bunny hutch construction

The craftswoman has built a wonderful bunny hutch, with limited help from her husband. Here she is at work on the porch with her power tools. The hutch is complete and up on a terrace we cut into the hill above the house. Pictures of the bunnies in their new home to come

tiny house siding

The siding is taking shape. Weather has treated the thin skin of our tiny timber house harshly over the winter yet it made it through. The wooden armor is slowly going up and turning our shiny little house into a true woodland home. I will be thrilled to have it all up especially after a Winter of high winds. Every wind storm seemed to pull the double bubble skin off the house and I inevitably would be out in the rain and wind with a staple gun suturing the gaps in our skin.

carpenter ants in the tiny timber house

Yup, we have ants. Or rather we had ants. Te little exoskeletonated creeps  were chewing through our windows and beam. we found small piles of saw dust and then the nest. dozens of little creatures running fastly away as I opened the trim on the window to find them. Running fast but not faster than the stay of clove oil. We killed those little pests, lovingly of course. suffocated them right out of the beams and hopefully the house is now pest free. It did mean taking the completed upstairs apart a little but one step forward one step back as "they" say.

farm fresh eating

A big bowl of salad greens from the garden. Fresh cheese in the pot. Whey for some biscuits. Wild leeks to sauté. Carrots, radishes and a parsnip for munching. MMMMM. I like farming. All fresh from the field today and only 100 ft away.

kitchen shelves: tiny house

after months of waiting. . . and waiting; my wife has finally gotten her kitchen shelves. A rainy day, excess cured lumber, and limited kitchen counter space was the perfect recipe for building shelves. We used some hackberry that had been in the bathroom. The bathroom rejected the hackberry and so it has gone to live in the kitchen. Reincarnated into shelves the hackberry gives a modern rustic, look adorned in stainless brackets and dark stain. The space saving use excellent from the pragmatic view and from the aesthetic stance they are genius. Thanks to my wife for the vision and the help building them.

siding the tiny house phase two

At last a little siding is on the south face of the tiny house. This weekend Donnelly and I put up some poplar and pine siding. It has made a world o difference in noise buffering as well as wind penetration. The neighbors cows are soothing in their own way when they bellow first thing in the AM but not hearing them is nice too. I think it looks nice but after the aluminum foil look anything wood would look magnificent.

home made food

The daily cheese making has been tremendous. I have sour things fermenting and bubbling all over the counter. The sourdough starter to the right of the window. The Kombucha starters to the left. A small batch of yoghurt ripening on the window sill. A batch or fresh goat cheese dripping whet into a bowl by the stove. This is the life. Dairy products bought this past week $0. value of home made goodness $ untold millions. All thanks to these ladies below. Mostly Iris as we milk her but by next year brie will be old enough to contribute. 

The two kinds of cheese we have been making: 

Soft and crumble

We make the soft by 1st strain the milk through a filter ( double layer cheese cloth) THe is remover the hair and stuff from the milking process. 

next (2nd step) pour milk into a shallow pot. Heat on low for a few minutes until it is hot to the touch but not bubbling. 3rd add an acid about 3 T per 1/2 gallon works for me but depends on the acidity of the acid you use. We use white wine vinegar or kombucha. Any vinegar should work, we used red wine vinegar but the flavor was not as delightful. This will separate the curd from the whey as you stir it in. Lastly (4th), strain the contents of the pan through a cheese cloth ( clean section). We bought all cotton white mesh from the fabric store. This option is less expensive and offers a tighter weave fabric. 

the crumble cheese is done exactly the same way except raise the temperature to almost a simmer (stir to avid burning) The high temperature creates a harder cheese that crumbles after being strained and drained. 

In both cases salt to taste. We usually add herbs, garlic and or salt and fold/cut them in ( cooking term for mix them in) The whey can be used for baking in place of water.