Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Republicans do not trust women.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Winter Solstice Prep

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Winter Solstice Prep

by | 134 Comments

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marvel-2016-solstice

From talented garden commentor Marvel:

I’m sending along a photo I used for our 2015 Christmas card — the older I get, the harder it is to remember to assemble SOMETHING from the garden mid-Summer for Christmas & Solstice greetings later in the year.

For this purpose this year I rescued dozens of shucked corn cobs, arranged ’em in a pointy tree shape, adorned with plenty of colorful flowers…sadly, as I look at the photos now, it resembles nothing so much as an assemblage of crisp, clean feminine hygiene products with a garden-clipping wrap. I’ll be digging through old photos tomorrow, u-bet.

Stay warm!

We’ve been a bit snowy & freeze-y hereabouts for several days. Snow’s not as deep as depicted here (circa 2013), but it’s accumulated & hanging around, u-bet.

marvel-snowjack

What’s going on in your gardens — or your year-end-holiday prep — this week?

Reader Interactions

134Comments

  3. 3.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven: I used to have a couple of them. Handy for a lot of things, especially jacking up houses. Don’t know what ever happened to them.

  5. 5.

    raven

    @OzarkHillbilly: Speaking of. A woman bought this building to turn into a pet grooming studio. I have no idea how she is going to afford what they are doing to it based on that business but they have jacked it up and put in a new foundation. It had awful aluminum siding on it and, when they took it off, this is what they found!

  7. 7.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    Can’t sleep. Up most the night.

    Pics look nice but here we wait for rain to.wash away some of yesterday’s snow. Calls for mid-50s so it won’t freeze instantly.

  8. 8.

    cosima

    Our village ‘winter festival’ with santa, reindeer, ice-skating, stalls, etc. will be held on the green this afternoon. It’s about 45F here (approx. 6C) and no sign of winter. Our youngest is beside herself with excitement about the skating. I’m very bah humbug this year.

    As for gardens, not sure what’s in the future for our garden other than trying to plant the potted xmas tree that we got this year. I think that we’ll be trying to plant a few things into the ground, move away from some of our containers.

    Our lab is being very good about being cooped up following her TPLO surgery. 2 weeks until we can start short lead walks.

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven: Nice. You’d be surprised the lengths people will go to and the money they will spend to save a building the foundation is lost to. I have poured foundations under buildings that never had them to begin with. I can’t count the # of times I have said, “The best way to fix this place is with a match.”

  12. 12.

    satby

    @rikyrah: Morning rikyrah.

    @raven: that’s cool, hope they save that.

    We had snow, then bitter cold, then rain yesterday that turned into sleet and ice, then a small layer of snow over that. I can hardly wait to drive to work roday, it should be harrowing. And South Bend doesn’t seem to salt very many streets, not sure what’s up with that.

  13. 13.

    bemused

    @cosima:

    We’ve been through TPLO three times. One dog had both legs done. We had a baby gate to keep dog(s) from using stairs to the basement when they were still restricted from stairs. Inevitably, one will forget to put gate back in place and I almost fainted when one dog took advantage of that and went down into the basement. We have a walkout basement door so I slowly walked her outside that way and back into the house via the temporary ramp we had on entry steps.

  16. 16.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Baud:

    I’m putting off many, many things in anticipation that Armageddon will make them unnecessary.

    I think they have to build the third temple on the Dome of the Rock first, so we’re safe for a bit.

    Yikes, I need to get to bed soon. I have to be up in 6 hours to see the BJ peeps.

  17. 17.

    Raven

    @OzarkHillbilly: We are in a historic district so tearing down anything is very difficult. I’m just interested to know how many dogs you have to groom to pay for that? They are putting in new framing on the inside as well.

  19. 19.

    JPL

    @Raven: Dog grooming is becoming a pricey business where I live, but it still surprises me that one could make a living doing that. I assume that the only way is to hire or at least rent space to other groomers.

  25. 25.

    JPL

    @Baud: Don’t forget about the collection of Bibles, and there will be a room dedicated to Magazine covers. That room will be titled the good, the bad and the ugly.

  27. 27.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Raven:

    We are in a historic district so tearing down anything is very difficult.

    Yeah, there’s a lot of that and for good reason too. But there is a point where it is absolute idiocy to go any further. I will look at people and in my mind it’s “Why didn’t you call me before you bought this shithole???” and of course by that point they are already so emotionally invested in the place it’s moot.

    That’s when I ask with a smile and a laugh, “Got a match?”

  30. 30.

    Raven

    @OzarkHillbilly: It’s a constant battle here with some builders just ignoring the rules. One dude just built the addition 4 ft higher and dared them to make him change it. They did. I personally don’t see anything wrong with it, especially since there is a ton of infill housing going on. There were plenty of really shitty house built in the 60’s and I’m glad it’s been halted.

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Raven:

    It’s a constant battle here with some builders just ignoring the rules.

    Some of the rules can be really nitpicky (like window types and sash sizes and the glass proportions and that muntins and mullions have historically accurate milling etc etc) but if you don’t want to play by the rules you just vote Trump…. or something like that. I look at it as it’s the same as building codes, just part of the business.

  35. 35.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: Too long. I really want to go to DC, mostly for the Smithsonian, I could spend a month exploring the various Smithsonian museums, but spending a day walking the mall would be nice. I think I’ll skip the White House if I go in the next 4-8 years tho.

  39. 39.

    Botsplainer

    You all have it wrong. The Trump Library will be quite dispersed, and will consist of Make America Great Again caps stuffed in drawers and closets of the dead in the ruins of the country, as any survivors will have burned theirs out of fear that other survivors find out.

  40. 40.

    Schlemazel

    @raven:
    There is a old store in Northeast Minneapolis (that is a very distinct place) that had an Orange Crush billboard painted on the side. For years it was home to “Orange Advertising”. A few years back it was turned into housing, I think, since there is no signage now & curtains in the big windows. SOmeone tried to repaint the very old ad on the side . . . remember a few years ago when that woman tried to restore the religious icon? Yeah, someone with that level of skill.
    Makes me sad every time I drive by now

    Also, I worked with a guy that wanted to open a restaurant. He maid about every mistake you can including buying an abandoned chain steak house. First thing he had to do was pump concrete under the slab because it was sinking into a swamp. Then he had to repair all the plumbing which broke when it sank, He had 60 grand sunk into repairs before he could open. He went broke.

  41. 41.

    OzarkHillbilly

    My house looks like it’s been attacked by clowns. I’m always putting things off, like tidying up. I’m a terrible procrastinator. My wife’s the same. She’s kind of turned the place into Disneyland. She has balloons and characters everywhere and is building a toy guesthouse outside. -Dick Van Dyke

  42. 42.

    Schlemazel

    @satby:
    Can’t be wasting tax money on things like snow/ice removal! One of the ‘great’ ideas of the Pawlenty administration was to not plow highways while the snow is falling but wait for it to stop. Previously the highways would be in pretty good shape during a snowfall. Now there are dozens and dozens of accidents and really difficult travel every time it snows. Sure car insurance rates have jumped and people are losing many hours commuting but by gum we ain’t suffering from tax theft no more.

  43. 43.

    Schlemazel

    @Baud:
    We went in the halcyon, pre-9/11, days & walked the stairs. There are stones from different states on the inside so it was an interesting hike but I wouldn’t say it was a must do, take the elevator!

  47. 47.

    Just One More Canuck

    @satby: we had the same up here in the Great White North – 10 cm of snow (4 inches for you Luddites), then rain, then freezing rain, and then me having to drive for half an hour to take my daughter to soccer practice

    At least our streets get salted, but we’re a socialist hellhole

  49. 49.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Aleta: Yeah, loaning stuff is sure way to lose it. May well be what happened to my jacks. Then again, I may have given them away during my “minimalist” years. I gave away a lot of stuff I wasn’t using very much then.

  52. 52.

    cosima

    @raven: I’m hoping that the nuclear war will miss the Highlands. There aren’t many of us here. Easy to overlook. Although could be a specific target, given the lack of regard for Combover Caligula in these parts.

    @bemused: I sincerely hope that we will never have to go through this again. We had high hopes that conservative management would have allowed her to have a good outcome, but we were on a never-ending good/bad cycle, a couple months of good walks/runs/swims, then something invisible would cause her to limp & be confined for a month, so we decided to get it done over the winter so that she’ll be back up to speed by the time spring/summer rolls around. For the next 6 months it’ll be about keeping her wrapped in cotton wool, because once you go down the TPLO road (as you know) there isn’t a further repair option if it goes wrong.

    @Raven: Crossing fingers we’re back to our regular walks (always amazing) by June. Our oldest should be here (from VT) by then, and she’s got big plans to hit some new trails. With Lola. This year when she visited Lola was on restricted exercise for nearly the entire time, and it seriously harshed her mellow. She’d love to have a dog, but life is still a bit too unsettled for her & her bf to have one (uni, law school, moving, etc), so Lola is her dog when she’s home with us.

  56. 56.

    debit

    @jeffreyw: Oh man. I was not hungry until I clicked that link. Now I have to go rummage in the fridge. Dear FSM, please let there be eggs in there.

  59. 59.

    Larkspur

    @JPL: I don’t know about the financial details, but one of the most popular grooming places in my well-to-do community is run by identical twin sisters. They employ a few workers for cleanup and, I think, bathing help. But they work really hard and are just so cheerful. I’ve dropped people’s dogs off there. There’s nothing fancy about it. They’re good, efficient, and not cheap. Catchy name for the place, too: Doggy Styles.

  60. 60.

    Alain the site fixer

    @jeffreyw: I’ve been meaning to ask you, how you can have such yummy food all the time. I know you partner with Tamara so are you catering and making yourself stuff with leftovers, etc., or what? Hungry minds must know!

    ETA I think you’re near STL and she’s in Colorado so partner authors and website from my understanding.

  66. 66.

    jeffreyw

    @Alain the site fixer: It’s a hobby of mine, taking pictures of food I’ve made. I make an effort to present it well, although not so far as obtaining photo studio quality equipment. I eat most of what is pictured right away. I’ve been using my S6 Samsung phone lately instead of the Nikons I was using previously because it takes good enough photos for food blogs.

  67. 67.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @jeffreyw: My parsley was still looking really good but I think the 9 degrees, freezing rain, and dusting of snow we got last night probably finished them off, if the chickens hadn’t gotten to them first.

  68. 68.

    Elizabelle

    Good morning.

    And: apologies are for breakfast, from the LA Times. For publishing those ridiculous reader letters supporting Manzanar Japanese internment. Elicited a thread here last week.

    The Times regrets publishing letters about the Japanese American internment that weren’t ‘civil, fact-based discourse’

    Many Times readers have taken issue with two letters in the Dec. 11 Travel section, which criticized a Nov. 27 article about National Park sites that address issues of race and ethnicity in America’s history.

    The letters employed cultural stereotypes to suggest that the mass internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was justified and sought to minimize the hardships they endured.

    Davan Maharaj, editor-in-chief and publisher of The Times, said the letters did not meet the newspaper’s standards for “civil, fact-based discourse” and should not have been published. He said The Times apologizes for the distress the letters caused.

    … The two letters published in the Dec. 11 Travel section accused the National Parks article of engaging in an “anti-U.S. remake of history” and of needing balance. The letters included racial stereotypes.

    They also suggested that it wasn’t so bad in the camps and that the detainees could have had it worse elsewhere.

    … The Times’ Travel editor, Catharine Hamm, said she approved publishing the letters, thinking the writers’ views, although provocative, would be balanced by subsequent letters of response.

    Hamm said that, in retrospect, that was not the right decision because the views expressed in the letters did not lend themselves to reasoned discussion.

    Well done, smarter LA Times readers. Some of their letters follow the apology.

    Take note, fucking NY Times. You have an administration’s length of apologizing to do.

  69. 69.

    frosty

    @Baud:

    Nice. I’ve never been to the top of the Washington monument. On the bucket list.

    Last time I was there was on a high school trip. Half a dozen of us on the X-Country team ran up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. I’d get winded pushing the elevator button now!

  70. 70.

    Aleta

    @OzarkHillbilly: He doesn’t actually loan them. When he needs his ladder and it’s gone, he just drives around to different houses until he finds it. I tell him, make them ask first. He says, ‘when I need them to help me they always come.’ Of all us cousins, he’s everybody’s favorite. He’s the one who’s always there to help.

  72. 72.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Inside Quebec’s Great, Multi-Million-Dollar Maple-Syrup Heist:

    It was the Lufthansa heist of the syrup world. In the summer of 2012, on one of those July days when the first hint of autumn cools the northern forest, Michel Gauvreau began his precarious climb up the barrels in St.-Louis-de-Blandford, a town outside Laurierville, where part of the Reserve was stored in a rented warehouse. Once a year, FPAQ takes an inventory of the barrels. Gauvreau was near the top of the stack when one of the barrels teetered, then nearly gave way. “He almost fell,” Cyr said, pausing to let the picture form. A small man, astride a tower of syrup, realizing, suddenly, there’s nothing beneath his feet. Normally, weighing more than 600 pounds when filled, the barrels are sturdy, so something was clearly amiss. When Gauvreau knocked on the barrel, it tolled like a gong. When he unscrewed the cap, he discovered it empty. At first, it seemed like this might have been a glitch, a mistake, but soon more punk barrels were found—many more. Even barrels that seemed full had been emptied of syrup and filled with water—a sure sign of thieves who’d covered their tracks. My God, they could be in Thunder Bay by now! In most cases, when a boring, bureaucratic job turns interesting, there’s trouble.

    A fun read.

  74. 74.

    bemused

    @cosima:

    Our dog which had both legs done had a great outcome with one leg but not so much the other leg. We’re not sure why. She favors that leg and has some stiffness if she has had a lot more activity than usual. She gets glucosamine and fish oil and sure can run when she wants to. We’ve been a two dog family so when her older partner passed away we got a puppy, another pal, which really helps keep her active.

  75. 75.

    Schlemazel

    Just read that TNC is going to be on Deface the Nation this morning to discuss BHO and race in America. I want to watch that but also am horrified that it might end up with the vapid bullshit that has come to represent the political chat shows in America.

  76. 76.

    tobie

    A propos of gardens and veggie patches, have any BJers given thought to what kinds of tomatoes they’ll be growing next summer? I just got my catalogs from FEDCO seeds and SEED SAVER, so this is much on my mind. I’ve had good luck with Pruden’s Purple, an aromatic beefsteak tomato that’s just as sweet as the Brandywine in my view. I didn’t like the Cherokee Purple, which had too much of a mineral favor in my view, and was happy but not ecstatic about the Ukrainian Weissnicht.

    Any tips on tomato varieties or any other veggies would be appreciated. Also, do you have a favorite seed company? I really like the whole ethos of Fedco but last year my Seed Saver plants did better.

  78. 78.

    Corner Stone

    @MomSense:

    Anyone here have experience with Alpine Yurts?

    Painful as all hell. But if you put the cream on twice a day they eventually get better.

  81. 81.

    Corner Stone

    @jeffreyw: I keep making serious plans to make a pastrami but each time I remind myself it will just be me eating it and it’s a hell of a lot of time and effort to throw out pounds of meat after I’ve had enough.

  82. 82.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Schlemazel: ust read that TNC is going to be on Deface the Nation this morning to discuss BHO and race in America. I want to watch that but also am horrified that it might end up with the vapid bullshit that has come to represent the political chat shows in America.
    I”ve never seen him as a TV host, but from what I’ve read of Dickerson’s stuff over the years he’s not too bad. I wonder if it will be a one on one discussion or if they’ll bring on some dead-eyed Randian or wild-eyed Bible thumper to give the “Conservative” African American point of view. And will the segment will be three minutes long, because we have to get to Ruth Marcus and Chris Ciliza, who have important things to say about the optics of Trump’s lobby and the white working class

  83. 83.

    Alain the site fixer

    Now have to wait then I can see what’s going on. Wasn’t planning on this today so if I can’t fix it immediately, hopefully shutting off then back on the mobile site will shake loose the gremlins, even temporarily.

  84. 84.

    jeffreyw

    @Corner Stone: Slice it and vac seal, freezes well. I have to bake a new loaf of rye every time I thaw a batch, though.
    My pony tail is more of a Manx tail at the moment. I’m hoping to live long enough to see it to a respectable length.

  85. 85.

    Alain the site fixer

    @jeffreyw: you really should consider a small coffee table book. Your photos are always drool-inspiring! I often feel like there’s a story behind each dish, so they also tickle the mind a bit.

  93. 93.

    gene108

    @JPL:

    I think the Cold Open makes Trump seem like an innocent buffoon. He is not. He damn well knows what he is doing.

    He’s getting the public-face of Regan treatment as seen in this classic SNL skit

  94. 94.

    Schlemazel

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    I decided to DVR the show & skip bits like Hank Kissinger’s segment, I can also zip out if they turn the segment into a shitshow. It sure would be nice to have an adult conversation about current events

  95. 95.

    debbie

    @JPL:

    You know, not even this is a just enough fate for Kellyanne: “I’m handcuffed to you for the rest of history.”

  96. 96.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Schlemazel: I decided to DVR the show & skip bits like Hank Kissinger’s segment,

    I’m tempted to seek that part out on line just so I can maybe get some vague idea why, other than the improbable fact of his continued breathing, we’re supposed to give one half-assed fruit fly’s fuck what the old goon has to say.
    /edited

  97. 97.

    albertZ

    I never watch CNN but go to their website on occasion to see if there is any “trending news” (airplane crashes, active shooter, Kardashian sighting, etc.) Couldn’t help click on the headline “McCain’s Ominous Warning” regarding the hacks. Spoiler alert: It’s Obama’s fault!

  98. 98.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: Dick Van Dyke is my soul mate evidently.

    And I have an unscheduled day off because my car is stuck sideways in my ice rink of a driveway, and it’s not moving no matter how much I shovel. Since the alley looks to be almost as impassable, and I’m not shoveling all the way to the ice covered street, I just called in. I gave it a decent shot, but I know my limits.

  102. 102.

    Yarrow

    @MomSense:

    Anyone here have experience with Alpine Yurts? Wondering how strong and warm they really are.

    I don’t have personal experience but i worked with a couple who lived in one for over a year including two winters in Maine. When I expressed horror at how cold it must be they said it was plenty warm and they were fine. Of course they were in their 20’s, so keep that in mind.

  103. 103.

    Corner Stone

    It’s a good thing for Jill Abramson that she works in the print medium of news. Because she is awful on camera.

  107. 107.

    opiejeanne

    @tobie: I live just outside Seattle and our best tomato every year is one with the silly name of Super Fantastic.
    This year the tomatoes were a bust. They didn’t ripen despite nice warm weather all summer. We got very few.

    I like Johnny’s Seeds really well, and Burpee’s is good too. We don’t start our tomatoes from seed here even though we have a greenhouse. We buy large plants from a local nursery.

  109. 109.

    Schlemazel

    @Yarrow:
    My baby girl & her husband are living in a travel trailer outside Vail, CO. Their landlord wanted to raise the rent on their 1 bdrm from $1400 to $2500 a month so they bought a used travel trailer & moved into an RV park for the winter. Even with payments on the trailer they are way ahead. Because the trailer has solar panels that provide all the electricity they need (won’t run the AC but up there, who cares?) and they love to be in the woods when summer arrives they will move up into the hills.

    They added some insulation to the walls because it does get cold but being in their 20s they are doing very well so far. She even maintains a blog about their experiences.

  110. 110.

    Yarrow

    @gene108:

    I think the Cold Open makes Trump seem like an innocent buffoon. He is not. He damn well knows what he is doing.

    He’s getting the public-face of Regan treatment as seen in this classic SNL skit

    Yeah, I think they’re going too much in that direction. But they’re also getting the issue that he seems to believe the last person he talked to and that he’s vulnerable to flattery and just wants to be liked. Being owned by Putin was also made fairly explicit. So it was good, but not quite cutting enough.

    I don’t like the portrayal of Kellyanne Conway as being the long-suffering mom to him being a toddler. I think she has plenty of agency and she’s chosen to be this craven. The writers need to sharpen up that aspect of who she is.

  113. 113.

    tobie

    @opiejeanne: I’m thinking of going with some hybrids this year. Heirlooms are great but with such inconsistent weather patterns they’re really fussy. Will look into Super Fantastic.

  114. 114.

    MomSense

    @ThresherK (GPad):

    Try Delta Waves. It’s a free iTunes app and I think available on google play. It is the only thing that has helped me get any sleep the last month. I was a skeptic until I tried it.

  115. 115.

    Glidwrith

    @Yarrow: I thought it helped point out his clueless idiocy, though I do think for Russia he knows damned well what he is doing and the treasonous bastard just doesn’t give a damn.

  117. 117.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Yarrow: I think Trump would rather be portrayed as Putin’s knowing ally than his clueless if fortunate beneficiary (which I happen to believe is the case), so in terms of getting under trump’s skin, I think this works. I haven’t seen any reaction from the Orange Thumbs, so I can only assume that he and Kushner are wrestling around a floor somewhere in Mar-A-Lago, while Ivanka whimpers, “Daddy, please! Give Jared the phone and we’ll sit down and plan another rally!”

    as for Conway, I agree she’s being portrayed as better than she is, but I’d be surprised if she has 25% name recognition outside of political obsessives like us, so I’ll just take cheap pleasure in the cheap jokes about her hair and pallor.

    Also, Leslie Jones pining for Biden was pretty funny too

  118. 118.

    cosima

    @bemused: We’re crossing fingers, and, as I said, babying it for as long as we need to. We talked to a lot of people before deciding on a surgeon, and I have to say that I’m encouraged so far.

    I read a lot of stuff on the internet about TPLO recovery and was very worried about being up to the challenge of it, but Lola has been completely mobile from day one, which I consider to be signs of having a great surgeon and a promising outcome (provided we follow directions for rehab). I have some xrays of her leg post-surgery, and that is an amazing amount of hardware in there.

    I’m choosing to remain optimistic, and looking forward to being able to take her out in a couple of weeks. I’m also hoping that since she’ll be lead-only walks for 5 months that she’ll be a great walker by the end of that. Because she’s been on an active/inactive rollercoaster nearly her entire (short-ish) life, we’ve not been able to be consistent about walk training, and this will be my opportunity.

  119. 119.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Corner Stone: Leaderly, virile real leadership?

    the Ghost of Nixon watched, too

    Richard M. Nixon ‏@ dick_nixon 25m25 minutes ago
    Richard M. Nixon Retweeted POLITICO
    I said months ago that Henry is only as good as his master.

  120. 120.

    MomSense

    @Yarrow:

    Thanks. I follow a young couple who are homesteaders in Idaho and they seem to be living well in their yurt. They just had their second child. It was a yurt birth!

    I’m looking at land in Way the Fuck Up North, Maine and let’s just say the houses are awful. Colorado Yurts sell alpine Yurts that I think will end up being about $10,000 with all the cold weather upgrades. I have a wood stove but would need a chimney system.

  122. 122.

    Corner Stone

    @MomSense: A friend had a yurt in his yard that he used as a MMA dojo but that’s here in TX so not comparable. More of the storage type variety, very bare bones and not the kind with spatial options/configurations.

  123. 123.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Corner Stone: “Did you know that powver is ze ultimate aphrodisiac darlingge?”

    “Sure is, Sweetie. You left the five grand on the dresser, right?

  124. 124.

    Schlemazel

    @Corner Stone:
    When I looked the full winter options only came with the 2 largest models, they start at 10k and the winter options were an additional 5 grand. They start pushing to $20,000. Still an inexpensive option but not inexpensive.

  127. 127.

    frosty

    @tobie: I’ve tried heirloom tomatoes but haven’t had any luck with them. Seems like some bug gets them before I can pick. I’ve been using Landreth (seed supplier to George Washington) because they were local in South PA.

  128. 128.

    Schlemazel

    @Schlemazel:
    I just used their online calculator & chose the smallest model (200 sq’), added all the insulation possible, the stovepipe opening & better roof and it did come to about $10,000. But note that means plastic windows, they offer “warmer” windows with no explanation what that is but actual glass is a 3k upgrade and it comes to $13,000. The kids got more than twice the room for half the price and solar electric thrown in.

    then, remember you still have to build some sort of platform under the thing because you are not going to want to live on the ground

  130. 130.

    Schlemazel

    @MomSense:
    True that is why I said they were inexpensive as an option but not inexpensive. The kids got 14 inches of snow in a little under 12 hours Saturday so I would not want to experiment with the upgraded small model because a collapsed yurt is not going to be much good.

  131. 131.

    satby

    @tobie: I love Hillbilly Potato Leaf and German yellow, both heirloom varieties of Brandywines, I think. But they can be fussy if they don’t get enough sun.

  132. 132.

    Corner Stone

    If nothing else comes from this gods damned election, I hope for once and all time, any future Democratic administration will learn THE FUCKING LESSON TO NEVER EVER FUCKING EVER PUT AN R INTO ANY CABINET POSITION.
    Fuck you, Bob Gates.
    Fuck James Comey. Fuck him up his stupid ass.

  134. 134.

    opiejeanne

    @tobie: If you can guess what kind of weather you’ll have where we are, you can grow some heirlooms, but it requires a crystal ball and a lot of luck. We’ve had some luck with the heirloom called Brandywine, but only twice in six years here. This was a really bad year, even the cherry tomatoes were pretty much a bust.
    One tomato you probably should avoid is one called “Boxcar Willie”, because various plants are marketed under this name and there’s no telling what you’ll get.

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