Rich Points

So worth watching!

I just watched it and smiled and cried the whole way through!  What a beautiful glimpse at what a permaculture life can be.  

Much gratitude to David Trood for sharing his gifts!

Hey All,
So I've been wearing hiking shoes from Merrill and Keen for years and the quality seems to drop with each new pair.  I like the hiking shoes because they breath and keep my feet cool.  I bought a new pair of Keens 7 months ago and they are trashed.  I had them for about 2 weeks and the heel blew out, I should have returned them but I didn't because I knew they would end up in the landfill; which they will anyway...

I looked long and hard for something better but came up short.  The frustration continues as I look for my next pair.  Turns out it's hard to tell if a shoe is gonna last just by looking at them.  Apparently the business model is to manufacture stuff that lasts less than a year; guaranteed sales.  

At this point I'd love to find something that would last 3-5 years.  Does this kind of shoe exist?  

So frustrated!

Thanks for reading
Rich

Hey All,
I've successfully been keeping chickens for a year and a half.   I have a small flock of chickens 5 hens and a rooster, now 4 hens...  I went out to the run this afternoon and found a dead bird.  There were no signs of trauma or predation.  We have snow on the ground and I looked around the run and found no predator tracks.  

Over the past few weeks I noticed she would hang out by herself away from the flock, at times but not all the time.  Aside from that she seemed normal.  I didn't see any evidence of mites or anything like that.  I last cleaned the coop Thanksgiving weekend; about a month ago.  

I noticed some bright green poops in the snow, I've never seen that before.  I gave them some red cabbage yesterday, not sure if it's related.  Aside from that I feed them a layer feed and give them a handful of mealworms each day.   And each morning I give them fermented wheat, oats and sunflowers.  

I read up on Marek's disease but I'm not sure.  Heart attack?  Egg bound?  Bird Flu?

I want to keep my birds happy and healthy, I feel like a failure.  How can I ensure the health of my remaining birds?

Thanks for reading!
Rich

I use about 5ish cords of slabwood per season in my 8 inch J tube

Mike how much wood are you burning in season?

I would say the building is "moderately" insulated.  I've been adding more insulation each year as I have been able.  R -30 for the attic and each wall has it's own unique r value.  But the immediate living space is insulated the most;  R -30 walls and r-30 ceiling.  The doors are where the biggest air leaks are.  More insulation would certainly help.

Hey All,
Just made a video about how I procure, store and process Amish sourced slab wood.


I'd love to hear how you manage your firewood and how much you consume in a season.

Thanks for checking it out.
Rich

I've been sleeping on a mattress made of a painters cloth stuffed with straw on top of a Rocket Mass Heater for a couple of years now.  For the most part it's been great, not unlike a futon.  There is a break in period after you first stuff it and the straw fibers are still long.  But over time the mattress starts to take on the form of your body and it's like floating on a cloud; this is especially true when the mass of my heater is warm.

The mattress still has the original straw in it but I add fresh straw and fluff it up a few times a year.   At this point the old straw is really broken down, I think I'll dump everything and mulch something in the spring and start fresh.   I love how biodegradable this thing is!

Straw Mattress