Using a Container to Chop Dry Leaves

[Omelet]

Cool.

All of mine died. The front lawn used to be dense St. Augustine until the trees eliminated any sun whatsoever! But, I'm not cutting down my trees.

?????

[Charlie]

I talked to our lawn guys (no, we don't hire them, it comes with the work we do) and they are going to capture them for me and dump them in the garden area when they mow the lawn after the leaves fall. Bit of good fortune, this is. Also said I could grab all I want off the trailer, as well.

Charlie

[Jangchub]

I'll say. And hey, there's nothing wrong with having a lawn guy provided you (proverbial you) don't buy into the spring, summer, fall and winter fertilization process. It's all crap. If turf is fed when it is dormant all it does is feed the weeds. It is ridiculous. It's also ridiculous to do a fall feeding. There only needs to be two fertilizations, if that. Every few years I put out some fertilizer and I mulch mow the lawn, which keeps the fertilization process as natural as can be and it is effective. Trees out in the forest have been fertilized by their own waste for beginningless time. Fertilizer, the other white meat. Silly.

[Charlie]

Not being disagreeable here at all, but INMSHO, lawns are a waste of resources. Thus having said that, I agree with what you say. These guys don't fall fertilize and seldom bag anything. Only when the leaves are deep, do they, and this year I am returning them to the garden.

Couple weeks ago, the local HyVee had goat milk in bottles from a new supplier that is marketing rbgh free milk, though not organic, both goat and cow. The bottle label states GOAT - "The Other White Milk". Made me chuckle and buy some.

Care Charlie

[enigma]

Charlie wrote in news: [e-mail]:

'lawns' were originally sheep pastures in England. the wealthy estate owners had vast expanses of neatly manicured lawn because they kept sheep. mowing & fertilizing in one unit, with the (rather large at the time) economic value of renewable wool resources.

here in New England most dairies are still small & family owned. i don't know *any* dairy farms that use rbgh. i'm going to have goat milk in the spring. i suspect Heidi will be a PITA to milk, but Leisl will be tractable... we'll see. :) hopefully by spring i'll have found my Dexter cows & working steers (they aren't oxen until they are over 4 years old). we're working on self-sufficency (i even have a non- electric well pump in the basement. no power? i have water) lee

[William Wagner]

Once saw a rowing device hooked up to a basement well. They pumped water up to the attic and it was gravity feed for the house plumbing.

Bill

[enigma]

William Wagner wrote in news:----- [e-mail] pernews.net:

:) i'm not that sophisticated. that sounds like how the water works in NYC apartment buildings. the water is pumped to a cistern on the roof & gravity supplies the pressure. even though this house od post & beam, i don't think the roof would hold the weight of a cistern. i'm working on plans for a rainwater runoff cistern for the garden. lee

[doofy]

What's the operating mechanism? Just a lever?

I've been fantasizing with the idea of a large (8-10' diameter) "squirrel cage" hooked to either a pump mechanism, or a generator, or something, and instead of wearing your arms out trying to pump, just climb on and do a little jogging. Lots of issues though, like easy exit if needed for emergency, something to hold onto to keep you from tripping and falling and being turned into pulled taffy, etc.

I guess the easiest thing would be to do a turnstile/merry-go-round thing, like used for horse drawn grain mills.

[doofy]

Ok, so I'm not out of my mind. ;-)

[enigma]

doofy wrote in news:4716c37b$0$14076$ [e-mail]:

yes, just a pitcher pump. the dug well is not deep (water is not even 13' down), so it's not much effort to pump water up. my jet pump for that well is only 1/2 HP & works just fine for the house water.

actually, i've never seen one set up like that here in New England or NY. the most common method of harnessing horse, goat or dog power was a contraption that resembles a treadmill or indoor jogger. adapting a treadmill is far safer than a turnstyle, i'd think. i guess the turnstyle would have been used more for a larger mill (hired miller), as opposed to an on-farm mill for personal use. you need at least 2 horses for a turnstyle, preferably 4. a treadmill can be powered by one. the treadmills were used for quite a few applications from baling hay to budling corn stalks to powering mills or whetstones (sharpening stones). we have a handcrank grain mill we use here (with adaptions for using a drill if we're feeling lazy) for beer grains & coarse bread flour (it'll grind fine flour, but then i have to reset it for beer grain & it's a PITA) you could also adapt a bicycle for powering things fairly easily. i know a few people that have turned old bicycles into spinning wheels. one advantage to old houses, or building your own new house, is that they are/can be adapted to get along without electricity. i doubt this house had electric until the 1950s. there's never been post & knob in here, so it wasn't wired until the cloth romex wire came into use. lee

[enigma]

doofy wrote in news:4716c3a3$0$14076$ [e-mail]:

no, of course not. there's a house for sale in the next town that is totally off grid & has been at least since the late 60s. the house is powered by wind, solar & a bicycle... seriously. it's got some funky architecture (there were no building codes in force when it was remodeled), but it apparently works pretty well. iwas thinking about calling the real estate agent just to get a look at his systems ;)

hopefully you can paste that into your browser & take a look. lee

[Pan Ohco]

look for a foot powered pump, it has been used, in China, for centuries.

[William Wagner]

There is a book called "China at work" by Rudolf P. Hommel

MIT Press Editions , September 1969

First edition was 1937

SBN 262 08035- 4

Deals with tools before gasoline and Oil. Worth the search and maybe your library can track it down.

Bill

[Cheryl Isaak]

I've read about this place...

When we built, we wanted a heat pump, radiant floors and other green ideas. Boy did the zoning board and building inspectors put the halt to those. We were too far ahead of their comfort zone....

C