Mary Allan

Hello,
I've kept donkeys for 30 years. Jacks, uncastrated males, can be dangerous.
It would be a blessing to him for the rest of his life, maybe 40 years, if the community could raise the money to have him cut. I wouldn't hand feed him treats, but it might be worth putting down a dish of feed for him. I wonder if he can be tied up, if so you could combine feeding and tying him up while you are in the paddock. He should be getting his feet trimmed every 6-8 weeks, if this isn't happening he will quickly become an animal/neglect cruelty case. If he is getting his feet trimmed have a chat to the farrier to find out how he handles him. From what you say about the owners I suspect his feet aren't looked after.
You might like to investigate The Trust Technique with James French. You can learn it online, I did it several years ago, it works. You could use it from the other side of the fence to begin with and then in the paddock. It's a way of building trust and teaching boundaries. Good luck.

Hi Bevan, I had a similar problem with my passive solar house in NZ. I made curtains lined with metallic shade cloth, they work really well and create a lovely soft light. I see your window is on a slope so I guess you'd need a way to attach the mesh to the bottom frame... maybe sticky velcro dots for when it's in use. Here's a link for the mesh I used. https://wintergardenz.co.nz/shadecloth/alishade-silver-reflective-shademesh-4mx5m/

Very interesting, I admire your patience and dedication. A great lesson. I paint a bit but it's always kind of impressionistic- is that a word? Because I can't draw. I use any colours that I feel like on the day and I mostly paint out the pictures I don't like. The over painted boards snd canvases give me great tones and textures to work with next time I feel like painting. Usually wet days when I can't get outside.
Looking forward to following your journey. I believe art is for its creator, so if you feel it's good then it is good, and I guess like any other group there are those out there who can only feel better by putting somebody else down..

What a great idea! I'll be trying the chicken water tip.
I'm trying to make little strips of candied scoby, it tastes ok but is still sticky after a week. I dried the strips first and then layered them in sugar....... anyone trued this got any tips?
Thanks
Mary

Thank-you and best wishes for 2025.

Burt Crews
That sounds like my kind of porch

Jordan Holland - you made my day!
I'm alone, of course, laughing out loud, cos I can, cos there's no nosey parkering, sticky beaky, interfering people here to ask me what I'm laughing at

Hi, I totally agree with Timothy Norton. Very thick mulch is, for me, the way to go.
I'm busy converting the corner of a paddock into a garden, and nothing comes up through 30cm wood chip mulch. This is the second time I've used this method, the great thing is that after  year or so you can scrape it back and plant through it. I scrape back a small bucket size fill it with soil/compost mix, plant my brocolli or whatever and put the mulch back, close up to the plant.  
Check out Paul Gautschi, Back to Eden gardening.
Good luck! By the way I'm 70, 5'0" and mulching/ no dig makes my 1/4 acre garden very manageable.

I live in NZ , an imigrant, so now I tag 'as' into my speech to emphasise what comes before, so here you go, EASY AS SAUCY POTATOES.
In a heavy casserole dish layer up the following.
Thick layer of butter
About 2cm thinly sliced potato
Sprinkle of flour- plain or gf
Salt and pepper and a lot of bits of butter or thin slices of butter :)
Keep going like this till your dish is nearly full, ending with butter on top.
Pour in enough milk to come 2/3 up the dish.
Put the lid on and bake at 180c till tatties are tender.
Take the lid off, bake until top is golden, you can add cheese if you like.
Extremely yummy.

Grapefruit seed extract. You can use it topically as well as take it as a medicine. Homeopathic Thuja.
Cut down or cut out sugar and reduce carbs if possible.