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, October 31, 2016

John Burroughs

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

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Henry David Thoreau

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

Friday, October 28, 2016

Joseph Joubert

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

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Socrates

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

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Charles Baudelaire

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

Monday, October 24, 2016

Thornton Wilder

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

Sunday, October 23, 2016

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

Saturday, October 22, 2016

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

Friday, October 21, 2016

Robert Smithson

"Nature is never finished." - Robert Smithson

Thursday, October 20, 2016

John Clare

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

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

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

Monday, October 17, 2016

Oliver Cromwell

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

Sunday, October 16, 2016

John Donne

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

Saturday, October 15, 2016

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

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Judy Garland

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

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Edward Young

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

Monday, October 10, 2016

Jacques Yves Cousteau

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

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Robert Bridges

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

Saturday, October 8, 2016

William Allingham

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

Friday, October 7, 2016

Alexander Pope

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

Thursday, October 6, 2016

William Hazlitt

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

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

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

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Mark Twain

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

Monday, October 3, 2016

Tom Lehrer

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

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Samuel Butler

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

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Marcus Tullius Cicero

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

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