Would the pet cats eat baby rabbits if they were hungry?

     With the current inflation rate being predicted to be at 15%, I can't help but question my spending habits. I'm trying not to have a mentality of scarcity, as I am happily employed, but I have been rethinking all of my spending in light of my long term goals, which are to hopefully retire early, preferably away from the city, and sell plants. And grow my own food of course.

     I used to have pet parrots, and they were wonderful, but expensive and hard to keep up the maintenance with. Now I have pet ducks, which surprisingly, are providing quite a bit of eggs, which I have been enjoying. They are paying for themselves. But they require quite a bit of maintenance as they need their water to be clean.

     And I started breeding the rabbits again, I need to use their manure creating abilities to help me with the garden. I also thought that they could be eaten at some point, but now that they are small, I wonder if they could be cat food. Or if I could make baby rabbits to create cat food.

     What would you do if you couldn't buy cat or dog food anymore? Or if you had to choose between nutritious food for you and good pet food for the animals? I suspect that a lot more people would stop buying cat and dog food and start giving them people food. Or perhaps baby rabbits and duck eggs?

Farming While Female

     Have been having a problem with Isabellas rabbit kits escaping the big cages, which I had thought were secured with hardware cloth and chicken wire. Luckily for me, lawnmower 1 and 2 came back several times to their moms cage, no doubt because they realized they needed her milk.

     Stopped into a big box hardware store not near my house, and wandered around for a while trying to find hand shears, which I never did find, and also vinyl covered hardware cloth, which I absolutely need to fight the baby rabbit escaping problem. I had just previously bought a new dog crate to use as a rabbit tractor from rural king, where everything is easy to find. Except buckets.

     Wandered around. Checked the Fencing section. Checked the wood section. Checked out every section.  Then finally decided to ask employee, who happened to be male. 

     "I'm looking for hardware cloth, preferably 1 cm by 1 cm, it's like a mesh, preferably vinyl coated, where is that on this store?"

     Him, "Hmm. Not really sure, Trish do you know?" He asked as he stopped another employee. 

     So I described it again, and she said that the only cloth they carried was painter's drop cloth on the painting.

     When I realizes how north this conversation was going, finally I (probably) literally rolled my eyes and said, "It's for the chicken coop."      (I don't even have chickens.)

     He pointed directly at one of the walls and said, "The chicken coop wire is right there."

     When I made it over there, the hardware cloth was there, and I did find the vinyl coated stuff behind the other stuff. And it was called hardware cloth, I wasn't speaking a foreign language or using butter knife house repair tool language.

Turkey Anyone

 

     Not sure exactly what kind of bird this is, but I was surprised to find it near my place in West Florida, zone 8b, which is not very near any water sources. It was out after a rainstorm stalking through some yards occasionally pecking for bugs. Perhaps it's an escape, much as I lost some ducklings earlier in the year.

Smartest Lizard on the Planet

 

     I bought a bee house from the local box store. I know, I know, I am such a sucker. It's made from bamboo pieces glued together and supposed to offer free rent for Mason bees. I have one Mason bee living in a hole in my rabbit roof, so I hung the bee house over there. One morning, while checking on the rabbits with my oldest son, we happened to see the smartest Lizard ever. He was hanging out and waiting for some kind of delicious morsel to appear, whether a bee or a spider I am unclear.

     I can't identify his species either. Other than the smartest Lizard species ever. Tiny alligators!

The Withlacoochee State Trail

       I have been hunting the entrances to the Withlacoochee State Trail. There is an entrance in Floral City on the north side of Orange Avenue. There is an entrance in Inverness in Liberty Park. There is an entrance in Hernando at highway 41 and East Norvell Bryant intersect. I still can't find where it is in my hometown Ridge Manor.

     Here is the official brochure.

One Strange Duck Predator

 

     Not sure what kind of snake this is, here in suburbia, not near any water. But it got itself stuck in the duck fencing, and ended up getting eaten by something, not the ducks.

Dark Jungle

     For the past few years, I have been working wicked long hours at the hospital and been too tired for much afterward. It was probably a good thing to channel my energy in that way, but for now I am pleased to be able to spend a few minutes here and there with my precious plants. This year I plan on saving all the cannas from the freezing cold. I have moved most of them to the back porch, which is going to be a new post Thanksgiving ritual. 

     It helps that I have been planting them in pots so I dont lose them in the soil, then lose them again to frost. I particularly enjoy the pot in pot method of gardening. I also practice lasagna gardening, as in, these plants are all grown in mulch with rabbit poo on top.

     I will be particularly pleased if the dwarf black taro and the purple leaved orange cannas survive. I also enjoy the bip pink cannas and thr yellow cannas. The red are almost too big for containers!

     If I am able to save enough, I might have a big enough yield to sell some next spring.

Amp Up Immunity

     This is an illustration in a magazine called Natural Awakenings. I find it awesome that ginger is in the picture twice. Some excellent examples of tea ingredients.

Cypress Lakes Preserve Trailhead

     While taking the kids to the park one morning, happened to drive by this place. Maybe it has been here for some time and I have never noticed it before. The wood around the parking area appears to be new, and the trails lead off into an unknown world. More importantly, it is easy to find on Ridge Manor Blvd right down the street from Ridge Manor Park, another little place it seems few know about.

     This next picture is from Ridge Manor Park.

Loose-Leaf Tisanes, Some Ingredients and Their Uses

     These are some of the permaculture offerings I grow in my garden. Discovered that dried tea is much more appealing when when dried colorful edible flowers are added.

     Interestingly, Celestial Seasonings blueberry herbal tea is made from hibiscus, rose hips, orange peel, blackberry leaves, blueberries, and blueberry leaves.

     Another homesteader called Hummingbird Creations sells her leaf teas 10 bags for $3.50 plus $6.50 shipping.

Beautyberry - Antioxidant, Antiviral, and Anti-inflammatory. Diuretic. Has flavonoids and phenols.

     Use - Reduce rheumatism and fevers. Reduces tumor growth in laboratories.

Lemon Leaves - Antioxidant.

     Use - relieve anxiety, insomnia, migraines, asthma.

Loquat Leaves - High in antioxidants and caretenoids (boost immune system). Reduces inflammation. 

     Use - Relieve coughs/bronchitis/asthma, lowers blood sugar, lowers cholesterol, and prevents cancer. Antioxidant.

Tangerine Leaves - Antioxidant, has flavone and limonin. 

     Use - Antioxidant, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory.

Shell Ginger Leaves - Antioxidant.

     Use - Relieve nausea, indigestion, motion sickness, colds/flu. Lowers blood pressure, prevents heart attacks, prevents blood clots, lowers cholesterol, improves blood circulation.

Mexican Sunflower Leaves - Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory

     Use - Reduces pain, reduces blood glucose levels, 

Cardamom Ginger Leaves - has a peppery taste. Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant.

     Use - relieves nausea

Mulberry Leaves - Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant. Contains flavonoids.

     Use - Lowers blood glucose levels. Lowers blood pressure, lowers cholesterol. Increases fat burning and promotes weight loss.

Pinecone Ginger Leaves - Antioxidant. Contains saponins.

     Use - Relieves nausea, reduces cough/colds, anti-tumor.

Copperleaf Leaves - Antioxidant. Has laxative properties in larger amounts. Diuretic.

     Use - Lowers blood glucose levels, prevents cancer, prevents cardiovascular disease, treats constipation.

Passionflower Leaves - Increases GABA

     Use - decrease anxiety, treat insomnia, reduces intensity of hot flashes

Spiderwort Leaves - Anti-inflammatory, Anti-diarrheal, Analgesic.

     Use - Reduce cough/colds/diarrhea. Increases brrast milk.

Lemongrass Leaves - Antioxodant, Antimicrobial, Anti-inflammatory. Diuretic.

     Use - Reduces anxiety, prevents dental caries, relieves pain, boosts formation of red blood cells.

Hibiscus Leaves - Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory.

     Use - Relieves coughs and cold, regulates mood, lowers blood pressure, lowers blood sugar, lowers cholesterol, supports weight loss. Treats depression.

Muscadine Grape Leaves - Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory. Contain Vitamin E and polyphenols. Has an excellent mild flavor not unlike green tea.

     Use - Reduce nausea, improve skin quality, reduce pedal edema, reduce heavy menstrual bleeding, reduce headaches.

Sweet Potato Leaves - Contain Omega 3 fatty acids, polyphenols, and anthocyanins. Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory.

     Use - Reduces blood glucose levels, prevents cancer.

Cape Honeysuckle Leaves - Analgesic, Antidiarrheal, Anti-inflammatory. Diuretic. Contains phenols, flavonoids, glycosides, alkaloids.

     Use - Reduce insomnia, reduce diarrhea. Reduces blood glucose levels.

Napier Grass - No significant medicinal value.

Hoja Santa Leaves - contain safrole and might be carcinogenic.

Papyrus Leaves - No significant medicinal value.

Spanish Needle Leaves - Antimicrobial, Antidiabetic, Anti-inflammatory. Has a similar nutrient profile as kale. 

     Use - Topically or eaten to reduce inflammation.

Muscadine Grape seeds - Antioxidant. Contain Vitamin E, linoleic acid, and flavonoids.

     Use - Increases blood flow, prevents cancer, prevent dementia, treats depression.

🌺 Chinese Hibiscus flowers

Turks Cap Hibiscus flowers

Sage flowers 

Sunflower petals 

Marigold flowers

Rose petals

Spiderwort petals

Cape honeysuckle petals

Spanish Needle flowers

Prickly Pear Fruit

Loquat fruit

Lemon peel

Tangerine peel

Muscadine Grapes

Planning for Loose Tea

     I have purchased a hanging dehydrator to put above my air outside air conditioning heat exchanger. This will allow for hot air to be blown over the herbs, drying them much more quickly than they would dry any other way outside of a solar heater or solar cooker. Drying anything can be tough in Florida, as the humidity on most days is usually greater than 80%. In the past i have had leaves grow mold as they are drying out, which does not make for appetizing fare. I dont even give those leaves to the rabbits! 

     I will have to take some pictures of the dehydrator along with a review of the process. I plan on drying leaves and flowers of my many plants that can contribute to health and wellness, including ginger, loquat, lemon, and tangerine.

     I thonk its both amusing and sad that a lot of the innovations in gardening and herbology that have come out of our recent technology boom have come about because of marijuana products. This dehydrator comes with tiny snips which are obviously for cutting bud. Not that I care about that, they will snip other leaves just fine.

Would you eat mice?

     There are a few signs that the economy is a fluctuation, hopefully not leading us into a major recession. The good news is that there seems to be a lot of jobs. The bad news is that the price of groceries and gasoline is going up. While I cannot change the prices of these goods, it seems that it would be smartest to build some reseliency into my own life for my own future.

     I would be interested in hearing what you would do if the price of food rose so high it became unaffordable. Would you eat the goldfish in your pond? What about frogs and grasshoppers? How would you feel about raising mice and grilling them for dinner?

Found this image on the internet. Enjoy!

Baby Black Grass

     Better fences make for better neighbors, right?
     I had a problem. my neighbors had been cutting my lawn as if he thought it belonged to them. Typical. So I told the one it wasn't alright to destroy the grass in my yard by over mowing. He claimed he couldn't tell where my yard started. I assumed the other neighbor had the same issue.

     So I cut some of the Napier grass and stuck them into the bare sand, as if daring them to grow. The method is simple, make sure each cutting has three nodes on it. Then bury two of the nodes, keeping the third above the soil. Water occasionally.

The cuttings on the far side of the yard, freshly planted.

      The thing I like the most about Napier grass is that it looks like a beautiful black bamboo. Or maybe I like it because it grows very well here with no care. Or maybe because it makes a great easy to harvest rabbit food.

     I am dying to plant some of this grass out at my forest near the road. There it can aid in the prevention of erosion and create some more natural privacy. Plus it looks cool.

     After winter ended, I trimmed it down to the ground and mulched the trimmings. Then the napier grass grew uniformly, healthily, not unlike its smaller green counterparts. 

🍍 Pineapple

This pineapple has only taken about 5 years to start creating new life.

I guess this one must be Red Spanish.

from Catalogue of Rare Florida Flowers and Fruits:1894

Signs of an Impending Recession

     After living through the uncertainty that became prevalent throughout American culture in 2020, I have been thinking even more than usual about the impending zombie invasion. Kidding. Actually have been thinking about protecting our future selves against the inevitable economic downturn. We know it will be coming. Eventually the price of everything, including transportation and food, will be so high that very few will be able to work. And working won't be able to get a person ahead of costs, at least, not the single householder. People will have to live in government housing, or perhaps in familial compounds or maybe stacked mobile homes like in Ready Player One.

     Perhaps the greatest indicator of our changing economy has been the currency itself. The money is no longer backed by gold. Silver, nickel, and copper pieces no longer contain their metals in quantities in line with their metallic value. And then there's the treasury bill.

     It is known that China owns a large portion of our government debt, and that eventually it will have to be collected on. This debt has arisen out of Americans desire to persue happiness, and to a large degree we have achieved many of the indicators of happiness. People live in relative comfort with full bellies and healthcare to treat their ailments. We feel safe and secure, so much so that a large portion of the population has retreated into depression and drugs, or at least ambivalence to others and ourselves.

     Learned a fascinating fact recently - if the interest rates on ten year treasury notes falls below the interest rates on three month treasury notes, then it's an indication of an unsettling economy. As I'm writing this, 

10 year treasury note interest = 1.58

3 month treasury note interest = 0.03

So right now things are looking good in that respect. 

     Another interesting fact - the unemployment rate always goes up in the midst of a recession. As I'm writing this,

Florida unemployment rate is 4.7, and Michigan unemployment rate is 5.1. Both of these numbers are down from spring of 2020, when they were 14.2 and 23.6 respectively.

     As for economic indicators, it loooks like the unemployment rate and treasury interest rates are pretty easy to grasp concepts of how we are doing. It's unclear as to how to protect oneself from an economic downturn. I'm still working on that. 

     I would be interested to know what you think regarding economic downturn?

Mystery plant, has flowers in the early summer.

          Found this strange looking friend growing in the deep shade of a Ficus tree at my friend's house. He has 3 acres of mostly grass but he thinks its the most amazing property ever. Regardless, I thought this little guy was some kind of raspberry or blackberry due to it's diminutive size and berry looking pods. 

This picture was taken in May

     Later I continued to check on the berries, hoping it was something edible. But it never turned purple or red, instead it burst into color. Into a most familiar color, the native flower known as Lantana.

     I don't know that much about Lantana other than it has yellow flowers or it has pink flowers and sometimes you can find one plant with both colors on it. Some people say the ripe berries are edible. Maybe we should do more with this native beauty.

     Wikipedia says that Lantana is poisonous if eaten, but can be used topically as it has antimicrobial and antifungal properties. It also has chemicals which give it insecticidal properties, which makes it insect resistant. Lantana is native to North and South America.

Monarda punctata, Horsemint, Spotted Bee Balm

   I was at the forest garden and snapped a nice picture of an interesting looking flower near the road that I had never seen before. It was growing under the edge of shade from trees but also getting a few hours of sunlight as it was near the road. To me, these are among the harshest conditions known to plants.
     Then later I found an article on social media put out there by the Pasco County UF IFAS office that touted the horn of beebalm. It specifically mentions how the flowers of beebalm herald the beginning of Florida's fall wildflower season. What it neglected to mention in detail was beebalm's edibility and medicinal uses, plus the fact that it's a native that grows with no irrigation!
     Green Deane says it has more thymol than the other mints. It can be used as a cough suppressant, an antihelminthic, anti-inflammatory. He also says that it can make a sedating tea. Which might be good if you have a cough.

     On Archive, there is actually a book discussing the production of thymiol using beebalm, and breaks down the costs by acre. It's an interesting read. The information from 1916 is still every bit as true today, even if our currency's value has changed over the years.
     I have often thought about the value of creating herbal teas and tisanes to treat some common ailments. Dehydration would be necessary, of course, along with a delivery system such as tea bags. Beebalm would be a great herb to start out with, as it is medicinal, safe, and native.

Scrubland Baroness versus the River

     Collected another piece of property two miles from the forest garden. Im just going to collect lost little bits of land as investments. Well why not? Its not like they are making any more of it.

One hour of chainsawing later...

     Happened on a nice little piece of property about 8/10 of an acre that is a long rectangle. One of the short sides is on a paved road and the opposite short side is on an offshoot of one of the main rivers here in West Florida. The land was cheap; I bought it unseen. Judging by the amount of water present in the creek during the dryest part of April, I am sure my creek will have water all year.
     Went to work on it the other day with the chainsaw. I only worked for about an hour, but managed to cut a nice hole into the beginning. This will be another good spot to use those pavers from lowes.
   Someday, I get to be one of those people on the boat on the river. Someday.

Wild Coffee, Psychotria Nervosa

     I like to call this plant Psycho Coffee, because it's just more fun to say. I bought this several years ago from the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens, and it has thrived with no care at all. When I planted it back then I heeded the advice of IFAS and put it in the full shade, where it doubled in height and width and produced two seedlings. The seedlings also thrived in the full shade with no care, no watering, nothing.

     Psycho Coffee is native to Florida, and Florida is its only home. It's hardiness is from 10B to 11, but it's growing well in the full shade in my 8A front yard. I happened to be at the Pasco County Earth Day celebration, and there was a gentleman there from the Florida Native Plant Society and he had some for sale, so I picked up another one and supported the Society. I have also spotted it growing as a huge bush at the entrance of the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg.
     Psycho coffee propagates by seed, and I have found that the easiest way to propagate it is to dig up seedlings and put them where you want them.
     The berries are edible, and have a large seed in them. They don't taste good. Flowers attract butterflies and the fruits attract birds. Some say that members of the coffee family contain a hallucinogen called dimethyltryptamine, but it is unknown if Psycho Coffee has that chemical. It's called Psychotria nervosa for the prominent ribbing on the leaves.
     Definitely a keeper because edible fruit, beautiful flowers that bloom for months and attract pollinators, requires no care or watering, and loves full shade.

Tradescantia, Spiderwort 2019

     After several years of encouraging the spread of Spiderwort all over my little place, I have finally achieved sizable plantings. Enough extra Spiderwort that I could sell some at my future nursery, or bring some to the Fortress of Solitude.

     I really like Spiderwort. It sprouts in the Spring and blooms for months. It is one of the few native edible succulents, heck, I can't think of another. I once took the flowers and dyed them onto Easter eggs. There are so many reasons to keep Spiderwort around. Read my original post about Spiderwort HERE.