@enhydra lutris Found a translation of the "Book of Five Rings", master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. I will be wading through the lessons the next few weeks. thanks

the various aspects of daily life is something one doesn't normally think of. I need to make a reminder sign, maybe "note the gorilla!". Oddly enough, in his "Book of Five Rings", master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi discusses all the myriad things that go into the sort of relaxed constant readiness needed and one is something of an afocal awareness, being always attuned to one's peripheral vision. It takes a shitload of practice, concentration (at first) and self-reminding, but is unintentionally curative of some inattentional blindness. That's a connection I never made before, thanks for inspiring it.

@The Breach Awaits In the winter mix melted beef and mutton fat into the grain in the bin. Same idea as the suet bars for the song birds.

So we are hoping to take early retirement and move to rural VT in the next couple of years. I have been researching the many ways to pursue resilience in that setting; much better for the blood pressure than my previous avocation of political junkie. I was recently chatting with the ladies at the town clerk's office of the village about recycling.

Now VT has had mandatory recycling for years to go along with a "waste not, want not" ethos. But in the near future, ALL food garbage must be eliminated from the waste stream, including things like meat scraps and dairy that do not agree with the worms in your compost bin. What to do?

I joked that we could install a municipal pig next to the recycling dropoff, and went home to do some more research. Apparently, black soldier fly larvae will eat up almost anything besides pure cellulose fiber (which you can give to your red wigglers) and are exceedingly efficient at turning it into protein. In the warmer parts of the country, you can start a colony just by providing an attractive space for the adults of the local population to lay their eggs. AND... they are self harvesting, providing a great protein source for your laying hens (to supplement ticks and grubs), fish, or if we are hungry enough, humans.

Edited to try to make the embedded video work properly.

@mhagle self supporting societies in desert and short season climates. Trying to avoid the need for modern inputs of plastic, industrial fertilizers and electricity for water delivery.

Once one gets used to fresh food it is harder to eat fruits and vegetables picked early for transportation or mass processing.

The first thing I am pondering is, "where are the gorillas I am not seeing?"

And then I almost wish I had not clicked on the climate change with graphs link. Dang. Those always make Texas look like a pretty shitty place to live. When I first learned of the fact that change is happening much faster than previously believed, I immediately got on Zillow and started looking at property up north. Still do for fun. The best bang for your buck anywhere is the upper peninsula of Michigan. However, ever since the big fire in northern Canada last summer (it was 94 degrees the day before it started) I am questioning if there really is a place to bug out to. During the past two years in Texas it has been hotter and colder, and much more humid . . . but also we have had more rain and cloud cover . . . even after the El Nino ended.

And as far as being aware of the climate where you live in relation to small farming . . . I am in a "do nothing traditional" mode. Many of the old rules don't apply. Each person needs to figure out what that means for their location. I am about to plant sweet potato slips and sprouted yellow squash and popcorn seeds. In about a week I am going to start conditioning 6 more round hay bales for planting in August. And I intend to sprout and plant corn seeds again. Will it work? Don't know.

Love your beautiful pictures. Like others have said . . . they take me there.

Edited to add = Gardening pays off . . . slightly green tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, onions, all from the garden sauteed in butter. Wow. The other dish is sliced cucumber, zucchini, onion soaking in salt and vinegar water. Will mix with mayo and sour cream tomorrow.