Kitchen Gardeners

Just heard a report of a lawsuit against a homeowner's association that forbids clotheslines. How did we as a culture reach the point where basic survival mechanisms are banned? Why do the powers that be insist that we should all live as if we had servants to do our real work in invisible ways? Growing our own food, drying our clothes, etc., etc., are all "eyesores." Yards, all of nature, are supposed to be manicured. Kids aren't supposed to climb trees or mess up a lawn with homemade tents and "camps." We're all supposed to sit in our little air conditioned cubicles and stare at screens, get our food from windows and eat in our cars. And when we go out we're supposed to have electronic gadgets glued to our ears so we can't hear the birds or the wind or streams running. To paraphrase Plato, is a completely insulated life worth living? What have we done to ourselves? Even those of us who rebel against the madness are severely affected because with everyone else's brains occupied in this fake world, it's lonely out here.

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You can string a few old cds on the clothesline at different lengths. The moving reflections when the sun hits the cds with the wind blowing, will keep the creatures away............at least so I've heard.

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What is greener than a clothes line? Wind AND Solar Powered. Winter in Iowa is the only thing that slows down the path to the clothesline. More Clothesline! I'm thinking about marketing a sturdy set locally as a way to combat families utility bills. And yes, sheets off the line, so divine..

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I worked in real estate for a while, so it was common to see HA requirements and share them with new buyers. Most didn't mind. Some were appalled. I was once helping a family that was selling their home because the H had told her husband he had to cut down all of his roses - they were not permitted according to HA rules.

I don't want to live anywhere where someone else is telling me what I can grow and how tall it can be, and what color my front door has to be. I have chosen not to live in such areas because, first, the houses are being built on top of each other, and second, because I don't want anyone telling me I can't grow veggies (or anything else).

On the subject of clotheslines : ) it's all my mother ever used when I was growing up. However, I was the one going out to the line in the burning heat of summer and on freezing cold days to hang and retrieve the laundry. I never did get comfortable with the idea of my bra and undies being on the line for anyone to see, and I can't tell you how many times we had to defrost clothes by the fireplace because they'd froze stiff as a board on the line in winter! Mother still used a clothes line, even though she has a dryer (It came with the house). My father hangs out the clothes now and brings them in. I'm happy to have and use my dryer proudly and conservatively. Besides, I have too many dogs that would be fascinated by my sheets flapping in the wind, and more than happy to rip my undies from the line and toss them around the yard.

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I had a dog for a very short time who pulled clothes off my clothesline at the ranch and dragged them out in the hayfield and rolled around with them. We got rid of him the way ranchers get rid of dogs, sadly, but humanely.

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HOW TO - ADD A LINK

Several people have experienced difficulty putting working links into comments and blogs etc and I know it is clumsy.... so here is how you do it.....

First type the text you want to appear....  ie  IAN'S PAGE

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Created by Ian Jun 7, 2009 at 7:28pm. Last updated by Ian Jun 8.

Forum Policy

Hi, I'm starting to put together a few guidlines on using the discussion forum on here.

I would be happy to hear any comments you may have.  This is very much a work in progress so plese feel free to ask me to add anything you think is needed.

I don't want to make our community hide bound by rules and regulations but I think that, as the community has grown, some explanation of what is expected is needed.

Administration

You can refer any que

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Created by Ian May 23, 2009 at 1:55am. Last updated by Ian May 25.

Climate maps

Hi following recent discussion I have put climate maps of the USA, Australia and Europe on here for reference..

 Climate map of the USA

Climate map of Australia

Climate map of Europe

 

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Created by Ian Sep 12, 2008 at 6:20pm. Last updated by Ian Apr 14.

Recipes, Recipes, Recipes

Hi Everyone,  I've started to collect together recipes from various posts on the site and put them all together here.

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They are organised in Contributor Order but I'm open to better suggestions!

BEVA'S RECIPES

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Created by Ian Jun 2, 2008 at 9:54am. Last updated by Ian Apr 13.

US STATES ABBREVIATIONS

 

US STATE ABBREVIATIONS

AK - Alaska               AL - Alabama              AR - Arkansas
AZ - Arizona              CA - California           CO - Colorado
CT - Connecticut          DC - Dist of Columbia *   DE - Delaware
FL - Florida              GA - Georgia              GU

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Created by Ian Jan 27, 2009 at 4:27pm. Last updated by Ian Jan 27.

HOW TO - MAKE COMPOST

Recently there was an excellent discussion about composting. I’ve pulled together all the various comments here. You can also watch KGI's video on composting here.

 

 

KATE’S ADVICE

I used to have a tumbler that we made from a wine-barrel but

1 you have to fill it up all at once

2. it seemed mostly

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Created by Ian May 30, 2008 at 5:29am. Last updated by Roger Jan 15.

Notes Home

Welcome to Notes.

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Created by Ian May 28, 2008 at 12:10pm. Last updated by Ian May. 30, 2008.

A Note about Notes

I have just written this note so that I can see what we can achieve by using this new feature.

If you read this and have any suggestions then please leave a comment on my page or email me.

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Created by Ian May 28, 2008 at 6:19pm. Last updated by Ian May. 28, 2008.

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