It’s time to update you on how the chickens have been doing! As chicks, they were brooded with zero electricity. Instead, we used a cold brooder and a Mother Hen box (you can read that blog post here). It has yielded some interesting anecdotal results, most notably: The Delaware and Blue Australorp started laying eggs [...]
In 2021, we needed to start a new laying flock. Living off-grid with only a small amount of solar power, we needed to learn how to brood chicks with very little- or preferably zero- electricity. We saw kerosene set-ups to provide heat. In pondering over it though, for one thing, Krystal is highly sensitive to [...]
On March 20, 2021, a batch of new chicks arrived on the ranch! Being that we have yet to find a breed that fits what we’re looking for in a sustainable homestead flock, we decided to try two new heritage breeds: Delaware and Australorp (the blue variety.) We are also using some techniques to brood [...]
This frittata is one of my go-to dishes for its simplicity, versatility, and utter deliciousness. Whether for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner, a couple ingredients or chock full, it’s another great use of eggs when we’re swimmin’ in them. The variations are limited only by your imagination: bacon with cheddar, ham and Swiss, pork [...]
As mentioned in an earlier post, we love eggs. And one of our favorite ways to enjoy them is hard cooked- for snacks, as a quick light meal, in egg salad, etc. So for us one of the main selling points of the All American Sun Oven is the ability to hard cook eggs without [...]
We’re starting a new blog theme called “Homestead Tools”. This is where we will periodically share with you the tools that are must-haves on our off-grid homestead. To kick it off, we introduce the All American Sun Oven, considered the ultimate solar appliance with good reason! Those who know me know that I am a [...]
Off-grid… off-the-grid are terms heard and read frequently these days. What is a grid? What does living off-grid mean? And why do it in the first place? Being off-grid is by no means a new concept, although it is fairly new in the consciousness of most in these days of mass media. Think about [...]
September 8, 2015: During summer I discovered a terrific author, Caleb Warnock. He writes and teaches about the methods used by Utah’s pioneers, baking with wild yeast, and (this is the one that really opened my eyes) a book solely about winter gardening… using cold frames and hot beds, no heat or electricity, no expensive [...]
Watch for it... Spring 2016!
Over the past several years there has been a remarkable increase in the number of women, with a sprinkling of men, maintaining a family milk cow or dairy goats. Wonderfully there are no signs of the trend slowing down either! You can add me to that throng since 2012 marked the beginning of having my [...]
