Amy Gardener

Here's a link to the Wonder Pot, a version from Israel. The Wikipedia entry provides some history on other versions but not Burra's interesting Portuguese find.

Looks a lot like a stovetop oven. The vents at the junction of the lid and the oven body appear to be adjustable for letting out heat after the heat and gasses rise to the dome then move to exit the oven. This movement is a convection heating system.
In summer's extreme heat, I bake bread in a ringed oven like this. It uses very little fuel to bake a loaf.

Personally, I let the wounds heal in the open air without salves. And most importantly, I would not wait another year to complete the cut of the central leader. Nynke's observation that, "Sometimes we humans, can feel actual pain when we see a damaged tree like yours, and we feel the pain when we have to cut large limbs," could be helpful right now. Imagine if you go to the doctor and he says, "I'm sorry to say, we're going to have to remove your leg. But to make you feel less traumatized, we'll take it off to the knee this season then when it heals up, we'll take off the other half."
Wouldn't you say, "DOC!  Just get it done and let the healing begin!"

If you're seriously interested, please read, A Desert Dies. Written by Michael Asher. Published in 1986 by St. Martin's Press.
Mind expanding!

I thoroughly enjoy the documentation here Stephen. Thanks for your dedication to to this experience log.
Though you have mentioned how much you love the Polaski, my sympathetic back aches to watch how much bending you are doing to break through the ground with that short tool. Any possibility that you could double the handle length with a customized "found" wooden handle and save your spine? Since you wouldn't use the axe end as much as the flat grub hoe blade, maybe a sharp iron grub hoe would help simplify the Complexity Trail. The 6" grub hoe is a lifesaver for me in clay/sand. The 4" might be more similar to the Polaski blade for tough ground.
Happy trails!

William writes,

T posts are not the best shape for connecting to anything

A secret to securing a T-post to a round surface is to make a shallow cut across the wooden post at the ideal height for the top of the T (just stand the post next to the in-ground stabilized T). I use a pocket folding saw. Then, using a sharp draw knife, just peel back a flat surface with a stroke or two.
Due to limited tools, the pre-drilled holes in the metal T-post are much easier for me to work compared to repurposing metal scrap. Once screwed into the flat portion of the wooden post, the T is concealed. Respectfully, I'm sharing the method that works here with the resources available to me. Every situation is unique.  

Anne's suggestions are really helpful. Here is another variation that works for me in the garden.
I use concealed T-posts to support rustic wooden fence posts in a garden that often changes shape. Instead of burying the posts deeply, I first drive the T-post into moist ground, use a level to set vertical, then let the ground harden. Once the T-post is set in the dried mud/sand, I use a 3-tined heavy rake to crumble a few inches of ground then sweep it away to form a shallow depression or bowl around the T-post. I fill the bowl with a few inches of gravel. I then rest the wooden post on top of the gravel and attach the wood post to the T-post. Super stable without concrete.
The T-posts to do the real work. Because I don't like the look of T-posts, I secure the wooden post to the holes in the T-post and basically cover up the metal. Piling up more gravel covers up the base of the post and keeps water away from the wood to prevent rot. The length of the T-post can be shorter than the wood for a garden. The fencing attaches to the wood posts. The look is natural instead of industrial.
This works in my extreme desert climate where wood always dry rots. To change the shape of the garden, I unscrew the wooden post from the T-post, reset the metal 'T's', reattach or add new wood posts, then staple on more fencing.

Mick writes,

Fruit trees do good with heavy pruning so doing that will help take some weight of as well.

Having many varieties of prunus, I agree with Mick that heavy pruning can really help these trees.
From a close up look at the upper break, it appears that there could be some kind of interior fungus or rot that weakened the larger (perhaps oversized for the trunk) branches.
Therefore, unlike Mick, I would not try to re-attach or prop up the branches.
Instead, I would examine your 2 healthy scaffold branches toward the bottom of the tree for health. If they look like they will continue to thrive, I would then make a clean horizontal cut of everything above those branches across the central leader. A shorter tree will make your future  easier when time to pick the fruit!
Then I would trim the length of the scaffold branches so they will produce new healthy growth.
I have taken off very large central leaders on ~4 year-old trees and been amazed at the tree's recovery and productivity.
If this tree wants to live, it will thank you for your agonizing and seemingly ruthless pruning choices with fruitful abundance in a couple of years.
Make sure your pruning tools are sanitized in alcohol or with a torch so that fungus does not spread.
Good luck Richard!

Your junk pole and dowel designs are fascinating to me, Stephen. They remind me of the rustic furniture here in New Mexico that use latillas, which are like junk poles. Word-of-mouth says that the furniture joints in what is sometimes called "Santa Fe style" were modeled after actual dwelling ladders used to enter earth buildings designed by First Peoples in our region. From local sources I learned that the holes in the vertical rails were made by taking embers from a fire, burning the holes to a shallow depth and carving out the resultant char with a knife. Repeat the burning and scraping until the hole is complete. By hand peeling the ends or short latilla pieces with a knife, the horizontal rungs were made to fit into the burnt holes. Once assembled into the ladder shape, the rungs were wrapped and tied with gut or rawhide strips that dry and shrink thus making the ladder one structurally sound unit. Furniture designers riff off this simple joint.
As I look at the dowel joints that you made, I can't help but wonder if the dowels are really necessary. Would it be desirable to save the few dollars and the effort required to add the dowel to your horizontal cross pieces by simply extending the length of the horizontal members to incorporate a hand-carved or peeled dowel-like taper to the "rungs" of your designs? If you have the time, I'd love to hear your thoughts about revealing the dowel already inside the junk pole!

Sounds like you're on a roll with those hugels and spring garden clean up, Jennie!
Regarding planting the daffodils on your hugel beds, I did something similar with irises that were taking over my cultivated beds. Over the years, the spreading rhizomes have stopped erosion on my hills by creating a chunky web of flowering roots. I realize that daffodils are bulbs and not rhizomes but the expansion and needing to divide those big clumps reminds me of the irises. Hopefully they will take off for you for hugel reinforcement, beauty and ease of maintaining the existing veggie beds.
Congratulations on your ingenuity repurposing so many local resources!