What did you do to prepare today?

[Andy F]

3 min video Live Birth, twin lambs. Warning! (Live birth 0:48-1:25)
https://www.bitchute.com/video/09rcTGZTwByD/

One will be a black sheep

[Andy F]

@dirtymurphy What about mealworms during the winter? Those can be done indoors. Back in the day of the Fishtank craze, I had a small mealworm farm glass tank, raised enough to feed the fish that part of their diet.

I'm in Library mode. Just got through skim rereading & writing a paper on a supremacist book (it's evil)
"You Gentiles" by M. Samuels from ~1926. NO, they have not stopped their shenanigans.
It fit in well with 1917 Russia and the present day's Anarchy Institute International (I put it in comedy serious),
We Are the Destroyers of Nations...

[Andy F]

Walmart canned veggie shortage starting July 2 -- August 9. 2019
We were driving back to GB from Phoenix a few days ago, this was at store shortly before Globe AZ in East Mesa AZ.
I rarely use cell phone, so it took a while to get JPG uploaded to PC.
I'd been schooling my friend on GSM, food crop losses and future shortages.
I think friend is a believer now as had never seen that before.
Called the daughter and warned her to stock up. I told her she needs to get a minimum 1,000 gallon swimming pool and Purogene and cover it good, and get a Berkey type system. She has a 2 yr old boy and 5 month old girl and mothers are usually protective.
Not sure how all that will pan out.

I FINISHED THE ROOF PROJECT...Yay!

Walmart canned veggie shortage thru 8-9-2019.jpg (59.66 KiB) Viewed 171 times

[dirtmurphy]

We discussed mealworms and almost went with them but black soldier flies have other benefits. They eat biological wastes so we can feed them poop and roadkill. That means that I can speed up the decomposition of my chicken manure. I took a class by Chris Link who runs the farm at Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy where they use black soldier flies. He said that they can process 80 lbs of organic matter a day. He also said that the N in manure is reduced by 62%. That's important because that steep reduction will make it possible to run the manure through my worm bins faster than I would otherwise. Apparently black soldier fly residue isn't safe on its own as a soil amendment, so it's recommended to run it through the vermicomposting process.
That's fine by me because vermicompost is a fully stabilized soil amendment at a near neutral pH. It's microbially active, has a high water holding capacity, and has humic acids. It also has gibberellins, cytokinins, and auxins. Those are plant growth hormones. I've kept worms now for 6 years. I start all of my seeds in it and use it in all of our containers. I also make actively aerated compost tea with it and use it on my garden beds here as well as in other people's gardens.
All of that is a long way of saying that the black soldier flies meet other criteria as well as that of a protein source.
This is the link to the vid demonstrating the build that I plan on doing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-XsU19U0kQ
Here is another link that I found interesting. This came from AgWeb and is a vid called "Weathering the Storm" about how farmers are coping with the cold wet year that may not change anytime soon. https://www.agweb.com/article/weatherin ... rm-report/

[Andy F]

@dirtymurphy Do you think we should start a new topic, Insect farming and Chickenfeed.
Up to you. I think it would make it easier for others to find, as that was some good information.

I'm back to odd hours sleeping and mode of working nightshift when it is much cooler.
It was above 110 degrees. Typical hot July, August usually hotter.

I have to do some regrouping and update my ToDo List. Without it I'm disorganized in the projects & some maintenance chores. I want to do some more dehydrating meals, also more Onions.

I'd seen parts of a video on saving Heirloom Tomato seeds. It's 14 mins, that's just way too long.
Scoop out seeds into a labeled small jar, cover with paper towel & rubber band. Let ferment 3 days but discarding the floaters, pour into fine sieve using fingers to press on seeds and rinse until only clean seeds are left. Lay out on a paper towel in a tray to dry and store as you would normally.

Carry on!

[Andy F]

Welcome to our second Planter Challenge! In this challenge we want to see all the creative ways you can create homes for your green friends. Reuse materials, make a mold for a custom concrete pot, carve a planter out of a log, or build a custom aquaponics system - whatever you want to build!

This year we’re offering a Tinkercad Judges' Prize for the best planter designed in Tinkercad! Check out Tinkercad here and start modeling for your chance to win a $200 Amazon gift card.
Grand Prize is $250 Amazon gift card. There is only 33 entries at this time. So anyone entering stands a good chance of winning.
Only 9 days left to enter the Planter Challenge! https://www.instructables.com/contest/planter2019/

Deadline. The Contest begins at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PT)/8:00 a.m. GMT on July 1 2019(the "Start Date"). Entries for the Contest must be received by Sponsor by no later than 11:59 p.m. PT on July 29 2019/ 7:59am GMT on July 30 2019 (the "Deadline").

edit: Oh my, a whole week has passed by. How time flies when you're having fun. Been hot here. Been busy with and doing the usual. Taking a break this weekend. I posted a 40 second video over in comedy zone. I think I could write a 10 page research APA paper on that one short video.
Carry on!

[dirtmurphy]

We've been stocking up on food this week. I haven't seen any food shortages here, and I'm not complaining. Anyhow, I've spent the past two days canning peaches and tomatoes. I hope to finish processing the bushel of tomatoes tomorrow.
I started the black soldier fly digester but got sidetracked. I hope to get on that project again in the next couple of days.

[Andy F]

Black Soldier Fly Blog: http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/

Horse Fly Identification: Possibly Horseflies could work?

Horsefly bites.jpg (72.02 KiB) Viewed 131 times

[dirtmurphy]

That's funny Have you ever been bit by a horsefly? It hurts like a mofo.

[Andy F]

Smile...yes, I was bit by a huge horse fly once. Yes they hurt! They inject a blood thinner to keep their "food" flowing. On some horses, they create a regular spot to feed at. Regular blood suckers, I think they also eat some of the skin too. Usually up at base of neck under the saddle pommel area, and it looks ugly.

Just a heads up, in my home state of Tennessee, there are some things that's been brewing, having to do with the Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom 2007 murders. Texas had the 28 men & 11 year old girl case. Those are an ongoing issue and I can't stress enough to learn your areas, where you can go safely. Try to learn the hours and movement patterns of the wildlings of your area. My 30 year experience in Los Angeles, at 4am I could go anywhere & the streets were fairly empty.
Wichita Massacre.

I am a realist about civil unrest, and hungry people of any color, some are built more powerful than others. They will take what they want to take. I've lived through a few riots, and GSM will be worse. It goes without saying, that I know and agree that there are both good people and bad people in every race. My knowing the GSM will bring out the worst in even the good people.
Kumbaya? Nope, it would depend on how bad they need what you have.

Anyhow, carry on!