T. Pierce

use different type of styrofoam.  go thicker, which is costly but has a better R value. or use the thinner "fan fold" type.  both are easy to cut.  no shattering.

heated wire will melt a straight line right through it too. 

got one in my garden too.  it stores shears, seeds, and other misc. tools.  a friend of ours paints mailboxes. she gave us one, all painted up. w/ flowers and such.  i told my wife i aint hanging that gay lookin thing up.  it lived in the basement for 5 yrs before it got moved out to the garden for its main purpose now.

daphnetree wrote:
I saw this ad on craiglist today, I have a friend looking for property so I have been looking online for her, but she needs a place with a house, but it is in such a cool area and such a good price, I thought someone here may want to check it out. Almost an acre for $27,000. I have no connection with this, just passing it on. Not sure if it is the right place to post or not.
http://eugene.craigslist.org/grd/2460254693.html

this price is very close to what it goes for in this area of  VA.  but we dont blame the califonians for the high price.  its the yankees.  they come down from the north where the price of eveything in alot of areas is immorally high and buy up stuff.  10 yrs ago my 2 acres was right at $50,000.00

Amongst many in the lower class there seems to be a mentality that thinks "What I have now is going to be taken away anyway, so I may as well use it all as quickly as possible, trash the place for fun, and move on,"

aka~~a parasite.

a fascinating read:

SURVIVAL POACHING by Ragnar Benson

he explains a few reasons poaching is beneficial to nature.  and i tend to agree with some of his reasoning.  after all man made laws are not always right or correct.  this is not saying i poach.  b/c i dont. im not much of a hunter either.  but i do enjoy reading or watching something on hunting.  and Ragnars books really take you outside the proverbial box.

not that i live there,  but ive passed through a few times.  and i know a number of folks from there........but they dont call west va, wild and wonderful for nothing.

i used raised beds for a first time this yr.  most my plants were surrounded with a layer of newspaper and then covered with a roughly ground up wood chips.  the free stuff from the transfer station.      all this helps keep the soil nice and moist.  i water very very little this yr.  most any watering was done on my blueberry plants.  everything else has done surprisingly well.

i aggree with the dust issue. pigeons can  be nasty and quail can be quite crazy,,,,,  but if your really liking the idea of birds in the greenhouse.  have you ever considered something small like old english game bantams.   or even smaller. like the dutch or smallest of the small,,,,,seramas?

all would lay eggs,  and all have a nice amount of meat on them esp. for their lil size.

James Stark wrote:
Mr Pierce,

Just wanted to let you know I tried your method of skinning, and cutting up the breast bone. It butterflied beautifully, and was great on the BBQ. Thanks a ton for the advice!!
When I do a bunch at once, I'll still pluck and leave whole, but that is a GREAT method if you just want to put one or two in the fridge (or if you're butchering them down). I owe ya one.

glad it worked out for you.  i got the idea while watching a lady use shears while butchering  rabbits. i thought bet that would work on fowl. come to find out that there is nothing new under the sun ya know.............some of them shears ended up being  called poultry shears.  imagine that.

i ended up building me a sink and counter top out by the garden.  i just butcher, clean and cut up right there by the garden,  using my new shears...give the poultry a good initial cleaning in the sink before i soak it for a couple of days in salt water.  so far im happy with my method.

do some research on cocci and see if the symptoms match what you read.  but beware many fowl diseases have similar symptoms.  sulmet and corrid will help with cocci.  apple cider vinegar is a good natural preventative measure. but if you have a full blown case of cocci, it wont help. 

some will get it, and still survive, but it takes such a toll on them, that they will never be much.  a sure sign of cocci is bloody manure, but not all strains of cocci causes blood.