The Thaw Is On-Gotta Make Char!

This is Mucky Boot Moon, Maple Sugar Moon, Cranes Return Moon, Ice Goes Out Moon and the Springtime that we used to enjoy seems to be nearly over before it began. Temperatures have gone up nearly 100 Fahrenheit degrees in just a couple weeks and the very real possibility exists that hot dry conditions of late summer will be upon us soon. Climate destabilization has become the rule, not the exception. We thought it was bad last year when we pushed the polar vortex down out of the arctic into the heartland, but this year we repeatedly bifurcated the stable weather pattern that usually sets up shop in winter over the arctic region. sled dog owners in Alaska took their dogs south to try to find snow. Here in Green Bay, Wisconsin, we had a very early bout with ridiculously cold weather, plunging below zero before Thanksgiving. Most of the winter was relatively mild and snow free, but after that, in late February we got another shot of bitter cold. Usually we have what we call the January thaw, but this year I half jokingly asked if people thought we would get a January freeze. Because of our extreme lack of snow, the drought is on already. This is taking place at a time when we usually face inundation rapidly melting ice and snow. Especially in rural areas this is noticeable because the wet soils, which appear dark, in low spots stand in stark contrast tot he tops of hills that are already completely dry and lying bleached in the steadily rising sun. The next few moons will be difficult because when the plows come out, they will just turn what little soil is left to dust and it will continue to blow away. With so little snow cover this past winter, the tiny ice particles that were blown about took out clouds of dirt and soil, depositing them on roadways, ditches and rights of way along the highways. Now that farmers are getting back outside, they will have a hard time understanding the losses that took place over the past few moons. when the last of the drifts melt, the black soil that they contain will disappear for another year. Many of our elected officials, especially during the Dust Bowl, advocated engineering vast shelterbelts of trees and shrubs to slow soil erosion from the plains states. what we have seen instead are the exact opposite changes being made to cropland across every region of our nation. Only a tiny minority of farmers are developing smaller paddocks and fields, minimizing their impact on purpose, to better care for their soils. During the Reagan years, hedgerows began to be eliminated at alarming rates. Bigger was better in every respect for the Mother Earth Rapers and greedy corporate welfare whores. It got so bad that small farm equipment went up in price exponentially and became hard to get. Banks wanted to loan and fully expected, and continue to feel that they deserve to always be paid back more. Instead of seeing the Earth as multivariate, infinitely changeable and alive, corporate farming eliminates life on a nearly unimaginable scale. In a healthy state, there might be on the order of hundreds of millions, perhaps as many as billions of bacteria per teaspoon (5ml). corporate farming practices kill off the majority of this life (equivalent in weight to about two cows) instead of cows dropping feces every so often, these critters are dispersing their wastes relatively evenly through the fields, increasing water absorption and adsorption rates, feeding other organisms and breaking down other residues that could fester into pathogenic cultures if left to themselves. This is a critical time for char making, so make as many excuses to sit around the campfire as possible. The majority of people can get their hands on a few basic items. Sawdust,(or wood shavings or chips) an old food tin, hammers and nail. Make sure the sawdust is clean and pure. No glues, laminates, foam or paint. Old food tins, cracker tins or cookie tins show up at virtually all second hand stores. Don't waste much money on this item, it just needs to provide an air tight heat proof seal. Pop a few holes in the lid so that escaping gasses can get out, but not let undue air into the container. Fill it with clean sawdust and put the lid on. The next bonfire, or campfire you go to just throw it in. This process, I call, riding the dragon. First, smoke will pour out of the holes then the smoke will change to jets of fire, so keep an eye on the process, it is fun and amazing to think of all that energy tied up in the wood shavings and particles. Technically, about half of the energy tied up in the wood comes out in these gasses. When flame stops coming out of the tin, it is time to remove your container and let it thoroughly cool before you open it. The char that results keeps the structural integrity of the wood cells, creating fourteen acres(5.67 ha.)of surface area per handful (approximately 1/2 cup 120 ml.) These surfaces are utilized as perfect habitat for soil organisms, if you create an environment that is hospitable for them. More on this process in future posts.

Looking Out

From the warm cozy of my home, I look out to the dozens of thirty foot tall trees that we planted when we moved in. I see dozens more that are smaller, but that have potential to be around long after my demise. In spite of the recent attacks on the culture and civilization that used to embody the feelings behind the word Wisconsin, there are things afoot that will change the course of history for the better, whether our legislators realize it or not. The tens of thousands of protesters that flood the Capitol steps and the millions who are learning of the protests are being inspired to take the reigns of our lives and steer in a different direction, no matter what silly laws they try to enact. Trying to keep this blog a-politcal is not even possible under the "leadership" of the most recent cadre of corporate tools. The groundwater laws, which friends of mine and I pushed for, researched for and gave dozens of years to enact have been gutted. The air emissions limits that would have protected human health have been flaunted, destroyed and hung out to dry. Lack of ethics has turned many recycling facilities into defacto hazardous waste dumps. The places we look at day in and day out are still dying the slow death that results from fossil fuel addiction. It seems like each time we mandate higher efficiency cars, people just step into them for more hours, drive them more hours, or select less efficient models. There are days when it seems that nothing we worked for as far as environmental protection has been worth a hill of beans. However, anyone who has witnessed the power of beans, especially magic ones, a hill of beans is really not to be dismissed. Seeds and beans hold the mystery of life and creation. It was the sprouting grains on many a freighter that took their vessels to the bottom of the sea. A little moisture and nothing can stop their rapid expansion. The same is going on currently with human awareness. Our minds soak up knowledge like so many sponges and the people bent on keeping us stupid are having a harder and harder time trying to keep us in the dark. The portal to which we devote our interest is a worldwide lens, bringing us facts and information that could never had made it across a publisher's desk just a few short years go. Each of us has the power to self-edit, or not at will. It has seemed chaotic, but as we gain our feet in the new realms of news and documentary, I believe that evolution cannot help but occur. Just as I was a friend of those using the term visual literacy as the video revolution was in full flush, the new bioneers of the future will be learning more from the internet than they ever did at school. What will the use of any "education" be when we all have a Siri at our disposal? Well, today, I got an answer to the question. I asked if anyone was bored and had a smartphone. Of course I got a volunteer at work right away. We asked, How much is an Australian dollar worth? Siri said, One Australian dollar is worth one dollar, in Australia." When we choose to look outward, the world reflected back can be as cold and sterile as Siri, or as warm and friendly as having a good laugh at yourself. I guess we will always have a choice as to which way we choose to lean. We can either become irate at Siri, or realize that in looking out, we often mirror our own prejudice and intent.

3-3 continuation of 1-3 0n 3-1

It troubled me slightly that in the last post I had ignored part of the question of what to do with the Solstice tree. In the book, 365 Ways To Save The Earth, they mention buying a potted tree and putting it in the ground after the festival is over. I felt that there needed to be a more in depth description of this process and that it would require an entire post to describe how to do this successfully. If you live in a climate like mine, planting your tree is a great idea, but in practice it can be a bit more difficult. First, if you go outside to plant the tree around the Solstice, you will find that the ground has become solid and that it is not possible to dig a hole. This can be solved by digging your hole in the fall and making sure that it is large enough to fit the root ball of the tree you plan to bring in to your home to decorate. Ideally, you will also need to keep the dirt indoors so that once the root ball is installed in the soil, you have some workable soil to surround the root ball with. When planting a tree in winter, special care needs to be taken that plenty of water is available for the roots before the root ball freezes. Moisture loss continues throughout the winter and conifers are most often lost due to dessication because they continue to lose moisture throughout the winter and by the time you see browning needles, it may be too late to rescue them from the desiccating effects of the dry winter winds. Second, if you do get them in the earth with enough moisture, having loose soil around a tree can be a bad idea, especially if it dries out, because burrowing creatures love to be able to dig easily, especially if the rest of the ground is frozen. Water the tree in well and perhaps even flood the soil around the root ball a few times as it freezes up to keep critters at bay. Mulching the earth as well is a good idea because once the fill freezes, it needs to stay frozen and not go through freeze-thaw cycles which can heave the root ball back up out of the surrounding earth. Third, and perhaps most difficult is, when you use a live tree indoors in winter, the root ball has to stay frozen. If the roots thaw then re-freeze, the tree can be killed by breaking dormancy, then being re-frozen. The landscape artisans that I know urge people wanting to try this method to insulate the root ball and only keep the tree indoors for a short time. The shorter the better. If you have watered the potted tree well in the fall, as it was freezing, keeping the root ball insulated can keep the roots ball from thawing somewhat. Putting the whole shebang in a cooler, or wrapping it with several inches of cardboard or newspaper will also help, but even with plenty of insulation around the potted root ball, you can only keep the tree indoors for a couple days before it starts to thaw out. Getting it situated in the hole you dug the previous fall needs to happen relatively quickly, so this is going to limit your enjoyment of the tree while it is indoors. One thing that can allow you a bit more time is if you have an unheated space like a breezeway or if you would be able to put the tree just outside a window, where you could enjoy it from outdoors. In any case, remember that the stress of going through a freeze-thaw cycle is difficult enough for a tree, but that if the ground is not prepared or the tree is not put into the soil quickly, all of your extra work may be for naught. In any case, good luck with your tree if you do attempt to do this. If you pay attention to these important steps, your efforts will be rewarded.

1-3 on 3-1

This is amazing and funny. "Compost your X-mas tree." First off, there are several things to understand before the "last word" is to be had. Our Solstice tree is usually brought in on the eve of solstice, she lasts indoors until Imbolc, then makes her way into the yard, where she attracts birds, embracing them in her protective boughs and concentrates their feces as rich nitrogen laden soil amendment. Each bird seems obligated to poo a little, as part of their pre-flight checklist/ritual(perhaps to make them lighter and more maneuverable.)and strategically placed trees can have benefits that charge the soil's battery with nutrient dense material plus, you get the beauty of a tree that slows the wind and moderates the climate, even though it is no longer actively growing. The tree can be propped against a fence, post, or a tall stake that you put into the ground (in preparation before the ground freezes, somewhere around Sowen). If you have room, you can even lay your tree down and wildlife will enjoy the cover it provides. Decorating with birdseed and suet cakes can provide both food and cover for the birds.

If you have forest trees or garden beds nearby that are acid loving, you can eventually chop the tree into smaller bits and add it to the soils around your trees or garden plants for mulch. This can eliminate the need for trucks to haul them away. It helps to remind humans not to step in the delicate soil, so that beneficial microbes and other plants can survive and flourish as well.

Alternately, you could reduce the tree to char by burning it in a TLUD (Top Lit Up Draft)unit or in a retort. This process creates syngas, which in most TLUD units is vented and fuels an afterburner which in turn draws the air up through the material being charred, that can utilize approximately 50% of the energy that the wood contained, while the rest of the energy becomes pure carbon, a miraculous soil amendment. ECO-Tours offers biochar seminars where we discuss not only the creation of char, but the colonization of char and nutrification processes to actively build soil, increasing yields and reducing the need for fertilization and chemical inputs over the long haul. If you do burn your tree, it is worth making sure that you only turn it to char, the other way of burning produces only white ash and is unhealthy for soil by comparison.

Imagine char as a massive condo complex for soil microbes and beneficial fungi. It actually creates a sort of battery of energy based on and in nutrients that persist over time made available to plants through symbioses of millions of organisms living as a culture, much like yeast inhabits bread. These microbes also contain water in their cells, by the billions, stabilizing soil moisture by their very existence. As you can see there are many reasons to "recycle" your tree.

As a last resort, take your tree to the yard waste center in your community.

January 2nd

"Turn down you heat one degree C." When we average out our heating costs over the course of the year, this tiny change can save about a dollar each day, and it can reduce carbon emissions by over six hundred pounds per year (300 Kilos). This savings, from just one degree, can amount to hundreds of dollars each year. The claim, as I have heard it is that the "comfort range" is between 68 and 72 degrees F (20-22 C). Oddly enough, the healthiest temperature for sleeping is closer to 61 degrees F. (16 C). I know that people don't like to be cold, but the cost of a sweater is far less than the fuel to keep us cozy. There are professionals who will utilize blower door technology and heat imaging cameras to identify heat loss and air leaks in your home or office, but they come with a commensurate cost. Technology, and the skills to utilize it are rarely cheap. Luckily, there is an option for those trying to live better for less. If you buy some incense, or a punk (sawdust compressed onto a stick) even a cigarette will work, you can use the smoke as a tell tale for where leaks in your home's envelope are located. First, especially if you have forced air heat, turn your furnace off while doing this experiment. Walk SLOWLY around your home, moving the smoke generating device up and down all of the exterior walls. watch for where the smoke gets disturbed and fill in cracks and crevices with caulk. you will be surprised at how many places are either being infiltrated by cold air or leaking warmth out. There is a very chap flexible rope caulk that is a bit like child's modelling clay, but pre-formed into long tubular strings and coiled one on another to make a sort of hockey puck looking thing. This works great and for larger gaps, you can use expanding foam. Take your time and go slow enough so that the smoke rises straight up when there are no leaks. Minute disturbances in the air will become visible using this technique and sealing any cracks will stop heat loss and cold infiltration economically. Next, do the inside walls. you may be shocked at how many voids in the walls are acting like chimneys for heat to escape into the attic, or out the roof. Another thing that is cheap and easy is to wait for frost, or a light dusting of snow and visually inspect the roof. This is best done right at dawn. Wherever the snow melts first if from heat leaking up and out of the house. The places that need better air sealing or insulation will be plainly evident because they will melt first. Also make sure to inspect the place where the ceiling of the basement meets the outer wall. This is called the sill box and by insulating and air sealing this space, not only will your floors feel warmer, but cold dense air will be prevented from getting in. The less air you have to heat the better and these three things, air sealing, insulation and making sure the sill box is sealed and insulated can reduce your heat bill and the carbon footprint of your home by 30%. Just one year of doing these three things would allow you to save enough to send ECO-Tours a few hundred dollars.

I know that I put paragraphs in that post...

CHILI

The reason I have written this as an acronym, is because I want to take a different approach to several issues that you may have seen popularized by the 24-7 news cycle. Carnage, Heinousness, Ignorance, Lubriciousness, (1.offensively displaying or intended to arouse sexual desire. 2.smooth and slippery with oil or a similar substance.)& Incompleteness. These five elements are present to varying degrees in each and every "event" you will witness in the current world of "news". To jump on this particular bandwagon of momentary but rapt attention, (given willingly by tens of millions) the story has to jerk the viewer, much like a hook in the jaw of a catfish, amaze, or violently assault the viewer, flooding them with strong emotion. Nothing else will do. The weather cast has seen the increase in extreme weather events as tailor made for capturing more air time. Hover, don't expect them to say anything about the root cause of climate change, they have an oil spill to cover. "How might the 24-7 news cycle relate to chili?" Well, my approach in my writing is the polar opposite, The time that I put into my stories began when I was a child. Salient crosscurrents that most people might never find have articulated waves in my memory, and like the Polynesian boat people, I use them to help navigate the vast ocean of experience that has taken place during my first half-century. On the trail, in the old west and they probably learned from native people, dry meat was pounded with onion and herbs, then boiled to make chili. So many people forget that not that long ago, there were no refrigerators or prepackaged food, this early chili would have been watered down to make broth when times got tougher and had a few more scraps of meat when the goin' was good. It could be, with a few corn biscuits, a tasty treat after a long day in the saddle, but you wouldn't want to live on it exclusively for long. So, I'll tell ya',chilli's got a lot to do with it. I have a book, about as thick as two thumbs. Called 365 Ways To Save The Earth. I am going to attempt to eventually write commentary on each one, but I would like my readers to step up and pledge a dollar a piece so that I might raise money for planting trees, seeds, and protecting property that has come under the heavy hand of humnan-unkind. I pledge to offset some of the contamination of mind that comes from trying to wrap your head around global issues, I will try to redouble my efforts to focus locally and restore and renew the feeling that the ecological train wreck that humans are on course for is not only survivable, but worth undertaking. The January first idea is to pledge to be a conscious shopper. This plays right into the message at hand. When you "buy-in" to my "product", you can rest assured that trees will be planted, acres protected and recovered with native plants. No waste will be created, only life will be fostered. Three-hundred and sixty five dollars can plant three dozen trees. Ten times that amount can buy an acre of land. Twenty times that amount can reforest that acre with native trees. There may be times that my writing feels like I'm beating a dead horse, but remember, it is only to tenderize it for your benefit. Even a chef needs to understand that it will all be shit tomorrow. We have the chance on the front side to make decisions about whether that shit is life giving and healthy, or filled with toxic residue and devoid of nutrients. Becoming a conscious shopper means the we are aware of life-cycle costs, from pre-production to disposal and at every step in-between. Regarding my approach to ecological restoration and intellectual discourse, it is my intent to open up areas that have been long beaten down, hammered flat, avoided completely, ignored, abused, neglected, papered over, glossed over or otherwise insulated from inspection. In my experience, when you open up the fertile landscape, or the mind, air and light get in and fertility blossoms where there had been nothing before. In my heart of hearts, I have always felt that the idea proposed, the admonition to, "Think globally, act locally.", was a bit over the top. It almost feels to me that it was instigated and popularized by those who oppose ecological change, like a mental shock treatment for the brain. (this should be reminding you of CHILI, the 24/7 news cycle I mentioned at the outset.) I do not challenge anyone to think globally, because it could render them unable to see the light of change, or even catch their breath under the weight of understanding it. During the time period when this idea was popular, China was increasing car ownership at an exponential rate, burning more and more coal, turning fossil into heat and atmospheric carbon at unparalleled rates. This, in turn, crushed the idea of recycling for many because the largest population on Earth seemed to be going at cross purposes to our will. Now, China is reigning in their wanton destruction of Mother Earth and the largest nation on the planet is building efficient transportation systems to eliminate legacy emissions from their auto fleet. I have always been of the opinion that only acting locally, independent of the global scale is the only way to remain sane. When I write about any global scale issue, my focus is on how we can solve problems by local action. The reference to phenomena such as the polar vortex, Fukushima, the various Gyrae, global desertification, and climate destabilization are tangential at best, just temporary hand holds to scramble across the difficult spots. The healing comes from taking local action. I feel a little bad that I had to bring up those mega-scale effects of our current collective action. My belief is that when we all finally act as one, our leaders will have to fall in line. On my two city lots, My wife and I produce as much food as possible, we do it because not wanting to buy any more foreign substances, imported to our property, than is absolutely necessary, guides all of our choices. I am still eating honey, gifted to me by a neighbor, so to import it from even a few miles away would require at least a bike trip if not a car ride. That could harm a lot of bees. In my town, we are called a "Tree City" and from early Spring to late fall there are nectar and pollen sources. This makes urban bees particularly productive and necessary. The reason I get so hopped up and inspired about bio-char is that in a single handful, there are fourteen acres of surface area! That is the microscopic level that I want others to think locally about. We have the technology, in fact there are several technologies for making char. What we lack is the will. Building the food pyramid from the bottom up, instead of assaulting it at every level is the best way to create the change we seek to see in the world. My additions, translations and stories relating to the entries in 365 Ways To Save The Earth, may be more easily remembered or understood if you purchase the book and read along, but I will try to make limited reference to it along the way. Each "day" I will use their ideas as a jumping off point. I will frequently distill down their two or three paragraphs to a few words, or expound upon their limited discussion with deeper truths that lie beyond their trendy approach. Like the char, I hope to build a structure upon which many forms of life might thrive. I believe that our consciousness is like a sponge and the ability of our minds to "soak up" information is nearly infinite. Once ideas take hold and are borne out by experience, they take up residence and thrive, much like the organisms that colonize bio-char, making the base of the food pyramid blossom. From this more stable place, more fertile ideas inspire more and more profound action.