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/

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Gustave Flaubert

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

Saturday, January 28, 2017

A surprising solution to global poverty, from one of the wealthiest men in the world.

A surprising solution to global poverty, from one of the wealthiest men in the world.

Here is a Printable Chick Hatching Chart - I use it as a sticker chart for hatching with kids!

Here is a Printable Chick Hatching Chart - I use it as a sticker chart for hatching with kids!

DIY Grain Making. First Go at Small Scale Grain Production on the Homestead.

DIY Grain Making. First Go at Small Scale Grain Production on the Homestead.

Make your own DIY Washing Machine with Buckets!

Make your own DIY Washing Machine with Buckets!

U.N. Urges Eating Insects; 8 Popular Bugs to Try

U.N. Urges Eating Insects; 8 Popular Bugs to Try

Check out my Quail Condo, easy way to get eggs in tight spaces like apartments or townhouses.

Check out my Quail Condo, easy way to get eggs in tight spaces like apartments or townhouses.

Our First Small Scale Grain Harvest! Cutting Rye With a Scythe

Our First Small Scale Grain Harvest! Cutting Rye With a Scythe

Friday, January 27, 2017

Lucretius

"The fall of dropping water wears away the Stone." - Lucretius

Thursday, January 26, 2017

George Washington Carver

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

Monday, January 23, 2017

Lucy Maud Montgomery

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

Animals 2017


Family 2017


Gardens 2017


Rabbit Garden

As I mentioned before, we have several plans to increase the amount of fresh, year round food we can provide for our rabbits. Aside from the oat patch that I talked about in a previous blog, we are also setting aside some of our garden space specifically for them.

Now that the forest garden is going well, we find we have a lot more fresh food for ourselves. We therefore do not need to plant as much of the annual garden space in any one season. This year, we converted two of our wicking beds into winter beds, with greenhouse plastic keeping them a little warmer. Both beds have been so fruitful that we have had to give some of the food to the rabbits, which they LOVE. So we have just winterized another bed which will be planted exclusively for the rabbits. We plan to turn another one over to them as well, but for now, this one will be enough to give them treats until the weeds start to grow again.

The post Rabbit Garden appeared first on VelaCreations.



Rabbit Garden

Project aims to grow a 'city of trees' - A project aims to plant three million trees - one for every man, woman and child - in Greater Manchester over the next 25 years.

Project aims to grow a 'city of trees' - A project aims to plant three million trees - one for every man, woman and child - in Greater Manchester over the next 25 years.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

John McGraw

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

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Restoring the Nation's Depleted Farmland Through Carbon Farming

Restoring the Nation's Depleted Farmland Through Carbon Farming

How to Raise Honey Bees: A Beginner’s Guide

How to Raise Honey Bees: A Beginner’s Guide

A story snippet which may indicate the origins of recognizable Charcuterie are older than previously thought.

A story snippet which may indicate the origins of recognizable Charcuterie are older than previously thought.

Quartering a Moose in -20 F on the Homestead

Quartering a Moose in -20 F on the Homestead

Pouring Concrete Counter Tops in Place!

Pouring Concrete Counter Tops in Place!

Harvesting Water [With Geoff Lawton]

Harvesting Water [With Geoff Lawton]

Easy companion planting tool [PlantBuddies] 🌳 no more charts!

Easy companion planting tool [PlantBuddies] 🌳 no more charts!

Easy Homemade Laundry Soap recipe

Easy Homemade Laundry Soap recipe

The Strange and Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit

The Strange and Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit

Friday, January 20, 2017

Saadi

"The rose and the thorn, and sorrow and gladness are linked together." - Saadi

Potter

We hadn’t planned on getting any more pigs, but a deal came up that we just couldn’t pass up. A lady in our nearest city had several potbelly and mini pigs, which she had to get rid of in a hurry. So, she sold all the babies she had at the usual, ridiculously high price (potbellies are a fad pet, which makes the price of babies far more than they are worth), but she couldn’t sell a two-year old female who is pregnant. Because people want the pigs for a cute, small pet, adults are harder to sell, especially one that will shortly have a litter.

So, in we stepped to the rescue!! We went to pick her up over the weekend, which was a rodeo in itself. They may be smaller than regular pigs, but they are still incredibly strong and HATE to be picked up. We eventually got her into a cage and loaded up in the truck and headed home.

For the time being, she will live in an enclosed pen in the barn, until she gets used to us and her new home (although the chickens fly in to see if she left any food!). She’ll then be able to go outside the barn and will eventually join the other pigs to help plow the pasture.

She seems like a healthy pig, about two months pregnant, and should fit in great. Her name is Potter. It’s the kids who decide the names around here, and they have recently finished watching a Christmas gift - the complete set of Harry Potter movies! With any luck, her magical abilities will be minimal, as pigs are far too smart to be endowed with any further Houdini-like skills.

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Potter

Thursday, January 19, 2017

George Bernard Shaw

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

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Hikes and Hammocks

Once the nights get warmer, we plan to start camping with the kids over the weekends. They are both now old enough to hike a pretty good distance, as well as carry some of their own equipment. They are also interested in, and capable of, carrying out many of the survival skills involved in camping.

So, for the moment, we are in training! On Sundays, we get a picnic ready, and load it and any other equipment up in backpacks. We then set off in the opposite direction from the village (which is the only inhabited place for miles around us). We hike until we find a place we want to “camp” at (with breaks along the way if necessary), and then we make camp. We all eat, then the kids play and explore while we relax in the hammock! Last weekend, the boys paddled in the creek, and Leo even went swimming. Admittedly, it’s been a very mild winter, but still... that water is COLD, which means our child is just plain crazy!

As we get more into this practice, we will increase the distances hiked and weight carried. We will also start assigning more and more tasks (like gathering firewood, stringing up the hammocks, setting up a fire-pit, using flint to start fire, etc.). Once spring arrives, there will also be a lot more food (weeds) to forage. The boys are most excited about taking their slingshots, in the hope of bagging some little critter for dinner! I’m sure they’ll improve a lot over the coming weeks, but I think I’ll still be packing food for a while yet, just in case!

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Hikes and Hammocks

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Andre Norton

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

Monday, January 16, 2017

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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

Pig Plow

We have a couple of issues we need to address at the moment on our homestead. 1) We need to empty, clean, and put away the pool before the spring winds come (we will then refill it in April, when it’s warmer). 2) We need to extend the season when the rabbits have fresh grass and weeds to eat - this is currently only during rain season, from June to October.

We’ve come up with several ways to grow more of the feed requirements for our rabbits, but the one we’re going to implement right now is planting oats. We figure we can use the pool water to irrigate the oats, thereby killing two birds with one stone.

We have several terraces partly made below the existing forest garden. However, they need to be better leveled and plowed a little before planting. We have decided to dedicate one or two of these to an oat crop, and who better to plow the row than our two potbelly pigs.

Abe has set up an electric fence around the whole terrace, with small electric “gates” that split the row into smaller segments, to concentrate the work in one area at a time. About 10 days ago, he put in a hoop house in the first segment and put the pigs into it. They have since been doing a great job of leveling and digging up the ground, and have now been moved into the second segment.

The funny thing about it is that the female, Shiva, is over-wary of the electric fence. So, instead of digging up the dirt and grass on the outside of the hoop house, she stays inside it and moves the house over the ground she wants to examine. That way, she gets to stay safe within her “house”, but still get to the parts outside of it.

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Pig Plow

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Percy Bysshe Shelley

"O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?" - Percy Bysshe Shelley

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Henry Morton Stanley

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

Friday, January 13, 2017

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Robert Anton Wilson

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

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Edna St. Vincent Millay

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

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Michael Kennedy

"I learn something every time I go into the mountains." - Michael Kennedy

Friday, January 6, 2017

Andy Goldsworthy

"Even in winter an isolated patch of snow has a special quality." - Andy Goldsworthy

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Loren Eiseley

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

Monday, January 2, 2017

Adlai E. Stevenson

"Nature is neutral." - Adlai E. Stevenson

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