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/

Saturday, February 28, 2015

William C. Bryant

"The groves were God's first temples." - William C. Bryant

Friday, February 27, 2015

William Wordsworth

"The flower that smells the sweetest is shy and lowly." - William Wordsworth

Cheap and Easy Solar Heater



Cheap and Easy Solar Heater - Converting electricity into heat is one of the most inefficient uses of energy. If you’re not convinced, look at the power usage of electric appliances like microwaves, space heaters, water heaters, ovens, or coffee pots. The difference can be seen between your electric bill from a cold month, when ...

By: velacreations



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Thursday, February 26, 2015

Virgil

"As the twig is bent the tree inclines." - Virgil

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Pierre Bonnard

"Art will never be able to exist without nature." - Pierre Bonnard

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Elbert Hubbard

"The supernatural is the natural not yet understood." - Elbert Hubbard

Monday, February 23, 2015

Khalil Gibran

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." - Khalil Gibran

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Henry David Thoreau

"It appears to be a law that you cannot have a deep sympathy with both man and nature." - Henry David Thoreau

Winter Chicks


chicks


We couldn’t believe it when one of our hens started setting in winter, but we let her do it anyway. We moved her and the eggs into one of the barn stalls, where she would be warmer and away from other poultry trying to lay under her. 6 of the eggs hatched and they’re all doing great. The hen is super tame, so the boys are able to hang out with the chicks without upsetting her.


chickEatingLeo To Leo’s great delight and amusement, one of the chicks started looking for food inside his mouth when he picked one up to kiss. He had just eaten and there must have been something stuck on his teeth that the chick fancied. Both boys were rolling around laughing. Since then, we have started to take them a handful of mealworms each day from our little worm farm. Letting the kids feed the chicks worms out of their hands seems like a much more appropriate feeding method.


Of course, they also insist on taking some mealworms to the ducks as well, who waddle to the gate with surprising speed as soon as they see the kids coming. It won’t be long before they start setting too.


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Winter Chicks

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Malcolm de Chazal

"The flower in the vase smiles, but no longer laughs." - Malcolm de Chazal

Friday, February 20, 2015

Edmund Burke

"We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature." - Edmund Burke

New Site


newsite


For the last month the blog has been out of action. We’ve been working hard to revamp the site, and I didn’t want to keep blogging while we were migrating content. But now we’re back, and I’ll try to catch up with what’s been happening (besides computer work) over the next few days.


In the meantime, go check out the site. It has a new design, new and reworked information, and a bunch more photos. We even have the comments feature re-enabled in the blog.


We hope you like it.


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New Site

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Andre Norton

"There's no night without stars." - Andre Norton

Monday, February 16, 2015

D. H. Lawrence

"The fairest thing in nature, a flower, still has its roots in earth and manure." - D. H. Lawrence

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Edwin Way Teale

"For the mind disturbed, the still beauty of dawn is nature's finest balm." - Edwin Way Teale

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Friedrich Schiller

"Nothing leads to good that is not natural." - Friedrich Schiller

Friday, February 13, 2015

Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel

"He who does not become familiar with nature through love will never know her." - Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel

rabbits'15

chickens'15

feb'15

Featured

Squash Candy



Squash Candy - This simple, delicious and healthy candy is the answer to two challenges that our family faces. The first is that both of our kids, just turned 2 and 5, LOVE all things sweet. They get sugar candy as a treat every once in a while, but we hate to give them too much. This squash candy is a great comp...

By: velacreations



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Thursday, February 12, 2015

Lucy Maud Montgomery

"Twilight drops her curtain down, and pins it with a star." - Lucy Maud Montgomery

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Philip James Bailey

"Simplicity is natures first step, and the last of art." - Philip James Bailey

Fur and Leather Fanny Pack



Fur and Leather Fanny Pack - I’ve been wanting to make a fanny pack for a while now, something that gives me easy access to coins and notes on market day. So, the other day I set to it and had it finished in less than a day.It has rabbit fur exterior, leather bottom and straps, and fabric interior. There’s a zippered pocket for...

By: velacreations



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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Samuel Daniel

"Custom, that is before all law; Nature, that is above all art." - Samuel Daniel

Monday, February 9, 2015

William Cowper

"Nature is a good name for an effect whose cause is God." - William Cowper

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Anatole France

"Nature has no principles. She makes no distinction between good and evil." - Anatole France

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Blaise Pascal

"Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere." - Blaise Pascal

Friday, February 6, 2015

Edna St. Vincent Millay

"God, I can push the grass apart and lay my finger on Thy heart." - Edna St. Vincent Millay

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Emily Dickinson

"How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!" - Emily Dickinson

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

James Montgomery

"Blue thou art, intensely blue; Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue?" - James Montgomery

Monday, February 2, 2015

Orison Swett Marden

"It is like the seed put in the soil - the more one sows, the greater the harvest." - Orison Swett Marden

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Richard Jefferies

"This sunlight linked me through the ages to that past consciousness." - Richard Jefferies

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