Vela Creations: February 2017

We have had an extremely mild winter this year. In fact, we had tomatoes still growing outside until mid-January, and it was getting up into the 90s in early February. We figured that we were passing straight from fall to spring.

The day that Abe was due home from his trip, the boys and I woke up and got ready for school. As I was getting a few chores done before leaving, it started to snow. Within minutes, there was a full blown blizzard and everything turned white. School was cancelled (not being prepared for the sudden turn in the weather), and so the kids instantly went outside to make snowballs.

They had a blast, and the only thing that detracted from their joy at the snow was the thought that "Papa won't want to come home if it's cold!". I told them not to worry, that he was already en route. Still, they needn't have worried, a couple of hours later all the snow had melted and the sky had turned blue again. Abe came home thinking that I must have photoshopped the picture I'd sent him!!!

The post Snow! appeared first on VelaCreations.

Snow!

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

D. H. Lawrence

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

Monday, February 20, 2017

Andy Warhol

"Land really is the best art." - Andy Warhol

Papa-less

Last week, Abe went to stay with Vickie in her new house. They spent most of their time setting up utilities and buying furniture, but they still got to enjoy a little of the new scene. The area, near Austin, sounds pretty cool, with a lot of museums, activities, restaurants, etc. Plus, it is all so green!

The house itself is gorgeous, with a small forest to enchant Abe, and a treehouse, pool and basketball hoop to excite the kids, who cannot wait to visit.

As for us at home, it was the first time that the kids have ever been apart from their dad overnight, so it was weird. In fact, it's one of the very few times that he and I have been apart since we got together. Still, Leo and Nicky were good as gold, which made everything easier, and the time flew by.

The post Papa-less appeared first on VelaCreations.

Papa-less

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Henrik Ibsen

"A forest bird never wants a cage." - Henrik Ibsen

Friday, February 17, 2017

Paul Dirac

"Pick a flower on Earth and you move the farthest star." - Paul Dirac

Over 3,000 Bakers Are Now In Business, After Minnesota Eased Restrictions on Selling Homemade Food

Comparing growth and harvests in adjacent strips, dug and no dig

Hog Killing Time (excellent longread)

This is how we dry & use wild Lambsquarter

The Compost King of New York

Herbs: History,Types, Uses, and Cultivation

Why nature restoration takes time: fungi grow 'relationships'

Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world

Do Trees Have Feelings: The Hidden Life of Trees in 4 Minutes

Permaculture Keyline Water Systems: Don Tipping @ Seven Seeds Farm

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Lao Tzu

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." - Lao Tzu

Monday, February 13, 2017

Pamela Hansford Johnson

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire." - Pamela Hansford Johnson

Solar well pump

During rain season, our pond collects a vast amount of water; when full it holds about 300,000 gallons. However, we lose quite a bit of this over the rest of the year to evaporation. Although this loss should reduce as trees and water plants increase and provide shade, that may take a while. In the meantime, we are looking for ways to make use of the water before it evaporates.

We have just bought a pump that runs on solar. It can pump about 600 gallons of water a day (more in summer when the days are longer). Our eventual goal is to build a huge tank on the top of the property, which will then be able to provide pressurized water to the whole hill. For now, we will be watering the orchards and gardens directly, as well as filling up the current irrigation tank as it goes down (it's full at the moment).

We plan to hand-dig a hole just off the side of the pond, which will act as a well. We will be able to pull the pump up the casing if maintenance is needed, and add filtration measures to the well itself. The only problem with this is that we need the pond to dry up in order to dig the well! So, we are currently trying to use up the water. We put the pump inside a PVC pipe and wrapped it in a feed sack as a basic filter, and then just sunk it in the middle of the pond, which is currently about 4 feet deep.

We have four months left until rain season begins, so we should be able to use up the water currently held in the pond (evaporation will help us out too). What it means is that the trees we currently have planted will be receiving a LOT more than we usually give them, and we will be planting out the hundreds of little trees and shrubs that we have had growing in our little greenhouses (we would normally wait until rain season to plant them out).

The post Solar well pump appeared first on VelaCreations.

Solar well pump