Marilyn French

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

Reasons to put insects on the Christmas menu

Reasons to put insects on the Christmas menu

Honey bees can detect early stage cancer! What do you think about it?

Honey bees can detect early stage cancer! What do you think about it?

Planting an Eco-Roof Garden

Planting an Eco-Roof Garden

Teenager Builds Off Grid Tiny House

Teenager Builds Off Grid Tiny House

The US government is loaning millions of dollars to jumpstart urban farming

The US government is loaning millions of dollars to jumpstart urban farming

10 Ways to Make your Homestead Vegetable Garden More Productive in 2017...and Beyond!

10 Ways to Make your Homestead Vegetable Garden More Productive in 2017...and Beyond!

Millionaire gives away money and lives in VW van

Millionaire gives away money and lives in VW van

These are my 10 favorite seed companies selling heirloom seeds. What seed companies do you love and recommend?

These are my 10 favorite seed companies selling heirloom seeds. What seed companies do you love and recommend?

Finding the Land that’s Right for You - Toby Hemenway

Finding the Land that’s Right for You - Toby Hemenway

Water Powered "Air Compressor and Water Pump". The "Trompe Hammer", Trompe and Water Ram

Water Powered "Air Compressor and Water Pump". The "Trompe Hammer", Trompe and Water Ram

Living off the Land in Alaska with the Forest Service

Living off the Land in Alaska with the Forest Service

Capsicum / Pepper Farming Information Guide For Starters.

Capsicum / Pepper Farming Information Guide For Starters.

Christmas 2016

We just got home after spending the week at Vickie's. We all had a great time, especially the kids. Of course, the huge tree laden with presents drove them a little nuts, and it was pretty much a full-time job keeping them distracted.

We played games, made and decorated cookies, made and hung Christmas decorations. They also drew pictures for Santa, rode their bikes, and played with toys (we let them open one present between them on the 23rd and one each on the 24th - to spread out the excitement and help with distraction!).

Christmas day itself was great. Santa visited everyone in the house, and then we opened the presents. The kids had so much to play with that we barely heard a peep out of them all day. That allowed the adults time to chill, after cooking and cleanup! Dinner was delicious, and games afterwards were fun. It was altogether a really lovely holiday.

We also got to Facetime or chat with almost all of the family, many of whom are spread out across the globe. Wish we could have seen everyone in person, but internet at least provides the next best thing.

We hope that all of you had an equally wonderful Christmas, and wishing you a very happy 2017.

The post Christmas 2016 appeared first on VelaCreations.

Christmas 2016

Henry Ward Beecher

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

Dennis Franz

"Coming from Chicago, I like a white Christmas." - Dennis Franz

Winter Garden

I planted a winter garden a few months ago, but the cats kept using the nicely turned soil as their bathroom and all the little plants were buried or dug up. So Abe made a couple of wicking beds that are closed off with greenhouse plastic (they used to have a frame and everything beforehand, but they were destroyed when the cows broke into the garden in June).

He has two beds that are at different stages (planted a couple of weeks apart), and everything is doing really well. A few of the vegetables are even starting to produce. Between the two beds, there are radishes, carrots, cabbages, beets, peas, collards, spinach, chard, broccoli, turnips, onions, Brussel spouts, and kale.

The post Winter Garden appeared first on VelaCreations.

Winter Garden

James M. Barrie

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

Artist Fixes Damaged Objects By Placing Them in Beehives

Artist Fixes Damaged Objects By Placing Them in Beehives

Mama Ducks

On the 30th November, a duck hatched out 5 little ducklings. It’s her first time as a mother, but she has proven very attentive. Despite the chilly mornings, she takes them out of the barn every day and shows them all around the place. They are now a few weeks old and are the cutest little things.

The other mother duck is an old hand at the mothering business. However, this is the first time she’s had chicks! She stole the nest from one of our hens and guarded it very jealousy during the incubation period. We were worried that she might kill the chicks when she discovered that they weren’t ducklings, so we were ready with a home-made incubator in case we needed to whisk the eggs away from her. However, when the first one hatched out, she treated it as one of her own, so we let her be. She now has five healthy chicks.

The boys have been spoiling all the babies rotten. They take them handfuls of mealworms several times each day. As soon as the chicks hear the boys open the barn door, they come running to their gate and start jumping up and down. The kids are delighted, and claim that the chicks love them just as much as they love their mother!

The post Mama Ducks appeared first on VelaCreations.

Mama Ducks

Leigh Hunt

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

Rabindranath Tagore

"We live in the world when we love it." - Rabindranath Tagore

Junior Butcher

The other day, we had 14 rabbits to process. I was inside, turning the meat into various cuts, as well as chunks and mince. Abe was outside at the butcher station.

Leo has often liked to hang out with Abe while he butchers, learning about the internal organs and helping when he can. However, this time, he took a far more active role. He ended up skinning and gutting many of the rabbits all by himself, and was apparently very good at it.

Also, while they were working, they talked about the role that hunting and butchering has played in various cultures. Leo became fascinated at the mention of how hunters, as a sign of prestige and accomplishment, would eat the raw liver of their kill. He decided he would like to try it, so he removed the liver of the animal he was working on and took a bite. He claimed it was delicious. Yeah, yeah, I know - not everyone’s cup of tea, BUT I was really proud that he was so willing to try a new experience, especially one that would turn the stomach of many people.

There was a downside to the day, we were all so busy that we never got any kind of photos of Leo’s latest accomplishment. Oh well, I’m sure there’ll be other opportunities.

The post Junior Butcher appeared first on VelaCreations.

Junior Butcher

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"For greed all nature is too little." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Graphene-Fed Silkworms Produce a Super-Strong Silk That Conducts Electricity

Graphene-Fed Silkworms Produce a Super-Strong Silk That Conducts Electricity

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Marcus Aurelius

"What springs from earth dissolves to earth again, and heaven-born things fly to their native seat." - Marcus Aurelius

World Energy Hits a Turning Point: Solar That's Cheaper Than Wind

World Energy Hits a Turning Point: Solar That's Cheaper Than Wind

Some apple cider, butter, etc. history - Nat'l Apple Museum

Some apple cider, butter, etc. history - Nat'l Apple Museum

Path to sustainability - building your home - bioconstruction workshop Relvas Farm - Portugal

Path to sustainability - building your home - bioconstruction workshop Relvas Farm - Portugal

Nice little article on various types of masonry mass heaters

Nice little article on various types of masonry mass heaters

Mark Shepard Talks Restoration Agriculture

Mark Shepard Talks Restoration Agriculture

Variable-scale Agroforestry Templates

Variable-scale Agroforestry Templates

Claude Monet

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

E. F. Schumacher

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

Jim Fowler

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

A great in depth video on dressing an quartering a large animal

A great in depth video on dressing an quartering a large animal

No Electricity? A Low-Tech System Keeps Things Chilled. Mohammed Bah Abba's pot-in-pot coolers help rural Africans preserve perishables.

No Electricity? A Low-Tech System Keeps Things Chilled. Mohammed Bah Abba's pot-in-pot coolers help rural Africans preserve perishables.

Ridgedale Permaculture – an overview of a small farm up at 59 degrees in Sweden.

Ridgedale Permaculture – an overview of a small farm up at 59 degrees in Sweden.

Ireland to Plant Largest Grove of Redwood Trees Outside of California

Ireland to Plant Largest Grove of Redwood Trees Outside of California

Ever thought about raising your own meat? Here is our start to raising three hogs.

Ever thought about raising your own meat? Here is our start to raising three hogs.

The 50% Rule: Why Frugality is Freedom

The 50% Rule: Why Frugality is Freedom

Carl Sagan

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

Daniel Boone

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

Goji Forest

After having little luck with growing grapes in our soil, we begun to look for plants that could fill the same roles within our forest garden. Goji seemed to fit the bill and had various additional benefits.

The Goji (or wolfberry) is a vining shrub of the nightshade family (as is the tomato and potato). Its leaves and berries are both edible, and have been used in China for thousands of years for its various medicinal properties. It is now often sold a "super food", usually as a dried fruit, in health food stores, and is a high value product to farm. It is also water efficient, tolerates high heat and poor soil, and survives freezes.

Last year, we bought several cuttings to try out. We had them growing in pots inside the house over winter and then planted them out during spring.

When our neighbor's cows broke into our land and gardens, we thought we had lost all our gojis (as they were all eaten down to the ground). However, not only did some of those plants grow back from the roots, but we also discovered a couple of plants that had sprouted up in our inside garden (from where the roots from the potted cuttings had touched the soil through their bags!).

About 10 days ago, Abe cut back the two gojis that we have growing inside. He stripped the leaves off all the prunings, cut them into 5" chunks, dipped them in rooting hormone, and struck them in some potting soil. He put them all in a plastic tub with a lid on to preserve the humidity. After just a few days, almost all of the 200 sticks began to leaf out. There is now, 10 days later, a veritable mini-forest.

The post Goji Forest appeared first on VelaCreations.

Goji Forest

Alfred Austin

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

Africanized Bees Without a Veil?

Africanized Bees Without a Veil?

Perennial Plants in our Backyard Farm

Perennial Plants in our Backyard Farm

Table-to-Farm Feeding: Utilizing Food Scraps on the Homestead

Table-to-Farm Feeding: Utilizing Food Scraps on the Homestead

This Nonprofit Is Saving 4,500 U.S. Apple Varieties. An Oregon group is cloning thousands of lesser-known apple varieties for future generations to enjoy.

This Nonprofit Is Saving 4,500 U.S. Apple Varieties. An Oregon group is cloning thousands of lesser-known apple varieties for future generations to enjoy.

A terrifying superbug just showed up on a US farm for the first time

A terrifying superbug just showed up on a US farm for the first time

Butchering And Eating Rabbits For The First Time. (Don't Watch If You Are Squeamish.)

Butchering And Eating Rabbits For The First Time. (Don't Watch If You Are Squeamish.)

Testing Faraday Bags

Testing Faraday Bags

Hints, Tips And Tricks To Make Faster Leaf Mould

Hints, Tips And Tricks To Make Faster Leaf Mould

Even the frosts can't kill 'em; a quick look at some of my winter crops.

Even the frosts can't kill 'em; a quick look at some of my winter crops.

5 Myths I've learned about homesteading over the last 3 years from living in the woods.

5 Myths I've learned about homesteading over the last 3 years from living in the woods.

Today is World Soil Day! Here's a 5 min video 'Let's talk about soil'

Today is World Soil Day! Here's a 5 min video 'Let's talk about soil'

Study for those interested in growing cider apples - crop load density

Study for those interested in growing cider apples - crop load density

Aesop

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

Walter Scott

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

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." - Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

Khalil Gibran

"Rebellion without truth is like spring in a bleak, arid desert." - Khalil Gibran

Abu Bakr

"It is a matter of shame that in the morning the birds should be awake earlier than you." - Abu Bakr

Advent

In England, the "Advent calendar" was always a big deal. When my sister and I were kids, it was a little door that we had to open each day to reveal a picture, and even that was exciting back then. That progressed into a chocolate treat each day, and we thought that was about as good as it gets. But then, one year, my sister made me an even cooler calendar. She filled a box with 24 little gifts hidden under some kind of packing material. Each gift was attached by a string to its numbered day of the month. It was a great idea, and that's usually what I try to reproduce in some form or another for my own kids. This year, we bought a pack of 24 Lego superheroes, which are each wrapped up with a number on them. The kids are so excited (to the point that we have to shout at them to get them to shut up about it!!!!!), and it has really kicked off the season.

For some reason, I am feeling especially festive this year, and am almost as excited as the kids. We put the tree up, and turning on its lights each evening fills the dining room with a warm and fuzzy glow. I've already bought and wrapped up a present for each of the teachers, and for all the kids in the class I teach at school. We've been making decorations to put up in each of the kids' classrooms (the moms will be getting together this week to decorate them). We've been baking lots of cookies, and we eat them while watching Christmas movies!

It's strange, but when it was just Abe and I, we really didn't celebrate Christmas, and I didn't miss it at all. Now though, with the kids at just the right age, all the joy and excitement have come flooding back. Gotta love this season.

The post Advent appeared first on VelaCreations.

Advent

Michel de Montaigne

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

How to Setup, Prepare & Plant A Straw Bale Garden With Ease: A 5 Chapter Beginner's Guide to Straw Bale Gardening

How to Setup, Prepare & Plant A Straw Bale Garden With Ease: A 5 Chapter Beginner's Guide to Straw Bale Gardening

Duke Ellington

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

How to peel potatoes easier.

How to peel potatoes easier.

27 Medicinal Plants Worth Your Garden Space

27 Medicinal Plants Worth Your Garden Space

Tour a Montana Food Forest 4 Months After Planting

Tour a Montana Food Forest 4 Months After Planting

Fruiting Cacti Plants - Tasting & Growing

Fruiting Cacti Plants - Tasting & Growing

Greenhouse 101 - Affordable Green House Design - PPR & rice bag to replace PVC, Plastic

Greenhouse 101 - Affordable Green House Design - PPR & rice bag to replace PVC, Plastic

It's easy to make cute and sturdy mittens from old sweaters - here's a quick tutorial and free printable patterns

It's easy to make cute and sturdy mittens from old sweaters - here's a quick tutorial and free printable patterns

Tiled Roof Hut with Underfloor Heating | by Primitive Technology

Tiled Roof Hut with Underfloor Heating | by Primitive Technology

Butchering Our Pasture Raised Turkeys

Butchering Our Pasture Raised Turkeys

A Double-Duty Solar Solution: How to Build a Solar Water Heater - DIY

A Double-Duty Solar Solution: How to Build a Solar Water Heater - DIY

Top 5 Tips For An Aquaponics System Design

Top 5 Tips For An Aquaponics System Design

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

Plautus

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

Thomas Hood

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

Bette Davis

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

David Icke

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

Ellsworth Huntington

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

We’re treating soil like dirt. It’s a fatal mistake, as our lives depend on it

We’re treating soil like dirt. It’s a fatal mistake, as our lives depend on it

Thriving 23-Year-Old Permaculture Food Forest - An Invitation for Wildness

Thriving 23-Year-Old Permaculture Food Forest - An Invitation for Wildness

How to make Vinegar from Apple Cider

How to make Vinegar from Apple Cider

10 Minutes of Morning Zen With Chickens

10 Minutes of Morning Zen With Chickens

Francis Bacon

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

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?

Stephen Gardiner

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

Agafia. 70-year-old woman has been living off the grid deep in Russia's taiga forest since birth.

Agafia. 70-year-old woman has been living off the grid deep in Russia's taiga forest since birth.

If trees made Wi-Fi

If trees made Wi-Fi

Henry Fielding

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

Saint Teresa of Avila

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

Jonathan Swift

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

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)

Novalis

"Nature is a petrified magic city." - Novalis

Mini-greenhouse

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.

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.

The post Mini-greenhouse appeared first on VelaCreations.

Mini-greenhouse

Isaac Bashevis Singer

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

Hal Borland

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

Update on kids

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.

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.

 

Both 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.

Strangely 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!

The post Update on kids appeared first on VelaCreations.

Update on kids

William Blake

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

Keeping family farms afloat

Keeping family farms afloat

Midwest Permaculture Presents: Plant Guilds by Bryce Ruddock [Downloadable PDF]

Midwest Permaculture Presents: Plant Guilds by Bryce Ruddock [Downloadable PDF]

'The Pantanal is national heritage': protecting the world's largest wetlands

'The Pantanal is national heritage': protecting the world's largest wetlands

6k lbs of food from 1/10 acre. I saw this video years ago and always wondered if it was true.

6k lbs of food from 1/10 acre. I saw this video years ago and always wondered if it was true.

Step by step: how to butcher a turkey.

Step by step: how to butcher a turkey.

Homemade Ink

Homemade Ink

An Uncensored Peek Inside Prepper's Pantries

An Uncensored Peek Inside Prepper's Pantries

Wallace Stevens

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

Harvest time

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.

The post Harvest time appeared first on VelaCreations.

Harvest time

Theodore Roethke

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

Sally Ride

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

Robert Browning

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

Ford 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!

The post Ford Ranger appeared first on VelaCreations.

Ford Ranger

Norman Douglas

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

Leonardo da Vinci

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

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

Hippocrates

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

Halloween 2016

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.

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!

The post Halloween 2016 appeared first on VelaCreations.

Halloween 2016

Helen Hunt Jackson

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

Freya Stark

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

Emma Goldman

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

Elizabeth Bowen

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

For The Cost Of An iPhone, You Can Now Buy a Wind Turbine That Can Power An Entire House For a Lifetime

For The Cost Of An iPhone, You Can Now Buy a Wind Turbine That Can Power An Entire House For a Lifetime

Raising Backyard Chickens for Dummies

Raising Backyard Chickens for Dummies

Aristotle

"Nature does nothing in vain." - Aristotle

John Burroughs

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

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Henry David Thoreau

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

Joseph Joubert

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

Socrates

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

Charles Baudelaire

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

Thornton Wilder

"Nature reserves the right to inflict upon her children the most terrifying jests." - Thornton Wilder

B. C. Forbes

"It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn." - B. C. Forbes

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

"The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever." - Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Forest Farming Practices - Deborah B. Hill and Louise E. Buck

Forest Farming Practices - Deborah B. Hill and Louise E. Buck

Growing food with seawater and solar power

Growing food with seawater and solar power

The Japanese practice of 'forest bathing' has scientifically proven health benefits

The Japanese practice of 'forest bathing' has scientifically proven health benefits

Why insect pests love monocultures, and how plant diversity could change that

Why insect pests love monocultures, and how plant diversity could change that

Life Gets Real When the TV Goes Off

Life Gets Real When the TV Goes Off

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

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

How to use a Tape Measure to figure out How much your pig weighs.

How to use a Tape Measure to figure out How much your pig weighs.

Why You Should Raise Chickens

Why You Should Raise Chickens

Making an income from a small homestead - 52 ideas to get the brainstorming juices flowing

Making an income from a small homestead - 52 ideas to get the brainstorming juices flowing

Robert Smithson

"Nature is never finished." - Robert Smithson

John Clare

"He could not die when trees were green, for he loved the time too well." - John Clare

H. P. Lovecraft

"But more wonderful than the lore of old men and the lore of books is the secret lore of ocean." - H. P. Lovecraft

Oliver Cromwell

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

John Donne

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

Gertrude Stein

"Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose." - Gertrude Stein

We’re So Addicted to Our Gadgets That ‘Unplugged’ Tourism Is Booming

We’re So Addicted to Our Gadgets That ‘Unplugged’ Tourism Is Booming

5 Survival Skills You'll Need When Society Collapses

5 Survival Skills You'll Need When Society Collapses

Batteries: Priming, Reconditioning and Care

Batteries: Priming, Reconditioning and Care

Life After Death: Organic Burial Pods Turn Human Bodies into Living Trees

Life After Death: Organic Burial Pods Turn Human Bodies into Living Trees

Bill Mollison obituary in the Guardian

Bill Mollison obituary in the Guardian

How not to prune a fruit tree

How not to prune a fruit tree

Off-grid sustainable Bio-integrated Greenhouse for aquaculture and growing vegetables

Off-grid sustainable Bio-integrated Greenhouse for aquaculture and growing vegetables

Garlic Scape Infused Olive Oil and 5 Great Ways to Use It.

Garlic Scape Infused Olive Oil and 5 Great Ways to Use It.

The Many Ways Farmer's Markets & Small Family Farms Are Essential to Our Future - Small farms are key to reducing greenhouse gases & improving our overall health with better food options.

The Many Ways Farmer's Markets & Small Family Farms Are Essential to Our Future - Small farms are key to reducing greenhouse gases & improving our overall health with better food options.

Still messing with little rabbit water bottles? Try this 5 gallon water system.

Still messing with little rabbit water bottles? Try this 5 gallon water system.

We can't dig our way out of the fossil fuels pit

We can't dig our way out of the fossil fuels pit

Walt Disney

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

An affordable home greenhouse build.

An affordable home greenhouse build.

Judy Garland

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

Edward Young

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

Anne Bronte

"A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine." - Anne Bronte

Living on Earth: The Hidden Life of Trees

Living on Earth: The Hidden Life of Trees

Watch a Permaculture Food Forest in Its Infancy Grow Through the Years.

Watch a Permaculture Food Forest in Its Infancy Grow Through the Years.

Jonathan Bates - From Bare Ground to Urban Paradise on One-Tenth of an Acre

Jonathan Bates - From Bare Ground to Urban Paradise on One-Tenth of an Acre

Jacques Yves Cousteau

"We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one." - Jacques Yves Cousteau

Robert Bridges

"I know that if odour were visible, as colour is, I'd see the summer garden in rainbow clouds." - Robert Bridges

William Allingham

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

Alexander Pope

"All nature is but art unknown to thee." - Alexander Pope

William Hazlitt

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

C. S. Lewis

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

Rabbits - How I Built a Rabbit Show Carrier Cart on the Cheap! Part 2

Rabbits - How I Built a Rabbit Show Carrier Cart on the Cheap! Part 2

Never Leave the Playground: A great Life Philosophy from Stephen Jepson

Never Leave the Playground: A great Life Philosophy from Stephen Jepson

15 Earth Ships you will love inside and out!

15 Earth Ships you will love inside and out!

Edible Plants You Can Forage For

Edible Plants You Can Forage For

Free hot water from compost

Free hot water from compost

IKEA Unveils Solar-Powered Flat Pack Shelters for Easily Deployable Emergency Housing

IKEA Unveils Solar-Powered Flat Pack Shelters for Easily Deployable Emergency Housing

Perennial wheat is an ecologist’s dream. Soon it may be what’s for dinner.

Perennial wheat is an ecologist’s dream. Soon it may be what’s for dinner.

The Use of Seaweeds Aquaculture for Carbon Sequestration: A Strategy for Climate Change Mitigation

The Use of Seaweeds Aquaculture for Carbon Sequestration: A Strategy for Climate Change Mitigation

Mark Twain

"Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get." - Mark Twain

Tom Lehrer

"Bad weather always looks worse through a window." - Tom Lehrer

Samuel Butler

"Human life is as evanescent as the morning dew or a flash of lightning." - Samuel Butler

Marcus Tullius Cicero

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

A. R. Ammons

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

John Keats

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

Charles Lindbergh

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

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

"Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

William Wordsworth

"Nature never did betray the heart that loved her." - William Wordsworth

Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Moonlight is sculpture." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Invasive species may reduce the spread of disease - The findings are forcing ecologists and infectious disease scientists to rethink how they account for invasive species.

Invasive species may reduce the spread of disease - The findings are forcing ecologists and infectious disease scientists to rethink how they account for invasive species.

Iowa town orders 17 year old to get rid of bees

Iowa town orders 17 year old to get rid of bees

How to live the Good Life without giving up the rat race: "Extreme downshifting to escape the modern world can end in disillusion. The solution lies with communities that offer a halfway house"

How to live the Good Life without giving up the rat race: "Extreme downshifting to escape the modern world can end in disillusion. The solution lies with communities that offer a halfway house"

Living without lights: a journey in off-grid living

Living without lights: a journey in off-grid living

Tracking wild pawpaw, descending into pawpaw-induced madness, and discussing "Pawpaw: America's Forgotten Fruit" with author Andrew Moore

Tracking wild pawpaw, descending into pawpaw-induced madness, and discussing "Pawpaw: America's Forgotten Fruit" with author Andrew Moore

A useful tool for checking the sun angle for your exact location.

A useful tool for checking the sun angle for your exact location.

Food Liberation: Why the Food Movement Is Unstoppable

Food Liberation: Why the Food Movement Is Unstoppable

A Guide to Meat Rabbits: a Sustainable Food Source

A Guide to Meat Rabbits: a Sustainable Food Source

How to Freeze Dry Food: Instructions And Best Methods

How to Freeze Dry Food: Instructions And Best Methods

Toni Morrison

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

Arthur Young

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

Lord Byron

"Ye stars! which are the poetry of heaven!" - Lord Byron

Annie Leibovitz

"I wish that all of nature's magnificence, the emotion of the land, the living energy of place could be photographed." - Annie Leibovitz

Roy Bean

"And Fall, with her yeller harvest moon and the hills growin' brown and golden under a sinkin' sun." - Roy Bean

Black Elk

"And when I breathed, my breath was lightning." - Black Elk

Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel

"Man is a creative retrospection of nature upon itself." - Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel

Antoine Lavoisier

"Vegetation is the basic instrument the creator uses to set all of nature in motion." - Antoine Lavoisier

Canadian Town Giving Anyone Willing to Move There a Job and Land

Canadian Town Giving Anyone Willing to Move There a Job and Land

What Can You Build With a Dismantled Stadium? In Indianapolis, a nonprofit is turning the Colts’ old stomping ground into shade shelters, wallets, and more.

What Can You Build With a Dismantled Stadium? In Indianapolis, a nonprofit is turning the Colts’ old stomping ground into shade shelters, wallets, and more.

Agrivillages: an interview with James Skinner - Local Futures

Agrivillages: an interview with James Skinner - Local Futures

DIY goat perch!

DIY goat perch!

Living Without a Fridge

Living Without a Fridge

My Farm is Not a Petting Zoo - The importance of setting boundaries with visitors

My Farm is Not a Petting Zoo - The importance of setting boundaries with visitors

Five Things We Have Learned About Guineas

Five Things We Have Learned About Guineas

Guerrilla Grafting: Public Trees Spliced to Bear Edible Fruit Along City Streets

Guerrilla Grafting: Public Trees Spliced to Bear Edible Fruit Along City Streets

Permaculture Terminology #03: "Mulch"

Permaculture Terminology #03: "Mulch"

Rafter Sass Ferguson: Permaculture and AgroEcology

Rafter Sass Ferguson: Permaculture and AgroEcology

The New American Dream (TED Talk)

The New American Dream (TED Talk)

Book review: The Bio-Integrated Farm by Shawn Jadrnicek

Book review: The Bio-Integrated Farm by Shawn Jadrnicek

Guide to Selecting the Best Backyard Chicken Breed - 7 things you should consider

Guide to Selecting the Best Backyard Chicken Breed - 7 things you should consider

Edward Gibbon

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

Chief Joseph

"The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it." - Chief Joseph

E. O. Wilson

"Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal." - E. O. Wilson

Mahatma Gandhi

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

Nikolai Gogol

"Countless as the sands of the sea are human passions." - Nikolai Gogol

Diogenes

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

Georg Trakl

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

W. H. Auden

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

Nikolai Gogol

"Countless as the sands of the sea are human passions." - Nikolai Gogol

Diogenes

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

Georg Trakl

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

W. H. Auden

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

Zora Neale Hurston

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

William Allingham

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

Steam Juicer

While we were rained in, we decided to make the most of the time by doing some canning.

Prickly pears

Before it started raining non-stop, we went prickly pear picking. Unfortunately, we left it a little late in the season, and a lot of the fruit had already fallen and been eaten. Still, we managed to gather a full crate, not to mention several crates of pads, which we are planting along the perimeter fence of the property.

We used our new steam juicer to extract juice from the fruit. It was awesome. We didn't have to cut the fruit or strain out the pulp. We just added the whole fruit to the top of the juicer, put it on to steam, and the juice came out of the hose!

We then used the juice to make jelly, which we canned. It was a process that took over the whole kitchen, but has given us well more than a year's supply of delicious jelly. We ended up with 28 jars. Most were pint size, although 10 were slightly smaller, so it was a little under 3.5 gallons!

If you want to know more about prickly pears, including our jelly recipe, click here.

Apples and Chutney

We also turned a crate of apples into apple sauce, which we put in the freezer for winter pies, and we made several jars of spicy mango and pineapple chutney.

All of this, coupled with the honey we robbed the other day, has left us feeling decidedly happy!

The post Steam Juicer appeared first on VelaCreations.

Steam Juicer

Cyril Connolly

"It is only in the country that we can get to know a person or a book." - Cyril Connolly

100 best homemade tools [x-posted from /r/homemadetools]

100 best homemade tools [x-posted from /r/homemadetools]

Urban Farming Takes Root In Downtown Atlanta

Urban Farming Takes Root In Downtown Atlanta

A screen porch is a must at the off grid cabin

A screen porch is a must at the off grid cabin

NUGGET HOPS A great vine to add to your permaculture garden!

NUGGET HOPS A great vine to add to your permaculture garden!

A Quick Look at the Elderberry - Sambucus

A Quick Look at the Elderberry - Sambucus

DIY wildcrafted sodas

DIY wildcrafted sodas

H. G. Wells

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

Full pond

Following the driest July since we've been here, we had the wettest August. We've been rained in for several days, and last night we had a 2.5" hard rain. The sound of the river (1.5 miles away) and all the arroyos running was deafening.

This morning, when we went to assess the damage, we found the pond full. The last time this happened, it broke the dam, so, as you can imagine, we were a little nervous. But everything was fine. The overflow worked great, even given the volume of water it must have had to handle. In fact the "pig pond" even filled up (it is filled from the overflow of the big one).

Here's a few photos of the ponds, empty and full to see the scale.

Big Pond

Empty

Full

Pig Pond

Empty

Full

Overflow

We have actually done a little work to the overflow. We used a water level to measure the height of the dam against the overflow, and decided it would be safer to dig it down a couple of feet. It probably would have been OK, but we're still glad we did it!

The post Full pond appeared first on VelaCreations.

Full pond