Return to Start Page

It has been some time since I last wrote to you all. I find that it is far easier to text and call than it is to sit at computer to convey all the stories from this side of the world. However after much hinting, pushing and shoving I have sat down to tell you all the things we have experienced. It was a busy summer here in Tulsa. It started with our goat (Clarabelle) giving birth to a little boy. He was too big to deliver on his own and I assisted with pulling him out. The mom and boy did fine although it took mom three days before she could walk again with out a limp as you can see from the photo where the baby is less than a day old he is almost as tall as his mom.

I started to milk mom and soon discovered that it was a pointless endevor. She is not a milking goat by any means and I would only get 10-18 oz at a time making it not worth my effort. She was however an easy goat to milk weather that was from her small amount of milk or her being easy in nature I couldn't say.

When the boy was three month old or so we sold all three goats to a man who has a herd and was looking to expand. The kids were sad to see them go but I had to wonder how much they missed them, four days after they were gone Lauren came running into the house to tell me that the goats had gotten out! I informed her that we had sold them to which she replied "Oh yea, I forgot!"

At the beginning of the summer Zeke started work on our greenhouse. The idea was that it would be an aquapontic greenhouse. So fish would be in a holding tank and the water would be pumped out of there into grow beds then drained into sumps and pumped back into the fish holding tank. The idea being that the fish waste would be used to feed the plants. The plants as the sucked out fish waste from the water would also clean it, thus making it a living cycle. After much research Zeke found that tilapia would be the fish to use as they are both yummy tasting and hearty enough to last thru the winter months here in Tulsa.

We had to order the fish on-line and when they were shipped to our house I put them into the holding tank. However, I did not take into account the differences in water temperature, and the fish all lay on their sides and appeared dead. As I was running back and forth from the house to the tank to add warm water to revive the fish the children took it upon themselves to remove the fish from the water and try to feed them to the goats; put them in their rain boots while they were wearing them and run across the yard; and put them on each others head and run around. Surprisingly enough all but about five survived this! Zeke then came home and discovered that they need to be in a different tank and when he transferred them, all but two died. So out of fifty fish, we had two fish total.

We then decided that it was better to try a cheaper fish as this was after all our first time at this. So we found a catfish farm locally and went and bought 36 fish, all of which died after twelve hours in the tank. So, Zeke did some testing and found that our water, even though it was filtered, had high levels of Chloramines and the fish were unable to live in it. After much testing we found a product that would make the water liveable.

We built three grow beds with one strawberry hanger. And started seeds in egg cartons when the plants were big enough we moved them into the growbeds. Once the nitrogen cycle got going and the cat fish got big enough the plants really started taking off.

We tracked the cost of greenhouse to amount of produce was we're getting and after the first couple plants started to produce we were at $730.00 for an ounce of food.

Then something awesome happened; our fish to plant ratio balanced out and the plants started growing an inch or two a day!

Soon we were down to $100.00 per ounce.

Everything was really taking off. We planted strawberries, crooked neck squash, zucchini, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, rutger tomatoes, green beans, soy beans, cantaloupe, watermelon, thyme and sage. Everything except the cantaloupe and watermelon have produced.

I would like to say that we got so much produce I was able to can some but I found that we ate it just as fast as it came off. My peach trees also did well this year. Last year the butterflies ate more than we did. I was able to pick 6 five gallon buckets of peaches and canned, froze, or ate those.

In the grow beds there is a bell siphon. It allows that grow bed to fill with water then as soon as the water gets to a certain level the water is drained out. Zeke made several trips back to the drawing board before we got all the bugs out of them. And even now they need to be constantly checked on as the roots of the plants grow thru them and cause the system to stop working.

At this point we are at $38.00 per pound of produce and am feeling pretty high on the hog about the whole greenhouse experience! Everyone that comes to the house has been given the tour of the workings of the greenhouse and we spend most of the evening sitting in the greenhouse listening to the water run. I find it to be very calming.

As fate would have it we had a bad wind storm and it ripped the front of the green house off. As I am 8 months pregnant I had to wait for Zeke to come home before I could do anything to repair the greenhouse. Even though the water was able to run to the grow beds we lost all but the tomatoes, one squash plant, sage and thyme. When the wall fell it took the grow beds down with it.

We also had three or four tree branches fall, but lucky for us, no damage was done to the house. The weather reported 79 mile/hour winds that night. We had a dead tree that also was cracked in half and we had to remove it out of the yard. It made me think and since being here we have cut down five trees and removed at least 20 big branches out of our yards. I didn't realize we had that many trees here!

We also got grapes off our grapevines this year. I did not count the grapes nor, the peaches towards the greenhouse as they are not actually in the greenhouse. We have had the peach trees and the grape vines for three years and this is our first real production from them. I picked 6 cups of grapes and made some yummy juice out of them.

Since then the pump in our greenhouse has gone out five times! Lucky enough for us it has been under warranty every time but still it stops and I have to run down to Home Depot and exchange it ASAP so the fish or plants don't die. Once the warranty is up and it dies again I think we will go with a different pump but for now, this one is pumping right along.

Zeke started a second job he is a mechanic out at a local airport. One of the men that used to teach with him bought a hanger, and has more work than he can do so Zeke goes out there to do maintenance on the aircraft. I think he really enjoys it! We have gone out a few times when they have had an event going on the kids love looking and playing on the aircraft.

Nathen and Terre and family came out to visit us. Their kids were troopers as they spent just as much time in the car to get here and back as the did here. It was a fun trip and I am glad that they came!!! We went to the aquarium and sadly that was the only pic I took of them being here. Just too excited entertaining I guess.

Lauren attended Pre-school this last year and she had a graduation at the end, so I did up her hair. It was cute even if I'm the biased Mom!

Zeke HAD a 1997 Dodge ram pickup and we have been talking for sometime about re-building the engine. Well, one day when Zeke arrived home his radiator had a hole and was steaming and leaking so we decided to bite the bullet and rebuild the engine. Like most projects, it grew as it progressed. We planned on replacing the engine and radiator and ended up replacing the entire front end, then getting new tires. Of course Carson was right in the thick of it helping relocate tools and make as many messes as possible. It was so cute to watch him help his Dad.

About two-three weeks after Zeke got his truck put back together, new tires, and an alignment done, we took it out to the lake to go camping. While we were there a little boy was accidently ran over and killed by his father. Zeke went over to help them and after the police got there, we decided to pack up and head home. On the way home we were driving up a crest of a small hill and in the other lane was a man pulling a john boat. The trailer and boat came off his truck and went into our lane. Zeke pulled off into the ditch and none of us were hurt. However, it totaled his truck. After six weeks of negotiations with their insurance company, we ended up with a 2005 GMC Serria truck at our own expense, Zeke's black truck, and about 1/3 the value of his old truck in settlement. We walked away from that grateful no one was hurt.

This summer we put the kiddos in swim lesson and it cost an arm and a leg but they both had such a good time that it was well worth it.

We also took time to sew some projects. The kids wanted to make sleeping masks which they wear all the time!!! I love it when it happens that way. Lauren is getting better at sewing with a machine but is losing patience with cutting out the material. I can't fault her, because I think cutting out the material is the worst part about sewing.

I am doing well, I have 22 days till my due date, and so far everything is going right on schedule.

Love Ellis Family. Zeke, Mylinda, Lauren, Carson and baby

Return to Start Page