What's new on the water problem front

We had a witcher come out to the farm this weekend and douse. If I'd known how cool it was to watch him, I'd have made a party out of it and invited everyone to tag along. He used an obviously well-worn prong and walked along until the prong swung down on its own, indicating water. We walked back and forth across a couple separate areas until he found what he explained is the center of the vein, which is where a well should be drilled. We've contracted him to drill a well for us. There is no guarantee he'll actually hit water, but the alternative is cutting down 1/3 of our trees, so we're drilling. And praying.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Harvest Ticket, Page One

Image
..... Collards are here this week. Mild flavored and nutrient dense, these leafy greens are often overlooked but are worth a try! Be careful not to overcook--like other cruciferous veggies--overcooked collards have an unpleasant odor. A cancer preventing cruciferous vegetable--recent studies indicate that steamed collard greens have the greatest cholesteral-lowering ability of all leafy greens. Read more about collards at this link: http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=138&tname=foodspice Mizuna is new in our boxes this week, too. Milder flavored than typical arugula; this popular Japanese leafy green will add some zip to an otherwise mundane salad. The sawtoothed spicy leaves can be added to soups, added as a raw chopped garnish on a cooked dish, or steamed like spinach with perhaps some drizzled Califiornia olive oil and a dash of well aged parmesan cheese. Finally, Ghandi's reportedly favorite food: purslane is here for a few weeks before the cold kills it back. The herb
Read more
Image
Glamping in SoCal's Wine Country Updated on November 29, 2023 There's nothing quite like sleeping under canvas, as many of us fondly remember from our scouting days. Fast forward a couple decades, and spending a half day gathering gear and filling ice chests while juggling kids, work commitments and charcoal isn't as idyllic as we remember. Years ago, when news of MaryJane Butler's Idaho canvas wall tent farm burst onto the scene in the 1990's, the concept of living a fancier, more fluffy version of her youthful account of sorting herself out in much needed isolation in a tent in the northern woods, resonated with many of us. Yes, we wanted to experience that, but with down comforters, WIFI and running water. Many of us are inspired by the pioneering spirit, but prefer our inspiration in small doses. MaryJane's Farm was the first glamping destination to offer a gentler version of her survivalist adventures, and travelers flocked to Moscow, Idaho to experience he
Read more

Mandatory Pasteurization Concerns

This just landed in my e-mail box: Mandatory Pasteurization of Almonds as of September 1st, 2007 has taken effect . From now on it's impossible, in fact, illegal, to get raw Almonds in the United States. Nuts sold as "raw" are not actually raw any more, but processed. Here's what Jason Sinclaire has to say on that subject: "Truly raw almonds, with their enzymes intact, are a living, nutrition-packed food. Raw almonds that have been soaked and sprouted are nutritionally superior food to heated almonds, and are more easily assimilated in the digestive process. Heating almonds over 112 degrees destroys their enzymes, and greatly diminishes their nutritional value. Heating also leads to rancidity of nuts." Every almond sold commercially from here on out has to be pasteurized. Also, let's keep an eye on almond pricing, because almond growers are now required by law to truck their almonds to one of five just-built USDA approved pasteurization facilities in Cal
Read more