cookiejar

Hooorayyyyyy Pogo! Good job! what about the tiny guy next to him? (I thought I'd press my luck here).

I thought he had that bane-of-lawns-everywhere-look.

What about me? Any chance I could be gourmet salad fixings? Do I look medicinal?

I'm cracking jokes, but I am serious. Right now I'm showing you mystery weeds and I really do want your help identifying.

Am I edible?

where are my herb-y folk? We could make this into a game! Identify me!

Here's a sandpit...

don't potatoes like sandy areas?

OoooOOOookayyyyyyyy...

I went on a little *hike* over to the closed golf course next to a subdivision. It's amazing what you can get away with if you look middle-aged and harmless.

It's a chilly day but got beautifully bright! I just ambled onto the grounds and snapped away looking for possible edibles or useful plants. I don't really recognize things but if you see something you know...pipe up!

First pic...the obvious seperation from manicured to untamed unruly ex-golf course.

Thanks Lois!!

Xerioscaping is very *in* down here. Thanks for the great ideas! University of Miami and the above UF both have some interest programs. I do NOT have a green thumb so I'm trying to look into just what you said...pretty ground cover with uses! that doesn't need as much tending.

I'm going to go with the theory that not every square inch of my suburbs is a toxic wasteland for growing. There is a golf course closed down due to hurricane damage near where I go. I'm thinking of *seeding* it quietly with edibles (herbs? Onions?) maybe not noticible at first by a passerby.Or simply noting what's there (a couple of coconut palms, plenty of the *salad weeds* we mentioned).

No, I'll try not to get arrested for tresspassing .

Also, an area was partially cleared for subdivisions. Another idea. Theres a huge business corp. park, plus the local city parks. I'm just going to see what's up.

I know one sweet friend/neighbor who has a MONDO-huge mango tree, I'm thinking of hinting of an exchange (I already do a pet sit trade with her).

I know the status on these places could change at anytime, I'm not talking major $$$ or time invested, more like an experiment-with tasty results?

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_VH021

What do you think? Tooo crazy?

Well,

I looked at cargo net prices and think mosquito/canopy is the way to go. Great for storage on high and in summer to keep skeeters away...

http://www.nicamaka.net/

Try not to laugh, but I was looking at the idea of cargo nets too. I saw one strung in a garage with basketballs, sleeping bags, folded up tarps, those vacuum spacesaver bags, and such in it. Up out of the way and ventilated.

Have to worry about mildew and bugs down here.

Hey there.

Realize this is an older subject but I saw these and thought they were cool, note how the garage door opens under these shelves:

http://www.saferacks.com/gallery.php?OVR...;OVMTC=standard

A few more

I know

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/f...5315117.html?12

also try it on freecycle.org they have a group in almost every country

Free bucket ideas

See below. Ice cream stores. Horse barns. Etc.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/f...22563306.html?8

I'm bummed

The points are great...

I hadn't thought of the major contamination.

Like Darlene has, I'd like to have a backyard full of edible fruit trees and plants. But, I'm thinking of adding greens to my yard not usually recognised as food. Pigweed, Rosehip and cow parsley.

Passion flower tea.

I know many free greens and such are bitter, but FREE is a good thing. So is edible.

Some of it could be *sown* to uncivilized areas or junk yards areas nearby. It's just an idea. what do you think?

http://www.foodandwine.net/food/food001.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wild_foods

http://hernando.fnpschapters.org/miscellaneous/edibles.htm

That's so amazing that they missed that space. But how cool to find that extra room. I have a rediculously small closet that's being used for linens in a hallway. rediculous as in...it's only 17 inches wide but it's 35 inches deep. I look at it everyday and think...hmmmmmmm. it could be done.

Make it look like a niche?

Find your hidden storage space

By: JAMES and MORRIS CAREY - For AP Weekly Features

Looking for extra places to put things? Your home has all sorts of hidden storage space.

Behind your drywall and paneling lie countless hidden spaces nestled between the two-by-four studs. While some are filled with pipes, wiring, and sheet metal duct work, others are wide open and ready to be put to use.

The best time to note which are which is when a home or new room is under construction. Take photos or make diagrams of empty spaces that you can open up and later develop into various types of storage.

However, this is only for inside walls, as outer walls use this inner space for insulation. If your rooms are already done and the walls are finished, it's still not too late. It just takes a bit more investigation to determine which areas are storage-ready.

.

More images and stories on hidden doors/rooms

Check out this next to the fireplace one:

http://www.shoppingblog.com/cgi-bin/sblog.pl?sblog=1102061

Love the pink accented door!

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/05/garden...;pagewanted=all

And a book of how-to:

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Rooms-Compart...a/dp/0967113903

How they did it in WW2:

http://people.smu.edu/clclark/thesecretroom.htm

Just to give more ideas

Yikes on the morning scurrier!!!

Becareful with mothballs, I've know people to have bad reactions to them.

BTW!

Check out this couple who did not know their 1901 house had a secret room (even has pictures!)

http://1901house.blogspot.com/2006/08/secret-room.html

Ahhh 8th sinner, I should have made myself more clear...

I wanted to present these as ideas for someone to mold to their home. Originally, this was written about the time I was talking about ceiling spaces as storage as well as how to disguise your preps. All of which was to be in a real budget.

I was trying to show ingenuity in design in common household things like the niche and the chair. I mean, whose expecting an escape shoot in a chair? In otherwords, just to get peoples ideas flowing.

The *Per Vivere* site is literally a single man's work and innovation. I'm sure he didn't spend thousands making it.

But I'm sorry I didn't make myself more clear.

Here's another plant still using the plastic bag idea:

STILL CONSTRUCTION

You can use stills in various areas of the world. They draw moisture from the ground and from plant material. You need certain materials to build a still, and you need time to let it collect the water. It takes about 24 hours to get 0.5 to 1 liter of water.

Aboveground Still

To make the aboveground still, you need a sunny slope on which to place the still, a clear plastic bag, green leafy vegetation, and a small rock.

To make the still--

Fill the bag with air by turning the opening into the breeze or by "scooping" air into the bag.

Fill the plastic bag half to three-fourths full of green leafy vegetation. Be sure to remove all hard sticks or sharp spines that might puncture the bag.

CAUTION

Do not use poisonous vegetation. It will provide poisonous liquid.

Place a small rock or similar item in the bag.

Close the bag and tie the mouth securely as close to the end of the bag as possible to keep the maximum amount of air space. If you have a piece of tubing, a small straw, or a hollow reed, insert one end in the mouth of the bag before you tie it securely. Then tie off or plug the tubing so that air will not escape. This tubing will allow you to drain out condensed water without untying the bag.

Place the bag, mouth downhill, on a slope in full sunlight. Position the mouth of the bag slightly higher than the low point in the bag.

Settle the bag in place so that the rock works itself into the low point in the bag.

To get the condensed water from the still, loosen the tie around the bag's mouth and tip the bag so that the water collected around the rock will drain out. Then retie the mouth securely and reposition the still to allow further condensation.

Change the vegetation in the bag after extracting most of the water from it. This will ensure maximum output of water.

Belowground Still

To make a belowground still, you need a digging tool, a container, a clear plastic sheet, a drinking tube, and a rock.

Select a site where you believe the soil will contain moisture (such as a dry stream bed or a low spot where rainwater has collected). The soil at this site should be easy to dig, and sunlight must hit the site most of the day.

To construct the still--

Dig a bowl-shaped hole about 1 meter across and 60 centimeters deep.

Dig a sump in the center of the hole. The sump's depth and perimeter will depend on the size of the container that you have to place in it. The bottom of the sump should allow the container to stand upright.

Anchor the tubing to the container's bottom by forming a loose overhand knot in the tubing.

Place the container upright in the sump.

Extend the unanchored end of the tubing up, over, and beyond the lip of the hole.

Place the plastic sheet over the hole, covering its edges with soil to hold it in place.

Place a rock in the center of the plastic sheet.

Lower the plastic sheet into the hole until it is about 40 centimeters below ground level. It now forms an inverted cone with the rock at its apex. Make sure that the cone's apex is directly over your container. Also make sure the plastic cone does not touch the sides of the hole because the earth will absorb the condensed water.

Put more soil on the edges of the plastic to hold it securely in place and to prevent the loss of moisture.

Plug the tube when not in use so that the moisture will not evaporate.

You can drink water without disturbing the still by using the tube as a straw.

You may want to use plants in the hole as a moisture source. If so, dig out additional soil from the sides of the hole to form a slope on which to place the plants. Then proceed as above.

If polluted water is your only moisture source, dig a small trough outside the hole about 25 centimeters from the still's lip. Dig the trough about 25 centimeters deep and 8 centimeters wide. Pour the polluted water in the trough. Be sure you do not spill any polluted water around the rim of the hole where the plastic sheet touches the soil. The trough holds the polluted water and the soil filters it as the still draws it. The water then condenses on the plastic and drains into the container. This process works extremely well when your only water source is salt water.

You will need at least three stills to meet your individual daily water intake needs.

WATER PURIFICATION

Rainwater collected in clean containers or in plants is usually safe for drinking. However, purify water from lakes, ponds, swamps, springs, or streams, especially the water near human settlements or in the tropics.

When possible, purify all water you got from vegetation or from the ground by using iodine or chlorine, or by boiling.

Purify water by--

Using water purification tablets. (Follow the directions provided.)

Placing 5 drops of 2 percent tincture of iodine in a canteen full of clear water. If the canteen is full of cloudy or cold water, use 10 drops. (Let the canteen of water stand for 30 minutes before drinking.)

Boiling water for 1 minute at sea level, adding 1 minute for each additional 300 meters above sea level, or boil for 10 minutes no matter where you are.

By drinking nonpotable water you may contract diseases or swallow organisms that can harm you. Examples of such diseases or organisms are--

Dysentery. Severe, prolonged diarrhea with bloody stools, fever, and weakness.

Cholera and typhoid. You may be susceptible to these diseases regardless of inoculations.

Flukes. Stagnant, polluted water--especially in tropical areas--often contains blood flukes. If you swallow flukes, they will bore into the bloodstream, live as parasites, and cause disease.

Leeches. If you swallow a leech, it can hook onto the throat passage or inside the nose. It will suck blood, create a wound, and move to another area. Each bleeding wound may become infected.

BTW

Go to the top post.

Go to Hiddenpassageways.com

Click on features

then click on

*Click to see Catalog*

Very cool pics of ones they've already made.

I think the niche with the gun compartment was interesting

Avoid the yellow dew?

I've never heard of it before a few years ago...all the sudden it's everywhere.

Thanks for the heads up on the pesticide flavor enhancements to dew water.

Hopefully, I can get Friday free to become (insert dramatic music here) Clandestine Dew Woman.

I'm waiting for a day I don't work Moonstar, so I can keep an eye on the bags. I want to watch for the rowdy teens in my neighborhood, who might just rip it down for spite. Or the lawn guys who would be trying to be helpful.Though the article doesn't mention how long the condensation process takes, I'm betting on all day to get a trace amount.

I'm even thinking of doing the swipe-the-dew-off-the-lawn emergency water harvesting the article mentioned. The one where you use a cloth and soak up as much dew as possible? Then I'd like to do a measurement with teaspoons or such.

I realize the rest of the country is facing winter weather, but we're still getting dew on the grass in the wee hours of the morn.

I just wonder what the association will think I'm doing crawling around with a washcloth on the lawn?

Collecting water

Even if you don't find surface water you can sustain yourself in a wilderness survival situation by collecting water from the atmosphere, or from plants or ground stills.

Rain and dew

Rainwater is usually safe for drinking and only needs collecting. If you have a waterproof sheet available, stretch it over a wide area, preferably on a slope, and run the water off into clean containers.

You can collect morning dew by soaking a cloth in long, wet grass. When the cloth is soaked wring it out directly into your mouth or a container. Repeat.

Condensation

Tree and plants roots draw moisture from the ground. Use that fact to collect water without digging.

Tie a plastic bag over a growing branch with exposure to the sun. Being careful not to puncture the bag. Close the bag. Keep a corner hanging low to collect water. Evaporation from the leaves will produce condensation in the bag. This is an easy way to get pure drinkable water!

If you have problem in finding water and you are lucky enough to have a 6 x 6-footsheet (2x2 m) of clear plastic you can create a solar still.

Water purification

In most parts of the world surface water is seldom pure. When finding water always purify suspect water before drinking to avoid parasitic infestation. However water collected from the atmosphere, or from plants or ground stills, has the enormous advantage of always being pure.

More about how to find water in the wilderness

A good tool in finding water is your map. Almost any water source of any size, will be marked on a geodesic map.

Clean water is not only crucial for survival it's crucial for life on our planet. Take the opportunity to learn more about the water cycle and the processes and activities between ground water and surface water. Check this great site and find information on many aspects of water. It will also help you finding water on your next wilderness travel.Also! There's a good image of the condensation bag tied to a tree limb for easy water. Try not to laugh, if I get time this week...I'm going to casually hook one up on a tree out front and see how it does. I'll alert you when I'm going to try and take a picture.

http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/findingwater.html