In an electric vehicle charging system, the pantograph structure lowers onto a bus roof to charge the batteries.
The charger is physically a large electrical cabinet, over 6 ft tall. An electric vehicle charger cabinet is connected to 1-4 pantographs.
A colleague said that “pantographs don’t have a brain”. So technically they don’t have their own power rating – it’s the charger that delivers power, not the pantograph itself.
Does this imply that the electric vehicle charger has a brain? That the brain is a computer? That a computer is a brain?
I don’t think so, but these are cool to see.
Two red pantographs that are lowered to charge electric bus batteries on the bus roof.The “Brain”. Inside look at one side of a charger cabinet. These are large and complicated.
In the Seattle area, invasive Himalayan blackberry vines abound with thorny branches and complex root systems. From my experience, these are the #1 most difficult weed to remove because the thorny branches always leave bloody battle scars, grow extremely fast, and it’s never clear how extensively the root system goes. Even their serrated leaves have thorny center veins!
But there is one silver lining! Once a year, at the peak of summer (usually late August), they yield a bounty of edible fruit with rich flavor and big seeds.
Walking back from the library, I scouted a blackberry patch on an abandoned lot. These berries grew with less exposure to car traffic and pollution being on a quiet residential street. I later set out with the hubby and big bowls to harvest as much as we could until we couldn’t tolerate the thorny pricks, stings and sticky berry juice stains any more. I blended the berries, strained out the big seeds through a sieve, and set out to make blackberry kombucha and enough preserves for the year. These can be enjoyed with plain greek yogurt or in baking.
For the first time, I got fruit jam to set! 2 full days after preparing the blackberry jam and putting some jars in the fridge, I tilted them and noticed they were no longer watery. Yes!
Here is the actual recipe I used, which is based on the tested Ball recipe from my pectin jar label. This was my first serious attempt at making jam and the result is good, but I don’t feel it’s good enough to share as a gift to neighbors or friends. I include notes for future recipe improvements.
Improvements for Next Time:
Use less water: There is a half inch of excess water above the set jam in most jars.
Use slightly less pectin: The jam is a little thick like jelly, whereas I’d prefer a spread.
Keep more seeds: I like a little more visible seeds
Try sugar instead of honey: There is a distinct honey taste. I don’t mind, but sugar is more neutral.
Add lemon or lime juice to add slightly more tartness
Ingredients
Yield: 12 half pint jars + a quarter pint
Total process time:2 hours. Start a few hours before dinnertime!
About 2kg or 4.2lbs freshly picked blackberries, washed and rinsed
14 tablespoons of low/no-sugar pectin (next time: try 12 tablespoons).
2 cups or 500mL of water (next time: 1.25 – 1.5 cups)
510g (about 3/4 of a bear bottle) of Organic Raw Honey
Next time: Juice of 1 or 2 fresh squeezed lemons
Tools
Pressure Canner (Presto Model 0178)
12 quart stock pot
12 Half-pint mason jars, canning lids and rings, sterilized in boiling water
Wide mouth funnel, canning tongs, hot jar wrench
Blender
Strainer
Boiling tap water to submerge jars in the canner
Timer
Steps
Blend blackberries and strain out the seeds in batches. Pour fruit juice/non-seed pulp into stock pot. Note: The seeds comprised about 1/4 of my blackberry weight.
Add some seed pulp back to stock pot, to taste or visual preference. I used 70g of seeds, next time try 150g of seeds.
Heat berries. Bring berry stock pot slowly up to a boil, gradually stirring in pectin. Break pectin clumps and stir continuously. Bring to a full roiling boil that cannot be stirred down.
Add sweetener and boil 1 minute. Sugar or honey. The blackberries are not sweet enough for my taste to make a true no sugar jam. Some day you’ll be hardcore. Add lemon juice here and taste test. Return to a full rolling boil for one minute (set timer).
Remove from heat. No need to skim foam per Ball, it will go away!
Follow canning directions to water bath 12 jars’ worth of delicious preserved blackberry jam, with a little extra (quarter pint) to enjoy without canning.
Chicken snack. Feed excess blackberry seed pulp to chickens! They will love it, and you will love not having anything to throw away!
Water bath canningFinished product!Brownie: What’s this? >:->I never knew Nuggo’s neck was this long. (center, golden)Misty (grey, right) likes blackberries too!
It’s mid-August and the first heat wave has struck Seattle this summer. The highs are near 90 degrees and my back porch thermometer reported 96 degrees due to a greenhouse effect from the semi-transparent porch roof.
When it’s hot like this, with highs above 80 degrees, I check outside every hour or two to observe how the chickens are coping. They hold their wings apart from their body, pant, hang out in the shade in the north side of the house, eat less grain, and need their water bowls refilled twice dailyi. I give them kale and outer cabbage leaves in the evenings because their appetite for salad spikes. The older hens (las reinas) tolerate the heat best, while the youngest ones (las angelitas) pant and show signs of distress the most. Each year they learn to cope better.
Penguin Ramsey!Hot, panting Brownie
I am grateful for these hens and the bounty of eggs they lay for us. Here’s the egg count for June, July and other months thus far:
Month (2023)
Laying Hens
Eggs per Day (avg)
Eggs per Week
Dozens per Week
Eggs per Month
Dozens per Month
Feed Cost
Cost per Dozen
July
8
5.8
42
3.5
179
15
$ 30
$ 1.99
June
8
6.2
45
3.7
186
15
$ 30
$ 1.92
May
8
6.2
45
3.7
192
16
$ 30
$ 1.86
April
8
5.8
42
3.5
173
14
$ 30
$ 2.06
March
6
4.5
32
2.7
138
12
$ 30
$ 2.58
Feb
6
3.8
28
2.3
107
9
$ 30
$ 3.33
Jan
6
2.7
19
1.6
83
7
$ 30
$ 4.30
Observations:
May was the peak of egg productivity with 192 eggs that month, costing $1.86 a dozen (organic, pasture-raised).
June is close behind with 186 eggs at $1.92 a dozen. It’s downhill from here due to the shortening daylight!
Longer daylight and sunny days induce egg laying, not warm temperatures.
Now, in early August, the sun rises about 2 minutes later and sets about 2 minutes earlier each day. I expect greater decreases in eggs for the remainder of the year.
Brownie and the two youngest hens (Misty and Tots) are finally living in harmony! After many months of Brownie spontaneously puffing up her feathers and terrorizing las angelitas, they now share moments of dust bathing and pecking at grass seeds within a few feet of each other. It’s wonderful to see your children getting along after months of bullying and fighting. Brownie was the lowest on the pecking order (Rank # 6), so I suspect she wants to make it clear to the newcomers she will not be outranked.
Tots glucks in fear every time Brownie gets near, which instigates anger and a peck attack. She has been getting better about staying calm and not becoming an easy target.
Tots and Misty still appear to be in equal rank, but occasionally they challenge each other and puff out their hackles (collar feathers).
Hens abhor equality, so Tots and Misty will likely have a fight and set their positions for Number 7 and 8 in the pecking order — they cannot both stay tied for 7th. It’s only a matter of time.
The days are getting long now as we near summer solstice. There’s still light in the sky at 9pm! The hens rise around 5am and go to roost around 8:45pm. It intrigues me how they are used to such variable sleep over the year, because in the winter they rise around 7am and roost at 5pm (over 12 hours of sleep!) vs around 8 hours in the summer. This post’s photo features the 2 new layers, Tots (golden cheeks) and Misty (grey).
Here is Korean Chicken Tender’s April and May egg counts!
Month (2023)
Laying Hens
Eggs per Day (avg)
Eggs per Week
Dozens per Week
Eggs per Month
Dozens per Month
Feed Cost
Cost per Dozen
May
8
6.2
45
3.7
192
16
$ 30
$ 1.86
April
8
5.8
42
3.5
173
14
$ 30
$ 2.06
March
6
4.5
32
2.7
138
12
$ 30
$ 2.58
Feb
6
3.8
28
2.3
107
9
$ 30
$ 3.33
Jan
6
2.7
19
1.6
83
7
$ 30
$ 4.30
The cost per dozen has gone down because there are 2 new laying hens, all hens are laying almost daily, elder Nuggo occasionally left henopause, and we’ve been able to stretch a bag of organic feed for longer thanks to a Treadle Feeder.
I have been very satisfied our RentACoop Treadle Feeder which has saved me lots of time and feed. My feed costs continue to be the same going from 6 to 8 layer hens because wild birds don’t eat from the feeder. I refill the feeder about once a week now. It’s more frequent in the longer summer days because the hens are awake and active for more hours. Back in February, it was once every 2-3 weeks. One feeder is sufficient for all 8 hens, and this is much more convenient than the conventional feeder I used to refill every 2 days. The feeders are expensive but very much worth it. After patient searching, I found a new open box feeder on Marketplace for about $80 instead of the retail $145.
Thank you dear hens for providing delicious, nutritious organic pasture-raised eggs for under $2 a dozen! Me and my husband do eat all these eggs. They have become a staple in our diet!
It’s the start of June and the first big wave of strawberries are blushing bright red. My husband tasted the first berries of the season when he noticed the red berries while mowing the lawn. I ate my first portion together with a friend – home grown food tastes better when shared with loved ones. Now, I enjoy the little berries with morning oatmeal or peach cake.
This peach cake base is the Just One Cookbook plum cake, with frozen peach slices in lieu of plums and a sliced almond topping. I made this cake using 150g of flour in a 9-inch round pan and added 3 eggs and 100g of vegan milk to the recipe.
It’s time for Korean Chicken Tender’s March 2023 egg count!
The daylight has gotten longer and there’s been an uptick in egg laying. My number 1 ranked hen, Nuggo, emerged from her summer-fall-winter-long henopause and started laying her trademark asymmetrical, lopsided eggs. This heavyset alpha female’s eggs are a treat with their rich yolks and fragile cream-colored shells.
Same as in my last egg count, I currently raise 6 layer hens. They eat organic feed and garden greens, range freely on pasture, and slurp up tasty slugs seeking solace from the spring rains.
Here’s our monthly Egg Count thus far for 2023:
Month (2023)
Laying Hens
Eggs per Day (avg)
Eggs per Week
Dozens per Week
Eggs per Month
Dozens per Month
Feed Cost
Cost per Dozen
Jan
6
2.7
19.4
1.6
83
6.9
$ 30.00
$ 4.30
Feb
6
3.8
27.7
2.3
107
8.9
$ 30.00
$ 3.33
Mar
6
4.5
32.2
2.7
138
11.5
$ 30.00
$ 2.58
Observations:
– The cost per dozen of our organic, pasture-raised eggs dropped from over $4 in Jan to $3 in Feb to now $2.58 in March! – Hubba hubba Nuggo resumed laying, which increased the egg count. – When I didn’t see Nuggo roaming around with the other hens one morning, I thought she had died standing erect on her roost bar. (When the time comes, I believe she will die no less a noble death). I was shocked to discover her in a nest box. That day she did a full egg laying simulation with no actual egg. The egg appeared a few days later.
Bottom left is Nuggo’s cream-white egg – note the calcium deposit, pointed tip, and lopsided-ness compared to the other eggs. It is nonetheless a treat to eat!
As a Chicken Tender, I raise some of the happiest chickens on the planet. And as an analytical data tender, I like to track how many eggs have been laid and by whom.
People ask me how many eggs I collect in a week, and I’m a nut about calculating costs too. So I will share monthly updates on how many eggs were gathered and the average cost per dozen. Figuring out these numbers is satisfying. It’ll be interesting to see how the egg count and cost per dozen changes as we approach June where the longer daylight results in more egg laying, and then tapers down as we approach winter solstice.
I currently raise 6 layer hens. They eat organic chicken feed and garden greens, range freely, and slurp up tasty worms like noodles.
Here’s our monthly Egg Count for January and February 2023:
Month (2023)
Laying Hens
Eggs per Day (avg)
Eggs per Week
Dozens per Week
Eggs per Month
Dozens per Month
Feed Cost
Cost per Dozen
Jan
6
2.7
19.4
1.6
83
6.9
$ 30.00
$ 4.30
Feb
6
3.8
27.7
2.3
107
8.9
$ 30.00
$ 3.33
Observations:
– Two of the reinas (2+ year old hens) resumed laying when they finished their winter molt (feather shedding and regrowth) in late Jan and early Feb. This increased the Feb egg count. – The three bebitas (1 year old hens) laid daily last summer, but this tapered down to a rate of 0.8 per hen (or 4 eggs every 5 days) in January. This is to be expected due to short daylight.
Next month, I’m going to partake in the Frugalwoods Uber Frugal Month. Step 1 is to establish your goals. I’m going to do that here.
Why are you participating in this Challenge?
I want to learn new ways to be frugal. I want to curb the tug of consumerism, materialism, and shopping which is a vacuous hobby that delivers fleeting bliss. I want to be surrounded by others who are like-minded and feel encouraged and supported by them. I want to learn ways to save money and dedicate it towards what is most meaningful to me. I want to become more attuned and aware of my spending and saving habits and my relationship with money. I want to develop a healthy, peaceful, and happier relationship with money, personal finances, and finances with my family.
What do you hope to achieve?
I hope to achieve a better understanding of my saving and spending habits so that I understand how much realistically I spend in a month/year. This will give me a sense of how much money I’ll need to live when I retire (early), happily veering off this rat race and living a sustainable, fulfilling, self-sufficient life on a small farm or homestead.
I also hope to achieve a better relationship with money. It becomes a strained topic when I bring it up with my partner. I want to ask my parents about how they manage their money, but I freeze up and haven’t asked them. I want to grow comfortable talking about money with my partner, my parents, my family and friends without it resulting in hurled insults or harsh feelings.
What are your longterm life goals?
Where do you want to be in 5 years? In 10 years?
This is the first time I am penning this publicly. I want to achieve FIRE (Financially Independent, Retire Early).
I want to have the option of not working for a company (full time office-work) and that if I choose to, it’s because I enjoy it, not begrudgingly because I need the paycheck.
I want to have this option while I feel the fire and joy of keeping a productive homestead, which means the sooner, the better.
Something in me dies when I imagine slaving away in the rat race for another 5 years. (That something is a putrefied rat corpse). I’d like to exit the rat race in 5 years, but it might be more like 10 years (when I’m about 40). I’m pretty confident I can achieve FIRE by age 50. No matter how many years it is, you damn well better bet that I’ll be enjoying the journey. I may have an office job by day but I am also tending the happiest chickens on earth, growing nutritious fruits and veggies, making mulch and vermicompost, building wooden coop structures, and more. No one can tell me a work meeting is more important than these things. My own conviction is firm.
I want to graduate from Chicken Tender and try other forms of animal husbandry. Raising hens from chick-stage. Raising quail. Raising 2+ kunekune pigs. Possibly pasture-raising and butchering meat-chickens.
I want to get good at growing my own crops and making good, homemade food so that I do not need to rely on going to a store. It’s late December and I am enjoying frozen cherry tomatoes and canned tomato sauce from my September harvest. I hope to grow and process enough tomatoes each year that I don’t need to buy them from a store (this post’s photo is from a batch of canning tomatoes). Same goes with strawberries, lettuce and mustard greens. There will be more crops I get good at growing and preserving. Even with chicken eggs, I have not had to buy any all year, and I enjoy a 2-egg skillet breakfast most mornings.
In 5 years, I want to be on my way towards having a 2nd type of animal (my working companions). I want to be self-sufficient in tomatoes, berries, and leafy greens. I want to have savings towards a possible small farm or rental property. I want to be frugal and save money smartly while still enjoying life, without guilt from either.
In 10 years, I want to be debt-free. I’ll have paid off my house or be on the way. I want to be a small farmer, sharing my organic, flavorful eggs and produce with customers. It’s possible I may still be working – if so, I want to be happy while at it. I will never stop learning. I want to always be learning – whether it’s a programming language, gardening strategy, animal husbandry, ice-skating, a new bike route, or frugal hack. Usually it’s multiple things like this at the same time, because my life is multi-faceted and I don’t hone into 1 sole obsession.
What about your current lifestyle might prevent those goals from happening and what can you do about it?
My mindset. I am practical, pessimistic, negative. There’s good and bad sides to this. Knowing me, my saving nature and practicality would have me financially ready for FIRE in some years. But I may not take the leap (ie leaving job, getting a pig) until I am very sure. And not taking the leap sooner means delaying happiness.
Currently it’s difficult to talk about money and work things out with my partner. This makes me take on extra burden of paying a larger share of bills, which means less money saved for future pig-tender me. This needs to change, and I believe it gradually will.
Another hindrance is my fear, timidness, cowardice to ask questions about money to my parents, who have been good financial role models for me. Time to start breaking the ice. Even writing about this on my blog is a form of breaking the ice.
Unplanned spending is dangerous. Buying items not on the originally grocery shopping list is dangerous. Stick to the shopping list like Sara’s weekly $100 grocery shopping (from the Youtube Channel Matt & Sara). Be disciplined.
Don’t go thrift shopping for fun without a specific, well-thought out need in mind. If the goal is to shop for fun, then have allocated dollars for just this.
Finish the food I have. I buy or acquire more food in a week than I can consume. This has been one of the final and harder parts of minimalism for me. “Food minimalism”. This would make me spend less on food and waste less and enjoy more fridge and pantry space.
The difference between serving tea made from herbs you grow yourself and herb tea from a bag “is like the difference between serving your guests a good vintage wine instead of some cheap plonk,” says Conrad Richter, president of Richters Herbs in Goodwood, Ont. “Herbal teas packed in bags are usually powdered,” he explains, so they’re “almost never as flavourful as whole herbs.”
I’ve been drying herbs for tea lately. It’s hard work. Plucking early, before the sun wilts the leaves, washing several times to remove bugs or hoping they won’t be noticeable if served to guests. Then drying them in a dehydrator, trial-and-error for what temperature and time to set. Then stripping the leaves or flower buds off from the stems, and scattering the fragrant stems in the chicken nest-box. Making a little jar of mint or lavender takes hours of processing. At one point I thought, “I hate this. I’m spending hours working with my hands for something that costs $1.99 at the store and I’m not sure if it’ll even taste good.” I used to not disagree with those who criticized processed food. But now I realized, processed food = professionally processed food. And if it doesn’t come processed (straight from the garden), then it will ultimately still be processed…by me, instead of professionals.
I suppose there’s some upside. When I process myself, I *know* that the herbs are organic and pure, that I shook off most of the bugs, and didn’t add anything unsavory. I enjoy the labor but will admit it is extraordinarily time-consuming and perhaps not cost effective. My hope that this was worthwhile is if it has better flavor that what’s offered at the store.
One morning I added a few pinches of lavender buds to my breakfast tea. It was full of flavor, a complex spiced kick! At least there’s promise that the food processing was worth it.
A snack I’ve been enjoying most afternoons: – Plain Yogurt – Strawberry-Rhubarb curd (garden ingredients & West Seattle honey), or any jam/compote – Fresh strawberries – Trader Joe’s Almond Butter Granola
Did you know Lebron James plans and schedules everything, from workouts to meals to naps to snacks? I find myself benefiting from snacking about the same time every day, around 3pm.
Nest Cafe ~ Cafe Nido 