Category: Forestry

  • Biochar

    Biochar

    So we live in big clay land out here in most of the PNW. That means soils that aren’t very conducive to growing anything but PINE, FIR, CEDAR, and ALDER. Well, we want to put in a small orchard. That’s been a thought tickling the back of our minds since we started looking at land.…

  • It’s Spring so Bear With Me

    It’s Spring so Bear With Me

    Well, that was a hiatus. I’ve got some fun updates though. We’ve started ramping up getting ready to make our final move from the city to the country which is really exciting. The move won’t be for a few months yet but we just keep checking off big things on the house so it’s moving…

  • Purple Mushrooms!

    Purple Mushrooms!

    So I’m sure a lot of people will just be confused when I tell them I found a real coup for mycology hobbyists everywhere. It’s not a choice edible, nor is it magical or medicinal. I found what I believe to be a cortinarius occidentalis. We were walking up our hill after a long early…

  • Mushrooms Are Magic

    Mushrooms Are Magic

    NOTE: Mushroom foraging is not for the faint of heart. This is my journey with my risks and is not meant as an absolute guide for anyone. Please be careful before you put foraged mushrooms in your mouth and be ABSOLUTELY certain you have an affirmative ID. This is not intended to give you that…

  • To Burn or Not to Burn

    To Burn or Not to Burn

    We’re moving to a forest. It’s something that’s always on my mind. Our state along with most of Canada and the other Western United States tends to get lit on fire by dumbasses this time of year see exhibits 1, 2, and 3. But nothing, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) is covered in fuel! And we…

  • Forest Homesteading and Fireload Management

    Forest Homesteading and Fireload Management

    LIMBS! Not the Victorian kind that was never allowed to be shown. Seriously, until the internet, those Brits had the MOST pornography ever! We have a young forest covering the hillside. It’s mostly Douglas Fir and Alder. Those trees put out a lot of the aforementioned limbs. It’s pretty typical for our part of the…

  • Lions and Tigers and Trespassers?

    Lions and Tigers and Trespassers?

    So 40 acres in the PNW, what could go wrong?  INNUMERABLE things, that’s what (Note the unordered list to follow): Bears Mountain Lions Trespassers with guns Crazy neighbors Spraining an ankle at the bottom of our 300′ incline hill. Eating an incorrectly identified mushroom Honestly, though the one that keeps me up at night is…