Ane Draxen

And that should be 20, plus one for good measure. Woopadoop!

I have...

Textiles
1. made a button jar
2. sewed on some buttons
3. made a sewing kit
4. darned a pair of socks

Oddball
5. turned and revived a dead compost heap

Homesteading
6. fixed some gutters

Tool care
7. sharpened a knife

Food prep
8. fried eggs
9. made a stir fry

Commerce
10. sold honey

Gardening
11. chopped'n'dropped

Foraging
12. prepped a dish
13. made a cup of raspberry leaf tea
14. dried some pineapple weed
15. harvested blueberries
16. harvested raspberries

Natural medicine
17. dried oregano leaves
18. dried raspberry leaves
19. dried stinging nettles

Nest
20. cleaned the kitchen
21. oiled some kitchen utensils

Would turning and reviving a dead compost heap count towards Oddball points?

Here's my submission, anyway. If it does not count, that's allright - maybe it will be helpful for other permies looking into compost turning, compost activators, and what to do when the heap dies on you.

I am still a novice, and though I have turned compost heaps before, it has not always been "successful", i.e. resulted in a warmer compost afterwards. I was not sure it would work this time either, as it is september and temperatures are dropping (around 10 C max temps during daytime). Last year, a compost heap was turned in october, and that had no effect at all.

This time, however, it worked!

The recipe was:

lots of water

lots of green fresh material (compost activators): nettles, ground elders, japanese knotweed leaves, black currant leaves, and some grass that came along with the nettles

breaking up all lumps

and mixing the material well.

It took me a full day of work in total, spread in bits over a week, as gathering material, breaking up lumps, and mixing properly took a lot of time. I guess it would have taken some time for an expert too...but then, an expert would have avoided the whole issue by remembering to water properly so that is very much noted for the future. (and if you wonder - the bins have roofs because of the rain, to avoid becoming anaerobic.)

Note: Compost might not be in line with the PEP values, but maybe Otis would appreciate? Due to the wet, cold climate here, mulching with uncomposted materials lead to lots of slugs. I still do it in some areas (around potatoes and berries), but around vegetables, finished compost works much better. Also, I kinda like the compost work. Looking after the heaps feels a bit like looking after farm animals. That's not weird - is it?

I used organic coconut oil, as I didn't have walnut oil and coconut oil was recommended in some of the videos.

Today's bounty of raspberries, growing wild along the path between our home and our bee hives.

Field note on raspberries and bees (not BB-related):
The bees make a clear difference on our harvest. The raspberry harvest in this area has always been somewhere between weak to bad, but last year, our first year with bees, was strikingly much better. This year has not been as good, but then we have had all the rain the rest of the world should have had... So the bees have hardly been able to fly out all summer. Still, the berries closer to the hives were markedly bigger and of better quality - it was obvious exactly how far the bees have been able to fly between showers! Also, tree cover seems to have helped, with the best berries being those below spruce trees.

Thanks Nicole! Much appreciate you took the time to look it up & clear it up!

Remembered to document one of three blueberry trips this autumn.

And I didn't think about it until now, but perhaps the "blueberries" on the fresh harvest list are not the same as these blueberries? Hope I'm not submitting an edge case here.

These are european blueberries. They thrive in sunny slopes and dappled birch forests, and prefer low PH. We call them true blueberries they are related to american blueberries, but not identical.  Around here, american blueberries are called garden blueberries, as they don't grow in the wild, and are usually found in stores.

According to my calculations, this should count for 1 BB + 5 duplicates (6 pounds). But as the berries are not identical, I'm happy to get less, and I understand if it does not count at all. Adding a few extra pictures and description of the harvest process, in case that will make it easier to decide.

Picked a handful of stinging nettles a few weeks ago, finished up today.

Picked raspberry leaves a few weeks ago, finished up today.

The smell of pineapple weed is the smell of childhood. I loved them. I remember picking a bouquet of them to my grandmother, who was not very much pleased, and so I learned it was a weed and of no use.

Until now!

Since the uses google tell me about are for the leaves and the flowers, I stripped away the woody stems before drying. Don't know if that was a waste of effort, though. What do you guys use pineapple weed for?

A morning cup of tea!

Picked raspberry leaves from a wild bramble patch by a gravel road that has very little traffic. Added a few berries for good measure.

The colour differences in the pictures are just due to different angles and the sunlight streaming in.