Vela Creations is an in-depth resource for off grid living. The site documents our research and experiences, hoping that they might help others interested in pursuing this lifestyle. This blog is designed to document our day to day experiences as we build our new, sustainable homestead. If you are interested in seeing more photos and videos, we have a flickr account at the following url: http://flickr.com/photos/35090117@N05/collections/

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

e. e. cummings

"The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful." - e. e. cummings

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

John Ruskin

"Let every dawn be to you as the beginning of life, and every setting sun be to you as its close." - John Ruskin

Monday, December 29, 2014

V. S. Naipaul

"The world is always in movement." - V. S. Naipaul

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Alfred Lord Tennyson

"Words, like nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within." - Alfred Lord Tennyson

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Aesop

"It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds." - Aesop

Friday, December 26, 2014

Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Sunlight is painting." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Jean Paul

"The miracle on earth are the laws of heaven." - Jean Paul

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Edna Ferber

"Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling." - Edna Ferber

Solar Heater


Solar Heater


We have installed a solar heater at the town house to keep the chill of winter out.




When we built our house, we designed it to need very little extra heat in winter. It makes excellent use of thermal gain (passive solar heating on the south), has good insulation in the roofs, and is partially buried on the north side to increase thermal mass. We have an RMH stove for the cloudy days, but we very rarely have to use it.


[flickr set=72157649382576028 photo=6]


The town house, on the other hand, was not as well designed. Nor is it terrible. It has large windows on the south, which helps, and the walls are about 18" thick. In summer, it stays cool and pleasant. In winter, it seems to hold a constant temperature of about 60 degrees, even when it's 30 outside.


So, seeing as we didn't need to raise the temperature by much, we figured a solar heater would be perfect.

Abe made it in a day or so, and it cost about $90. It's an 8' by 4' box, with insulation on the back, greenhouse plastic on the front and black screen on the inside. It stands almost upright on the southern wall outside the living room. There are two holes through the wall. The bottom draws air from inside the house. That air passes through the heater and is then blown down into the room with a small fan.


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The air inside the box is about 160 degrees, but it blows into the house at 130, so there are a few inefficiencies in our prototype. Abe has already figured out several ways of improving the design for the next one, which we'll put on the kitchen wall.


Even with its imperfections, we love it. The concept works great and uses almost no power. Needless to say, the sofa by the fan has become a favorite spot on cold days!


A full howto will be coming soon.







Solar Heater

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

James M. Barrie

"God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December." - James M. Barrie

Merry Christmas


Merry Christmas


Merry Christmas everyone, and we hope you all have a wonderful 2015.




It's that time of the year again and both boys are bouncing off the walls. We put the tree up on the 1st of December, but now that Christmas day is almost here, we have finally put the presents under it. The boys can hardly contain themselves.


It's been a very busy year, both physically and emotionally. The loss of Abe's dad still hangs over us, especially during this holiday season, but it is a sadness we try not to dwell on.

Both boys are now in school (Leo in first grade and Nicky in preschool), which they both love. We bought the town house and have been fixing it up. On the homestead, this year has been mainly dedicated to setting up the forest garden, and adding new pens and pastures for the animals. We have worked a lot on the Food Web book and concept, while also continuing to tweak and improve our working model.

We're looking forward to the New Year and all the challenges it will bring us. We wish you all well, and thank you for your continued interest in our site (which will also soon be revamped!).


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Merry Christmas

December'14

Monday, December 22, 2014

Daniel Boone

"Nature was here a series of wonders, and a fund of delight." - Daniel Boone

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Aristotle

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous." - Aristotle

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Ray Bradbury

"We are an impossibility in an impossible universe." - Ray Bradbury

Friday, December 19, 2014

Walter Scott

"We build statues out of snow, and weep to see them melt." - Walter Scott

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Robert M. Pirsig

"The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there." - Robert M. Pirsig

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Robert Green Ingersoll

"Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows." - Robert Green Ingersoll

Solar Heater

Monday, December 15, 2014

Arthur Schopenhauer

"Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude." - Arthur Schopenhauer

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Duke Kahanamoku

"I have never seen snow and do not know what winter means." - Duke Kahanamoku

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Leigh Hunt

"Colors are the smiles of nature." - Leigh Hunt

Friday, December 12, 2014

John McGraw

"My boy, one small breeze doesn't make a wind storm." - John McGraw

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Henrik Ibsen

"A forest bird never wants a cage." - Henrik Ibsen

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Luther Burbank

"We must return to nature and nature's god." - Luther Burbank

Monday, December 8, 2014

Michel de Montaigne

"Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do." - Michel de Montaigne

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friday, December 5, 2014

Duke Ellington

"Gray skies are just clouds passing over." - Duke Ellington

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Sitting Bull

"The earth has received the embrace of the sun and we shall see the results of that love." - Sitting Bull

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Jim Fowler

"The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans." - Jim Fowler

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Tom Allen

"While I relish our warm months, winter forms our character and brings out our best." - Tom Allen

Monday, December 1, 2014

Dennis Banks

"The Sun, Moon and Stars are there to guide us." - Dennis Banks

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Andy Warhol

"Land really is the best art." - Andy Warhol

Hot Water Issue


Hot Water Issue


We just replaced the PEX tubing inside our solar water heating panels.




When we remodeled the two panels that Abe's dad had found in the junk, we used PEX pipe. It is a lot cheaper than copper and much easier to install. The setup worked well, heating water consistently to 125 degrees.


[flickr set=72157625107002735 photo=6 shift=59]


However, on two separate occasions, the PEX split. The first time, we replaced the pipe, and made some adjustments to our design. It worked fine for a long time, but then recently split again. I guess it just gets too hot in there.


So we have now bit the bullet and replaced the PEX with copper tubing. It is more costly, and you have to be very careful not to kink it when making the required curves, but we got it finished and back up in place in half a day. In fact, we got it done so fast, we didn't get a chance to take photos!


Hopefully, that will now last.


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Hot Water Issue

Quail Loss


Quail Loss


All our quail are now gone, taken by a predator while we were away.




With the ability to sit and hatch their own young almost entirely bred out of domestic quail, our group of hens was extra special. They lived in the garden, keeping bugs at bay without destroying plants. We had three hens that hatched chicks. It was a real joy to be able to watch them all from inside our big, south-facing windows.


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However, while we were away on one of our recent trips, they all disappeared. There were signs (including feathers) that a large predator (like a dog or coyote) had gotten into the garden, and hunted them down. A friend of ours would come up to check on things and top up feeders. He said he saw a couple of dogs there a few times, eating from our dog feeder. We have seen them since we've been back, but not on our property. They are the most likely suspects, as I doubt our male dog, Sam, would tolerate coyotes so close.


We plan to get more quail in the Spring, to see if we can replicate our breeding successes. In the meantime, we have had one very hopeful sighting: the other day, we saw one of the females. She was in the garden, drinking water and wandering around, and she then flew off. So we're hoping that at least some got away and are not too far off.







Quail Loss

Pumpkins


Pumpkins


We cut up one of our pumpkins for Halloween this year.




[flickr set=72157633274104207 photo=6]


[flickr set=72157649048980766 photo=15702422492 size=small align=right hspace=10 vspace=10]


I don't normally like to cut up pumpkins, as it constitutes a fair amount of wasted food. But Abe wanted to do one for the boys, now that they're getting bigger and can appreciate it. It came out really cool and they loved it, especially getting to light the candles and see it glow.


We got a lot of big squash this year. I use them throughout winter. When I cut one up, I usually take out a cup or two to make pie and then make the rest into something like squash candy. It's a treat we all love.


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Pumpkins

Hot Water Issue


Hot Water Issue


We just replaced the PEX tubing inside our solar water heating panels.




When we remodeled the two panels that Abe's dad had found in the junk, we used PEX pipe. It is a lot cheaper than copper and much easier to install. The setup worked well, heating water consistently to 125 degrees.


[flickr set=72157625107002735 photo=6 shift=59]


However, on two separate occasions, the PEX split. The first time, we replaced the pipe, and made some adjustments to our design. It worked fine for a long time, but then recently split again. I guess it just gets too hot in there.


So we have now bit the bullet and replaced the PEX with copper tubing. It is more costly, and you have to be very careful not to kink it when making the required curves, but we got it finished and back up in place in half a day. In fact, we got it done so fast, we didn't get a chance to take photos!


Hopefully, that will now last.


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Hot Water Issue

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Albert Einstein

"We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us." - Albert Einstein

Friday, November 28, 2014

David Icke

"Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut, that held its ground." - David Icke

Quail Loss


Quail Loss


All our quail are now gone, taken by a predator while we were away.




With the ability to sit and hatch their own young almost entirely bred out of domestic quail, our group of hens was extra special. They lived in the garden, keeping bugs at bay without destroying plants. We had three hens that hatched chicks. It was a real joy to be able to watch them all from inside our big, south-facing windows.


{loadposition adsense}


However, while we were away on one of our recent trips, they all disappeared. There were signs (including feathers) that a large predator (like a dog or coyote) had gotten into the garden, and hunted them down. A friend of ours would come up to check on things and top up feeders. He said he saw a couple of dogs there a few times, eating from our dog feeder. We have seen them since we've been back, but not on our property. They are the most likely suspects, as I doubt our male dog, Sam, would tolerate coyotes so close.


We plan to get more quail in the Spring, to see if we can replicate our breeding successes. In the meantime, we have had one very hopeful sighting: the other day, we saw one of the females. She was in the garden, drinking water and wandering around, and she then flew off. So we're hoping that at least some got away and are not too far off.







Quail Loss

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Pat Buckley

"I can find God in nature, in animals, in birds and the environment." - Pat Buckley

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Henry Morton Stanley

"The sky lovingly smiles on the earth and her children." - Henry Morton Stanley

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

John Lubbock

"Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of Heaven." - John Lubbock

Monday, November 24, 2014

Leonardo da Vinci

"Water is the driving force of all nature." - Leonardo da Vinci

Pumpkins


Pumpkins


We cut up one of our pumpkins for Halloween this year.




[flickr set=72157649048980766 photo=15702422492 size=small align=right hspace=10 vspace=10]


I don't normally like to cut up pumpkins, as it constitutes a fair amount of wasted food. But Abe wanted to do one for the boys, now that they're getting bigger and can appreciate it. It came out really cool and they loved it, especially getting to light the candles and see it glow.


We got a lot of big squash this year. I use them throughout winter. When I cut one up, I usually take out a cup or two to make pie and then make the rest into something like squash candy. It's a treat we all love.


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Pumpkins

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Marcus Aurelius

"That which is not good for the bee-hive cannot be good for the bees." - Marcus Aurelius

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Hal Borland

"Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence." - Hal Borland

Friday, November 21, 2014

R. Buckminster Fuller

"The most important thing about Spaceship Earth - an instruction book didn't come with it." - R. Buckminster Fuller

Thursday, November 20, 2014

John Burroughs

"How beautiful the leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days." - John Burroughs

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Marilyn French

"Men stumble over pebbles, never over mountains." - Marilyn French

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Pamela Hansford Johnson

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire." - Pamela Hansford Johnson

Monday, November 17, 2014

Albert Camus

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." - Albert Camus

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Charles Lindbergh

"In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia." - Charles Lindbergh

Saturday, November 15, 2014

George Bernard Shaw

"The best place to find God is in a garden. You can dig for him there." - George Bernard Shaw

Friday, November 14, 2014

Charles Dudley Warner

"What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it." - Charles Dudley Warner

Thursday, November 13, 2014

William Blake

"The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship." - William Blake

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

John Muir

"How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!" - John Muir

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Frank Lloyd Wright

"I believe in God, only I spell it Nature." - Frank Lloyd Wright

Monday, November 10, 2014

Loren Eiseley

"One could not pluck a flower without troubling a star." - Loren Eiseley

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Samuel Butler

"Self-preservation is the first law of nature." - Samuel Butler

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Hippocrates

"Everything in excess is opposed to nature." - Hippocrates

Friday, November 7, 2014

Henry David Thoreau

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads." - Henry David Thoreau

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Don Marquis

"Pity the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." - Don Marquis

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Omar N. Bradley

"Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship." - Omar N. Bradley

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Henry Fielding

"All nature wears one universal grin." - Henry Fielding

Monday, November 3, 2014

Francis Bacon

"Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed." - Francis Bacon

November'14

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Jacques Yves Cousteau

"The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it." - Jacques Yves Cousteau

Saturday, November 1, 2014

October'14

Antoine Lavoisier

"I consider nature a vast chemical laboratory in which all kinds of composition and decompositions are formed." - Antoine Lavoisier

October'14

Friday, October 31, 2014

Robert Anton Wilson

"The longer one is alone, the easier it is to hear the song of the earth." - Robert Anton Wilson

Thursday, October 30, 2014

William Wordsworth

"Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher." - William Wordsworth

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

William Allingham

"Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt." - William Allingham

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Victor Hugo

"What would be ugly in a garden constitutes beauty in a mountain." - Victor Hugo

Monday, October 27, 2014

Socrates

"He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature." - Socrates

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Saint Teresa of Avila

"The tree that is beside the running water is fresher and gives more fruit." - Saint Teresa of Avila

Friday, October 24, 2014

Norman Douglas

"The pine stays green in winter... wisdom in hardship." - Norman Douglas

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Marilyn French

"Nature is inside art as its content, not outside as its model." - Marilyn French

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

George Washington Carver

"Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise." - George Washington Carver

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

"Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves." - Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Monday, October 20, 2014

Helen Keller

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow." - Helen Keller

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Helen Hunt Jackson

"I know the lands are lit, with all the autumn blaze of Goldenrod." - Helen Hunt Jackson

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Elizabeth Bowen

"Autumn arrives in early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day." - Elizabeth Bowen

Friday, October 17, 2014

Edna Ferber

"Big doesn't necessarily mean better. Sunflowers aren't better than violets." - Edna Ferber

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Carl Sagan

"The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent." - Carl Sagan

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Bette Davis

"Oh, don't let's ask for the moon. We've already got the stars." - Bette Davis

Jim - In Loving Memory


Jim - In Loving Memory


Our family suffered the saddest event we've had to date, the loss of Abe's dad.




Jim, aka Popo, passed away on the 24th September. He had been admitted to hospital for what was thought to be bacterial meningitis, and went on to have various other complications, including pneumonia and myopathy.


[flickr set=72157647217853839 photo=6 shift=9]


He was in hospital for several weeks. He would be getting better one day, then worse, then better again. It was an extremely emotional and difficult time for the whole family.


At the end, he was moved to a hospice room and the family was with him until he fell asleep. The moment he passed it started to POUR with rain, with some of the longest and loudest thunder claps I have ever heard. When Leo was told what had happened, his first comment was "Did it happen when it started to rain?".


Family and friends gathered at Vickie's house in the days that followed. The loss is felt deeply by everyone, and we were really glad we could be with Vickie for a while afterwards.


Popo adored, truly adored, all his grandkids, and his greatest joy was making them laugh and happy. I am grateful for all the memories they have of him, but wish with all my heart there could be more.


You'll be missed, Jim.







Jim - In Loving Memory

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

A. R. Ammons

"In nature there are few sharp lines." - A. R. Ammons

Monday, October 13, 2014

Alfred Austin

"Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are." - Alfred Austin

Sunday, October 12, 2014

C. S. Lewis

"Miracles do not, in fact, break the laws of nature." - C. S. Lewis

Saturday, October 11, 2014

E. F. Schumacher

"Eagles come in all shapes and sizes, but you will recognize them chiefly by their attitudes." - E. F. Schumacher

Friday, October 10, 2014

Henry David Thoreau

"The bluebird carries the sky on his back." - Henry David Thoreau

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Nature knows no pause in progress and development, and attaches her curse on all inaction." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Marcus Tullius Cicero

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Maya Angelou

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." - Maya Angelou

Monday, October 6, 2014

R. Buckminster Fuller

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." - R. Buckminster Fuller

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Samuel Johnson

"No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of spring." - Samuel Johnson

Friday, October 3, 2014

Theodore Roethke

"Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley." - Theodore Roethke

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

William Hazlitt

"We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts." - William Hazlitt

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Edward Young

"Read nature; nature is a friend to truth." - Edward Young

Monday, September 29, 2014

Thomas Hood

"I saw old Autumn in the misty morn stand shadowless like silence, listening to silence." - Thomas Hood

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Gustave Flaubert

"I believe that if one always looked at the skies, one would end up with wings." - Gustave Flaubert

Saturday, September 27, 2014

John Donne

"No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face." - John Donne

Friday, September 26, 2014

Benjamin Disraeli

"Nature, like man, sometimes weeps from gladness." - Benjamin Disraeli

Thursday, September 25, 2014

William Allingham

"Autumn's the mellow time." - William Allingham

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Bodhidharma

"Our nature is the mind. And the mind is our nature." - Bodhidharma

Monday, September 22, 2014

Alan Hovhaness

"I've always regarded nature as the clothing of God." - Alan Hovhaness

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Hosea Ballou

"Disease is the retribution of outraged Nature." - Hosea Ballou

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Georg Trakl

"I drank the silence of God from a spring in the woods." - Georg Trakl

Friday, September 19, 2014

Ellsworth Huntington

"America forms the longest and straightest bone in the earth's skeleton." - Ellsworth Huntington

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Claude Monet

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." - Claude Monet

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Frank Lloyd Wright

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you." - Frank Lloyd Wright

Monday, September 15, 2014

Francis Bacon

"Nature is often hidden, sometimes overcome, seldom extinguished." - Francis Bacon

September '14

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Joseph Joubert

"When you go in search of honey you must expect to be stung by bees." - Joseph Joubert

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Henry Ward Beecher

"The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy." - Henry Ward Beecher

Friday, September 12, 2014

Zora Neale Hurston

"The man who interprets Nature is always held in great honor." - Zora Neale Hurston

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Aristotle

"Nature does nothing in vain." - Aristotle

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

W. H. Auden

"'Healing,' Papa would tell me, 'is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing nature.'" - W. H. Auden

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Plautus

"The day, water, sun, moon, night - I do not have to purchase these things with money." - Plautus

Monday, September 8, 2014

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

"Mere goodness can achieve little against the power of nature." - Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Alfred Lord Tennyson

"And out of darkness came the hands that reach thro' nature, moulding men." - Alfred Lord Tennyson

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Isaac Bashevis Singer

"What nature delivers to us is never stale. Because what nature creates has eternity in it." - Isaac Bashevis Singer

Friday, September 5, 2014

Archibald Alexander

"Nature never makes any blunders, when she makes a fool she means it." - Archibald Alexander

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Charles Baudelaire

"Nature... is nothing but the inner voice of self-interest." - Charles Baudelaire

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Nicolaus Copernicus

"Of all things visible, the highest is the heaven of the fixed stars." - Nicolaus Copernicus

Monday, September 1, 2014

Ken Kesey

"There's something about taking a plow and breaking new ground. It gives you energy." - Ken Kesey

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Edward Fitzgerald

"The Wine of Life keeps oozing drop by drop, The Leaves of Life keep falling one by one." - Edward Fitzgerald

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Rabindranath Tagore

"Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven." - Rabindranath Tagore

Friday, August 29, 2014

Khalil Gibran

"If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees." - Khalil Gibran

Town House

Thursday, August 28, 2014

John Keats

"The poetry of the earth is never dead." - John Keats

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

John Burroughs

"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order." - John Burroughs

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

E. O. Wilson

"When you have seen one ant, one bird, one tree, you have not seen them all." - E. O. Wilson

Monday, August 25, 2014

Toni Morrison

"All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was." - Toni Morrison

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Everything in Nature contains all the powers of Nature. Everything is made of one hidden stuff." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

First day at school


First day at school


Back to school. Leo's now in primary school and Nicky in preschool.




I was a little nervous about Leo going into "big" school, but he wasn't at all. He was super excited and ended up having a great day, of course. He's pretty good at reading and math now, so he breezed through the work side of things, but was still very proud of himself. And he loved playing soccer and hide'n'seek with everyone in break time. He also really liked eating lunch in the cafeteria with the other kids, which is cool, as he doesn't get out until 3, so will no longer be lunching with the rest of the family. After a long day, the two pages of homework were pretty tiring, but he got it done, with a little break in between. Needless to say, he slept very well last night and was much harder to wake up this morning!


Nicky was also thrilled to be starting preschool, but unfortunately something came up and the teacher won't be there until Wednesday. He was disappointed at first, but got over it pretty quickly, especially as he got to use his new colors and such at home. He's been pretending to go to school all day (puts on his bag, gives us a kiss and leaves, then comes back saying he was a good boy!).


It's all kind of a change of pace for us, but we should get used to it pretty quickly.


On a side note, I'm sorry I haven't done a blog in a while. It's been raining almost every single day (finally) and we've gotten little accomplished outside. We've played a lot of games with the kids, as well as getting into some long overdue computer work. We have also been planting seeds and things like prickly pears, as well as preserving the bounty of our thriving garden.


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First day at school

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Ruth St. Denis

"We have the capacity to receive messages from the stars and the songs of the night winds." - Ruth St. Denis

Friday, August 22, 2014

Stephen Gardiner

"Land is the secure ground of home, the sea is like life, the outside, the unknown." - Stephen Gardiner

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Roy Rogers

"What's a butterfly garden without butterflies?" - Roy Rogers

First day at school


First day at school


Back to school. Leo's now in primary school and Nicky in preschool.




I was a little nervous about Leo going into "big" school, but he wasn't at all. He was super excited and ended up having a great day, of course. He's pretty good at reading and math now, so he breezed through the work side of things, but was still very proud of himself. And he loved playing soccer and hide'n'seek with everyone in break time. He also really liked eating lunch in the cafeteria with the other kids, which is cool, as he doesn't get out until 3, so will no longer be lunching with the rest of the family. After a long day, the two pages of homework were pretty tiring, but he got it done, with a little break in between. Needless to say, he slept very well last night and was much harder to wake up this morning!


Nicky was also thrilled to be starting preschool, but unfortunately something came up and the teacher won't be there until Wednesday. He was disappointed at first, but got over it pretty quickly, especially as he got to use his new colors and such at home. He's been pretending to go to school all day (puts on his bag, gives us a kiss and leaves, then comes back saying he was a good boy!).


It's all kind of a change of pace for us, but we should get used to it pretty quickly.


On a side note, I'm sorry I haven't done a blog in a while. It's been raining almost every single day (finally) and we've gotten little accomplished outside. We've played a lot of games with the kids, as well as getting into some long overdue computer work. We have also been planting seeds and things like prickly pears, as well as preserving the bounty of our thriving garden.


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First day at school

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Mountains are earth's undecaying monuments." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Diogenes

"The sun, too, shines into cesspools and is not polluted." - Diogenes

First day at school


First day at school


Back to school. Leo's now in primary school and Nicky in preschool.




I was a little nervous about Leo going into "big" school, but he wasn't at all. He was super excited and ended up having a great day, of course. He's pretty good at reading and math now, so he breezed through the work side of things, but was still very proud of himself. And he loved playing soccer and hide'n'seek with everyone in break time. He also really liked eating lunch in the cafeteria with the other kids, which is cool, as he doesn't get out until 3, so will no longer be lunching with the rest of the family. After a long day, the two pages of homework were pretty tiring, but he got it done, with a little break in between. Needless to say, he slept very well last night and was much harder to wake up this morning!


Nicky was also thrilled to be starting preschool, but unfortunately something came up and the teacher won't be there until Wednesday. He was disappointed at first, but got over it pretty quickly, especially as he got to use his new colors and such at home. He's been pretending to go to school all day (puts on his bag, gives us a kiss and leaves, then comes back saying he was a good boy!).


It's all kind of a change of pace for us, but we should get used to it pretty quickly.


On a side note, I'm sorry I haven't done a blog in a while. It's been raining almost every single day (finally) and we've gotten little accomplished outside. We've played a lot of games with the kids, as well as getting into some long overdue computer work. We have also been planting seeds and things like prickly pears, as well as preserving the bounty of our thriving garden.


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First day at school

Monday, August 18, 2014

John Ford

"I am... a mushroom; On whom the dew of heaven drops now and then." - John Ford

Sunday, August 17, 2014

John Muir

"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Robert Frost

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost

Friday, August 15, 2014

H. G. Wells

"Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative." - H. G. Wells

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Vladimir Nabokov

"The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea." - Vladimir Nabokov

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Oliver Cromwell

"Nature can do more than physicians." - Oliver Cromwell

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Heraclitus

"Nature is wont to hide herself." - Heraclitus

Monday, August 11, 2014

Voltaire

"The progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error." - Voltaire

August '14

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Euripides

"There is the sky, which is all men's together." - Euripides

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Orison Swett Marden

"The Universe is one great kindergarten for man. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson." - Orison Swett Marden

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Charles Lindbergh

"If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes." - Charles Lindbergh

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Margaret Mead

"We won't have a society if we destroy the environment." - Margaret Mead

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Jacques Yves Cousteau

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Yves Cousteau

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Russell Baker

"Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it." - Russell Baker

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Lord Byron

"I love not man the less, but Nature more." - Lord Byron

Friday, August 1, 2014

Emma Goldman

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck." - Emma Goldman

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Edward Gibbon

"The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators." - Edward Gibbon

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Jane Austen

"To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment." - Jane Austen

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Khalil Gibran

"Sadness is but a wall between two gardens." - Khalil Gibran

Monday, July 28, 2014

Alfred Austin

"Tears are the summer showers to the soul." - Alfred Austin

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Mahatma Gandhi

"The good man is the friend of all living things." - Mahatma Gandhi

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Josiah Gilbert Holland

"Nature is the master of talents; genius is the master of nature." - Josiah Gilbert Holland

Friday, July 25, 2014

Luigi Pirandello

"Nature uses human imagination to lift her work of creation to even higher levels." - Luigi Pirandello

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Michael Pollan

"A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule." - Michael Pollan

Rabbit Sausage


Rabbit Sausage


I spent the day grinding up rabbit meat to give me a few months of minced meat.




Minced meat is one of those things that I love to have around. From one type of meat, you can produce so many different meals. The fact that we eat rabbit almost all the time (with an occasional pork interlude) means that variety of recipes is important. There are so many delicious rabbit recipes, but the ones with ground meat are often quickest and easiest.


So, when Abe butchered this week, I spent the rest of the day cutting up and mincing the whole lot (9 rabbits). I now have 9 bags of minced meat, each about 1.5 lbs. Should last a while.


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Rabbit Sausage

Tree Nursery


Tree Nursery


We have some trees coming up from seeds.




In preparation for future orchard terraces, we have been starting some trees from seed. There are various techniques to help that process along, like nicking the seed cover or putting them in almost boiling water or acid for a while to break the seed cover. We've also been taking cuttings from some trees and starting them that way. All in all, we have been experiencing a pretty good amount of success and had a mini orchard growing.


[flickr set=72157640991263495 photo=6 shift=72]


Unfortunately, we had a minor tragedy occur. We had the nursery set up on a greenhouse shelf unit that we won in an Instructables contest. The shelf is great and has served us well for trees, vegetables, etc. A couple of weeks ago, however, we had a strong wind come up from a very unusual direction (the shelf is protected from all our usual winds) and blew the whole thing down. We lost everything and nearly broke Abe's heart.


But, we started over and now have several Honey Locusts and Mimosas (both nitrogen fixers, which are so important to have in an orchard) coming up. We also have lots of cuttings started again in some Willow tea (for the rooting hormone).


On a similar subject, we have set up an irrigation system for around the barn and corral. We want to grow trees that will provide shade and food for the animals. So far, we have a couple of mulberries and mesquite planted, along with a Honeysuckle vine. We have had to put protection around the ones that are small, as the chickens and guineas are already after them!


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Tree Nursery

Tent House


Tent House


The north storage room is finally stuccoed and has already been taken over.




I started stuccoing the outside of the north storage right after finishing the inside (after the room was finished). However, something more important came up and I had to stop doing it to deal with that. Because the wall is always shaded, it never seemed important enough to go to the top of the list. And somehow, I never got back around to it.


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So, this past week, the guys that come up and help out when we need them finished off the job. It's now stuccoed and painted and all looks great. In fact, it looks good enough to be a house for some little creatures...


Leo and Nicky have been suggesting that it's time that they get their own house. I told them to look around and find a good site and we would figure something out. They decided on the spot in between the buttresses of the north storage room. Perfect.


The other day, we strung up a few old tent pieces and move in some "furniture" from the junkyard. They have a bed, TV, fridge, chair, table. They head off to their house in the morning and come back to the "shop" or "restaurant" for food or snacks. It's still very new to them, so I'm sure the novelty will wear off after a while, but for the moment our house is extremely peaceful.


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Tent House

Graduation


Graduation


We had a wonderful graduation party for Leo and his friends.




A traditional graduation isn't always fun or meaningful for 6 year olds (or their moms?!), so instead we decided to just throw a party. We all got together, had food and cake, a bouncy castle, goodie bags and a gift for the graduating class (all 5 of them). It was a really fun day.


[flickr set=72157645735665143 photo=6 shift=6]


The kids, of course, had a blast. We've been on vacation, so it was nice for them just to all play together. Add to that a giant, inflatable, bouncy wonder, and the day is pretty much guaranteed to go well. All of them bounced from beginning to end, stopping only when forced to come in for food and presents.


[flickr set=72157645735665143 photo=14683335202 size=small align=right hspace=10 vspace=10]


Leo and the other 4 going into primary school each got a backpack with school supplies in it, ready for the new school year. Then there were goody bags for all the kids.


We also gave a gift and speech to the teacher, who won't be coming back next year. It's a shame to be losing her in the class room, especially as Nicky really liked her. However, she's still all of our neighbor, so won't be losing her company.


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Graduation

Baby birds


Baby birds


We have had some guineas and quail born ,and it seems like our whole property is chirping.




With wild baby birds in almost every tree and bush, it was hard to tell that the latest chirp came from our own birds. In fact it was Leo that first saw the baby quail. He noticed one of the females off her nest and acting peculiar (he checks on all the nests several times a day). When he went up to her, he saw two little yellow specks following her around. They are adorable.


[flickr set=72157635204510436 photo=14676533073 size=small align=right hspace=10 vspace=10]


Apparently, it's a big deal that our quail are hatching babies. It seems that the broodiness has been almost completely bred out of quail, and just about every domestic quail out there is hatched in an incubator. So, the fact that three of our females have nests, one of which has already had a couple of the eggs hatch, seems to be a major breakthrough. They never showed signs of this when we had them in a cage, but as soon as we put them in the garden, with lots of space and cover, they all went broody. Awesome.


[flickr set=72157627532956200 photo=14496937089 size=small align=right hspace=10 vspace=10]


As for the guineas, we had eggs under two ducks and now a guinea is also setting. One of the ducks was due and when Abe checked on her, there was a dead baby guinea in the nest. We're not sure if she stepped on him by mistake or whether she saw that it wasn't a duck and intentionally kicked out the cuckoo. Whatever happened, we removed all the eggs and set them up in a home-made incubator in the power house. We put bottles of hot water inside an ice-chest with a tray of eggs in the center. We then added a little 12 volt heater and a thermostat. We had three hatch, but no more followed. So we candled the rest, and none of them had anything in them (we were taking them out of a guinea nest we'd found while it was super hot, so maybe they cooked a little too much before we got them). Still, we are very happy with our three babies, who are all doing great. There are more due on Saturday.


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Baby birds

First Honey


First Honey


Abe and Leo opened up the bees again yesterday.




I thought Leo might be scared after getting stung last time, but he did great. He was a little nervous, but his excitement easily overcame the fear. He did exactly what Abe told him to, passed his dad different tools and even operated the smoker for most of it. Abe did occasionally have to tell him to get out of the way, as he spent most of the time with his head inside the hive!


[flickr set=72157623795483634 photo=6 shift=21]


So how is our new hive doing? Extremely well. They have now filled half of the barrel hive (see Honey Cow howto). They have a lot of brood and a decent amount of honey. We didn't rob the honey as the rain season hasn't really kicked off yet, which means the wild flowers haven't started. However, we did take just a little bit, so that we could all have a taste - delicious, dark, oak and acacia blossom.


[flickr set=72157623795483634 photo=14496954919 size=small align=right hspace=10 vspace=10]


The bees remained super calm throughout the whole thing. Most of them were out working, as they did it in the middle of the day. When Abe started getting into the brood comb, the bees started to hum a pretty obvious warning, but said no more when he left their babies alone.


All in all a great check-up. So pleased to see the hive is strong and healthy.


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First Honey

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Arthur Young

"God sleeps in the minerals, awakens in plants, walks in animals, and thinks in man." - Arthur Young

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Robert Smithson

"Nature is never finished." - Robert Smithson

Monday, July 21, 2014

Bhumibol Adulyadej

"Nature is something outside our body, but the mind is within us." - Bhumibol Adulyadej

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Judy Garland

"Behind every cloud is another cloud." - Judy Garland

Rabbit Sausage


Rabbit Sausage


I spent the day grinding up rabbit meat to give me a few months of minced meat.




Minced meat is one of those things that I love to have around. From one type of meat, you can produce so many different meals. The fact that we eat rabbit almost all the time (with an occasional pork interlude) means that variety of recipes is important. There are so many delicious rabbit recipes, but the ones with ground meat are often quickest and easiest.


So, when Abe butchered this week, I spent the rest of the day cutting up and mincing the whole lot (9 rabbits). I now have 9 bags of minced meat, each about 1.5 lbs. Should last a while.


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Rabbit Sausage

Saturday, July 19, 2014

John Dryden

"Self-defence is Nature's eldest law." - John Dryden

Tree Nursery


Tree Nursery


We have some trees coming up from seeds.




In preparation for future orchard terraces, we have been starting some trees from seed. There are various techniques to help that process along, like nicking the seed cover or putting them in almost boiling water or acid for a while to break the seed cover. We've also been taking cuttings from some trees and starting them that way. All in all, we have been experiencing a pretty good amount of success and had a mini orchard growing.


[flickr set=72157640991263495 photo=6 shift=72]


Unfortunately, we had a minor tragedy occur. We had the nursery set up on a greenhouse shelf unit that we won in an Instructables contest. The shelf is great and has served us well for trees, vegetables, etc. A couple of weeks ago, however, we had a strong wind come up from a very unusual direction (the shelf is protected from all our usual winds) and blew the whole thing down. We lost everything and nearly broke Abe's heart.


But, we started over and now have several Honey Locusts and Mimosas (both nitrogen fixers, which are so important to have in an orchard) coming up. We also have lots of cuttings started again in some Willow tea (for the rooting hormone).


On a similar subject, we have set up an irrigation system for around the barn and corral. We want to grow trees that will provide shade and food for the animals. So far, we have a couple of mulberries and mesquite planted, along with a Honeysuckle vine. We have had to put protection around the ones that are small, as the chickens and guineas are already after them!


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Tree Nursery

Friday, July 18, 2014

Walt Disney

"You can't just let nature run wild." - Walt Disney

Tent House


Tent House


The north storage room is finally stuccoed and has already been taken over.




I started stuccoing the outside of the north storage right after finishing the inside (after the room was finished). However, something more important came up and I had to stop doing it to deal with that. Because the wall is always shaded, it never seemed important enough to go to the top of the list. And somehow, I never got back around to it.


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So, this past week, the guys that come up and help out when we need them finished off the job. It's now stuccoed and painted and all looks great. In fact, it looks good enough to be a house for some little creatures...


Leo and Nicky have been suggesting that it's time that they get their own house. I told them to look around and find a good site and we would figure something out. They decided on the spot in between the buttresses of the north storage room. Perfect.


The other day, we strung up a few old tent pieces and move in some "furniture" from the junkyard. They have a bed, TV, fridge, chair, table. They head off to their house in the morning and come back to the "shop" or "restaurant" for food or snacks. It's still very new to them, so I'm sure the novelty will wear off after a while, but for the moment our house is extremely peaceful.


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Tent House

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