The Öko Box

Stickin 'Mud' on a Shitty Wood Stove

2011-11-25T16:13:00.006-05:00

I knew before i moved into the yurt that the woodstove was kinda moody.... it burned hot and fast - not the way you want it to burn for a long cold winter. Then when i was casually perusing the wood stove section of a Lehmans (non electric homesteading) Mag i saw this exact stove pictured....

Omgawd... the first words next to the glossy pic were "don't buy one of these cast iron stoves if you desire high quality." I laughed. and laughed. and then started to think of ways to work around it's poor quality...

While experimenting with pushing ash in the grill holes and also against the giant gap in the door, i felt like an uber genius when i thought of using a clay/ cob / -like substance to fill in the cracks and holes.

I could totally get toxic stuff to fill this in.... i could use glues and pastes and fire proof fiberglass ropes, but i hate chemicals. I hate ruining my home space with chemical stuff - because what i am looking for is to make things more comfortable, easier, healthy and pleasant.

!! Screw buying some creepy VOC goop..... cause for free i got some clay from a dug up pile of dirt on Dogget Mountain, and mixed it with rice flour. Anyone who eats gluten free knows rice flour turns to something awful and cement-ish when baked...
I mixed the clay, the rice flour and water in a bowl and started filling in the spots where air was leaking too much (causing the hot fast fires)......

and so far so good. There was some slight cracking in the clay, but i kept filling in the cracks as it shrunk and dried, making sure less air could get in the stove while the door is shut.

Now i have to do the smaller cracks.... like the cooktop and all around! and this doesn't solve the issue that the manufacturer didn't even bother to make the flue/damper fit correctly either! (lame and shame!) The only solution for that is to put a second one on there.

I am kinda glad about the cracks though, cause its fun to play with the clay... and i like experiments. :)))

XOoxOX

Little Leaf Hopper (red and blue/grey)

2011-11-21T18:09:00.004-05:00

Sooooo tiny. sooooo friendly..... so pretty!
I wish i could have gotten a better close up of its awesome face!...... but the red beedy eyes say it all. :))))
oOXOOxX

Everybody Wants Direct TV... EvEeeeryBoDy

2011-11-21T18:04:00.002-05:00

XoOXoOX

Yurt - y - Purty

2011-11-16T16:38:00.002-05:00

THE Yurt! not to be confused with similar words.... like YoGurt, or Burp, or Yack, or Turtle.

Because mostly when people hear i live in a yurt, they think i live in a yogurt container or a pile of exotic animal dung.

I wasn't sure how living in a yurt would really fair out.... ya know... with weather and it being a bit like a giant tent and all. This yurt has been up for some years now and it seems like brand new still - no damage, smells free of anything nasty, a real simple yet functional floor plan.

I like it. Its kinda awesome and i think people should know its a good option for housing, during economic strife (building a regular common house is WAY expensive and wasteful).

..... but i digress into my planet-y thoughts.....

let's just look at the yurt..... cause its so fuckin neato!

This one has the silver bubble wrap type insulation (stays SO warm with a woodstove, its freaky! its even sweaty!) in between layers of fabric walls (inside wall/outside wall).... the fabric of this yurt is made of synthetic weather proof stuff and it works really well. I have already sat in pouring rain, scary winds, etc.... and it weathered just fine with no leaks. The window can be zipped shut completely, or the clear part can be pealed off (Velcro) and leave a screen for fresh air.

There is a built in section with a small bathroom and kitchen, and loft on top that space to sleep (get there by ladder)...

PLUS a bubble sun & moon roof in the center!!! Talk about wacky, trippy, weird.....

you can watch the clouds go by, the rain hit, the storms blow in, the stars above, the moon move across the sky, the sun come up...... the bubble makes you connect to flow of nature outside while sleeping inside.

I really like it. Impressed, is what i am.

*** i will show more details later, when i make a video on a sunny day! ****

(this yurt is made by the Colorado Yurt Company)

XooOXO

MOvinG is Change, Change keeps MOvinG

2011-11-14T09:28:00.005-05:00

I am just starting to adjust and settle down into having left the Luck Cabin.

I dream of it every night while i sleep, seeing the cabin from the outside, orbiting around its walls only in my deep subconscience mind - never really inside it. My conscience mind keeps in the present when it can - but moving has that.... ya know.... epic feeling of change. Major change that is not always easy to flow with even if ya love it, trust it and know you want it.

Its not just the cabin though. It is leaving an adventure that borderlined dangerous, an experiment i had no idea i was walking into. I thought I was going to a peaceful self sustaining place to live my life...... but what i experienced was more like an initiation into some kind of survival club i didnt even know i joined! A survival club that copied the patterns of The SHinING movie for a basic script during winter.

My last drive over Dogget mountain with my truck packed with the last of my belongings- i felt chills come over my body, i felt like that initiation was ended and made known to me all at once. I felt the mountain was smiling on me, saying i had done a good job with the shit it gave me, and now i could go back into the world slightly below.... i felt Dogget mountain was proud, and it was spitting me back out the bottom a different person..... shooting me down it's curvy snake slide like a bird pushing its babies out its nest to fly. Or maybe like a kid down a water park slide for the first time.

*Lesson I learned : Winter.... shouldnt do it alone at the top of a harsh snowy mountain.

(this radiohead song below is exactly what leaving the Luck Cabin felt like to me........)

And now....

relief.

A kind of outward breath, so different I am not really breathing out but sucking back in and accessing whats here. Am I safe now? yes. and so are the animals (as safe as farm animals can be!) We gotta make some temporary alterations to our old patterns.... until we find our permanent home....

I didn't move back into the city, or even close to that kind of life. It's still the forest, it's still rural as hell, still at the end of a road no one goes unless they live here - i still will be chopping and carrying in my logs to stay warm, cooking all my meals, hiking, exploring, discovering. It's just not on top Dogget mountain, and that says it all to anyone who's lived FULLY year round on top Dogget mountain..... and not many do.

****

With that emotional super emo crap being said.... :))))

here is what the future is more like while i look for my true home...............

(and i dont mean naked orgy... i mean FREEDOM)...

**********WARNING THIS VIDEO CONTAINS NUDITY!!!!!!!!*******************

Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook by le-pere-de-colombe

XOXoxOXOX

MOved to a Yurt (Mad World Dance)

2011-11-12T11:03:00.003-05:00

I am at my temporary new place! I live in a yurt...(secret location)

I like it bunches, i get tons of sunshine, there lots of wildlife/animal excitement here, plenty hiking and exploring, the yurt is warm with a woodstove.... andddd

just enough space to dance around and release my demons (aka anxiety/stagnant emotions).

XoxoxoX

The Beginning Of The End ::: The Move

2011-10-29T11:26:00.002-04:00

Here I goooooo.............................

Winter came before fall could end.....

XoOXoOX

Bye Bye Luck Cabin

2011-10-25T16:53:00.005-04:00

I have been preparing to leave the Luck cabin.... not just for the winter, not for a vacation, not for a weekend.... forever.

It was not an easy decision after everything i put into it, but i guess i am living up to the Gypsy nickname my parents have given me. A slow nomad, going from forest to forest... and then...

pass it on.

Each one.

Passing it to the next runner. The family who is taking over the Luck Cabin could not have been anymore perfect... they have a great respect for the forest, as a whole, and as each organism that comes together to make it function, that makes it what nature intended it to be. They will cherish this micro climate, with all its rare plants, and invisible animals (who only leave evidence of their lives rather then show themselves)...

............

I will leave my goodbye at that. So much could be said, it could be its own novel - but i have cried enough tears saying my goodbyes, and now I look into a open future again.

Searching for another place, to call home.

A search that has already lead me to many secret & strange tucked away places -

and each one holds bit by bit a puzzle piece to the whole i want to take root.... a bigger picture, my own personal perfection. And i have made the lists ..... the lists, always come to fruition, for better or sometimes for worse. And that is why.... before making wishes, be sure you want to get what you want. I made two this week, with two pennies - and just went ahead and repeated the first wish twice. Insure my intention.

For now (while moving), i am going to roll with the adventure part. Maybe not even roll with it, but roll IN it, Eat it, breathe it, love it, let it scare me, let it soothe me, let it open itself up to me. Let it make me laugh, let the giggles come, the horror, the disappointment leading to more unknown. I will take it all, exhausted or smiling. Cause i can't stop watching.

Xoxoxox

Larry Hopsalot (grasshopper)

2011-08-01T11:59:00.004-04:00

(As named on FaceCrack by my friend Shannon.)

It's a face that more then a mother will love.

:)))

XoXOXOXx

Fuzzy Arm'ed Moth (Brown, Black and White)

2011-08-01T11:49:00.005-04:00

Omgawd! wow. This tiny beautiful moth now rivals the great big Lunar moth in supreme awesomeness (in my mind)! This is the first time i have ever seen a moth with extended arms that look completely like a furry fuzzy beast fists.
The coloring is also very bold, and stunning - I am not sure how this works in nature as far as camo... it reminds me a hipster wedding cake.... so maybe it can hide at annoying, hip weddings? I would hide too.
Mr. Fuzz Arms did not blend in well with the colors of wood. But possibly it does with a tree that has alot of white fungus/mushrooms growing on it.

Does anyone know the name of this moth and what caterpillar it comes from?
XoxXOxoXo

Drive in the Rain

2011-07-26T13:59:00.001-04:00

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

just a rainy day drive in the mountains.

XoxoxX

Kitten VS Donkey

2011-07-25T19:31:00.003-04:00

JuJu the donkey made a new friend. Sort of. He seemed to be just chasin' tail!

XoxoXOx

TINY grasshopper (grey, tan, camo colored)

2011-07-23T15:02:00.003-04:00

Soooo tiny, like the size of my pinky finger nail. anddd, it looks like little tiny wings on its back, but it's just two tan dots that are part of the pattern.
I like to think of them as evolving dragon wings.

Loooooook at his amazing old man, stone henge, pouty, big nosed face!!!! it's like something you see in a nursing home.
A face i love!
xoxoxoxox

Hanging Laundry To Dry (with JuJu the donkey and Bruiser the dog)

2011-07-20T20:21:00.003-04:00

The Flagyl antibiotics are wearing off.... and just in time for the sunshine to come back out... and i can be in it's bright heat again! I call um' hot hugs.
So, now i have to wash all the new underwear i bought because I burned all the ones i was wearing while having the Giardia parasites. Fuck that parasite, it stole my whole summer... i show no mercy. I play no games, and i take no chances. Out with the old farted panties, in with the new!

Time to wash down all my clothes and really scrub the cabin (to shine like the top of the chrysler building?) too... just in time cause my mom who has cleaning OCD arrived in town yesterday and due to come over this week.... HELP mom, you must use your special talent on my sinks and toilet! Make it safe again! ;) ha ha

Oh yeah, and here is my life in video.... exciting yes? Just me and the animals hanging laundry together.

XOOXoxox

Magical Carrots::: ft. bruiser, juju and jen

2011-07-18T18:28:00.002-04:00

My friend jen came to visit me and the animal crew today... and she brought JuJu her own bag of carrots. They really helped JuJu with not wanting to stomp on Bruiser the Dog...
Here is a video of how the carrots work like magic...

Thanks Jen for coming for a visit! You are such an awesome friend !!!
XOxoOX

Bug and Dog and Gang

2011-07-17T16:16:00.003-04:00

When things shift, for me it always seems to be a violent shift.... but an invisible one. It's like a horrible fart that makes no sound, but the smell wakes you in the night, and you think WTF has that dog been eating in the woods?
My life... silent but deadly... smelt it but didn't delt it?

I have a dog now. My neighbors dog who is known as the neighborhood "whore dog" (AKA, Bruiser) - because he can't seem to stay at home. He doesn't say why and it doesn't matter how he ended up back at my house... he is here now. A big bag a gluten free dog food, and I made him his own pillow bed from some wool and fabric. He seems content, and has not yet run away.
I was feeling a bit more then disappointed this week, because the local primitive & outdoors living skills classes (called Firefly) was happening and i missed it due to having to take the Flagyl anti-biotics to kill the mean, evil, worthless giardia (parasite) that was plaguing my intestines.
And kill it, it seems to have done. Kill many things. No more diarrhea! YAY... but oh the fuckin' side effects that linger and my body is eager to throw off toxins, which means now the waves of nausea are again my pal. A friend I have to tell to go away.
I chant over and over "but no more diarrhea!"

I have noticed with the weird weather we are having this summer (it never gets hot here, and now it is downright chilly!)... the variety of bugs has shifted a bit from last year. I have seen maybe 3 live mosquitoes all summer. Had only one night of No-See-Ums.... and the moths are slightly different too. And remember the giant bug that got in bed with me? The Palo Root Borer Beetle....
here is a video of one outside, looking for a place to lay eggs and then actually laying them in a dead log outside the Luck Cabin!......

My animal gang is my joy, entertainment, my drama, and my laughter.
If you replace "my animal gang" with "my future man" ... that totally sounds like a terrible 'walk on the beach' personals ad. ha ha. I bet these guys would love to walk on the beach too... maybe i can book that whole animal crew and myself a plane ride to the Caribbean, the donkey would love it.
XOxOXoxOX

Floor Oiling 'Ballet' !

2011-07-14T15:31:00.003-04:00

Originally when i finished my woods floors, I made my own non toxic oil out of bees wax, walnut oil, salt and vinegar (cooked a lil'). Now when i want to give it a quick re-finish i go over it with just the walnut oil.

I do it by hand... usually on my hands and knees. This time all i used my knees for was the dancing, swaying, sliding, fun because I oiled the floor using my feet! I took two wash rags and two rubber bands and fastened it to my shoes. :)))
Slip N Slideeeeeeeeeeeeeee

XOxOXOX

Luck Cabin For Sale

2011-07-13T20:38:00.004-04:00

The Luck Cabin..... built in 1970 by some mountain man.... hardly touched until 2010/11 by me.... i did a total transformation to this cabin. I wanted to stay here for the rest of my life. But it ain't gonna happen. And now it's official, a small piece of my sweat and soul is for purchase.
$120,000.... and all this can be yours (see list under the pictures!) :))))
Above - outside shower, below is the back deck...
the mini barn with built in chicken coop me and my uncle designed and built.
and here is the front door.... go inside....
the living room and kitchen are open to each other... the loft is up top...

bathroom has composting toilet (dont worry i will clean it out before i leave), clawfoot tub and little birdbath sink...
and the one bedroom.....
ALL ABOUT IT :::::::::::::::

--- composting toilet
--- grey water system for sink and tub
--- gravity fed spring water to house, with outside non electric pump
--- pond
--- mini barn with storage space and chicken coop
--- fenced in approx. 1 acre
---property approx 8 acres
--- flat, sloping, steep, wooded, small cleared area for garden
---claw foot tub, stain glass window, outside shower
--- locally milled hickory wood floor
--- new metal roof with 40 year warranty
--- PEX (pecs) plumbing
--- gravel road
--- large deck and covered porch on three sides
---creek, springs
--- satellite internet, with French Broad's Broadband being installed
--- electric stove, electric fridge
--- new storm windows
--- woodstove

You Burn Bras, I Burn Panties

2011-07-13T20:18:00.002-04:00

For the last week, I have been taking a antibiotic called "Flagyl".... it kills protozoa. While raging through the waves of illness and side effects to the drugs - i decided to take the time to test out my skills at being OCD. I am not so good at it, but i have mopped my floors about 4 times this week (more then i usually do all year), i have washed clothes, scrubbed the tub and sinks several times, i have taken everything out cabinets and wiped them down. Soon i will do a second round on cleaning out the composting toilet (supremely unpleasant now!)

Then as a final anti-parasite ritual (with practical purpose) i decided to buy all new underwear and burn the hell out of the pairs i have been wearing since i got sick.
Wasteful? yeah.... well, so are sick people who use tons of toilet paper, medicines, resources, and waste away doing nothing but being ill ---- and i dont want to re-infect myself, or some other person. My panties were the main thing i own that could questionably harbor the parasite because i don't have a dryer to high heat kill them, and with the summer humidity I can't quite get anything "dry" around here.
So BURNNNnnn bayb burn. Sorry panties.

The antibiotics have halted the diarrhea finally....but it's not like I went back to normal, because with all the other symptoms the pills cause i don't know left from right.
It's akin, to being a zombie, who has demons exercised out ya body, with sick gaggable nausea, headaches, stiff neck, and sleepy brain... with a side order of cramps, paranoia, confused/disjointed thoughts, and jumpy body parts. WTF. Oh and i can't go in the sun at all!!!
Vampire maker pills!

XoxOXO

We No Speak Americano (dance!)

2011-07-04T20:44:00.002-04:00

I drank some Usnea tea and had a lil' burst of energy. YAY!
So here is my July 4th tribute. Except i forgot it was July 4th until a little while ago. oh! bad bad americano, i am!

XoxoxX

Ghost Of Myself

2011-07-04T14:48:00.002-04:00

I went on a ghost story binge yesterday.... which made me want to make my own fake ghost picture in the Luck Cabin.
So here is me, dead and haunting you.
:)
In other news.... the test results came back from the allopathic doctor and I am free of parasites they say. Like 100%.
Only thing that sucks about that, is i only got about 30-40% better after having took the Para-shield pills. So what next?
Even though i paid the doctor in full and many many hundreds of my dollars, they refused to call me back and tell me what route i should take. Also they told me to go to my family doctor, which i dont have, DUH, cause most doctors suck. Then they promised to refer me after the holiday ends. But only to a GI clinic which i have been before that treated me very badly.
GO US health care!

So...... for now I will concentrate on balancing the after-battle damage. (parasites and all methods to kill the little shitheads can really put your digestive track out of whack and under serious distress. )
Fingers crossed.... for probiotics, usnea tea, salt baths, happy thoughts, etc.....
...........
a wise man asked me recently "is this a hill you are willing to die on"....
no,
fuck no. Not ready to be the ghost of myself just yet.

XOxoXoxo

To The Local Farmers Market

2011-07-03T15:53:00.003-04:00

Warning ::: this video, is a bit dizzy ....

XooxXOx

HUGE Black Ant (with golden stripes)

2011-07-03T15:45:00.003-04:00

I was peeling back some bark on a dead hemlock tree, which is laying on the ground near my cabin.... mindlessly, i ripped a big piece off and found the biggest ant ever under there!!! Big ant, with big ant egg sacs... and no other ant like it in sight.
A giant loner.
Jet black with light golden hairs and rings on it's back end...
A dark loner.
An ant who doesnt lay but a small amount of eggs, it seems to manage on it's own.
A single loner.
Does anyone know what kind of ant this is?
XoxoxXO

BURn Buuurrrnnn

2011-07-01T14:32:00.003-04:00

That is my toilet paper burning. Yeah, sometimes i burned it before instead of compost it (it's a good way to start a bon fire)..... but this time i burn it with vengeance, witchery, science, and anger. I burn it to kill. I burn it it to rid the world of just a few more of the parasites which poison water throughout the world.
While I still wait for the test results to come back from the doctor about what exactly has invaded my body via my pond.... but i know what it is, the tests are just some scientific confirmation and a ticket to do more aggressive killing tactics. In the meantime... i burn things. I burn my toilet paper. I burn the junk i shovel out my composting toilet.
I burn with a motivation, an anger specific to an invasion of your body. Battle ground.
Sometimes I have moments of relief, while other times the pain from the parasites is so great that i sit slumped over and cry... i cry so sincerely that my bunnies and chickens and duck come to see what is wrong. The donkey will hee haw.
If a girl cries in the woods, do the trees hear her sounds?
I feel haunted by these parasites, by my own past which i forgot i had left behind until these last 5 weeks...
I refuse to live this way again. And so while i wait, i burn it away.
Piece by piece.
Note To Universe ::: pleasssseeee make this end, ASAP. please.

XOoxoXO

Tan Moth, with green/blue and yellow stripes on head

2011-06-28T21:09:00.003-04:00

I have never seen one of these moths in my life, and i think it's won a special place in the corner of my heart that i have reserved just for bad ass moths.
The contrast of the green/blue fuzzy head stripes.... with the subtle shades of tan in outlined waves on it's wings... omg, it's too cool. Sometimes understated beauty is best.

There were actually several of these moths all in one spot outside my front door. Has anyone ever seen one of these before, or can give me an ID on what type of moth it is?
XoxOxox

A Woods Walk (much tiny beauty)

2011-06-28T15:19:00.003-04:00

Since I have been sick the whole month of june (with suspected parasites from my pond, still waiting for test results to come back) .... i haven't been able to really walk much in the forest. I have been resting my body alot. The anti parasite herbal remedies i took made me half better, so today i went for a walk to see what the forest floor would behold. Cause if you look real close, there is always something going on - no matter how tiny the patch of ground you choose.
I found wild red bee balm, and mannnnnny mushrooms pushing their way up from the dirt...
Mushrooms hold some kind of magic, and no i don't mean the hallucinating and poisoning your enemy kind.... i mean, the way they always look like something in a fairy tale. Always manage to be beautiful, mysterious, and a sign of nature at it's best.
I saw alot of these tiny white flowers, which hang like bells or rain drops... or a saddness that is stunning in it's beauty.

I always get supremely excited when i see these mushrooms that look like underwater coral! I love when sea and land are so similar.
Tiny red wildflower.... growing near the red bee balm, but is not bee balm. Just a disguise.
XoxOXOX

White Moth with Black Spots

2011-06-28T15:15:00.003-04:00

Freaking beautiful! I haven't seen one like this in many many years... maybe since i lived in Baton Rouge, LA.

It's like a white cheetah, or leopard! Anyone want to ID this moth, and what it's caterpillar looks like too??
I Looooooove eet!
XoxoxoOX

Little Black Snake in my Bedroom

2011-06-28T11:53:00.003-04:00

More snake-ness!!! love it.

Anddddd, Frank Zappa's Baby Snakes song....
LOL

XoxoxoXO

Trip To The Doctor

2011-06-27T18:26:00.002-04:00

XOOXOoxox

Just Me and JuJu (the donkey) and Chickens

2011-06-25T14:03:00.001-04:00

the gang. today.

Xoxox

Help Me ID this Mushroom!

2011-06-22T12:44:00.003-04:00

I found these big brown mushrooms growing out of a log that had been inoculated with edible mushroom spores about 2 years ago...
only problem is, i wasn't the one who stuck the spores in there and I have no idea which types of mushrooms they might be.... or if they are from the spores at all. The logs were already here at the Luck Cabin when i moved in.

Can anyone help me figure out, if this is an edible mushroom?
here are some other viewpoints... side and underneath, showing the gills....
The brown color is very rich and healthy looking... these mushrooms are also really large and round - thick (but not as thick & heavy as a portabella).

XoXoxoOX

HUGE Ass Bug! Whoa...

2011-06-21T18:56:00.004-04:00

When this big bug entered my bedroom, i seriously thought it was a giant Louisiana cockroach at a glance..... fast moving, brown, huge, with those roachy legs!
Then it jumped in bed with me... omGAwd. Now i am not a bug-phobe as ya'll know, but this thing was making crunching noises and sounded like it was the size of mouse coming towards me. It kept crawling under my covers and under my pillow.....
since i don't usually sleep with strangers, i told him to get out of my bed.
It moved fast and furious, i could hardly get a good picture of it. And i could tell, this bug had bigger brains then most insects. It seemed to know things....
It's called the Palo Verde Root Borer .... a big name for a big boy. :)
XOxoOX

I Will Go With You

2011-06-19T23:19:00.002-04:00

But probably i wont. :)))

Still working on getting better... dancing to release the stagnate energy in my body.

XoxoXO

Orange and Black Butterfly

2011-06-15T13:34:00.003-04:00

Just pretty.

XOxoXOX

Leslie VS Parasites

2011-06-15T13:15:00.006-04:00

Oh yeah.
the battle is ON! I am equipped now with Parasite killing meds, probiotics, and salty stuff to take mineral baths in. No more of this losing weight, diarrhea, sick, grossness.....
Time to DiE parasites!!!!! I've had enough of your shit (so to speak). I am bigger, more awesome, and gonna win.

And I have a little special dedication song for them.....
Dedicated to myself and the enemy who lives inside me! lol

BTW--- ten years ago i took the same natural parasite killing substances (black walnut hulls and Chinese wormwood) and it made me a bit.... mean (angry?) for the duration. Please excuse me, while i go in and out of stability the next week (or 3).

XoXOoXO

Mating Ladybugs

2011-06-13T18:17:00.003-04:00

CUte! Little ladybugs mating on woodland nettles....
(woodland nettles sting, but not nearly as bad as stinging nettles...)
there was a whole lotta shakin' going on!
XoXox

Strange Shrimp Headed Bug (with wings)

2011-06-11T12:36:00.003-04:00

OMfreakin'Gawd.... check this insect out! What is going on here? It's amazingly freaky, uncommon, and almost looks like a bottom feeder from the ocean, but with tattered dragonfly wings!
Antenna a bit like a moth... legs strong like a grasshopper or cockroach.... construction like an alien from a horror movie.
If you saw this thing and it happened to be bigger then you, you would know for sure it was your last moments.
Mr. ShrimpHead got irritated with me taking photos of it, and opened it's damn mouth only to reveal a BIG yellow abyss, looking like the gates to hell, or like maybe a whole 'nother bug in and of itself. Bug monster within bug monster..... like looking in the hotel room bathroom mirror, where your reflection never ends.

I touched it very lightly once with a stick and it was very quick to be aggressive..... I backed off because I didn't want that yellow mouth piece to touch me. Ever.

Anyone know what kind of creature this is?

XOXOoXoo

Creek Flood!

2011-06-09T22:12:00.002-04:00

Most amazing rain storm exploded here today....

this (in the video below) is what it looked like after! There is a build up, as i walk down the road, to more and more intense amounts of water...

XOxoOX

More Baby Duck Action!

2011-06-08T17:43:00.003-04:00

Baby ducks are adorable!!!! (I am still really sick today, so my baby ducks have been a nice break and made me smile!)

Here is a video of when they arrived yesterday, and the neat-o fenced area my uncle built for them to stay safe in!

XoXXooX

Moths On My Porch

2011-06-08T15:37:00.003-04:00

Not everyone can be a giant beautiful Lunar Moth .... if you happen to notice them, the camo colored tiny moths are just as spectacular & unusual. But they blend in so well, it's not often I see any of these unless they come to my porch light and i squint closely at the wooden cabin walls to find them.
This first one, i have three pics of it because i have never seen this one before in my life... also it's curly wings and fuzzy face are amazingggg. Have speckled dots that almost resemble black glitter doesn't hurt either. :)))
Then there is a whole genre of moth that sticks it's ass out. Much like ladies do when walking and flirting, or dancers in a good music video.
Subtle stripes!
SPOTS!
And this one below.... is like a ghost, a ghost who's love lies bleeding. Because for some reason to me it looks like it has a head wound. Zombie moths attack???
and this big grey guy has been around the last week. A round hemlet head and big wings!
XOxOXXOx

Grey Snake

2011-06-07T21:08:00.004-04:00

MORE Snakkesss! Yesssss!
This is so cool. It's like a snake-a-thon out here the last two days. And all friendly snakes too, i think maybe it's a sign. Of what? I dont know.... but i could make up a buncha silly stuff it could mean.... and i am going to right now....
like :::

Dont judge a snake just cause its a snake, look closely at it's nature/attitude
I can find bunches of cool shit on my own (no need to lament aloneness making it harder to find bad ass stuff in nature.)
sometimes you get what you wish for, especially if it is obscure and easy to deliver, like seeing snakes or lunar moths
and if i think hard with my hippy mind.... i am SURE it means my kundilini is a' risen' (and i want to note here that spell check wanted to change "Kundilini" to "cunnilingus".)
According to my "Animal Speaks" book.... it means Rebirth. That the snake represents swift fast changes and shifts, and healing... AKA, phoenix rising from the ash in fast forward! that is me!

YAY!
Is this a garter snake? I can't remember.
I love him regardless of his name though.
XOxXO

Usnea, please kill the monster inside me

2011-06-07T18:05:00.003-04:00

I am still sick. Ginger tea only gave me a headache and i nearly puked. So today, i am bringing out the big guns. The super mega herbal antibiotic .... Usnea. Except it isn't an herb, it's a lichen that grows on trees (see pic above).....
I keep a bunch saved in a jar for no particular reason, and today i went hunting more since I am going to be drinking it 2-3 times a day in tea form until the monster inside my body is slayed .....
I didn't boil the water, i just made it really hot and tossed in a clump. I sip on it, then step away.
Things i noticed today after drinking it... headache, more nausea, a sudden minute of feverish heat inside my body (a little sweat) and like someone unplugged me. SoooOOOOooo sssssssleepy. AND i took a poop that was 30% less disgusting then what i have been dealing with the last 10 days. (Um Yiiippieee, but i am too tired to actually be excited, that is just internet happiness, which doesnt require a real smile.)
I read also usnea burns your throat when you drink it.... this is totally true, my throat felt burnt and spicy all day.

Finger crossed this works. cause i am starting to feel really freakin' awful and run down. I did laundry this morning, and was totally winded and could hardly finish even hanging my clothes. Not good.

XOXOxo

My New Baby DUCKS! yay!

2011-06-07T17:57:00.002-04:00

OMGawd OMG omg omg. My uncle brought me baby ducks today! And built a little fenced area for them to stay safe, and they have their own little rubber tub to swim in until they get big enough to hang out with the big boy duck!
holy crap, they are too cute to be true. Really, it makes my eyes water!
.... i wish everything in the universe could be seen with pure joy the way people see baby ducks. Maybe i will start practicing baby duck vision. That asshole (who did whatever assholes do to people), pretend he's a baby duck.
Cause baby ducks make everything in life much better.
XoxoXO

Self Dedication

2011-06-06T21:56:00.004-04:00

Cause sometimes no one else is gonna dedicate a song to you, so you just have to do it for yourself!
Here is mine for today.....
(luckily this time it isn't Air SUppley, heh?! lol)

this video is the best of alot of worlds for me.... the marching band (like mardi gras in new orleans), the lyrics, the marching band uniforms are not only hawt but also in my fav color.... then swamp camo monster people playing wind instruments! .... its all too much!!

XOxoxX

Brown Snake in the Barn

2011-06-06T18:45:00.006-04:00

YAY! today i saw two more snakes when i went to put hay out for JuJu the donkey. Just when i was feeling sad about not seeing enough snakes, now three in 24 hours! I found this one slithering around the barn (the other one was too fast for me to take pictures of. Neither was as cute as the Ring Necked Snake, which totally has a smile.) :))
This snake was scared of me, wasn't too aggressive... but i could tell it was very willing to get aggressive if need be. I have seen copperheads who are much more shy then this little guy.
Various shades of brown, with a tan belly... and a pattern that really looks like we could play checkers on it. And those orange eyes!

Does anyone know the scientific name for this snake?
XoxooxOX

Mouse Nest Made Of Feathers

2011-06-06T15:12:00.004-04:00

It is too fantastic for words. It's made mostly of chicken feathers, and a little bit of hay. Bee-U-tee-ful.

XoxXOx

OKstupid, The Worst of me and them!

2011-06-06T10:59:00.002-04:00

Since I have been sick all week and have had to lay down in bed alot.... plus started feeling more moody then I am accustom to - i started a bit of a funny, evil, entertaining useless project for myself.
It doesn't save the planet. It's not nature friendly, but maybe all the research will save me wasted time in future relationships.....
I have been jumping from random profile to random profile on OKcupid.com (the dating site) and picking out lines from men's profiles, and then writing down what i think after reading it. I apologize in advance if you were somehow picked and then somehow found this blog post. It's not personal.... i am just sick in bed and need to giggle.

HERE WE GOOOO:::::::::

________________________________________________________________
"I'm looking for a friend and then some as things progress naturally and at the perfect time."

ummm, not shit sherlock! Dont we all want that.
__________________________________________________

"Food: organic, low meat (except for the occasional steak) I love some chicken, cheesecake, bananas, rissoto, hummus, oh did i forget to say I AM THE GOD OF CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!! my dark chocolate truffle pie is orgasmic"

god of chocolate? Like you have to scream it???
_________________________________________________

"The most private thing I’m willing to admit

I have a large purplish colored tumor on my ass that must be scraped 3 times a day because of the excessive pus and the fungus. I have a dot in my eye."

Of course that is supposed to be a joke. but i didnt laugh. heh
_______________________________________________________

"You should message me if

a) you're a total babe and so smart it's intimidating.

b) you like to cook and pick out the suit i wear to work everyday the night before.

c) options a and b"

ya cant pick out your own clothes or cook for ya'self? Oh mama boy, why dont you call her up, i am sure she misses you.
____________________________________________________

"I've been on a bit of a self imposed break from dating and romance in order to get my own head straight, but now I find myself missing the kiss of a lovely woman."

controlling.
_______________________________________________________

"i look like a bum, even though i do live in an apartment (ie, am not actually homeless) "

thanks for the heads up!
________________________________________________

"The most private thing I’m willing to admit

I havent had a meaningful relationship in 4 years

Every once in a while I listen to the Indigo Girls and Tori Amos."

oops. you probably should not have admitted those!
___________________________________________________

"BIO: Who Me? I'm just some mostly het, aging male hippy, polyamorous, vegetarian, musician, electronic engineer. I live on a in small house in the woods of Western NC with my partner serene68, and whoever else happens to be living in our guest house at the time."

(*** Rolls EyeS**)

__________________________________________________

"My smile!
My kind eyes.
My goofy expressions!
My large and flowing laughter. it goes like this...
... hahaha HAHAH ... HAHAH .. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! haha. ha.
My large, luscious, nibblable lips. ;) "

whoa. ha ha? HAAAAAAAAAAAA??? ok nevermind.
_________________________________________________________________

"Tommybb"

watches online cam girls. Ya know it bb. lol

_______________________________________________

"just fond out about okcupid this morning. no time to fill in profile yet. you can check mine out (google pof). captain1111 "

Fucking LAZY!

________________________________________________

"wantajerk"

um, no. I am sure that screen name is working magic though on this dating site.
____________________________________________________

"My current project, purchase, or the media I'm consuming. I spent two days thinking about Mulholland Drive (and watched it twice in those two days). This type of obsessive thinking happens over and over to various degrees. It's both a good and bad trait for a programmer, I think. "

huh? oh sorry i wasn't listening, i was thinking about how my eyes glazed over and i felt lost.
______________________________________________________

"Drugs are no longer a part of my life, and if they're a big part of yours, we are on different trajectories. Good luck with that! "

Trajectories? Is that druggie talk?
__________________________________________________

"I found out last year I'm allergic to nuts. It's the great tragedy of my young life. "

really? is that all. I found out i am allergic to gluten, dairy, tomatoes, probably your house and clothes detergant, and my best friend commited suicide. It's the great tragedy of my young life.
___________________________________________________

"I don't take this thing too seriously.. but since it's an app on my phone I check it from time to time. If you want to chat hit me up!"

rule #1 of fight club, dont talk about fight club!
_________________________________________________________

"I'm better at manualism than anyone I know. I'm learning some Tuvan throat singing."

Its too bad you are not gay, i bet you give a good blow job.

____________________________________________________

"bike, juicer, blender, george forman grill, Grateful Dead, dr. pepper "

Recycled american hippy
_______________________________________________

"☆I am polyamorous. I am not going to be monogamous with you. That does not mean I am afraid of or avoiding commitment; although I am slow and cautious before entering long term relationships. If you are interested in something long term with me then you should google open relationships if you haven't already.."

oh, yawn. not another one. Did mommie and daddie not get along?
_________________________________________________

"I'm straight edge and vegan but I don't carry on about either."

I think you just did.

_____________________________________

"I'd like to meet someone pleasant here."

Let me guess... I bet you like sex TOO! See, I am psychic.

____________________________________

"Looking for a girl that feels naughty and like she deserves a spanking or just a little attention. "

Oh. They should make a special section on the website for these shanagans.
________________________________________

"Feels weird trying to summarize the collective experience of a lifetime, so I guess I'll try while drinking."

phew. didn't have to read the whole profile or go on a date to find out your an alcoholic.
_______________________________________

"Trying to get my life together and career off the ground."

try not being an alcoholic. You'll even get your dirty clothes and beer bottles off the ground.
____________________________________________

"WARNING! If you want to meet and in the course of our conversation I hear a hundred times you are wild, a bitch, crazy, a free spirit, you don't conform, or any other of a number of repetitive self advertising, I will call you out on it. Generally you can figure out someone is one of these things during the course of the conversation. If you have to keep telling people you're something, you are probably not.
And if we go out and you wish to explain why casual sex is bad, ugly, disgusting, for sluts, or whatever you want to say about it, save your breath. I respect your right to not enjoy your life, please respect my right to enjoy mine. This does not mean all I want is casual sex, I love making friends and meeting interesting new people, but I have a lack of respect for high-minded preachy morality. "

Too MuCh InForMATion. PLease save baggage for your diary or your blog.
And not everyone who skips casual sex is "not enjoying their life" .... but we can tell who gets cranky spanky when he doesnt get his.
__________________________________________________

"If everyone around you can choke on the amount of pretentiousness you spew out, I'm not interested"

woo wee. chill out dude. * cough cough* HACK, Omg wait! i think i am choking on something!
_______________________________________________

"I'm a complex guy. Honestly, I was in the a bar the other night reading the monkey wrench gang, while wearing a tshirt hell t-shirt making fun of seagulls choking on soda can rings, while listening to an old timey music jam, and waiting for my lamb burger with parsnip spears and a fine local porter."

Jesus, whats with all the choking? Is this a fetish?

__________________________________________________

"I am not a robot
are you?"

um, no. Ok. glad we got that part out of the way. It's always so hard to ask.
__________________________________________________

"The first things people usually notice about me

That they're no longer wearing socks because I have successfully rocked them off."

rock my socks off? Ripleys Believe It or Not! He can also pull a rabbit out of his top hat!
____________________________________

"On a typical Friday night I am

creepin. ^_^"

thats creepy.

______________________________

"Who am I? That's a good question."

Avoiding answering by stating the wonderfulness of asking.

_______________________________

"I am a native Ashevillain, I was born to a single mother on the mean streets of north Asheville. "

warning: you'll be hearing my excuses as to why i can't get it together in my life, for the full length of our relationship.

_________________________________

"I try at all costs to be friendly, I'm pale but not scary looking, I'm not the worst dressed person, I'm not the loner in the corner of a party, I like to be bold and see how things pan out.:

stalker!

__________________________________

"I'm a waiter/philosopher living in Asheville. Eventually I hope that will be condensed to just philosopher, but for now I can contemplate the deep meaning of serving people burritos. "

Yes, people pay big bucks to hear the thoughts of ex-waiters.
______________________________________

CerealKillerJST

41 / M / Straight / Single

Asheville, North Carolina

It's not a good screen name. Even if you spell it different.

_______________________________________

"I am currently in a polyamorous relationship with three women. I am very happy with the partners I have right now so I'm not looking for another girlfriend at this time."

uh huh. Just a hiking partner, for when your three girlfriends are busy? OH PICK ME, i always wanted to be the unloved 4th wheel of a polyamorous man's world.

______________________________________

"forgotton_soul"

Spells "D-R-A-M-A"
___________________________________________

"I love busting beats on percussions."

Do you beat them on a box, on a fox, on a house, on a mouse? Do you like busting beats with green eggs and ham, on Percussion sam- I -am?
___________________________________________

"im panamanian, i work in construction, im legal haha, I play in a punk rock band, I own my car, and dont have kids yet, and I like to work out, I dont like to be stereotyped, so if you r a man hater, or a racist bigot, just ignore the page..."

Oh Shit! I am legal too. ha ha.
___________________________________________

"I am easy-going, and generally up for anything. I love good music, good beer, and good people. Not necessarily in that order. Going out or staying in. With the right folks, either option is pretty appealing."

have you ever been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder? you would do well with it.
_____________________________________________

"The six things I could never do without

my identical twin brother
wiener dog
a list of some sort
a dream or goal"

you should be more specific about your feeling for 'wiener dog'.

________________________________________________

"On a typical Friday night I am

at home chilling with my dog playing video games on my pc... wow addict"

wow. NEXT.

_________________________________

"I'm looking for someone who is marriage oriented, wants children and would love to find someone who likes to run as much as I do or would like to."

A runaway bride?
_____________________________________

"I'm tall & have a sweet looking Gimli beard. (I wish, it's just a regular one)

I've heard I'm also quick with a joke but that's debatable. "

highly. How long did it take you to right that bad one?
______________________________________

"At this moment, I feel like I have accomplished more more than most people my age, and I am greatly humbled and appreciative of all that I have. But I feel incomplete...like there is a very large void in my life. Recently, I realized that the void is due to a lack of love in my life. Not that I don't have plenty of love and support from friends and family, because I do, but I am in need of the kind of love that comes from finding a person that causes me to have butterflies everytime I look into their eyes. I need someone to share my deepest secrets and desires with. More importantly, I want to be the guy that steals the girl's heart. I want to be th one she cant get out of her head. The one she tells all her girlfriends about.
Unfortunately, so far in life I have yet to run into this person, so I have decided to turn to the vast and infinite internet to help me in my search...to help me find someone that creates those beautiful butterflies."

might i suggest writing romance novels in the meantime?

__________________________

"I like late-sixties and early-seventies model muscle cars, motorcycles, good food, good company, wild places, physical exertion, a little bit of violence now and again, intelligent conversation, different opinions. I sometimes tend toward extremes."

So basically I will end up at the battered women's shelter?
_______________________________________________________

"I'm funny and a sarcastic asshole but not usually toward women. "

Not 'usually'. heh.
_____________________________________________________

"I'm currently working and bout to buy a truck so I can work more lol. "

I know, buying a truck and working is super funnny. lol
______________________________________________________

"I guess you could say I'm a typical outdoorsy guy. Most of my bikes and toys cost way more then my 94' 4runner."

for some reason, i just thought about all the starving children all over the world. I'm sorry what did you say your credit card debt was?
_____________________________________________________

"I'm a Punker at heart, but am very open about music, but please no country."

I am very open to punkers, but please no punkers.
________________________________________________

"If your boobies are real, you don't do botox, or haven't gone under a knife for any reason other then to fix an injury. If you can go more the a few days without a shower and like getting dirt under your nails every once and a while. "

I prefer calling them 'juggies', but boobies is ok too.
________________________________________________

"I think more than I act but hate inaction."

does this mean you hate yourself?
______________________________________________

"In my (albeit biased) opinion, I am charismatic, brilliant, dedicated, entertaining, healthy, stable, affectionate, supportive, talented, intense, and visionary. "

totally bias. any references?
___________________________________________

"how best to ride the American tsunami of consumerism and imperialism into a peaceful, beautiful, and abundant future world "

BOOM! SPLAT! ( my mind is blown!)
___________________________________________

"I grew up in a small town 30 miles east of Charlotte on a farm. I graduated college in 2005 with a degree in Business Management. Played baseball my whole life including college. So I love sports and outdoor activities. I work in the hotel industry because I'm a BEAST at customer service."

WelCOmE Tooooo AMERICA! Go USA!! War, coffee, football, a sofa, and boobs is all i need !
___________________________________________

"Sex,food,my dog,capstik,music,computer "

all together, in one bed!
____________________________________________

"On a typical Friday night I am

drinking"

unique.
____________________________________________

"I am computer scientist who enjoys self-reflection, gaming, and a good conversation."

they call video game addicts "computer scientists" now?
_____________________________________________

"i am nice guy who likes to have fun a little shy at first i like football wrestling wwe videogames hanging out "

sigh.
__________________________________________

" I like to look good because it makes me feel good! "

MEE tooo. what a ah-ha moment this was!
___________________________________________

"Myself, the hardest to ever look at. I'm crazy, I love sex, and I
just all around enjoy life. I hate being around whiners and people
who get nothing done."

and if you dont do what i tell you bitch i am gonna break dishes over your fuckin' head?
_____________________________________________

X0XoXOXooxxx
PS - Sorry guys, the devil made me do it! No copyright intended on OKcupid or the victims of the blog post.

Little Friendly Snake (Ring Necked)

2011-06-05T21:30:00.003-04:00

YAY! I havent seen a snake in forever. In fact, i was feeling a bit sad about the fact that there seemed to be no snakes around the Luck Cabin at all in spite of all the water & wilderness... i am not used to a snakelessness existence. I used to live in a house so full of snakes, it woulda made Indiana Jones's skin crawl (on the sofa, under the fax machine, on the kitchen counter, swinging from the front porch, hanging over the bed board!)

My cat Toots brought this little cute snake into my bedroom. I knew he was not poisonous, so i scooped him up and got a closer look at the cute little face... the slithering tongue, and made a friend.
A yellow belly, and grey skin.... and small yellow ring around it's neck - which give it it's simple namesake as the "ring neck snake". (makes it easy to remember that it doesnt pose a threat, they rarely bite.)
I have only seen really tiny ones, this one was actually the longest one i have ever held.
:)))) I like how its tail end curls and wiggles.
(of course, i spared this snake from my cat, and put it near a log pile outside to hide.)
XOxoXOOX

Sick of being SICK! (Ginger. Lemon. Honey Tea)

2011-06-05T17:46:00.006-04:00

I have been sick for an entire week now....
and i am soooooo sick of it. I have no idea what is wrong with me, but the whole thing has gotten so old.
I can still eat, but nausea and running to the toilet seem to be my mornings and nights now. It's so draining. In the span of time i have been sick in my life, a week is really nothing --- but since i have missed half my life due to illness, i would say i have less patience then i once kept stored up. This is driving me bonkers and kinda freaking me out. (Flashbackksss).

A few things could have happened :::

1. I went out to a party and to wrestling and may have caught something creepy from the other humans. Everyone knows rednecks carry germs. My friends do too.
Although, i have no fever, no aches, no symptoms of having caught anything at all.
2. I jumped in my pond with my duck and swam around in the mud. parasites?
3. Celiac Sprue...... i blame most everything on this silly disease i have. Mainly cause it causes everything digestively wrong and is so easy to accidentally get something in my mouth to trigger it...
4. I am preggers for the christ child, and he thinks me having diarrhea is a character building sacrifice. Alternately... some other dude's baby.
5. the new strain of E. Coli really is in the USA?

SO, i made some of this fancy tea...
my famous Ginger Lemon Honey Tea.... except i added strawberries this time.
All you do is bring it all to a boil and let it sit (then add honey).
The thing is, this gets rid of illnesses that are contagious (flus and colds and sore throats).... it might even fuck up a parasite or two, cause ginger is powerful like that. But i know, it will do nothing for my celiac sprue or the second coming of christ and i dont know about E.Coli.

XoxoXOXO

Mountain Laurel Blooming

2011-06-05T09:17:00.003-04:00

All around the Luck Cabin, there is mountain laurel bursting open, with clusters of white flowers. When they very first open they smell so sweet and good. Then the flowers slowly fall to the ground like white confetti, in a way so natural brides wish they could recreate such simple beauty down their wedding aisle, but could never compare.
I like it, alot.
XOXOxooxxox

Lunar Moth On My Porch

2011-06-05T08:18:00.004-04:00

When I was a teenager a boy i liked gave me a book that identified all the moths and butterflies in North America. I obsessively looked through the book over and over, flipping through pages, building up the the climax page which held the huge mysterious lunar moth....( akin to probably teenage boys when they got to the centerfold of their dad's dirty magazines.)
The Lunar Moth, i thought, was the most beautiful moth on the planet (not counting the ones in Madagascar) and I identified with it's ghostly quality and the fact that it stood out like a sore thumb. It very obviously wasn't like all the other moths or even the butterflies.
People would ask what animal I would like to be if i could be any in the world... I wanted to be a lunar moth.
I thought the chances of myself seeing one were about as good as seeing a unicorn.
Only one other time in my life have I seen a live, fully in tact Lunar Moth in real life.... and I had no idea that I would have a second chance to see one, and that it would feel completely epic also. Maybe it's cause they only live for a week, they really only come out at night when i stay inside.... i thought the last time was a flook because it had flown to a light inside that house in Big Sandy Mush during the night and got caught in a room so in the morning i got to see it.
This time, i found the lunar moth on the ceiling of my front porch during the DAYtime and almost let out a squeal when i realized it was there.
Lunar Moths seem to be very laid back, easy to put a finger under and have it crawl on... like a bird that's been trained. When it crawled onto my hand, it opened it's wings and showed it's complete "headdress" of awesome-ness. It's owl eye markings, it's wide huge wings, curling tail, it's fuzz was that of a small animal. Gentle outlines of the wings, and the purple/lavender furry stripe across it's top wings looks just like velvet.
A shy face, with magenta/purple-ish legs, and a ghost white body, so white it's almost shocking this creature survives in the wilderness as it does.

It is like, i had a special visitor... one i wasn't expecting, one that's presence is so strong i start wonder if it's a sign (i know dorky, right?), that i actually got to see and hold something so important to me, something i wish for but never think will come.
It makes me wonder what other wishes will come to my front porch.
XOxoxoxX

Bugs!

2011-06-04T23:02:00.005-04:00

*********
It is finally warming up here... and i am seeing more insects then I have seen in so long (another reason the cold season sucks)!
Here are a few crawlers & fliers I saw in the last two days... (ya'll know how i LOVEeeee bugs, but OMgAWd.... i got to see the most beautiful lunar moth too!!! More pics to come later.)

XxoxoX

LOcal WrestlinG, the STW Anarchy Co.

2011-06-04T12:55:00.004-04:00

**************

Back when I lived in Big Sandy Mush (oh how i miss the BSM & it's sunny valley)... I used to ride my bike, or get a ride on Bort's scooter to the BLue Ridge Championship Wrestling matches at the community center. It was all there was to do around there. And it was awesome.
Of course i don't really fit in with the crowd but that never made me less loved or accepted at these events.
Recently I discovered there is some local wrestling (somewhat) nearby where I am living now! But over down in Haywood County....

Was it any less? Any more? Any different? Then the wrestling I dared to watch before?

Shit if I know. Maybe all of the above.
All i do know, is i laughed and screamed the entire time - Anarchy wrestlers do alot of yelling and talking, to each other and the crowd. They used chairs, ladders, face slapping, name calling. They told children in the audience to "shut up" and there seemed to be little boundaries once the testosterone got rolling.
It is in my opinion performance art, on every level. Someone could argue with me that it's not, but I wont listen. As redneck as these things may seem to some, there is serious endurance involved, serious acting, creative thinking, and some of those jumps are WOW... I was totally entertained.

Here are the highlights of local wrestling in Clyde , NC -------- It's a FULL on beat down!!

PS--- the titty twister is of course, my favorite part!

XOXOOX

Where Have I Been?

2011-06-02T12:37:00.009-04:00

Only the trees, birds and bees know for sure. :))

Remember my To Do At The Luck Cabin (even though i can not live here year round for the rest of my life) but I am going to keep doing stuff anyway LIST?
Me either. I'll have to go look at it.
But, I think i have been getting some of it done....
Let's just say I have been 'taking out the trash' in my life - in with new out with old.

***
1. First big change... I put up a gate on my road to keep strangers in vehicles and 4 wheelers and gators OUT, and keep JuJu the donkey IN. So far it's working it's function really well. I already planned on doing this, but the point was driven harder to get this gate up for JuJu patrol when a bobcat came and killed 6 chickens and my female duck. (I found the bobcat tracks and no other tracks around.)
One big drawback, JuJu started trying to eat my house. Ya'll may argue this, but it is just to get my attention and be an asshole... she has hay and green things and a salt lick to eat. She learned quickly that eating the house made me come out the house and be mad.... she don't care about the mad part. :0
BTW -Did I mention this gate also helps keep out random rednecks? Yay!

2. Then I started finally doing all the laundry that had been building up, got my Lehman's Hand Washer drain unclogged... hang drying clothes and sheets on the line, when the sun finallllllly shined day after day.

3. Got all the literal trash loaded up in my truck and my uncle's truck... which lead me into....

4. a house cleaning SPREE! You know the neglect is bad when a 425 sq ft house takes over 3 days to get cleaned up. To be fair i was cleaning outside too, plus cleaning out my soul and disposing of outdated relationship knick knacks, etc....

5. NEW GUTTERS (hooked up to rain barrels)! woo! the old gutters were ripped off the house during the winter by the extreme amount of snow and ice on the roof (bent the thing right in half like a twist tie). Now the new gutters are hooked into the rain barrels!

6. Did i mention taking the trash out of my love life & heart? I did a dance about it for myself and my friend Heather (the one who had brain surgery recently & is going through a break up). Watch it HERE if you dare, cause it's got pazzaz and passion.

7. Outside shower is FIXED! yay! There was a tiny amount of PVC piping left on there and it had of course cracked during the winter. I had stop valves put on the shower for winter time and all the piping for the cabin & outside shower are now PEX only. None of the pex ever broke.

8. BUGS.... of course. I have been looking at all the new bugs coming out. Moths and caterpillars and flying crawling, wiggling things.
9. and i am working on getting vitamin D.... a nice tan with freckles, sunshine, every moment i can, every moment till my skin says it's reached it's daily dose. After this winter.... the daily dose is alot higher then normal.
10. And lastly.... i FINALLY got my passport in the mail! Now i can run away at anytime. to. well. Anywhere in the world. Being the smarty pants i am, i am saving money for when the moment comes... because one thing is for sure, I won't spend another full winter up here at this cabin by myself. Not cause I am pussy, but cause I have done it and learned that it's not safe, healthy, normal, or good for one person to do alone. Not at this property. So I will be ready with "get out of jail" card just in case I go out with a big bang.

***
I love change. It's so good.

XOXOOOX

Really Like My Peaches....

2011-05-10T17:14:00.003-04:00

can't wait to shake my tree!!!!
*
My dwarf peach tree has a bunch of tiny peaches growing on it..... YAY, yippieee skippieee....
too cool for words, I love peaches (yum yum). It makes me wanna plant a whole row of these dwarf peach trees.
(The pear and cherry didn't make anything it looks like so far.)
*
Xoxoxo

My Ducks! xoxo

2011-05-10T10:23:00.002-04:00

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Ducks are fast becoming some of my favorite critters around the Luck Cabin. They are loyal, hilarious, self preserving, self sufficient, lay the best tasting eggs in the world, they take naps with me when i lay down in the sun, and they enjoy the company of chickens.
*
This video is somewhat mundane, but it makes me so happy to watch them - they make me smile and laugh every single day!

PS.... wanna see something that is total hilarity and so wrong :::
GO HERE and watch baby ducks blowing in the wind!

XOXOxoox

Pink and Yellow Moth

2011-05-08T18:42:00.003-04:00

I showed ya'll this one last year, but that moth was pretty beat up... nowwww..... a perfectly alive and in tact, amazing, beautiful, and looking like easter candy. For spiders, who believe in christ and celebrate easter. ;)

Flapping wings, and i pulled spider web off it's legs....

Free to be you and me, and a glamourous colored moth.

XOXOoxOX

TO DO LIST for the Luck Cabin

2011-05-07T13:40:00.004-04:00

Sustainable living is kind of a strange thing... you try to live in the moment, and enjoy seasons as they are but at the same time you have to always be preparing for the seasons ahead. If you take a break, you basically won't be prepared- which means way more headache if you are living mostly off grid. You can be half assed in the city about alot of things and still live quite comfortable, turning up the thermostat whenver you want a lil' more warmth........ a DIY eco- lifestyle takes a certain amount of vigilance. Maybe even what seems incredible amounts when starting out.
The past few weeks I have been running a TO DO LIST in my head of things that have to be done here, before the next winter... or so I think the goal is ::::::::::

#1. Finish the drainage for the GREY WATER SYSTEM. ---- the pipes have to be put in the ground and the plants put in on top the spot where the sink and tub will drain to.

#2. Put up yet another gate to keep the donkey from running away, and keep the other animals safer. (Bobcat came and killed half my 'zoo' this week... bunnies and chickens.)

#3. Build a cordwood outhouse for summer & guest use because the composting toilet isn't party friendly and is not compsting all that great. (this doesnt go for all composting tiolets, just the one i have really.)

#4. Insulate the cabin, which basically means re-building the thing from the outside! lol ,TOO huge a project for me to think about.

#5. Make it so the plumbing stops freezing.... AKA, 6 inches of insulation on the pipes, possibly wall in under the house with cinder blocks & rocks?

#6. Fix outside shower which exploded during the winter cause it still had a small amount of PVC piping still on it. (none of the PEX piping broke or came apart.)

#7. Unclog the clothes hand washer drain, so i can wash clothes in it again.

#8. Fix the leak in the pond and have it dredged so that the water can fill up properly again. Also add fish!

THE END. . . . . . I'll start with the easiest first......

XOXOXO

Green Fuzzy Moth

2011-04-26T17:26:00.002-04:00

Amazing. Shade. Of. Greeeeen. Found this beautiful one on my front porch.

Nothing else to say, because in this case pictures are louder then words.

XOXoxox

Millipede and Lady Grey the chicken...

2011-04-23T17:11:00.001-04:00

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total fail. Poor Millipede. I was really disappointed!

xoxoox

My Black and White Bunny

2011-04-20T17:12:00.002-04:00

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tooooo cute to be true, i could melt and die from the bunny cuteness burning my heart out!

xoxox

Morel Mushrooms (again! in Video...)

2011-04-19T21:07:00.001-04:00

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i could not resist going back for more. I ate them up in a stir fry... soooo good!
....

xxoxox

Spring Sprung, Life At The Luck Cabin

2011-04-17T18:37:00.003-04:00

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Spring stuff coming up.
(the music and background noise mixed together in a way i didn't intend... and got a little creepy.)

xoxo

Post Traumatic Winter Syndrome

2011-04-15T12:41:00.003-04:00

The last two winters here in western north carolina have been rough. And that is extremely understated. The first bad one, I was around others... this last one, that is now pulling it's cold clutches out of the air, i did on my own. This winter raped me. Harsh, maybe i shouldn't use that word - but it comes something close to that... the way a bad car accident leaves you with this weird changed feeling. The way some near death moment makes you go OMG, ah HA! Or the way it feels after a bad break up. I make these comparisions because the experience was so intense, it took something from me... something I can not even begin to describe in words. It also gave me something back, something there also are no words for.... something mysterious i have yet to identify. All I know is something is gone, and something new has come to take it's place. A winter vet, is what i consider myself. It can sound dramatic, but if you think it's not that bad - come on up here next winter and trade places with me (will be great! Like those 80's movies where people swap bodies!).... come when it's -20 degree winds, no running water for a month, no insulation in the walls, keep the fire going or freeze, you can carry groceries in waist deep snow and start getting hypothermia with a mile of steep hill to push through still (have no food or get up there!). And go without seeing other people for weeks at a time. And hardest of all, all the planning you did isn't going to be enough... no matter how well you prepare shit happens. Many friends wanted me to put this place up for sale because winter here will always be harder then most the rest of western north carolina (due to my elevation/location)... but here is spring. Beautiful magical perfection. No for sale sign yet. Every cold wind that comes as the weather changes, is nothing to me now - but a reminder of all that changed inside me. I neither fear it, enjoy it, or loathe it because I have come out to the other side. But when i think about the winters to come... I have post traumtic winter syndrome. I feel the worst loathing & i want to run. No more! No more! I won't do another winter alone here. I have no idea what will happen between now and next year but I know this much, I will make that one wish happen. (It's human nature to move towards always making our lives better in one way or another, so i will indulge...) Details be damned. They are just the breaths between the action. *********************************************************** xoxox **footnote** "A body swap is a storytelling device seen in a variety of fiction, most often in television shows and movies, in which two people (or beings) exchange minds and end up in each other's bodies. Alternatively, their minds may stay where they are as their bodies adjust. There are three distinct types of body swapping. Switches can be caused by magic items such as amulets, heartfelt wishes, or just strange quirks of the universe. The switches typically reverse after the subjects have expanded their world views, gained a new appreciation for each other's troubles by literally "walking in another's shoes" and/or caused sufficient amounts of farce."

Good Morels (mushrooms!)

2011-04-15T11:32:00.008-04:00

On my way back from the 'stairway to ramp heaven' I made a foraging find that made the day seem like it was born of magic, unicorns and rainbows... i found some morels! And not the kind I have to kneel down a pray for, but the kind I kneel down and pluck from the earth... Huge wild morel mushrooms. The most morels I have ever held, the most I have ever seen, the biggest most beautiful... morels the size of a f-en pine cone! we literally stumbled upon the patch of morels when walking back through the forest and (not) trespassing past someone's house... (omg, i stole someone's morels--- does this mean deep down i have no morals?) I did take the mushrooms, and shook them all around the area where i plucked a few... trying to spread spores in what seemed to be a perfect environment for growing them- there were sooo many! I made sure to leave many morels growing too, so spores could take wind and make many more.

WHEN I GOT HOME WITH MY MORELS :::::

i know it can be futile to attempt to grow morel mushrooms on purpose, but it's always worth a try. I wrapped the mushrooms in a cheese cloth and took them into the woods - shaking the cloth lightly to let spores loose into the air.

and my second trick, in hopes to grow my own... i filled a bowl full of spring water, let the morels soak for an hour or so --- then i took the spore filled water outside and spread it around in spots I thought they'd enjoy propogating.

THEN I COOKED Um' UP! :::::::

mmmmmm

I cut each one down the middle (after rinsing it) , added ramps (wild leeks), parsley and rosemary to a pan.

Alot of moisture came from the mushrooms, which i drained off twice. Once the water was drained off enough, i added some oil and let them cook on low/medium for about 7-10 minutes (until darker brown.)

I put it over (gluten free) rice pasta with olive oil and pink salt!

SooOOOooOOo delicious, it felt like a sin.

XoxoxoX

Stairway To Ramp Heaven

2011-04-14T10:41:00.004-04:00

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Yesterday me , JuJu the donkey and a good friend went ramp huntin' in the woods... there was alot of pointing, turning around, following ridges, judging terrain, and memory sharing - of where local people said they had found them before. Impressively JuJu pushed right through the forest with me, stepping over fallen trees & always guarding our back, stopping when i stopped, maybe even smiling a donkey smile.

After a hike so up and downhill that my legs are actually sore... we came upon the BIGGEST most heavenly, grandest HUGE insane ramp patch I have ever seen, and most likely will ever see! Thousands and thousands of them, more then i could take in standing in one place... going downhill, uphill... 360 degrees all around. I had the urge to lay down in it and roll around till I smelled like an onion.

For anyone who might not be familiar with "ramps", they are a delicious wild edible leek, or onion type plant. (see more close up pics here.) They have a strong odor & flavor - people love them so dearly here in the mountains that they have festivals sharing all their ramp recipes & NO ONE ever tells where the ramp patch they've found is. No one, including me. :)

We dug up about enough to fill a half gallon jar, some to eat, some to replant in our own hiding places.

When you first dig um' up, you have to pull back a rotten looking layer of brown-ish skin, to reveal the beautiful white root of the ramp (see pic below).

Digging down a few inches, cause ya can't pull the plant up by it's leaves (it will break)! The whole entire thing is edible....mmmmmmmm. And did i mention they taste sooooooo gooooood?!!

Xoxoxox

Dance Time, Stereo Love

2011-04-12T14:52:00.001-04:00

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Having another burst of cabin fever on this cold rainy spring day!
must...move...my...body... or i will goooo insane.

xoxox

Brain Surgery, Ramps and My Mama!

2011-04-11T19:38:00.004-04:00

My verrrrry loved friend Heather had to have emergancy brain surgery a few days ago! Which is why I have been a bit slowed down, exhausted, and my mind has been far far away from it's usual processes. Heather loves me and I love her too... she has been a good friend to me for years now! She had a scary octopus like absess infection in her brain but did not know it till it was paralyzing half her body --- the surgery had to be done ASAP when the test results came back. I am so happy she is talking and alive! She makes me glad to be alive. Heather makes this world a place where you are loved, all things including the most terrible, creepy, disturbing... all is accepted, all is adored. ........................................ When i wasn't pacing, and crying in the woods about Heather.... life went on as it always should. (Appreciate it while you have it! and being i came back from the dead myself, i know i dont want to lose time...) Today... I found the RAMPS i planted last year coming back up!!! I transplanted some that came up where i cut down trees (they don't like the sunshine the way I do)... so i moved them into another patch I had started in a good shaded spot where i will not be cutting anything back.

My mom also came to visit me! She is hillarious... she was singing to all my animals, and she was trying to train the chicken to not come inside the cabin. I have to say she was doing a better job with the chicken then i have...

if ya'll coulda heard her scream when the chicken came in and landed on the stove!!

............... here is a video, of my mom... I could not stop laughing and was acting out a bit to egg her on!

xoxox

Frogs Chirping At Dusk

2011-04-08T22:11:00.002-04:00

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These are frogs that live in and around my pond... some are in the trees, some hiding under leaves! During the spring they chirp these amazing sounds, sometimes morning, noon and night... it will go on and on as the winter receeds and spring warmth really takes over. By the time spring is fully warm they will go silent again.
*
You won't see a single frog in this video (cause they hide), but ya' can hear them all! Just close your eyes and listen....

xoxoxox

Building A Frog Habitat in the Pond

2011-04-08T15:14:00.003-04:00

One of the reasons I was not sure if i wanted ducks is because I knew they would eat up my tadpoles, reducing the amount of native frogs I have in my pond. Before the ducks ever arrived I had started to build a frog safe place along the edges of the pond - by taking small dead hemlock trees and piling them up. Still though, i have way less frogs then normal because much of what i built was moved, decayed, or gawd knows what during the winter freezes..... and the ducks came in to massacre what was out in the open. I was excited to still see in some of the hemlock habitats i built, tadpoles and a group of frogs all in one space. So i took that spot, and made what was a froggie shack, into a frog multi-plex mansion!

I layered and extended the branches further out into the water, while also extended further out onto the land connected... putting more small branches on top of larger ones. Like building a debris shelter, a skeleton of a home.

The smaller tiny branches, block the ducks from getting under there.... and so they avoid that spot, and ravage the rest of the pond. Now to fix the pond leak.... omgawd!

Xoxoxox

Stuff I Like....

2011-04-08T00:27:00.001-04:00

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Finally, a sunny drive.

xoxoxox

Lady Grey (the chicken)'s Secret Stash

2011-04-06T11:42:00.002-04:00

There is one chicken here who has been a loner from day one. At first I thought she was picked (pecked?) on because she was beautiful and different from the rest, then i realized she was bitchy & her attitude towards other chickens sucked. (Which comes first the chicken or the egg?... being picked on and turning mean, or being mean and then getting picked on!) OI! I call her Lady Grey, she wanders around alone mostly, she is the only chicken who has figured out how to climb out of the fenced in area, she comes to my house every single day and tries to sneak in the window or door if it is open a crack. She steals my cat Toot's food, Toots let's her cause Toots is a total pussy when it comes to giant birds. At night Lady grey goes back to the barn, where the chicken coop is but I never see her go in the coop with the others. She always preferred JuJu the donkey to her own kind. I have been wondering if she lays eggs, because of course she will not get in the coop or nesting box with the others. It wasn't until this morning when I was prepping to have new bales of hay delivered that i found her secret nest, where she has been laying some pretty light brown eggs!

!!!! I love her style, i love how she wants a private chicken life, i love how she is sneaky, and i looooove that she was keeping a secret nest full of eggs!

XOXOxoxo

Teeny Tiny Inch Worm

2011-04-05T14:42:00.002-04:00

Yesterday when i was laying out in the sunshine, this suuuuper tiny inch worm got on my blankie with me. It's sooooooooo little and cute... and i love how when it's body is straight it looks like a stick, like a piece of a birch tree branch.

I let him crawl all over my hand...

It's a big world out there, I wonder how much of it the inch worm covers in it's lifetime?

xoxoxox

My One Match Fire!

2011-04-05T11:08:00.004-04:00

This morning I woke up to snow! wtf, right? Yesterday I was sweating my tits off in my crochet bikini, gardening, getting a tan...I went to bed to the sounds of a spring time thunder storm, it was so warm I let my fire go out. While sleeping, in came some freezing cold winds & snow, so a fire was needed as soon as I woke up.
I can finally do this with only ONE match!

*
HERE IS HOW I DO IT ::::*
1. I put paper at the bottom (sometimes with a toilet roll), down the middle, front to back
2. I layer tiny tree branches, by size up to larger branches on top
3. I put wood slivers on top the branches
4. I add small logs at the top of the pile...
5. and light the match to the paper at the bottom
6. then BLOW and blow and blow some more, till ya have a big flame!
*

Watch the process here::::

XOXO

And For Some Laughs...

2011-04-04T18:27:00.000-04:00

George Carlin - Stuff - watch more funny videos

xoxoxox

They're BAccckkkk!

2011-04-04T15:17:00.005-04:00

Another sunny day! Today I was planting seeds (in the garden beds and tree stumps)... which is always fun- but while i was putting new food into the ground i found a bunch of herbs I planted last year coming back up! This is when it feels like all the work paid off... not that it was ever work. Quite some hardy organic herbs here, because they had to withstand cold down to -20 degrees F, no sunshine at all, and feet of snow and ice piling & melting and piling again. **************************************************************** ......... Introducing the Luck Cabin's herb gardens :::: * catnip! (above) oregano! (below)

chivessss....

winter savory even lived!

some kind of fancy purple sage...

and comfrey (can not live without it, it is instant bee sting relief!)

lavender... for washing my hair in!

parsley!

Thyme!!!! mmmm

Bee balm (the red and the magenta kind)...

all my mints, including chocolate!

sage :)))

and Yarrow (i use in my homemade bug repellent oil!)

YAY!!!!!! There is lemon balm and hyssop and goji berries that came back too... the dwarf fruits trees i planted last summer are making leaves and flower blooms. This is when i feel like i am in heaven.

XoxooxoxxoX

Warm Sunny Days Make....

2011-04-03T14:14:00.004-04:00

Being Warm & Sunny Makes So Much POssible! *
1. eating watermelon in the sun 2. getting vitamin D & nice tan 3. planting seeds to grow an awesome organic garden 4. watching the animals lay down in sunny spots & run free, yay! 5. don't need no socks and shoes.... 6. for that matter, underwear becomes optional too! 7. hanging clothes to dry on the line, they come out smelling sooooo good 8. Theoretically could be sprayed with a hose for fun 9. Can open windows for fresh air 10. everything is just easier!!!!!!!!

* xoxoxoox

DIY: Gluten Free Rice Milk

2011-04-02T19:05:00.004-04:00

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Rice milk is killing my bank account. I love it, I drink it everyday, and when i don't have it it's all i think about. It's my addiction and since it's a healthy one I thought it was about time to start making my own - (like when a meth head realizes they can make their own meth lab! Except that is not healthy and they have to condemn tha' house after.)

* Since I found videos easier then the recipes online, I made a lil' vid showing my first attempt at making rice milk at home!
* This probably cost me around $5-10 dollars, to make 1.5 gallons of my own rice milk... when buying amazake 2-3 small drinks would cost me as much! I have no idea why companies charge huge amounts of $$$ for rice milk since making it actually doesn't cost much and a big part of the recipe is just water.

SUPPLIES YOU NEED ::::
*rice (brown is healthier)
*water
*Sweet Options: sweetener like honey, maple syrup or rice syrup, etc...
*Flavor options: vanilla, almonds, and/or other grains you can tolerate
*Pot, Spoon, Blender, Strainer (cheese cloth or stainless steal)

Do ya'll have any non dairy milk recipes? I would love to hear them! Almond, soy, and gang!

xoxoxox

My Chicken Sneaks into the Window for Cat Food

2011-03-31T16:46:00.001-04:00

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xoxox

Wishes and Freedom

2011-03-30T13:04:00.006-04:00

(picture, 1997-ish, age 20 -- Tunica Hills, LA.)

Do you ever feel trapped by the flow of your own life? Things are going just as planned, in fact you might even be getting some of the things you wished for... and of course when you get those, you wish for more things. Or say nothing is going as planned, it's a big mess and so you want to escape.

I have noticed that humans (myself for sure) tend to go from day to day building up a life, building brick upon brick, foundation, into walls, into personal castle. It seems as though we are building something great, it feels quite safe and accomplished to have something worked on for so long. It's your inner self, the castle... your beliefs, your lifestyle, all your choices, your personality and day to day reactions. And you are really invested in it, of course.

But I... don't know if my castle matters. My opinions are like the wind. I don't know if having the goal of being perfectly stable and predictable is healthy, worth it, or even fun. I don't know if once my castle is all built if i even care to decorate the inside or move in... maybe i just like to go from place to place building new castles, trying out new things, taking risks. Rather then get attached to what i built.

It's not that i don't like myself, or that i don't like my lifestyle. It's that something inside me, some soul-like substance is always driving me to new experiences and I can't really stop it. I have spent the last ten years working on living a sustainable life in the woods, and I have accomplished more then I ever thought I would. It started because I was sick with horrible health problems and then I fell in love with every blade of grass, every wildflower, every rock... i had slowed down enough to merge with nature. And nature taught me how to truly love. But now... i want something else -and i am not referring to city living, but more a coming out of the foggy patterns my health put me in. I want to merge with nature, people, reality, the world, my own health, my own potential - the full picture. I don't have to focus only on one wish, i want a bigger picture,

i want freedom to seek the picture and all it's contents.

XOxoxo

The FOG

2011-03-29T00:14:00.004-04:00

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Ride with me through the creeeeepppppy SPooookkkY fog!
It's so beautiful, you will want to reach out and touch it, like a bug goes towards a bug light.

xoxoxo

FAIL! Seasoning My Iron Waffle Skillet

2011-03-28T09:14:00.002-04:00

Um. I dont know what went wrong with seasoning this thing, but here is what happened : My mom sent me this awesome cast iron waffle skillet, that you can use on any hot surface! No electricity required - you can cook on top your gas stove, wood stove, probably an open fire. So... it came unseasoned, ya know... without the blackened oiled non stick natural surface it acquires after use. So i pulled out the pamphlet and read that i had to oil it and then put it in the oven to start the seasoning. Ok. Not too hard, I hoped. So i put olive oil all over it and stuck it in my toaster oven. It wasn't long before I turned around to see what the fucked up smell was, that the whole cabin was filling up with a heavy thick white smoke!!! The waffle skillet had some kind of waxy shit on it ( i thought i felt on it but wasn't sure), that had to melt off and so I assumed the smoke was the wax burning... i had no idea it would pollute my house so bad! ...... so i tried something else..... At this point I figured most the mystery wax must have been gone (mostly now in my lungs and cabin ceiling)... so i let the oil sit in the skillet for a few days, thinking maybe it would absorb. But it didn't. Then i stuck it on my wood stove since i had a fire going and it was majorly hot. It still made really bad weird smells - but no smoke so I was cool with the mildly donut shop/mildly metallic/mildly 'what is that melting' stench. BUT then THIS HAPPENED!!!!! Look at these pictures! (above and below!) .... OMgawd, this is not was it is supposed to look like. One side of the skillet turned all orange red and looks not at all seasoned. The other side, WTF is that gelatinous substance? It's got a red black tint, and it's not even flowing while warm - it's like a goo. Like hot stable iron & wax flavored jello... or maybe chapstick? What did i do wrong? This is a total 100% fail! xoxxoxo

Gun Tossin, Twirling, Tricks

2011-03-27T15:08:00.003-04:00

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I totally made the pom poms for my boots. and yes, I am totally gonna win the Biggest Dork award.
Also... if i can toss around a heavy 12 gauge shotgun like that, well - always call before coming over.

xoxoxox

A Walk In The Clouds

2011-03-27T14:39:00.003-04:00

This is why they call them the Smokey Mountains. Sometimes I might spend half a day in the clouds, a thick white fog. In New Orleans it rolled off the river, here it rolls across mountain tops.

It can make the mundane, turn spooky and beautiful.

It can transform your driveway, into a portal of unknown destination.

It washes out everything behind you, and everything in front of you in a way I find much more soothing then the white of snow. This white haze is something I am familiar with, i love it the way i love the sounds of barges on the mississipi river and a train blowing it's horn.

(song of the day ::: Crave You .... i like how they switch lives. I wanna do that one day. Watch the video. )

XOXoxoxox

Cha Cha Cha Changes

2011-03-26T11:47:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I want to change my life. It's possibly a habit I have developed over the years... made worse by changing seasons (which I did not experience growing up in the tropical south.)
But on this rainy PMS day, i have no clue what the change is i desire. Or no real way to plan it out.
When it is something simple like, 'i want to move' then i can look for a new house. When it is vague and lingering, almost nagging - it has no rules, it has no plans, it's only a strong desire that hasn't found a form.
*
I want things, that I dont know if i can have. And if I can have them, I dont know how i will get from point A to point B... although usually the dominoes keep falling on their own knocking the next day into the next without any effort on my part.

Xoxoxox

Organic Gardening = Making Groceries At Home

2011-03-25T14:27:00.006-04:00

Even though it snowed last night, the sun came back out today - finally in a position to shine on the organic garden area! I decided it was time to get started on my spring/summer preparations... first, finish raking in the donkey poop I had been dumping over the fence all winter... and churning up the top soil & donkey poop I had layered into the garden beds last summer.

DONKEY POOP + TOP SOIL (removed from around the barn) = amazing black composted dirt !!!

I made a new garden bed too today! As ya'll can see, I dont go for the high class look in my garden... i use whatever i have around to build with (meaning no $$$ is needed, no store has to be driven to). Sticks, old lumber left over from building, and rocks are how I put it together --- and its filled with 100% donkey doo doo.

I had some hay that got moisture in it, and was no good to feed to the animals... so i started using that for my paths I walk on, in between garden beds.

In the pic below... are some of the semi-raised beds I have slowly been filling up. If you are not impressed with how it looks, take a look at the work I had to do to get it to this point...

click here ::: Flashback to A YEAR AGO!

Some of the donkey poop had grass seeds in it, that have begun to grow.

I weed it out, then give it back to JuJu and the chickens!! The hens looooove to run off with the whole clump of grass .... :))))

THINGS THAT CAME BACK! :::::

so my fall winter garden didn't work out at all, because i had the big depressing surprise of having no sun during that time of the year (due to the placement of the mountain ridges). But many of the things i planted during that time stayed alive under the snow, they didn't die when wind & temperatures hit -20 f ...

My dwarf fruit tree have survived! The pear, peach and cherry!

and in my gardens beds...

the kale! the spinach!

the carrots! the rutabaga!

and many herbs are poking their first leaves through the leaves and soil - oregano, parsley, thyme, mint, bee balm, comfrey, chives, lavender and sage!

Xoxoxo

DIY: Camo Shorts made into Camo SKIRT

2011-03-24T16:53:00.005-04:00

I had found this pair of boys camo shorts at the thrift store sometimes last summer... it took until now for the strong detergent smells to actually be rain blasted out of them (on my clothes line!) ....
I was hoping to make camo short-shorts out of them, but i am actually not that skilled in sewing and they just didn't fit quite right to transform them easily (too much space in the crotch for boy junk!)
So here is a quick sewing trick you can use with boys shorts, your own shorts, old pants, thrifts jeans, etc....
It really is simple as 1,2,3 !!!
.....................................................
STEP 1 ::
Cut off the legs of the shorts or pants to the length you want your skirt. (see pic above) You can make a knee length or tiny mini!
STEP 2 ::
Cut along the crotch seam. Then along the seams in the front a back...

STEP 3 ::

Fold the cut pieces over on top one another to create skirt shape (like inthe pic below, left folded over right). Sew along the new lines they makes, and cut off any excess from the bottom.

FINISHED!!!!!!!!!

Some majorly militia redneck shit going on here!..... i can't decide whether i would like to make my skirt shorter or not? Or maybe take in the sides?

Either way... hardcore!

XOxoxoxox

DIY: Bamboo & Organic Cotton Crochet Bikini

2011-03-24T13:24:00.007-04:00

Usually I like to share projects that are super easy... but what i thought would be fairly simple because the bikini is so small, turned out to be a project that took me about 4-5 days!
I decided to use very thin, silky bamboo yarn and a very small crochet hook so that the stitches would be tight - in fact I did the entire thing in a SINGLE CROCHET (SC) stitch, even though I planned on putting an organic cotton lining on the inside. Which actually made the bikini itself a little bit more heavy then the wispy fly away fabrics we are used to wearing --- if i was to do this project again, i might make a loose fun patterned stitch (filet or shell or leaf) and use a dark colored lining.
But I am happy with what i got! Very cute and perfect for getting a good tan.
..........................................
I started out with 2 separate chains, for the bikini top - which would be able to tie in the front and tie in the back. On top the CHAIN (CH) I did a few rows of SINGLE CROCHET (SC), to add thickness. This would be the bottom of the bikini top.

The TOP::: this was really hard! Since i was not using a pattern, i had to test out at what rate I wanted to DECREASE (D) the SINGLE CROCHET (SC) in order to have my boobies actually covered! I had to pull my first triangle out and start over.

I added each triangle directly into the bottom straps I had already made. I left enough room for it to tie in the front between the two triangles, so that the bikini can adjust with not only weight changes, but also changes to the fabric (stretching, shrinking, etc)...

(see below)....

I used organic cotton, for the top straps and also for the inside lining....

the jersey style fabric has stretch and doesn't fray, making it really easy to work with.

At the top straps, i did a "no sew" experiment, and simply cut some slits into the bottom of the straps, used the back of a feather to push them through crochet holes.. and then tied the pieces together...

way cool trick!

Now the LINING :::

I did sew the lining in with a easy straight stitch on my sewing machine. (I think the "no sew" trick above could also be applied to the lining if done with style in mind.)

ahhhh, finished TOP!!! took me about 2 days or so....

The BOTTOM :::

I accidentally went a little skimpy on the front end, but its easy to add in stitches later along the outside border.... much easier then having to pull your work out and start over.

I used all SINGLE CROCHET (SC) stitches again, and also variations on the DECREASE (D) at the ends and beginnings of each row. The amount you will decrease, will depend on how big you want to make the bikini.

I used a well fit pair of panties to measure off of!!

(working on back end, to cover booty!)

THEN..... i crocheted the front and back pieces together.

(I made them separate because i am better at decreasing, then increasing stitches.)

and added the organic cotton lining, by sewing it in place...

FINISHEDDDDDDDD!!! .....

mostly! I am contemplating adding some SINGLE CROCHET (SC) stitches to the borders along the front sides.... um, for obvious reasons. ;)

(back view)

Now I need the sun and warmth to come back so i can try it on... and wear it till it's thread bare!
YAY!

(Will also try to take some pictures wearing it, when it's nice outside! I will add them to this post when i do.)

............................................................

UPDATE :::::::::::

pictures of the bikini!!!!!

on the phone with my mom ... (yep, i don't use a cell!)

Close up....

Skimpy.... but its fits good, and i will get a good tan this spring & summer!

Xoxoxox

Are Duck Eggs Yum Yum?

2011-03-23T11:45:00.004-04:00

I decided to try my duck eggs, and OHhh MY GAWD! I am forever ruined. I will never really like a chicken egg the way I LOvEd the duck eggs, ever again.
The shells were harder to crack open, and when they did the biggest darkest yellow came gooping out into the pan. Perfectly firm, perfectly shaped. In fact, when i was cooking it, it held it's shape impressively better then chicken eggs - so i got to make two flawless "fried eggs" with the wet dippy middle! My favorite kind, that never seems to work out... until now.
*
The duck eggs taste soooo good, I could not believe how much richer, healthier, more dense, flavorful, and delicious they were ... it was like tasting what I always wished a chicken egg could be but had always fell a little short of being what i wanted.
Ok...
so basically, i fucking love duck eggs!!! mmm! If you have not tried them before, do it.
XOxoxox

Logging Truck, my special friend...

2011-03-23T09:12:00.000-04:00

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Who everyone wants to get stuck behind when driving rural windy roads all the way into town!!!
LOGGING TRUCK!

This is my idea of taking mundane reality to new heights.
It almost gave me a headache in real life... so sorry if it gives a cyber one.

xoxoxo

The Öko Box

Stickin 'Mud' on a Shitty Wood Stove

Little Leaf Hopper (red and blue/grey)

Everybody Wants Direct TV... EvEeeeryBoDy

Yurt - y - Purty

MOvinG is Change, Change keeps MOvinG

MOved to a Yurt (Mad World Dance)

The Beginning Of The End ::: The Move

Bye Bye Luck Cabin

Larry Hopsalot (grasshopper)

Fuzzy Arm'ed Moth (Brown, Black and White)

Drive in the Rain

Kitten VS Donkey

TINY grasshopper (grey, tan, camo colored)

Hanging Laundry To Dry (with JuJu the donkey and Bruiser the dog)

Magical Carrots::: ft. bruiser, juju and jen

Bug and Dog and Gang

Floor Oiling 'Ballet' !

Luck Cabin For Sale

You Burn Bras, I Burn Panties

We No Speak Americano (dance!)

Ghost Of Myself

To The Local Farmers Market

HUGE Black Ant (with golden stripes)

BURn Buuurrrnnn

Tan Moth, with green/blue and yellow stripes on head

A Woods Walk (much tiny beauty)

White Moth with Black Spots

Little Black Snake in my Bedroom

Trip To The Doctor

Just Me and JuJu (the donkey) and Chickens

Help Me ID this Mushroom!

HUGE Ass Bug! Whoa...

I Will Go With You

Orange and Black Butterfly

Leslie VS Parasites

Mating Ladybugs

Strange Shrimp Headed Bug (with wings)

Creek Flood!

More Baby Duck Action!

Moths On My Porch

Grey Snake

Usnea, please kill the monster inside me

My New Baby DUCKS! yay!

Self Dedication

Brown Snake in the Barn

Mouse Nest Made Of Feathers

OKstupid, The Worst of me and them!

"Tommybb"

"forgotton_soul"

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Little Friendly Snake (Ring Necked)

Sick of being SICK! (Ginger. Lemon. Honey Tea)

Mountain Laurel Blooming

Lunar Moth On My Porch

Bugs!

LOcal WrestlinG, the STW Anarchy Co.

Where Have I Been?

Really Like My Peaches....

My Ducks! xoxo

Pink and Yellow Moth

TO DO LIST for the Luck Cabin

Green Fuzzy Moth

Millipede and Lady Grey the chicken...

My Black and White Bunny

Morel Mushrooms (again! in Video...)

Spring Sprung, Life At The Luck Cabin

Post Traumatic Winter Syndrome

Good Morels (mushrooms!)

Stairway To Ramp Heaven

Dance Time, Stereo Love

Brain Surgery, Ramps and My Mama!

Frogs Chirping At Dusk

Building A Frog Habitat in the Pond

Stuff I Like....

Lady Grey (the chicken)'s Secret Stash

Teeny Tiny Inch Worm

My One Match Fire!

And For Some Laughs...

They're BAccckkkk!