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Comment by amer chohan on December 18, 2012 at 9:45am

Beauity of spination " Genus Echinocereus ".

Comment by Sentient Biped on December 17, 2012 at 9:26pm

Joan, I imagine the morels are fine.  Dried foods have a long shelf life, assuming they are thoroughly dry.  Then again.....  never know.  Spud is probably right.  I think I'd eat them.  Morels are food for the gods.  Except morels are real.

Still thinking about those morel-growing kits.  The only thing that has stopped me is the time of year.  I don't think this is the best time.

Thank you for comments on the bee house.  I am good at cobbling things together with my hands.  Lots of work on the house, remodeling, built some furniture, chicken houses...  but the bee house is just a piece of wood with 5/16ths holes drilled in it.  I'm no "fine woodworker".  

Spud, there are zillions of ways to make a house for orchard mason bees. This is basically what I do.  You can spend $$$ to buy one, but some are $15 or $20, but all you  need is a scrap of untreated lumber big enough to drill 15 or so holes in it, 15/16ths inch diameter, 4 or 5 or 6 inches deep.  Mine are actually 3 1/2 inches deep but supposedly 5 inches gets you more females, which is what you want.  Mine get  colonized, completely full, for years.  Also plan here.  and here.  I bought my original bees locally or via mail order - I forget which - but if you have a location where you see them working, you can try putting up a bee house there and let them fill it to start a "colony" for you.

Be careful.  Orchard Mason Bees are considered a "gateway drug" for beekeeping of honey bees.

Comment by Joan Denoo on December 17, 2012 at 6:22pm

Thanks Spud, I think I will put them in a sauce and see if I survive. I know they won't taste fresh after all these years, but I don't want to put them in the compost if they are still eatable. I'll let you know how they taste.

Comment by Idaho Spud on December 17, 2012 at 3:23pm

One site says Morel mushrooms are good for over a year if kept in a cool dry place:  http://www.salmancorp.com/morel.htm

Another says almost indefinite:  http://www.dried-morels.com/

Comment by Joan Denoo on December 17, 2012 at 3:18pm

Amer, your country sounds so exotic, with such huge alluvial plains and such high mountains. Do you have interest in geology? That was my minor degree from college. Whenever I see a mountain or river or whatever, I wonder why? How did it get there? What were the forces that created that feature. Fossils hold a special interest for me.

 

Comment by Joan Denoo on December 17, 2012 at 3:13pm

Sentient, Your bird house and bee house make such good sense. Do you have interest in woodwork, or is it that you do what it takes to keep birds and bees happy? 

You set a really good example for all of us. 

I ran across some dried morel mushrooms in my pantry that I bought from the grocery store three years ago. Do you suppose they would still be OK to use in my cooking? 

Comment by amer chohan on December 17, 2012 at 7:47am

Joan! In photo Himalays look like a long wall. This wall is so high that it neither allows clouds nor humans to pass. On other side of it is China which is nearer to us than most of our own cities but it is other world which has nothing common with us in any respect.Now a days there is  a good road btween China and Pakistan but it is closed for 8 months and in rest of 4 months it takes more than 36 hours to cross.

Comment by Sentient Biped on December 16, 2012 at 6:06pm

Growing from seeds, cuttings, and other starts, is one of the greatest pleasures in my life.   Also, growing plants and trees from volunteers or rescued plants.  It's amazing to stand next to a strong tree and think, "I started that from a seed?"  Or eat a bowl of figs and think, "I grew that tree from a cutting?".  I love the idea of eating tomatoes and peppers I grew from seeds, and peas and beans that I grew from seeds that I saved from plants I grew from seeds, that I saved from plants I grew from seeds.

For about 8 years, I've been putting up bee boxes for orchard mason bees.  Early each spring, they hatch out, pollinate, breed, and lay their eggs in the bee boxes for next year.   This weekend I moved 2 of the bee boxes to my new place in the country.  They'll have lots of trees and plants to collect pollen from there, and I hope help my fruits and vegetables pollinate too.  They seem to especially love cherries.  I have some big wild cherries, and young tart cherry trees, waiting for them.

Comment by Joan Denoo on December 16, 2012 at 4:27pm

Amer, I am going to try another way to get a Google Earth photo over here. This photo has the weather removed so you can see the mountain structures. Notice how the Himalayas rise and buckle the land forms all the way over to the Middle East.
Sorry, I couldn't bring the photo over, the site is so pretty I encourage those of us who are unfamiliar with your country, to take a look on a map.

Comment by Joan Denoo on December 16, 2012 at 3:58pm

Amer Chohan's Islamabad, Pakistan

Clouds covered the photo from Google World, so I showed from Islamabad to the sea. Close view reveal some very interesting geological formations of mountain rivers form these huge alluvial plains. Amer, I assume you have enough elevation to not be affected with ocean sea rising. Where rivers enter the sea, on those alluvial plains and the low lying ground near them, will have problems. 

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