George Ingles

I'm also in Pacific North West, and I have one Self-Fertile Apricot tree.
It seems like I get a good crop of wonderful fruit maybe every fourth year.
I think the primary issue here where I am is that late frosts, or windy, rainy weather during blossom make the pollination difficult.

... I am pretty sure I have the variety, 'Puget Gold'... but it was one of my early plantings and I lost the tag and records long ago ...
I planted it more than fifteen years back probably... the tree gets damaged sometimes by winter weather and seems prone to disease and some insect troubles...
But its fruit is quite wonderful when fully ripe, which happens when we get a hot Summer...
Fresh apricots, fully ripened, are so tasty and soft and fragile.  It makes me understand why they can't have good fresh Apricots at the supermarkets.

This year was a good Apricot year - I got a lot of really tasty fruit, despite (because of?) some rough Winter weather.
I'll have to look into this Blenril variety!

We have always had a cast iron stove and have had many different cats... mostly they figure it out on their own safely it seems.  
There are a couple of mild exceptions though:
One cat we used to have jumped up on the hot cast-iron woodstove once - and ricocheted right off!  Mild paw burns that healed.
His sister sometimes snuggles up almost right against the front of the stove which gets very hot.
I think she has singed off some of her fur from this practice, but she is sort of an oddball who cannot be trained.

None of our dogs have ever had trouble with it except laying in front of the fire and being in the way when I try to load the firebox.

Are we talking about fancy Dutch Licorice?  That's my choice.
Actually, my first choice would be Licorice root (in Tea or tincture form).  
It is said to be good for restoring the Adrenal system, for those who burn the candle at both ends.
Of course I've eaten many a pound of Candy Corn over the years too!

I feel your pain.
I love Carrots, but they have always been a very difficult crop for me - for more than a decade.

I've tried making a corn starch gel to mix the seeds into - to keep the seeds even spaced and hydrated.
I've tried mixing the seed with fine soil and sprinkling that in the planting furrows - to keep good spacing.
I've tried keeping a board over the planted row until they emerge- to keep the bed from drying out.
I've tried germinating them in a plastic bag, on rolled up strips of paper towels...
I understand that these methods work very well for many people, yet I rarely get very many full-grown carrots.

The best results I have is by replanting the top portion of store-bought carrots.
One thing I've learned is that their seeds often take a long time to germinate - two weeks sometimes.
Keeping the rows moist during that time seems to be essential, from what I've read.

I get a mental block about fiddling around with tiny seeds though, and that probably doesn't help.
I won't give up though, and I hope you don't either - good luck!

Those are some interesting perspectives.
Some two and a half decades ago I was in Community College, intending to continue on at a University afterward.
I am grateful for the experience of being in the classes of some wise professors and the socializing with peers.
However, I decided then that I would probably never make enough money to be able to pay off student loans with any career I liked.

I instead started a rigorous reading program to further my education in multiple subjects in which I was interested.
I called it "The School of George."  I made syllabuses for myself that I followed for a couple more years, while working in a kitchen.
I did feel 'left out' and 'like a drifter' at times, being around friends on the College Track, but then I've always been a bit odd.
I did some Natural Building School, but decided that was not going to be my career either.

It was at this time that I became enamored by the idea of Permaculture and returned to the family farm.
Talking on and on at Sunday breakfast with the extended family about all the different fruit trees I wanted to plant, my Grandpa piped up with a, "Well shut up and start planting!"
Getting my hands and feet in the dirt again, making tangible steps toward a secure future made me feel better about my 'lack of education'.  Though there were some struggles with my Grandpa - him thinking my projects 'looked like a jungle'.

I still don't 'make a living' from the farm, but we do save tons of money on food bills.
I don't know what to recommend to young people considering extensive college education today, other than what Paul and others have said already.  I wish them and everyone luck and hope they learn how to grow some food whatever else they do.  

That is another interesting aspect, Timothy!  Sometimes what the wildlife bring is not fertilizer.
I am often surprised by the new additions of volunteer plants that pop up in the landscape, brought in by wild birds or other critters.

Sometimes this is quite a delight, when they are herbs and flowers and trees that I know have food/medicine/beauty value for me.
Squirrels seem to want to turn this place into a forest of Filberts (Hazelnuts, if you must).
My free-roaming pig plants Plums and Cherries quite a lot too, which thrive here.

However, the birds also spread Himalayan/Armenian Blackberries near and far - especially along fencelines - which can be problematic and create more work for me.
Overall, I welcome the work of wildlife in the landscape I steward, even if it's sometimes counter to my plans.

When I'm being unmindful and sort of lazy, I sit on a big squishy polyester-blend couch.
It matters quite a lot, because it's awful for my posture and if I stay there very long my back suffers.

When I'm being conscious of such things, I sit cross-legged or kneeling on a cushion which I think is much nicer for my body.
Trying to find the right position to hold a book, and not strain my neck, is tricky and I shift positions often.

I find squatting to be a comfortable position for awhile... but I think I might make a short wooden seat - like a previous person suggested.  
The natural padding on my backside is minimal, so a nice cushion of some natural material would be a good addition.

When I watch great flocks of songbirds descend on my Food Forest, singing their joyous feasting chorus, I think to myself, "Well I guess I missed harvesting the Autumn Olives this year..."
However, mostly I am delighted to see the wild creatures enjoying the fruits of my (minimal) labor.
It makes me feel happy that my gardening efforts can benefit birds, insects, mammals, et al.

I wonder though, when my pragmatism acts up, how much fertilizer those wild critters are bringing to my garden and food forest.
I don't do much in the way of adding outside inputs, yet the food outputs are still quite satisfactory.

I think perhaps the value of the wildlife droppings is more than a trifling thing... what do you think?

Local fruit juice!  Brilliant notion!

Doing a little reading, it seems others have successfully made Kombucha using Apple juice or other fruit juices.
It might be necessary to boil or otherwise sterilize the juice first, as fruit usually has its own varieties bacteria and yeasts that could compete with the SCOBY.  

Thanks for suggesting this concept!  I'm going to try it myself!

Black Tea is traditional for making Kombucha, but other things can work.
I have used Yerba Mate, Oolong, and Green Tea.
I have read that some people have even used super-sugary neon green soft-drinks as the base.
Herbal teas that have antimicrobial properties might be problematic though.

I have used Honey or Sucanat raw sugar too, instead of refined white sugar.
Though the antimicrobial property of Honey can slow things down.
Since the SCOBY will be eating it and making something new, I don't mind using refined white sugar.  The culture seems to utilise it most effectively.