Lisa Lebeau

I will be waiting to buy this book the minute it becomes available! This is the cheesemaking book I’ve been looking for, and unable to find all these years! Thank you, and Best of Luck with your fantastic book!

What does anyone think about cotswolds? I met a woman years ago who taught our daughters 4-H group about dry-needle felting. She showed us her flock of cotswolds and I thought they were adorable. She made amazing and colorful dolls and sculptures and felted ktems with their wool. Are certain fleeces better for wet vs dry felting? I’m new to this and really curious, thanks.

Very lovely, and fascinating to see the process of producing not just the garment, but the ancient skill that goes into actually spinning the fibers and weaving them into beautiful wool fabric to construct the garment! Beautifully made… I would love to see the follow-up video that shows the finished cloak-  and especially to see it modeled by it’s maker!

I am interested! How do I apply?

Henry Jabel wrote:Has anyone tried growing grapes up some of the larger bamboo species? My vine is small but its starting to invade the bamboo that is near it.

Oh man, that sounds kinda like gas and matches to me... Good luck trying to manage that combo!

Rebecca Gray wrote:I have a large pond that won't hold water.  I have very sandy soil.  I had the dam cored when it was built (important and I may have missed any posts dealing with coring a dam).  The 80 year old man with the bull dozer said there was a vein of sand that might keep it from holding water.  He dug 3 other ponds for me which have held perfectly, so it's the sand that's the issue.  He suggested a number of things  to fix it.  Bentonite of course, but the old time way was to pen a herd of goats or sheep in the pond and feed them there for a month or two.  There is an implement that they use to build roads etc. called a sheep's foot.  It has multiple little pegs on the outside of a heavy drum which sometimes can be filled with water.  They roll it back and forth repeatedly over the area to be compacted.  It still won't make a difference on pure sand, it needs some clay to really plug it.  The manure and rotting hay from the actual living sheep as well as their pointy little feet plug the porous sand area.  The old timers also say about adding material "Sand on clay is money thrown away. Clay on sand is money in the hand".   So the compacting method you are using is time honored. I guess now I need to get a herd of goats.  I'm going to try this.  Question:  When you say build this micro pond "at the foot" of the hugelkultur bed, is that uphill or down hill from it?

I don't think it matters which side of the hugelkultur bed it is on, just that it is placed at the base of it, probably so the runoff from the bed will continually add water to the small pond. Every little bit helps... especially for a very small pond! This BB certification sounds like a fun project I would like to try sometime soon.

David Livingston wrote:Zaytuna ? cannot remember the name of the guy, Geoff something

David

Zaytuna is the farm in Australia started, owned and operated by Geoff Lawton, a pioneer of the Permaculture movement. He has done both small and large scale Permaculture installation projects all over the world, and teaches many people about permaculture every year through his videos, PDC courses, and through internships on his farm. I have taken his PDC course, and it is very thorough and covers many things I didn't even know existed! He is amazing!

Here is more information on Geoff's work:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcgHvYWLs-Q

Jason Padvorac wrote:Very good ideas. Thanks for sharing them! We might try some of those this year. How much do you sell the pressed leaves for?

Also, I'm missing something about how the pee bucket works. If you are in your car, or camping, where exactly does the hose go?

I was kinda wondering the same thing, lol. I'm guessing the hose is to channel the pee into a catchment container- to be emptied later on and disposed of properly. The catchment container could be a 5 gallon bucket with a tight fitting lid. It would definitely be very handy for long road trips and car camping. You can avoid those midnight runs to the restroom at the BACK of Walmart! Campgrounds have a place to dump the stuff, or just dump it at the next rest stop.

For backwoods camping or on a primitive homestead with no proper facilities yet, you could set up a latrine using the bucket... Set it up with a privacy curtain (or little tiki hut made of branches).  Dig a 2.5'-3' deep 15" diameter hole for the runoff, then fill with some rocks and forest debris, bury the hose end several inches down, then backfill with soil, place the bucket and VOILA! This would probably last at least a month if it's just for one or two people (pee only- poop needs to be in the woods, or else retrofit the bucket with a straight down section of 3-4" PVC pipe that can channel solid waste as well, in order to accommodate for a homestead or longer-term usage). For a family you'd have to move it more often, depending on # of people. Make it portable and enjoy facilities until you can afford that Sun Mar composting toilet!

Well said, Steve!

I hear you Dawn... When family calls we must answer. That is so great you are helping to raise your grandchild. What a selfless thing to do as an empty-nester ready to live your own life. My hubby and I are both 60+ and in the same boat. We tried to make a go of it in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana for almost 10 years and it has proven very difficult as the cost of housing there doubled over the last several years. We have come to the Cleveland, Ohio area to help two of our daughters who are in this area last year. We are now with the second daughter and her husband and young family within Cleveland City limits. I'm going nuts here, with the traffic and people EVERYWHERE... I'm not used to it, and have a very low tolerance for it anymore in my daily commute. I'm dying to have my own piece of land to work, not a tiny city lot that is not mine where it rains a LOT. But I'm making the most of it. In this area it is next to impossible to obtain land you can put an old mobile home on and just live cheaply. Looking forward to getting back to the northwest, just as you are, and feel we are kindred spirits with similar goals. If you ever need someone to chat with, feel free to contact me! I'm dying to speak to someone who is not my daughter or grandchild, lol.