Not only did our wonderful neighbour bring us delicious fish for the cats, but today we went fishing, and despite the tide being wrong, and the wind still blowing, we managed to get a nice sized Trigger fish to bring home. So the cats are very happy, and can look forward to the prospect of more snow in Tassie next week with fortitude!
We had decided a while back to try to make salt out of sea water, but it was on the list of things we had not got round to. I saw an 18 litre container in our 'other' supermarket, with a snaplock lid, so I bought it, and today remembered to take it to the beach.
We were at a beach, Trousers Point, where there is a steep wooden staircase down to the beach, and once we had finished fishing across the headland, I set off to fill my new container with sea water. The plan being to allow it to evaporate, and then to top it up with more sea water to make it more saline etc.
I could have rolled up my trousers and waded in to fill it, but I chose instead to clamber over some rocks to where I could fill it without getting my booties wet, (they seem to take days to dry). Then I discovered that 'snaplock' does not mean seal, in any way at all. So there I was with a wet front from just lifting the basin, never mind the stagger across the rocks carrying 18kgs, and then over the soft sand to the staircase. By the time I got to the top, I reckon I had spilt about 4kgs, so at least it was easier to carry, but Dave then emptied some more out, so we would not have too much corrosive sea water inside the back of the ute.
Still, we now have about 10 litres of water in a container that will have to have a material cover made for it tomorrow, and will have to be sieved, somehow, to get out the pieces of seaweed that insisted on coming along. But, I am hoping that if we remember to top it up, with 2 litres at a time out of Coke bottles, we will eventually arrive at salt, watch this space....
Hi Barbs, a few ideas for your consideration.
ReplyDelete~ A clean tea towel makes an excellent sieve.
~ Sieve the water at the source. Two 2 litre bottles, neck to neck, a couple of medical cotton balls in the throat of the lower, join sealed with tape, upper bottle base removed. Emplace with rocks at the mid tide line. Remove at low tide. The lower bottle will contain clean salt water.
~ Cooking stock. You guys create quite ingenious flavorings - extend that to your salt. "Chicken salt" sells daily by the multi ton in OZ. Consider your edible seaweeds and the opportunities for flavored salts.
~ Evaporation. Keep the water in the 2 litre plastic bottles. Punch a nail hole in the cap. Pull a cotton thread through the hole and dangle it to the bottom. Leave the bottles in the sun - the water will evaporate through the hole.
~ Evaporation. Whenever you are using the wood heater, put a pot of water on the stove. Apart from the death of microbes in the water, the steam will reduce the likelihood of colds and flu, as the air in the house will not become dry and irritant.
regards
Ian
Wow. Am rather impressed at this endeavour!! Watching this space!
ReplyDeletePS My word verification this time is 'humptic' ... sounds like a character from one of Dave's books .........
I am totally amazed by the flavoured salt idea, but I just want to make the salt first, I had not thought of bringing it in, or a tea towel to sieve. Thanks a lot, the bottles in the sea would work, if we were going to be there all day, I will have to plan ahead for that. (So far we only have 1 Coke bottle from when the kids were home, I am going to have to source some more.
ReplyDeleteI am now dying to know if Melissa's word actually has a meaning in real life??
"Humptic"
ReplyDeleteA political leader whose excess in using undercover forms of funding leaves the party with bloated and traceable excesses,and thus in a high risk situation.
Having become convinced of his/her infallibility, the himptic takes an unstable stance during a crisis, resulting in a major publicity failure, beyond the abilities of the party's foot soldiers to cover up through coercion.
????
Ian