Around the blogs

There’s such an incredible amount of information on the Net. I read a lot of blogs….each one has some useful snippet of information that I would like to share. I can only write so many blog posts about what I’m doing in the garden (out there most days) or the kitchen (not in there a lot), so I thought I’d try a regular post about some of the stuff from other blogs that interests me. Much of it will be food-related…..growing, preserving, cooking…..some will be peak oil and energy decline related and some will be just ‘miscellaneous’. I’ll provide a brief note of why I think the site is worth sharing and links to the particular posts. Sort of a shorthand way of reblogging other people’s posts, particularly since some sites don’t facilitate reblogging.

So here we go.

 

Being tickled by soy sauce :

Do you smother everything in soy sauce? There’s a reason. Here’s an interesting post from Stephan Guyenet of Whole Health Source about how soy sauce ‘tickles’ the reward-sensitive centres of our brains.

 

Ginger-turmeric-honey bomb :

Although I’m partial to a nice cup of coffee, I can’t stand the thought of it for breakfast. I drink herbal tea, usually with something I’ve collected from the garden, like lemon verbena. My all-time favourite is a few slices of fresh ginger with a teaspoon of honey, in hot water. So I was interested when a friend sent a link to a recipe for a honey/turmeric mix that promised to be super-healthy. I Googled and found a better one here. Go take a look. The site is worth it for the gorgeous photos alone.

I made it up and tried it and I’m sold. It will be my breakfast drink from now on. I get the ginger and the honey as before, but now I get healthy, inflammation-reducing turmeric and a burst of lemon zest. But be advised: don’t use your best white china cup. Turmeric is all-pervasive.

 

Plastic is rubbish :

I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of plastic I buy. It’s not easy.  I found this site with everything you’d ever want to know about plastic, how it’s made, all the different types, and the shocking reality of where it ends up. There’s a lot to read. When I’ve taken it all in, I think I’m going to try and go a week without buying any plastic; then two weeks; then….. Well, anyway, take a look. This is one of the most comprehensive sites on any topic I’ve seen.

 

A Dying Hen :

A lovely post from Terry Golson at Hencam. I’ve experienced the pain of losing two hens now, so for me this is just a beautiful piece of writing :

This is the reality of backyard chicken keeping. Animals under your care will die. Chickens have short lives. They’ll die sooner than you think. For those of you with only three or four hens, this can feel devastating. Even for someone like me who has a dozen hens and has kept a flock for twenty years, the loss of a bird is difficult. But, it helps to accept your limits as a caregiver. It helps to recognize that within the world of backyard hens, that this is normal. It helps that I know that I have given my animals the best care possible, so that while they’re here, they have a good life. And then it helps to let go and move on.

Terry’s blog is full of useful information for the chicken-keeper. There’s now a remote camera in each of the outside runs, so it’s possible to watch both of her flocks at their daytime activities. I still can’t get over how I can sit up in bed at night and watch a flock of hens cavorting around on the other side of the planet. Technology!!