Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I'll see if I can find the article Brian.

Edit - This is what I think I was looking at. Certainly this could be an issue for people with Diabetes but I'm not sure who else it would effect.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4162151/

Good Morning!

Mail-boxes-December-29-18
Nell and I went out yesterday. The Jeep has a block heater whereas the Jetta does not. I've looked into block heaters for the VW diesel, but at this point they are a little too pricey for our budget at this moment. That's okay the Jeep has nice snow tires and a block heater. Nell and I had the most wonderful afternoon in town.
The Jeep has the block heater built into the engine block.
The vw-block-heater has a little different block heater setup.
On the bright side this looks much easier to install than the freeze plug installation the Jeep has.
We did order a new starter for the VW Jetta as one of the issues in the cold mornings is the starter turns for a few seconds then spins free.
That is a classic problem with old cars and starters and often happens because oil gets down in the starter and on the shaft where the pinion gear fails to stay engaged with the engine flywheel because oil and grease get sticky in cold weather. Sometimes I am able to clean the starter and it works again. However as I get older I need to limit the time I'm working under cars, so I won't take the chance it is repairable.

Let's see, what else is happening here on the rancho? Oh right the weather for one more bit this morning:

Weather-Sapello-NM-87745-12-29-18 Yeah baby it's brisk outside!
Nell decided she wanted to get up early this morning and be with me, bless her heart. I love this woman. The surgery to her right foot is a complete success! Her toes touch the ground when she walks for the first time since 2007, she says. This is cool, now I can ask her questions while I'm writing. That is wonderful. Anyways, we both have exercises we need to do, some are the same. She has shoulder pain and I have hip pain from the impingement from spinal stenosis. We both need to work our lats. Here is a quick search result for exercise with bands top-5-resistance-bands-lat-exercises-for-a-wide-back
I've let all the exercise routines I used while I thought I only had scoliosis go, in favor of getting outside and performing much needed chores. Now it looks like those chores are aggravating my spine. That's okay I can change, I want to be healthy, especially after coming off this yeast fungal overgrowth disease which I believe in part is called SIBO.

One of the issues I am coping with now is how all the medical professionals missed the severity of the spinal stenosis. Personally, I missed it myself because I thought the pain was coming from whatever caused all the other pain that had me down for the count. Thank the universe for Doctor Lilly Bletcher who with her brilliant analysis of the blood and genetic tests, has confirmed the cause of one disease which ruled out the cause of the structural back issue. Now I can move forward with knowledge and treatment of both. I'm still upset the western medicine providers didn't pay enough attention to the results of the MRI.

MRI-results page one

MRI-results page two

Again, tremendous thanks go out to Dr. Lilly for requesting a copy of this MRI and posting it back to me.
I have an appointment with my primary care doctor on my birthday, the 11th of January. At that time I will emphasize the critical nature of this report and request physical therapy specifically related to this new information. On January 1st, 2019, I'll switch over from the blessed Medicaid to Medicare. I'm a bit apprehensive about this change, hopefully it'll be a smooth transition and Medicaid will be my secondary insurance.

I have spent a good deal of time in research and physical work to begin the transition of as much of this property as possible to sustainable ecosystems through permaculture. With the effects of time and climate, I believe this is the best chance to keep alive and preserve this beautiful land we are so lucky to live on. The process is long reaching but the results are in perpetuity. I like that word.
It is going to take much more physical work than I can safely do. I am looking into large and small equipment that will be able to replace the stress on the back because there is no perpituity in that skeletal structure. Nell and I are looking into ways to find assistance in this like grants or programs such as go fund me. If anyone has experience with these, please share your knowledge and opinions with us.

Feeling hopeful for the new year and hoping you are as well. Hell, if we are really lucky the Feds will be the first ever to arrest a sitting president!!!
Brian and Nell.

I'll bet you don't get any hotmail in those mail boxes

Hehe we don't need no Hotmail.

New-years-day-snowing-again-kitchen-door-1-1-2019
Hi how is everyone? We're doing fine.
We've had Nell's niece Kylee, her husband Rod and OMG their crazy happy baby Kyros staying with us during this glorious wintry weather. As usual I did not shoot any pictures, yet. I'll try today. Everyone is asleep still. I've used the quiet morning to make cookies and granola. Cookies are out, granola is still in the oven. As with Nell's family tradition we're doing a jigsaw puzzle on the dining table. That's a super way to spend time together and talk.
Yesterday we went to the Dwan Light Sanctuary and Montezuma Hot Springs. The staff at UWC hadn't shoveled the path to the light sanctuary, so it wasn't open yet. That was too bad, but the hot springs were really nice, even with all the snow around. I know my back feels much better after soaking in the healing waters.
Speaking of sore backs...



I tried to not get all crazy shoveling the paths to the out-buildings, but some places needed a path, including the path to our lone Guinea hen. Nell's did a wonderful job sealing her house and putting up insulating curtains over the windows. We have a heat lamp in the fowl house which is enough to keep her water dish from freezing, except on one morning when the temperatures dropped to zero. Then I had to make a trail free of snow so the bird could get to the SE corner cubby she likes to sit where she can look in the window and watch us from.
Anywho, then we were blessed with yet another snow fall. This one greater than the last.
Sounds like every one is waking up.
This is such a great way to start the new year.
I hope you all are doing great too.
Brian and Nell Rodgers

Yes, that's the way it is supposed to look.

Same here on the hill, good snow cover. We had around 3 feet coming down and have around 2 feet on the ground. I could have done without the brutal cold of the week, the temp drop to -27C Thursday night.

More snow to come this week end, but it will be rather warm, 40F today .
I have to get my lawn chair out and sit under the palm tree and sip a drink and watch the girls in skimpy dresses.


I use for Mrs D and Mr D a heat dog water bucket, 100 W, the water never froze.

You're on the foothills of the Sangre de Christo range? You're having a great year of snow! Hope for more progress on your health in the coming year.

Thanks gnoib and bridgie. Yes this is a fantastic Winter and it just began! Indeed we are where the Great Plains meet the Rockies!
Brian

You've been quiet Boss, all ok?

Hey hi Sheg. Thanks for asking. Yes we're both doing well. I had a structural problem in my hips and Lumbar spine, but an amazingly talented D-PT got me straightened out in a about four weeks.

This is where we're spending most of our energy. We're in between tenets and doing much needed cleaning, drywall repairs, and lightly remodeling this modular house. I'm here to tell you, they didn't build these things with maintenance in mind.

Winter here was snowy snowy. We love the snow, but not the mud that occurs afterward. In fact it rained about dusk last night, the turned to snow after that. About two inches of the snow stuck, now it's gone and the mud is back. Oh well.

Fish are doing well too. There are still eight Brook trout and the five big Comets. The system is working better with a dozen full size fish.
You may be able to see that the Kale in the DWC is greener than during the Summer. I really pushed the envelope by adding 100 five inch Brookie fingerlings 16 months ago. The system did it too, of course with a lot of filter cleaning. We still have trout in the freezer, grin. We had enough trout to eat and plenty to give away too. I was thinking I could go with fifty fingerlings this time and make my life easier, but hey, when is life easy?

Hopefully this season I'll be healthier and be able to give the AP the attention it requires. Peppers are beginning their second season as is the new beef heart tomato. The rest of the tomatoes are third season in the same media beds.
I was able to open the Koi pond four or five times between stow-storms to un-clog the outflow from the pond. Also with this setup I opened the filter area and clean those filters from above. Next Winter I'll make some improvements to the glass mounting so it is even easier to open and close. I've got to baby my spine so I need to put handles and perhaps some kind of counter-balances on them so they are lighter. Even when my back was strong moving those old plate glass sliding doors was always difficult.

I think you all will be hearing from me more often now that it seems I'm good to go again. Yay.
Brian

Good to hear that you are basically doing well.

Your snow is mostly gone already ! Looks springy.
I still have in most places 3 feet on the ground, some 4 and now the next snow storm has started.

Good to hear from you gnoib. Yep the snow that fell this morning as we were leaving for Santa Fe is already gone, probably got rained on.

Good to hear Boss. Like Skeggley, I was getting a bit concerned, but was too frightened to ask.
You're not usually out of the loop for so long.
I've copied your Hugel Kultur in my earth garden this autumn and have been madly trying to finish off my greenhouse and AP system in there before winter. It's still been so hot here that working in there anytime but mornings has just meant sauna conditions and rapid dehydration (and there were SO many tree roots to cut through). We haven't seen any rain for about 5 months now, so garden wise most things are looking dead. Our daughter and hubby have come down from Sydney for the weekend and I was hoping they could bring some rain down with them...she says anything under 30mm up there doesn't count as rain LOL.

sorry - duplicate Tapatalk post

Sounds like good news, boss. Passed your way last Sat on way to Angel Fire and wondered how your systems have fared through the winter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for checking on me Nhibbo. Yes indeed, I made it though hopefully the last bout of spinal issues in much better condition. My hip were seriously out of wack, even better than what the first doctor of physical therapy did. My spine is still weak with spinal stenosis. I got an inversion table for my 65th birthday. Yay!
That's cool about the hugelkulture mound. The spinal degradation I thought was going to put me out of the permaculture hobby before I got started. I'm thinking a lot lately about mini-excavators.

I kept having dreams of me as the mechanic Steve J. Spears in Mad Max 2. I realized I was really scared my spine was a goner.
I need something that can do hugelkulture and swales.

I really like the micro-excavators because the operator is right there overlooking the job.

These have stability issues and the terrain here may be too uneven.
I don't even know if I can operate an excavator. This Summer we will rent one so I can find out.Smiles
Wow that's so cool bridgie. Perhaps we can hook up on another trip. Pretty good snow up there this year huh? We didn't go for more than a week without a couple of inches of fresh snow. I just came from the Las Tusas community Ditch annual cleaning. It is really exciting how much water there is in the ditch