Jonah Bassman

They're so good in all kinds of ways :) boil or saute in butter or olive oil, then drain and mix with butter and sauteed/caramelized onion with salt and pepper, and fresh herbs if available, optional extra cheese like parmesan on top... or mixed with a creamy sauce and baked to finish, optional breadcrumbs on top... mixed with tomato-based sauce after prepping them from frozen... getting hungry over here

Thank you, Nancy! You're right on the money re: digging projects-- it's still underway, looking very similar to how I left it with the most recent pictures... For the most part, I had to focus on matters that took me away from the land in spring, and then the summer came with its nearly-100-degree temps which bake the earth, leading the digging to be less of a priority. Still very excited about the project though, and looking forward to finishing it including adding bentonite clay so it can hold water! I'm thinking I'll get some great work days in on it this fall once things are slightly cooler and wetter again, and hopefully I can finish it before the spring rains! :)

I have a 12v DC (AC version also available) transfer pump from Harbor Freight that I really like and it was relatively affordable. You can connect your garden hose, or drip line, etc. with a couple simple fittings from a hardware store, and there's good pressure/flow rate.

In my experience gardening and wwoofing on a small farm, for a combined total of about 8 years, I've had a lot of ants in various places but never noticed any damage caused by them, personally. I tend to agree with the idea that they deposit a certain amount of good stuff (including their own poop) inside the ground.

Ants farming aphids on crops en masse can be quite a bother, though. But I know that requires both the ants and the aphids to be existing there.

Looks like coprinellus micaceus "mica caps" or something similar. Highly beneficial for your soil and the plants that will grow in it!

Oh, didn’t notice the Wheaton labs tag! Well that explains all my confusion

This is interesting. Is there any info on where this place is? Can you elaborate on the splitting up of the money equally between all the ants and boots?

William, they are not coprinaceae but rather nidulariaceae (birds nest fungus), and no study has found them to be toxic, however they are considered inedible, mostly due to their small size.
As a side note, many fungi in family coprinaceae are highly edible and delicious.

What I might do is propagate a bunch of trees from the dried/opened cones and sell/trade on local craigslist type sites. Healthy saplings will sell, at least where I am. I might even try my hand at some beginner bonsai techniques- meditative, fun and potential for side income.

For cones that are still green, maybe look into making a syrup of them if you haven't already? I know it works with the douglas fir tips (can even make jelly from this), and pinecone syrup is something I've seen people make and have been wanting to try myself.

If there are a lot of sets of leaves and the plants only got burnt on the top part, they will likely all survive! Can't hurt to trim off the dead stuff if you're worried about buggy critters investigating or bothered by the look, but in my experience tomato plants are also good at healing some after damage/ "separating" the dead part on their own until it's crumbly dry and the rest is fine.