66/m/healthy/ vegan,raw/29 acres/central VA/ seeking female with similar

Just a quick reflection on this post and the progress made since I first put it here 5 years ago.

A recent article on the NOAA report released last black friday a week ago says we can no longer predict future weather from recent past weather patterns. Sounds like chaos theory to me.
For me this has meant a summer and fall with lots of rain, the direct opposite of last year. My friends kid me that when I have a backhoe (whether rental or now owned) the skys will open up and make it too wet to effectively use it.

My highest pond in the landscape is also the biggest one, and while I really didn't expect substantial rain to fill it until winter/spring, It filled up several weeks ago, and really has stayed near full right on through.  For the dam construction (still 5-6 feet short of it's intended height, this means waiting for soil to dry out, and also having to go back and perhaps  dry,  and recompact clay that is really too wet to build on.

These experiences will come in handy before starting the next project, but inability to manage the project with respect to the chaos of weather has severely compromised my progress and time table here.

The bright side is that I may have a helper to cut trees for swales and other clearings, and in general the water control is performing pretty well even if it is still incomplete.

The middle dam is built  up to it's water level, but I can't let it  fill with water until I add some more freeboard and manicure the connecting swale to feed another pond that will likely become either a rice or taro pond once it has a better water flow.

So all things considered, the water flow has become very stable, even during multiple rain events that used to carve deep channels on the way to the creek. I really didn't expect results so profound so quickly, but these immature earthworks and water management seems to be one of the most profound things I have ever done. Even just stumbling through the process as a beginner, is better than being so nervous I never start.

On other fronts taking time for the alocasia plants earlier (technically elephant ear not taro) paid off. They happened to find a good spot to grow, and with a little extra care I will be able to grow taro as a starch crop.

I'm also finishing the installation of my new DSR ( Double  Shoebox Rocket) with the addition of a water tank for a hot water source.  photos and better description

Anyway, still hanging in there with too many projects to mention here, but most of it doesn't feel much like work, more just fun and games. Thus ends my update on progress. Still thinking about when it might be time to give two weeks to teach a Permaculture course

It's amazing to come back to this post periodically and see how it started.  I'm 71 now, still basically the same, healthwise anyway, mentally , maybe a little more mature, but looking around at projects and the like things are really different.

I continue on my path.  My mom's house is almost just a memory, although I do have a few more trips to make there, and my little bit of paradise here was mostly neglected , except for some periods where I did get a fair amount of backhoe work done. The high dam is at or above the proposed water level, and I continue to try and economize finding a laser level receiver, and in the process learning a bit more about how they work and where I've gone wrong in the past.

I have a lot of leveling to do, and while most of my original level was set with an A frame, lasers are getting cheaper and if you have bigger projects they are the way to go.

So I await the latest purchase, and plan to start some fine tuning and moving into swale establishment.

I'm ready to plant a forest of pussy willows on the back of a couple dams, although  they will be interspersed with other willows and kept coppiced for firewood and possible nursery starts, since cuttings are easy to root, or maybe the better way to say it is are difficult not to root.

My gardens are starting to take on some actual design, with a few more perennials on the edges and likely a return to deer proof fencing for the main food producer.

But gardens are also springing up on the edges of the ponds.  I started a few squash plants at the high dam  and even got a couple squash- and except for a quick wire cage I threw over the plants, basically all I had to do was water a few times.

I also started my first grape vine on the edge of the high pond, and after a bit of trimming from the deer, it still seems viable.

The biggest problem with working these areas lately has been the lack of rain.  I ran the backhoe till the clay turned into a fine powder an inch or so deep, and with limited water in the pond (I drained out most of the water early in the season so I could work in the hole.) trying to keep the dam clay moist enough to compact has been a challenge, and I finally moved the backhoe on to other areas once I knew the high dam was secure.

I'm working now on the driveways and the middle dam, especially the area next to the pond which will hopefully become a primary garden area..  That excavation was started to add to the bulk of the dam there, and continues now extending to the contour pond  connected to it by a swale.  That pond should feed into an extended swale, but the walls need to be  built up to get back to level with the middle gully pond so the water continues on around the ridge.

Anyway, next steps will involve fine tuning levels, moving my banana circle down to the contour pond (it's crowding out grapes and such beside the house.), finding a nice site for a bigger koi pond, and of course planting lots and losts of productive trees as swales become finalized. Actually, there are too many next steps to really talk about, geopolymer experiments on yet another new RMH, new ponds not yet visualized, more aquaculture, , on and on .  So many toys to play with.

The journey continues, likely even will pick up speed. 2018 started with intense care for my mom, ended with the start of more intense cleaning and preparing her house for sale after she died. I still found time to continue my projects, but anticipate a more relaxed and intensive progression. It's so nice to not be constantly planning for the next 6 hr trip and then putting things back together on my return a week or more later.

With the house sold it also frees up some money for ongoing projects, and most recently I invested in two sets of 20 evacuated tubes and manifold for a hot water solar system. I had used black poly pipe in the past, 2-300' of 3/4 inch pipe in an unwieldy coil with two heavy double paned patio doors on top of a 8X8 frame to help keep the heat in. It worked, but took up way too much time just getting it moved and reassembled and the last time I tried I actually gave up, I figured there has to be a better way than wrestling with such a long length of pipe that totally had other ideas of what it wanted to do.

So my next big toy will likely come sometime near Christmas, and after that lots of fiddling to see how I might start pumping all that  sunlight heat through my radiant floor.

Speaking of which, I'm actually practicing pretty daily, and while I doubt I'll ever play in a symphony, I do occasionally get together with a few guitars and misc other instruments, sometimes I get to solo, and sometimes it actually sounds good. I'm at the awkward stage where people are always a little nervous when they tell me to "take it", because it's mostly a crap shoot whether it'll be worth listening to.

Other than that, my new DSR is performing nicely, I've been cutting back trees and have a fair amount of somewhat seasoned wood, and a hot shower whenever I need one, and I'm even cleaning out corners I haven't looked at for years, even throwing some stuff out, although I'm not sure if I'm keeping up with the stuff I'm bringing in ;-).

I went up and started the clean out of the octagon, my first dwelling, a tiny house with a wood stove that could create a sauna in the middle of January. That will be replaced with some sort of RMH, and the little greenhouse where I kept potted figs is slowly emptying and the little appalachian water heater there will turn into a rocket stove also.

So many toys to play with, maybe I should set up some of these projects and share the fun of developing with others who want to learn.

Oh by the way, I turned 72 on my birthday  since the last post

Just another day in paradise!

Well, thought I should keep things half way caught up here, I'm still around, still having fun,, although a bit amazed at the different complications the outside world has been throwing at me. The latest is a rich vein of gold that is currently being looked at by a pit mining/cyanide extraction type operation--Aston Bay-- and they are currently trying to get a foothold and permission to start.

Just got done getting rid of the pipeline, and now this--if you don't laugh, you cry.

So I just keep on going, having as much fun as possible (maybe the universe thinks I'm having too much fun:-).

My upper pond is full and overflowing occasionally , so far I haven't connected it into the major swale system that is in place, but that will happen soon, and in the meantime everything is protected ,out of harms way.

I keep talking about the earth tube, and have most of the materials ready to go, so that will likely start in the next month. The upstairs is ready to be closed in/ air tight, so the thermal siphon can actually make the earth tube functional as an air conditioner with no extra energy use or machinery once it is set up.

I have decided to spend this next summer starting an out reach program, involving others in using some of the garden spaces my pond excavations have opened up.

I'll probably be putting in lots of blueberries, but no extravagant numbers of diverse trees this year. My new greenhouse is lovely, so far still an experiment, but with luck it will start some plants in another month or so, nothing too fancy, 10'x10', about 100$worth of material--just a typical plastic hoop house, but for the little bit of time I put in it was certainly worthwhile.

Thinking about a bigger one with a pond inside it by next fall, TWT.

Raising koi has become more of a reality, 6 fish I got last spring grew to 8 inches in a small molded pond, and the success motivated me to build a liner pond with wetland filters and waterfall. Everything needs to be off grid, so currently 2 solar panels and one battery power a small 25$ submersible pump.

The two wetland filters associated with the pond (about 15' diameter) along with the waterfall should offer many different  habitats, one  plant I'm thinking about is wasabia japonica (75$/lb-real wasabi) It grows in flowing water, so either one of the wetland filters or the waterfall should work.  I bought about ten roots that should get here sometime soon, so another grand experiment.

I have about 60 butterfly koi now growing out in the greenhouse, and another 9 butterfly koi growing out in an aquarium in the kitchen, and they will go into a setup of ponds that should prove quite nice. Sort of an expanded version of the system I used to grow out the small koi last spring, only the wetland type filter system will be used for them so I won't be constantly changing and cleaning filters, and should be able to get better water quality as well as helping plant growth. I'm especially interested in starting a good stand of horsetail, a very useful and medicinal herb-- often used as a pot scrubber, it is also a primary ingredient in Dr. Christopher's bone/calcium formula.One of those herbs I have been trying to get going  for some time.

Anyway,bigger and better, keep having fun, and all that, I know my website needs work, but pictures and such at www.permaculturebob.org

Funny how things can seem to be slow  and easy, and yet actually be moving at breakneck speed. Probably the best description of the process is Permaculture itself. When the focus shifted from annuals to perennials suddenly I became surrounded by things that are moving forward with little or no inputs from me. And as I slow and steady add new things they take on lives of their own, an occasional weeding or mulching and the growing process jumps forward seemingly totally out of scale with my actual work.

Of course there are periods of intense focus to start an element, but once up and running, that energy is forgotten in the wealth of new contributions the element makes back to the system.

Of course that depends almost totally on the amount of preplanning/design that is put into the system as a whole and the individual elements as they are added. Sure there are occasions where I just experiment with things to see what they will do. Sometimes they work, sometimes not so much.

The Koi ponds and biofilters are an example of that. Lots of learning along the way, design, redesign, and suddenly there are dozens of new edges I couldn't have  understood without having the rough structure in place and working.

The  6 koi from last year have all emerged from their cave and even started to anticipate the food associated with my arrival. So much better than having them scatter as soon as I come near. The bio filters are starting to work quite well, and new opportunities for growing present themselves almost daily and I don't believe  I could have understood all the possibilities just trying to plan them all out.

The little koi from inside are all in outside ponds now, and they are sharing a biofilter system. I discovered many more things from installing their system, and the fact that this area has more shade opens more possibilities.

The gardens all got lots of fresh mulch, new gardens are started with only minor emphasis on actual production  of anything but soil. The ponds have stopped overflowing, and drier conditions have started to affect the water level in the upper pond, but the fact that it is there keeps the other ponds full.

My swimming pond with it's haphazard filter of limestone gravel is clear enough to see my toes--so 6 feet of clarity with no real ongoing effort is a real achievement--even though I only had a general idea of what the results might be when I dumped that limestone into the gully just at the entrance to the pond.

I'll save any other updates for later, so for now,  Keep having fun.

Hi Bob! I'm new to permies, so I've been lurking. I've really enjoyed reading your posts! Keep up the good work.

It's kind of funny because for a long time I was under the impression that things would calm down  as I got more established, but as fast as one thing calms down, another thing jumps up.

My distraction with the Koi Ponds has created a whole new set of opportunities, many of which have yet to be realized.  The biofilters have proven slightly inadequate  to the task of keeping the water crystal clear in the large koi pond, but the smaller ponds biofilter has worked beautifully at water clarity.  The 6 koi  in the big pond are pretty big now , and the multiple smaller butterfly koi are growing leaps and bounds as well.

The tiny goldfish I added to the big koi pond overwintered well and have taken  on a whole life of their own, with multiple new babies, most or all of them goldfish and they are growing faster than I want to think about it.

At any rate, with koi over a foot long, suddenly a 15 foot pond starts to seem small. And I see the same thing happening next year with the butterfly koi, so it may be time to work harder on a marketing strategy (and a way to actually get the fish out of the pond without draining it.

Of course the net outcome is more work-- build a larger filter, and add a  second bigger pond. The wasabi I wanted to grow turns out needs more shade than was available on this first waterfall and pond, so the new biofilter and new pond will stretch into an area with much more shade--more edges to explore!!!

On other fronts, the grapes did fantastic this year, the garlic spray deterred the japanese beatles, and every day now I'm eating as many grapes as I like, picking only the ripest ones. Being right outside my door, the vines are casting so much shade that this was the first year I didn't  use shades on the glass and actually was able to keep the greenhouse door open most of the time which allowed a couple wrens   to make a nest inside and raise kids despite the doors being shut all night and portions of the day when i would go somewhere and have to shut them in.

My figs are doing splendid, this is the first year the top growth survived, and I'm getting tons of figs developing. time will tell how many actually ripen.

The nectarines started out with large numbers but insects attacked and brown rot followed and I ended up doing a radical pruning.. In fact, the peach and nectarine trees really shouldn't be in the garden, and much as i hate the thought, one more year without production and I may do some really radical pruning( with a chainsaw)  I'd like to grow some tomatoes there, and they just don't get enough light.

I think when I planted them I envisioned keeping them espaliered  and in practice I'm seeing that just takes way too much energy.

The nanking cherries on the other hand stayed relatively unobtrusive but quite productive.

I'm starting to believe that garlic spray may be a general panacea for the insects so next year I'll be using it as a preventive all around. and also on the preventive side, I'm going to guess that kelp will be a good thing to be more liberal with,  I know thatkelp  foliar sprays can help plants produce chemicals that can repel pests, and just generally make them more healthy/resistant to disease.

An 18 inch rain in the middle of a dry spell put me in mind of a desert--a flood waiting to happen.  I was lacadaisical with connecting  the swale to the spillway on the large pond, and even though the monster rain didn't hurt it much, it sure drove home the lesson of being ready before it's needed is a lot better than repairing later..So right after that rain I got busy and dug the swale through the driveway, and while the level isn't perfect, any future floods will move water quickly away from the dam.

The new gardens did not produce much, fences and deer being a primary ongoing problem, but I did manage to start a few perennials and it's likely a better use for those areas more out in zone 2 anyway.

The pond levels generally weather the dry spells better, the catfish population has started to increase in the upper pond. and it's time to get more mulberry trees in the ground. I potted a bunch last year when I ran out of locations to plant them, and they are actually doing better than most of the ones I put in the ground. The black locust trees took off like weeds, another couple years and I'll start to get firewood The honey locusts also survived well and at some point I need to get off my butt and plant more of the hardy orange seedlings, the ones I managed to get in the ground are finally grabbing hold and starting to prosper.  I won't personally use that many of them, but i generally like the plant.

OK, enough for now it's often tough to get everything into a few paragraphs   webpage

I hope Permies doesn't miss me too much, as you can see from the link I'm not keeping my own website up to date either

Grapes and more grapes.

OK, so this is the first season my vine is truly producing, the unripe grapes were beautiful, the garlic spray kept both Japanese beatles and leaf curlers awaay.  for the past weeks I've been cherry picking the ripe grapes, but leaving the unripe ones there to ripen.

For the last several days I've started cutting whole bunches that were mostly ripe.

This morning I went outside and noticed hornets  buzzing around fallen grapes--littered thickly in front of my door. I spent some time killing a bunch (the big asian hornets) with my electric fly swatter.  they are robust enoiugh to take the charge and live so each one needed to be squashed as it walked on the ground trying to get it's bearings.  they are not swarming as much now near the door and walkway, and I both cleaned up the fallen grapes there and picked a bunch of the over ripe ones,  but there's still loads more.

Next step will be harvesting a bunch for the community potluck tomorrow, and I'll probably end up making juice to get some use out of them  and not attract bears (which are sure to smell it sooner or later.

I've been dumping about a gallon of my urine around the perimeter every day  and the bears are mostly leaving this area alone, but I'm guessing my best bet will be to get all the ripe ones processed and out of way.

it's true they are a great crop, keep the sun off the windows, and all that, but another factor to remember is the harvest. If I don't do it, nature will send help :-)

A warm heart hello to you,
Are you still seeking a partner? I am 69 and just returned to the USA from my Luxor, Egypt Sanctuary
Farm. Looking for one or more to share life with. I like the way you express yourself. In FL right now caring for my Mom and getting her set up to live on her own again.
Have a connection in IN and I do not know where it is going. Let em know your relationship status.
Lovingly, Jan

Hi Jan, I sent a PM to you before, but never heard back, so I'm guessing your other situation worked out.

And on to the update.

We are sort of finally into winter here, although with frequent intermissions of 70+ degree weather amid 20 degree nights and 40+ days. I'm finally moving forward on the biofilter redesign for the large liner pond which is still somewhat green. The few gold fish I put in have turned into a massive bio load on the system and I can only hope the koi are safe and sound on the bottom since the goldfish are mostly taking over the top visible areas of the pond.

The good news is that the top biofilter  is well on it's way to completion, and with a little more work I may be able to get all the fresh rock flushed out and start to use it intermittently. Since the pump is in the bottom filter under water I can actually run it periodically through the winter, and at night the water just siphons back down leaving the pipe empty so there's no danger of freezing

The new biofilter is also a good deal deeper than the previous iteration, but with the second pond added into the mix it still is only a wild guess that it might be adequate for the extra volume  of water.  Enlarging the skimmer/biofilter at the level of the old pond and making it a little larger/ more efficient, as well, is next on the upgrade and of course as vegetation gets established in the two beds they will become even more efficient at  cleaning the water.

One of the challenges I face is that without an unlimited supply of water from a well I have to recycle repurpose every drop as much as possible. The newly established feed from my house roof surface should help keep the pond levels better and give a little more leeway. But for the time being I can only hope that it rains a little more  *not too much I hope)

Meanwhile the butterfly koi from last winter are back inside after a lot of various challenges in their summer outside mostly from numerous losses from  filter and aeration failures associated with hasty improvisations and cheap equipment.

I'm not quite sure what I was thinking when I started the koi project except that it would be a source of many new edges and different resources and somewhat a fun thing to try. My conclusions here in the middle of these projects are that unless you're running a mud pond of a good size be prepared to pay attention. These things may sustain themselves for quite a while and go wild, but the smaller the pond the more dependent it is on constant observation and fiddling around keeping systems working.

That's not to say that better automated controls and warning sensors couldn't make them less labor intensive, but the knowledge required and techniques needed in setting up the smaller systems is pretty intense, and be prepared to lose more than a few fish. And if goldfish are added to the mix they will likely take over and make your work even more intense.  Sure, if you have plenty of grid power and a deep water well  things get much easier. Also, I'm confident that over time even  these creations  with solar power and rain water will be more easily managed .

As far as side effects of this experiment, a rich source of fish fertilizer  builds  up inside the biofilter and more regular pumping of it next summer should both improve my gardens and the efficiency of the biofilter. The koi are a bit expensive to start with, but like most growing systems the payback can be quite good and koi are about as prolific as goldfish, so be sure to have a market ready if you are growing them for profit.

As far as other projects here, I finally set up the trial run of the evacuated tube solar water heater. Yes,  black poly pipe gave  good results,  but this is much more efficient and a lighter weight on the roof. Trying to manage a couple hundred feet of 3/4" black pipe into a good collector is not an easy task for a single person and after moving the frame and glass doors that covered the unit several times it seemed to be time for a change.

Initial thoughts are that these tubes are giving great results-and can be used with relatively little extra equipment. They take up about the same area (6'x6') as the black poly setup but with less heat loss and a lot easier setup. Aside from the tubes themselves, the rest of the system can be pretty inexpensive. circulation 12v pumps can be found for around 20$ and plumbing directly into the house water system can directly provide domestic  hot water and some radiant floor heat as well.

Of course this assumes constant hands on and right now they are actually not being used because of the possibility of freezing.  One challenge will  be to manage excess heat in summer. These tubes can easily overwhelm a storage tank, although thinking about it, maybe a hot tub might be a better use of  that resource.:-).

In the future it will be possible to set up a separate antifreeze loop with heat exchanger  and thermostats, the whole nine yards, but for now I'm calling this a success and worthwhile investment.

As far as gardens, there's lots of kale growing right now. but little else. Once again had to dig up banana plants from the space next to the house. They were fun and beautiful and all that but became an invasive  species. Although to be fair, like most invasives they do create good soil. The original purpose of the bananas was to shade the south glass while waiting for the grapes to get established, but now with the grapes about ready to produce in this area the banana plants have to go.

Anyway, I did get some good results in the biofilter growing horsetail,  but the wasabia japonica  evidently needs more shade, so I haven't written it off, but it will likely be a couple years before I can figure it all out.

Misc hot peppers, a couple tomatoes, garlic, sweet potatoes  blueberries, grapes, misc greens. I see the million calorie  challenge here at Permies, and after playing with sweet potatoes for a few years may finally have a really good crop next year. I continue to play with them and even brought in a young vine into the greenhouse and wonder of wonders it is still alive. It's likely going to be more trouble than it's worth but figure it's good to get to know the plant if i plan for it to become a mainstay in my diet. The crop this year was only about 20 pounds.

Of course one of the main ongoing projects is the creation of soil and new garden spaces, and that is going great, new garden spaces faster than I can get them fenced in.

Anyway, I'll likely get around to updating my website sometime when it's cold or wet a few days in a row  webpage

Keep having fun.

Well, I'm still around, counting some lucky stars and some not so lucky, wondering at the amazing coincidences that ganged up on me, and wondering if I have done too much tocompromise to my stated goal of managing my own health without the AMA..

To be a little more specific, I was escorting a young woman around the property about 6 days ago,  we got back to the house, went inside, and I was pulling a hose into the greenhouse section that is a little like an elaborate mud room, sliding glass doors just opened about a foot+  and my pet guinea fowl(Lucky)  wasn't making it easy for me to close the  door, half in , half out. I was looking straight down at her and motioned for her to come in and suddenly she flew up to her perch just ahead of a grey blur that latched onto my leg.

I had no weapon handy, no idea even of what it was, but I knew I didn't like the ways it's jaws were digging into  my leg, I grabbed it by the scruff of the neck, threw it a short distance, and it  rushed right back and grabbed hold, but this time I threw it further and this time it ran away.  This time I saw it was a bobcat.

The way things worked out it was obviously rabid, but at the time I wasn't sure. The next morning I was trying to find out as much as I could about the rabies protocol and hoping against hope I wouldn't have to pay for and endure it. (No insurance)

Anyway, I got through that first day with a home made dressing,
and the next I was calling wild life people reporting it and asking for advice-also lots of calls to pharmacies hoping to avoid hospitals and doctors where possible. I found out a lot about rabies treatment (the AMA way), what is administered, where the vaccines are given, and from the wild life people found out about a second attack near by.

At the time details were non specific, and I was clinging to the hope that is was just an overly aggressive male, in the middle of mating season spiking his testosterone, who was actually just trying to get Lucky for a quick snack in the middle of a long winter.

In retrospect I should have known, even the most hyped up bobcat isn't blowing his cover for a dangerous meal -unless something is wrong.

The second attack was 4hrs later and about 2 miles away, they killed the cat and it was tested, but remember a lot of the specifics were not told at this point, when I made it through the first night, made calls Monday morning, and a friend came over and was helping me with what he could.

Then 4 other people came over and they were all encouraging me to get the shots, so somewhat reluctantly I did, my friend drove me to the emergency room(the only place where they have immunoglobulin- one of the first (and by far the most painful) of  the series.)

I still believe I might be able to survive rabies, (without the AMA) I still believe I might be able to handle the infection that followed with natural antibiotic herbs,
But  injured, I've been here in bed most of the day and am getting a bit tired just writing this account. The point being that if you don't have really competent people around you to manage and help with your natural care, then just go with the doctors.  I'll be building back my biome right away after I finish the course of antibiotics, anyway It's always been my idea that trauma medicine is where doctors excel. Once I'm walking again and this is behind me I'll re evaluate my personal healing strategies and medicinal larder. And I may even think about teaching a class or two.

bob day wrote:Well, I'm still around, counting some lucky stars and some not so lucky, wondering at the amazing coincidences that ganged up on me, and wondering if I have done too much tocompromise to my stated goal of managing my own health without the AMA..

What a tale Bob!   No doubt, extra dangers come from living alone.  A close call like this would make me re-evaluate for sure.  Keep us posted of your progress.  

Not sure how often I will update, but so far so good, I learned a couple more things today getting the third shot.

First I learned it didn't matter how Long I waited, they do not stitch cat bites closed.. Too much infection in them.

3rd day of antibiotics and the wound is less inflamed swelling going down, feeling better in general, but the more I do the more it starts swelling again, so I will likely slow down even though the worst of the pain/discomfort seems to be history.

The nurse was pleased with the progress of the healing, clear ooze , and this white stuff i thought was infection she was calling duff, or something. She said it was flesh that was being eliminated, and a normal part of the process, and the piece of flesh the cat was working on tearing loose will probably end up gone. Such a shame, it still looks pink and alive. But it sort of confirms my suspicions about how much of a divot would be left when it was all finished healing.

I did get to see a picture of the dead cat, and to me it looks bigger than 25 pounds.

So about 7 more tablets, 1/2 way through the antibiotics, I expect a few gut issues, but plan to start working on my biome  after the tablets are gone.

Guessing that won't be too hard to rebuild. better find some wheat berries for rejuvelac. Maybe even check for wheat grass in the garden and graze a little.TWT

A little addendum here to bring this bobcat episode up to date. Anyone familiar with cat bite infections probably knows more than I knew going into this whole trauma. Shortly after I wrote the last post I decided my home brews were not keeping up with the infection so I went to the nearby clinic and was scheduled right away and seen by the best doctor there-I guess being bit by a bobcat makes me a celebrity of sorts.

There was an infection drainage point above my heel  and lab tests on that pus revealed a nasty bacteria that required a different antibiotic, and I was told  other doctors might send me to the hospital, cut open that area and scrape everything, but it was pretty obvious that I wasn't up for that, so that first week he spent 4 appointments removing crap through that drain hole, this white fibrous stuff --no pain killers just white knuckle time. In all he saw me 6 or 7 times over the first two weeks, then once the next week, and just Friday I went back because I saw my prescription running out, and even though almost all the swelling was gone, I didn't want to take the chance that it might start up again.

I feel like I've abandoned my natural healing principles sometimes, and trust this won't become an everyday thing -running to the doctor that is, but in this particular trauma it was clear that I was not doing enough to control the infection. Some of that was my own laziness, some of it was just I didn't understand soon enough how serious my condition could get. Maybe natural antibiotics would have worked in a more disciplined application, maybe not.  Maybe the prize I take away from this whole mess is a deeper understanding and greater respect  of serious infections.

Anyway, I'm almost back to totally normal walking, carrying stuff, climbing ladders, etc etc,  so when the last signs of infection are gone I'll be a  happy camper.  Although, really, through the whole thing I was very careful to keep a tight hold on my sense of humor.  I mean, what are the odds? You almost have to laugh -or at least chuckle a little.

Hello again, everybody.

Yep, still kicking, may even get my divorce finished soon. my soon to be ex stbe:)  wants me indebted to her forever, I'm hoping for a real short prison term --none at all, preferably, I feel like I already done my time. I had a little money from my mom dying, and paying lawyers 1k$ at a time is no fun. I've been scrounging used materials all my life, anything for a buck, so this just blows my mind.

Of course the land here is protected from her (I think), so with a little luck I will continue my life in paradise, but it would be a bummer if i ended up having to go back out to work.

My koi ponds and biofilters are working pretty good--finally, water actually clear enough to see the fish, and plants grew like crazy during the season-- been thinking more about wasabi growing, and with luck will get something going next spring. My first attempt was pretty half assed, and I've seen some recent utube content that may help.  of course it may be just a little too cold for having the wasabi as a perennial outside--time will tell, it has been getting warmer.

I have been thinking about biting the bullet and buying real store bought lumber for a greenhouse. Ideally I would make it bigger and attempt a design I had worked out years ago that would use a solar stack, underground heat storage, and a rocket stove setup that would keep up temps year round, but likely this will just be 12'x16', have a small pond and wetland/biofilter) and maybe a table and chairs with other plants for occasional outings in the winter --sunny days in winter can really be pleasant in a greenhouse.  This will have regular house type walls with insulation on three sides, and glass on the south--roof will be solar panels. but will likely wait to see how rich I feel after this divorce is final.

Anyway, I was still setting up the biofilters this spring when the koi were spawning, and the bigger koi were desperate trying to find some shallow water to lay their eggs, so the one pond got fresh reeds planted in the shallows, and the upper pond got lots of shallow edges added, reeds etc installed, so with luck, next spring the adults will have better accommodations for makin whoopie and the kids will have good places to hide.  Oh, I did kill about three fish eating water snakes that invaded, a male, female, and baby. I generally don't like to interfere, but i did notice all or almost all of the 80 or 90 goldfish in the wild pond disappeared, I'm guessing those snakes were responsible, of course most likely there will be some little gold fish hiding out that will replenish the population, but it's such a drag when mother nature sends in free loaders to help themselves to my fish.

The butterfly koi added about 5 to their numbers, and I thought I saw one small one up with the big koi but so far the only obvious ones are the same 6- time will tell though. The butterfly pond hides the babies well, and it seems like there are actually two or three generations represented in the few extra fish, some almost appear to be carry overs from last year, hardly seems like a 6 inch fish could come from this years spawn, but hey, I'm not complaining--actually pretty glad they can hide so well, less danger from predators.

Planted a bunch of trees last spring, red buds around the catfish pond--they theoretically attract caterpillars that will help feed the fish.  also some plums and persimmons--nothing fancy, just the native varieties.  The paw paws I planted the previous year mostly survived, and the biggest issue was just manicuring their spaces so there is easy access for watering, and the weeds don't get too crazy-- I tried planting a few tomatoes around in between some of the seedlings, but the deer really  are a problem, and the general soil is clay and rock, so cultivating a garden will also foster enriching the soil. So i really didn't expect much this year anyway (and I wasn't disappointed:)

The open pit gold mining that was a possible threat last year seems to have petered out, and with democrats in house and senate in va, we probably will have a better try at getting some good regulations, although the republican governor may block any active environmental protections.   Still, the original hype about the rich veins of gold seems to have been a sales promotion for aston bay trying to profit, and local talent says it would be too expensive to exploit the veins with tunnels and the open pit idea is equally problematic because of the pattern of the veins..

So for the time being  at least this land may be spared. Think a good thought.

Anyway, that's all for now, and remember

If you're not having fun, you've got the design wrong.

bob

Cheers to you Bob!

thanks, and cheers to you also jameel

funny how  the best plans get detoured and postponed. Well, it's official my ambitions to cut the timber on the front 15 acres and do the swaling and set up tree planting for next year are stalled, and heaven knows when they will start up in earnest again. the first step of cutting the trees was thrown off by the lack of loggers willing to relocate their machinery to cut such a small parcel.

But I did get together with a new neighbor who has about the same plan, but with a slightly larger acreage of pines to be cut for pulpwood.  And yes I know that monoculture pulpwood pines are not great as far as diverse management of the forest, but the pines were planted when I came and just trying to get a foothold took up much of my early time here.

So now I have these acres of pines that have started to die in clumps, and the beetles will be close behind, so getting the trees cut is not just a best practice, it's also least resistance with it  being illegal to try and keep this stand going without some additional inputs of energy, possibly pesticides to avoid an infestation, and still only have a monoculture of trees--like a ticking time bomb.

My lofty aims of saving erosion were countered by a forester who visited recently who spoke of the "duff" on the forest floor as a primary safeguard, and I suppose that's true to a certain extent, but rainfall here can come several inches at a time and the ratio of 12 inches of "duff" to 1 inch of rain hardly seems sufficient to get creeks to run steady rather than flooding in the heavier rains.

So the idea of demonstrating better land management than current best management practices is still viable, but when considering expense and the vast acreage of commercial pulpwood forests here in Buckingham, it will likely be quite a while before there is any radical change in tree growing here. It is true that the red clay "soil" does not easily support other tree species, so finding the trees that will grow will likely involve lots of additions and likely some heavy duty microbial transitions.

Anyway, it's probably just as well the project has been stalled,  my brother died a couple weeks ago and cleaning up the mess he left behind is paramount right now. It's not without rewards although it is a sad task, but trips back and forth (a 600 mile round trip) are both hectic and distracting to normal spring activity.

which gets back to Best laid plans oft gang aglay--or however that old saying used to go.  So the heavy schedule of spring planting, extending land management, and constructing new fish pond and biofilter have been slowed/ put off again.

I'm just hoping the difference between my brother and I are that my better lifestyle/diet will give me lots of extra time to finish, or at least move farther along my ambitions. I'm still pain free, doctor free, and the backhoe is still running (with occasional repairs)

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