after it is soaked throughout  close up the center pocket and cover lightly with shredded cheese, it has to be cheese that can take the heat of baking, mozzarella, provolone, etc. Italian mix is excellent here.
bake at 375 for about 50 minutes or till a knife will come out clean. or less if you like runny eggs.  do not overcook. burnt or rubbery eggs are not very delicious.

ok, let us know how it turns out for you.

over the past 10 years ive planted more than 500 chestnut trees. currently I believe 300-400 of them have survived, I have not counted them. last fall was the first year they have produced chestnuts. I collected a total of 15lbs of beautiful organic pest free chestnuts. I let the deer have their way with them for about the first week of harvest season then began gathering every nut in the orchard. I currently have Chinese and Dustan varieties. both blight resistant. about a week ago I took delivery of 25 more Dustan seedlings from the State of Tennessee Department of forestry and donated a half dozen to the rural medical clinic located on Chestnut Hill, here in East Tennessee. Now that I know I can successfully grow chestnuts I would be more than happy to accept donations of New blight resistant American Chestnut trees.