Wayne Johnson

This is great!! So many posts about acorn bread—-the ultimate survival food which is everywhere. A great skill to master!

It will take a lot of energy to pump and recirculate water, but easy to pump air into bottom of that hole and get 50 degree air coming up. That air will very moist, and will condense everywhere in the winter. You will get icy windows and will rot any wood that stays wet.

I found a huge amount of ripe elderberries last fall — in a private area of landscaping. The owner had no idea they were there! Well, I made a very large batch of heavy syrup with these, and to preserve it all, made a 5 gallon batch of wine with it. It is currently aging in my basement. Question— will the health benefits of the elderberry syrup be preserved in the wine, or has the yeast changed and ruined everything?

My first thoughts are of Chinese greenhouses where the roll of insulation is on the outside. Then no problems with condensation. Winter inside with windows means lots of plants for me, but that means lots of moisture and condensation can be a real problem. My solution—- get more plants and make life wonderful, then put more wood on the fire and forget about perfection!

I live in a town where I could get tons of grocery store produce, all the blemished veggies they throw out. This would be great for a biogas plant, but I worry about chemical residue in that stuff. The gas of course would be fine, but the liquid fertilizer might be toxic...! Is there any experience or advice out there?? THANKS

This is a tip for anyone who routinely goes to the woodpile and grabs an armful of firewood, for the stove, fireplace, etc. For years I did this, trying not to bash the door or the walls or house trim getting wood from outside to inside. NOW I use cardboard banana boxes from Costco! Wow, what a difference. These boxes have two handholds, perfect size, and are cushioned on sides so I don’t beat up the doors getting wood inside. If they weren’t cardboard, and if they weren’t free, this would be an idea for Shark Tank! No more firewood mess in the back porch! No more dropping firewood in the kitchen on the finished wood floor! This idea is 100% wife approved—- just go to Costco and improve your life.... OK—- I suppose any heavy duty 2- handle box will work.... Keep warm my friends,

Here’s a sneaky one—- think about your rain collection system if you have one. Wherever the water might sit in a pvc pipe—- it will expand and ruin everything. Make sure rigid tanks are not full or they will freeze and blow apart. IBC tanks seem to OK, but all pipes are vulnerable:—- best to drain everything and leave the valves open for the freeze and thaw of snowmelt—- source of water you don’t think about..

Any kind of pond pump or water pump outside must be disconnected and drained or it will burst. These might be ok if underground, but best to think through every foot of plumbing everywhere so you don’t have major headaches next spring.

A greenhouse will get significant condensation on inside windows, and over time might ruin any wood the windows touch.

Canna lilies must be dug up if you want them next year. Look on the bright side—/ you can eat the bulbs If SHTF, (so I’ve read)....many pond plants must be brought into a basement or non-freezing greenhouse  /barn if you want them too—-  winter is a good time to replant these anyway....

Bryan,
I had the same dilemma a few years ago when I planted 4 paw paws in my backyard. I opted to plant them on the side of a large maple tree-- so they would get some shade, but the backfire is that now they don't get enough light and are growing very slowly. They are in a row and you can directly see the growth effect of the shade from other trees. Trees need light! Duh-- These paw paws may never mature in my lifetime! If I had to do over, I would plant in sunny spot--and just cover with shade cloth when young. Oh well, backyard homesteading is an experiment, right?

Summary of your problem--- Keystoning is caused by not being exactly perpendicular (both ways) to the center of the door or house, etc. Bulging in our out is due to the lens, called lens distortion, and this varies quite a bit lens to lens, and if your're using a zoom lens, it will vary one way or the other based on focal length. Every lens is different; there are no rules; the newer the lens and more professional the lens, the better you will be. Wider angle tends to make things worse, but not so bad if you have a really, really good / expensive lens! Both of these problems are easily fixed in Photoshop (Lens Correction), so I would highly suggest trying this if you are serious about photography. If you try to minimize keystoning with camera placement, you will GREATLY reduce any creative input to your photos. You will be forcing yourself to be in a special spot, and you lose most creative potential for composition (which is always 90% of any photo). I'm an architectural photographer, and I must straighten EVERY picture I take, even when using tilt/ shift lenses. If you want things to be perfect (of course you do...) then you must jump into Photoshop or equivalent. I was typical portrait photographer for 16 years, then switched (almost overnight) to FT architectural (past 13 years). Yes, it happened--- but I had what you might call lots of "providential circumstances". If you are serious about photography, have a brainstorm session about how to SELL your work and MAKE MONEY. Then you can buy all kinds of fancy new gear and lens-- and if you make a magazine cover now and then, you are in "Photographer Heaven". I can teach you if you are serious...... Cheers------- Wayne