Off Grid Solar System
This has been great! We put up a 200 watt solar panel and attached that to a 200 watt inverter with two plug ins. Now we have power!
Solar panel kits have come down in price and many great ones can now be purchased on Amazon. Here is an example of one from Amazon
This year has been a really bad year for mice and rats, we have mice where they have never been before and it appears most of the neighborhood is experiencing the same problem.
Why do we have such an increase in rodent activity? I suspect it has something to do with the weather, we have had an unusually cool summer with much more rain than usual. Here is an article I found that talks about how weather can affect rodents. Home owners over run by mice
I don’t like to use poison as we are out in the country and who know what is going to eat that poisoned rat or mouse, so we are careful with how we get rid of these critters.
This year I found these new traps and I just love them! They are way better than the old Victors (that’s the old wooden ones grandma used) The Catchmaster traps I think are the best, they are so easy to set and to take the mouse or rat out of. They come in three sizes. I have them all!
Catchmaster 2-Pack Snapper Easy Set Mouse Trap
In the past we have tried all kinds of makes and models of mouse and rat traps, some works OK and others not at all. These are by far the best, and very easy to set and very easy to remove the mice as well. The trap is built well, not flimsy at all.
Rodents eat mostly nuts and seeds – I think the majority of people use peanut butter to bait the traps.
I have used peanut butter before, but I found if I put two or three pumpkin seeds in the well of these new traps works very well.
Chaga from the Birch Trees Chaga Tea is a great way to get all the wonderful nutrients from the Birch Tree Tao Chaga Wild Harvest Canadian Chaga Mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) Chunk – 1 lb (454 g) Read about all the many benefits and healing properties of Chaga here
Last May the Dandelions were out and with so man we figured we would try our hand at making Dandelion Wine. This was a first, but I had come across an old recipe in my Grandmothers book, so thought I’d give it a try.
Dandelions are the first flowers to be seen in the spring, we often add the tender young greens to our salads because of the healthy benefits this plant has. Making wine with the dandelion flower gave us a wonderful tonic, we would occasionally have a glass for its medicinal benefits.
We have a nice grove of Birch Trees not far from the property so this spring we decided to try our hand at tapping the birch trees to drink the water and make Birch Syrup.
I started growing Garlic several years ago, but never really knew what to do with the Scapes, to be honest I didn’t even know I was supposed to cut them off the Garlic Plant……that might have had something to do with the poor crops I was producing.
Found on the west coast of North America here is a picture of Oregon Grape in bloom.
Soon these flowers will turn into clusters of purple berries with a that bring to mind a cluster of grapes…hence the name.
Rocket Stove Mass Heater: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners What Is a Rocket Mass Heater? A rocket mass heater (often called a rocket stove mass heater) is one of the most efficient wood-burning stoves you can build for off-grid heating. Unlike a traditional wood stove, a rocket heater burns small-diameter wood at very high temperatures, … Read more
This is an excellent off grid tool, an all in one that comes with a Hatchet Blade, Hammer head, Nail Claw and Pry bar as well as a replaceable 6″ saw blade, but that’s not all. It also has 5 hex sockets and a hardened steel glass breaker and seat belt cutter.
If you have been thinking of moving off grid here are some books that may help.
This one is about surviving off grid, I really like this book. It is covers everything from staking your piece of land to building your shelter, finding water, sources of heat and power.
