Dancing with the Universe

Okay, here's the "possible moving scenarios" post. So much is undetermined, or flexible, or just plain unpredictable, that I'm going to try to lay out the possibilities.

( One, two, buckle my shoe )

I was looking into flax again (I do still want to experiment with growing it, the area between the garden and the creek would be ideal if I can get the weeds under control), and I also received a package of roving mill ends that had a little packet of "rose fiber", and that got me thinking. Once I collect the tools for processing bast fibers like flax, how many fibers could I seek out at Three Creeks?

- Nettles are a classic, and we have a great many, though they don't grow densely. Collecting them over the course of a few years would probably make sense.
- Pacific blackberry, that living barbed wire, which grows to lengths of twenty or thirty feet.
- Himalayan blackberry, though its fibers may be coarser... might as well use it anyway!
- Scotch broom is not on the property, but it's easy enough to find down the hill.
- Bamboo... I am not willing to introduce it except possibly in an old bathtub or similar, but there may be some in the valley I can experiment with.
- Cattail? Usually the leaves are used for cordage and baskets, but they might yield good fiber. Also the stalks.
- Milkweed can offer both bast fibers and down.
- Knotweed! Hopefully the Japanese knotweed is on its way out by the edge of the lawn, but the giant knotweed (Polygonum sachalinense) is still beyond the fence, and with a height of 10-12 feet, it should have no shortage of long fibers.
--- I should also consider freezing the leaves as a spinach alternative (if I don't want to dedicate garden space to spinach), and the dead dry stalks can be used for fuel, or at least kindling.
- Maybe Canada thistle? It grows as tall as flax when left to itself, and doesn't branch much at all. And heaven knows it's wiry enough.
- I should check out tansy ragwort, which grows in profusion in the valley, though it may branch too much.
- Moth mullein, now that I know how tall it can grow in the right conditions. It is reportedly insecticidal as well.
- Bamboo grass certainly cuts the hands of the unwary, might be worth it for cordage or twine if not finer goods.
- Sunflowers or Jerusalem artichokes... small varieties might be best.
- Fern fronds? I should take one apart to see how the fibers are.

One note: thick-stemmed plants (knotweed, sunflower, maybe even Himalayan blackberry, nettle, and cattail stem) can require long retting times, so splitting/peeling them first might be wise.

Apparently flax tow can be used for paper, and someone on a forum suggested making it with knotweed, so I suspect most of these could also be used. It's one good use for the tow, along with spinning it for twine, candle wicks, and coarse cloth/canvas/burlap.

Huh... Milkweed fluff might be carded and spun like cotton or tow. Or this:
"If you really want to "test the primitive waters" I would suggest harvesting a basket full of milkweed seed pods while they are still green. One at a time split them open and begin rolling the white filament between your thumb and index finger discarding the seed. Keep adding to the "thread" to increase the length. Milkweed sap is very much like glue that will help stick the white filaments together. One pod will make a thread of extreme length. With practice it is possible to produce a fairly heavy thread. Milkweed "twine" is extremely strong. Native Americans used this thread for sewing hides to make clothing and footwear. The heavier thread was also used to bind flint knife blades to handles and flint points to arrows etc."

Since plant fibers can be stored dry for years, either retted or not, it may be worth collecting and experimenting over time.

Well, hopefully the water box is settled for real this time.

( Suck it up, buttercup )

Today's weather started all right, then went from bad to worse.

Fortunately, I went out and dealt with the waterbox around midday, so by the time the wind picked up I was safely inside. It had been steadily drizzling all morning, which I didn't really mind; sure, my pants legs got soaked from hiking through the ferns, and my coat got damp, but it was still warm. And my boots are still waterproof up to the laces.

( Maintenance hatch )

It turns out that you can, indeed, make things with straight Aronia berries...

( Tasty fruit thingies )

Yesterday, Conrad and I tackled the main beaver dam.

( Draining the swamp )

So, yesterday was Friday. Thursday afternoon I started to hear rumbling sounds, and it took a clear peal before I realized my aunt was not moving furniture. She thought I'd fallen out of bed. Turns out thunderstorms here are more dramatic than they are at home.

( Clearing the air, getting back on track, and closing the door )

I was looking up decomposed volcanic ash (andisol), as that's what we have on the higher parts of the property; the lower parts are dominated by alluvial deposits, partly from andisols, partly from ultisols (old forest soils). The lower areas, thanks to the silt from a couple of centuries of stream activity and rampant plant growth, are pretty fertile, though verging on acidic bog land... I have a decent idea what they're like (probably a bit low in minerals, high in organic matter and sequestered nitrogen and potassium, fertile if you can get it drained and bring the pH up). But the volcanic ash is new to me.

( Soil wonkery )

"You're not gonna believe this," said the smaller of the two plumbers, about three hours in.

"What?" I said, braced for just about anything (this is an old house, with somewhat irrational plumbing).

"We're almost done."

"...No way."

"I told ya!"

( Waterworks, trees, and agreement all around )