A bunch of good books for people getting into food production, on whatever scale: https://www.goodearthpublications.com/

Regarding this book:’

“City Chicks describes in detail how chicken’s “skill sets’ can be employed in a ‘Hen-Have-More Plan’ for food production systems. Instead of using oil-based chemicals, chickens can help produce fertilizer and compost; they can turn yard waste into garden soil. Hens can also be used as mobile, clucking, (organic and non-toxic), pesticiders, herbiciders, and insecticides.

   And chickens can be of civic service. One chicken eats about 7 pounds of food ‘waste’ a month. A few hundred households keeping micro-flocks of laying hens can divert tons of yard and food biomass ‘waste’ from trash collection saving municipalities millions, even billions of tax payer $$

   ‘What if a city had 2,000 households with three hens (or more) each? That could translate to 252 tons of food waste diverted from landfills each year … Add to that number the tons of yard waste (grass clippings and leaves) that can hens can help convert into compost and the amount is as enormous as the tax-savings of NOT having to handle, transport and store all that biomass waste’.”

I’ve developed a bike/run routine where I ride my bike about 5 miles, then run/shuffle a few miles to get to my mushroom spot, a grove of tan oaks, bay trees and redwoods. The ground was saturated with water, after recent rains. Creeks rushing, ponds full;  in one spot on the trail, water was bubbling out of a hole. Zilch in the mushroom department, maybe they’re waiting for some warmth, or maybe the recent cold weather has knocked the chanterelles underground until next year. I did gather some fiddlehead ferns, but just read that many varieties are toxic, so will proceed w. caution.

I realized yesterday, that it’s not just getting out in the woods or beach that I love, but the search for something to gather — food, flowers, bones, feathers — the hunter/gatherer genes. If all else fails, I gather images with my camera.

In beauty may you walk.

All day long may you walk.

Read More …

Filmmaker Jason Sussbertg’s 6-min. movie of our homestead, called “Shelter,” is being screened this Sunday, March 20th (3:30 PM) at the 4th Annual Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival. I’m going to go, as it will be followed by a Q and A. It’s at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 6780 Depot Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472.

It’s being shown the next week as part of the “How-to Homestead” group’s workshop on building solar ovens in San Francisco —  Sunday, March 27th. The workshop starts at 3PM, there’s a potluck dinner at 6, and the film will be shown around 7 PM. It’s at the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center. 660 Lombard Street, San Francisco, CA 94133.

Calm after the tsunamiJosh Churchman’s tough little ocean tractor crab boat

I can’t resist any longer. Here are pics of my new (and first) grandchild, Maceo at about 2 months, along with his mom Aine, dad Will. Funny thing, pics of me at this age look almost identical. Uh-oh! 

When I was growing up, it was all boys. Three boys in my family. Five boys between my mom’s 2 sisters. One boy of my  dad’s brother. Eight boys, no girls. And now Maceo. Dude!