Life in a Pandemic

...future holds. There are simply too many variables to know what will happen in the coming months. Will we have another wave infections? Will governments bail out corporations or individuals? Will we have a recession or depression? Will there be a revived interest in urban homesteading or will we go back to shopping and consuming? I’m wary of suggesting a silver lining in this crisis. For many, around the world, it will just be awful. I’m curious ho...

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Chicken of the Woods

...calyptus. The very same mushroom pundits suggest thoroughly cooking all Laetiporus. I can report having consumed a lot of the mushroom we foraged with no ill effects. It was, in fact, one of the most delicious mushrooms I’ve ever consumed. But one should not trust the musings of an aging urban homesteading blogger when foraging for mushrooms. Find yourself a local mushroom nerd or run it past your cats. That said, don’t be too fearful either or yo...

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So Cal Alert: Polyphagus Shot Hole Borer

...two or three feet. That’s no quick sprinkle with a hose! Visit the Inland Urban Forest Council to download a PDF about how to properly water your trees. Also, we might suggest that this is a great time to install a laundry to landscape graywater system. Many thanks to our excellent arborist, Nick Araya of Tree Care LA, who came out yesterday to look at our drought-stressed avocado tree (no beetles yet, thankfully!) and gave me the 411 on the Poly...

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Spaceship Earth

...what could be more non-essential than hippie avant-garde thespians? For us urban homesteader types, it’s also good to have a reminder that hubris in the face of complexity is an occupational hazard of anyone who attempts to garden, keep animals, cook from scratch or otherwise interact with things other than laptops and iPhones. You can stream Spaceship Earth via the YouTubes for here. If you haven’t seen Adam Curtis’ All Watched Over by Machines o...

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Saturday Tweets: Holiday Weekend Edition

...be born: https://t.co/UGG7C8WNWH — Root Simple (@rootsimple) May 21, 2015 Urban Farmers Say It's Time They Got Their Own Research Farms http://t.co/E9XucbOcfb — Root Simple (@rootsimple) May 21, 2015 Green Hot Sauce recipe: http://t.co/mD1xjPt4z9 — Root Simple (@rootsimple) May 22, 2015 Not a new video, but thoughtful and beautiful re: handcraft: A World Through the Hands http://t.co/992T4RhuWk via @beingtweets — Root Simple (@rootsimple) May...

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