Antique finds

The older I get, the more I like old things. I have always liked old houses and the charm that often comes with them. Many people like older homes for the same reason. The little nooks and crannies that have served countless functions and the warmth of wood floors and old banisters. Since I have become a homesteader and prepper, I have found a new respect for things that are a little less modern and can still be useful.

Recently we went to an antique store that I wanted to check out. The cool thing about antique stores is you never know what you will find. Although we found several things to put on the wish list, we settled on two objects that were once used daily and we plan on putting to use again.

The first is an ice pick. We often buy bags of ice to keep in the freezer or if we are filling ice trays we will dump them in a bowl for ease of use. Of course when you do this the ice can and will melt together. A knife will serve the same purpose to chip the ice apart but my husband wanted an ice pick and they are just cool.

My personal pick was a mixer. It's simple and still works. I had wanted to buy a new one before we moved here but never got around to it. And yes, they do still make them. This one is in really good condition and except for a little wear on the handle looks brand new. I wanted a manual mixer mainly as a preparation item. Of course as we try to change how we live and hopefully get to a point where we aren't using as much electricity, it could come in quite handy.

 

We tried it out and it worked really well. Of course the kids thought it was cool because it was a novelty. They both gave it a try and liked it though. Often we think we have to go out and buy new stuff even when it's based on old designs. Sometimes we just have to remember that the old stuff is out there waiting on us to find it. 

Chicks!

Last spring we ordered our first chicks. We got a total of 20 chicks which was a mix of Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Rocks. Now, we are down to eight hens and four roosters from the original twenty. We decided that we wanted to try our hand at breeding them so we could replenish our flock. We bought a Little Giant Still Air incubator but unfortunately it does not come with an egg turner so we had to do that by hand. You can buy an egg turner to go with it so we may have to get that later.

Our first chick hatched a week ago and it has been fairly steady ever since. So far we have 19 chicks total but we have lost four so far. We aren't sure why as they did not exhibit any signs of illness but so far the other chicks seem to be doing fine.

We bred the Rocks first so this is a picture of the very first one starting to make its debut. It takes several hours to a day or so for them to hatch.

If you have never had the opportunity to see a chick hatch, I have to tell you it is one of the coolest things ever! Of course I think seeing any life come into the world is an amazing thing.

So here it is when it first comes out of the egg. Of course they are all wet and have to remain in the incubator for a few hours so they can dry and fluff out before you move them over to the incubator. It takes a little while for them to get their legs under them and they tend to flop around a good bit while they are trying to figure things out. It doesn't take them long though before they are running around all over the place.

And here is the little ball of fluff all dried out. The older chicks are starting to get their feathers now and are getting quite playful. They are attempting to fly and like to try and roost on top of the feeder and water dispenser. Overall I think our first attempt at incubating has been pretty successful...now we just have to wait on the geese!

Sepp Holtzer

I don't believe I have ever mentioned Sepp Holzer before so I thought I would share a couple of videos with you guys. Sepp is an amazing man. He is a genius at Permaculture and understanding how to create systems that mimic nature. He lives in Austria on the side of mountain and he is able to grow things there that normally would never think of calling a mountain home. I have been listening to a lot of Permaculture podcasts lately and I am convinced that Permaculture is the best chance that we have of creating real sustainable systems that will not only support us but also support the world around us. I'm also convinced that Permaculture is a natural extension of our spiritual lives into the mundane world. So for those of you who are interested in Permaculture, I hope you enjoy these videos! Btw...if the closed caption option is not available at the bottom, you may want to go to You Tube to watch it so you can click for the captions. He doesn't speak English so you will probably find the captions helpful. The title of the videos are Sepp Holzer Permaculture Part 1 and 2.

Washing clothes old school

So recently we ordered this nifty little device called the Breathing Mobile Washer. I happened to come across it online and it looked like it would work pretty well. We liked the idea of having a way to wash our clothes manually in case of an emergency but we are also thinking about washing our clothes this way the majority of the time.

If you want to go green, this is about as green as it gets. When the washer is assembled it looks a little like a plunger. You fill a container with 4-5 inches of water, add your detergent, and start to wash. Wash your clothes using a plunging motion for about 3 minutes per item. That's it!

This is a video I found on You Tube that demonstrates how the washer works. It's very simple and of course the kids think it's fun. The only problem we have is that we don't have a wringer right now to wring the water out of the clothes. If we intend to use this on a regular basis then that is something we will have to invest in soon.

We did test it and it worked really well. We were actually shocked at how much dirt it got out of our sheets. We tried it out on our queen size bed sheets, one fitted, one flat, and four pillow cases. By the time we were done the water had gone from clear to gray. We were amazed at how well it worked.

 I would highly recommend this if you would like to have something to use in case of emergency or to keep at a retreat. This would also be great for extended camping trips. I know I am personally tired of having to use a laundromat and it will probably be a while before we can use our washer and dryer so this may be a good option for a while.

Soil Cube

Ok, so I have a new toy, the Soil Cube. I actually ordered this a few months ago from www.soilcube.com but of course I haven't been able to use it until now. The Soil Cube let's you make your own seed starter cubes so you don't have to buy seed starter kits every year. Now you do have to buy the soil and compost to make the soil mixture but if you plan on starting more than a few plants I think this is worth the investment. If I remember correctly it cost around $35.

This may look like a pile a mud...and I suppose it is, but this is a specially mixed pile of mud. The soil should be mixed to an oatmeal consistency so it will stick and compact down into the cubes. I actually added a little too much water so I had to add some more compost and peat moss to thicken it up.

The process is simple. Scoop up the soil mixture in the cubes and press it against the side of the container. I pressed down the top bar to help squeeze out excess moisture. Scrap away the excess soil before moving over to the container that will hold your cubes. I used a plastic storage container to mix the soil in.

Press firmly down on the top bar to compress the soil and then gently lift the Soil Cube.

You may have to press down on the bar as you lift up to get the cubes to release. After the first few attempts the cubes began to slide out a little easier.

These were the first cubes that I made. I got the tray at a local nursery that let us have it with a purchase that we made but I'm sure you could find plenty at any nursery that wants to get rid of them.

This is the finished tray. I made twenty cubes with this batch. I made some more today but since I didn't have to add anything to the mix this time, I only got about eleven. I plan on making several more because there are several plants that I haven't even started yet. Plus I have to order more seeds!

We had some Popsicle sticks lying around so I used these to make tags for the cubes. I love how this system works and it is very easy to use. We are contemplating trying our hand at a micronursery business. It probably won't happen this year but maybe next year. For anyone who is looking for options for self employment because you want to be more self sufficient, this might be a good option. It's not much of an investment, it's something you can use for yourself, and you can do it on a small scale to see how you like it and hopefully build from there. So if you're interested check out their website and see what you think!