Powered By The Sun

In the summer, the sun blazes our kitchen in an abundance of light and unfortunately, heat. Thanks to our friend, we have discovered the power of the sun as our new alternative means of cooking. He had a solar oven and even though he showed us how easy it was to build, we decided to get one on the internet. A week after we ordered it, it arrived in a large box but it assembled in minutes. In actuality, we just had to unfold the reflective mirrors and steam some vinegar inside to "cure" it before using it. So far, we have cooked beef stew, baked two loaves of zucchini bread, and in this photo, Albondigas, which is meatball soup. We may not necessarily feel like eating soup on a hot day, but it's what I had in the pantry that had to be cooked up. I can leave it out there all day to cook and it won't burn. It's awesome. My zucchini bread came out moist and chewy like a dense brownie. It is portable, so we can take it anywhere.

Dinner Is Done!

    

The Zucchini Curse

I have loads of zucchini - more than I can handle or make into zucchini bread. When you don't expect it, you look under a leaf and find a monster sitting there. Zucchinis will take over a garden and produce a bountiful harvest. This zucchini in the picture was being compared to my arm. I was able to use half of it for a zucchini soup and the other half to make 4 loaves of zucchini bread! It was a zucchini to feed an army! I have at least four others of comparable size sitting in my fridge, waiting to be used. I better get into the kitchen to start cooking!

Apricots

These apricots were harvested through the generosity of neighbors. They were kind enough to let us pick the excess fruit off their trees so that we would be able to use them. Whatever fruit was bruised or in some cases, on the ground, we gave to the animals. All fruit was used and not wasted, which is a wonderful thing.

The washed bounty...a lot of apricots!

Pitted and the backs sort of popped out to expose more flesh.

Sun-drying for about 2-3 days, with the apricots brought inside during the nighttime.

When they are done drying, I pasteurized them in the oven to kill any bacteria or bugs. Cooked for 30 minutes at 160 degrees. They were perfect! 

With the really ripe apricots unsuitable for canning or drying, I made a yummy pie.

The Chicken Alarm

5:38 AM, I am awake from the sounds of my hens squaking. Hmmm..I wonder why? How odd for them to be making such a commotion so early. I laid in bed just a few minutes to see if the noise would end, thinking it's just one of the hens nesting or looking for one another - cause they call out for one another sometimes. No end to the squaks. I quietly go out front, barefoot, and walk gingerly over our gravel driveway and calm them down with (what I think are) mimicing chicken noises. They are quiet and I hear their soothing sounds back. Just then, I hear fast running from behind a fence near our beehive. I think it is just Max, our dog, so don't think nothing of it. I go back inside and look out the window, it's quiet and no movement - in case it was a burglar instead. Anyway, just as I was about to lay back down, I hear the hens again. This time, I put my robe and slippers on and go out back. As I walk near our first pen of rabbits, I quickly realize one is missing. Ahhh! Now I know what I am looking for....a white rabbit on the loose! I quickly spot my source of the chicken commotion. He is hopping around happily and calmly by the other (female) rabbits. I figured he had squeezed under the gate into the chicken coop and got the hens all in a frenzy, hence the early morning squaking. Thankfully, this rabbit is pretty calm and he came up to me several times to acknowledge me, as I do to the animals daily. I went about feeding the animals, being non-chalant about the rabbit in the corner of my eye. When I was done, I surveyed the exit point in his pen. He pushed the wire away and wiggled underneath. I patched it temporarily until I can focus better when I was fully awake. Just as I get ready to go catch him and return him to the pen, I see he is somewhat stuck near the hutch of a female rabbit, Luna. I nabbed him without incident and no scratches. So, in a roundabout way, I have my chickens to thank. They know when something is not right or when an animal does not belong in THEIR area. Without them sounding alarmed, I would not have known a rabbit had escaped.      

The Escapee

Some of the alarm makers

  

Open House Success!!

We held our first Open House today to friends and clients. What a great time. The weather was not too hot and people enjoyed all of our hard work so far. Hope everyone came away with ideas, knowledge, and greater understanding of all of our current homesteading activities. Til we have a next event, thanks for your support! Leah, Rick, Stewart, & Jason + critters

Beekeeping Display

Our Fermentation Room

Food Preservation

Our home library of reference guides

Something about gardening and seed saving

Info on raising backyard chickens

One of our guests, a former FFA member, hypnotizing a chicken.