Glenn Ingram

Knots are like magic.  I use most of the knots mentioned.  In addition, I love a prussic or any other friction knot when I'm camping to attach a tarp to a ridge line.  It can be used anytime you want an adjustable way to attach a rope to another rope.  The Trucker's hitch is probably the coolest knot ever; use it whenever you want to tie something tight (hauling on a truck, tying a canoe to your car, tying a tarp, or any number of things.  It also comes untied instantly if you use the slip version.  I typically use a slip knot for the required loop because you can just pull it and it comes out when you are done with the knot.  I have found that with very small string, the slip knot will bind and not come out very easily if has been under a lot of tension.  So I have started using a figure 8 slip knot instead which seems to come out more easily and causes less wear on the string.

My favorite new knot I learned is similar to the sheet bend called a lapp hitch (knots seem to have lots of names).  I use the slip version so it can be untied instantly and it is adjustable.  It holds like a bowline (I think it is not quite as strong as the bowline and you can easily tie it slightly wrong so use the bowline if you are putting tons of tension on it like hoisting people or heavy objects), you don't need access to either end of the rope, it comes untied instantly, and it is adjustable yet holds tight.  Because of the adjustability, you can also cinch it down tight on something and it won't loosen or tighten further.  I've been tying my shoes with it, using it anywhere I might use a square knot or 2 half hitches.  Did I mention it comes untied instantly?  You can use it to join 2 ropes (just like the sheet bend) but because it is a slip version, it comes untied instantly when you want.  So this one knot can functionally take the place of a bowline, taut line hitch, sheet bend, square knot, and even a clove hitch for things like tying a bundle together.  Did I mention it comes untied instantly? Here are videos with 2 different ways to tie it.  The first one shows how to adjust it.

You'll love Peter Follansbee.  He does a variety of woodworking but is most famous for building stools, chests, and boxes from wood riven from the tree and mostly joined with drawbored mortise and tenon joinery (no glue, no metal).  He also does extensive carving on his pieces.  He mostly does reproductions or similar pieces to ones in museums or the historical record from 17th century New England though these techniques are obviously much older and widespread.  I've done a few projects using this method and it is quite fun.  He has a great blog and 2 books.  Here are his chests https://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/wainscot-chests/
.

One of the main drivers of bitterness  is oxalic acid.  There are wild plants that are extremely dangerously high, and one can actually consume if unaware, a deadly level.  Rhubarb leaves are the commonly known one to avoid, but many others if consumed, say daily, in a tea would not be good.    So for those that live with gout, arthritis,  kidney stones, or any of the other high oxalate symptoms please be sure to question your daily tea, weed consumption, or regular foods in general.  Finding this out changed the health of my wife and I in a big way.  And neither of us had the more common symptoms.  One can have their levels tested using an Organic Acids Test.  

The above statement about the consequences of too many oxalates are absolutely true.  However, oxalic acid has a sour taste (as most acids do) which is why rhubarb, wood sorrel, and other high oxalate plants are sour.  There are high oxalate plants that are not very sour but that is because their taste is overwhelmed by other constituents in the plant (often bitter).  Many many constituents in plants are bitter; it's one of the most common flavors in plants.  Many bitter things are poisonous, most are extremely healthful.  Cooking does break down oxalates but it can still be an issue if you are drinking a lot of tea of a really high oxalate plant all the time and your body is particularly sensitive to oxalates.  

My point is it is a risk to be aware of, but it shouldn't scare you away from herbal teas.  The plants discussed so far do not have a lot of oxalates and have a long history of daily consumption improving people's health in a variety of ways depending on what the plant is.  In fact, many of the plants discussed are diuretics that would help flush oxalates out of your system.  

There is no way you can taste a plant and judge it's exact constituents.  There are just too many constituents with similar tastes.  You can get in the ballpark if you are really good, but most of us are not.  It is much more common to go the other way; people look at chemical analyses of plants and then figure out what is causing the taste.  That is how people can learn to get in the ballpark when tasting herbs.  

I'm not sure if this will do it for you, but I really love nettles tea especially as a cold tea.  It really hits the spot for me.  It is crazy how different the dried leaf tea tastes from the cooked fresh leaves (which taste like spinach).  I just gather the whole plants (except the root) and tie them up to dry.  I then pull the leaves off the stem and store.  They don't sting really after they dry.  They do, however, create this "nervy" sensation on your hands if you are processing a lot.  You can also gather them after they are large and mature when you are using them for tea as the fiber won't bother you.  I also second raspberry leaf which has been mentioned.  A little dandelion could also be thrown into a mix.  

Those both have long histories of daily consumption.  

Woodworkers use tool aprons that may be just what you are looking for.  They come in all different styles and weights for different season and purposes.  Also, some carpenters use vests instead of belts.  You may want to check those out.  There are some really nice (and expensive) ones made in USA.  Many are, of course, made overseas.  I'm a carpenter/woodworker and I like a tool belt and I've used a belt in the garden as well, but it is not as great when on hands and knees.  Chest pockets and even some tool belt-type pockets dump their contents when on hands and knees.  I like the vest or apron with pockets around the waist when working on the ground.  I prefer the vest as it holds the pocket against your body instead of letting in dangle as an apron tends to do.  Anything extra on my upper body is horrible in hot weather though.

Another one to consider for specific tasks are the small pouches you can find at the hardware store that have a flap that tucks into a back pocket of jeans so it hangs there at easy reach and would work for gardening as long as you're not trying to sit.  

Just a few more ideas from a guy with many large pockets in all his pants.

I have made buttons out of antler. It was very simple. I just cut some slices of.the antler the thickness I wanted (maybe 1/8" or a little more) with a hack saw. A band saw would make faster work of it if you have access to one. I then drilled two 1/16" holes for the thread. I just eyeballed those and they came out great. The edges have the bumpiness of the antler, which is what I wanted. You could file or sand those edges down a little to make them easier to use. The bumps sometimes catch in the button hole.
Wooden ones would take a bit more work. Any hardwood would work especially the non-porous ones like maple, cherry, or apple.  You would need to rip a slice of the wood with the grain. The slice would be about the diameter of your buttons wide and as thick as you want your buttons. Use dry wood for this. Then cut the slice up into the buttons. You can do final shaping and smoothing with a rasp and sandpaper. Working with the small button is going to be difficult and possibly dangerous so do as much shaping and smoothing as you can before cutting it off the slice of wood. Drill small holes as you wish and use your finish of choice.  A belt sander and some padded pliers would really speed things up if you are making a lot.

My friend and her husband are both vegan, so I'm sure any animals they keep, they will not be wanting for meat. They have been thinking about chickens or ducks for eating slugs and weeds and food scraps. Will bunnies or chickens eat English Ivy? I know my chickens and ducks do not eat blackberry vine, and the chickens don't seem very interested in eating bindweed. My ducks never did too much to the bindweed, either. Right now, I have my chickens' run where my bindweed grows and there's blackberry that's grown in there, too. They haven't touched the blackberry, and have slowed the progress of the bindweed...but I think a lot of that slowing is caused simply from me going down there more often and pulling the weeds.

My chickens are not interested in most woody or hardy plants.  Overall, I find they are a bit picky preferring the soft herbaceous plants.  My chickens won't really eat mature grass even.  When I only used chickens on a piece of land, all of the woody weedy plants and vines would take over because the chickens ate or scratched all the competition.  Chickens and ducks are really omnivores preferring bugs and worms.  

Rabbits, on the other hand, are herbivores.  Mine are not picky at all.  I have not seen anything they won't eat but I have not given them English Ivy.  I even noticed that they will sparingly eat things that are supposed to be poisonous to them, but they will eventually eat it.  They will definitely eat Japanese Honeysuckle which is a big pest around here.  They don't prefer it but will nibble it and take it on back if left on the honeysuckle patch.  They will definitely eat blackberry and greenbriar.  Mine love the leaves and will even nibble green stems.  They will strip saplings of bark so can be effective against shrubs as well.  You can greatly increase their efficiency if you cut or even knock down tall weeds so they can get to them more easily.  The biggest difficulty with rabbits is the difficulty of keeping them fenced in.  It requires burying so you can't just put up a temporary fence as with chickens.  Honestly though, if you are not harvesting the rabbits, then you can handle them often and they can become your buddies.  They won't run away from you so it's not a big deal if they escape unless you have predators.  They won't go far and you will usually find them next to the fence.

They will use the same watering nipples as chickens as well.  So I rigged up a 50 gallon barrel that gravity feeds down to the rabbits and chickens and they can all drink from the same nipples.  The barrel collects some water in rain but I have to fill it every now and then.  I don't have very many right now but we used to have about 15 rabbits and 6 chickens being watered for almost a week with the 50 gallon barrel.  It makes it very easy to take care of.  In winter, I put a trough heater in the barrel, and I also ran a hose coming back from the pens to the barrel so I could hook up a little pump to keep water flowing through the lines in the winter.  It works well into the 20s at least.  If you buried pipes from the barrel to the pens, it would be much better.  If you are collecting rain water for the barrel, do check the nipples now and then to be sure they are working as sediment can clog them.  I just unscrew them and clean them and they are good for another several months to a year.  Getting a bit off topic now so I'll stop.

I like Hamilton's idea if it is a practical spot.  If you don't want to use large animals, rabbits would work as well.  I have even been using some rabbits for plant control primarily.  I just keep one gender in the pen and don't harvest them.  If you do finally harvest them, their skin is a bit thicker if you want to try your hand at tanning (I have had poor results but haven't tried a lot) and their meat is still pretty good.  It's not as tender as the fryers but doesn't get tough and stringy like older chickens.  I find it truly amazing how voracious rabbits are.  If this is a property line, then you could build a long, narrow pen that they can patrol for you.  To prevent digging, either bury the fence well or lay 4" welded wire fencing on the ground.  They are quiet so won't bother neighbors and you periodically harvest manure from their poop spot(s) to keep smells down.  If bugs become a problem, put a couple chickens in there with them.

A sawbuck can help stabilize round wood; that's its job.  But if you are using a chainsaw, the teeth on the body of the saw should keep them from rolling on you.  Just cut the logs at the base of the blade if that makes sense.

My sawbuck works well except it does have the problems you mentioned of the upper "arms" being too long. That's a problem I have lived with and will correct on my next one. I don't use it for bucking much for the reasons people mentioned but it is ideal for bucking by hand which I do some.  It is wonderful for working a log with hand tools. I used dimensional lumber because it was what I had on hand.