Fishy mis Adventures Part II Trout Rapture

One fish, two fish, dead fish....*sigh*.....Recall from Part I, when we decided to take out a few fish to eat, my thought was, "what can it hurt?"  Well, apparently, it can hurt a lot.The next day, January 4, I found a floater in the tank.  I dont know what caused the fishs death.  In reading about humanely treating fish, I came across a lot of catch-and-release articles.  A couple of things I learned - first, try not to take the fish out of the water at all.  Its like suffocating them.  Next, if you must handle the fish, make sure your hands are wet.  If you...

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Montana Morning Coffee

Its Monday morning! Have you had the best cup of coffee in Montana yet?You can find cups of gourmet coffee in every corner of Montana, from Alberton to Wibaux. There are even many places where coffee is roasted on the premises. Youll find your own favorite coffee as you travel around the state, but I urge you to stop at the Dillon farmers market (opening July 10) and look for Montana Morning Coffee.Montana Morning Coffee is roasted one bag at a time by one woman, Mary Anne Wofford, whose passion for good coffee is revealed in many ways."Im selling Montana," Mary Anne told me when I visited her...

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Tipsy Cupcake

Any day is more special with a cupcake, dont you agree? And here it is Christmas, and the Tipsy Cupcake in Billings is helping folks celebrate in a very sweet way.Kari Jones, the cupcake queen who owns the Tipsy Cupcake shop and makes all the delicious treats for sale there, told me, "We hope to bless people with a little treat every day."The cupcakes are fresh each morning and come in an imaginative variety of flavors, which vary from day to day. Above, sporting the Merry Christmas tag, is Salted Caramel (delicious). Below, you see it along with (starting at the upper right) Lemonhead, Chocolate...

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Emigrant Peoples Market

Midway between Livingston and Yellowstone National Park, along Highway 89, watch for the sign to Emigrant and then turn west at the blinking light. Youll also see signs pointing toward the Peoples Market and thats exactly where you want to go.In its second year, this is a small market, with an average of about ten vendors, but youll find a wide variety of items to look at. And because it is small, vendors are happy to describe their products and make sure you get exactly what you want and need.I found pottery . . . healing oils (this was the first time I saw Black Pepper oil, which is useful for...

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Readjusting measurements and putting in insulation

Although weve had some significant winds in the past two years since I installed my greenhouse there has been no problem with missing panels or wind damage.  I figure I should insulate the structure to provide for year-round aquaponics, however, I have to avoid any significant added weight to my plastic and aluminum greenhouse.  I used 1/2" x4x8 polystyrene foam to line the north walls and ceiling.  I drilled holes in the struts on either side of the ceiling in four locations and strung plastic coated clothesline wire across from wall to wall at ceiling level to support the foam...

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Crop Choice and Water Temperature

The summer and autumn seasons of my greenhouse aquaponics were a limited success.  I grew edible crops and found ways to combat excessive heat gain in the greenhouse with materials I had on hand.  Winter has presented a more difficult challenge.My tomato plants were killed by the low temperatures of early December, however the herbs I planted in the other half of my bins have survived the cold and remain green.  The attempt to heat the greenhouse with a chimenea turned out to be destructive of the insulation on the ceiling, but the insulation which has deformed and withered probably...

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Hysham market

New in 2010, the Hysham market is a family affair, with children running everywhere and lots of cookies and cupcakes and bite-size tomatoes and other treats just right for eating out of hand. With only a weekly average of 4 vendors, theres still lots to look at.Some markets may close when the weather gets rough, but this market goes inside or out. Today, as rain pelted down, vendors took refuge in the firehouse. There was plenty of room for both emergency vehicles and a small farmers market.Youll have to excuse todays photos. Im not used to taking them indoors, and so they seem to go between being...

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Drought

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/products/rescond.pdfDaily Reservoir Storage Summary http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/reservoirs/RES http://cdec.water.ca.gov/jspplot/jspPlotServlet.jsp?sensor_no=3379&end=03%2F30%2F2014+07%3A47&geom=huge&interval=360&cookies=cdec01http://cdec.water.ca.gov/histPlot/DataPlotter.jsp?staid=sha&sensor_no=15&duration=D&start=04%2F06%2F198814%3A21&end=03%2F15%2F2014+08%3A22&geom=SmallThe Earthan Beds I build waste no water at all. ...

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