Ducks 4 in '24

[SPedigrees]

View attachment 63496
Lynx is pretending that she didn't hear that. NOTE the Lynx typical black foot and black on the tip of her tail.

Calico cats and tortoiseshell cats are my favorite felines. I love all the colors.

 

[ducks4you]

Ducks is going through a stream of consciousness.
I was over on @SPedigrees House Plants thread, and started researching.

House Plants

This is the time of year when those of us in the far north without a greenhouse turn to house plants. This rubber tree plant is the oldest living thing I possess. I bought it in Boston in 1969, and it lived with us in our city apartments, before moving with us in 1972 to Vermont. At some...

www.theeasygarden.com

Repeating the photo of the Amaryllis GLUED to a piece of wood, labelled, "no watering necessary", it has grown leaves and has 4 lovely flowers right now and several other leaves.
It looks V I A B L E,
Then, I read THIS, from a rational gardener:

An Honest Ranter's Thoughts About Saving Your Amaryllis - GardenRant

Should you save your holiday amaryllis? Marianne talks about making that decision for yourself, and what is REALLY involved if you do.

gardenrant.com

DD wants me to keep it alive. I am willing to try, but I am not sure about taking my reciprocating saw to try to release it from it's wooden prison.
Thoughts?!?

 

[ducks4you]

"Amaryllis often come into our lives as gifts – which means we may find ourselves in an arranged marriage with a blonde when we were really into redheads. Or vice versa. That makes a difference when you’re hovering over that compost bin. If you don’t love it, and you have little interest in learning from the process of rejuvenating the bulb, for Heaven’s sake chuck it and feed your soil. Don’t be ashamed of a little winter romance."
She writes like ME!!!

 

[ducks4you]

Back to meat...
I am having a bad r knee day, but I have been moving stuff from the big freezer to the porch freezer.
We have a 12 lb turkey I didn't know about, now in the porch freezer. We have 21 quarts of frozen okra, now all moved to the porch freezer.
As soon as I warm up I am moving all of the beef bones (I asked for those), and the beef fat (DD asked for That,) and I hope that the frozen cherries and grapes (2023) will fit, too.
I will try to take some pictures. I cut the lips off of the office chair box and it should hold all of the 2022 two pound packages of hamburger.
I threw away some corned beef with juice-- Why I thought to freeze it, but the lid has a crack so it's now in the trash with contents. More room to pack.
I Think if I get this done, I will bring all of the rest of the 2023 ("Frostbite") steaks and roasts to DD's freezer and let Them find room for it.
Then, I think that there is room for 1/2 of the liver in my kitchen freezer, 1/2 in the porch freezer.
There are also some soup bones, which are really bones with some meat on them.

 

[ducks4you]

At ~$4.50/pound I think I am getting a good deal on this year's beef. Nationwide steaks are now going for $28/lb
2 years ago I was worried that my 14 1/2 cu ft freezer wouldn't have enough room. It turned out that all of the ~1K beef would have fit, but the new 7 cu ft freezer that we bought and put in the basement has become a great place to keep the expensive cuts bc nobody in town knows about it.
Everybody can see my 7 cu ft freezer on the porch, and some of my hay workers, etc. may have seen my garage freezer. I still keep the hamburger in that one.
Middle DD wants to go in with somebody else or two somebody else's and split a steer in April.
She still needs to get a bigger freezer. I told her that her garage is a Great place to keep it. In the winter a garage freezer doesn't have to work that hard, and technically my porch freezer is also not working that hard right now, either.
I got my first big chest freezer in the mid 1990's. It was vintage 1972 and lasted 25 years before it bit the dust. It had belonged to DH's GF, and when he moved out of his house and into his DD's and DS--they split his age care--they were clearing out the house. NOBODY wanted the freezer. I Did.

 

[ducks4you]

I should Add that freezing is NOT the way I like to store food. It takes constant electricity. When the power goes out I don't open my freezers, even though our generator keeps them going.
ALL food to freeze needs to justify itself, so I only have some vegetables frozen in them.
I will need to plan this year bc I intend to grow green beans on time this year and I intend to freeze Them bc they taste good that way.

 

[ducks4you]

New kitten, "Digby" (after "Beau Geste,") is home and figuring it all out. He slept on DD's chest all night. He and Troll Bridge are at an impass...Something about, you made a swear!
NO, YOU made a swear!
...pictures...

 

[ducks4you]

Can Milk Be Climate-Neutral? - Modern Farmer

It's a dietary staple—beloved in a morning latte, the ingredient that makes mashed potatoes oh so creamy or a chocolate ganache worthy of topping a

modernfarmer.com

Opinion: With Community Solar, It's Not Renewable Energy vs. Rural Character - Modern Farmer

Across the US, solar is booming. Last year saw nearly 33 gigawatts of solar installation across the country, a 55-percent jump from 2022. Utility-scale

modernfarmer.com

Ok, so these panels last about 10 years. Watching "This Old House" new show and the homeowners are renovating a 1960's home with shallow roofs. They installed 60, yes sixty solar panels. The conversation is that these panels will pay for themselves in 8, yes eight years.
Lots of talk about government kickback money going to the homeowners.
Who is the real winner here?

 

[ducks4you]

Urban Agriculture isn’t as Climate-Friendly as It Seems. These Best Practices Can Help. - Modern Farmer

Urban agriculture is expected to be an important feature of 21st century sustainability and can have many benefits for communities and cities, including

modernfarmer.com

I believe that urban gardening is a win-win. People who live there are often living in food deserts and Need a better way to feed themselves and their communities.
Also, more plants means more oxygen, unless I have been educated wrong, that only Certain vegetation respires oxygen into the atmosphere.
I have read about/watched many articles/programs about urban agriculture. Many are coops, where the people get out what they put in.
Certainly an empty lot with gravel or broken cement gives us NOTHING but reflected heat. Vegetation anywhere, cools us in the summer, and warms us in the winter.
Such is the :

https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/sites/englewood-trail/pdfs/Growing%20For%20Chicago_Close-out%20Report.pdf

and

15 Urban Farms & Gardens in NYC Providing Fresh Produce & Education

These urban farms & gardens are using a variety of hydroponics, greenhouses, & rooftop farming and providing educational programs in NYC.

www.nycfoodpolicy.org

and

New York High Line Park | Featured PBS Episode | Growing a Greener World®

See New York's High Line park, as featured in this PBS episode from Growing a Greener World. A thriving diversity of plants & people, it's the pride of NYC.

www.growingagreenerworld.com

and

Greensgrow Farms | Urban Farming Pioneer | Growing a Greener World®

Urban farming pioneer Mary Seton Corboy built Philadelphia's Greensgrow Farms from the ground up. This former food dersert is now an urban oasis and more.

www.growingagreenerworld.com

and

Episode 1108: Urban and Community Gardening Heroes - Growing A Greener World®

In this episode, we revisit some of the great urban gardens and community gardening heroes that we’ve met in the past 10 seasons.

www.growingagreenerworld.com

I Particularly like the "yard sharing" concept.

 

[ducks4you]

Bravo to seed diversity!

Meet the Korean Adoptee Saving Seeds of the East Asian Diaspora - Modern Farmer

Raised on Long Island by an Irish-American family, Kristyn Leach is now dedicated to preserving and adapting crops of her native South Korea.

modernfarmer.com