Nancy Reading

Seth Cardenas wrote:Two more thoughts: Does anyone know of a use for tree pollen? I see an onslaught of the stuff coming and it has me wondering if there might be some other use for the stuff

Pine pollen is very nutritious I believe, and is also sold as a health supplement. I'm sure I read a post from a lady who was gathering her pollen and selling it, somewhere on permies but I can't find it now. This thread: https://permies.com/t/158112/Pine-Tree-Pollen is perhaps another starting point.

I don't know about other tree pollen though.

Lovely colours Christopher!

Will your head go in the middle of the sheet? Maybe you would want the colours to get darker from the middle to the edges (or vise-versa) so that the garment is symmetrical front to back.

I had another thought on bypasses: If you have a combined mass-cook stove like Matt Walker's designs and you want to run it year round, it makes a whole lot of sense to eliminate the mass from the burn path. That would avoid trapping heat in the house when you just want to cook your dinner.

I have also read someone say that they did not think a rocket mass heater would suit them because their temperature went up and down a few times in spring and autumn. I think using a bypass appropriately might mitigate in those conditions too.

(disclaimer - still rocket dreaming here)

Thanks for the great photos JP. I look forwards to your updates!
Could that be a juniper rather than a cypress? They maybe just look similar.
The orange peel fungus is pretty cool!

I agree about the flower being grape hyacinth. It can spread a bit in the UK, not sure of uses other than being a pretty flower...

You've got the same problem I have with my phone camera - it always focusses on distant objects rather than what I want it to...Saying that I'm wondering if it is some sort of oil beetle? Looks a bit like the ones I see here.
Kyle photographed one at the labs here and Jan White identified it a bit further down that boot thread. They're cool bugs to have. I call them the cuckoos of the insect world as they hitch rides on bumblebees back to their nests and then steal the food the bees bring back. Around here they are a sign of a healthy bee population.

Sods law says that old seeds will either not germinate at all, or will come up really thickly and need thinning! I hope for the latter!

Welcome to permies and congratulations on the new adventure - I wish you every happiness!
Here's a great resource for you!  Lessons learned from other homesteaders: https://permies.com/t/4935/knew-startd