John Weiland

In addition to the throngs of geese, duck, cranes, and other winged wonders flying about, getting the garden ready is a true sign that spring is well underway.  The first pass with the rototiller portends planting days soon to come....

Lately I'm being more observant of omega 6/3 ratio in my fatty acid intake and have been looking more at flax- and hempseed-milks.  We drink a lot of commercial oat milk as well.  Home-brew of both oat and flax milk can be accompanied by the slime factor present in both from carbohydrate complexes, but overnight incubation of the finished milk with some digestive enzymes seems to help with this.  Will continue experimenting with different enzyme sources to see which is the best, but welcome comments from others on solving this issue in the home kitchen.  Thanks!

Edward Lake wrote:....Has anyone else had issues with heat lamp bulbs? These were from Runnings.

I bought a few from there this past winter and they have been fine.  Can't recall the brand, but they were the 'splatter resistant' variant.  Used them probably 5-7 nights per week for 2 of the coldest months.  Typically turned them off when temps got above 10 degrees F.

Following this up with  a product I did not know of during the first discussions on this thread.  A plant based cream from lentil protein, but with a lot of other additives unfortunately.  Still, it qualifies as vegan and claims to whip well.  Have tried it for other recipes needing cream and like it.....but have not tried it for whipping.

I've linked this before in case others still interested.  There does not appear to be any 2025 entries just now, but there is contact information for possible hazelnut stock.  Varieties are hybrids from North Dakota/Minnesota wild stock and more domesticated gene pool.  Don't know if the proprietor is still selling, but shoud be cold hardy (zone 3/4).....don't know about altitude tolerance.

https://www.facebook.com/riverbendhazelnuts

Please refer to this post for background to the current query:  https://permies.com/t/360/146023/aging-homesteader#2144994    [The thread entries immediately prior to the linked post give full details.]

We are trying to get some goose numbers back up in the farmyard after the events of Fall 2023 noted in the link.  In 2024, there was some nesting, but nothing productive from the egg laying and incubating by the laying goose.  This year, we seem to have two geese laying and nesting and already 10+ eggs available.  Wife would like to try an egg incubator for 4-5 of the eggs, but then began wondering about re-introduction of eggs to the goose nest at the right "time".....should this be done when noises are heard inside the egg?  Or should it just be after a specific time from when the eggs are placed into the incubator?  Any luck with moving a hatching egg or hatchling immediately out to the mother goose?  Thoughts and experiences much welcomed....Thanks!

Jay Angler wrote:

Jennie Little wrote: We could get heating coils, but the sheets would then be icicles, right?

I'd be more concerned that it would actually drip, and then the drips would turn to ice on the deck creating a greater hazard.

I have seen roofs with cleats on them that trap the snow/ice on the roof so that it just melts in place. There may be pros and cons to that also - con being if there's such a thick layer that the mass becomes a problem.

Yeah, we have a steep metal roof on the house and with poor foresight installed gutters at the same time....but no snow/ice cleats!  That was some years ago and since then essentially have been 'gutter-less':  It took only one season for the ice dam to slide off the roof and rip the gutters into uselessness.  At this point, if we *do* shovel the ice away that falls on the deck....and this only happens in late spring....it's only because we are just on this side of having the strength to do so.  Next of many projects in retirement will be to add snow cleats (via a roofing contractor) at the appropriate points along with gutter repair/replacement.

Being closer to the Canadian border like Thomas R. in Montana, we have to wait to be prudent with plants going outside.  The first round of early tomato seedlings are in a window box/greenhouse...we finally might be seeing night lows of above freezing soon, but it was 18 last night so I'm not holding my breath. The larger tomato and pepper planting....again for indoor starting.....will commence around April 20th with a target garden planting date of June 1st.  We are gratefull up here for looooong summer days to help get the crops through.  In the meantime, the yard hydrant used to water the garden is still frozen several feet down underground,....so soil is way to cold for planting right now.  Silver lining:   No ticks or mosquitoes yet!  :-)

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:

I think I have to do something about this, this week. I suspect I'll be suggesting we replace the hydrant.

Can't recall if one can attach a PDF here but I will try or will make an image of the description.  We have a Merrill AnyFlow [ https://merrillmfg.com/ ] and among the replacement parts are the center rod (two rod pieces plus connecting nut) and foot valve that prevents water coming up through the pipe when handle is down (off position).  Before digging up and replacing the hydrant, you may want to check to see if these parts are available for your hydrant.  If so, you may just be able to unscrew the entire hydrant head which will allow you to pull up the entire rod and foot valve.....it's what you normally have to do to replace a bad/faulty foot valve.  *If* the machining of the hydrant is such that you can replace those parts and still have an operating hydrant, it would seem to be much less invasive than digging up and replacing the whole unit.  Depending the age of the hydrant, may be worth replacing the foot valve anyway if this option is chosen.  You might also be able to replace the entire hydrant head, but also may be able to just replace the siezed piece with the broken bolt.  Don't know if this may help...?

Edited to add.... Items G45, G50, and G55 on the diagram of the 1" pipe model on the right side of the image are the parts of interest.  Let me know if a photo image instead of PDF is needed.

Nina Surya wrote:....
Here's my Carpathian - no bears around so it must be working

Bloodlines might be similar to the Sarplaninac (brown one in photo below) which come from the Balkans.  All 3 shown are good at keeping predators away.....when not upside down on the couch!