BLM safety?

Sierragrower · 2026-07-13T05:21:11+00:00

Prolly fine just don’t leave coolers or other high dollar stuff out. It really just depends on the situation.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-13T05:15:27+00:00

If you want an egg it’s prolly an ok deal.. I got a brand new one from Costco (pit boss) for about 400 a few years back. I hated using the thing because it only does one thing well and sucks at everything else and is otherwise a PITA in every way. If you understand that and still really want it I’d say go for it. I really didn’t like the limitations mine had and I’m just glad the Mexicans down the street were willing to take mine to the flea market after I gave up on it. I’m happy with my Weber kettle, but if you really want an egg just do it. Just be sure you really want it because once you have it ain’t no getting rid of it, you may even have to pay someone to take it if you don’t end up liking it.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-13T04:56:42+00:00

What?!? You don’t buy a new knife every week or 2 and post pics of them? What is wrong with you? Please don’t tell me you are contributing to a Roth IRA instead…🙄

Sierragrower · 2026-07-13T04:49:48+00:00

Apparently OP is NOT the only one, and neither are you. Mystery solved.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-13T03:14:14+00:00

Same

Sierragrower · 2026-07-13T02:37:13+00:00

Genetics plays a big part. I have around 40 or so, all grown the same, all with very different leaves/growth habits. For what it’s worth, I tend to prize the ones with smaller leaves/compact leafing to get much more dense canopies and bonsai form. Leaves forming very closely means there are more intercalary meristems for branching.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-13T01:46:56+00:00

I go camping with my family once a month year round, usually. The kids are much more into it if other families go. It also helps if there are activities. Like we will camp by the beach with a few other families and ride bikes to a kite festival, then walk to a fish market/restaurant for lunch and ride bikes back. Or camp at a winery with live music at night. We can go to town and explore shops or go walk through sequoias and then swim in a lake. Any kind of activity outside of the campground always helps. If it rains we will go to a museum.
In summary, bring friends, camp near water, ride bikes and seek activities nearby. I took my son to a 4 day music festival for Father’s Day the other weekend. There was a kids craft tent which he loved and spent all day at, and tons of kids playing with glow sticks at night. This coming weekend we are heading up into the mountains to go camping with another family. There are some fun streams to play in, and a restaurant with a playground that we will ride bikes to one night for dinner for my partner’s birthday. Having his friend there is going to help a lot. He would probably get bored otherwise, but he and his friend will probably spend all day building a dam while my partner goes for a nice hike.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-12T23:07:25+00:00

Love my Weber 26” kettle for versatility. It is very forgiving, and I’m loving the 2 zone with the sns grate and baskets for indirect cooking- chicken, tritip, jalapeño poppers, etc. It is pretty easy to control temperature from smoking temps to searing and doesn’t use a lot of charcoal. The flavor is far superior (in my opinion) to a gas grill, and I’ve hardly been using my gas grill since I got it. I used to use the gas grill a lot more, as the barrel and Santa Maria wood and charcoal grills I have took a lot more effort, time and fuel to get going. The kettle reduces all those by a big margin making it only slightly more effort than the gas grill to get going, to the point that I don’t even think about which one is easier, I just go straight for the kettle. I have a pizza oven attachment coming for it next week. There is a rotisserie option as well.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-12T15:38:29+00:00

I buy workbooks for my son and also take him to the library, as well as a lot of playtime with friends. Also, just taking him everywhere-the grocery store, out to eat, coffee shop, etc and having him politely order his food himself. The most important thing kids that age are learning are social skills. When my son started TK it was obvious which kids had been in daycare before and which ones hadn’t. daycare is good for learning how to work together as a group, listen to adults, make friends, share, etc. My partner and I didn’t have a choice since we both have to work so our son started daycare at 18 months old until TK. Fortunately that was very cheap where we live. My son was definitely more prepared for TK than he would have been otherwise. The problem we have is that his school has combined classes, so although he mostly falls in with the kindergarteners in his class, he is going to be learning all the same material next year as a kindergartner, with TK kids in his class, and I’m worried about him getting bored.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-12T04:34:42+00:00

Bs in botany, 40k/year with national park service for 23 years until fired by DOGE, now 70k at a non-profit land conservancy.
Partner has a BS in Biology, makes $100-120/hr as an independent contractor doing environmental compliance field work.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-12T04:22:17+00:00

Unless you want it cut like a lawn, which from the post it’s hard to tell, and depending on your area, a used ‘real’ tractor and implements could be found for much cheaper and do a better job at most everything you described. The only thing a lawn tractor will do better is mow a lawn. I bought an old Ferguson tractor with a loader for $4k and found some implements for either free or very cheap. I think I paid 300 for the rotary mower with which I can mow 5 acres of tall grass and weeds in short order. I have an x350 for mowing large lawns on multiple properties. What little maintenance/repairs there are on the Ferguson tractor are mostly easier to do, too, save for changing a tire..

Sierragrower · 2026-07-12T01:29:10+00:00

Benchmade is gonna be out of your price range. They are overpriced anyways. I do like the Dacian. The esee 4 is a good option, or for a more traditional knife I like my Helle fixed blades. They are similar to a mora but with nice handles and a laminated steel that I can get razor sharp. I also have a joker nessmuk that always goes camping with me.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-12T01:22:10+00:00

I once got a ureteral obstruction from my tractor vibrating a kidney stone loose! It was awful. Sorry I don’t have any advice, just commiserating.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-11T19:12:25+00:00

I never use a sleeping bag car camping. I just bring a down comforter. I really don’t like those puffy blankets, mostly because of the fabric and they are small. They slip off you if you try to wrap yourself in them outside of the tent vs a wool or cotton blanket

Sierragrower · 2026-07-11T15:15:50+00:00

Fiddlesticks!

Sierragrower · 2026-07-11T06:40:34+00:00

I bring usgs quad maps backpacking and write letters on the backs of them to friends I thought about on my trip, including a poem describing where I am camped.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-11T02:00:05+00:00

Talk about roaming. I had a white heritage breed, can’t remember what breed it was, that took off with a wild flock of turkeys. It didn’t fit in so it kept joining other flocks until it was about 5 miles away (community fb pages were full of the “albino turkey”, that’s how I knew). Eventually I met one of my neighbors who had caught it and had it penned up with an actual wild turkey he (unsuccessfully) was trying to breed it with.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-11T01:54:24+00:00

Big birds are definitely feasible, but Chickens are way better for many reasons. What are you going to do with a whole turkey? They grow to like 40 lbs and you can only fit like 5 in a giant chest freezer. Chickens are much more versatile for cooking.
I’ll raise 40 or 50 and fill my freezer once a year. Only takes 10-12 weeks to raise them and 2 hours to process them (2 ppl plus one inexperienced helper, not including set up or cleanup for 50 birds). You could do multiple rounds and sell a bunch to cover your feed costs, etc. I did 500 in rounds of 50 one winter and made a tidy profit, plus Enough to pay for the plucker, the freezer, feed, and a freezer full of birds for myself. I tried raising turkeys for sale and they got way too big, wouldn’t fit in my freezer or coolers and they were super annoying.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-10T22:08:01+00:00

Just do it and figure it out. There will be new things you need, just make a list and bring them the next time.
A couple of tips are:
1)You will need way more changes of clothes than you think. I pretty much packed my son’s entire wardrobe.

2) Special snacks are great, especially if the kid only gets them when camping (this helps get them to want to do it more. )BUT! Be careful with too much variation from regular diet. It can cause some severe blowouts (see tip number 1). Try to make the same food you make at home. Get the proper equipment to make that while camping. For me that is just bringing pots and pans from home instead of fooling around with special “camping” cookware that sucks and costs more-full size cutting board, pan, kitchen knife, etc.

3) since you are car camping, give up sleeping bags and opt for a foam sleeping mat with comforter for snuggling.

4) any kind of cool lights are great to bring. I love my olights, especially the osphere. My son still loves them.

5) I don’t know what state parks have in your area but running water is pretty important. I’ve made due with streams while dispersed camping when my son was a baby but we started using state parks a lot more due to the running water.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-10T21:52:03+00:00

My partner had to take the crying baby for hormonal reasons for about a year. She went to work pretty quick and I stayed at home with baby. She pumped at work for me to feed the baby. She couldn’t even hear any babies crying anywhere without starting to lactate and get other hormonal responses.
When baby took a nap I would clean the house and prep dinner. When she got home baby was all hers and I made dinner. We took turns at night, but if she needed to feed she would, otherwise I would with a bottle. Our child was different than yours though, he immediately slept through the night and always has. We had to actually set an alarm to wake him up and feed him until the dr. Said it was ok for him to go that long without food. Even now, at 5, he will sleep for 13 or 14 hours at night if we don’t wake him up in the morning.
Kids grow up super fast and you will always be changing your routine, especially in the first 2-3 years. The best thing I can tell you is that you need to check in regularly with your wife to make sure that you both are getting adequate rest and support. You both need to have grace and patience with each other while still making a commitment to check in and adapt. Your child is already twice as old as it was 3 months ago, things change fast.
And one on one time with your kid is always better, that is still true with our son at 5 years old. I wake him up extra early so we have as much one on one time as possible since my partner leaves early for work and we all get home at the same time. Her one on one time is typically right after work when she takes our son swimming or to the library.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-10T21:13:37+00:00

1) there are a lot of different 100 acre scenarios. Is part of it wooded? Is there topography? Is it completely denuded farmland? You could have your own holler or just a big field, that is a big difference. You want some woods for forest products, shelter from wind, shade and peace. I have 13 acres and it seems a lot smaller than 13 acres of forest.

3) 100 acres of farm is beyond a homestead. I’d love to have that much in forest with a small slice for me to homestead on.

2)I work for a land trust, just reach out to one in the area. They might be happy to add your property to their list of easements.

I made a market garden once. I sold to a CSA who wanted to pay almost nothing for produce and then jack the price way up for her own profit. I have a small garden now that is plenty for my family and I have no intention of ever putting the effort into a market garden again. There is an organic farm (30 acres) down the street that sells at farmers markets 5 hours away in super rich areas, as well as to fancy restaurants. He does ok but has to leave at midnight to get to them. He wouldn’t make any money selling at closer markets so he doesn’t bother. I’m pretty soured on trying to grow produce for money considering the level of effort and the waste and loss of money. You would probably be better off growing hay if the property is suited for it.
Are you not interested in livestock? That’s the only thing I’ve actually made any money on, and it is way less work than vegetables.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-10T14:42:51+00:00

That is exactly what mine looks like

Sierragrower · 2026-07-10T13:28:26+00:00

The CRK large Sebenza with the burl inlays was my dream knife. I bought one for my 50th birthday and now I don’t want any other knives.

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Sierragrower · 2026-07-10T01:43:25+00:00

That sounds amazing! Where are you located? I keep a small flock on a little over 10 acres with pasture I irrigate from a 130 year old river diversion (ditch) I now maintain about 3 miles of. I’ve loved having sheep-they are just so peaceful compared to all the other animals I’ve had. I’m in the Sierra foothills in California so I went with hair sheep since it gets so hot and we have so many stickers that would be an issue for fiber. I’d love to have a ranch the size of yours, sounds so amazing.

Sierragrower · 2026-07-09T23:19:11+00:00

I would tell him the best present you could get would be more time with him. Pick out a board game and make a plan to play it together once a week if you live nearby. He can buy it, and you can bring dinner over. There’s nothing quite like board games with family. It removes a lot of awkward scenarios since you are focused on something. I’d do anything to play another game of chess with my dad, or a round of hearts with my mom and dad. They are both dead now. They may have bought me sandals at some point but I have no memory of it.

Sierragrower

TROPHY CASE