Hilary Lonsdale

OK, couple of easy ones: Plate, upturned bowl or tea towel to cover food rather than cling film or foil. Damp tea towel over dough that's rising.

Better Wood Heat 4 dvd version, five starred, hope that worked...

For me getting outside every day is a help, but it only stabilises how I am, rather than improving it.  And SAD lights actually make me grumpy. The thing that improves my mood is gardening. I've gone out of my way to include winter flowering plants in my garden so there's something to tempt me outside (ooh, the first white crocus, the iris siberica!!). Having events or a project to focus on also helps distract me through to March.

Those are some nice looking compost bays.
Re rats; I've known them access compost by tunnelling in from underneath.  I couldn't tell if your set up considers this.  I have a smaller compost setup and I overcame this by putting down a layer of old bricks at the bottom. The bricks weren't mortared, just close packed.

There a story in one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books of corn being attacked before it was ready (they had blackbirds). Their solution was to pick it while they still had some harvest and dry it off the plant for what they refer to as parched corn.  Nb I wouldn't use any ears that have been tampered with, in case the mystery nibbler is carrying / spreading ickiness.

Like others here, people gave me advice. I would nod, smile, thank them and then go home and make my own mind up.

Very permy point: observation is key. (And because of that, parents will know their baby best.) Spot patterns in routine and behaviour - which may take some weeks to emerge, and will shift every once in a while.

Food: when there's a quiet moment, prep your next meal(s), even to the point of making a sandwich and putting it in the fridge hours ahead, and keeping the biscuits out next to the kettle. Things can get hectic and everyone copes better with regular feeding.

I second clearing trash.

Couple of reasons beyond the immediate aesthetic improvement: First - people are more inclined the litter in a littered area and leave a pristine one clear, so you have an impact after you've left. Second - from observation of a local estate - clearing trash encourages diverse wild flowers and fungi and wildlife to flourish more than I would have expected.

Further down the road, if you want to approach a land owner to develop a site it's helpful to have before and after photos of your work on other areas and getting rid of rubbish is something that is universally understood to be a good thing.

That's a clever thing, didn't realise how different solar south was to magnetic south. I understand the two hours before, then two hours after noon measurements, but would it need to be solar noon, rather than 12 on the clock?

Re: Orin 1 - would this be a beautiful opportunity to apply some PEP to your programme? Could you label items of work "requires following badge bits / PEP level" then anyone who hasn't proved (somewhere else) that they're competent need not apply. That could shrink your applicant pool to those who have experienced approximately what it will take to get a job done, and encouraged people in general to get PEP-worthy because there is now some coin on offer?

Thanks for getting back to me. Bother. With only two days of my quarantine left I'm just not sure if I'll quite have time...  but hey! getting a response from the Duke of Permaculture and overlord of these forums has brightened my morning.