Primitive Grain Storage Technique

When thinking about technology, I like to play with the idea of what is the absolute minimum you need to get the job done. This may be because I’m not very handy at building things, but yet have survivalist tendencies. So while I’m pretty sure I’ll never actually have any need for these skills, it’s fun to think about how I’d get by in a DIY world. So I was delighted when I ran across this minimalist grain storage technique on the BBC documentary...

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Lead in Backyard Eggs: Don’t Freak Out But Don’t Ignore the Issue

...elevated lead levels in our soil when we did a series of soil tests back in 2011. Thankfully our egg results came in at 1.02 ug, just under the average level in the study. You’d have to eat a lot of eggs as an adult to go beyond the Federal Drug Administration’s maximum recommended lead intake level, though you could bump up against it if a child ate more than three eggs a day. I’d suggest that if you live in an older urban location, next to a gas...

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Bird’s Nest

...grape skins onto our patio every night, as we steadily lose our war with the nocturnal creatures for our grapes. But that is the subject of another post. Anyone have any guesses about what kind of bird made this nest? The bowl is about 3 inches (7.5 cm) across. ETA: I’ve been looking at this great page of bird nests–it’s heaven for the bird nest enthusiast. So many types of nests! Wee little eggs! Baby birds! One bird even made its nest in a swea...

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Saturday Tweets: A Week of Strange Links

...y the year 2020 https://t.co/Si466o5Qde — Xeni (@xeni) March 31, 2016 This page of the 12th-c. Bible of Stephen Harding (now digitised by @BMDijonPat), is a real medieval comic book. pic.twitter.com/eOm5cFcDd9 — Damien Kempf (@DamienKempf) March 31, 2016 #Netherlands sets guidance reducing #meat consumption to twice weekly https://t.co/F68kuFjikj @NatGeoFood @hdbyrne pic.twitter.com/pZ9nPJ8xEc — UC Food Observer (@ucfoodobserver) March 30, 2016 An...

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077 Radical Mycology

...ource Ecology and the primary author behind Radical Mycology, a nearly 700-page book on accessible mycology and mushroom cultivation. During the podcast we discuss: What are fungi? How to cultivate edible and medicinal mushrooms How to establish a mushroom bed in your garden Tempeh Peter’s cultivation how-to videos Growing mushrooms in an apartment Easy to grow mushroom: King Stropharia Source for spawn: Field and Forest Plugs Improving soil with...

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