Jocelyn Campbell

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:Oh gosh, what an outpouring of support, thank you!

Here's the backstory.

A. I had a really terrible year.
<BIG SNIP>

Commiserating here has helped alleviate a bit of my stress over this. I do thank you all for that.

<3 <3 <3

Someone just gave me an apple for the post above.

Four years later, I have learned that the succinct way to put it was that there was too much chaos.

This is regardless of deaths and births in my family. My stress was not primarily caused by family events, though I think a lot of people thought that was the main cause.

In retrospect, it makes total sense that amidst chaos, I was attempting to nail down or control what I could.

Hi again!

The people associated with this group, see the thread https://permies.com/t/260888/Skykomish-Biocultural-Restoration-Field-Station, seem to be the types of folks you are looking for. I've connected with them a bit and am duly inspired by what they do.

Hi there Rick! There is a great farmer support organization, snovalleytilth.org, that has a farm connect program. I recommend joining that group. Their reach is beyond the Snoqualmie Valley (which is technically mostly King County) and they do have member farmers in Snohomish County.

Also, if you are on the dreaded Facething, there are homestead groups that sometimes post about wanting someone to help on their land. Find me on FB and I can invite you to those groups.

I moved to Everett (a city north of Seattle that used to be home to Boeing) a little over a year ago.

Last Halloween (2023), I bought dried fruit (the store-bought kind in individual little packages) to give out, my son came over with full-sized candy bars, and the upstairs neighbors provided a box of individual bags of Doritos.

We had not one knock at the door. Not one!

This year (2024), I didn't buy anything to give out. Then yesterday, the day of, something made me think I might get some Trick-or-Treaters. My work was crazy, with no breaks, no ability to run to the store for anything.

A good friend had given me a bag of apples he had picked. Kid-sized, super fresh and delicious. Even better is that they came from an amazing, neglected tree, that had split down the middle of the trunk but was still producing loads of absolutely beautiful, scab and blemish free, bug free apples!

So I set the apples by the door just in case.

There were knocks at the door! I had Trick-or-Treaters!

They got apples! Hahaha! There were two groups of girls and the looks on their faces were....well, later it dawned on me it might have seemed like the evil queen giving a red apple to Snow White! Bwahahaha! Scary!!

Fairly early in the evening, I locked up and went to my neighbors four blocks down the road who *do* get loads of Trick-or-Treaters. It was fun to see them, hang out, and actually see costumes and loads of people. They were giving out loads of candy.

While I was gone, I left 10 apples on my porch, and came back to 6 left. Ha!

I was a bit surprised. And happy! Ha!

For most people, if they do eat the apple, I think they will be blown away by how good these apples are compared to typical grocery store fare.

SO happy to have found this thread. I've heard Jacqueline Freeman talk about revitalizing ancient apple trees with biodynamic tree paste, so I wonder if that's who John S. was referencing.

I foraged some horsetail and made a decoction, and sourced some clay from my Buy Nothing group (since I now live in the city). Next up are the manure and sand and I have free sources for those as well (yay!). I don't have biodynamic compost, as Adam Klaus and others recommend, but am still very excited to try this on a couple beleaguered trees here.

Today is the full moon, and while I know it's not "winter" yet here in the rainy Pacific NW of the States, we are about to move into a waning moon phase. I don't think my horsetail decoction would be as potent if I let it sit until February, and there would not be the best horsetail foraging then, either. So, I'm going to start with doing something imperfectly, rather than not doing it at all. (There's a quote somewhere about that, isn't there?)

And I imagine here, where we get a lot of heavy sideways rain due to being next to Puget Sound, that repeat applications could be needed, and I'm okay with that.

And Bonnie, yes, I have heard neem oil could be a very beneficial addition as well. Though I haven't tried it myself and it's not something I'll be adding this go 'round.

Hi Sonya and welcome to permies!

This is likely not work-trade, but sounds very much like what and where you're looking for:

https://mailchi.mp/e2d8e3110c26/3-farm-and-forest-tidbits?e=6053c16093

That's a link to the latest email from Alexia Allen of Hawthorn Farm in Woodinville.

Good luck in your search!

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:Is the July 12th Field Day happening?

I learned elsewhere that the July 12th event was canceled, but the August field station is still on!

Is the July 12th Field Day happening?

This article about a study on grizzly bears versus livestock guardian dogs is rather amazing.

https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/study-finds-guard-dogs-significantly-reduce-grizzly-encounters-on-farms

Reductions of 87.8% in grizzlies coming near farmsteads and 94.1% reduction in grizzly time spent on farmsteads. Particularly those farms with grain spillage, which is a major bear attractant.

So cool.