I've been playing through video games on these colder than usual nights.  I should say... I've been playing one video game; Since it's really the only series that I follow any more.  The Assassin's Creed franchise has always had the right amount of historical accuracy combined with just the right amount of sci fi/mythology-based lunacy to draw me in.  I'm still playing the older Valhalla release and while playing through the Ireland campaign, I started to think about my own Irish ancestry.

This of course led me down a genealogy rabbit hole looking into the Doran's and Quinn's.  Documenting my ancestry has been an on-again off-again passion of mine for years.  I've traced my paternal ancestry back to a Henni D(T)ormeier born in the late 1400s, but some lines (like my Irish one) have been lacking the research effort.  With the time I spent in the last month, I've pushed my knowledge of almost all ancestral lines back to at least the early 1800s.  Not sure how interesting this is to people, but it's something I love to discuss when given the opportunity.

image generated by leonardo.ai using this email as a starting point

It is a Tuber

In gardening news, I accomplished one of my main goals for the year by planting a patch of Jerusalem Artichokes.  Jerusalem Artichokes AKA Sunchokes are related to sunflowers (not at all to artichokes) and native to the eastern USA.  They have great looking flowers, but also produce an edible tuber.  The main reason that I am growing them is to have another perennial producing food on my property.  I'll update with some photos after they start to flower.

Longevity Challenge

I've also been preoccupied by participating in the Longevity Challenges sponsored by VitaDAO.  The current challenge is related to Thermal Therapy.  As someone who regularly uses the sauna even when there isn't a challenge, this was a no-brainer for me.  I've also been adding in more cold therapy during this time in order to rack up more points.  As of this writing I'm currently in the lead!  I'm interested to see if ultimately this excessive use of both therapies will be an overall benefit or detriment.

Sprouts Vs. Microgreens

During the winter, when I can't garden, I get my fix by growing sprouts and microgreens.  I had a conversation recently with someone who thought they were both pretty much the same.  I wrote a blog post describing what I feel are the differences and how I use each.  If you're interested in this topic, check out:

Fermented Solutions

Seems I was correct on the issue that lead to my indoor gardening disaster from last issue.  After re-enabling my fans, I haven't had any other issues.  Note to self... always keep the fans running when plants are outside of the seed starting area 😁 

I mentioned the Akkermansia study that I participated in.  I don't have the results from that yet, but I noticed something very interesting.  My Oura ring tracked a consistent >10% increase in my HRV throughout the entire trial after the first few days of taking it.  I've seen very few things that have such a profound positive effect.  The trial is over and I've stopped taking it and waiting to see if it goes back to baseline.  If this happens, I just may have to add Akkermansia as a regular part of my routine.

Soon this weird weather will be behind us and I'll be more reactive month-to-month.  I'll be sure to keep you updated with whatever interesting things I'm tinkering with.

Happy Fermenting!

J

Questions?? Want a deeper dive on something discussed here? Reply to this message to continue the conversation.

Just signed up or forwarded this message?  View past issues or become a subscriber