Jill Dyer

Thanks for posting this excellent video - anybody who has muttered "I'm not paying that much" for a hand-spun/knitted/woven anything should be made to sit down and watch it!
Early on in my spinning career, I made a hand spun and knitted sweater from a fine grey merino fleece.  Somewhat panicked by it's fineness, I carefully spun it (maybe a bit too thick and slightly overspun) so when the yarn was wash, not all the grease came out.  It was practically waterproof, got very warm when rained on, and smelt like a sheep. . .
However, back to the video.  R. Scott is on the mark with garments being rarely washed, and then by hand, no harsh chemicals, and no tumble drying.  Clothes were considered so highly, that garments were left to friends and relatives in Last wills and testaments (several projects on Zooniverse.org back this up).  And we have to remember that personal hygiene wasn't high on the list, so it wouldn't be noticed if things got a little whiffy.  Unlike my aforementioned sweater.
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Good thing is I found a new place dust gathers.  Bad news, it's over an inch thick dust.

Dust. . . I think I've seen you are a spinner . . . the first rule of being a spinner is "Thou shall not touch dust"  because if you do, then it will involve a whole lot of unwelcome dusting.
Best of luck with the relocation of the tower stuff.

Best I could come up with was one of the army worms, and the link to yellow striped army worm looks good.  It does have a pretty distinctive pattern. Here's another link - looks like it overwinters as a pupa in the soil.  Catch and put it well away from the veggies?

Thanks Megan - I read so much that I am a big fan of the Libby App. and when the Inspector Montalbano  TV series was shown here I watched all the episodes twice.  It's not just the story, but the different scenery that's the attraction - armchair travel, and language lesson as well.

Not a News fast per se, but very selective reading.  I stick with the Australian on-line ABC news, particularly because they fact-check anything iffy.  This morning Tom Paxton's song "Daily News" came up and it prompted the thought that although times and people reported on may change the reports seem somehow just the same.  How do I know? I read it in the Daily News. . . https://genius.com/Tom-paxton-daily-news-lyrics

For anyone not acquainted with Donna Leon's novels, her genre is detective fiction, set in Venice, Italy and 'starring' Commissario  Guido Brunetti.
The story lines don't however follow the conventional line of the detective novel, the endings can be surprising, and outwitting the upper echelon an office sport.   On the way she introduces snippets of life in Venice, Italy in general, and references to food.  My favourite so far in the food line is a pumpkin risotto that has slivers of ginger introduced.  Lots of quotable quotes. . .  leaving no stone unturned or feather unruffled - you get the idea!
https://www.goodreads.com/series/50419-commissario-brunetti

All Highly recommended.

My approach to chestnuts is to make a small slit on the flat side, then simmer for a bit.  The water gets in and makes it a bit easier to remove the skin stuff.  Also good roasted - slit (most important!) and cook on a tray in the oven, or on top of the wood stove.  It's very easy to burn these.  Also I've seen them cooked in a wok - this was at a fair.
I've also done them in the microwave - slit first to stop explosions.
I like chestnut and bacon salad.  Your soup sounds like a winner.

But how that sort of control is accomplished mechanically has me scratching my head!!

Hi Kevin, a few more thoughts - stockwhips are manually plaited around a core. . . climbing ropes have a rope as the core and a plaited covering. . . the flex on my computer charger also has a plaited outer covering 6 or 8 strands, I'm not sure.  Surely the two latter must be done by machine.  Watch this space, I may come up with more ideas.  Edit to add: my iron flex also has a plaited textile outer layer. [We are barely acquainted]

I was about to suggest that wood ash lye might be a good alternative as they should be about the same pH.  Soda ash easier to measure out with certainty, wood ash a bit more hit-and-miss.  I use my garden pH meter to test.  Hope it goes well, there's always that chance with any experiment that the result will not be as expected.  If it works, then cake all round. 🍰 I will keep my fingers crossed.

I was going to suggest a trail of crushed eggshells around the perimeter of the area, or beer traps but it looks like everything is covered!