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, November 30, 2016

Plautus

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

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Thomas Hood

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

Monday, November 28, 2016

Bette Davis

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

Sunday, November 27, 2016

David Icke

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

Friday, November 25, 2016

Francis Bacon

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

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Albert Einstein

"Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift." - Albert Einstein

How Chocolate Could Save the Peruvian Amazon

How Chocolate Could Save the Peruvian Amazon

Alleycropping & Silvopasture - Transitioning to Restoration Agriculture with Mark Shepard

Alleycropping & Silvopasture - Transitioning to Restoration Agriculture with Mark Shepard

DIY Beginner Aquaponics Projects

DIY Beginner Aquaponics Projects

We Make Cream Honey

We Make Cream Honey

Pasture Raised Pork For only $ 3.78 lb! Find out how we did it and more. What are your favorite cuts when getting your pigs butchered? Have you ever tried smoke jowls?

Pasture Raised Pork For only $ 3.78 lb! Find out how we did it and more. What are your favorite cuts when getting your pigs butchered? Have you ever tried smoke jowls?

Shubhendu Sharma is reforesting the world, one small patch at a time

Shubhendu Sharma is reforesting the world, one small patch at a time

PVC greenhouse in a day DIY

PVC greenhouse in a day DIY

Ecology of planted Aquarium PDF

Is there any link or website that i could find this book for free Heard its a great one but can't spend that much money to buy

">Ecology of planted Aquarium PDF

Can smart technology help cities become more sustainable?

Can smart technology help cities become more sustainable?

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Henry Fielding

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

Monday, November 21, 2016

Saint Teresa of Avila

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

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Jonathan Swift

"Words are but wind; and learning is nothing but words; ergo, learning is nothing but wind." - Jonathan Swift

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Margaret Mead

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

Stop messing with the bees, latest science says: consider the sound principles of natural beekeeping

Stop messing with the bees, latest science says: consider the sound principles of natural beekeeping

How to Train a Bumblebee: Scientists Study Insect Intelligence | National Geographic

How to Train a Bumblebee: Scientists Study Insect Intelligence | National Geographic

DIY Backyard Beekeeping: A Guide for Beginners

DIY Backyard Beekeeping: A Guide for Beginners

Female Participation in Hunting Rises Over 80% in 10 Years

Female Participation in Hunting Rises Over 80% in 10 Years

Slaughtering Chickens With A Simple Cheap Setup

Slaughtering Chickens With A Simple Cheap Setup

My method for batch cooking pumpkins, for recipe-ready purée

My method for batch cooking pumpkins, for recipe-ready purée

Permaculture: The Future of Self-Sufficient, Community-Based Living

Permaculture: The Future of Self-Sufficient, Community-Based Living

A Quick How-To for Rendering Your Own Lard, with photos

A Quick How-To for Rendering Your Own Lard, with photos

All Nitrogen Fixers Are Not Created Equal

All Nitrogen Fixers Are Not Created Equal

Build a $300 underground greenhouse for year-round gardening (Video)

Build a $300 underground greenhouse for year-round gardening (Video)

Friday, November 18, 2016

Novalis

"Nature is a petrified magic city." - Novalis

Mini-greenhouse

greenhouse1

We have 200 cone-tainers (long, thin, cone-shaped containers in which to start trees and shrubs). Abe keeps them full at all times with a huge array of trees that will survive in our climate without any babying. He then transplants them directly out to pasture, or into bags to grow a little bigger under supervision.

greenhouse3

greenhouse2

The latest set of honey locusts, mimosas, palo verdes, pines, apricots, pomegranates, prickly pears, roses, and chiltepins, should all survive the winter, but Abe figured they would be able to actively grow a little if he built them their own winter house. And that’s what he did.

The small structure is currently full of about 80 bags, almost all of which house at least two companion plants (we have found that planting them out in small groups actually increases the growth rate of all involved). Now that it’s full up, he’s starting on the second such structure.

We eventually plan to build a greenhouse/porch as a more permanent solution to our sapling needs, but this should work great for now.

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Mini-greenhouse

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Isaac Bashevis Singer

"I did not become a vegetarian for my health, I did it for the health of the chickens." - Isaac Bashevis Singer

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Hal Borland

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

Update on kids

kids1

I mentioned in a previous blog that I seem to be taking less and less photos of the boys as they get older, and the same is true for writing about them. It’s obviously not that I love them less now that they’re not babies - quite the opposite in many ways - but I guess the deep need to share their accomplishments fades as the novelty of parenthood wears off. The fact that they constantly amaze, awe, and annoy me now seems so second nature that I have stopped talking about it, but it doesn’t make it any less real.

kids2

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kids3

Leo is now 8 and in third grade. He’s an infinitely curious, observant, and attentive child, who is truly awesome when he isn’t picking on his younger brother. He’s very social, and loves going to school and hanging out with friends. He’s doing great at school, getting an overall average of about 95%, though math is his strongest subject, in which he generally scores 100%. He is also a fluent reader in both English and Spanish (although he’s probably got a wider vocab range in English). He can be fairly combative at times and is naturally inclined to question authority (which is something I usually really admire and encourage, except when it’s my authority that’s being questioned!!!). He has an incredible amount of patience for a young kid, and can spend hours following detailed instructions in order to make something that he’s in to. He’s also getting better and better at looking things up online, and figuring out how to do things without our assistance.

Nicky is five and should still be in kindergarten. However, a series of accidents over the summer vacation led to there being no kindergarten teacher this year, so he is going to Leo’s school. He’s not officially enrolled, but the first grade teacher says she loves having him (her class is very small this year), and he’s actually doing great there. His math skills have always been pretty advanced (mainly due to keeping up with big brother when we play board and card games), and he reads and writes well in both languages. He seems to love being a “big boy”, and playing with all the other kids in break-time. My only concern is that he’s going to be bored stupid when he has to repeat first grade officially. At home, he’s very easy. He’s laid-back and easy to handle. He can entertain himself for hours making things out of clay, drawing, playing with toys, writing books, etc. He also loves looking things up online, but needs a little more help than Leo with spelling things. He continues to be shy with people he doesn’t know, while extremely affectionate and loyal to those that he does.

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kids5

 

kids8Both boys are super into earning money at the moment. They have chores that they have to do for free (like feeding animals, doing dishes, cleaning up, etc.), but we have started to pay them for extra work. Leo is especially useful when assisting us with projects, and he’s generally more into “work” than Nicky. They have now officially taken over the egg business - they feed the poultry, collect and wash the eggs, and sell them, too. They have to pay us half of what they make to pay for feed, but they then split the rest. At the moment, they are saving their cash to buy each other presents for Christmas.

kids9Strangely enough, their latest “fad” is sewing. Vickie bought them a sewing kit to make themselves a teddy bear. This past weekend, we got it all out and I taught them the basics of sewing. Their did a lot of their cat and bear themselves, and when it came time to make them some clothes, they each chose to turn them into superheroes (Batman and Flash). They have both been inseparable from their homemade toys and are looking forward to making more clothes!

It really is amazing how fast they grow. It sometimes feels like the teenage years are only just around the corner, and I’m not sure that I’m looking forward to that. Of course, we still have enough impressionable years left to train them in the skills needed to build their own house - a reasonable solution in case they turn out to be a complete pain in the ass as teenagers!

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Update on kids

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Monday, November 14, 2016

Wallace Stevens

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

Harvest time

harvest

One of the reasons I have blogged so little in the past months is that we’ve been so busy. Come to think of it, I seem to use the “too busy to blog” excuse an awful lot. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and admit to you that I prefer doing things rather than writing about them! I drag my blogging feet for so long that I then have to double time just to catch up. Oh well.

So anyway, now that the rains have stopped and the days are getting shorter, we have been largely occupied with putting aside food for the winter. This is always a semi-sweet time of year. Although it’s wonderful to see the pantry and freezer full to bursting, it’s sad to watch the garden dry up (although we have started a winter garden).

We had apples to can as well as juice for cider. There were all kinds of herbs hanging up inside the house (which are now put up in various containers). Tomatoes continue to produce prolifically, and I seem to be constantly making tomato sauce. There were beans to pick and shuck. Etcetera.
We’ve also been replacing a lot of our seed stores.

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Harvest time

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Theodore Roethke

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

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Sally Ride

"The view of Earth is spectacular." - Sally Ride

Friday, November 11, 2016

Robert Browning

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

Ford Ranger

ranger

We sold our big Ford diesel, which we rarely used, and replaced it with a Ranger. It’s a great truck: very spacious inside, four doors, and four cylinder (so very economic). We used it for the long trip to Abe’s mom, and it was great, very comfortable for all.

The saddest part of getting this truck is that we no longer need our little Toyota pickup. We’ve had it almost as long as we’ve been together, and it has taken us all over the place, both in the States and Mexico. Although it’s probably one of the best vehicles either of us has ever had, it just doesn’t fit the family any more. I used it for the school run each day, and the boys and I would share the only seat, but that arrangement was starting to get pretty cramped.

So now that I use the Ranger for school, we have decided to sell the Toyota. Funnily enough, even though we’ve both agreed that that’s what we want to do, neither one of us has made any attempt to advertise its sale. It seems so disloyal! Who knows, it may still be sitting in its parking spot by the time the kids learn to drive!

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Ford Ranger

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Norman Douglas

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

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Leonardo da Vinci

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

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

John Muir

"There is that in the glance of a flower which may at times control the greatest of creation's braggart lords." - John Muir

Monday, November 7, 2016

Hippocrates

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

Halloween 2016

halloween1

We hadn’t been to Vickie’s since Easter, so it was really good to visit. The kids are always delighted to see family, and of course the candy part of this particular holiday only made it better.

halloween2

halloween3

Leo went as a pirate and Nicky as a ninja. They really love the whole idea of costumes, and the fact that people just randomly hand over candy is still a complete novelty for them. They both came away with a big bag of sweets and chocolates, which will no doubt last a lot less than they should - though it’s not the kids that make the biggest dent ;)

Vickie also took them to Living Desert, a zoo that houses animals native to the region. Even though they’ve been several times now, it’s still always on their “to do” list. Nicky was thrilled to see Maggie out and about. She’s a bear and is one of his favorites, but she’s usually sleeping when they go, so her appearance was much appreciated.

Even though Halloween is technically for kids these days, the adults found time to have some fun too. In fact, we had such a good time that I took almost no photos!! I remember when the kids were young, I took endless amounts of pictures and videos, but with each passing year, I seem to take less. I guess I’ll have to work on that or I’ll wind up with no photos of the child to adult stages!

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Halloween 2016

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Helen Hunt Jackson

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

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Freya Stark

"Curiosity is the one thing invincible in Nature." - Freya Stark

Friday, November 4, 2016

Emma Goldman

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

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Aristotle

"Nature does nothing in vain." - Aristotle

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