Donna Lynn

paul wheaton wrote:After a lot of visiting with andres today, we are gonna make a slight shift ....

these cards are now "Gardening Playing Cards" for gardeners and homsteaders  ...  

      also, for gardening, homesteading and permaculture

Gotta be honest, I don't think that will go over well.  There are so many things in them that are not garden-related, plus the name just doesn't have the same ring to it as Permaculture Playing Cards.  But I'm sure you have your reasons.   And if you advertise them to non-permies you might get a bit more interest. 🤷‍♀️

Timothy Norton wrote:

Donna Lynn wrote: Would this not disrupt "wanted" seed germination as well?  (I suppose if you planned to plant seedlings started elsewhere this wouldn't matter.)

I believe that would be correct. I would think that it might be worth the effort if you are trying to transform an area of less desirable plants into a new growing space but from what I can read it looks like a bunch of work. The idea is that you need to break up the biomass, incorporate it into the soil, and they even encourage that you tamp the soil in order to trap the fumigant into the soil so that it can do its work.

It is an option, but I think the usage is rather niche?

I also wonder if, as with juglone, the brassica seeds themselves are immune to their own germination suppression tactics...  If this were the case, then seeding in forage kale, if it was able to grow and go to seed, should yield stronger growth of itself in succeeding years, unless tilling in the biomass is actually necessary to achieve the full effect.

Timothy Norton wrote:Brassicas produce a sulfur containing substance known as glucosinolates which help inhibit weed seed germination when the plant is chopped and tilled into the soil. I've been told that the mechanism of action is known as biofumigation.

Would this not disrupt "wanted" seed germination as well?  (I suppose if you planned to plant seedlings started elsewhere this wouldn't matter.)

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Thanks for all the reminders of things I haven’t done for my dog.

Great Pyrenees.  A big girl!  About 16 months at this point.  She started getting something on the tip of her nose.  I just thought it was the mud at first, or high elevation sun.

The funny patch spread up the top of her nose towards her eyes.  Then she had some funny spots around her eyes.  The rate of spread accelerated.  By the time I got her to the vet the insides of her ears were inflamed and weeping, and she had patches all over, and between her toes….

It’s a condition called pemphigus.  It’s an autoimmune condition.  It’s subsided quite a bit, mostly because of the cortisone pills.   Prednisone.  I hate giving her prednisone, it has dire and extensive side effects.  My opinion on prednisone is that it’s only appropriate in life or death situations, but that’s what this is!  Without the prednisone I think she would have no hair, no skin, probably be dead by now. I am very gradually decreasing the daily dose.  And using quality of life as a guide.  

Remarkably she doesn’t appear uncomfortable nor to be suffering a decreased quality of life, has only a small patch on her nose, we’re back to the starting place.

But all these reminders  about calendula, plantain probably comfrey, all the skin supporting herbs might feel good and help the skin and hair maintain themselves.

And yes, I give her a “quality” diet but I am sure I could improve it by studying this whole thread intensively!

Thanks so much !

For the curious, it is not advisable to give varying amounts of prednisone, or other corticosteroids.  It’s a powerful hormone and tied to our circadian rhythm rhythms.  The best possible strategy is a constant dose at a specific time.  Our (mammals) cortisone levels are naturally highest in the morning on arising.  That’s the time of day I give her dose.  In autoimmune conditions you start off with a large enough dose to suppress what ever you want to suppress.  Stay at that level to see an improvement, then very carefully, begin to taper off.

I had a friend who years ago had some inexplicable painful skin thing.  On prednisone for more than a year .  She wanted to get off it.  Had to convince the doctor who liked the results of it.  But she described to me what the internal experience was to just taper the daily dose by a small percentage…..

My mental picture is that there’s an equilibrium which allows the healing, and the idea is to decrease the dose without upsetting the equilibrium.  Then stay at that dose until the body has adjusted to the lower levels of the drug before again reducing it.

The vet said “ sometimes they get over it”. So wish my darling Sharkie all the luck in the world.  She’s a YOUNG dog.

Oh Thekla, I feel for you!  Decades ago I had a Great Pyrenees mix who started with that same small spot on her nose.  It started to spread, so I took her to the vet.  He gave me some prescription cream after diagnosing her with a staph infection.  The symptoms spread to her front legs, so I called the vet and he simply said to up the dosage of cream.  It continued to spread to her backside, and she began to become infested with maggots under her fur.  I'd heard that they only ate dead tissue so I was confused.  I took her to the emergency vet, and they said her skin was literally dying.  To save her would have cost thousands of dollars I didn't have, and she would've had to have been on steroids for the rest of her life.  I wish I had known about homeopathy back then... I might have been able to save her before things got so bad.  

I wish you the best helping your Sharkie heal and live a long healthy life!

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Something is not working right in the tech world

I keep getting notifications about a new post, but there isn’t a new post.

I don’t have any idea what is going on but it’s happened multiple times in the last few days.  I’m going to “stop watching”.  

Great going guys, getting this far!

I've had the same thing happen recently, not with this thread, but with several others.  

Christopher Weeks wrote:I’m not gonna call this a favorite, but last week we made a big batch of chive pesto and last night I made deviled eggs with the leftovers. They were good, but not great.

These would look ghoulishly good on a Halloween platter!

Timothy Norton wrote:

Nina Wright wrote:Any recipes for without mayo?

I have not tried, but I'm musing here so take it with a grain of salt.

I wonder if greek yogurt or sour cream would be a close substitute? It may require some 'dressing up' with spices and accoutrements but I could see those working.

I'd experiment with mashed avocado, pureed cucumber or red bell pepper (fresh or roasted) or celery or carrot juice, maybe with some puree, unsweetened plant milk (or dairy cream,) and so on.  I've used pureed cucumber (without the seeds) mixed with cashew cream to make a sour cream-like base for raw spinach dip... so just think of flavors you like and think of how to make those things into the consistency you need.  It won't be just like mayo, but could turn out to be even better!

Anne Miller wrote:I have never used a recipe.

Boil eggs.  Peel. Cut in half, scoop out yolks, mash yolks.

Add Miracle Whip Salad Dressing, dab of mustard.  Fill egg white halves.

Eat and enjoy!

OMG Anne, were you my secret sister?!?  That is how my mom always made them, and how I prefer to make them now.  (I took a batch to work for a pitch-in, and my boss was quite upset that I didn't use a set recipe he could take home to his wife! 🤣)  I've experimented with regular mayo, keto mayo, aquafaba, garlic salt, cayenne, horseradish, Dijon mustard and so on, but always come back to good ol' Miracle Whip with plain yellow mustard to taste.  Maybe some salt and pepper if I'm not feeling lazy.  It's how I make egg salad too.

Although I have to say adding pickle juice as mentioned above sounds interesting... I may try that next time.  I already add sweet relish to my tuna salad and just a bit to grilled cheese sandwiches, and I love the flavor it adds.  

Rick Valley wrote:I'm going to be 74 before Eggsmash, so by then any hair long enough to tie back will be WAY back- my ponytail is 'bout as fat as my little finger now, so maybe I'll stop trimming my beard- once I grew my beard long, but found if I wasn't paying full attention during dinner I started eating it. (my beard) That just doesn't work well. And now I have a wide collection of hats/bandannas you name it, because getting your scalp sunburned is off the pain chart, and besides, you don't need sunglasses so much. I did see a cartoon about male pattern baldness which advocated just getting a face tattooed on your bald top so you can tilt your head down: so you'll be facing whoever you're talking to! Looked about right in the cartoon. Maybe I can get my beard long enough I'll be able to part it under my chin and do a "comb up and over" ?

My guy has a skinny tail now too, he gathers it up on top of his head for sleeping, and ties it low in back for daily wear unless he wants to look santa-like with it flowing around his shoulders.  He has a thick beard, which he also puts in a "ponytail" to keep it out of his mouth when eating and sleeping.  (He just uses the black elastic thingies.)  Another heavy-bearded guy we knew parted his in the middle and made two thick braids.  It looked decorative but very masculine -- viking-like.  

None of this solves the chrome-dome situation, but my guy doesn't give his thinning top or growing bald spot a thought -- he's earned this badge of experience as much as I've earned my grey hairs.  Think of it as a sign of wisdom!  Or you could tattoo a lifelike brain with cut edges of scalp and skull around it where your hair ends 😁  That would be so much more fun than a face!  To look more youthful if that is your goal, you could do what a friend who started balding in his early 30s did:  he hated the "horseshoe look" so much he just shaved his whole head.  That way it looks intentional, and you can keep the beard.

For my clothes dryer, I just never run it on the higher settings, except for the first 10-15 minutes if I have just bedding in there or something like that.  That way the heat that goes through the duct is never hot enough (I believe, I haven't actually checked with a thermometer) to catch lint on fire.  I'm trying to use the clothesline more, and even hung a wooden fold-out drying rack on the wall over our bathtub for winter use, plus we have an old towel rack that I can set as near the woodstove as I like for faster drying (and in true permie style, this stacks functions by raising the humidity in the house in winter as a byproduct.)  But until I phase over completely, the good ol' electric dryer saves the day, so I'll keep using it and keeping the heat settings medium to low to avoid the fire hazard, as well as cleaning the lint trap after each use and cleaning the outside part every few years.

What I really need to clean is my cooktop vent fan filter!  The fan runs but has never pulled steam up into itself, so I'm hoping using the tips in this thread to clean the filter will help with that.  It is always possible, though, that the cheapo handyman the prior owner used to do a kitchen remodel never actually vented the fan to the outside properly.  🙄

I look forward to permie degreaser solutions added to this thread, as my guy's high-fat carnivore diet is sliming up my kitchen with all the animal fat, and I'd love a less-elbow-grease and less-paper towels solution to this perpetual mess.  I let the dogs lick off the dishes before I wash them, but I don't really want to teach them to stand up and lick the glass cooktop and surrounding countertop... although I have zero doubt that they'd learn quickly and be thrilled to "assist!"