Thomas Dean

Just a note to our North American members: if you want help identifying an unknown insect, https://www.bugguide.net is a great resource.  They also use the uploaded images to create range maps and seasonal distribution information.  I know of some entomologists who both use it to get help with ID's and who help provide ID's.  

As a science teacher... I absolutely oppose using anything that looks like lab glassware for food or beverages.. because future confusion could be dangerous.   But that's just me.

William Bronson wrote:Full sized spare: always have a full sized spare stashed somewhere.
It doesn't need to be on the vehicle, in fact, if I kept it in the vehicle we wouldn't be able to get to it when we need it.
Rather than calling for a service truck the person who has a flat calls someone to bring the spare.
The tire is changed and the flat tire goes to be patched, or replaced.
This minimizes downtime for vehicles and occupents

Story to go with this... I took a trip to South Dakota with my young daughter and my mother-in-law during my spring break (we were picking up a puppy - LGD for our farm in MI from brother-in-law's farm in SD).  Got a very flat tire in little town in rural South Dakota on Easter weekend... during a blizzard.  Blizzard was threatening to get worse, could not wait for repair shop (singular) to open after the holiday weekend, needed to be on our way.  Brother-in-law remembers that he has a similar model minivan parked out back... we pulled an entire wheel (tire, rim and all), bolted it on my minvan, and were on our way.  I agree, having a full sized spare would be great in a pinch, especially if you didn't have to remove it from another vehicle before putting it on.

I lived in "bush" (rural) Alaska for a few years: 2007-2009 or so.  Most of our groceries were mail-order.  I had a couple of chickens (hatched from eggs I bought and had mailled to me).  In the process of mail ordering chicken feed from the Alaska Mill, I realized that they had 50 pound bags of "ground corn" that were cheaper than the 5 pound bags of cornmeal that I was buying.  So I ordered one - worst case scenario, I feed it to the chickens.  It was more coarse than cornmeal, but worked fine for cornbread and cornmeal mush.  I kept it stored in the cold to prevent any insect eggs/larvae from developing.   I was very pleased with that decision and would do it again if I were in the situation.  

John Weiland wrote:Could well be Maple Leaf Goosefoot:    

Looks like a perfect match.  I'll double check a few more sources.  Thanks!

I have a "weed" growing around my barn.  There were a small clump 2 years ago, I tried to remove all of them, must have failed.  Now there are lots.  I do use "grain screenings" as chicken bedding, and I know that is a source of unknown seeds.  I've "discovered" bad things (horse nettle), and good things (field kale/rape) growing in the garden as result.
This stuff looks sort of like lambs quarter - growth form and flower/seed growth...but is not the same.
I know I could try using google lens, etc.  but would rather ask real people.
I think I have attached the photo that I took of it.
Lambs quarter on right, unknown on left.

I get rye "screenings" (small grains, weed seeds, chaff, etc) for almost no cost.  I broadcast them by hand in the poultry pens in the fall, no soil prep.  In the spring there is a lot of growth for the birds to eat, and generally I let the grain grow enough the some of it even makes seed heads before being eaten/trampled: this is the summer pasture for the ducks.  Winter pasture for the ducks is all the garden plants, as I use their other pen as a garden in the summer.

Pasture #1: Spring/Summer = Garden, Fall/Winter = "pasture"
Pasture #2: Spring/Summer = Rye "pasture", Fall/Winter = time for ground to rest, rye to grow
Video of the ducks getting access to the rye
https://youtube.com/shorts/sHafYoEuuUc?si=lOGe0jCFNH0ckd8K

What I do with frozen eggs:
1. Bring in house still frozen solid.  
2. Immediately wash under warm water, shell should slide right off
3. Drop frozen eggs into bag/container, put into freezer.  
4. Thaw and cook when eggs are in short supply

Christopher Weeks wrote:

I have an issue with the graphic posted by Chris.  Where are all the cattle?  Last summer it was a big deal all the dairy farms in Michigan with cows testing positive.  I feel like the data it is based on is inadequate.

I also have chickens, I'm also the Poultry Superintendent for my county fair. The politics and rules about whether or not to have poultry at the fair last year were quite a headache.  I'm hoping this year is better.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

r ranson wrote:But also, there is a rebellion against how streaming services only have a limited number of movies.  The example in the news was 28 Days Later.  Apparently, no one is streaming and they stopped making dvds.  There is a growing market for physical mediea from the 1990s and early noughts.   Thrift shops are loving it.

Vive la rebellion! I too hoard physical music CD's and DVDs (and a few select VHS tapes) of things I want to listen to or watch again. Anything that's online can vanish in a moment.

This summer I grabbed two giant shopping bags of free music CD's including both commercial recordings and home-burned mix tapes. I returned about half. I'll have fun this winter flipping through the rest for anything good. I have been hoarding disc players, which are free for the taking.

We also resist.  In part due to lack of viable internet options, in part because we recognize the reality of things disappearing down the memory hole.  
My kids still watch VHS... their friends were amazed by the idea of "rewinding" tapes after viewing.
We used to have a local electronic repair shop that would fix our VHS players... they are now closed.  We have a few spares in storage, but players are hard to get.

We have similar perspective on books.  Thousands in our house.  Some go with our interests: Theology, Science, History, but also lots of fiction - for our kids and for us.   It's amazing what the library can't even get for us by interlibrary loan...

On that note, does anyone have a VHS copy of the movie "far and away"?  I heard some music from the soundtrack the other day, and want to re-watch it with my wife.