Lothlorien- self sufficient community?

[Lady Snickerdoodle]

by Legolas' reactiong to his bow that he got as a gift..... would one say that the Lorien crafted bows are superior to the Mirkwood made bows? How many bows would it take to get one of them barells of Mirkwood elf wine>?

Hmm probably yes, or maybe because of the decorations on it. (*ooh shiny!*) Or maybe he's doing the old horrible-gift-from-annoying-relative dodge.
Me: *opens up present to find leopard skin print velvet pajamas in several sizes too large* OMG i LOVE IT THANK YOU SO MUCH i've always wanted some of these... *inconspicuouly sneaks it into back of closet*

But if he was being sincere, then probably only one bow would merit a wine keg.

ooh my most amazing and ingenious friend just came up with a really good point for lembas being improbable in Lothlorien. She reasons that it would have to be made from wheat, which is definitely not a forest crop. She also wants to know, with regard to the elven rope made by Galadriel;s handmaidens, where did they get the fiber to make that?

[drigel]

OMG gift recycling a Lorien bow??? hmm mabye

well there would be some fertile ground on the banks of the Anduin. There may be some pockets of level ground within the borders that were not with trees??.?

rope - hemp.. elvish hemp OMG

[Lady Snickerdoodle]

But would there be enough ground? And what about sun exposure or climate?

i say give them the bow, get the wine and when they're not looking, steal the bow back again...

[drigel]

id get greedy and sneak back to get a drunk Mirkwood sylvan into a dice game for some of those green jewells

[Lachwen]

Ah, but remember, there were large open spaces in Lórien near the Anduin (remember where the Fellowship has a picnic with Galadriel and Celeborn before leaving?), so I'm sure there could have been other open spaces devoted to grain. And, of course, flour doesn't HAVE to be made from wheat. Nut flour often works just as well.

Though I still giggle at the Elf-in-overalls mental picture. Can't you just see one playnig the opening bars of "Dueling Banjos"?

[Lady Snickerdoodle]

On the rope discussion (well there wasn't one but ssh...) I realized that they had spun and woven them out of thread-y material, so that kills the arguement for elf hemp. (lol)

Farmer Elf: Aiy'all...

[Lyta_Underhill]

Though I still giggle at the Elf-in-overalls mental picture. Can't you just see one playnig the opening bars of "Dueling Banjos"?

They's a lot of people in overalls 'round heah, but very few Elves. Mostly they look like Gimli in a pickup truck or the animated Boromir with bad legs! (You might be able to tell I'm speaking from the Deep South here!)

But seriously now, I wonder at the grains of sand in the box Galadriel gave to Sam (besides the Mallorn seed). "I suspect every grain has a value." Perhaps the Lorien Elves had discovered the secret of fertilizer and crop engineering. Maybe they had advanced arts of agriculture that would make them more likely to be self-sufficient, or maybe it's just the magic of Nenya! Whatever it is, it's deep down...

Cheers,
Lyta