That sounds like a ridiculous question. But rumors abound. Hmmm. Let’s get to the bottom of this. Our alpha hen, Java, goes around crowing like a rooster, but gets all the privileges of being a hen. For example, I mentioned in a previous post how I had thrown a big grub to Old Whitey and …
We’re looking forward to restarting our Superadobe building projects, but the winter break has allowed us to get a lot of other stuff done. One of the most important is installing many water-harvesting earthworks that will help stop erosion of our topsoil and will help build living soil which will enable abundant food production. Rainwater …
We got snow last night and the picture shows it on the mobile chicken coop. Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8) Can you learn from ants and …
A year ago next week we drove from our winter sabbatical spot in southern Texas to Arizona. We arrived with windy snow and freezing weather at Thunder Mountain Alpaca Ranch, a very hospitable working ranch near Coronado National Memorial. We stayed and helped out for a few months while scoping out properties for Sabbatical Ranch. …
Many the projects we work on here at Sabbatical Ranch are experimental as a demonstration site for the benefit of everyone. We’ve been developing a variety of experimental gardens in the last month or so and I suppose it’s about time I report on them. Here’s the list so far:
– Rain garden
– Hugelkultur
– Critter gardens
– Caliche gardens
– Chicken garden
– Greenhouse garden
– Courtyard food forest
– Chicken jungle
– Sunken garden
– Shady place
– And there are more in the works!
Oxymoron? Contradiction in terms? If that’s your opinion of microbes, I hope to change it as I share some revolutionary discoveries you may not be completely aware of! Microbes are one of the marvels of creation that demonstrate intelligent design and pretty much every surface on earth is covered with them. It’s estimated that our …
Rats and mice! These rodents are legion on the desert. I am mostly a live-and-let-live kind of guy – except when it comes to rats and mice. So I declared preemptive war on them. This is a war story. Who will win? Read to the end to see how we turned a problem into multiple …
We just got a small flock of adult chickens! We got three hens and six roosters from Echoing Hope, a local nonprofit ranch that is chemical-free and similar to Sabbatical Ranch in a variety of other ways. Even though the chickens are beyond their prime for meat or egg-laying, we plan to make good use …
Hardly anyone wants to live in a desolate desert. Everywhere people settle they usually cultivate the land and plant things. The Arizona desert is no different. We moved here because it’s a desert, but who wouldn’t want to make it more livable for people, pets, and plants? We’ve experienced many types of harsh weather here …
One of the things I said I’d include in this blog is some of the simple, DIY projects we work on. This one is really cool! I combined a rocket stove with a rocket mass heater and created a hybrid of the two. These are extremely efficient compared to a conventional fire (eg. wood stove …
