May 27, 2012

   Built a wort chiller for my homebrews.  I used 1/2” copper tubing and taught myself how to solder copper pipes with the help of a few youtube videos.  It’s actually pretty easy.  Bending the tubing into the spiral shape I wanted without kinking it was the hard part.  A good chiller is about 2” from the walls of your brewpot, and fortunately a 5 gallon water jug was a great guide for those dimensions.  I’ve used it twice now and it has reduced my beer cooling times from 4 hours to 40 minutes.  212 F to 95 F in 40 minutes using water from my rain barrels and pumping it through the pipes to the water storage barrels I have in my garden.  No wasted water!

   It’s the best thing I’ve done for my homebrweing since going all-grain.  I can taste all the aroma hops that I dump in at flameout now.  Well worth the $70 and couple hours work.    

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My new plan for growing hops this year involves 18’ bamboo poles and twine.  I have 2 vines of each variety (Cascade, Centennial) and they are each climbing up a set of strings to meet at the apex.  One vine started climbing the bamboo, which makes me think I should just get 2 more poles next year and do away with the string.

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April 22, 2012

Dillinger Four - Parishiltonisametaphor

PRIMED SO METICULOUS, STRIPPED DOWN TO THE NUCLEUS
OF EVERYTHING THAT SICKENED ME
BEFORE I STARTED VIEWING THIS
I’VE READ IT IN THE GLAZE PAINTED VACANT GAZE
OF THIS SHELL OF A HUMAN BEFORE ME
WE THANK THE LORD FOR THE EGO
AFFORDED THE SHALLOW NOW

SUCH HANDSOME PROPAGANDA
TRULY BUSINESS ACCUSED OF SHOW
AND THEY’RE CUING THE APPLAUSE SIGN NOW
PRETTY LITTLE CASUALTIES
IN TEMPORARY TRAGEDIES
BORN FROM THE SAME PLACE, SELF-DOUBT GROWS
COLD AND HOLLOW, RED CARPET READY POSE
BUT AROUND HERE “DIVA” AIN’T MUCH OF A COMPLEMENT

CELEBRATE THE DISCERNING
DON’T QUESTION WHAT YOU’RE LEARNING
CRANKS THE VIOLIN ‘CAUSE ROME IS FUCKING BURNING NOW
CULTURE SHOWN IN EFFIGY
PRESENTED AS “CELEBRITY”
LIKE TINY BOXES CRYING OUT “BELIEVE ME!”
BUT CAREFUL THERE, HONEY
CAUSE YOUR ROOTS ARE SHOWING NOW

SUCH HANDSOME PROPAGANDA
TRULY BUSINESS ACCUSED OF SHOW
AND THEY’RE CUING THE APPLAUSE SIGN NOW
PRETTY LITTLE CASUALTIES
IN TEMPORARY TRAGEDIES
BORN FROM THE SAME PLACE, SELF-DOUBT GROWS
COLD AND HOLLOW, RED CARPET READY POSE
BUT AROUND HERE “DIVA” AIN’T MUCH OF A COMPLEMENT

WHAT A CHERISHED MYTH OF MARKETING
PROPAGANDA WITH COMPLECTION SO CLEAR
TOMORROWS INSECURITIES PLAYFULLY DRAPED
IN THE SECOND-HAND STYLES OF NEXT YEAR
AND IT’S SO HARD TO LOOK AWAY
ALTHOUGH SOMEHOW HARDER YET TO STARE
THESE PICTURE PERFECT PAWNS ARE SALESMEN NOW
LIKE CARPETBAGGERS SHILLING THEIR WARES
AND IN REALITY I REALLY DON’T CARE
CAUSE ASSHOLE’S A FASHION THAT I NEVER COULD AFFORD TO WEAR.

http://www.angelfire.com/mn/dillingerfour/

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April 19, 2012
allcreatures: A Swainson’s Hawk finds a perch on a dead tree off of Bayou Road in North Natomas. Wednesday, April 18, 2012. Lezlie Sterling | lsterling@sacbee.com (via Day in Pictures - The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California) I used to live in Butte Valley in far Northern California.  It’s one of the 2 valleys in the world where these hawks nest.  The other is in Argentina.  One of the guys that worked with the Forest Service wildlife crew was doing his doctorate research on these guys.  I went out looking for nests with them once or twice.  Archaeology and Wildlife may sound like strange bedfellows, but we shared the common bonds of a) not being firefighters and b) trying to remove sensitive (culturally or biologically) areas of public land from timber sales.  I do miss living in that valley, its such a gorgeous and remote place.

allcreatures:

A Swainson’s Hawk finds a perch on a dead tree off of Bayou Road in North Natomas. Wednesday, April 18, 2012.

Lezlie Sterling | lsterling@sacbee.com (via Day in Pictures - The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California)

I used to live in Butte Valley in far Northern California.  It’s one of the 2 valleys in the world where these hawks nest.  The other is in Argentina.  One of the guys that worked with the Forest Service wildlife crew was doing his doctorate research on these guys.  I went out looking for nests with them once or twice.  Archaeology and Wildlife may sound like strange bedfellows, but we shared the common bonds of a) not being firefighters and b) trying to remove sensitive (culturally or biologically) areas of public land from timber sales.  I do miss living in that valley, its such a gorgeous and remote place.

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April 13, 2012

Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) that is growing next to my grandpa’s back porch.  It turns out he’s got a lot of SE native plants around his house, and now that I’m growing them for a living I’ve begun to recognize them.  This one is a nice bush/shrub that has glossy leaves, very interesting looking flowers that have a nice sweet smells.  The bark and leaves have a somewhat more spicy smell when crushed or disturbed.  Pretty easy to grow, does best in part shade.

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April 9, 2012
fuckyeahpermaculture: The Permaculture Credit Union (PCU) is the first and only credit union in the United States that operates exclusively within permaculture values. Established in 2000, the PCU pools the financial resources of people who believe in the ethics of permaculture - care of the earth, care of people, and reinvestment of surplus for the betterment of both. We apply these resources to earth-friendly and socially responsible loans and investments as well as providing educational opportunities to learn more about sustainable practices being developed around the country and the world. (via Welcome to the Permaculture Credit Union)

fuckyeahpermaculture:

The Permaculture Credit Union (PCU) is the first and only credit union in the United States that operates exclusively within permaculture values. Established in 2000, the PCU pools the financial resources of people who believe in the ethics of permaculture - care of the earth, care of people, and reinvestment of surplus for the betterment of both. We apply these resources to earth-friendly and socially responsible loans and investments as well as providing educational opportunities to learn more about sustainable practices being developed around the country and the world. (via Welcome to the Permaculture Credit Union)

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March 30, 2012

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense).I repotted a bunch of these at work and they have a wonderful ginger scent when the roots are disturbed. The new leaves are sprouting now and I love how they come up and unfold.  The flowers are pretty interesting as well.  It’s supposed to smell like decomposing flesh to attract small flies as pollinators, but there is some debate about that from what I’ve read. Very good, very slow-growing/spreading groundcover. 

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March 29, 2012

Ladybug on one of the carrots.  I just planted some pink milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) to make a home for oleander aphids (which only eat oleander and milkweed spp.) so that the ladybugs may have a steady supply of aphids to eat and thus hang around my garden to eat the green aphids that do eat my crops. Milkweed spp. also host Monarch butterfly caterpillars, feed numerous butterflies and have beautiful flowers, so win, win, win, win.  I also just learned that there is a parasitic wasp that only attacks aphids, but also does not distinguish between the two different kinds of aphid.  Maybe those guys will hang around as well and my peas, tomatoes, etc won’t need soapy water sprays anymore.  Controlling pests by ensuring a steady supply of them in the garden so as to attract predators to live there.  It seems counter intuitive at first, but it’s only natural. 

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March 28, 2012
Danvers Carrot.  Biggest one I’ve ever grown.  Sad part is it wouldn’t have made the cut to be sold in a grocery store.

Danvers Carrot.  Biggest one I’ve ever grown.  Sad part is it wouldn’t have made the cut to be sold in a grocery store.

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March 27, 2012

Celadine Poppy(Stylophorum diphyllum)

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