Aj Hans

A gun is by far the best weapon for defense against wild animals, however many legs it might have, but only if the bearer of said gun has the wherewithal and skill to use it. Same with any weapon, in virtually any situation. Whether the weapon is a knife, club, machete, sharpened stick, shotgun, rifle, bow, etc.; it isn't going to especially useful to someone who can't be bothered to take the time to learn to use it competently.

The most completely bonkers potato plant on my hugel mound came from an ordinary bag of grocery store spuds. Since it was grown without pesticides or fertilizers, it is totally organic.

It has been my experience here that no matter what I do, it takes about 3-5 years on average for a newly planted fruit tree to really take off and do anything. I never fertilize my trees.
Patience.

Here's how it looks now.

I ended up just planting a few raspberry canes on it and some clover and grass, and then I let it go for a couple of years. After just lying fallow for a couple years, I covered it in black plastic over the fall and winter. At first I was a little pissed when I saw the vole tunnels. Then I stuffed a shovel in right to the hilt with almost no effort. Nice. Nature's little roto-tillers.

Just a few things randomly planted on it. Strawberries, onions, yellow peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and potatoes to go with the raspberries. All unplanted areas are covered now with composted wood mulch.

It was a very timely thing, too. All I had on hand to put in my new compost bins was some yard trimmings and four six gallon buckets filled with dried onions, dried fruits and nuts, and the like. The pile was getting a little stinky for lack of carbon (as I understand it).

BTW, the reason for dumping the dried long term storage food was because the seals had failed and the stuff was stale as could be.

So, after going through the effort of cutting an IBC tote into compost bins, I end up getting, for the having, 8 yards or so of stump grindings that have been sitting on the ground for a couple of years. What a boost to my composting program!
The best part is that I was already on site with my excavator and dump truck. Didn't even have to make a special trip. It's the little things....

Part of the method to my madness there was to keep out light and hopefully retard or even eliminate algae growth. Plus, I just wanted something that looked a little nicer than a plain old tote.
Those fence boards had two possibilities for use. One of them was the fire pit.

Anne Miller wrote:

Cris Bessette wrote:  I'm an electronics technician by trade, so all of my electronics from lamps to clocks to computers are used until there is nothing left. 

Chris, has it gotten where finding electronic parts is becoming a problem?

The only place we have is Radio Shack and when we ask for something the guy sends us to unrelated stuff.  So I go on ebay and buy it from China if they have it.

I'm also an electronics tech, and derive a fair portion of my income from refurbishing/restoring vintage (late '60s to early '90s) home stereo equipment and repairing loudspeakers.
Parts are absolutely unavailable locally, and pretty much always have been, as RadioShack hasn't had a worthwhile selection since the 1970s.

However, parts are readily available online from outfits like Mouser, DigiKey, Arrow, B&D, etc. Damn near anything audio made before 2000 can be repaired. Many things can also be retrofitted as well.

...put them together for an attractive (ish) rainwater catch tank.

I might posit that LED flashlights/worklights are greatly superior to  incandescent. Much brighter, and they give longer battery life.
The reason that they aren't as pleasing to use for interior illumination is because any given LED can only emit one wavelength of light, so to make "white" light, it is actually a composite of emitters. It kind of works, but your eye/mind seems to know better.