Eric Thompson

I would keep it up!  My normal policy is to not spend time removing something unless I know what I want instead of that.

Ideas:
Hawk perch
Bat house
Gravity feed water tank

Dave Burton wrote:
I could also order the posters from Scalable Press in the size of 24 inches by 204 inches for the cost of $36. Again, to make an incentive to do this, these posters would probably be like $60 a pop.

I think it's very hard to hang and read a vertical poster of 204 inches!

Bottle feeding is a pretty big chore!  Also both the human and bovine tend to get fairly attached like mom and baby - it's harder to slaughter an animal that you've raised that comes to greet you for a head scratch..
I would agree getting two weaned calves and raising them - you can raise a heifer calf for meat also.
Keep in mind that winter feeding in our area can be expensive, so planning ahead to buy hay from the field in the Summer will help on costs.

As for breed and  taste, we settled with the Wagyu (Kobe beef) genetics for getting a nice marbling in grassfed beef -- I highly recommend that!

James Landreth wrote:Yes Eric! That would be great! I'd love to get more American chestnut planted around here. I was told by a horticulturist that chestnut blight doesn't proliferate here because of our dry summers. So this is one of the only places we can still grow pure Americans

Good -- I will try to collect some seed this year and also mark any small sprouted seedlings for transplant.  There are 3 trees here that were planted in the 20's, and several seedlings in the surrounding area which is mostly forested hillside.  There are some small seedlings, but I can only identify them with leaves, so marking for winter transplant is necessary..

You should not need any special scarifying tricks to get germination - I would keep them in the ground, out in the rain and cold with a wire cover on top to keep out rodents out.

If you want American Chestnut I have some 50-100 year old trees to harvest from -- the deer and squirrels don't leave them around for long.
Mine are close to you in Longview, WA -- anybody from the area can message me if interested .

We had a telephone energy survey and the asked what energy source our clothes dryer was.  When I responded "solar" he acted suprised like he had never heard anything like that "new" technology in a dryer!
Ok, I should have said it's powered by a fusion reactor and he would have been even more confused!

The way IP and patent laws work, the people who are true innovators have to limit communications outside their bubble or risk losing IP coverage.  Of course the best ideas and most prudent approaches come from groups of people working toward a common cause.  It's kind of rare to have a group of the best in a field that can work together because of group boundaries.

It's easier to communicate things that are for fun or that have no clear path to commercialization.

Besides that, writing papers and patents is a soul-draining endeavor for many of us

Michael Adams wrote: I just want to be able to draw a line on Google Earth with automatic pin points dropped in on whatever measurement I enter. For fruit tree planting, I want a pin point every 10 feet on a drawn line of 1000'. That way I'll have a more accurate idea of how growth shading is going to look in my food forest. Its very tedious to go back to a drawn line and measure out 10 feet with computer mouse and plop a pin. Is this possible to do?

The contour mapper will generate a kmz file which can be loaded up to individual points on contour, and then each 10 ft can be measured with 2D linear interpolation calculating the final pin position on paper....

...but you might ask yourself if you're getting enough value out of a detailed paper tiger to justify the time spent doing it.  if you will be on the ground with the trees, your best detail planning will be done while planting.

I have been happy with results taken from a Google map overview with contours and laying out my own on the ground.  I typically like to get an overview plan and then draw out lines with a single shank ripper on the tractor.  One you have lines drawn out (I mean real functional lines that aid water movement, aerations, and fungus development!), it's very easy to measure off 10' and go.  And if you decide you prefer 14' spacing with a nitrogen fixer, some comfrey, and a few herbs or currants in the gap, all the better!

As long as you're ok with a sales pitch for even more:

https://www.contourmapgenerator.com

has a really nice tool!!

I think a lot of people bleed out a fish -- they can't make any puppy dog eyes so that must be easier

A knife or axe to chop the head must be very expedient, but be very careful with your fingers around such a slippery target..