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/

Monday, November 30, 2015

Puppies

puppies

We dropped the ball on Sophie's (our female dog) contraceptive. Somehow we miscalculated the date and she came into heat without us getting her another shot. Anyway, as soon as we realized what we'd done, we put her in one of the barn rooms, hoping that she may have avoided being bred. You may have gathered by the title of this post that we were wrong!

The other day, she disappeared. Given that our male, Sam, was still around (they often go off hiking together) and that it was around the due date, we assumed that it was her time. The only problem was that we couldn't find her anywhere, and it happened to be the one day in months that it was pouring with rain. Soaking wet and chilly, we gave up looking.

All of a sudden she came to the front door, birthed a puppy on the doorstep and then took off. I wrapped the pup in a blanket and gave it to the boys to keep warm and then went looking for her again. I eventually found her and brought her into the house with her pup, and set her up on a pile of old sheets. She instantly relaxed and went on to have a total of 9 puppies. They are all camped out in the entranceway room (as are the boys most of the time), and seem to be happy and healthy. Sophie is almost excessively attentive, although she does occasionally go outside, even if just for a little bit.

Once this litter is weaned, we will get her spayed. It was always our intention to let her breed once with Sam (although ideally we would have wanted her to be closer to 2 years old than to 1). Our other dog, Salsa, came from a shelter and was fixed before being released, and it always seemed a shame that she never got to be a mother. In the meantime, we get to enjoy these warm and fuzzy little bundles of joy!

The post Puppies appeared first on VelaCreations.



Puppies

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Raising Chicks - How to Guide

Raising Chicks - How to Guide

Can Killer Bees Save America? - With scientists unable to solve the great honeybee die-out, the search for alternate pollinators is on—and killer bees are proving the most resilient, and terrifying, of the bunch.

Can Killer Bees Save America? - With scientists unable to solve the great honeybee die-out, the search for alternate pollinators is on—and killer bees are proving the most resilient, and terrifying, of the bunch.

How to dry food: A beginners guide

How to dry food: A beginners guide

5 Reasons You Should Seriously Consider Raising Chickens

5 Reasons You Should Seriously Consider Raising Chickens

Five Ways to Start Eating Insects

Five Ways to Start Eating Insects

Resettled refugees grow food as part of the International Rescue Committee’s New Roots Program.

Resettled refugees grow food as part of the International Rescue Committee’s New Roots Program.

DIY hypertufa projec


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Non-invasive Treatme


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Learning how to grow


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How to make an immun


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Mini root cellar to


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Fermented Chicken Fe


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Gleaning can be part


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home russian heater


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Picture of How to be


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Friday, November 27, 2015

Hal Borland

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

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

"Truth makes on the ocean of nature no one track of light; every eye, looking on, finds its own." - Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Plautus

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

Monday, November 23, 2015

Robert Browning

"Autumn wins you best by this its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay." - Robert Browning

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Leonardo da Vinci

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

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Alfred Austin

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

24 Lost Homestead Su


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Earth Tubes passive


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Top Bar Beehive Expl


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What Is Papercrete?


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Disco (I have one an


Disco (I have one an - http://ift.tt/1QAxjp2

Build a solar heater


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Achorn Farm: How to


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This is a MUST READ


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Tanning Rabbit Pelts


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Cheap Paving For You


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Permaculture Pond -


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Chicken nipples are


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gabion retaining wal


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how sweet potato sli


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gabion stone wall


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If you have a root c


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Offgrid Food - Backyard Chickens - Getting Started 4 Step Plan

Offgrid Food - Backyard Chickens - Getting Started 4 Step Plan

Should I Swale That?

Should I Swale That?

A documentary trying to get the message out about entomophagy and sustainable food production! [Kickstarter]

A documentary trying to get the message out about entomophagy and sustainable food production! [Kickstarter]

Friday, November 20, 2015

Before & After Scans after 5 years.



Before & After Scans after 5 years.

Taken from one of the high points of the Al Baydha Project's demonstration site, this shows the growth of the project's agroforestry system. Two years were spent on constructing earthworks up in the mountains, and the first trees were planted in early 2012. The earthworks will catch and store up to 20,000 cubic meters in the earth, while the rate of irrigation is approximately 500 cubic meters per month. In summer of 2015, enough water was caught to irrigate the system for over 4 years. Thus if it rains within 4 years, the system will be passively increasing the amount of water in the water table and shallow aquifers.

More: VelaCreations.com

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Robert Anton Wilson

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

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Monday, November 16, 2015

Norman Douglas

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

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Bette Davis

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

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Omar N. Bradley

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

A Food is Free laneway that allows people to drop off excess produce for people to take for free

A Food is Free laneway that allows people to drop off excess produce for people to take for free

Good quote from Joel Salatin

Good quote from Joel Salatin

Upcycle: Homemade Firestarters

Upcycle: Homemade Firestarters

I hope they like a little crunch in their pie... (Made with cricket flour and poked with mealworms)

I hope they like a little crunch in their pie... (Made with cricket flour and poked with mealworms)

Top 5 Best Egg Laying Chickens For Beginners

Top 5 Best Egg Laying Chickens For Beginners

KCMO growing 100,000 lbs in a food desert

KCMO growing 100,000 lbs in a food desert

Farmers Raise Flies to Feed Livestock

Farmers Raise Flies to Feed Livestock

Friday, November 13, 2015

Henry Fielding

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

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Saint Teresa of Avila

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

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

David Icke

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

Monday, November 9, 2015

Wallace Stevens

"In the world of words, the imagination is one of the forces of nature." - Wallace Stevens

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Raising Duck vs. Chi


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Uses for rabbit on a


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It's Mushroom season


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Preserving Prickly P


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Jesse & Alyssa start


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Hometead Waterworks,


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How to Prepare for G


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Acorns for chicken f


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I love cactus fruit,


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Apple Pie Moonshine


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Very good info on wh


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Easy Homestead Bucke


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Homesteading Resourc


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How To Grow Blackber


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Best Animals for the


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5 Reasons to Want Du


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Saturday, November 7, 2015

Hippocrates

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

Friday, November 6, 2015

Henry Ward Beecher

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

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Carl Sagan

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

Duck-plucking

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duckplucking1

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Before going on our Halloween trip, we had a bunch of things to catch up on around the place, like cleaning out the grey water filter, mulching the orchard, butchering 17 rabbits, transplanting more little trees for our nursery, butchering the young Muscovy ducks, and more.

We had been putting off the whole duck thing, because we've been so busy and were dreading the plucking process. However, we plucked just two of them a couple of weeks ago and found it wasn't nearly as big a deal as we'd thought it would be. So, we set aside a whole day to do the remaining 12, and it all went smoothly.

We had a friend of ours helping, as I had to go into the kitchen to start processing the meat after we'd done 4 or 5, and the extra set of hands made a big difference.

We set up a big vat of hot water (about 165 degrees) over a fire, and added some dish soap and salt (these help cut through the waterproofing oils of duck feathers and make them come out easier). We would then let the duck bleed out and add it to the water for a couple of minutes, dunking it up and down in the water.

The plucking itself was pretty easy, except for a few who had a lot of pin feathers. And neither the gutting part nor the removal of the oil glands were a problem.

In the kitchen, I kept a few whole for roasting, but most of them I parted out into breasts, legs and wings. I also put several pounds of meat through the grinder. We are still experimenting with different forms of cooking this delicious meat, and all have turned out wonderful. The only problem we've encountered so far was a couple of older ones were a little tough, but soaking them in orange or pineapple juice takes care of that. And now that we know it's not too hard, we will be butchering them a little younger.

Tonight's dinner is going to be a variation of Shepherds pie, with duck meat and mashed sweet potatoes. Can't wait!

We had thought we were on top of the duck population, but this past week has seen another 13 ducklings born! Good job we just bought ourselves a plucker, because it seems like the ducks are now in full production, and we've added 3 more ducks and one drake to our breeding stock.

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Duck-plucking

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