Around The Homestead

A (mostly) photo update of projects and happenings on the homestead.

Weather

Cold and rainy! Water buckets have been frozen so every morning we heat water before going out to do chores. Then we break the ice off the surface and top of with hot water. Everybody likes warm water on a cold day and it keeps the buckets from refreezing too quickly.

In spite of the cold our daffodils have started to bloom.

This new bout of rain is supposed to warm things up, however. No complaints about that!

Freezer

Yesterday we moved the freezer from the pantry to the back porch! All that's left to get it on solar is to hook up the inverter and plug it in. That will probably be my next blog post. Dan put it on 2x4s to distribute the weight on the porch floor, but I'm also glad for the air circulation underneath. I gave it a good cleaning when we moved it and the bottom was mildewy. Better air circulation will help with that. I'm also going to repaint the top.

It's gotten pretty rusty over the years.

Front Bedroom Exterior Siding

Is up!

But it's been too cold to paint, which is the next step. Then the trim. Hopefully, our promised warm spell will be warm enough to paint. Even so, the new windows and new layer of siding have made a noticeable difference in the front bedroom. Quieter and not as cold.

Eggs

The hens are starting to lay again. Cat nose included for size! LOL

Goats

Kidding is right around the corner.

The Girls

Daisy has a due date of February 14 and will be first.

Then Ellie, then Miracle, both in March.

I still have too many bucks.

The Boys

If anybody's interested in a registered Kinder buck, let me know!

Parting Shot

Riley

UPDATE: Our lone Muscovy duck is dead. Dan found her this morning while doing chores. Evidence suggests she was killed by a 'possum large dog. We found fresh dog tracks around the area where Dan found her. She was a favorite of his, so he's taking it pretty hard.

Around The Homestead © January 2020

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Finishing That Corner of the House

One year ago, we finished re-siding the back gable end of the house.

December 2018

At the time, I assumed Dan would also finish off that last back corner. The one in the above photo with the old white vinyl siding. Alas, Dan quickly shifted mental gears from the house to the carport. So that corner has remained an eye magnet for the past year.

Last month, he finally got to it when it became one of the side projects of installing our solar system.

The wiring from the batteries must go through that wall to the inverter (which will convert the batteries' DC electricity into AC electricity for the freezer). The freezer will plug into the inverter on the back porch.

We had a string of really nice days right before Christmas, so Dan got started on this project. The first step was to remove the old vinyl siding.

Thankfully, no surprises there. The original shiplap siding looked the same as it has on the rest of the house beneath the vinyl siding.

The wood siding came down next. No surprises there either. Dan had insulated that wall years ago when he replaced the back porch floor.

The back porch steps were obviously added on after the house was built. You can tell because the old siding runs behind the concrete.

The next step was to remove the back porch overhang bracket, the porch railing, and the old corner molding.

That meant the porch overhang had to be propped. Tar paper was next and then our barnboard siding.

The siding fit behind the porch steps and storm windows perfectly.

The last of the construction part was a new overhang bracket.

The wire you see runs from a small solar panel on the roof to a vent fan behind the crawlspace door. (The panel that contains the fan can be moved as needed.)

This is one reason why the battery box is in such a good place. In summer, the cool vented crawlspace air can blow across the batteries.

After painting the siding, new corner trim and porch railing were added.

Dan finished with the painting before we got another round of rain. At last, the back side of the house is done!

December 2019

Well, maybe I shouldn't be too optimistic about that. Now, he's talking about replacing the back porch overhang and maybe re-doing the back porch steps. It never ends, does it? 😄

But first things first, and that means connecting our solar panels, charge controller, batteries, and inverter. Then we can plug in the freezer! More on all that soon.

Finishing That Corner of the House © Jan 2020

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

The Solar Panels Are Up

For the past couple of months I've been sharing with you about our plan to put my chest freezer and second pantry refrigerator on solar energy. After finishing the updates and modifications to the back porch, Dan went to work building a rack for the solar panels. This was a weather permitting project, but we didn't mind the pauses because we definitely need the rain.

He's especially happy that he didn't have to buy a thing to build the rack! He was able to use materials and hardware that he already had.

Required spacing of the panels was specified in the installation manual. For these, a quarter-inch.

The angle will be somewhat adjustable.

The next step will be running the cables from the panels to the house, which is about 30 feet.

In the above photo, the corner of the house that you see is our back porch. That's where the freezer and fridge will reside. A battery box will be built next to the house under the windows. Options for the cables are putting up a pole and running them overhead to the house, or burying them in a conduit under the driveway.

It's hard to be patient about getting this project up and running, but it's important to take the time to do our homework and think things through. Every completed step is progress.

Next - Wiring the Solar Panels

The rest of this series can be found here:

• Solar Pantry Part 1: Feasibility
• Solar Pantry Part 2: Analysis
• Solar Pantry Part 3: Alternatives
• Solar Pantry Part 4: The Plan
• Solar Project Part 5: Back Porch Preparations
• Back Porch Progress

The Solar Panels Are Up © October 2019

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Back Porch Progress

So this is pretty much where we left off last time.

After Dan installed a solar attic fan for ventilation on the back porch, he insulated that bit of wall and covered it with a piece of paneling. Then he then trimmed out the window.

Kinda hard to get a good photo with the dryer in the middle of the room.

While the dryer was moved, I did a deep cleaning in it's spot and then painted.

You can see that we added a battery and charge controller to the fan so it can be run after the sun goes down.

I chose this particular charger because it was
economical and has a programmable timer.

Then, because these windows get the late afternoon summer sun, I wanted to try some of those thermal heat blocking curtains. Has anyone tried them? Do you think they help?

Hopefully, these will help keep some of
the afternoon heat out in summertime.

Now we're ready to move the freezer. It will go on the right-hand wall where the shelf units used to be.

Next - The Solar Panels Are Up

Back Porch Progress © October 2019

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Solar Project Part 5: Back Porch Preparations

[I changed the title of this series from "solar pantry" to "solar project," because we changed our original plan. Part 1 of the series starts here.]

So the plan is to move the freezer from the pantry to the back porch and put it on solar. That meant we had to do some rearranging on the porch to get ready. Like most other big projects, that meant a number steps - both planned and unplanned.

About eight years ago, when we were remodeling the kitchen, we took a detour to create a temporary remodeler's kitchen on the back porch.

November 2011 photo of my "temporary" kitchen.
Since then it's been my canning and summer kitchen. 

It served us well, because it took us another year before the kitchen was finished (before and after shots here). Once the kitchen was done I left the electric stove on the porch for canning and whatever summer-time cooking we don't do with my solar oven or Dan's grill.

About three years ago we moved the cabinet in the above photo into the new milking room of the old goat barn. In its place we put shelves.

Very handy for canning pots, coolers, laundry supplies,
my dehydrator, campfire cast iron, and recycling bins.

Now we're planning to move the freezer to this spot, so the shelves needed to be moved. That set off a cleaning binge, and while we were at it, it seemed like a good time to finish the trim around the doors and paint the walls. Years ago I put a coat of primer on the walls, but at the time we were more eager to get on with finishing the kitchen rather than the back porch. So this is how it's looked for the past eight years.

Funny how you can live with something for
so long that you don't even notice it anymore.

Dan put up some trim and gave it a coat of paint.

It feels good to finish something 
that's been unfinished for so long!

I wanted to keep at least one shelf unit on the back porch for my canners, large pots, and recycling bins, so I put it next to the stove.

New home for my my canners, canning
& cheesemaking pots, and recycling bins.

We never use the door behind it, so this seemed like a handy place. Well, it was the only place! I used to have a small table there and I'll miss that, but this solution won out for practicality.

Improving ventilation to the back porch was the next task. I used an old metal box fan in the window for years and that worked well. Then the old fan died and the new plastic one just doesn't have the strength to vent the well, especially when I'm canning. Our solar attic vent fan has worked so well that Dan installed a similar one on the back porch.

Another wall we didn't finish when we did that
side of the house. Made it easier to install the fan!

While he was working on that I started to clean out the freezer in preparation for moving it. Quite a few of the items I mentioned in Solar Pantry Part 2: Analysis could be vacuum packed instead of frozen.

I find healthy ingredient crackers and cookies at a local discount
grocery. At 50-75₵ per box they make good stock-up prepper items.

I couldn't believe how many boxes I had stashed in the freezer!
They stay fresh and moth-free when vacuum packed. How-to here.

I also use my freezer for small harvest amounts, like tomatoes, figs, and berries. I rarely get enough at any one picking for a canner load, so I pop them into the freezer and can them when the weather turns cooler. I do the same with bones for bone broth. This year I'm getting everything processed early to clear out the freezer.

Crock pot of pizza sauce cooking down.

Once Dan is done with the fan, he'll finish that wall and then we'll move the freezer. Of course, progress seems slow going right now, but that's what happens when a seemingly simple project ends up with a lot of small steps! But all the steps are good ones, and it will be nice to finally finish the back porch. It's been a good September project.

Next in this series → Back Porch Progress

Solar Project Part 5: Back Porch Preparations © Sept 2019

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Forgotten Items Found and Finishing the Back Porch

I told you about the old cabinet I'd been saving in "My New Milking Room" post. A couple of things happened as a result of that, including finding some things stashed in that cabinet that I'd forgotten about.

One is a cardboard brickmaker.

I bought it from Lehman's awhile back when they were having a sale. Needless it's been "lost" in the cabinet all this time so I haven't had a chance to try it.

I also found this

It's called a "Pump N' Seal" for vacuum sealing glass jars. I bought it for Y2K storage and had forgotten all about it! It's over 16 years old so I have no idea of the parts are still in good order. We ended up using 5-gallon buckets with oxygen absorbers instead. I could certainly use a way to protect my grains from pantry moths, so I'll have to see how it works.

We've also been able to finally finish the back porch, which is a huge relief.

The shelves replace the cabinet.

I finally have a place for recycling bins, canners and large pots, laundry supplies, rags, campfire cast iron, dehydrator, and my solar oven when it's not in use. I love feeling organized.

Forgotten Items Found and Finishing the Back Porch 

© Sept 2016 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Around The Homestead

A few updates all rolled up into one post.

Corn Update

Truckers Favorite field corn interplanted with cowpeas & pumpkins

I think this is the prettiest corn we've ever grown.

Baby Chicken Update

Mama and Lone Baby Chicken are doing well.

This is the first time I've had a chick be so well received by the rest of the flock. No one pesters or even pays any attention to the chick, even Rooster Man! Plus, I have another broody hen. I gave her half a dozen eggs.

And, I have another broody hen. Due to hatch June 25.

This is the first time I've had more than one broody hen in a summer!

Fencing Update

View from the back side before the gate was installed.

After finishing the chicken coop Dan wanted to take a break from building. The current project is fencing (again).  First thing done was to finish putting up the privacy fence on the other side of the house. On the Master Plan, this is on the right side of the house for the area labeled "bird garden".  This will hopefully be an outdoor relaxation area since we have no back yard. It would be nice to sit out and enjoy the weather some times!

Solar Cooking Update

Cooking freshly harvested potatoes for potato salad.

A 100% solar cooked meal: chicken, carrots, turnips, and potato salad.
Everything but the carrots are homegrown (we've already eaten all of ours)

I'm using the solar oven every day unless it rains or rain looks imminent.

Screen Door

Sam takes a peek out the screen door. The cats like looking out

Dan finally got the screen door hung on the back porch. I am really, really happy about this. Since my non-air conditioned back porch / laundry room is also my summer kitchen (when I can't use the solar oven) plus my canning kitchen, I need all the access to cooler air I can get. We hung the kitty door bell on it because the kitty door (under the bench on the left) is one-way only these days, out. That's because all three cats like to bring their catches (usually live) onto the back porch!

The door still has to be painted, and we'll need something to protect the screen from claws, but at least it's up.

Parting Shot

I just did a pig update, but couldn't resist passing on this shot.

Cooling off. 

For some reason his water dish is preferable to the little mud hole we made. What a pig.

Around The Homestead © June 2014

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/