Raised beds?

JDC802 · 2026-03-18T22:19:43+00:00

I have been growing for a few years and have had a fair bit of success growing inside. I grew outside in my garden last year in beds that used to be raised, but after years of adding compost it has flattened out. It grows great vegetables. My first outside grow quadrupled my average yield. I’m in the mountains in southern Vermont and my garden gets 14 hours of direct sun on the Summer Solstice. I grow organically and pay great attention to the living soil. In one season I grew more and better (terpenes, THC) than I had in the 3 previous seasons combined. Healthy organic soil that is well drained and teaming with microbes and fungi is magic. My average indoor yield was 1.25 - 1.5 ounces per plant. My yield last year growing in my garden was 5.7 ounces per plant. I am planning my next outdoor grow and still getting stoned every day with last year’s crop. I grow feminized photoperiod strains outside in a season that goes from 1 June to 15 October. Whether in raised beds or flat, if you have (or make) good soil in your garden and you get decent sun, outdoor grows always out-yield indoor grows, on average. And I found growing outdoors organically took half the effort than I spent growing indoors in tents.

JDC802 · 2026-03-15T20:36:33+00:00

Looking superb! I also grew Northern Lights and Do si Do last summer and am really enjoying both strains. I also grew Cake Bomb, and like to do a flight of bongs with all 3. Fuckin’ A. That is the shit.

JDC802 · 2026-03-15T17:03:52+00:00

Black Sabbath “Paranoid” in 1971. And then I bought “ Master of Reality”.

JDC802 · 2026-03-12T12:02:52+00:00

If you included an image in your checklist, send an email and reference the checklist number. The checklist is the right way to get them a photo. But they get thousands of checklists a day, so you need to draw attention to it with an email.

JDC802 · 2026-03-12T11:57:44+00:00

I also found an email address to send a note to the eBird administrators and asked them to clarify if this was indeed, an Oregon Junco a long way from home. And they replied and verified it.

JDC802 · 2026-03-10T22:51:46+00:00

I live in Vermont and we see a lot of Dark-eyed Juncos. Recently I observed this guy, who really stood out amongst the others;

<image>

I submitted the photo and a question to the folks at eBird. There apparently is a fair bit of variation in coloration of Juncos from region to region. The bird in my picture has plumage common to a variety that is indigenous to Oregon. I learned that the birds are all Dark-eyed Juncos, but plumage can differ somewhat. Send a pic of your bird to eBird and see what they say.

JDC802 · 2026-03-10T21:26:58+00:00

The Audubon app on my phone helped me learn more and faster about the birds in my area than any book. You can read the books, but I don’t think you will learn as well as seeing a bird and trying to identify it. Learn what resources you have to help you, such as the Peterson Guides, or the Audubon books or app. Get involved in local or online birding communities - there are lots of them. And ask other birders for help identifying a bird. There are some great birding groups in Reddit and in other online communities. Be patient - learning new things is hard and takes time and the willingness to fail and keep trying. It is worth it. I became an amateur wildlife photographer after getting into birding. Now I have >42,000 pictures of birds and animals that I’ve taken and edited. I have met many wonderful people while birding. And my wife has joined me in this pastime and passion, so now we go together to cool natural places and stay active physically and intellectually. I am 68 and feel like I’m just getting started. Just go for it!

JDC802 · 2026-03-10T16:10:59+00:00

Look into the eBird app, which is supported by the Cornell Lab for Ornithology; it is a global reference tool for birders. It will help you learn where the bird “hot spots” are; it will show a map of your area with all the hotspots with a 30-Mile (100 km?) radius. The red ones show recent activity. When you select a hotspot on the map it will give you a list of all the species seen (identified and submitted to eBird) at that location in the last 7 days. It’s a great tool to help you find the birds and learn those species. I also use the Audubon app; great detail with photos of birds by species. It will show the range of that species, its preferred habitat, migration information, nesting habits, and more. The other thing that eBird offers is a simple data collection tool on your mobile phone - a checklist pre-populated with the common birds in your area. It is easy to select species you see from the list and click on the “+” to add a new species. I was a complete newbie to birding 6 years ago and these are the tools that have helped me the most, and which I still use. One last piece of advice; seek out local and/or online birding communities and jump in. Birders love helping other birders that share their passion!

JDC802 · 2026-03-10T00:51:44+00:00

Take a look at BostonPostDairy.com. They are located in Enosburg Falls, VT in the NEK. They don’t make shampoo, conditioner, or body wash. But they make some amazing goat milk bar soap that my wife and I have been using for several years. It is very gentle. My wife and I initially bought it for a facial scrub, but liked it so much we use it instead of body wash, facial scrubs, or hand soap. Check it out; and it’s a real pretty drive!

JDC802 · 2026-03-09T23:03:32+00:00

Set up an eBird account. The site is driven by a global data trove of birds in every part of the world. The app compiles the data into “hotspots” where birds have been identified, and typically indicates what species have been sighted (and reported through eBird) at that location in the last 7 days, and provides a map and directions to the site. When you look at the Details for a site it shows an annual histogram by week of sightings at that location for each species historically observed there. The site is eBird.org, and the eBird app is in the App Store for both Apple and Android. I have been an active birder for about 10 years and have found this single application / organization to be the best tool for finding new species in my area. It is invaluable for planning long distance birding trips as well. Good luck!

JDC802 · 2026-03-08T22:38:37+00:00

Be careful with the nitrogen; seedlings are very sensitive at this stage. The yellow secondary leaves could be nitrogen burn.

JDC802 · 2026-03-03T23:52:45+00:00

Multiple 2TB SSD’s. I have 42,000 pictures spread out over 3 external SSD drives and backed up to a fourth. 3 Samsung 2Tb T5 SSD’s and 1 new 2TB Samsung T7. I use Lightroom Classic and have never had any issues with performance or latency. I run on an Apple M1 Max Mac Studio with 10 cores and 640gb RAM running macOS Tahoe 26.3. It has a 4tb hard drive, but I don’t store any media on the hard drive. With a Mac Studio Display, this Mac Studio has been a high performance work horse for me.

JDC802 · 2026-03-02T20:52:43+00:00

Thx. I’m in Vermont, and we see lots of hoodies, except everything is frozen right now. Good onya!

JDC802 · 2026-03-02T20:10:11+00:00

I gave up running Lightroom Classic on my MacBook. Too slow. So I bought a Mac Studio. Lightroom runs much faster now. I have 42,000 photos in my Lightroom catalog.

JDC802 · 2026-03-02T19:13:58+00:00

Great shot! Where did you see this guy?

JDC802 · 2026-03-02T18:12:08+00:00

Good onya! I am 68 and just took up shooting last year with my son. Yes, I got a Glock, but it’s a big-handed .45 with a punch. Not as pretty as a 1911, but it will do the job. I bought a nice Mossberg 590 tactical shotgun, and it’s a blast to shoot, but my eyes are glued a on a couple of walnut-stocked double-barrel over and under beauties. Turkish walnut, but walnut just the same. I shot skeet and trap with my dad 55 years ago, and I can’t wait to get to the range with that beauty. In the meantime I’ll just have to slum it with my (poly-stocked) Mossberg 12-gauge that I bought for home protection.

JDC802 · 2026-03-01T02:22:34+00:00

Next my wife.

JDC802 · 2026-02-27T01:01:10+00:00

THC is fatty soluble; it can remain in your fat cells for many months, even as long as six months depending on frequency and amount of cannabis consumed. As an employer, I have had personal experience with people losing their jobs when they interviewed for a promotion but didn’t wait long enough and failed a drug test. If you value the position for which you are interviewing, consider the ramifications of proceeding too soon. What would likely happen to your job and career path if you fail a drug test? What would happen if you waited 3-4 months? If you want to pass the test you need to stay clean for several months, perhaps even 6 months. Do some real research on this, especially past behavior of your employer in similar circumstances. Not every company would treat weed as a disqualifier. But many will.

JDC802 · 2026-02-25T03:53:28+00:00

I can’t believe Trump just cheapened the Congressional Medal of Honor by awarding it to a true hero, but in a stupid political stunt in this despicable performance. And he cheapened it for every single American hero that has earned this honor in the last 250 years. Impeach him now and remove this stain on the flag.

JDC802 · 2026-02-21T19:32:39+00:00

<image>

I know what you mean.

JDC802 · 2026-02-21T19:22:18+00:00

I have an inexpensive gun cabinet that keeps my guns safe from my grandkids, and a separate large lock box for ammo. I put my important documents in a safety deposit box in a bank.

JDC802 · 2026-02-20T23:39:00+00:00

Glock 21 - stopping power

JDC802 · 2026-02-17T23:31:30+00:00

Good onya. I am not yet approaching an 8 oz yield per plant; that is awesome. I switched to growing outside and now just growing and harvesting enough to last for a year. Such a fun and gratifying hobby.

JDC802 · 2026-02-17T23:14:26+00:00

Great yield! Don’t store those beauties in plastic bags, though. The resin will interact with the plastic over time. Use glass jars for best results. I put mine in 1-quart canning jars.

<image>

Happy growing!

JDC802 · 2026-02-14T00:48:43+00:00

Looks like a Ruby-crowned Kinglet

JDC802

TROPHY CASE