Lesley designed and built this bed, which is 4′ by 10′-6″.
How-to: First lay ¼” wire mesh on ground, then stack 2 layers of concrete blocks on edge of mesh. No fasteners. Fill both bed and blocks with soil, gophers can’t penetrate. Can grow strawberries, parsley etc. in blocks. Front of this bed is filled with salad greens; arugula, radicchio, etc., which we’ve been having along with wild miners’ lettuce for dinner these nights.
Attn: gardeners, homesteaders: I had to replace a screen on my shredder last week, and was reflecting on what a great (USA-made) tool this has been. I wrote a review on it for CoolTools in 2008, which started out:
“I bought a Mighty Mac shredder/chipper about 25 years ago, have used it — heavily at times — all these years and, with a few engine repairs and turning the shredder blades around once (they are 2-sided), it’s worked flawlessly on our 1/2-acre homestead.…”
Rest of review: https://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/002936.php
I wish I’d discovered Muck Boots years ago. If you live in the country (and walk on earth instead of pavement), these are great to slip on when it’s wet and muddy. They’re insulated. Way more comfortable and warm than typical rubber boots. You can just step into them.
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A few years ago I was in New York for the annual Book Expo America and one evening ran across the Baby Soda Jazz Band playing in the Washington Square park. Not only were they great, but the bass player, who turned out to be Peter Ford, had a homemade wooden bass with an amazing sound. (I played the washtub bass in high school and college.) I corresponded with Peter for a while and finally got him to sell me the parts for one of his basses. I just put it together a few weeks ago and is it fun! I’m not getting any work done! That’s a broomstick handle, a 1/8″ nylon string, and the black sound board is a piece of a Samsonite hard suitcase.
Photo yesterday by Lew Lewandowski
Here’s the Baby Soda Jazz band playing Muskrat Ramble, and you can see Peter playing the bass:
I’m not a fan of cooking with electricity, but this is one electric appliance that we use 3-4 times a day, every day of the year. It heats water to tea or coffee (or hot water bottle) temperature in a flash. Our first one lasted maybe 6 years, and we replaced it. While waiting for the new one, it was a drag to have to wait for the kettle to boil on the gas stove. It’s called the Chef’s Choice 685 International Deluxe Cordless Electric Teakettle:
Another one that gets good reviews is the Breville SK500XL Ikon Cordless 1.7-Liter Stainless-Steel Electric Kettle:
Robbie Newton lives on an island in British Columbia. His house, “Mossy Hollow,” was shown in Builders of the Pacific Coast. Robbie just sent me this photo, which he describes as a “… 40 year old wheelbarrow which had served me and three others well, rebuilt to carry firewood logs. It’s another glued up construction, this time with enough heavy duty buried screws to make sure that it stays rigid. It carries remarkable loads with ease and if I have a round which is way beyond lifting, I just tip it on end and tip the wheelbarrow on its side next to it and it’s just as easy to lever them both upright.”
I took this jacket on a 6-week trip through Europe. It’s really warm, light, highly compactable. I could stuff it in my small backpack along with all my other stuff and pull it out if it got cold. I love getting back to down after all the Patagonia synthetics. I’m putting it on every morning (over multiple layers) when I go out to our unheated office to start the day. Here’s what North Face says about it:
“The ultimate, ultra-lightweight down jacket for outdoor athletes to sport in freezing conditions, the Thunder Jacket also serves as a stellar jacket in cold weather. “…this thermal jacket’s ample 800 fill down has a true sweater-like fit and compacts small, making it ideal for backcountry overnighters.”:
I’ve owned maybe 3 pair of Uggs Australian sheepskin boots, all of them the soft ones favored by surfers. Each pair lasted me through maybe 3 winters. (Our office has very little heat, so we dress warmly, and warm feet are half the equation.) One problem was that in walking through wet grass, the sheepskin would soak up water. This time I got their Beacon model, which has leather on the lower part, and they are terrific, as well as good looking. About $200, and I couldn’t find any discounted (other than for size 12-13), so I got them direct from Ugg:
Amazing how The Mother Earth News has transformed itself in the last decade to a relevant, interesting, timely publication with all sorts of useful info. The June/July issue includes adobe brick homes a la Hassan Fathy, fiber-cement house siding, raising chickens for meat, building a clothesline (avoiding hi-energy costs of dryer)…https://www.motherearthnews.com/
Mother Earth photo by Clarke Snell