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Lockdown/Slowdown Post #9: Drying Berries!

Rosehips and Hawthorne berries dry in the autumn sun. Pick before a frost and dry the rosehips berries, then use a food processor to break them up to make a tea very high in vitamin C. You have to...

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Slowdown Post #10: Sweet chestnuts

Sweet chestnuts are part of the bounty at Mountain Spirit during lockdown. North America saw a blight that eliminated the sweet chestnut tree from the whole continent, although through the American...

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Slowdown Post #11: Working with Micro Hydro Power

Our micro hydro intake with the first layer of cement anchoring in place. Notice the newly installed anchor points for the next layer of anchoring material. This intake still has no water passing over...

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Slowdown Post #12: Apple Press v 1.0

Jess and Conner rev up for our first round of cider making. This version had a few design flaws that was solved with our later version, which you’ll see soon. Mainly we had to beef up the cross beams...

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Slowdown Post #13: “Hayice” Climbing!

During lockdown Level 4, we eyed the farmer’s hay bales, the next field over, and received permission to take ice axes and crampons to them “as long as we didn’t tip any over on us”. It was remarkably...

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Fulfilling our Mission, and Our Passion

Before lock-down, here on the South Island of New Zealand, we were quite busy renting out our accommodation to AirBnB guests from all over the world. We enjoyed meeting people from Italy to the US,...

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Slowdown Post #14: Wood Chopping and Stackin

Stoking up for the winter, Conner splits and Jess stacks, nearing the end of a few day’s farm workout plan. Poplar dries quickly, and is quick to light, but its only good for a fire starter. Hardwoods...

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Slowdown Post #15: Almond Harvest!

During lockdown we had time to pick almonds. You don’t actually pick them, you use long sticks or PVC pipe, and wack them off the branches so they land on a tarp. Just don’t get hit as they fall. It...

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What It’s Like Being Censored

JP Sears has been a family favorite for a few years now. My wife first turned me onto him a few years ago with his classic video, “How to be Ultra Spiritual” and his spoof on how to irritate people by...

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The Monolith That Watches Over Us

The Power of PlaceJust about now, (the Solstice, the longest day of the year, Dec 21st, at least here in the southern hemisphere), a 50-metre high monolith rises high in the valley above us, here at...

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