FAO Billy & Charlie

look! a bright spot on the horizon (maybe)

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lee

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enigma
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Thanks for the post Lee!

However most of the large cities don't have supermarkets or farmer markets these days. Same places have high school drop out rates of close to 50 %. Bill Crosby is trying to address the rate of murders and dropout rates. We always thing it is driven by economics¹s but my gut says FOOD.

Bill

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Bill

Well now.....this is an entirely logical outcome of higher food prices and which may *force* people to eat better. Thanks for the article and something new to ponder.

Funny, I just finished reading an MP interview. He is really getting a lot of press.

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the trip!

Charlie

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Charlie

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Charlie

Christ, how the hell do we deal with this, Billy? Can we?

Here we all are talkin' about growin' our own, but so many don't even have two square inches in which to grow food.

Thanks for smackin' me right between the eyes with a clue by four.

F**k, I keep thinking in terms that apply to me and my situation and economic status, and the rest of "them" in general terms. I rail on about the coming pinch, but you are right, there are so many that are already caught bad. And harder times coming for them.

Shit Charlie

Reply to
Charlie

Well, lemme tell ya', Bill, I count myself fortunate to have made your acquaintence.

Perhaps it's my early fundamentalist upbringing, but I see doom on all sides. We both know the history and we both know human nature and we both know the state of the nest we live in and by all accounts, we seem to be caught between the proverbial hard things. It isn't looking good. Most people on this group have tuned us out or regard us as old fools and cranks or worse. Such is life.

So, what's the response to our impotence? And that is the crux of the matter. We are standing impotent in the face of all we know, yet we do not submit to the fear and and choose to simply sit down and piss ourselves as our last cigarette burns our fingers. We continue to exhort and rail and hope and pray that our wisdom and knowledge finds fertile minds and takes root somewhere and provides the stimulus that someone, anyone, may find a better way and survive and grow.

So there you have it. What? Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die? Perhaps. I have no hope for solutions. As Carolyn Bakers says, "There are no solutions, but there are myriad options." Think about that.

I've provided, over the last year, many references to writers that have a pretty damn good handle on what are the real state of affairs in this world. It's hard to crawl out of the sewer. Remember, the Matrix is the world that has been pulled over our eyes.

Reply to
Charlie

Billy wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@c-61-68-245-199.per.conne ct.net.au:

squirrels prefer hickory, actually. they only go for my walnuts if i leave the box outside after i take the hulls off. however, in the 9 autumns i've been here & with a few dozen hickories, i've only managed to score *one* nut for myself. the squirrels eat them off the trees. almost all i ever see are the hulls & a bit of shell :p where are you that you have almost climax forest? i have pasture gone to pine to hardwood over the past 70 years (this place was a grain mill in the 1800s, then a dairy until the

30s. then it became a Boston professor's summer home until the mid-60s, when it was reformed into a small sheep & maple syrup producing farm). i wouldn't call it climax, even though most of the softwood is gone.

there is already a recession, no matter how much the gub'mint is loathe to say the "r" word. i think it will get worse before it gets better & i can see the next president in a really bad position... i am hopeful there will not be a depression, but i would not rule it out. i'm trying to decide if i should pay off my mortgage, so i will be clear in that event. i'm also trying to decide if i should buy more adjacent land, to aid in self-sufficiency. this house was built before modern 'conveniences' & it can work without them if needed. i consider myself lucky in that regard at least. lee

Reply to
enigma

Billy wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@c-61-68-245-199.per.conne ct.net.au:

i did, it was delicious! :) i want to plant more hickory. it

*might* improve my chances of getting another one to eat myself...

i have 2 black walnuts, one in my yard (as it were) & one in the former peach orchard, now pasture. the first is around 35 years old & bears heavily every other year. the one in the pasture is about 15 years & just started bearing about 3 years ago (it had 3 walnuts). it also seems to bear alternate years. oddly, it's heavy years are the bigger trees lean years... so i end up with about the same amount of walnuts. i think it depends on the type of chestnut, if the squirrels will eat them. they will eat my American chestnuts (if they can get them. i'm pretty zealous about grabbing any good ones). i don't know if they can, or will, eat buckeyes (those are horse chestnuts, right?). i'm trying to get seedlings from my chestnut, as they are only slightly self-fertile. you get much bigger yields if they can cross pollanate. i'm almost thinking of getting some of the American/Chinese hybrids, just to help my poor tree out. it had blight, but was drasticly pruned & survived. i'm hoping it's offsping will be resistant.

the buckeyes aren't native, i don't think. they're nice lumber trees though. bays are hardwoods. even birch is a hardwood, although it's softer than pine (softwoods are generally conifers, & hardwoods are deciduous). if you have some relatively open areas on your lots, look for antique apples to put in. most of the antique varieties don't need as much fussing as the modern ones... or small fruits, like highbush cranberry, maybe. i'm all for edible landscaping. that looks like a pretty nice area from the yahoo arial map (which tend to be clearer than google, but not always). lots of treed, hilly country to escape into if needed ;)

well, unless you look at farming lifestyles pre-WW, when families were extended (grandparents, parents, children & frequently unmarried siblings of the parents) all living & working together. i'm a bit younger than you (1954), but i was a child of depression era parents. kids born mid-60s or later tend not to understand the make, save, repair or do without mindset. i do know that my child is the only one who attends school in patched clothes...

did you get a drop spindle? i really need to try that again. way more portable than my wheel. lee

Reply to
enigma

Funny thing, I was looking for Izzy's quote but couldn't remember the author or enough.

Keepin' the Faith Charlie

Reply to
Charlie

Billy wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@c-61-68-245-199.per.conne ct.net.au:

geez! i could mail you mine & get it there ( & back) before you get to the top of the list!

once you get them figured out, yes. until you hit that point they can be pretty aggravating ;) i could send you a sample bottom whorl spindle to try out. i've been meaning to try a top whorl myself to see what the difference is (most likely it'll mean i need more spindles). otherwise, look for a nice 2-2.5 ounce spindle. spin it between your fingers to check the balance. if it's wobbly, you don't want it.

i'm resisting starting seeds. while daytime temps are hitting the 40s now, it's still freezing at night (perfect sugaring weather!). i do have crocus & snowdrops blooming. no dandelions yet. Boo did find a salamander (red backed) this morning, so spring *is* coming. our last frost date is near the end of May.

i plant dill with my carrots. i plant both pretty thickly because i need extra for the black swallowtail caterpillers. and i stick lemon marigolds where ever i can fit them in. lee

Reply to
enigma

Guess you folks know of Rodale's take on companion plantings.

Bill

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Bill

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