Geodesic dome protects cob house & family of 6 in Arctic Circle
Interesting concept that is at once beautiful, while being a bit disturbing to me. What's disturbing to me is the home placed inside the dome, while the dome acts as a sort skin, keeping the extreme winter elements out. If the dome was the home it might be more appealing to myself. It's the idea of a conventional looking home placed inside the dome that seems out of place. It's a sort of fantasy of living in a home that's in another climate than the one you actually live in.
Some great pictures of the inside at the link. There is appeal to laying in that hammock, staring at the outside, while a blizzard blows outside the protective dome.
What are you ingesting?
Some fantastic micro-photographs of marijuana leaves. This photograph stood out for me as it's a common point of discussion among'st growers. How to get rid of the chemical taste left after using synthetic fertilizers on your crop.
Most synthetic fertilizers leave a "salt/chemical" buildup which needs to be flushed out of the plant before harvest. If it's isn't flushed, chemical crystals remain giving the herb a "harsh taste". This picture shows why it might be wise to start growing all your edibles organically. When grown using organic fertilizers no chemicals are left in, or on the plant.
I would assume this same idea holds true for most crops grown with chemical fertilizers. This does not even take into account possible synthetic pesticides being used.
More photos here:http://www.leafscience.com/2014/04/22/heres-marijuana-looks-like-microscope/
A Magical Christmas
Father Christmas is out and about! It appears he has the help of some diminutive elves, who's small size seems compensated for by their large numbers. It's going to be a long night, but somehow they still manage to visit everyone who believes in the magic of the season.
Merry Christmas!
Father Christmas, 1907. From Arthur Rackham’s Book Of Pictures (1913)
Reach for the stars!
The sky's the limit!
3000 year old redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens) reach into the stars, and infinity. We tend to forget our infinite qualities, focusing on shorter time spans. We cede our limitless minds to limiting thoughts of how to survive the upcoming week, and whether the boss is in a good mood, or not.
Rather, be like the trees, and reach for the stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_sempervirens
Photograph by Beth Moon from her book, Ancient Trees Ancient Skies. *
http://bit.ly/2fhb376*
After the storm
in California
The tall scraggly trees are "grey pines", which occur in the Sierra at elevations below 4000'. This picture is just down the road from us at about 3000' in elevation. It's located in an ecosystem known as California chaparral.
The storm that just passed left about 5 inches of rain in three days, so the ground is saturated. Some plants, like coyote brush, are starting to bloom now that the summer drought has broken.
Come, lets sit amongst the trees
Be like monkeys and hang out in the trees at this tree house hideaway in Bellingin in Australia.
There is an outdoor shower and views from the inside at the link. http://bit.ly/2f9UFoY
Change the world in the garden
"The climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too". This is the theme for the UN's "World Food Day", celebrated today. You might ask, what can I, one person do?
You can change your world by immersing yourself in green. Feed yourself, as well as your community by growing a garden. This simple act changes your surroundings, and your feelings. People who garden naturally feel better than those who do not. When you eat from your own garden you know exactly how the plants were grown. The energy put into growing those plants is given back to you in the form of nutritious food. Weeding, watering, and tending the garden all require a nimbler body and mind, and the plants know this! This is the symbiotic relationship you will enter into with the plants when you garden.
The picture shows a section of our food garden. We use natural methods and avoid any synthetic pesticides, or fertilizers. We improve our soil by adding a layer of compost right on top. We no longer till it in. The "no-till" method it's called. Saves our backs as well. It interesting that the less "hard" we work, the better the results. I think for the longest time people have been under the impression that the garden was "hard work". If it is, you doing it wrong.
Here are some ideas for growing your own organic food garden.
1. Size of the garden is not important, intent is. Be it a small container garden on an apartment balcony, or a five acre truck farm, doing is most important.
2. Visit your garden daily. Besides being a moving meditation, it allows you to see the gardens progress, and nip in the bud any potential problems before they get out of hand.
3. Feed your garden organic nutrients on a regular basis. This is especially important in raised beds, or containers. Usually every couple of weeks we apply a dry fertilizer to our plants. Unlike synthetic nutrients that bypass the soil and feed plants directly, we want to feed the soil, thus feed the plants. Organic nutrients can be made at home from compost, or purchased from a local garden shop.
4. Remove the negatives from the garden. We are not engaged in a "war on weeds", or "battling pests". To receive the healthy benefits of gardening we work with the weeds and pests to keep them at a healthy minimum. Besides, some plants considered weeds are actually tasty vegetables. The often maligned dandelion is a great green to eat. The garden snail? Escargot!
5. Be different! Grow strange and unusual vegetables from all over the world. Just 15 years ago most people only knew of a few tomato varieties. Now we have access to 100's of varieties of heirloom types with flavors unique! Learn to grow exotic mushrooms! We are experimenting with growing our first shiitake mushrooms on tree stumps. "Find the others", means find like minded people who share your interest in gardening. The Internet is very useful in that regard. You'll soon find that their are others working in their gardens, just like you.
#WorldFoodDay
#garden
#gardening
A white wall
in California
A wall surrounding Sutter's Fort in Sacramento.
Rainy season off to a great start
Living Wild: Gardening, Cooking and Healing with Native Plants of California
This book caught my attention while visiting Nevada City the other day. The authors, Alicia Funk and Karin Kaufman are both from Nevada City and have written a book about using the native flora of The Sierra Nevada as both food, and medicine. As my interest in using local produced products has grown, the idea of using the native flora only makes sense. It doesn't get more local than that.
The authors listed 5 essential reasons for taking the time to learn about, and use native plants.
1. Cultivate an Independent Carbon-Neutral lifestyle.
2. Enjoy 100% local nutrition that is gluten-free and vitamin-rich.
3.Say no to nature deficit disorder.
4. Preserve cultural knowledge.
5. Protect biodiversity and habitat.
Reading about Manzanita one finds that the berries, flowers, and leaves can all be used. You can make Manzanita cider, Manzanita hard cider, or mix some Douglas Fir with it and enjoy MAnzanita and Douglas Fir Cider. You can also make Manzanita Blossom Jelly, Manzanita crackers, Manzanita granola, Manzanita muffins, and Manzanita sugar.
Manzanita Berry Sugar
Collect berries in early fall
-Dry berries
-Grind coarsely, on the lowest speed, in a food processor for several minutes
-To separate seeds and skins from the berry "sugar" place slightly ground berries in a coarse-weave sifter or mesh strainer. Use a wooden spoon to push the sugar through the strainer.
-Store sugar in an airtight container in a cool location.
-Keep left over seeds and skins to make Manzanita cider.
TIP: Grind 2 cups of berries to get 3/4 cup of sugar. Add Manzanita berry sugar to oatmeal, tea, and anything else you wish to sweeten. I can't wait to give this a try.
The interest in where our food comes from, and how it's processed will continue to grow. One answer to the concerns about what we are eating is to "go native". Of course to live entirely off the native flora would be difficult, and not really in the cards for me. However adding native plants to the diet seems worthwhile, and fun. How fun to serve Bay Leaf ice cream after dinner.
You can find "Living Wild" at Amazon, or perhaps your local bookstore.
Who let the bees out?
The beekeeper did! I watched as the beekeeper opened up one of 6 hives we just received at the nursery. Quite a sight seeing all those bees come out.
Burned forest, with ironic sign
Last year 97,000 acre King Fire burned much of The Eldorado National Forest near where we live. To get to our secret camping spot we drive through burned trees for several miles. Along the way a turn off leads to "Freanch Meadows Reservoir", as well as "Hell Hole Reservoir. " Just below the brown sign the forest service has put a sign that reads, "A Beautiful Forest Is A Matchless Sight". Not sure if it was there before the fire, or was put up after as a sort of ironic exclamation point to the whole event.
We did see many wildflowers along the way, as well as year old tree saplings. The forest is recovering, but will take decades to look as it did before. Fortunately our favorite camping areas we're spared, so we will be passing through the burned out, but recovering forest, for some time to come.
Sierra Camp
in camping
This is what our camp looks like when we have everything unpacked. We have worked on streamlining our packing so it's easy to set up, and take down. We can get it done in about 45 minutes, though there is hardly ever a rush to finish.
This is one of our favorite places to camp. Located at about 6500' elevation (1980 meters) near The Desolation Wilderness, it takes us 45 minutes to get here from home. We bring our mountain bikes as there are trails all around, and our kayaks as there is a small lake a few hundred feet from the camp.
I really have to keep quiet about the location. Not very busy on the weekdays, which is when we go. The weekend? Campground full! The weekdays? 10 to 20% occupied. Just the way we like it.
Riding The Eldorado Trail
Monica and I took our vintage 1986 Specialized Rockhoppers out yesterday to the El Dorado Trail. The trail has paved and unpaved portions, and we took the unpaved section from Mother Lode Dr. In Shingle Springs to The El Dorado Y at Pleasant Valley Rd., a distance of 8 miles round trip. The trail roughly follows the old Southern Pacific railroad tracks, with most of it single track, and plenty of ups and downs. It's an intermediate ride that left both of us feeling spent, but satisfied.
We bought our bikes new in 1986, the first year Specialized made The Rockhopper model. Very rare bikes these days, they were state of the art back then. Monica's had been hanging upside down for the last decade, and mine was being used by my brother-in-law during that time. A couple of months ago we re-acquired mine and brought Monica's off the hangers. It's fun to be back up on the bikes, and extra fun to be able to enjoy these classics still.
