Nostr notes by Y⃒̸̷̝̜̙ͥͥͥngmar

Chilling in the shade. #Funcik #Dog #DogsOfMastodon #DogsOfFedi ...

2026-08-03T09:24:56+02:00

Chilling in the shade.

#Funcik #Dog #DogsOfMastodon #DogsOfFedi #Garden #Well #Shade #Summer

Visited this guy. #Funcik #Dog #DogsOfMastodon #DogsOfFedi ...

2026-08-02T16:53:57+02:00

Visited this guy.

#Funcik #Dog #DogsOfMastodon #DogsOfFedi

Underway, #Knirps spotted this tractor and demanded we rescue it, ...

2026-08-02T13:31:16+02:00

Underway, #Knirps spotted this tractor and demanded we rescue it, so I pulled it out and chucked it in the trunk.

Going to need some cleanup and repairs, I think.

#Tractor #Toy #DumpsterDiving #Recycling

Sunflowers now ~2.5m tall, that photo was taken with me holding ...

2026-07-30T22:47:03+02:00

Sunflowers now ~2.5m tall, that photo was taken with me holding the phone as high as I can.

Sweetcorn has grown silks and is pollinating 🥳

#Garden #Homestead #Corn #Sweetcorn #Sunflower #Growing

Google has completed cancer research and learnt how to become ...

2026-07-29T23:21:18+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…lm9e
_________________________

Google has completed cancer research and learnt how to become cancer.

When you do the foundation and it turns out you have enough rocks ...

2026-07-26T09:32:27+02:00

When you do the foundation and it turns out you have enough rocks left to just do the whole building from them.

#StoneHouse #Building #Architecture #Alanta #Lithuania #Rock #Stone #RockHouse

The woodworking section of the museum. A small model of a pit ...

2026-07-25T21:10:54+02:00

The woodworking section of the museum.

A small model of a pit saw, or I guess since there is no pit, a trestle saw.

And a working and relatively modern foot powered lathe.

#Woodworking #Museum #Alanta #Tools #Sawing #History

Looms. And those things we have in the attic. I'm not sure ...

2026-07-25T17:37:13+02:00

Looms.

And those things we have in the attic. I'm not sure what they are for. Some kind of winder. Perhaps for setting up the warp or just storing yarn?

Its quite fun to go to the local museum and find pieces you have in your attic and work out what they were used for! :)

#Loom #Weaving #Craft #Museum #Alanta

Got some time to look at the garden. Sunflowers are now taller ...

2026-07-25T11:52:42+02:00

Got some time to look at the garden.

Sunflowers are now taller than me and starting to grow flower heads.

Everything is quite weedy as nobody had time to deal with it, between the excessive rain and the renovation and the everything else.

Loads of garlic will be ready soon and potatoes are indicating its time to build that potato digger.

Pumpkins are conquering large areas but still not flowering.

Peas are under pressure but producing well anyways.

Beans and cucumbers are having a party and we've had enough to eat and give some away.

Second batch of radishes, meh. They just don't love it there.

Still some beetroots in the soil, which are huge by now. A few are going to flower for next years seeds.

#Garden #Homestead #Peas #Beetroot #Sunflower #Food

Storks are solar powered but on gloomy days they can also charge ...

2026-07-20T17:03:21+02:00

Storks are solar powered but on gloomy days they can also charge from the grid.

#Stork #Bird #BirdsOfMastodon #Charging #Electricity #FediBird

Forgot to post this last week. All three young storks are flying ...

2026-07-18T21:38:55+02:00

Forgot to post this last week. All three young storks are flying now, have been exploring the area and managed to return to the nest where their parents still patiently feed them.

You can see all three of them landing back in the nest here, not as elegant as their parents yet, but as they say, any landing you can stalk away from is a good landing.

#Stork #WhiteStork #Homestead #Bird #BirdsOfMastodon #FediBird

Garden update: Sunflowers doing well and growing tall. Sweetcorn ...

2026-07-14T23:02:25+02:00

Garden update:

Sunflowers doing well and growing tall.

Sweetcorn is growing well too, although I've just spotted some brown patches on a stalk. No idea what that is, perhaps overwatering from recent biblical deluge?

All three cucumber transplants have made it and we have the first cucumbers to eat. These loved all that rain.

Peas are doing very well too and we've been eating them for a while now.

Beans have started to flower.

Pumpkins haven't flowered yet but have started to produce runners, covering the area.

#Garden #Gardening #Homestead #GrowYourOwn

Flight school. Our young storks still do not dare leave their ...

2026-07-08T11:14:02+02:00

Flight school. Our young storks still do not dare leave their nest for the first time, but they've advanced to hovering.

The other two siblings have to keep their heads down because there is only one helipad and its also where everybody eats their food delivery and sleeps.

At least they've soon learnt how to poop over the side. Should really move the compost heap under there for all this free phosphorus.

Meanwhile the parents are either out collecting food or perching on a nearby chimney or hay bale.

We've gotten used to the *whomp* when they take off from or land on our chimney hood at night.

#Homestead #Stork #StorkNest #Bird #BirdsOfMastodon #FediBird

Tourists. Campervan drives by, stops, drives backwards on the ...

2026-07-05T14:13:03+02:00

Tourists. Campervan drives by, stops, drives backwards on the road, stops, people come out and climb around our haybales for a photoshoot 🤣

#Tourists #Hay #Homestead

This morning's job: Dig up some food. Beetroots for ...

2026-07-02T20:35:09+02:00

This morning's job: Dig up some food.

Beetroots for preserving, new potatoes for lunch.

The first new potatoes are always super yummy.

#Garden #Homestead #Potato #Beetroot #Harvest

The surprise tobacco plant that popped up in the onion bed is ...

2026-07-02T09:41:36+02:00

The surprise tobacco plant that popped up in the onion bed is doing well and I've been looking up how to process it.

Maybe we should let it grow seeds instead and start a tobacco farm? 😆

#Tobacco #Garden #Homestead #Unplanted

Stay off my lawn, err, corn patch. Damn weeds. #Scythe #Mowing ...

2026-07-01T17:08:59+02:00

Stay off my lawn, err, corn patch. Damn weeds.

#Scythe #Mowing #Gardening #Homestead #Sweetcorn #Weeds

These look ready. #Beetroot #Garden #Homestead #Harvest ...

2026-07-01T12:43:37+02:00

These look ready.

#Beetroot #Garden #Homestead #Harvest

Electric foiling pilot boat. Great use case for electric ...

2026-06-29T11:02:14+02:00

Electric foiling pilot boat.

Great use case for electric propulsion: Pilot boats are fast, short range and return to port regularly.

This one can be fast charged in 1 hour.

https://www.artemistechnologies.co.uk/ef-12-pilot/

#Pilot #Boat #Shipping #ElectricPropulsion #Engineering

now?

2026-06-28T17:17:08+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…3y8j
_________________________

now?

Mowed valley. On paper, this is a peat bog. As you can see, there ...

2026-06-23T11:07:28+02:00

Mowed valley.

On paper, this is a peat bog.

As you can see, there is no peat, nor is it particularly boggy, except behind those alders on the right hiding a small river. We pointed this out and were promptly informed it doesn't matter, peat bogs are irrevocable.

Good for us. Plowing peat bogs is forbidden, therefore this is no longer valued arable land.

Which apparently means we're allowed to let it go and reforest itself or help along with tree plantings.

So from next year, this will not be mowed except to maintain a forestry road down the length of it.

I hope to live long enough to see a small forest here.

#Valley #Homestead #Meadow #Reforestation

Ours is still at the middle row size. I think it went in early ...

2026-06-22T20:43:54+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…pp4s
_________________________

Ours is still at the middle row size. I think it went in early June.

Three very exhausted cucumber plants arrived and got planted ...

2026-06-21T17:03:36+02:00

Three very exhausted cucumber plants arrived and got planted immediately. We'll see if they can survive being uprooted while flowering, but I have doubts.

They got deported due to overcrowding. It appears someone voted in a population cap for their greenhouse.

#Gardening #Homestead #Cucumber

The assistant gardener is doing the rounds, pecking up insects. ...

2026-06-20T21:01:58+02:00

The assistant gardener is doing the rounds, pecking up insects. Working late as they have three big kids to feed up in that nest now.

#Stork #WhiteStork #Garden #Bird #Homestead

Midsummer munch. #BBQ #Grill #Meat #Homestead #Summer #Food ...

2026-06-20T20:34:27+02:00

Midsummer munch.

#BBQ #Grill #Meat #Homestead #Summer #Food #Shashlik #Bacon #Midsummer

Now that you have an admiral on board you can expect to be ...

2026-06-18T00:03:44+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…6q34
_________________________

Now that you have an admiral on board you can expect to be ordered around!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorquin%27s_admiral

Unlike me, the potatoes seem to have enjoyed all this rain and ...

2026-06-17T22:41:53+02:00

Unlike me, the potatoes seem to have enjoyed all this rain and are thriving. The weeds don't stand a chance anymore and the gaps between rows are closing up.

Looking forward to this harvest! Although I still have to make a tractor attachment as that is way too many potatoes to dig by hand in single-player mode.

#Homestead #Gardening #Homesteading #Potato #Growth

Portable log house, already disassembled. Just add foundation :) ...

2026-06-17T22:04:16+02:00

Portable log house, already disassembled. Just add foundation :)

https://www.skelbiu.lt/skelbimai/rastinis-namas-85509012.html

#LogHouse #TinyHouse #Skelbiu #Woodworking #Construction #Recycling

Huh, what's this? Plant ID app is 96% confident its a tobacco ...

2026-06-16T19:02:29+02:00

Huh, what's this? Plant ID app is 96% confident its a tobacco plant.

I'd be surprised, but it is theoretically possible if some long dormant seeds from the previous owner got brought up when we shifted this former greenhouse soil. He would be the type to grow his own tobacco too, rather than have it flown in from Belarus by balloon 😆

Grew wild between the onions that we did plant there.

#Homestead #Tobacco #Garden #PlantIdentification

Reminder that re-usable zip-ties exist, don't cost much more ...

2026-06-14T14:58:09+02:00

Reminder that re-usable zip-ties exist, don't cost much more and are super useful.

#ZipTie #Plastic #ReUse #Tech

Muwahaha. #Radish #Gardening #Homestead ...

2026-06-14T11:53:49+02:00

Muwahaha.

#Radish #Gardening #Homestead

Peas got tied up. This took forever because I was scanning the ...

2026-06-12T20:27:37+02:00

Peas got tied up.

This took forever because I was scanning the garden for enough small sticks to tie the string to and then poke into the ground.

These peas are doing well so far.

The beans mostly too, two of them died but those were the "meh" seedlings that I just planted because there was space.

#Gardening #Homestead #Beans #Peas #Bondage

Self-built tractor trailer that came with the farm. To my ...

2026-06-09T21:57:46+02:00

Self-built tractor trailer that came with the farm. To my surprise, these ancient truck tyres held pressure for a year.

I've been using it to store old fence parts that now need sorting, so I hauled it out of the jungle that grew around it.

Its a little big for our Iseki, but I'll probably find a use for it.

#Tractor #Trailer #Homestead #Treasure

Speaking of useful crawlies, do these earwig hotels actually ...

2026-06-08T20:33:53+02:00

Speaking of useful crawlies, do these earwig hotels actually work?

Supposedly the earwigs move in there and eat the eggs or caterpillars of the codling moths.

Do they? Do they eat enough to make a difference? Do earwigs even like these pots? Is there something better (if you say Roundup, consider yourself fired).

#Earwig #Insects #Gardening #Homestead

It's quite easy to make yourself, bend some stiff fence wire ...

2026-06-02T21:55:22+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…53f6
_________________________

It's quite easy to make yourself, bend some stiff fence wire in a vise and strap it to a stick, done.

I'm using a bladed version, which I love. Found it in the barn :)

Great for cutting the thistles off. Of course they grow back in a week 😆

Its similar to this one: https://hectare.in/product/heavy-duty-hand-weeder-with-5-feet-handle/

Not everything is loving our loamy soil, but these peas are. The ...

2026-06-01T20:53:58+02:00

Not everything is loving our loamy soil, but these peas are. The beans and maize seem to accept it at least. I'm germinating some more beans to fill that empty row. Sunflowers are mostly taking as well.

The cabbages are mostly dead but I have a second batch to try. And there I thought cabbages would be an easy thing to grow.

Still no sign of my carrots, I guess they're not going to show up any more. vaviurka (npub1yzj…50qq) had more luck in the kitchen garden with them.

But some good news from the pumpkins - one mound has four seedlings. The others all none. I'll spread those four to the other mounds.

Out of three radish varieties, the ones from seedkeeping are doing the best. Comically so. There's an army of our radishes vs a few here and there from the shop pack.

#Homestead #Gardening #Garden

Beans and sweetcorn seedlings went in the garden, between rain ...

2026-05-28T21:19:53+02:00

Beans and sweetcorn seedlings went in the garden, between rain showers.

Look at the difference between two packs of sweetcorn seeds. One pack, a single one grew. The other pack, about half, which is fine. I seeded them at the same time, too. No, not expired (2028). Just people selling dodgy seeds.

Hopefully we'll get some of our own seeds this year, if they make it all the way. I also planted them in a square rather than a row, which is apparently the key to success.

#Sweetcorn #Beans #Gardening #Homesteading #Seeds

No sign of the pumpkins or melons yet, but the potatoes are doing ...

2026-05-27T14:50:52+02:00

No sign of the pumpkins or melons yet, but the potatoes are doing fine. Very different sprouting rates though, some are this big already while others just barely came out. Bit grassy as this was an overgrown goat pasture until this spring.

The beetroots are also starting to show up, having taken their time.

No sign of carrots, not a one. Perhaps another dodgy seed pack. Had quite a few of those.

The cabbage seedlings got flattened by the heavy rain, but hopefully they're still alive.

#Gardening #Potatoes #Homestead

Looking forward to the great howling and teeth gnashing when the ...

2026-05-25T14:10:39+02:00

Looking forward to the great howling and teeth gnashing when the incomprehensibly popular #Obsidian "updates" their business model and everyone can experience how to port their oh so portable markdown notes into another thing.

Use open source or risk being blackmailed later. 🤷

#OpenSource #FOSS

If its better than whats on Wikipedia, then Wikipedia probably ...

2026-05-24T21:30:46+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…aklf
_________________________

If its better than whats on Wikipedia, then Wikipedia probably wants it.

Its quite normal to be interested in how ones own body works and I find being squeamish weird and often just a learned (mis)behaviour.

Luckily there's others like us and I had good company visiting the Bodyworlds exhibit of plastinated corpses (a nurse, a job where you can't be squeamish).

Last bit of our patchwork garden tilled. This is where the tall ...

2026-05-24T20:30:59+02:00

Last bit of our patchwork garden tilled. This is where the tall stuff goes, sunflowers, sweetcorn, peas, beans.

Those seedlings are still in trays. Soon soon.

The bit on the left with the poorer soil I just tilled to fuck up the Virginia creeper roots, then compacted it back down again to grow grass.

Worked surprisingly well before, the grass with its small root bundles comes back but the long creeper tendrils that grow along the surface are chopped into pieces.

#Garden #Rotavator #Gardening #Homestead #Soil

I heard these American peecup-trucks are getting more popular in ...

2026-05-22T14:57:19+02:00

I heard these American peecup-trucks are getting more popular in Europe, so I made myself one.

#Wordplay #Peecup #Pickup #MahTwuck #Car

Bummer. Our redcurrants are shedding their fruit, almost all of ...

2026-05-21T14:05:38+02:00

Bummer. Our redcurrants are shedding their fruit, almost all of them. The small unripe fruits just drop off.

The bush is healthy and has loads of leaves, had a rich bloom and was buzzing with pollinators, so I guess the weather swings we've had must be to blame. Didn't get the late frost of last year but we had a warm spell followed by a cold spell with extreme rain.

Its both bushes on opposite ends of the garden too. One is doing slightly better than the other which shed all fruits that I could see.

Oh well, gardening includes some losses.

#Gardening #Redcurrant #Plant #Homestead #Garden

Yay, the first potato plants are popping up. Took 19 days from ...

2026-05-19T19:51:17+02:00

Yay, the first potato plants are popping up. Took 19 days from planting these first ones.

Also a bunch of grass :)

#Potato #Homestead #Gardening #GrowYourOwn

Me, yesterday, catching only a glimpse of the performance: ...

2026-05-17T12:47:34+02:00

Me, yesterday, catching only a glimpse of the performance: "huh, they've got a Boy George lookalike for some reason".

Turns out that was the actual Boy George. For some reason.

Also just learnt he had a thing happen to his vocal cords that dropped his voice an octave so presumably he can't sing any of his old songs anymore. That must suck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhwoT8ah9R8

#Eurovision #ESC2026 #SanMarino

Radish seeds we kept from last year. The husks were nice and dry ...

2026-05-15T14:53:17+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…jmcl
_________________________

Radish seeds we kept from last year. The husks were nice and dry and I crushed them to get the seeds out.

It' is easy to winnow them by blowing over them gently, but it doesn't really matter when sowing and you can just throw the crushed husks on there with the seeds.

#Gardening #Seedkeeping #Homesteading #Radish #Winnowing

Finally some gardening weather again. Put in some onion seeds, ...

2026-05-15T14:05:35+02:00

Finally some gardening weather again.

Put in some onion seeds, more radishes, zuccini and some daikon.

The last two rows are for cabbages which are still sprouting inside because someone forgot.

When its a bit drier I can do the tall plant section, which still needs tilling.

#Garden #Gardening #Homestead

Will it self-right when the supports have melted? 😁

2026-05-13T17:04:26+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…6ghk
_________________________

Will it self-right when the supports have melted? 😁

Your boat has capsized.

2026-05-13T16:36:10+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…j7t3
_________________________

Your boat has capsized.

Made a thing I saw some Youtuber use. Its as useful as it looked, ...

2026-05-12T13:35:47+02:00

Made a thing I saw some Youtuber use. Its as useful as it looked, and easy to make.

Couple bits cut off a rusty rod, cleaned up and welded together as letter "h" and voila, a webbing winder for use with a battery drill.

Instead of a tangled mess in a bucket, I've got my cargo straps ready for next use in record time. Should also work with the firehose, but I haven't tried that yet.

If you're making one, two tips:

1. The short leg should be terminating before the long leg reaches the bottom so it can be used against a flat surface. About 5-10mm shorter.

2. The legs should be slightly narrower at the bottom than at the top, to make it easy pulling the tool out of a tight roll when done.

#Tools #Toolmaking #Welding #DIY #Webbing #Winder #Homestead #CargoStrap

Solved the mystery of why there was a huge pile of empty pine ...

2026-05-08T19:28:22+02:00

Solved the mystery of why there was a huge pile of empty pine cones below one linden tree when the snow melted.

I assumed squirrels or some other forest creature, but yesterday a friend suggested it was the woodpeckers work, who uses holes in the tree as cone holder and then pecks out the seeds.

So I looked up and indeed found two spots where cones were still stuck, one in a hole and one between trunk and a branch.

Clever birds. No hands but know how to utilize their environment :)

#Birds #Woodpecker #Tree #Homestead #Pinecone #TIL

The rain finally came and lots of it. Last night a thunderstorm ...

2026-05-07T11:23:38+02:00

The rain finally came and lots of it.

Last night a thunderstorm passed through and dumped a full barrel of rainwater in two minutes, today it's a more steady series of showers.

Good for our garden! The storks are not so happy and were seen tossing wet grass clumps out of their nest.

#StorkNest #Weather #Gardening #Rain #Homestead #Stork #Bird

Bunch more stuff sown in the garden. First a row of carrots, with ...

2026-05-03T20:09:58+02:00

Bunch more stuff sown in the garden.

First a row of carrots, with some radishes at the end as I ran out of carrot seed.

Then I turned some more of the former goat pen #2 into a row of beetroots and a series of pumpkin mounds, with alternating butternut squash and Hokkaido seeds.

Everything fertilized with our own compost and a little wood ash for the pumpkins.

Weather frogs are croaking about a first thunderstorm with rain tomorrow night, which we could definitely use.

#Homestead #Gardening #Soil #Seeds #Homesteading

In some flats where balcony solar isn't allowed because the ...

2026-05-03T09:10:07+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…cnyd
_________________________

In some flats where balcony solar isn't allowed because the landlord is a bastard, people have been building solar tables, which is just a panel with four legs. There is no rule against having a table on your balcony and no rule what a table has to be made of. You'll probably find many pictures if you search for "solartisch".

They can be used as table as well (best use a table cloth to avoid scratching the glass, although it is pretty tough).

Phew, potatoes are in. It was a very long day doing it all in one ...

2026-05-01T20:42:19+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…q9aa
_________________________

Phew, potatoes are in. It was a very long day doing it all in one go.

After making furrows, I dug up some compost from the bottom of the pile, threw it through an old fence gate to filter out the undigested bits and then installed the fresh compost in the bottom of each furrow.

On top of that goes some sifted wood ash, but only sparingly, followed by the seed potatoes gently pressed down into the compost.

Then I raked the furrows shut with a little hillock on top.

Finally tidied up everything except the compost sifting station, inhaled some food and had sauna. 😅

#Homesteading #Homestead #Potato #Gardening #Compost

What you have to do when you're playing multiplayer ...

2026-05-01T18:08:08+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…stst
_________________________

What you have to do when you're playing multiplayer farm-simulator solo:

✅ Draft animal furrower hitched to tractor
✅ Cable drum zip-tied to steering wheel
✅ Three turns of rope around drum
✅ Steering while walking behind tractor by pulling left/right rope and controlling the furrower

#Rigging #Homestead #Tractor #Steering #Furrower

The seed potatoes when you haven't looked into the basement ...

2026-05-01T16:17:06+02:00

The seed potatoes when you haven't looked into the basement in a while:

"Da fuq u been? Lets goooo!"

#Potatoes #Gardening #Homestead

Potato field also got crumbled and looks better now, although we ...

2026-05-01T14:07:10+02:00

Potato field also got crumbled and looks better now, although we didn't get any real rain since I did the first round.

Going to use this horse drawn furrower with my trusty diesel horse pulling to make furrows. Every year a different experiment until we got it down. Last year was too much manual labour.

#Farm #Homestead #Potato #Field #Gardening

The entire history of video signals in one device 😻 #Computer ...

2026-05-01T08:02:52+02:00

The entire history of video signals in one device 😻

#Computer #Video #Electronics #Connectors

Now that its cleared of thorny fuckers, roots, old fences and ...

2026-04-18T14:15:16+02:00

Now that its cleared of thorny fuckers, roots, old fences and grass reinforced mole hills, goat pen #2 has been designated for potatoes.

Hooked up the rotavator and had a look what the soil was like. Looks pretty good, bit chunky so ideally I'll let it get rained on and till it again, but we'll see what the weather has to say about that.

Slight mishaps where something went clunk and the rotavator suddenly hung at a drastic angle. Thought I'd hit something big but what actually happened was the lift arm pin had fallen out somehow.

Luckily I kept every pin I found while sorting my scrap metal, so a replacement was quickly installed.

One of our storks came out and had a feast (storks love tractors for that reason).

#Homestead #Gardening #Farming #Homesteading #Tractor #Rotavator #Stork

#Funcik says hi #Dog #DogsOfMastodon #FediDogs ...

2026-04-12T14:32:15+02:00

#Funcik says hi

#Dog #DogsOfMastodon #FediDogs

Kitchen garden ready for the Iseki rotovator. Threw the finished ...

2026-04-08T14:04:17+02:00

Kitchen garden ready for the Iseki rotovator.

Threw the finished compost on top, the rest back into the moved composter. Also patched the broken sides.

Leaves, grass and most kitchen scraps composted well, the egg shells could do with more crushing and the stupid stickers on the bananas need peeling off. Best to buy only sticker-free bananas. Oh, and orange peels are just having a laugh.

Fetched some old straw insulation and threw that on the muddy bits around so we can walk there. Only a light cover, so the grass can grow through.

#Homestead #Garden #Gardening #Compost

That escalated quickly.

2026-04-07T22:24:04+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…98dd
_________________________

That escalated quickly.

Wife arrive! Or uh, partner. Whatever. I think they're both ...

2026-03-29T18:20:32+02:00

Wife arrive! Or uh, partner. Whatever.

I think they're both the same storks as last year. Because they are totally used to my bullshit. And last year that took some time and suspicious eyeballing first.

The shagging has begun immediately. There's no foreplay, the whole thing lasts about 5 seconds but goes on many times per day, accompanied by slow beak clacking. Then several minutes of intense preening to straighten the feathers.

#Stork #Nest #StorkNest #Bird #BirdsOfMastodon #FediBird #Homestead

Mr. Stork looks a bit grumpy on account of the rain. He hates wet ...

2026-03-26T20:07:55+01:00

Mr. Stork looks a bit grumpy on account of the rain. He hates wet feathers. Makes him look all spiky. Only beaks should look spiky, you see.

He's been borrowing some twigs from our garden to fix up the nest but despite it looking ready, no partner has showed up yet.

#Stork #StorkNest #Bird #BirdsOfMastodon #FediBird #Homestead #Dating

Look who's back from winter holidays. Welcome back! Time to ...

2026-03-24T10:58:03+01:00

Look who's back from winter holidays. Welcome back!

Time to work! Fix up that nest, mow the grass that's grown there since you left, chase off contenders and bring some order* to the local birdlife.

I think it might be the same one as last year. They do not always return to the same nest, but this one is utterly used to me working in the yard and making fake clapper sounds with my tongue, which last year took some time.

It must be a male, because stork males always return first to do the work of rebuilding the nest.

* Nothing larger than a starling dares venture near an occupied stork nest, even crows only yell insults from a safe distance.

#Stork #StorkNest #Wildlife #Bird #BirdsOfMastodon #Fedibird

Thanks for the obvious, but we buy such things used and fix them ...

2026-03-23T14:03:17+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…vf5g
_________________________

Thanks for the obvious, but we buy such things used and fix them up ourselves. Not that it needed much fixing, just some lubricant.

New transport acquired. This one is 100% oil crisis proof. ...

2026-03-23T13:50:55+01:00

New transport acquired. This one is 100% oil crisis proof.

#Transport #Vehicle #Trike #OilCrisis

After a more chaotic approach last year, I'm also on the ...

2026-03-20T10:37:04+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…uqtm
_________________________

After a more chaotic approach last year, I'm also on the string and stick layout now.

Just makes life easier afterwards.

Hmm, hard to see, but looks like the final break is on the ...

2026-03-17T00:12:20+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…pukc
_________________________

Hmm, hard to see, but looks like the final break is on the outside top, putting the origin on the inside. Yeah, definitely, you can see where it elongated before breaking.

If the origin was on the outside, I'd say you scratched it when installing. A small slip of the wrench can be enough.

But the final break is on the outside, so more likely fatigue. Most likely cause is a too slack rig. Did your leeward shrouds go slack when powered up? They shouldn't.

You might see more when you open the swageless fitting and get a good look at the broken strands ends. Probably beaching, like this: https://reliability.com/resources/articles/name-that-failure-3/

Things I learnt from Vyv Cox, who's a really nice guy that loves staring at broken metal and talking about it.

The snow is leaving the garden, and winter hideouts are revealed. ...

2026-03-14T18:52:31+01:00

The snow is leaving the garden, and winter hideouts are revealed.

Lots of surface tunnels under the snow in one part. Someone lived here over winter. A mole or vole perhaps. They won't be able to stay, exposed to predators like that.

And who collected all these cones under a tree? It's quite a haul from the nearest pine.

The piles of leaves I dumped here and there have nicely shrunken down and are ready to be mixed back into the soil.

#Garden #Spring #Gardening #Melt #Homestead

Sometimes I wonder if we could manage with a smaller trunk. Then ...

2026-03-13T23:15:16+01:00

Sometimes I wonder if we could manage with a smaller trunk.

Then we go to town to fetch a few things 😆

#Car #Trunk #Space #Homestead

Talking about #cycling, perhaps it's all too serious now. ...

2026-03-12T09:52:09+01:00

Talking about #cycling, perhaps it's all too serious now. Tubeless tyres, hydraulic brakes, so many gears you have to think about which one to use, virtual trainers and posting your results on social media down to the millisecond like you're some kind of Olympic competitor.

In my youth we had cheap bikes, rode them everywhere and if you sometimes cycled faster than your buddy that was good enough.

Not everything has to be a competition and optimized to the last 0.001?

Fools 😆 Sounds easy, is friggin hard. Once you got word-wrap ...

2026-03-06T17:01:01+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…dcyz
_________________________

Fools 😆

Sounds easy, is friggin hard. Once you got word-wrap working and struggle to hold on to sanity, someone will ask about hyphenation and you get sent off to the loony bin.

The good ones never make it back to Latvia. They died because ...

2026-03-06T15:34:25+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…rq2h
_________________________

The good ones never make it back to Latvia. They died because they worked unhealthy hours, skipped lunch, passed out on a sloping roof and even the NHS couldn't put those necks back together.

Those are some pretty big chimneys for a low-carbon factory 😁

2026-03-04T14:04:28+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…535l
_________________________

Those are some pretty big chimneys for a low-carbon factory 😁

Influencers stuck in Dubai. #Cartoon #Instagram #Influencer ...

2026-03-04T09:48:36+01:00

Influencers stuck in Dubai.

#Cartoon #Instagram #Influencer #Dubai

[source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/picture/2026/mar/03/expat-dubai-startling-revelation-the-stephen-collins-cartoon]

Altbot (npub12dn…0hjt)

Spain got cojones and shows the other EU members how its done: ...

2026-03-03T08:51:40+01:00

Spain got cojones and shows the other EU members how its done:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/02/spain-denies-united-states-permission-military-bases-iran-pedro-sanchez

#EUpol #War #USpol #Spain

Ohh, a biodigester. Those are used to treat blackwater around ...

2026-02-23T22:42:07+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…nv6y
_________________________

Ohh, a biodigester. Those are used to treat blackwater around here when you're not on the municipial sewage grid.

Quite a large expense though for some greywater cleanup. The plants didn't mind the washing machine water by the way, everything grew great, just the stink when watering with it was really bad. And if you pumped it from the cistern to the garden barrel it would flip in one day in summer 😆

So had to empty it every time.

What's the treatment you suggest? He's still in a drought ...

2026-02-23T22:26:50+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…a0tt
_________________________

What's the treatment you suggest? He's still in a drought area and banned from watering plants most summers and has to watch his garden die.

Washing machine, I think? What treatment? :)

2026-02-23T22:21:11+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…v270
_________________________

Washing machine, I think? What treatment? :)

Dad tried that once, long ago. It stank. A lot. There was a ...

2026-02-23T20:43:58+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…tw2f
_________________________

Dad tried that once, long ago. It stank. A lot. There was a rebellion. It got undone.

But all water is recycled many times already.

Recycled water

2026-02-23T20:39:06+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…dqhl
_________________________

Recycled water

New national snowman record: 6.9m tall ...

2026-02-22T10:32:22+01:00

New national snowman record: 6.9m tall

https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2844331/lithuanian-teenager-builds-record-breaking-snowman

#Winter #Snow #Snowman #Lithuania #LRT

Found on the garage floor. Service plate for a MTZ-50L tractor. ...

2026-02-07T20:11:03+01:00

Found on the garage floor. Service plate for a MTZ-50L tractor. No wonder they're all so poorly maintained if the service schedule just falls off :)

The 50L apparently was the version with a petrol pony motor. Good for starting in winter! And for getting deaf.

#Homestead #Cleanup #Treasure #Tractor #MTZ #Service

Pretty cold. Discoveries I made this morning: EVA rubber boots ...

2026-02-02T11:49:57+01:00

Pretty cold. Discoveries I made this morning:

EVA rubber boots are no longer flexible and difficult to wear until your feet warm them up.

LCD displays stop working.

The fancy microcontroller thermometer had an integer overflow and showed +64°C when it was... I guess -31 or 32? 😆

The -25°C winter wiper fluid is now solid, but it shouldn't damage the cars as it has contracted rather than expanded like water does.

The barn cat is still alive and got warm water and leftover porridge.

LRT reports -34°C in nearby Ukmergė and that diesel engines can't run on jelly. Apparently LPG vehicles had problems too, not enough Propane in the mix: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2825089/lithuania-records-lowest-temperatures-in-30-years-cold-disrupts-public-transport

#Lithuania #Cold #Winter #Diesel #Physics #Electronics

Missed us, doing another orbit by the looks of it. Back in ~86 ...

2026-01-30T13:04:24+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…l7a2
_________________________

Missed us, doing another orbit by the looks of it.

Back in ~86 minutes but further south.

Live tracker: https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=66877#

If you speak Polish, there's a livestream with commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhfmbF8HeEE

#SpaceDebris #Zhuque3Y1 #ReEntry

Nostr event nevent1qqsp9ue2x5l24fge5zlg84sf3qwffuv8dpk662vz4cza53hceejfqzqzyzuf2s8e8vhh8dgpkljvfm2fxvkc0k4sqea44357xw0qpcd8j5xvz8a9980

2026-01-30T11:32:13+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…5km7
_________________________

LRT: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2822139/lithuania-on-alert-as-chinese-rocket-expected-to-fall-in-latvia

Ok, who ordered orbital delivery from #AliExpress 11 tons, ...

2026-01-30T11:23:00+01:00

Ok, who ordered orbital delivery from #AliExpress

11 tons, probably a mid-size excavator.

https://www.eusst.eu/newsroom/news/eu-sst-closely-monitors-upcoming-re-entry-space-object-zq-3-rb

NB: times are in UTC, so ETA is in about 1 hour from now ± 48 minutes

#Latvia #Lithuania #SpaceDebris

Shush. Keep it quiet or they'll add DRM to clothing, too.

2026-01-27T02:32:52+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…aj2c
_________________________

Shush. Keep it quiet or they'll add DRM to clothing, too.

🥶 #Birch #Tree #Frozen #Winter #Lithuania #Ice #Cold ...

2026-01-12T11:08:02+01:00

🥶

#Birch #Tree #Frozen #Winter #Lithuania #Ice #Cold

There, I fixed the warning sign. #Gimp ...

2026-01-07T12:42:48+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…ma4k
_________________________

There, I fixed the warning sign.

#Gimp

"Account suspended" Odd, when I go to mastodon.social ...

2026-01-07T10:12:03+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…pv0k
_________________________

"Account suspended"

Odd, when I go to mastodon.social it's not suspended. Maybe some caching issue.

Because that's absolutely Jeff Goldbrabbit!

2025-12-28T17:19:54+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…vffh
_________________________

Because that's absolutely Jeff Goldbrabbit!

Front yard destruction done. Now we can replant, but sensibly. I ...

2025-12-06T18:40:28+01:00

Front yard destruction done. Now we can replant, but sensibly. I want a little evergreen jungle there with a path curving from the door to the front gate and carport.

I've been to the forest and scouted a few spruce saplings that should thrive there, as the two I moved last year already do.

Also before throwing it all in the chipper, I picked out a few more nice pieces of the Colorado spruce, dipped them into rooting hormone and jammed them into flowerpots to root over winter (indoors). I did that last year too and some of them have indeed grown roots.

There were also some pine cuttings but those aren't doing nearly as well.

#Homestead #Forestry #Garden #Gardening

Badger eating frozen apples hidden under the snow in our garden. ...

2025-12-05T20:23:52+01:00

Badger eating frozen apples hidden under the snow in our garden.

#Trailcam #Wildlife #Animal #Badger #Night #Apple #Garden #Homestead

Hacking together a quick & dirty log hauling thing from this ...

2025-12-02T14:10:12+01:00

Hacking together a quick & dirty log hauling thing from this axle with one wheel and one wheel with cut off axle I found in the junk piles a while ago.

Wanted to do nicer but I need it now :)

#Farm #Hack #DIY #Logging #Forestry #Homestead #Steel #Junk #SalvagePunk

They used to! They also had phones with a wake-up service, but ...

2025-11-30T22:44:38+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…n6ln
_________________________

They used to! They also had phones with a wake-up service, but sometimes unreliable because handled by an actual person with a clipboard :)

Now it's all built into the telly or gone entirely.

Nostr event nevent1qqsq7yjr765u2mf77kwqzqe2jj37qwlxwzz6e9c3kxk7rs2h9uns9aczyzuf2s8e8vhh8dgpkljvfm2fxvkc0k4sqea44357xw0qpcd8j5xvznkpndr

2025-11-30T22:39:41+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…vuuj
_________________________

Aye, and I thank you for not having one.

2025-11-27T09:52:05+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…kz63
_________________________

Aye, and I thank you for not having one.