We've had some cold temperatures this winter but not a lot of precipitation of ice or snow. I decided this week to get out and get some pictures around the homestead of the houses and outbuildings. Many people are always sending messages about many things around the homestead and I thought I would post some snapshots of the various items in questions and comment about them.
It can sometimes really help to see how some things are set up if you are also thinking about setting up in ways similar on your homestead. So here are some random photos around the homestead. If you have any questions about what you are seeing, please post it in the comments below and we can try and help!
This is the top of Tim's (
This is our homestead woodshed. It looks like I need to keep stacking. I cut the wood and my two boys stack it up.
The roof of the woodshed drains into one of our two 1500 gallon tanks on the homestead. This tank collects water from the outdoor kitchen and the woodshed. The tank is uphill of the houses and flows downhill with buried underground piping.
Painted Tanks
This is the second of our two 1500 gallon tanks on the homestead. It collects from the roof of one of the houses on the homestead. Almost every roof on the homestead has some sort of water collection tank attached to it. Our tanks are all painted black. They come in a white color. There are a number of reasons to paint the tanks with black paint.
- It keeps the algae growth inside the tank down. Algae will grow and eventually die off and then putrefy the water and can make you sick.
- The black color absorbs the heat from the sun and keeps the water from freezing as quickly. It can decrease thaw time.
- The original color of the tanks are white. Over time as pollen from the trees fall, it will discolor the white tanks and they just look nasty. A nice black tank shows less dirt and gives a nicer overall appearance to your homestead.
Here is another view of the outdoor kitchen with the water tank. You can also see our outdoor brick oven. And the tractor is thrown in for good measure!
Some of our sheep relaxing in the sun.
Some tasty raw milk from one of our neighbor's milk cows. We love raw milk and Jaimie has been busy making yogurt, sour cream and cheese the last few days from all the milk we have been getting.
So that's the homestead right now at the beginning of February. Spring will quickly come and our attention will turn to planting and getting ready for another harvest. Homesteading is about taking it one day at a time.
Relax and enjoy the adventure!
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