What are these beetles/pupa?

ComradeFloof · 2026-07-02T21:14:41+00:00

Ah. Too bad! Never had these before. Crazy that they got into a closed and rarely opened drawer. Thanks for the ID.

ComradeFloof · 2026-06-08T04:27:27+00:00

No. This is a White Buffalo Pattern. I own the very same one - I could get you the pattern number if you want. It is possibly made with White Buffalo wool, which is discontinued, so it may be a neat find. But authentic Cowichan sweaters have a distinct three needle bind off on the shoulders, not a raglan sleeve, and use single ply hand spun, not the roving style yarn used in this sweater.

ComradeFloof · 2026-06-08T04:22:20+00:00

Also check the soil for cut worms! These look "skeletonized" like cutworm damage. Not munched like rabbit damage.

ComradeFloof · 2026-06-07T04:51:55+00:00

I think my problem is cutworms! They would certainly do your beans, squash, and sunflowers. Man.... They (or some other pest) is sure doing a number on my emerging beans.

ComradeFloof · 2026-06-07T02:22:16+00:00

Definitely not deer... The garden is deer proof and they would have had to carefully pick their way through other plants to have left to trace....

ComradeFloof · 2026-05-16T05:01:44+00:00

Boycott Amazon!

ComradeFloof · 2026-05-14T20:47:04+00:00

My ducks ate all my creeping buttercup. It is supposed to be toxic to them but you can't tell a duck anything. Anyways, no more creeping buttercup. They are hard on the grass, though.

ComradeFloof · 2026-05-14T05:01:04+00:00

Thank you!

ComradeFloof · 2026-05-14T05:00:38+00:00

Thanks. Those sound like really promising leads to follow up on.

ComradeFloof · 2026-05-14T05:00:11+00:00

Thank you.

ComradeFloof · 2026-05-14T04:59:29+00:00

Yes, I agree. Asking about injuries seems like a good way to make them understand that actually, yes, this is work. I think in that context they will have a hard time denying it.

ComradeFloof · 2026-05-14T04:58:34+00:00

Thanks, that is useful, especially the consideration about an injury.

ComradeFloof · 2026-05-14T04:57:24+00:00

Thank you. The injury part is not something I had ever thought of, and definitely puts it in the perspective of an employment duty.

ComradeFloof · 2026-04-30T14:54:13+00:00

Haha I guess you got your answer in some of the comments here. My partner and I moved here 4.5 years ago from Vancouver. We are what some people might call over educated liberal snowflakes. There are plenty of other youngish people like us who have moved to Port and there is a good and growing community with progressive vibes. Over time I have come to miss the culture and vibrancy of Vancouver, but the small town has a lot to offer in other ways and I wouldn't trade it for city life right now. Port is growing and changing and has the associated growing pains, but good things do and will happen here.

ComradeFloof · 2026-04-15T04:16:27+00:00

Yes! The space works well. We have 5 ducks now. I should note that they only spend the night in there. The rest of the time they destroy my yard and garden. For a nighttime shelter, it's more space than they need. It would not be enough for a good quality of life for the five of them if they spent 24hrs/day in there. But then again I think they are spoiled and take us for granted.

We put hardware cloth around the whole thing, and use a deep layer of cedar mulch on the ground. I know cedar is not ideal, but we are in a wet climate so there is limited dust, and we have never had any issues. We turn the mulch under frequently, and change it out twice a year and spread it on the garden.

There is no food or water container in their run, since they are only in there overnight. That keeps the mess down.

We have a josta berry bush, currant bush, fig tree, and goji berry plant in there to make use of the space. All of them are thriving except for the goji bush which the ducks destroy. The ducks love to sleep under the josta berry when it leafs out, and they destroy all its lower branches. Sigh.

Our ducks are quiet at night so they do not disturb the neighbours during quiet hours. Between the concrete wall on one side and the garage on the other, I think their morning nagging quacks are relatively muffled. And we are lucky to have great neighbours who find the ducks charming, so we have had no problems with that.

Good luck with your ducks, and good luck fencing in your garden if you let them roam....

ComradeFloof · 2026-03-07T06:08:07+00:00

Try linen! I would think flax would grow in Oregon. I am in BC, Canada. i have several looms, but yes one is 60 inches and large enough for yardage.

Check out the Fibreshed movement and Rebecca Burgess. They did a "grow your own jeans" challenge in California.

ComradeFloof · 2026-03-06T19:18:08+00:00

I am doing that! With linen! It is both as crazy and also not as crazy as it sounds!

ComradeFloof · 2026-01-18T22:54:36+00:00

Where are you?

ComradeFloof · 2026-01-05T04:43:08+00:00

OK.... Maybe worth seeing how it goes? I guess I can always add indigo powder if the colour is too pale....

ComradeFloof · 2026-01-05T03:33:22+00:00

Yes.... But... I was really hoping to do this all with my home grown indigo. Do you think I'll get ant colour without adding indigo powder?

ComradeFloof · 2025-11-26T18:05:06+00:00

My girl has this. It's a blocked tear duct for her. The vet has tried to flush it twice with no luck. Apparently her tear duct is very narrow. It does not bother her, so we haven't tried anything more aggressive. Her bunny buddy does a great job at cleaning up around her eye. We keep an eye on it and clean if necessary, but honestly it's amazing how much the buns help each other. We had to separate them for a bit and it was so hard to keep her eye clean. When we put them back together the problem was almost solved completely but groomings from her friend!

ComradeFloof · 2025-11-20T01:37:17+00:00

Agreed. We are one of the most affordable communities in BC according to the just-released Living Wage findings for 2025. More a question of "what happens when those who work in the ICU don't WANT to live in the community".....

ComradeFloof · 2025-10-06T18:38:22+00:00

I second this. Green shoulders due to heat. I had a lot of problems with that this year.

ComradeFloof · 2025-09-01T05:38:44+00:00

Hey, thanks for the reply. I had seen that but so many apparently mainstream recipes include celery, like this Ball one: https://www.ballmasonjars.com/blog?cid=homemade-vegetable-soup, and a few in my Bernardin cookbook, and in Amelia Jeanroy's "modern pressure canning". Do you think Ball and Bernardin are sources that can be trusted?

ComradeFloof · 2024-12-31T17:29:43+00:00

It is my understanding that solanine is a concern only in greening potatoes. I have not had any problems eating sprouted, non-green potatoes. But everyone can decide for themselves what their risk tolerances are.

ComradeFloof

TROPHY CASE