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What is this bird?
Neighbor found it dead by his barn today. Nothing I am familiar with. It has red sandy clay on it's breast so that isn't a natural color for it. It is just a bit bigger than a pileated woodpecker.
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Life and lemonade
Just wanted to pop in here and say I've missed you all. Between work and home I've been buried. Lately it seems no matter how hard I try, there are no breaks to catch at work or at home. Hubby's 17 year old daughter had decided she wanted to live with us just as the c-virus stuff shut schools down this past spring. She's…
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Weather in Southern States, Oct 26 & 27, 2020
How are you doing down your way? Stay safe when out on the roads.
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Funny signs: Why proofreading is important
Does anyone here have any examples of poor proofreading/spelling that you have seen on signs that changes their meaning? Some can be quite entertaining. I have seen a few here & there. On Instagram, TGN had a post talking about making slaves (salves) that work. I commented that my kids might think that they are just those…
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I love a good thunderstorm
It's storming here and the rain is rolling in. I have to admit it makes me very happy. I'm an odd duck I guess. I have always preferred a dark and cloudy day to one full of sunshine and a cold snowy winter over summer any day. Are there any other folks out there like me in this department?
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Picking a tune while cooking barbecue
My version of Windy and Warm by NC native John D. Loudermilk.. made famous by Chet Atkins... I learned it from Doc Watson... who made a lot more and better music than me only picking it with two fingers (Merle Travis style)!
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Favorite medicinal mushroom, preparation and use
I have loved foraging for mushrooms this year for both culinary and medicinal purposes. I’d love to hear what your favorite mushrooms are and how you use it. If medicinally, how do you prepare it for use (tincture, dehydrate, fresh, etc.) and what medicinal reason do you specifically like to use it for?
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Unexpected visitor
I spent the afternoon trying to find the owner of a huge German Shepherd. It was a great dog and I would have liked to keep him, but the owner finally showed up. I was just sitting here, quietly reading, when I heard a noise at the door.... I opened it and the dog tried to come in the house! I don't know why he thought he…
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THE MODERN DAY SETTLER
Here is a new blogger I found! She lives in MASS. and raises meat chickens, pigs, sheep, and she just recently got THE MOST BEAUTIFUL jersey cow! Go check her out! BLOG;https://themoderndaysettler.com/ INSTAGRAM;https://www.instagram.com/themoderndaysettler/
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What book(s) have inspired you?
I've recently had to 'endure' a 30 minute stillness twice/day, so I started rereading a book that previously had inspired me.. and it still does! I'm reading "Radical Homemakers" by Dr. Shannon Hayes. I love her descriptions of how society could (oughta?) be! how we can break away from the consumption mindset, and be…
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Time lapse cactus bloom from National Geographic
Absolutely mesmerizing.
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Finding Value for Poison Ivy
I live in NW Connecticut. It seems that this must be ground zero for the birthplace of poison ivy. It grows everywhere. I struggle to keep it from overtaking my yard every year, and follow it in my daily walks through the gardens. Then I don heavy work gloves and my hori hori knife and try to dig it out. On my walks in…
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Chocolate Mint Fresh Roasted Coffee
Looked into growing coffee - didnt seem like my climate would allow me. But found a great wholesale source of green coffee that individuals could buy, not just professional roasters. My metal garden strainer is now doing double duty roasting my coffee in the oven. And as I was enjoying the fresh roast, with its subtle…
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Winter Is Coming
We had snow on Friday morning and the highs are supposed to be high 30s low 40s this week. My husband started a fire in the outdoor wood furnace a few minutes ago. Our yard is covered in fallen leaves. I had predicted snow before my birthday (November 4th), but this came sooner than I expected.
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Fun Quips From Kids
Our youngest son came up with a good one today. "A feller buncher takes down trees, and a buncher fellers takes them away." 🤣 Needless to say, he was pretty impressed with himself. Haha
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I bet we are the first on TGN to get 🤫 SNOW 🤫 this fall
Prove me wrong please! Our temperature did not go above freezing today and won't tomorrow. It looks like a very cold week with more snow. It is going to affect from BC down into the US & back up into Canada. See Brandon? That's roughly us. 🥶 The snow today is extremely light, but it is snow. I exclaimed it was "manna from…
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What gardening projects are keeping you occupied this fall?
Here is what we are up to this fall. Jack my husband, found a good buy on a used Troy-bilt tiller and now he is tearing up the backyard. To expand our urban gardening space, we are removing our raised beds and all backyard Bermuda grass areas. We are expecting to triple our garden from 320 sf to over 1000 sf., add an area…
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Cooler weather and I enjoy hot tea
As the season gets cooler, I enjoy sipping a hot cup of herbal tea; sometimes it is just for the taste, other times it is for its medicinal properties. Do you have a favorite tea? What do you enjoy doing as the weather starts getting cooler?
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Basil seed saving advice?
I got some great tasting organic Basil from a local gardener, and though I would try an experiment to see if I could let it go to seed in a vase full of water. I think it worked? I'm trying to learn more about saving seeds-- don't know very much right now. I've done tomatoes and that's about it. Any advice or tips or…
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Amazing photos, Photographer of the Year
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How NOT to Water Your Garden (Video)
I really loved shooting this video! I rocked out all summer 2020 (the real key to surviving these times). PSA: This is just behind the scenes/ for fun LOL Definitely don’t water your garden like this! I got a little carried away. So check me out, learn some moves, and release some stress with me. What's your favorite thing…
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Nippy weather
This morning I woke to find that some of my plants were not happy with the nippy weather last night. Because of the obvious stress to the plants, we harvested plantain, green peppers, calendula, horsetail, and tomatoes today.
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Choosing a seed company
I am looking into ordering my seeds soon and am debating which company to order from. Is it best to look for a company in a similar growing zone to have seeds better acclimated to my climate? What criteria do y’all use for picking your seed sources?
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Pets: Passing of one Life, Welcoming Another
Our hedgehog died a couple days ago of old age, and it was very peaceful. He would have been in his 90s in hedgehog years, about 6 or 7 in human years. We covered him with one of his washcloths and left him alone as he passed, as they prefer darkness. He is now buried close by our best dog. True to rural form, a post hole…
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I'm Back!
If anyone was wondering where I went, I'm back!
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New Homestead
My husband and I recently bought an older homestead although it was previously just a house with a big yard. We’ve rented the property back to the people we bought it from and my husband had a knee replacement this week (and second one in December) so now is the time to plan the homestead for functionality and to…
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In your opinion what are Best Stand Mixers??
It’s time I buy a stand mixer. I have waited 3 years to buy a Kitchen Aid and can’t seem to fork over the dough (pun intended). In the last year I have really upped my baking game and make bread(s), pie dough and cookies every week now. And I make zoodles regularly as well as sauces and butters. Doing this all by hand is…
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The Shadow of The Bear
As many of y'all know, I live in a magical place.... the Appalachian Mountains. Nothing is as beautiful as a pretty fall here. This time of year, you may get a glimpse of "The Shadow of The Bear" It is a little late to see the mysterious Brown Mountain Lights, but you might catch a glimpse…
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Winterizing a container garden?
We live in the suburbs so we don't have the opportunity currently to put in beds so we have a very large container garden on our front porch. Now that the weather is changing and the temperature dropping I want to start putting everything away for the winter but I was hoping for some tips. Is there a good way to store the…
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Hunting Season: Deer & Coyotes are on the run
That time of year to be very alert, while driving, or just out and about. Both deer and coyotes are on the run!