Thea Morales

Pearl Sutton wrote:Tereza also tossed me privately a link to one of the sites she found.
https://classifieds.castanet.net/details/metal_display_pieces/4813574/
It contains this image (amongst others) and this text:

Decorative Metal Display Pieces

$10. for all 4 or $2.50 ea.
Napkin Holder - 8 1/2" L X 3 1/2" W X 6 1/4

Rectangular Piece 12 1/2" X 10 1/2X 3 1/2"

Large Circular 12" Diameter
Small Circular 9" Diameter

12 inch round is dinner plates. 9 inch round is smaller plates often called lunch plates. The napkin holder I agree with. If all the rest of them are serving ware, the idea it's for silverware might be right. I'd agree that something like baskets were probably involved.
And I agree with Carla's idea being more rational.

Apple to Tereza Okava, and I declare this one solved.  :D

Then speculation as to it's possible USES started...

So.
I still think it's way over engineered for silverware, AND designed WRONG for silverware.
I got out a digital scale, a ruler, and took notes.

The curly rack in question is 12 x 10 inches and weighs 2 lb 5.5 oz
The rack out of my oven is 18 x 24 inches and weighs 4 lb 2.5 oz
This 3 shelf wire rack's size is16 x 13 x12 inches and weighs 4 lb 6.5 oz

What do YOU think?
Grandma had these! Square for cloth napkins (which only grownups used), rectangle for folded paper napkins, paper plates for the last two.

Juniper Zen wrote:Which do you find more useful and easy to use on a small homestead? I need to buy something to transport small amounts of compost, used straw bedding, feed, etc. If it makes a difference, I am 5’4” and have decent upper body strength for a woman but not compared to a man.

I’m 5’4” tall and 175lbs. I don’t want any more muscle on my body than I already have. I’d go with the cart as I love mine.
I’ve tried wheel barrels but the lift/push is too much for me on a larger run. The cart uses less effort for larger loads as well as being great for steering around obstacles.

William Schlegel wrote:What can we grow to make our communities more self sufficient?

Staple Foods?

Foods that make life better or make us happy like watermelons?

Clothing?

Herbs?

Food for animals domestic and wild?

Habitat for pollinators?

Raw material for canoes?

Basketry plants?

Fuel?

Oil?

What can we grow to build sustainable resilient communities that keep things local in a changing world?

I must admit that growing hemp for oil and fibers (rope, twine, basket material) is a lost art, while fir trees produce a sticky sap that can be made into medicine, incense, glue, or resin.
Root vegetables are wonderful food for animals and humans alike. Especially during winter.
Keeping sheep or hairy goats makes food and clothing easier to assemble. I prefer ducks to chickens for eggs and meat, too.
My herbs are usually gathered in the wild, along with a few roots and mushrooms, but garlic, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and cilantro are in or near my window.
This year I planted saffron bulbs. I didn’t expect anything from them, but they produced enough for two rice dishes. I’m looking forward to next year.

I became a raw-vegan right after my 3rd child was born. I was borderline diabetic during that pregnancy, so I chose to nip that in the bud.
The raw-vegan didn’t last as long. At that time I was taking supplements because there wasn’t getting enough of a few vitamins and minerals in my blood. My raw-vegan friend does well with it, but my omega 3, 6, and 9 were very low. Guess what I became- yep - a pescatarian. I still do a mostly raw, but my fish and poi are in my blood.

I can hardly wait to see what you put together. I’m in Arizona, it’s never below zero, so I’m out. That doesn’t mean I’m not doing this. It only means that I’m not qualified for submission. Right? Right.
What a great idea!

This is a very important topic with a significant impact on permaculture! I’m so very happy that this was sent to me. It is right on track with what I believe will benefit humanity in general.
Hawaiian ancestry reveals that they were the first aquaculturists. Most of my life was spent in that area of farming.
Having moved off island, the differences in climate baffled me at first. Thanks to my research, I came across premises.com and I am always flabbergasted by the amount of useful information I find here.
I know how to use urine to water plants, but using human feces in the way mentioned is doable on a small scale. With the right equipment, my Texas friend waters her lawn weekly and it is always lush and green.

Thea Morales wrote: My grandchildren dive in, come out with slugs, and use them to fish with

Thea - I'm confused! slugs here in Scotland aren't normally aquatic (thank goodness!) We do get water snails but not slugs...,maybe you mean leeches? they're pretty slimy but I think they don't eat plants.
Yes, I’m very sorry, leeches are what they fish with. I had to look it up because the children call them slugs.
To keep slugs out of our GARDEN, we also use crushed shells mixed with coffee grounds. We are very careful to place them along the edges and not close to the plants.

Jay Angler wrote:

Ra Kenworth wrote:... I found I had a slug clinging to the bottom of my hair when I was in bed and the only solution was to cut a few inches off.

Cutting a few inches off was likely the best approach. I once stepped out  onto the front porch in my wool socks, and unfortunately stepped right on a large, wet coast slug. It took about 5 tries to get the slug slime off the wool sufficiently that I could still use the sock.

Our slugs have plenty of fodder in the calm of our river. My grandchildren dive in, come out with slugs, and use them to fish with. Boys and girls help each other remove the buggers and they all bait their own hooks. Every time they do this “ritual” we have a great fish-fry.

PROJECT #2:

The leaf blower is much easier to deal with than my compressor and it worked very well for blowing out the few lines I have around the place.  In fact, it may have worked even better (or I opened valves in different sequence) because there were no sections that leaked this year.
I love this leaf blower idea. I have one and am going to try this method. I can hardly wait!