Thursday Open Thread 11-30-2017
Morning. The sound of water rushing over rocks greeted me this morning as I stepped outside. The first domestic ditch run to fill stock ponds is on its last day.
Time changes but many human challenges and joys remain the same. We need shelter, food, occasional medical care and companionship to live each stage of our life. Creativity and education expand our horizons. Faith in a belief system to sustain and inspire us to grow and change.
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This week is a repeat a couple of videos Lookout provided on Sunday. They are very relevant to creating the mindset for permaculture as a process not an event. We need to be able to fit the the concept into urban, rural and suburban living environment and our personal lives.
How the land cultivates and influences us. It is a two way process.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W6PjISXCl0]
Geoff Lawton discussing broad concepts of permaculture as methodology to create life sustaining communities. Not focused on landscape and plant designs as the end goal.
[video:href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIdHaAnNaJo]
Farm Report
Morning light.
Tales of overcoming hardship, expanding influence and creating communities are not limited to people. A few of the trees on the place have their own stories.
This ponderosa pine started from seed that floated down the ditch for miles before settling on the bank. A little outside its normal growing area. Signs of burnt bark on the east side of the tree several feet above the ground, probably when someone was burning weeds to clear the adjoining field. The burnt bark on the juniper tree has sloughed off over the years.
In some distant past the poor tree was topped. The regular branches turned upward to the sun and started growing. One of the hawks favorite tree to survey the fields. Occasionally will raise a family in the upper branches.
Signs of pain of a distorted physical shape balancing against gravity and wind.
The willow originally grew leaning over the ditch. Once the roots became deep enough to holds its weight in the supersaturated soil it attempted to create a normal shape and canopy. The flickers dart among its branches.
The juniper appeared to have three trunks. Last winter the largest and smallest trunks eased to the ground and has continued to grow sideways. No browning or dead limbs and the birds still nest, find cover from predators and eat juniper berries.
A popular tree saved from developers in Bend. Does not like to be by itself. let the shoots grow this year and it shot hundreds of root sprouts. Three shoots have been protected by wire to grow and add to the wind break. The rest are part of the coppice experiment.
Adding bird shelter with service bushes. The bird were flitting from bush to bush as the picture was taken. They are popular with the sparrows and black cap chickadees.
Comments
Look forward to watching those videos later . . .
Very much love your tree stories! Thanks. Have a great day everyone.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
Films at 11 to watch when I figure out technical difficulties
beyond Coke on keyboard. A sticky start. First Coke in 6 months? And will be the last for another 6 months.
You are coppicing your trees? I can't do that in the big woods, except perhaps aside my long driveway. Knotch and bend? I do have young volunteers I could start with. I left my Hen of the Woods to sporulate. It turned white. Still there, out of a downed tree. Quite tasty, or mouthy, and it absorbs flavors. I have some in the freezer after butter saute.
Two or three frosts. And whatever I missed in the hospital. I need to immigrate my solar fountain and put up my big bird feeder. I still have sunflower seeds in a Civil Defence container. That was from the old high school downtown. Now apartments and Moosewood.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Often use my notebook as a desktop unit
Use the USB ports and plug-in to add better quality speakers, larger key board, etc to make it easier for me to use. Will even hook it up to the 40 inch monitor/tv to watch netflix or dvds in the evenings.
Close caption is available on both of the youtube videos if the sound card is having problems.
Wood burning started with the idea a couple of years ago, I could use normal trimming from trees on the property in the fire place instead of the annual burn pile. Less ax work and smaller electric chainsaw. First had to work on reducing heat loss from the house and contemplate how to burn. Been exploring wood heat option including a rocket mass stove.
Been fascinated by the stories of your woodland and tree plantings since I joined in April 2016. It has triggered a line of thought of incorporating some woodland tree management instead of simply grassland (pasture) and what grows on the edges. Starting with the trees that were here and the ones transplanted from my previous homes.
Just starting to learn about coppicing, pollarding and short rotation farming. This will be the first winter some black locust will be coppiced. I've identified the popular tree to multiply with starts and coppice. One type of willow to pollard and another to coppice. The Aspen probably short rotation groves. Not sure about fruit trees. The junipers are native in the dryland and can be trimmed or felled.
The next step is probably to learn how to actively manage fungus and mushrooms.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
good morning
Glad you liked those videos. Have you read the "One Straw Revolution"?
http://www.onestrawrevolution.net/One_Straw_Revolution/One-Straw_Revolut...
I bet you would like it. Here's a few videos too...
http://www.onestrawrevolution.net/One_Straw_Revolution/Videos.html
Living in the eastern deciduous forests, I love trees. There are more species/varieties of trees on lookout mountain than in all of Europe.
They all tell a story. We just have to learn to listen. Here in Alabama is the first wilderness area in the the Eastern US. It is home to what is sometimes called Alabama's largest tree - a Tulip Poplar - 25 ft around and over 150 ft tall (2 min drone flight)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7FbeyRzpC8
Thanks for the OT and the tree reflections.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I am thinking of buying a drone to see my forest from the top
I learned winter tree ID in college (a useful skill!). But I think I would need a laptop to control the drone. And I am on the flight path for the airport here. Still, to rise above. Do I have bare spaces for more diversity? Winter is perfect for that.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Thanks for the viewing ideas
Liked the drone view above the canopy. Locally very small vatiety of native trees. The junipers have been expanding territory since the fire suppression policy from early last century and pines are cut for timber or firewood using any excuse possible. T be fair, it was timber dollars that provided jobs for the last 3 generations.
Been going to try the seed ball method. Just need to do it, the greek farmer had an easier method than rolling each one by hand.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
And so it begins. Village of the Damned.
My daughter, just an infant then, finds it weird. My computer has no audio, just as well. Up the walls with PTSD for today. A gun in the bed then. All gone now, various secret locations.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
If you computer is on Windows
There is a Sound Troubleshooter that may help.
- In the windows start menu search box , type Troubleshooting .
- pick Troubleshooting from the resulting selections.
- pick Sound Troubleshooter and follow the prompts. If it finds the problem, click Apply Fix.
If that fails, try updating the Soundcard driver in Windows Device Manager.
If you like the computer quiet, Never Mind.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
Teachers fucked over in Wisconsin.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S01n99Liru0]
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
I love your tree stories!
I look out in my yard and wonder what stories the trees out there have to tell. I know that they have seen thousands of birds and squirrels over the years.
News flash for today. The New York Times is reporting that Trump has soured on Rex Tillerson as Sec of State and may replace him with current CIA director Mike Pompeo. Despite being an archtype oligarch, Tillerson appears to be the only sane member of Trump's cabinet.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Biggest stike against Tillerson was Cheney suggest him
for Secretary of State. He has turned out to be a voice of reason and moderation regarding North Korea, even while decimating the State Department. Makes one wonder what old feuds between government departments are being played out in the current shuffle of personnel.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Trump Dishonors Navajo Code Talkers
Just so everyone is aware of the significance of Trump honoring Navajo Code Talkers for their service in front of the portrait of Pres. Andrew Jackson in the oval office. Jackson was an unapologetic slave owner and the president who ran the Trail of Tears campaign against Native Americans.
Trump had the Andrew Jackson portrait hung in the Oval Office -- because he's such a great role model I guess.
Article on the event (11/27/2017)
https://www.npr.org/2017/11/27/566783261/trump-brings-up-pocahontas-at-e...
Update:
Breitbart Notes The Hanging Of Jackson portriat.
Wait, did they really say his interactions with Native Americans.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
He also called Warren "Pocahontos" right in front of them
which was later correctly pointed out by native American groups as an insult to them and the Code Talkers. I'm not defending Warren by any means but the native americans that were there missed an opportunity to fight back.
What one of them should have done is to tell Trump to fuck off right when he said it. Maybe that would have made the news.
And in the background...
a picture of Andrew "Indian Killer" Jackson watching over the ceremony. Lot's of racial red meat thrown to his base in setup.
Did a little research and came upon a couple native
American blogs with articles about this. They were rightly upset and ashamed to live in a country with a president like Trump, but no one suggested the Code Talkers should have spoken up or even not gone. I know they're old fuckers but accepting an award from Trump? I don't know, maybe some didn't go because of that.
I hear you, man...
but they were probably better off not disrespecting the office even though it was outwardly racist. Could you imagine the alt-right head exploding indignation if the code talkers had spoken up? That would have fed right into their narrative. The code talkers showed more dignity than the New-Remaker-of-the-Swamp AssTunnel In Chief. That's just my opinion anyway.
Let the jackass bray and show who he really is.
I hear ya, but who better to put him in his place?
Yup. Subliminal Dog Whistling
to the whackjobs who still suck on Donnie's Racist Root.
I will bet my ant farm that Steve Bannon had something to do with hanging that Jackson portrait.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
Yep...
It seems like the goal is to make racism acceptably mainstream.
Jackson set things up and greased the skids
for the Trail of Tears, but the worst of it was perpetrated by his VP and hand-picked successor, Martin Van Buren. Anything that happened after March 4, 1837 is on Van Buren's watch.
Nobody remembers this, or hangs pictures of Van Buren around for any reason. Not even for target practice.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Subtle and pervasive insults demonstrates Trumps bullying
and showman skills. He has his moments, but we should never consider him a fool.
The quiet, steady dignity of the code talkers at the event and in follow-up interviews created a stark contrast to Trump's word and actions. Listened to talk radio yesterday while driving. The conservative talk show host were having trouble with incoming callers not accepting the right wing narrative.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Love the essay focus on trees
I walk a woodland trail every day. If find the trees amazing. How they stretch toward the heavens to drink the suns energy. How the afternoon shadows on the trunks highlight the suns relational position to the earth. And it's cool to see how when the old trees die and fall, many are still propped up vertically by resting against a neighboring tree. I find trees equally as fascinating as the wild life.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
How fortunate to be close to a woodland trail.
Trees create a muffled silence that totally envelopes your senses. Enjoy walking on the wet side of Oregon, the feeling of the trees is totally different.
Is your woodland deciduous or evergreen?
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Mostly deciduous
but there are some mighty pine stands here and there. Lots of 75 to 100+ year old trees.
It's a park maintained by the army core of engineers. They built a dam for flood control of a valley back in 1965. There's been no wood cutting since then.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
Good morning, SOE. I still haven't had time to look at the
videos, maybe this evening. There are various rewards to growing one's own food beyond fulfilling the need for food. It is somehow extra gratifying to cook something up that one just harvested, even if it is simply using herbs from a pot on an apartment balcony in a dish made from otherwise purchased ingredients. I find extra pleasure contemplating what I'm doing or eating when I contemplate the fact that it contains ingredients fresh from the yard. YMMV.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Already evening and I still haven't watched all the
videos as I planned today. The day is often too short.
I appreciate the small pleasures of eating food that one has raised. You are right it is not the quantity, but quality of the fresh taste and knowledge. Thanks for the thoughts.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
hilarity at the Garbage Dump (TOP)
I can learn a lot by going there (not really...I'm being sarcastic).
Now it's clear. The reason why Matt Lauer was so tough on Hillary at a debate (asking about her emails) is because, we've found out, he's a sexist woman-hater. "Yes! Yes!" they all agree, except one poor schmuck named TomP.
Well, Tom, you've certainly gotten more "eyeballs" there! They've jumped all over him just because he reasonably pointed out that a) emails and the server are concerns and b) lots of people who aren't abusers/molesters have asked the same questions...even women!
In that particular circle, though, to even suggest anything other than the official narrative is to be a "troll" and possibly "Russian influenced".
Meanwhile, over in my college football chat group, some Repub partisan has posted a list of "all" the media people who've been accused of preying on women and, gosh, they're all Democrats. No Ailes, no O'Reilly. His source was Breitbart so of course. I mention this because the similarities between dKos and Breitbart are startling.
Which reminds me, I finally reached that point with a dear friend of mine. His continuous "Russia did it" posts are driving me nuts! Bringing up this tidbit that I've worked out...
The "Russian advertisements on Facebook" that supposedly swayed the 2016 election cost $150,000. The DNC spent $1.2 billion. Now for some people those are pretty close. As in "$150,000 is a lot of money. So is $1,200,000,000 and I can't grasp that number".
But here's on way to picture it. Suppose the $150,000 represents the Empire State Building. If you go up another 1450 feet (the height of the tip of that spire on top) for each $150,000 until you reach $1.2 billion you'll be in outer space. And not just barely in outer space. Outer space begins 62 miles up. The International Space Station is in orbit 254 miles above the Earth. If you should find yourself the equivalent of all of these Empire State Buildings up you'd be 2200 miles away from the planet. Ok. The Russians spent "an extremely tall building" (well, they probably didn't but...) and the DNC spent "on the way to the moon". Yet the Russians were super-duper-effective and made Matt Lauer ask nasty questions, proving that it's your fault we have Trump.
So anyway, Mr TomP, congrats on your larger audience. I'm not sure what good it does to speak to a crowd that doesn't want to hear and wouldn't understand even if they were listening.
At least that high, one can note that the Earth is a sphere.
Blow some butthead minds up. If the poles change, will we notice?
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.