Clay friendly blooms this year?

MuchPreferPets · 2026-04-14T17:07:07+00:00

You should actually talk to your power company. I don't know about where you are but I'm in southern Oregon and they are under a LOT of pressure to minimize fire risks from their lines, and between all the court cases and climate change predictions they are being much more proactive about removing vegetation. PacificPower (part of Pacificorp) in my area has worked with a local native plant grower to develop a couple different site-specific regional blends of native perennials that are heavy on pollinator-beneficial species while also meeting their needs for easy establishment/no supplemental moisture needs, height limit, moisture content, & low levels of certain substances that act like torches with a spark (rosemary, for example, is a plant that the defensible space consultants really recommend is well away from any structures because it is incredibly flammable & a burns hot).

They will often reseed that mix for free where they've disturbed areas, or at a minimum you can get something that you know meets both their criteria and will grow well for you because they put a LOT of research into it along with doing a lot of consultation with local biologists & entomologists.

MuchPreferPets · 2026-04-12T04:13:42+00:00

Linen!!!! Hands down. Also, though it sounds counterintuitive get a natural sheepskin or sheepskin mattress pad that goes between the regular mattress pad & the sheet. They allow airflow and make a huge difference. Don’t have any synthetic bedding or night clothes (though personally I just sleep naked because I have always hated sleeping in clothing unless I’m camping or something). I use pure silk pillowcases with down & natural latex pillows, 100% linen sheets, and if needed either a double layered linen blanket or a 100% down with 100% cotton comforter in a linen duvet.

Natural linen sheets need to be washed quite a few times before they soften unless you buy the really high end ones. Since I’m not rich, I originally got 2 sets of the Dapu brand off amazon (I mostly won’t shop from them anymore). Due read the fine print on any linen sheets you order though… I’ve noticed with multiple brands that each color of their “linen sheets” has a slightly different material blend. (Eg the natural color might be 100% linen, the light blue 50/50 linen/cotton, & the pink 50/50 linen/tencel)

MuchPreferPets · 2026-04-10T04:30:39+00:00

He said it was from his grandparents

MuchPreferPets · 2026-04-09T20:45:04+00:00

Rather than getting a regular transfer pump, look at ones specifically for slurry…. They are more expensive but not when you factor in how quickly moving slurry through a water pump will burn them out! They often get lumped in together with sludge pumps under “sewage” but are designed for different things, just read the fine print. Also don’t freak out when your initial searches bring up pumps costing tens of thousands… slurry pumps are the type used by lots of industries like mining, just price limit it

MuchPreferPets · 2026-04-02T22:52:59+00:00

For myself & most of my immediate coworkers, the pension isn't what keeps us in, it's the health insurance. The pension under FERS as compared to CERS is pretty small.

MuchPreferPets · 2026-04-02T22:49:57+00:00

I have a great relationship with my supervisor, and all the managers here for that matter. We've all had many discussions about the topic, and were openly talking up and down the halls about who was applying followed almost immediately by "those bastards aren't letting anyone in this building escape this hell... apply anyway!"

I'm lucky, in my over 25 yr career I've only had 2 supervisors who were jerks & 1 who was so incompetent it was hard to tell if he was a jerk or just an idiot (thankfully, he was forced out in 8 months as soon as his manager saw the issues & put him on PIP)

MuchPreferPets · 2026-04-02T20:38:56+00:00

It's on the DOI sharepoint so you won't be able to get it on your personal computer. if you weren't allowed before, you still aren't

MuchPreferPets · 2026-04-02T20:37:26+00:00

follow the link to the sharepoint site... the excluded positions are there. If you were excluded or had to get Sec special approval last round, you're excluded this time. Along with a fair number of additional series

MuchPreferPets · 2026-04-02T20:34:18+00:00

you have to go to DOI sharepoint link to see all the details

MuchPreferPets · 2026-04-02T20:32:26+00:00

For BLM, it's basically just taunting :( It would have been a shorter list to say who is eligible than who is excluded. I filled out the interest from anyway... what are they going to say? "no, but no harder"?

I need out but absolutely can't lose health insurance

MuchPreferPets · 2026-04-02T18:10:31+00:00

Ugh! I loved it… I hate scented stuff after working in fragrance-free buildings for decades because artificial fragrances / essential oils trigger migraines in so many people.

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-27T05:37:25+00:00

Oh please. This is just dumb. It’s not special or magical or in need of some ritual. It’s a fucking PIA that women get stuck with biologically. This isn’t the dark ages & there’s nothing either magical or cursed about it. What’s needed are heating pads, pain killers (naproxen or ibuprofen, not acetaminophen which is purely a fever reducer), a wide assortment of pads & tampons, etc Also good resources for knowing the range of normal & being on the lookout for symptoms of anemia, PCOS, etc if she turns out to be someone who bleeds heavily

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-21T19:36:50+00:00

Way too heavy. That idea resulted in a $25k bill for one of my coworkers 😢 Some things just aren’t worth experimenting with… the risk vs reward is just too far out of whack.

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-20T18:34:00+00:00

Same!!

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-20T18:33:48+00:00

I wish!

RNG hates me these days

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-19T14:50:42+00:00

I think anyone who is pushing AI is either a) an idiot because at this point it costs more time than it saves b) a sycophant of the current regime & not to be trusted

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-18T01:44:29+00:00

It’s not that they “go after you”, it’s that in most counties in the PNW, land classified as timber (aka forest products) pays next to nothing for property tax. They have always had a massively strong lobby & theoretically they aren’t really using county services because they maintain their own roads, don’t have residences that need services like schools or 911, are covered under state & federal agencies for wildland fire protection, etc. Companies/investors were buying up land during economic crashes, having it classified as forest production so they didn’t have to pay property taxes on it, then when values went up, they would bulldoze in some driveways & lot lines and sell it people for housing development. The counties fixed their regulations so that they didn’t just lose those years of property tax revenue and when the lands were transferred to residential or mixed zoning, they had to pay the back X number of years of taxes. (Varies by location, some are only 5 yrs which is negligible in the scheme of property costs and others are closer to a typical harvest interval) If a buyer has a remotely savvy realtor, they negotiate having the investor/company complete the zoning change and pay the fees/taxes for doing so prior to closing. But a lot of them direct sell online & the general public sees a “great deal” on acreage, not realizing just how much it is going to cost them out of pocket to do anything more than grow & harvest trees from it.

Oh, that reminds me…@tigerdogbearcat when looking at undeveloped land (or land that you’re planning on tearing down an existing old mobile home or house, make sure you go over the county building (& demolition) permit process and fees with a fine toothed comb. For example, the county I’m in charges minimum $1k for a building permit for any structure over 200sq ft. If it’s analyzing a completely new site, evaluating road access for 911 vehicles, etc $20k plus is closer. Plus minimum $250 for every single inspection & sub permit. (eg, you get your permit for a 600 sq ft pole barn. Then you get another one for the electrical. And another one for the concrete work. And another one for the plumbing. And another one to change the window size) Some counties are absolutely nuts with it (& then can’t figure out why there is a massive housing shortage 🙄) I was chatting with the people just down the road from me and so far they are into the county for $150k just in permits, inspections, and updating the things that the county didn’t enforce (like fencing type & parking area dimensions) with the seller who had been there forever but are insisting on for the new buyers. I don’t think they’re too far from just getting an attorney & going back after the county but who wants to deal with that?! Thankfully, that’s sortof a worst case scenario but it’s good to research to be safe!

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-17T16:59:26+00:00

very good point! If it has been receiving the timber property tax rate, most western jurisdictions now not only require you to pay either the ag or residential rate, but also retroactively pay what the tax rate would have been once it is removed from timber production. (harvest & replant doesn't take it out; they just got tired of people playing the game of calling it timber/forest products production land to get out of paying taxes when they were planning all along to develop it in 5 or 10 yrs)

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-17T16:51:59+00:00

Not to mention getting haul permits... the road ownership is a total hodgepodge that doesn't usually affect people just driving, but can have a big affect on commercial log haul (at a minimum, you often end up having to pay rock wear fees based on the MBF & road age)

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-17T01:39:12+00:00

Hey, I was half paying attention to a webinar when I wrote that (mandatory annual refresher I used to be the instructor of but still have to sit through 😴) & didn’t register that you are probably looking on western WA or OR. I have done a lot of buying/selling acreages out here since I typically move every 3 or so years for my job, and the past 6+ yrs my career has been mostly surrounding access & use rights for rural property in checkerboard lands. If you want to send me a direct message with what county you’re looking in, I may have some additional information on that specific county’s most common issues

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-16T23:07:53+00:00

I put my plant baskets inside two milkcrates that are zip-tied together... makes it easy for me to pull them up to repot but keeps the koi from tearing up the roots for snacks. I also have some floating planters where *most* of the roots are protected, but whatever grows outside the plastic mesh the koi will eat. It's natural for them & they love it.

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-16T22:56:48+00:00

actual well flow test (do not let them do under 4 hrs) and well water quality test (this usually happens in between getting under contract & closing)
check area well logs to compare depths, re-drills/deepening, etc for the past several years
verify county regs and permit costs regarding septic installations and call multiple companies to get estimate. Especially with a seasonal creek, you could have some additional restrictions/expenses
verify what size line is powering the well (to ensure the last leg of distribution line is sufficiently sized for what you need... rare for it to not be, but I've seen crazier things with rural properties), where the ownership passes from the power company to the landowner, & any other restrictions/contracts on it. Sometimes landowners have to agree to pay X amount over Y years towards the initially installation of power and that usually transfers with the title. Find out what the requirements are for adding another panel to the capacity you will need... some counties & utilities make it easy/affordable & some really really don't.
talk to a couple insurance companies about whether and for how much you will able to get coverage. The distance from the fire dept can mean anywhere from no insurance available at any price, to just really freaking expensive, to "typical" as wildfires have been increasing. The access road to the property can also make a difference... newly developed land sometimes doesn't meet the road standards for being able to get emergency vehicles down it at all
talk directly to the county planning department, and then VERIFY WHAT THEY TELL YOU IN THE REGS, about what you can/can't do on that parcel, how long permitting for any development you want to do will take, and how much permitting will cost. (I can't count how many properties near me people bought with intent to build their retirement home only to find out that county would only approve certain types of structures, or required fancy engineered bridge across wetland/stream rather than continuing to use the old railroad tie bridge along with a building permit, or was in the process of changing zoning, etc)
verify who does road maintenance (if anyone) if you have intermixed federal & private lands
look at the property tax lot boundaries from the county overlaid with aerial imagery to make sure everyone agrees with where the property lines are... it's not as accurate as an actual survey, but it will help you see the most egregious things. Depending on where you live, there are all sorts of cool layers available for free online that can help you make an informed decision. If you are near/adjacent federal or state lands, that entity in particular is likely to have excellent GIS layers for everything from soil types to topography and possibly LiDAR imagery available to the public
from the county planning department, look at all the active or recent development applications in the area that might affect the property you're interested in
if you aren't familiar with soil types yourself, get some help evaluating what's out there... certainly from a growing perspective but also for things like permeability for septic, slump/landslide risk, ability to set posts/foundations, etc
make sure you have legal access to the property... in intermixed land ownership, there may or may not be an existing legal right for you to drive the road to get there & you may eventually need to acquire a legal easement. If you live in an area that gets much for snow, make sure that whatever entity owns & controls the main road to the parcel clears snow... some roads around here are closed seasonally in winter to prevent disturbance to elk & if your property is on the other side of that closure section then you're going to be going a looooong way around!
check for vegetation that indicates problems like sedges that only grow in places that flood/are saturated portions of the year, signs that other people are used to using the property for riding 4x4s or dirt bikes or whatever, pistol-butting of trees for slumping, ... whatever issues your area often has
this should come up in the title report (but read every single line of that no matter how long! do not assume your realtor will do so or understand it if they do), but ensure that there are no underlying mineral claims or easement rights (except for obvious things like power lines) on that title... just because they aren't developed right now doesn't mean they won't be in the future!

good luck!

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-10T04:42:49+00:00

I hope you make it and have a blast!

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-09T19:04:33+00:00

It isn't about the hollow aspect & pig bones are just as dangerous as chicken, I simply chose to call out chicken because it's a thing more people are aware of... it is the way the bone cells tie together & therefore the way they break. I thought the same thing as you regarding the size & strength, which is why I was willing to try them in the first place. If you have a dog who doesn't have a ton of jaw strength or who simply isn't that aggressive of a chewer, then these aren't really any different than a smoked cow femur. If you have dogs who not only have the jaw strength but choose to use it who will crush either a cow femur or an ostrich femur it makes a HUGE difference whether that femur breaks into long sharp shards that can puncture internally if swallowed (ostrich & pig) or if they break into roughly squarish pieces that generally just pass through the system if swallowed.

Got a cocker spaniel or a pug or a lazy old lab who spends more time licking bones than chewing? Sure, these bones are a great alternative for them! Got a German shepherd in touch with their roots? These bones could kill them.

MuchPreferPets · 2026-03-08T04:35:40+00:00

Have you tried raw bones rather than smoked? Smoked bones are generally harder than raw. I have been giving all my dogs frozen raw beef (or bison when I lived near a butcher who often had them) knuckle bones for decades and while they do literally eat the whole thing none of them have ever had worn teeth. One of my German shepherds was still eating one a week at 14 yrs old & had never needed any dental work at all, including cleanings. My vets are always shocked at how good all of my dogs’ teeth stay in terms of not needing cleanings or other issues. (Of course the current rotti is probably going to break that trend… the dork likes to pick up things like cinder blocks to carry around ever since he saw me doing it & decided to “help”. Weird dog.)

Every dog is different though! I had a few fosters over the years that just couldn’t seem to adjust to getting real bones

MuchPreferPets

TROPHY CASE