Meet the Amazing Sierra Newt

...he newt. When they decide it is time to meet a special friend and lay some eggs together, the newt returns to the pool from which they hatched–or tries to, since it might be difficult with all the pools in the Sierras drying up–but my guy found his way to the stream, and perhaps was napping, waiting for his lady newt to come by. But here’s the best part–he was breathing through his skin. The gills he had as a baby are long gone, traded for fledgli...

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Revolutionary Rusks

...ion (and amazing photo!) from photographer, velolutionary, and Culver-Town homesteader Elon Schoenholz: Rusks are sturdy biscuits of Dutch South African origin, slightly sweetened and heartily nonperishable. Like biscotti, they’re double-baked, dry and crunchy; unlike the chocolate-dipped and plastic-wrapped crap on the counter at Starbucks, however, homemade rusks are practical, nourishing and inexpensive. The version we prefer, with chopped almo...

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The Best Way to Get Bees For Free

...10% of the swarm boxes he sets up. He also suggests hanging them up around 10 feet high for best results. I like swarm boxes that hold frames so that you can transfer the bees easily to your hive boxes without having to do a cutout. And guess what? A bee swarm box and a birdhouse are pretty much the same thing. So get friendly with birdhouse enthusiasts. Baiting swarm boxes You can buy swarm lure, a kind of synthetic pheromone, but it’s expensive...

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How to Remove Bees From a Tree

...per sets up a bee box next to the exit and places a frame of comb that has eggs and brood (bee larvae) in it, taken from another hive. The bees in the tree will exit, not be able to get back into their old home and then, over the course of several weeks, move into the new box with the brood comb in it. If all goes as planned they will make a new queen in the box. The beekeeper will come back in six weeks, take the box away and then seal up the cav...

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Saturday Tweets: Air Plants, Nutrition and Empathy

...LJf5wU #LoveMatters via @HuffPostRelig — Root Simple (@rootsimple) December 10, 2014 Setting Aside a Scholarly Get-Together, for the Planet’s Sake http://t.co/Bdr97JGQKG — Root Simple (@rootsimple) December 8, 2014 Curing a Nutella addict: http://t.co/FwmLbBpZxN — Root Simple (@rootsimple) December 8, 2014 Los Angeles, City of Water http://t.co/SnFSfbZGxA — Root Simple (@rootsimple) December 8, 2014 Why we refrigerate eggs (and the rest of the wor...

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