Buying forest land, implementing solar

[Chalo]

Farms and ranches within range of a real city are often a tax dodge. They are used for agriculture mainly to get an agricultural use land valuation for property tax purposes. It's a huge savings versus paying taxes on the speculative value of the land. Any net income derived from such agricultural use is only a side benefit.

And in that case, pasturing livestock and growing hay are both cheaper and easier than growing row crops.

 

[swbluto]

Oh yes, that makes a lot of sense. I also noticed there wasn't much rivers around here (Didn't see any, besides the bayous), only a few lakes for freshwater, so that might have something to do with it (I.e., the vast majority of rural land does not have freshwater, and whatever grows here must be drought resistant given how the soil dries out and stays dry for a week or two at times; whatever isn't drought resistance probably needs more watering than in other more consistently rainy places, so I'd guess irrigation costs here are a bit higher than in other places for corn; so, yeah, it probably simply costs more to grow corn here -> not profitable.). And, I guess the vast majority of people here probably find better paying opportunities than corn farming, with the predominant wage levels.

In this area, I've seen vineyards, watermelon farms, fruit tree farms, so I get the impression just about anything grows here given proper growing conditions are provided (Added mulch, use a greenhouse, collect water, etc.).

It seems like a lot of rural land owners have large ponds. Seems like I've seen cattle drinking from said ponds, so maybe that's why they have it. Don't know if ponds would work for large-scale industrial corn irrigation, I'm guessing not.

Wonder why nebraska has so much corn growing there. Maybe they have a lot of rivers running through the area thanks to the great lakes? Yeah, looks like they have a number of rivers running through the state. Missouri, platte, loup, Niagboro(?), looks like the rivers pretty much cover the entire state.

That is in stark contrast to Houston, which doesn't really appear to have a significant extensive river.

Looks like there's the brazos river, which is SW of houston by 60-80 miles, and then the rivers SW of houston at 100 and 130 miles; coincidentally where there was a lot of corn growing according to that map.

Yep, so rivers->corn, lol. That explains it.

And, it looks like the brazos runs through Sugarland, TX, a SW suburb of Houston. Coincidentally, they did grow a lot of sugar cane there historically. So, actually, it's like 20-30 miles SW of Houston downtown.

I wonder what's growing along the Brazos nowadays, if anything? (It'd seem weird if it wasn't being used to grow anything)

I was told "back in the day" they did grow rice there.

I did see a number of farms around the Brazos leading to Houston, but not as extensively as I would've expected.

One such farm is Blessington farms. http://blessingtonfarms.com/pick-your-own/

Pick your own strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. The berry picking season is from December to July from this farm. Then it's pumpkins in the fall. Surely there's got to be more crops that ripen in the fall time?

 

[swbluto]

Anyway, this morning after a 2 hour nap (I was awake at 1:00 a.m., fell back asleep at 4:45, woke at 8:30), it seemed like my circulation was fairly impeded. Maybe it was anxiety, maybe something else. It did feel like something awry was going on, with the increasing 'urgency'/'fluster'/'urgent/hot' feeling going on, anyway, so I'm massaging the weasel, and never did the weasal erupt forth its vomit, but it did start getting kind of undulatingly excited for about 10 seconds, and coincidentally, my heart start flipping and flopping at the same time. Yeah, that doesn't normally happen; the flipping and flopping part. The other part happens often enough.

I've seen flipping/flopping sensation in connection to atrial fibrillation. But, it might be considered one form of palpitations.

Anyway, this does add strength of the plausible connection between pulsating white lava and heart events. I'd speculate vasoconstriction, but perhaps there's electrical changes, or additionally. Seems like I can't find a lot of research on it, but there's a lot of anecdotal evidence suggesting a strong connection.

And my pond is now officially dry. I'm going waterworld for my water use needs.

And did my hourly walk, came across a turkey on the road. I started running after it, and for some weird reason, I caught upto it (I guess they don't run fast), and I swung my machete and chopped off its head. The legs continued running until they fell over sideways, lol. Wow, so I checked out this guy, saw a tag on it... and suddenly realized it probably wasn't a wild turkey, lol. My best guess it's one of those turkeys one my neighbors half a mile away owns and I guess it got loose or something.

Well, ok, I didn't actually chop off its head, but I did catch upto it, which was kind of surprising. I'm guessing that it hadn't developed strong leg muscles like I assume wild turkeys do (The survivors who are used to predators chasing them.).

It's just walking around the newly cleared property at the intersection. I'm not really sure how I'd hunt this guy down with my rifle, if I wanted to. Its head is rather tiny, making it pretty hard to hit.

http://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2748570/Turkey_Rifle_Shot_Placement

Well, I guess Turkey hunting is a thing here. Too bad it's illegal to shoot from the road or on someone else's property. That doesn't really seem to stop my neighbor, though; he shoots everywhere in that forest.

And the forests here seem drier than Charleston, SC's forests. Granted, the particular forest I'm thinking of was a mile from the ocean, which automatically gives it much humidity, so that's probably why it seemed less dry. And all those "Dead trees" i thought I had on my property, nope not really dead, their leaves came back within the last 2-3 weeks. I wonder what triggered them to bring the leaves back... was it Air Temperatures? Soil temperature? Solar intensity? I want to know because I'd like to keep all the trees in my greenhouse to keep their leaves throughout the year, like the tropical ones (Like the guava and citrus trees.). If it's because of solar intensity, that's not something a greenhouse can really accommodate.

https://phys.org/news/2011-05-what-makes-leaves-sprout-in.html

They cite: the length of the night, temperature and water availability as factors. I'm guessing tropical plants don't really have a "shut down" program, like other trees in northern latitudes, which is why they get killed by freezing temperatures. So for the tropical trees, steady water supply and above freezing temperatures are all that are necessary for them to keep growing year round. No 'light' or "solar" requirements.

Anyway, peas and black rice rice is a great combination. The stuff keeps you filled and you don't really "bottom out".

Should be a rare treat, though, because of the arsenic (Consumer reports recommends 2x 1/4cup servings a week, max). What other grains could I pair with green peas?

Update: Now past the evening shift.

The driveway is pretty much complete. Now i just need to remove the extra soil (Looks like 4-5 cubic yards are left) and put it to the side, and then tamp down what's remaining, and fill in the spots here and there to perfect the surface. Then on a pretty dry day, I can try rolling my RV onto the property and then I'm officially on the property. There's two nearby dead-trees I need to take down, one on my property, another across the road. They be threatening my property. I should take them down before getting my RV into place.

Once I get my RV into place, I can then focus on lengthening the driveway so I can get my RV within the property lines so I can fence myself in properly. Then once I get fenced in, I can look at getting chickens and a dog. I can actually seek getting a dog right after getting on the property, but it'd have to be on a leash, which complicates things.

 

[marty]

Anyway... I noticed these holes forming at the bottom of my toes and wondered what it was...

http://www.pittedkeratolysis.com/

Pitted keratolysis, also known as keratolysis sulcata, is a bacterial infection of the soles of the feet or, less commonly, the palms of the hands. Pitted keratolysis is easily identified by its shallow, crater-like pits. It is generally caused by coryneform bacteria, though several other strains of bacteria have been discovered in the lesions, including Micrococcus sedentarius, Actinomyces keratolytica and Dermatophilus congolensis.

Oh, dogs, there's a reason why I've prioritized washing the feet. Mostly to prevent athlete's foot and now there's this. Feet are just one of those things that just need to be washed frequently. If I were to surmise anything... I'd guess that this is a logical consequence of wearing shoes. If I were barefooted, the feet would stay exposed to the outside air, and wouldn't provide the warm, dark, moist environment that bacteria love, so, yes, should wash my feet frequently to account for the unnatural wearing of shoes,lol.

Anyway, my wrists itch/burn and I looked it up and appears these things are scabies. Little mites planting eggs in my wrists. The solution is neemoil and turmeric, which are both really antibiotic. The implication is if I regularly washed my body, I wouldn't have these suckers in my wrists. Well, I guess I'll be washing my wrists more frequently. (I wash my hands pretty frequently, but not my wrists.)

Anyway, curious as to the bathing habits of others. I take a shower every morning. Sometimes I come home after working all day [construction] and should shower before going to bed but I don't. Working on a automatic people washer. Like a automatic car wash. I also brush my teeth every morning. Floss as needed. Clean inside of ears with finger after bathing. Clean underwear, socks, and T shirt, every day. Wash other clothing as needed. Need to put the sneakers in the washing machine.

Read text written by others. I can not smell you people . Chalo, nicobie, fechter, Dauntless, DAND214, and others, how often do you all wash your bodies with hot water?

Bugs - Sun came up in the morning. Bugs all over the east side of the house. Some king of bug convention? Have seen a few of these bugs inside the house. Just a few and the ones inside were smaller. This house has no heat, no water, no people.

 

[DAND214]

Anyway... I noticed these holes forming at the bottom of my toes and wondered what it was...

http://www.pittedkeratolysis.com/

Pitted keratolysis, also known as keratolysis sulcata, is a bacterial infection of the soles of the feet or, less commonly, the palms of the hands. Pitted keratolysis is easily identified by its shallow, crater-like pits. It is generally caused by coryneform bacteria, though several other strains of bacteria have been discovered in the lesions, including Micrococcus sedentarius, Actinomyces keratolytica and Dermatophilus congolensis.

Oh, dogs, there's a reason why I've prioritized washing the feet. Mostly to prevent athlete's foot and now there's this. Feet are just one of those things that just need to be washed frequently. If I were to surmise anything... I'd guess that this is a logical consequence of wearing shoes. If I were barefooted, the feet would stay exposed to the outside air, and wouldn't provide the warm, dark, moist environment that bacteria love, so, yes, should wash my feet frequently to account for the unnatural wearing of shoes,lol.

Anyway, my wrists itch/burn and I looked it up and appears these things are scabies. Little mites planting eggs in my wrists. The solution is neemoil and turmeric, which are both really antibiotic. The implication is if I regularly washed my body, I wouldn't have these suckers in my wrists. Well, I guess I'll be washing my wrists more frequently. (I wash my hands pretty frequently, but not my wrists.)

Anyway, curious as to the bathing habits of others. I take a shower every morning. Sometimes I come home after working all day [construction] and should shower before going to bed but I don't. Working on a automatic people washer. Like a automatic car wash. I also brush my teeth every morning. Floss as needed. Clean inside of ears with finger after bathing. Clean underwear, socks, and T shirt, every day. Wash other clothing as needed. Need to put the sneakers in the washing machine.

Read text written by others. I can not smell you people . Chalo, nicobie, fechter, Dauntless, DAND214, and others, how often do you all wash your bodies with hot water?

Bugs - Sun came up in the morning. Bugs all over the east side of the house. Some king of bug convention? Have seen a few of these bugs inside the house. Just a few and the ones inside were smaller. This house has no heat, no water, no people.
View attachment 1

It seems to be that I have the same routine?
Marty, YOU have a Camera, not like certain others.


Dan

 

[nicobie]

I can't imagine not showering every day.

 

[swbluto]

My position has been discovered and I saw a look of askance; police threat was high so I moved immediately to a more defensible position. Moved to an empty area in front of my property and still need to clear out more soil to get an adequate approach, but at least it's more defensible. I actually planned on moving the excess soil to this spot, but gosh, not getting a citation is somewhat of a higher priority. One of the good things about this position is that working on my property won't be "too far away", so I don't actually need to move my RV onto the property right away if I don't' feel like it, and using the tornado shelter will be a little more practical in a real emergency being some 30 feet away. And, this position should be defensible in the longterm if need be not that I really want to be in this position in the longterm.

Anyway, as to the shower: imagination isn't a requirement when you don't have the option. Imagine what our ancestors 15,000 years ago did? Oh, yeah, I know... they settled near rivers, lakes and coastlines ... but... not really an option here. Showers don't just fall from the clouds... well... I mean... I guess it rains sometimes... lol

Anyway, there has been research showing that HOT baths/showever releases "heat shock" proteins that carry the same health benefit as a similar amount of exercise. So, yes, hot baths/showers are pretty salubrious.

Although, if simply being hot releases heat shock proteins... well.. there's plenty of opportunity for that in Texas, lol.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/roles-of-heat-shock-proteins/

It looks like, according to Scientific American, hot baths/showers help prevent cancer.

Anyway, to make hot showers/baths practical in this location, I need to collect rainwater. Hypothetically, I could go buy tap water from someone... but heck if I know who/where.

Okay, thought of an idea for rainwater collection. Get the 55 gallon drums, then attach some plastic to the opening and using rope, pull the plastic apart and tie to the trees, creating a funnel / rain collector. Well, it's an idea anyway... the devil is in the details...

 

[Harold in CR]

When I was diving on the treasure hunting boats, many a day I took a 1 gallon shower. Also washed my dive shorts at the same time. Never had to use salt water, except when I just wanted to get in it. Even now, just 1-1 1/2 gallons is all I use.

Next time in town, look for a solar shower bag to hang outside in the sun. Holds about 2 gallons or so.

 

[swbluto]

I don't think you understand. I can't take a shower outside, I will get terrorized by mosquitos, wasps and bumblebees - And the mosquitos are active all hours of the day in this forest, so I've found. I need to create an indoor shower of some sort to keep those fuggers out.

As to spiders, I think they must swing on their silky rope to get between trees, because I've seen them spanning the width of the road /way/ too often (I keep running into their webs just walking down the road, lol.). That explains why I've seen spiders in my RV, but not ants. They must be swinging onto my RV.

Well, now that I'm thinking of it... I wonder if there's some kind of bug fabric I could use to create a semi-outdoor shower? It'd be wonderful to shower outdoors with the sun, as long as it kept the flying pests out. Not really sure what it'd look like. Maybe create the frame for the fabric from PVC? And then... how would I seal the opening? That's a good question, might have to implement some kind of door.

 

[Harold in CR]

I don't think YOU understand. I live in the jungle. We had mosquitos in 'nam that used to argue whether they would eat you on the spot or carry you over the berm. In the lower Bahamas chain, you just get used to them. If you act quickly, lather up and then rinse quickly, I doubt you will be attacked. I ain't never seen any what wore diving masks so they could attack underwater.

You're not wimping out on us, are you ?

 

[swbluto]

I just need to create a suitable outdoor shower. Thinking something like https://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-Barrier-Hunting-Netting-Gardeningwill/dp/B01G79PK5W/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1491094124&sr=8-6&keywords=mosquito%2Bnet&th=1 and a structure kind of this...

A sealable door is the big question mark. DIY Sealable doors seem to be difficult to design.

Look at these people. Looks like they have their gazebo sitting out in the middle of their own personal lake.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Dobbin,+TX+77316/@30.3235443,-95.8187006,515m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m21!1m15!4m14!1m6!1m2!1s0x8646dcf40ee093c9:0xfe57a94f5cfc355c!2splantersville,tx!2m2!1d-95.8618958!2d30.3329856!1m6!1m2!1s0x8646d7ee1944539b:0x55e3b8207a4ac264!2sMagnolia,+Texas!2m2!1d-95.7507815!2d30.2093794!3m4!1s0x8646de52732c79c1:0x50ea8cc507a273bd!8m2!3d30.3654698!4d-95.776062

 

[Dauntless]

As to spiders, I think they must swing on their silky rope to get between trees, because I've seen them spanning the width of the road /way/ too often (I keep running into their webs just walking down the road, lol.). That explains why I've seen spiders in my RV, but not ants. They must be swinging onto my RV.

Nah, the only spider that to that are the kind that they use in those horror movies because they're just as big and just as dangerous. Of course if you DID have those around it would explain what everyone is shooting at around there and why the cops don't seem to make it out there when they're sent.

 

[swbluto]

As to spiders, I think they must swing on their silky rope to get between trees, because I've seen them spanning the width of the road /way/ too often (I keep running into their webs just walking down the road, lol.). That explains why I've seen spiders in my RV, but not ants. They must be swinging onto my RV.

Nah, the only spider that to that are the kind that they use in those horror movies because they're just as big and just as dangerous. Of course if you DID have those around it would explain what everyone is shooting at around there and why the cops don't seem to make it out there when they're sent.

Tarantua's? Oh yeah, there out here. They've about the size of a tennis ball in size, among the larger ones I've seen. Luckily, they're a bit too big to crawl into my RV, lol. (I tend to see the small critters in here.)

This place seems to have...

Spiders (many different species), mosquitos, wasps, butterflies, moths, bees, dragonflies, fruitflies, fireflies, all sorts of funky flying things I haven't identified yet large and small,nts, rabbits, foxes, turkeys, vultures, hawks, snakes, frogs, lizards, geckos, and at night - blackbears. Haven't seen any deer in this particular area, but I've seen them as roadkill on nearby highways, so I'm guessing they're in the area. I think rabbits, turkeys and foxes are all targets in this area. Rabbits are partcularly common and they seem to be mostly out at night. At least I see more at night when driving around.BVCVFBGT55

 

[swbluto]

I've been buying red grapes over the last 2 days because... yeah... grapes, lol. Delicious little boogers.

So then I wondered if there were tropical grapes? berries? cherries?

It appears there's a few. None of them are called grapes, Mostly cherries/berries. These seemed most suitable for a custom greenhouse.

-Jamaican Cherry
-Barbados/Acerola Cherry
-Some kind of everbearing mullberry (trimmed to fit the greenhouse)

Jaboticaba looks interesting, but it looks like it needs to grow tall, since the berries grow directly on the trunk and this thing seems to "go up" just like most trees. I would need to eventually modify the greenhouse for a tree like this.

Anyway, got several tornado warnings in this particular area. Didn't see any tornados, but there was a bit of lightniang and raining. I tried out my tornado shelter, worked pretty well, only disadvantage was lack of bathroom facilities. I need to get the tornado shelter area covered, which I should once I get the RV on my property. I figure in the future, I should have a weather-protected observation post (i.e., porch) as an immediate step after a tornado warning, and then if observations agree, make use of the tornado shelter. At a minimum, I'm thinking I need to see trees violently whipping around before thinking there's a tornado in the immediate vicinity. Because, these tornado warnings seem to be quite common (3 in this storm, so far), but I haven't really seen the violent winds that suggest a real threat.

And, the pond is now half filled. And, my clay driveway is now muddy as heck. My shoe easily sunk 4-5" into the previously compacted clay base. I don't really know if 4" of crushed concrete is really going to fix this issue, lol. The sand-clay material I got from my own property is far firmer than this crap when wet (shoe doesn't sink in, but it's a little slick). It's kind of weird this was widely suggested as a driveway base, when it seems to be far muddier than any of the native material/soils I've seen on my property. But, everyone recommends putting 4" of crushed concrete ontop and I would think they would know.

Update: Okay, so I went for a drive to check out some of the road building soils, the stuff called clay at the soil depot. That stuff is a orange/brown/reddish color and it doesn't look lumpy and it doesn't look like it'd readily deform. Mine is more of a pinkish color, with no hints or brown or orange, and when wet, it has the consistency of whipped cream. Pick it up with your hands and squeeze it and It's almost just like squeezing whipped cream.

I wonder if I'm doing something wrong. Because whipped cream is mostly air, suggesting that this clay has mostly air between the particles, suggesting maybe it didn't get compacted well enough despite all the tamping I did. I say that because I noticed that the clay that's been driven over is pretty solid, and I thought that was because the sand has separated from the clay (I still don't know), but maybe my tamping efforts are not really compacting the clay well enough. Maybe the layers were too thick (They were at most 6", I think?). I'm going to check out the driven over clay just to make doubly sure this isn't just sand that separated from the clay (And the rest of the clay got washed away somewhere...)

Okay, just took some closer observations.

The clay that had been tamped down with 2" or so of clay was pretty solid. Relatively hard to penetrate.
The clay that had at least 3-4" thickness (Such as the ruts I filled) were not. Very easy to penetrate, shoe got sucked in.
The 3" clay that had been driven over. Pretty solid, hard to penetrate.
The >6" clay that had been driven over, still pretty solid, relatively hard to penetrate.

The problem seems to be a lack of compression. And, it seems the wheels of my van have far better compression capability than this hand tamper. It seems that the layer have to be thin(3" or less?) and the substrate solid for the tamper to work properly on this clay. So, that means I should have filled the ruts with something solid, like sand.

With this new knowledge, what can I do from here to get this thing working?

Well, if it's completely dry(Like it was yesterday), I have a feeling a vehicle can travel over it relatively well assuming it's already been tamped. So, when/if it's dry, I could probably get the RV onto my property and then I'd put down large board platforms or similar for walking on. Where I intend on having the van park / drive on, I should remove the clay, and reapply and tamp down in thin layers, then top with gravel.

So the next step is still removing the excess clay from the driveway. Then spend my days flattening/grading/tamping the driveway, getting it ready for positioning, then when it's dry and solid, get it in position, and then start excavating the clay where the van would drive and reapply it properly.
So from here, I still need to remove the excess clay and put it somewhere.

Now how dry does it have to get? Well, that's a good question. My pond is half-filled and a day ago, it was completely dry, so it might be some time. Seems that the next week is looking pretty non-rainy, so might be soon enough. While I'm waiting, I could be preparing the backyard for the garden.

And, I just saw a tiny scorpion today. So, yeah, this place has those too, lol.

And... as of 5:02 p.m. local time... the entire family of adults living at the 4 illegal mexican family household at the intersection just walked by (3 adult males, 3 adult females, 2 children). One of the three Hispanic adult men was carrying his rifle with him, I couldn't really tell if it was a shotgun or a rifle. Kind of odd going for a family walk around the neighborhood with your rifle in hand, but hey; I think I can accurately surmise this isn't a "normal peaceful family". One of the adult males looked back at my RV and looked a little worried/scared. I'm guessing the guy with the rifle was the guy who I keep hearing firing off at his residence.

Now will these people leave me alone? I don't know about that. I don't really get the sense they really care about their neighbor's legal rights. If the law doesn't suit them, they might just take matters into their hands.

It's interesting this entire block has been fencing up their property. I don't know if it's simply a matter of "neighbor copy neighbor", or because they perceive a real threat in the neighborhood. (Either me or this family) I know the threat I'm perceiving is this family, but I wouldn't think my other neighbors have experienced them like I have. (They don't live right next to the lab.) [The fact they're here illegally and engaged in illegal meth making tells me they probably don't care about US law.]

It appears the guy who got his tarp stolen has hired someone to set up a fence. It looked like he was in the middle of getting a fence setup (Wooden posts were already concreted in when I got here), so I don't think I could attribute it to the theft.

 

[Dauntless]

Who knows what you'll find out there as you clear your lot.

http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/family-cleans-house-and-finds-pet-tortoise-went-missing-30-years-earlier.html

 

[swbluto]

I think I need to build the height of the driveway because I think I"m seeing a pretty consistent wetness pattern here with lower lying region, so I will commit the rest of the excess soil to building its height over the ditch. I need to wait for the driveway to dry (A couple of days), tamp the heck out of it, then spread out the excess to build the height up. And I guess I should be continuing to clear out the backyard today. No real time windows for that, just whenever. And it looks like the clay is just "oozing off the driveway" ever so slowly with the rain. It's a small amount now, but will my driveway wash away over many rains? Lol

I'm thinking I should've just ordered a bunch of heavy stone to fill the ditch. Kind of like how they build railroads - a bunch of heavy stone.

And thinking about that shower constructed from wood and bug netting... I'm thinking I want to make it long enough to put a recliner in. It'd be nice to soak up the sun and relax without the wasps buzzing me.

Okay, so I think I'm going to do it. Ordering the material now. Let's figure out what I need.

height = 7 feet.
length = 8 feet.
width = 4 feet.

Need two 8x7, one 8x4, one 7x4, I would think 10'x11' should do it. Looks like their 10x20' option will work.

So the frame needs a 4x8, x4 8ft. 2x4s (Length), x2 8ft 2x4 (Width), x4 8ft 2x4 (height)... So, total

one 4x8 (floor)
ten 8 ft. 2x4s (The frame)
-------------------------------
About $100

So about $120 for everything. Maybe $150 with the durable front fabric and zipper kit.

For the entrance, it appears I could implement a zipper with the help of this product, kind of like a tent, and a tent does a pretty good job of keeping bugs out. It looks like I'd use a heavy fabric to cover the front where the zipper would go. And, not exactly sure how to attach the zipper, I'm guessing it'd be sewn? And then attaching the heavy fabric to the wooden frame; I guess I'd use staples.

https://www.amazon.com/Sullivans-Heavy-Make-Zipper-3-Yard/dp/B001YMCE0C/ref=pd_sim_201_12?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=V0VBAJR5XF7YY457JHKF

Update: 1:40 p.m. local time. Waiting for the clay to dry, so I continued clearing out the backyard. Mostly just ripping out saplings and I stopped right after I started sweating. I'll continue doing this and I suspect at this rate, I'll get the backyard cleared of all but the biggest tree stumps within 8-12 work days or so. I really just need to clear some of the big trees for they be shading my garden.

And, my Panda Express fortune cookie told me "Your path will be difficult but rewarding.". Damn straight, I hope so. I definitely wasn't looking for "easy" and I wouldn't want it to be "difficult and unrewarding.", lol.

The research on coumestrol is interesting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coumestrol#Biological_effects_on_mammals

It has garnered research interest because of its estrogenic activity and prevalence in some foods, including soybeans, brussels sprouts, spinach and a variety of legumes. The highest concentrations of coumestrol are found in clover, Kala Chana, a type of chick pea, and Alfalfa sprouts.[3]

Oh, it's in Spinach. So this is pretty much all good news, right?

Coumestrol and other phytoestrogens have been shown to have an effect on sexual behavior in rats by antagonizing the action of estrogen within the brain; male rats that nursed from females with coumestrol in their diets were both less likely to mount a female rat and less likely to ejaculate, despite producing normal levels of testosterone. Exposure produced similar decreases of sexual behavior in female rats, as a result of the disruption of estrogen dependent gene expression in the brain. Effects were seen in three areas of the hypothalamus, the ventromedial nucleus, the paraventricular nucleus, and the medial preoptic area, all of which play a role in sexual behavior and sexual activity.[12][13] Female rats that were exposed to coumestrol neonatally did not adopt the lordosis position as much as those that were not exposed to coumestrol.[14]

So you become less sexual. Uh, ok. [Is that positive? Maybe coumedin isn't the full picture with spinach.]

Coumestrol has been shown to accelerate the onset of puberty in mice.[11] Exposure to coumestrol immediately after birth resulted in an initial increase in uterine weight. However, continued exposure inhibited the growth of the uterus and decreased levels of estrogen receptors within uterine tissue. The rats also showed altered vaginal development including cornification and metaplasia of vaginal tissue, and delayed opening of the vagina.[13] When neonatal female mice were treated with coumestrol, similar reproductive irregularities occurred, and at 22 months old, atypical collagen distribution was observed in the uterine wall.[14] When 2 day old male Wistar rats are injected with coumestrol daily, they exhibit a decrease in size in the lumens of their seminiferous tubules and germ cells go through increased rates of apoptosis. When bulls graze on pastures containing coumestrol, metaplasia occurs in the prostate and bulbourethral glands, and sperm maturation is suppressed. Female cows that consumed alfalfa experienced lower pregnancy rates and spontaneous abortions, as well as abnormal estrogen levels during pregnancy.[15] A high coumestrol diet has also been shown to induce early development of the vulva and udder of female lambs. In addition to these anatomical abnormalities, exposure to coumestrol has also been shown to alter the estrus cycle of a number of animals, including cows and sheep, resulting in lower rates of fertility.[10]

So fertility and reproduction rates go down. Again, ok.

Coumestrol has been shown to decrease bone resorption and promote the mineralization of bone in vitro and in vivo; daily injections of coumestrol were shown to reduce bone loss in rats who had undergone an ovariectomy.[13]

What is bone resorption?

Bone resorption is resorption of bone tissue, that is, the process by which osteoclasts break down the tissue in bones[1] and release the minerals, resulting in a transfer of calcium from bone tissue to the blood.

Wow, that pretty much explains the my bone calcium -> hard calcium arthersclerotic deposits theory. So this sounds like a positive effect.

Coumestrol has been shown to have clastogenic properties at a certain concentration.[specify]. Studies have shown that coumestrol is a mutagen and induces formation of micronuclei in hamster cells of the V79 cell line as well as human lymphoblastoid cells in a dose-dependent manner. Exposure to coumestrol also causes single stranded breaks in hamster DNA, compromising genome stability.[16]

Obviously, spinach has other affects than just coumedin, since it substantially decreases the risk of cancer. Makes me think that spinach does not reduce sexuality/reproduction, either, due to "the other factors at play" affect.

Studies have shown that coumestrol has beneficial properties on carbohydrate metabolism in ovariectomized rats, decreasing glycogen levels in skeletal muscle. There is also data indicating that coumestrol lowers plasma cholesterol levels in chicks. These results point to a possibility of coumestrol having a positive role to play against human obesity and diabetes in the future.

Increases metabolism suppressing blood sugar levels. Sounds good.

 

[swbluto]

Someone said canola and sunflower oil are good for you... Yeah.... the research I've seen definitely doesn't suggest that. So I went looking.,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24632108

Hmm, yes, this does fit well with my general understanding that one should never cook anything above boiling point for good health. The take away from this research is...

Prolonged consumption of the repeatedly heated oil has been shown to increase blood pressure and total cholesterol, cause vascular inflammation as well as vascular changes which predispose to atherosclerosis. The harmful effect of heated oils is attributed to products generated from lipid oxidation during heating process.

So, it appears that sunflower oil isn't necessarily evil in its natural form [Kind of makes sense; I wouldn't think eating raw sunflower seeds would be intrinsically harmful], but when it's roasted/fried as it's typically done in processed/packaged foods, it becomes evil. Canola, however, is just plain evil no matter the form.

This "roasting affect" then would seem like it potentially applies to roasted peanuts. And boiled peanuts are considered substantially better/healthier than roasted ones, so there's some good likelihood to this.

Looking at my current diet...

canned salmon
canned spinach
boiled peas
bananas
nuts
boiled cocoa
boiled rice
raw shredded coconut

Doesn't look like I don't really get much in the way of heated oils. [I just traditionally avoided anything with oils in it; basically, almost everything with oil added to it has been heated, so my policy really isn't unjustified.]

I was eating roasted nuts, but I guess I'll cut that out and either boil them raw and/or focus on coconut consumption. I didn't really get the sense the pacific tribal folks were eating much nuts, anyhow.

And, this lends much understanding as to why fried foods are bad for health, since they're typically fried in oil.

Maybe that's where they were going with the "repeatedly heated oil" thing; the frying buckets that fastfood uses for fries and the like. They keep that oil turned on throughout the day, shut it down, and turn it back on the next day. What did taco bell use it for? Oh that's right, chalupa shells, tostada shells, cinnamon twists, pretty much all the fried wheat products. They might do something similar at the fried food factories for the processed/packaged foods (chips,flavored nuts,etc.).

And Weezer's "say it ain't so" suggests that alcohol caused his father/stepfather to break up with his wife. Heh, yeah, I don't believe it. I believe they took up alcohol as a way of dealing with the festering marital problems, and the breakup happened because of those problems, not because of the alcohol. So his "Your drug is a heartbreaker" line suggests his understanding is misinformed. So his fear of drinking was kind of misplaced. ("The alcohol will doom me to a life of relational instability")

Canned spinach toxicity - http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/food.jsp?food=SC

Green peas was looking pretty chummy in comparison (3% prevalence, low toxicity). I used to eat the fresh organic spinach, but I don't think I could store it in this climate. Anyway, time to phase out canned spinach, unless I can find organic canned spinach somewhere. Can't seem to find anywhere online except alibaba... lol

I think I'm going to grow spinach, and I'm going to use that netting to protect it from bugs. I guess I shouldn't be afraid to "overpurchase" the netting considering all the uses I'll probably have for it in this area, lol.

Wait.... what... spinach is a cool weather crop? I thought it was tropical or something. What do the tropical people eat for their leaves?

Appears malabar spinach does well in Texas as a yearround everbearing plant. Looks like a close cousin to Kale. http://www.rareseeds.com/red-malabar-spinach/

And, okinawa spinach looks promising as a non-vine alternative (Doesn't require a trellis). Commonly consumed in Southern china.

And more random national news showing me I chose the wrong area to avoid getting shot.

https://gma.yahoo.com/deputy-constable-killed-texas-courthouse-gunman-sought-172504187--abc-news-topstories.html

A manhunt is underway in Harris County, Texas, for the gunman who shot and killed a veteran deputy constable at a courthouse this morning, officials said.

Btw, Harris County = Houston proper.

 

[marty]

I think I need to build the height of the driveway because I think I"m seeing a pretty consistent wetness pattern here with lower lying region, so I will commit the rest of the excess soil to building its height over the ditch. I need to wait for the driveway to dry (A couple of days), tamp the heck out of it, then spread out the excess to build the height up. And I guess I should be continuing to clear out the backyard today. No real time windows for that, just whenever. And it looks like the clay is just "oozing off the driveway" ever so slowly with the rain. It's a small amount now, but will my driveway wash away over many rains? Lol

I'm thinking I should've just ordered a bunch of heavy stone to fill the ditch. Kind of like how they build railroads - a bunch of heavy stone.

A squirrel had a jar. In the bottom of the jar was some water. The squirrel was very thirsty and wanted to drink the water. The squirrel threw soil and rocks into the jar so that the water would come to the top and he could drink it. It did not work The squirrel died from dehydration. Squirrel should have drilled a hole in the bottom of the jar.

Re:

And it looks like the clay is just "oozing off the driveway" ever so slowly with the rain. It's a small amount now, but will my driveway wash away over many rains?

Plant something to prevent erosion.

Sorry no more soil engineering from Marty till you tell us about your Culvert Pipe! Size, material, color, length.

 

[marty]

And thinking about that shower constructed from wood and bug netting... I'm thinking I want to make it long enough to put a recliner in. It'd be nice to soak up the sun and relax without the wasps buzzing me.

Okay, so I think I'm going to do it. Ordering the material now. Let's figure out what I need.

height = 7 feet.
length = 8 feet.
width = 4 feet.

Need two 8x7, one 8x4, one 7x4, I would think 10'x11' should do it. Looks like their 10x20' option will work.

So the frame needs a 4x8, x4 8ft. 2x4s (Length), x2 8ft 2x4 (Width), x4 8ft 2x4 (height)... So, total

one 4x8 (floor)
ten 8 ft. 2x4s (The frame)
-------------------------------
About $100

So about $120 for everything. Maybe $150 with the durable front fabric and zipper kit.

For the entrance, it appears I could implement a zipper with the help of this product, kind of like a tent, and a tent does a pretty good job of keeping bugs out. It looks like I'd use a heavy fabric to cover the front where the zipper would go. And, not exactly sure how to attach the zipper, I'm guessing it'd be sewn? And then attaching the heavy fabric to the wooden frame; I guess I'd use staples.

https://www.amazon.com/Sullivans-Heavy-Make-Zipper-3-Yard/dp/B001YMCE0C/ref=pd_sim_201_12?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=V0VBAJR5XF7YY457JHKF

Build a tent This is like my Sukkah business. Whats a Sukkah? Go here to find out https://www.sukkahs.com/ Built that web site in the beginning of the internet. I don't build Sukkahs. I used to buy them from Jews in NY City. Sorry to say that I no longer have time to sell Sukkahs.

Building a tent is like building a Sukkah. Way easier to buy one. Here are 230,000,000 tents for you to look at https://www.google.com/#q=tent&*

Happy that you are thinking of taking a shower! Wind was blowing from the south today and I thought I smelled smelly human odor.

Sorry no more tent advise from Marty till you tell us about your Culvert Pipe! Size, material, color, length.

 

[swbluto]

And thinking about that shower constructed from wood and bug netting... I'm thinking I want to make it long enough to put a recliner in. It'd be nice to soak up the sun and relax without the wasps buzzing me.

Okay, so I think I'm going to do it. Ordering the material now. Let's figure out what I need.

height = 7 feet.
length = 8 feet.
width = 4 feet.

Need two 8x7, one 8x4, one 7x4, I would think 10'x11' should do it. Looks like their 10x20' option will work.

So the frame needs a 4x8, x4 8ft. 2x4s (Length), x2 8ft 2x4 (Width), x4 8ft 2x4 (height)... So, total

one 4x8 (floor)
ten 8 ft. 2x4s (The frame)
-------------------------------
About $100

So about $120 for everything. Maybe $150 with the durable front fabric and zipper kit.

For the entrance, it appears I could implement a zipper with the help of this product, kind of like a tent, and a tent does a pretty good job of keeping bugs out. It looks like I'd use a heavy fabric to cover the front where the zipper would go. And, not exactly sure how to attach the zipper, I'm guessing it'd be sewn? And then attaching the heavy fabric to the wooden frame; I guess I'd use staples.

https://www.amazon.com/Sullivans-Heavy-Make-Zipper-3-Yard/dp/B001YMCE0C/ref=pd_sim_201_12?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=V0VBAJR5XF7YY457JHKF

Build a tent This is like my Sukkah business. Whats a Sukkah? Go here to find out https://www.sukkahs.com/ Built that web site in the beginning of the internet. I don't build Sukkahs. I used to buy them from Jews in NY City. Sorry to say that I no longer have time to sell Sukkahs.

Building a tent is like building a Sukkah. Way easier to buy one. Here are 230,000,000 tents for you to look at https://www.google.com/#q=tent&*

Happy that you are thinking of taking a shower! Wind was blowing from the south today and I thought I smelled smelly human odor.

Well, yes, a sukkah/tent, but it needs see through fabric to let the sun so it will have to be custom designed. It is definitely work, but I think I can handle it. (Especially the sewing part; I don't really think I want to spend my time sewing up 16 feet of heavy fabric to a zipper material.)

Really need to think through that door design a bit more. It appears I'd actually need to make the zipper line curve to create an actual sealable opening I could crawl through to get in. If I stapled the top and bottom and had a zipper down the middle, well, if the material had some give (Don't install it so that it's tight), I could separate the left and right zipper line to create a hole I could crawl through... that'd probably work.

And, thinking about what kind of annual tomatos I can grow, based on other people's experiences, it seems this variety would be good. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/tomatoes/grape-tomatoes/red-pearl-organic-tomato-seed-97G.html

Short growth period (Fast growing) and grows year round. Has good history in a greenhouse.

Comment came from

https://www.highmowingseeds.com/blog/excellent-tomato-varieties-for-high-tunnel-production/

As a seasoned greenhouse tomato producer- we sell about $25,000 worth of our certified organic greenhouse tomatoes each year- I have to beg to differ somewhat on varieties. While we agree that Lola is an excellent tomato, we were highly disappointed in Toronjina in 2011. We harvested almost no marletable fruit from them, in houses where we were picking skads of sungolds, red pearl, favorita and others. They cracked before they were even ripe, on the same drip irrigation and fertigation as all the other tomatoes, and the taste was sour and unappealing. We will stick with sungold, but please keep trying. I will give a plug here for your beautiful sunkists instead. A gorgeous tasty tomato, well loved by our customers, and producing over an incredibly long season for us- from the end of June through October!

Favorita also appears to be a red cherry type (I think the grape tomatos are the richest in nutrition, in terms of carbs, nutrients, minerals, phytonutrients,etc.).

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/tomatoes/cherry-tomatoes/favorita-f1-tomato-seed-2854.html

Looks like this site recommends 3 different "greenhouse performer" red cherry tomatos with an annual lifecycle.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/tomatoes/cherry-tomatoes/?prefn1=life_cycle_name&prefn2=prod_feature_grow_cond&prefv1=Annual&prefv2=9

And it appears this site is particularly enthusiastic of Sakura, with its "prolific, productive" description. And it has the shortest lifecycle of 55 days.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/tomatoes/cherry-tomatoes/sakura-organic-f1-tomato-seed-3853G.html?cgid=cherry-tomatoes

 

[marty]

Fun to argue with Sulubuto! Yea OK build a tent. Build a bicycle while you at it. Just buy some metal tubing, brazing equipment, jigs, Build your own motor, controller, and battery if ya like. Easier and cheaper to buy a bicycle at Walmart.

I have watched real Sukkah sewing people. Guys sit in holes in the floor with sewing machines. The floor becomes a table.

 

[swbluto]

If there's a tent door I can just attach to the frame, I'm more than willing to buy that! I just don't know where to find them!

 

[marty]

Try looking at the Internet?
Screen Tent with Awnings and Side Walls

 

[swbluto]

Ok, I'll try harder trying to find them online.

Okay, just looked through https://www.google.com/search?q=see+through+tall+tent&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjv0ouh1onTAhUSwmMKHXrUD_gQ_AUIBygC&biw=1440&bih=832#imgrc=_ and didn't see a darn thing that would accommodate showering AND sticking a recliner in to soak in the sun. This indicates custom is the only option. (In the longterm, I might be able to put in a bath but I'd need to figure out water heating logistics. It appears I will have plenty of firewood...)

Sugar babies look like a good annual greenhouse growing watermelon.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetabl...#prefn1=life_cycle_name&prefv1=Annual&start=1

The idea of growing watermelons, cherries, tomatos all year long just tickles me pink, lol. Still looking to figure out what else I'll include.

 

[marty]

solar shower with enclosure