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Post by steev on Aug 25, 2017 21:36:15 GMT -5
Given the source of hardwood sawdust I've come upon, I'm starting to mull mushrooms; dried, these could actually be a real cash-crop, non-spoiling and easily transportable. Damn! I'm starting to think of a way to keep working after retiring; this work-ethic thing is gonna drive me into the ground. When am I gonna back off and learn to play golf? I think prolly "never" works for me; I can think of better things to put in a hole than a golfball; guess that doesn't sound very "Presidential", but I've no intention of settling for such a position; it's "Grand Poobah" or nothing, for steev.
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Post by steev on Aug 29, 2017 1:07:45 GMT -5
My sweetheart is really fond of the fruit from the Fuyu persimmon I birthday'd her years ago, but the deer and squirrels are very competitive, so it has to be netted; her "mow-blow-and-go" gardener can't deal with it; ignorance and lack of toolage, I suppose. They tried to bird-mesh it, but could only deal with the lower part; she had me look at it, so I offered three options: do nothing; do it half-assed; do it right; I made it clear that I was only open to the first and last options, so she let me do it right; took a couple hours to prune the wild branches and net the tree completely (temps triple digits these days; 108F in Walnut Creek, Sunday), but that should foil the vermin.
As I age, I find I'm more motivated by love, responsibility, and pride of craftsmanship than profit; don't get me wrong; I like money, but I like knowing I've done good work better; I've picked up a few tricks over the years and it pleases me to use them. If I regret anything, it's that I have no apprentice to teach them to.
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Day
gardener
When in doubt, grow it out.
Posts: 171
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Post by Day on Aug 29, 2017 14:37:13 GMT -5
As I age, I find I'm more motivated by love, responsibility, and pride of craftsmanship than profit; don't get me wrong; I like money, but I like knowing I've done good work better; I've picked up a few tricks over the years and it pleases me to use them. This, all the way. |
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Post by steev on Aug 30, 2017 2:51:13 GMT -5
Harvested fruit from my later, larger fruiting Elephant Heart plum tree; it's interesting how quickly even cloned varieties of plants can diverge; so many obviously different Red Delicious apples, for instance; I tend to prefer the hollow-cheeked "Astracan"-shaped ones for their generally crisper texture; I'd rather eat squishy apples transformed into pork.
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Post by steev on Aug 30, 2017 19:51:30 GMT -5
Considering the acidity of brewing-waste and MAP, I guess I'll really need to lime my beds this year. There's just so much to do and I'm not sure I can put all my eggs in either town or country.
MY landlady is getting increasingly antsy about my stuff in the basement and my potted plants at the back of the yard; I've no place on the farm to put the stuff and nowhere to put the plants that they'll not die from lack of irrigation or being trashed by critters. I've a bunch of Japanese maples that I've nurtured for years, for instance, (some really nice cultivars, as well as a number of common green), which I'd hate to lose.
The whole house-construction-on-the-farm is getting really pressing; I hope to have some resolution (permit-wise) by mid-December. So many issues; so little time/energy.
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Post by steev on Sept 1, 2017 1:24:37 GMT -5
'Kay; I'm gonna vent (that's never happened before, has it?); I had to go to renew my driver's license, so I spent ~4 hours in line, filling out forms, being photographed and tested; flunked the vision-test! Thing is, I can see fine to drive, but I couldn't read their charts. So I go get a complete eye-exam and a new prescription (not since 2009, I admit, the last time they flunked me); got new specs with all the bells and whistles (auto-dark, UV protection {they tell me I'm getting cataracts, age-related, not due to crappy life-style choices of mine; feels so arbitrary}, and anti-glare coating: $740!; I told the technician that that's enough to make me go blind; she didn't laugh; people are so humorless.
So I go back for my appointment at the DMV, but there were some cross-outs/corrections on the form, so they wouldn't accept it; I went back to get a pristine form filled out, got the new specs and went to the DMV on my appointment, with my new specs; filled out forms, waited >an hour; was told I'd not needed to fill out those forms, having done so before, handed in the pristine form, to be told I'd get my new licence in two weeks.
There was no retest of my vision; they just wanted a form saying my vision could be corrected to read their charts; I pissed away $740, to no purpose. WTF!
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Post by philagardener on Sept 1, 2017 6:35:05 GMT -5
The DMV here also is the height of bureaucracy and rudeness. As for the eye testing machines, the screens are usually filthy. I couldn't see through my windshield if it was as crappy, so no wonder I failed once too. Your new license will have a restriction on it saying you need to wear glasses to drive (in fine print, of course!) The right glasses, of course, can make the person.  On the brighter side, now you can spot that freecycle stuff from further away!  |
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Post by steev on Sept 1, 2017 23:58:41 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I had wire-rimmed glasses back when that was really not something for a boy to do; I hated them so much, I rarely wore them, unless forced (they didn't really improve my vision, it having been mis-diagnosed).
So I admit to not wanting to wear glasses; I use cheap OTC reading glasses for close work; I don't need glasses to drive (the details of that car, other than it's signals, if any {so many dumb-shits don't signal}, are obvious, as are people (I don't need to know their finer details to not run them down).
The work I do is sweaty and dusty; glasses are an impediment.
I will admit to a bent toward glasses-wearing women; to me, it signals "smart"; yum.
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Post by kazedwards on Sept 2, 2017 1:35:17 GMT -5
I got glasses in middle school. They said I needed them in those school eye test they do at a curtain age. So my mom took me to get them. I wore them 3 days and that's generous. Then stopped. A few years latter I ended up trying again with contacts. Thought it would be cool to change my eye color I think. That lasted like a piece of toilet paper. I just don't understand how someone could poke themselves in the eye every day voluntarily. Without them I never really had much trouble. Passed the eye test at the DMV and everything. I just kinda learned the read the shape of words rather than the letters in them. I worked for a while. Then 15ish years later I started to realize how bad my sight has gotten. Now I couldn't really read street signs and screens at work started getting hard to read as well. So last winter my wife bugged me enough to make me go to the the eye doctor. I hate going to the doctor too so it took some nagging. Only thing I hate more is the dentist. I can't stand the stupid puff of air either (they don't do that anymore btw) So I ended up going and getting glasses. The assistant laughed at me because I couldn't even read the big E on the chart. That's the letter at the very top by itself if you don't know. I ended up having to hold a chart myself rather than try to read the one on the wall. She also said that it would be a miracle if she could get me seeing straight. I'm glad I went. I can see now. I didn't realize how much detail I was missing all around me. I remember looking at some trees and seeing the individual branches and how intricate they are. It was really awesome see so much more.
As far as the dmv. It sucks. I just had to get my license renewed. Had to wait 2 hours. The part that really pisses me off about it is that around here they contract it out to an independent business. So when you renew your plates you pay for the license fee plus the plate if you get a new one. Then they charge $5 bc they are an independent business. What the hell! I'm required to do this. It's not like I can go the the court house and avoid the fee. It's crap. I know a guy at work that get all of the new crispy ones that he can. You know the ones straight of the press that are a pain to separate. That's what he pays his property tax with. I kinda feel sorry for the poor guy that has to count out a couple hundred of those. I might start doing that at the dmv though. Or maybe I should pay in pennies.
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Post by steev on Sept 2, 2017 11:55:34 GMT -5
I think that penny ploy has been nixed by the passage of an arbitrary limit above which they aren't legal tender, something less than a five-gallon bucket.
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Post by steev on Sept 8, 2017 23:13:38 GMT -5
Coming down Mandana Blvd, today, I saw two growths of "chicken-of-the-woods" mushrooms; one very large; these interest me because it's early for them to show. as well as their presence foreboding the decline of the oaks on which they grow.
While I may harvest these (nobody else does; the tender growing-edges of the shelves being edible, tasting like chicken, frog, snake, whatever), I regret the continuing decrepitude of the oaks along that boulevard. Sic transit gloria, n'est-ce pas?
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Post by reed on Sept 9, 2017 3:32:10 GMT -5
I recon
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Post by philagardener on Sept 9, 2017 19:10:24 GMT -5
Coming down Mandana Blvd, today, I saw two growths of "chicken-of-the-woods" mushrooms; one very large; these interest me because it's early for them to show. as well as their presence foreboding the decline of the oaks on which they grow. While I may harvest these (nobody else does; the tender growing-edges of the shelves being edible, tasting like chicken, frog, snake, whatever), I regret the continuing decrepitude of the oaks along that boulevard. Sic transit gloria, n'est pas? Interesting - I found my first "chicken" this week too. It was on an oak, but I more frequently find them on cherry here in PA. We have been both wet and cool here (across the continent) so although it might seem a bit early, Fall clearly is in the air! Maitake ("hen") may be showing up soon around the base of the oaks; I've also found some amazing puffballs here in the Fall. They look so alien! |
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Post by steev on Sept 11, 2017 20:55:59 GMT -5
I only find small puffballs, not worth the fiddling, besides which they taste annoyingly "eggy" to me, rather than "mushroomy".
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Post by steev on Sept 19, 2017 2:54:49 GMT -5
Wow! A client stopped me to tell me his husband had died in a car-crash, unable to get out of a car-be-cue. I've known/worked for these guys about 20 years; he was 55 and had just retired, to manage their apartment building.
Tomorrow is not promised; get on with it while you can,
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