Michael Fundaro

Online videos will give you the information on gutting and skinning.
As for the meat, when harvesting a deer I simply cut loose each individual muscle from the bones and I either leave them as a roast, slice them into steaks, or cube them into stew meat which could them be ground into burger if desired.  Some parts may be damaged from the harvest, you may want to cut that section out and use any good meat around it as stew meat.  After removing all the large muscles do your best to trim off any remaining small pieces, again probably best used for stew or burger.
It isn't difficult, just take your time, use a sharp knife, don't cut yourself, and have a good supply of gallon and 2 gallon sized ziplock bags available.  Get each piece into a cooler as soon as possible.  If flies are around you can sprinkle the skinned animal with fine ground pepper and for the most part the flies will stay away, keep sprinkling the pepper as each new section of meat is exposed.  When you get home rinse everything with water and cut or slice each piece as desired.  This is when you decide to keep them as roasts or slice them into steaks or cubes or burger, not in the field.

Michael Fundaro wrote:There may be benefits to sifting, you did mention a few, but considering the amount of compost and the length of time it would take to sift it using your method I would suggest that you would be just fine scattering it as is and just picking out anything large as you are spreading it.  As for the wood chips and leave clumps, again I wouldn't worry about them unless they end up in the way of something you want to plant in the future.  

Every persons compost needs and methods are different so you will get many different opinions and suggestions.  Due to the ingredients available to me, and due to the lack of organic material in my native soil I mix manure and wood chips (and whatever good stuff I may have on hand) with plenty of water and mix it well in a repurposed cement mixer and then dump it into a pile to cook until I need it.  The wood chips don't have time to break down before I use it but unless I hit something large I just create a hole and pack the compost back around whatever I am planting.  However, I am usually mulching with more wood chips (or occasionally straw) to retain moisture so that is another reason I don't worry about wood chips.  Eventually it will all break down.

I am quoting my own post just to repeat my repurposed cement mixer method.  If anyone has a place in the yard to store such an item with a little local internet search an old cement mixer can be had fairly cheap.  As I mentioned before, whatever ingredients you have available to you can be put into the old mixer with some water and a few large rocks and tumbled for an hour or more and the rocks will do a decent job at crushing the mixture.  When you think it is done enough for you dump it out, pull the rocks aside, and let the water drain off.  The smaller greens and manure and organic table scraps will be pretty mushy and can be mixed in to or top dressed on to your garden dirt or you can let it set and compost for real on its own for several months or a year..  Any large pieces can be added into the next batch and spun again.

I know usable cement mixers are not everywhere but there are plenty out there if you look around.  Mine is electric, the original motor was bad and I swapped it out with a used motor for cheap.  An old gas mixer could be converted to electric or an old lawn mower engine could be swapped in by someone handy.  I haven't used mine in a couple of years but it will be used here within a month or two to make me more compost batches.  If you don't want to use electric or gasoline, create a tumbler with an old 55 gallon drum and an old bicycle.    You get exercise and a compost mix at the same time.

Look up natural fly repellant.  I think we make some out of peppermint oil, lemon grass oil, and a few others.  But, the girl seems to think that "Mosquito Halt" works good too.  I think it is mostly natural oils.  With that in mind look up natural oils fly spray and see what ingredients they include them make up your own.
Nothing works perfect but a good blend of natural oils work pretty good in the right dilution.
Good luck.

Michael Cox wrote:I have comfrey on two different sites.

1) In Wales, where there is lots of rainfall and a high water table. It is planted around an apple tree and does an amazing job. It grows vigorously, shades out all the grass and weeds around the tree, and the tree is thriving.  The soil beneath the comfrey is black, moist and full of organic matter. The comfrey has stayed where it was planted.

2) At home in Kent. Less rainfall, chalk soil that are very free draining, low soil moisture through summer. The comfrey grows slowly, and is no where near as vigorous as Wales. They are the same variety, propagated form the same root stock. It doesn't effectively suppress weeds, but does feed the soil somewhat. It stays put there, without any invasive tendencies. I think the water is the key issue, and if I were to irrigate my growing areas in Kent the comfrey would probably thrive.

I agree with this as I live in the high desert of southern Utah and unless I regularly/daily irrigate nothing other than native desert plants will grow.  Consider your area and climate if you think you want to grow comfrey.  For me it is not invasive.  It may eventually take over my raised bed but for now I can still plant other herbs and veggies there.  If it does take over out birds will love it as a regular snack and we will move our herbs and veggies to another area.

I forgot the mention Chaffles.  They taste so similar to actual waffles it is crazy, and very little carbs.  When my GF makes them I will place a couple chaffles in the toaster to make them crunchier like toast, fry a couple eggs over easy, melt some cheese on them, and place the eggs in the chaffles to make a breakfast sandwich.  Ham or bacon is optional.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/278458/chaffles/

Although I prefer an actual sit down bacon and egg or omelet type of breakfast I am OK with grabbing a couple hard boiled eggs for something quick and easy.  Also, egg salad is also a favorite, either eaten plain out of a bowl or in a sandwich.  Deviled eggs are always a hit, especially with a small amount of relish mixed in.

My youngest son wont eat eggs, or most anything other than chicken nuggets or bacon or mac & cheese, but he also eats pancakes and I always crack a few eggs into the pancake mix without him knowing so I can get some protein in him.

My GF has a KETO recipe for chocolate pudding made with hard boiled eggs and cocoa powder and some other stuff that is actually quite good.

And, for those in a big hurry you can always crack a couple eggs into a glass and gulp them down.  I watched my older brother do that a few times when I was younger but I never made the effort.  

Thank you.  I am looking forward the the HD download and all the other stuff.

Backer   1875

Total so far says : $107,627

D.  Anti-bird net.  I am hoping my grapes finally do well this year due to the abundant moisture we received in southern Utah this year.  Last years decent crop of grapes were not much bigger than a kernel of corn but there were several decent sized bunches.  If this year is successful I will have to keep the birds away so I can keep the grapes for myself.

1 part Tea Tree Oil mixed into 10 parts rubbing alcohol, shake well and spray yourself, your camp chair, and the area around you.  Grass where you are sitting, nearby bushes too.  I used this camping many times when sitting in a grassy area around the camp fire and the mosquitos just stay away.  Just a light mist around the area, you are not killing the grass or weeds, just spreading the scent of the oil.  Keep the spray off your face, odds are the mosquitos will stay away from the area and away from your face too.

Also, Tea Tree Oil dabbed onto a mosquito bite will relieve the itch.  The first time I made this I bought a 10 ounce bottle of rubbing alcohol that had it's own spray nozzle, I added one ounce of oil out of a 2 ounce bottle, both bought at the same store pharmacy area.  If we did get a bite we dabbed a drop of the remaining pure oil on the bite and the itch soon stopped.

The first night my family and a couple others used my spray and the rest used their store bought stuff, the next night it was about 50/50, by the third night the majority were lined up after dinner to get their mist applied and then I walked around our sitting area and sprayed a mist on all the grass around our circle.  I even sprayed around a few tent doorways to help keep mosquitos out of their tents when the door was opened for entry or exit.

Just keep doing what you are doing.  Slow and methodically.  What are the distances between locations?  You mentioned a copper pipe that turns/spins.  What diameter is the copper pipe?  It could be that the copper rotted away (is that possible with copper pipe?) but since it probably didn't shift underground you may be able to flush out any build up and get it flowing again, even with leaks.  But, if the distance isn't too far and it is fairly straight maybe, just  maybe, you could snake a 1/2" or 3/8" pex pipe through the existing pipe.  I know, slim chance but it may be an option.  If you can snake the pex into the copper pipe make marks every 5 or 10 feet and keep track of the distance.  When it stops measure out and see if you can find the bend/obstruction.
As I type this I know that for pex pipe to be flexible you will need to pump warm/hot water through it to allow it to bend and curve.  Or maybe hot air might work.  Another thought, you may be able to run a wire through the pipe that gives off a signal and you can trace the signal like the Call Before You Dig people use to locate underground utilities.  All of this is getting a bit pricey, but the actual cost of "free" water for irrigation and non-potable purposes may overcome the initial expense.
Michael