The Power of the Sun

We find ourselves using the power of the sun more often.  Of course the sun is ultimately the source of all food — causing the garden to grow and the grass to grow which feeds the cows — but there is more to solar power.

Solar rays are effective sterilizers.  I read that several hours of direct sun exposure is as effective as a bleach rinse.  Because we drink our milk raw, without pasteurization, I'm especially careful about sterilizing the milk jugs.  After thoroughly cleaning them with soap and water, we set them out all day in the sun to knock off any germs that survived the washing.

Actually, I probably don't need to be so fussy.  While Christina was milking, we never had milk over four days old because the frig would get too full!  3-4 gallons a day fills up a frig pretty fast.  But since she's dried up, we actually had some milk sit in the frig for nine days before we used it.  At nine days, the milk smelled as fresh and sweet as the first day, so even raw milk takes a long time to sour.

We started hanging our laundry whenever we could about a year ago.  I've already noticed the difference the sun makes.  Some of the musty smell that I thought was unavoidable, vanishes completely in the summer, only to return in the winter when we're using the electric dryer.  I've found that I love the peace and solitude of hanging laundry.  I love the quiet movement as the clothes go up and I enjoy the camaraderie of taking them down in the evening with whichever daughters are around.

We will use a root cellar this winter for the first time.  The book says that onions need to dry for ten days after they are pulled to harden their skin and make them last longer in storage.  We pulled our first batch of onions and set them on the step to dry.  This is from the patch that grew the worst.  I'm hopefully for a much bigger harvest from the other patch.

Our three walnut trees have started dropping nuts.  We set them out for the husks to dry to a dark brown before we remove the them and crack the shells this winter.  I'm thinking of seeing if we can grind the walnuts into a walnut butter.

Using the sun these ways is slow and quiet.  Nothing needs to be done while the sun's rays silently do their work.  It requires patience in waiting and the ability to remember to bring things in when they're done.  But that's about all that is needed from me.  I don't actually do the sterilization or drying, the sun's rays do.  I just put things out.  God's activity is the same way — often slow and silent, but it is the real power behind the work.  I just show up and put things out.