My Apologies to the Skunk Community

...k: raccoon and skunk diets overlap considerably. Both are highly adaptable urban foragers. In the case of our raised beds, both the skunks and raccoons are digging for figeater beetle larvae (Cotinis mutabilis). These huge larvae must be a delectable treat, the equivalent of a raccoon and skunk sushi party. Maybe I should overcome my squeamishness and join in the nightly feast. A plate of Cotinis mutabilis larvae ceviche could just be the next hip...

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Moringa!

...by Harvey McDaniel One of the big inspirations for starting our front yard urban farming efforts at the SurviveLA compound is a Philippino neighbor of ours who has turned his entire front yard and even the parkway into an edible garden featuring fruits and vegetables from his native land, most of which we have never seen before. This morning, while walking the dog, I found him cutting hundreds of long seed pods off of a small attractive tree. He d...

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Saturday Tweets: Compacted Soil, Bikes and Mirrored Headboards

New research on how to treat compacted urban #soil to help trees thrive https://t.co/tzhvk3pisZ @vtnews pic.twitter.com/x3QwSpKEgS — Thomas Rainer (@ThomasRainerDC) February 24, 2016 The Free Rider myth flipped: Are cyclists actually subsidising car drivers? https://t.co/qQaRd5eubE via @MomentumMag pic.twitter.com/fehEMXKh7B — Darren Davis (@DarrenDavis10) March 25, 2016 11-year-old's LA Times op-ed "My vision of a livable city is one where k...

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Backwoods Home Magazine

...is rural off-grid living, every issue has something to offer for the urban homesteader. The current January/February issue features a detailed article on how city dwellers can maximize their vegetable production in small spaces. Even the article on running a cattle ranch has the side benefit of letting us all know where our food comes from, and the challenges of running a family farm, “Jessica Troxel has donned a plastic sleeve, greased it with mi...

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The Year We Gave Up Our Smart Phones

...ve to eat is freeze dried Beef Stroganoff in a Martian prison of their own making. We used their stranding as an opportune moment to rid our culture of the things that were holding us back. My own personal smart phone addiction recovery path began back in 2018. I was building the most complex project I’ve ever attempted, a chest of drawers. It required intense concentration and I kept getting interrupted by the ping of text messages, junk phone ca...

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