Cynthia Quilici

I described this to a nurseryman the other day, and he said something similar had happened in his area, the reaction of the victim being to blame two-legged thieves. But the nurseryman's opinion was crows. That the crows work in groups and steal all the fruit. Not sure if this is true, but that's his opinion.

Thanks for the replies so far. Raccoons would not be outside the realm of possibility, but I have to say I haven't actually seen any raccoons (even road-kill ones) in the 7 years since I moved to VT. It's possible I am living too sheltered a life.

Travis, I would def. blame birds for the disappearance of—say—berries, but I find it hard to believe they can wipe out two pear trees without a trace of pecked fruit. I don't think they could carry away a 200g pear, could they? We are talking 100% evaporation.

Will look for poop signs, though, and plan for next year (too late to do anything now). A game cam would be in order, if we are still here in the fall, just to assuage my curiosity.
I would like to try making bone sauce and see if that could work. Will report back next year if I go that route.

This is a property "in town" so I hadn't thought about heavy-duty protection measures against wildlife when thinking about larger fruits.
Apples have been untouched, and also peaches were not molested in the least, so the pear rapture took me by surprise.

Several years ago, we planted a couple of pear trees in the "wayback" of our .6 acre yard. People use the back of our yard as a walking path parallel to a river, with recreation areas nearby.

10 days ago, there was about 40# of fruit on the trees, our first harvest since planting them in 2013 (aside from one or two last year).

Yesterday there was nothing.

Not a single pear.

There were no pears at the tippy-top, and no pears on the ground.
There was no sign of damage to either tree.

A nearby apple tree was full of apples (which we did harvest).


What are the odds that this is a non-human intervention?
Central VT. We have bear, deer, and woodchuck.. hardly any squirrels that I have seen.

For citrus peels, you can make candied peel. Requires some boiling, then simmer in a concentrated sugar syrup and dehydrate. Add to baked goods. If you have a lot, you might know bakers who would appreciate this as a gift.

Some people remove more of the pith and process long strips which they then dip in chocolate to make candies.

I appreciate the gift-code links, Raven. Since I already have the material in the book, I'll be able to give them to people who might then want to get the book, who knows?

I just got my package of books+towel today, and it also had been opened and the seeds removed/stolen/destroyed!
Towel is lovely, but I am sad about the seeds..

A form was left describing an "Emergency Action Notification"
It listed the offending item ("Linum usitatissimum, PM"). Further down, #16., "Action Required" states, "7 CFR 319.37 Plants for Planting: Propagative material requires a phytosanitary certificate for entry. This shipment lacks such certification. Seeds will be destroyed."

As Nicole says, they are led to open the package because seeds are listed right there on the customs declaration.
However, the statute they cited says **Plants** for planting. Seeds are not plants. I'm not sure whether seeds fall under other regs. They are, in a sense, "propagative material"..  Boh?

Raven, if you find that seeds are supposed to be ok, and if you haven't sent out all the seed packages yet, maybe it would help to print out a page with the regs and include w/shipment.

There is a great series on making clothing in an open-source library I recently found.

A Complete Course in Dressmaking by Isabel De Nyse Conover.
Here's the lesson on making skirts.
https://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/pub/PDF/B-YS104.pdf
It does make reference to skills taught in previous lessons (all lessons are available in the library). While it doesn't give you a pattern, it has a lot of information about structural aspects (eg., grosgrain ribbon waistband) that I think are helpful to making a long-lasting garment (as opposed to today's fast-fashion emphasis).

Though the title says "Dressmaking", it's a basic sewing course and there is a lesson on conventional men's clothes of the era, as well.

For Folkwear patterns, I have found good used deals on Ebay and Etsy; often they are uncut.

Saw the pic of towels in progress via an e-mail update.
What kind of loom are you weaving on?

Travis, I don't have anything to add on the health front.. a lot of interesting suggestions offered here already.

I've also been through major surgery as well as chemo for cancer, so I know what kind of job that does on one's life and on one's hope for a normal energy level. I still have bouts of fatigue and wonder what might be due to previous issues, to old age, or to a possible recurrence. I know what it's like to feel as though someone just took the batteries out of the back of the Energizer Bunny. It's the difference between simply "tired" and "utterly incapable".

What struck me was when you said, "I do not know who I am." And I think that could be an interesting point of exploration. This may not jibe with your christian ethos, but practically speaking we are not so much fixed individuals as Processes.. Processes which (majorly) involve organisms more numerous than ourselves. We are ecosystems. Buckminster Fuller put it this way: "I Seem to Be a Verb."

So I think it's ok to not know exactly Who You Are at a given point, since it's an ongoing and fluctuating proposition—a work in progress, of composition and decomposition both, depending on context. To some people that idea is a relief, to others it's ok.. whatever, maybe, and to others still, it is a terrifying concept which they would reject. I actually find peace in it.

I don't know what else to say except to condemn that thieving logger to one of the lower pits of hell (except he is just one of the ongoing processes, too).

I hope you can find some respite. I really appreciate the frankness with which you've shared your issues. You've always been one of the people I've had in the back of my mind to ask sheep questions of (once we got sheep). That will be a ways away, still, but I will remember your great generosity in this forum in any case.