RESTORING THE OLD TRACTOR

In August of 2015 we had my husband's father's old 1952 Allis Chalmars Tractor shipped to Texas from Pennsylvania.  This was a 50th birthday gift collaboration from his father & I.   After sitting in our shed for a couple of years we finally fired her up and began the process of cleaning her up and  rebuilding the parts that don't work so well.  We enlisted the help of our handy friend Don who showed up with a fully stocked van ready to get the job done. 

 

She's not very pretty yet but she has started and actually mowed 1/2 of the field before calling it quits again.  Don & Flip are now spending their Saturday's removing part by part as they work on this old gem. 

ARTISTIC WORKS IN OUR HOME

Over the years we have worked with some interesting materials.

 

From old junk furniture to insects, there's possibilities everywhere.

    

SNAKE SKIN BELTS

For years now we have supplied each of our nephews with a taste of Texas in the form of a snake skin belt.
Snakes are not a rarity here as we have plenty of non-venomous and venomous varieties.
Copperheads, Coral Snakes and Rattlers are a common finding on the edge of our yards and do pose a danger to our pets, livestock and family members.

We have mastered the tanning process and it is quite simple.  We will outline this process in another blog.

For this post we are just talking about making the belt from the tanned skin.

STEP 1: Cutting the skin- We tape off the skin inside down to a flat cutting surface with masking tape.  You will want to measure your belt blank adding 1/8" for overlap.  Making marks on the tape will help accuracy.

STEP 2: Using a rotary cutter and a long straight edge, carefully cut the skin.


 

STEP 3: We strongly suggest using a buckle belt tip to keep the skin from peeling off your belt end.
Cut your blank tip to match the shape of the metal tip.

STEP 4: Measure for hole placement and using punch make holes in blank. You will need to cut a slit for the buckle arm at this point as well.



STEP 5: If your skin has dried scales still on it, you will need to scrape all remaining scales from the skin.  We use a plastic credit card to do so.
 

STEP 6: Protect your surface with newsprint, lay out your skin inside up and apply contact cement to center 2/3 of skin where your blank will lay.

STEP 7: Apply contact cement to the outside of the belt blank as well and let both to dry for 5-8 minutes.
STEP 8: Carefully lay belt blank in center of skins starting at one end and working your way to the other.
STEP 9: Apply contact cement to inside of blank and the reset of the skin.  Let sit for 5-8 minutes.

STEP 10: Carefully roll to one side then fold over and repeat with other side.




STEP 11: Gently roll over belt to insure good adhesion.

STEP 12: Cut through holds with Exacto knife and attach hardware. 

HERE COME THE FISH

After 3 weeks of cycling the system our plants have doubled in size and our pond fish are all thriving.  It was time to put the system to work raising food fish. We chose to raise Talapia purchased from our local fish farm, Herman's.

To prepare for their introduction we removed the pond fish and cleaned the tank and ran a UV pump to eliminate the possibility of any harmful bacteria. 
Water Testing indicated Ph @ 7.65, Amonia @ 0, Nitrites @ 0 & Nitrates @ 5ppm. All good and the system is ready.









October 13, 2017- Twenty beautiful Talapia arrived to their new home.
 

GREENHOUSE SET UP

In early September 2017 we collected all of our components for the fist of 4 set ups and built a stand to hold it.

The set up included a 75 gallon stock tank, 3-7" & 3-5" deep grow beds with an ebb and flow drain set up in each. The system is set up with 2-250GPH  pond pumps and a 7 watt air pump with 4 outlets supply 2 bubble bars (1-8" & 1-16".)


 

All the electrical components are set up on a single strip power supply.  Half the strip is set to run off a timer programmed to run the water pumps on 15 minutes and off 45 minutes.

   

Initially the system was primed  with the water from our test pond with a single 12" catfish.  We added 6- 6" catfish & 12-4" sunfish from our stock pond to offset the size and volume needed to support the 6 grow beds.  The grow beds were filled with starter plants of okra, zucchini, tomatillo, peppers and basil.  

Interesting Vegitation

As we run our trials for plants in our Aquaponic garden beds we are learning a great deal about plants, nutrients and their root systems  We found early on that tomatillos are not ideal for our system as they have a very large and fibrous root system which cloggs incoming water supply as well as the drain system in your bed.

 

Cabbage & broccoli grow in the system and have a good root system that does not completely invade, however, they require a bit more nutrients than our system provides to produce a "perfect" tight head of vegetable. 

Don't get me wrong we harvested numerous deliciously wonderful vegetables which we enjoyed immensely.  The heads began as tight little clusters in the middle of the plant and by the time of harvest they had a more broccoli rabe look to them.  None the less we will continue to add these veggies in our plant rotation. 

Basil and green scallions LOVE our system and the onions will regenerate over and over if you just clip the tops off for eating instead of the entire white bulb. 

PRESERVING HERBS FROM OUR GARDEN

The self- watering herb garden we built produces an abundance of fresh herbs year round using the recycled water from our carbon filter.
We find that most often we are left with an overabundance and it's time to preserve them for use another time.
We have found the best way to do so is in our dehydrator.  We do not use chemicals for fertilizer or pest control in our gardens and generally we try to keep the mindset to plant more than we need so the bugs get a taste too without losing all of our goods.

Step 1: Gently rinse your herbs.

Step 2: Pat dry.







Step 3: Remove dead leaves.

Step 4: Snip leaves off woody stems.

 

Step 5: Arrange loosely on dehydrator trays.

 

Step 6: Dehydrate 4-6 hours at 91* or the lowest settings possible.

Store in air tight containers for up to 6 months for maximum flavor.

HARVESTING HERBS

After a month in our new system we harvested the first of much to come.  Basil grew 3 fold in just 4 weeks time.

BEES WAX CHAPSTICK

On of our favorite things to make for gifts is lip balm.  Over the years we have developed several recipes that we love.  The most recent is tinted with beet root powder for a pretty ruby shaded balm.

 

Our favorite recipe:
1 tsp. Honey
1/4 cup Coconut Oil
1/4 cup Rendered Beeswax
10 drops Essential Oil (we like cinnamon or peppermint)
2 drops Vitamin E Oil

In a small pan over low heat melt ingredients together till combined.  Pour into empty tins or tubes.