• I freeze 2 liter drink bottles for my bunny cages. Each rabbit gets its own mini-cooler to stretch out by. Our well water is very cool and we try to change the water for all our animals several times a day. We have put second hand ceiling fans in the bunny barn and chicken coop. I picked them up for free and my SIL installed them. The chickens get a cooling treat of frozen English peas on very hot days. I keep a large inexpensive bag on hand all summer.  Frozen pineapple treats for the bunnies not only cool them down but the enzymes are good for their digestive tracts. I buy several bags of a cheap store brand when they are on sale. I also mist the rabbits with a cool mist a few times a day. For myself?  Big hats, loose shirts and lots of iced mint tea. I just tell myself to hang on, Fall always comes again. ~Grandma Rosie
  
  
• I orginally hail from Henderson, NV where it gets 115 plus. I grew up with horses, dogs & cats. I remember my father always tried to pasture the horses for the summer where it was cooler, however, there were many years he couldn't do so. In those years I remember him putting out salt blocks for hydration, along with filling a huge water trough daily. We always had dirt for them to roll & keep cool in. Also, we never put them in a barn. We had a big covered section for them though, to keep cool yet not stuffy. Our dogs were always allowed in and so were our cats. Unless we had to we tried to never put them out during the heat of the day. My dad's rule of thumb was, if it's too hot for you then it's to hot for the animals. Warning: never keep your animal in a car, even with the windows cracked in the summer time. It gets much, much hotter in your vehicle than outside. Example: outside temp is 115 degrees, inside your car it's approximately 140 degrees. ~Jessica
  
  
• Our dog LOVES water so we put him in the pool with us and then let him paddle around. When he gets done, he runs around to dry off and then he goes into the house into the a/c with us. We also put ice into his water and he chases the ice cubes around in his bowl. For our friendly squirrels, I make sure they have fresh water in the birdbath twice a day. When it is really hot they (the squirrels)will lay in the birdbath to cool down. ~HomeWith2

Seed Saving
Catherine Love

Saving seed for future planting is quite simple.

 If you are merely saving the extras from a packet of seeds, place them in an airtight container in a cool, dark place and you're done. 

Now, if you want to save the seeds from your garden's bounty, there is a bit more involved; but it is still simple to do.  First of all, start with good quality; take your seeds from a healthy vegetable, fruit or flower to insure good results.  Seeds from Hybrid varieties will not produce true in the next planting; so plant  heirloom or open pollinated varieties if you want to save  seeds for planting next year. 

When collecting seeds from flowers or flowering herbs watch carefully and pick the seed heads just as they get dry; wait too long and they'll drop seeds all over and replant themselves for you. Snipping the seed-heads into a paper bag makes collecting seeds from herbs like dill and basil a snap. Shake the bag a bit to loosen the seeds from the stems. Make sure the seeds are completely dry-- air dry them for a few days on a screen or flat baking pan if necessary. Once seeds are dry, into an airtight container they go, to be put away for next season! 

Saving vegetable seeds can be a bit more tricky but still very doable. SeedSave.org has individual information on saving seed from 27 different vegetables. The book, Saving Seeds by Marc Rogers, also has detailed information on growing and storing vegetable and flower seeds. 

After you've collected your seed, and dried it properly, it's time to store it. If you only have a few of one kind of seed, or very tiny seeds, such as Poppy seeds; you can put them in small envelopes. Coin envelopes are inexpensive, and a box will last you quite a long time. Label the envelope with the type of seed, the date, and any other planting information desired; you can store several of these small envelopes in a reusable plastic container or even put them inside a quart canning jar.  For larger quantities of seed or large seeds like beans, put them into recycled glass jars with lids. Put a label on the jar so you'll know what's inside, detailed planting information can be written on a piece of paper and tucked inside the jar if you like. 

Once those seeds are contained, place them in a cool, dark area for best keeping. I have a neat little 3 drawer chest that I keep mine in, but any cupboard or closet in a cool place should do fine. I've read that the best place to store your seeds is in the refrigerator, though I've never done so. 

If you enjoy saving seeds, and would like to share with others, you might want to consider joining an organization like Seed Savers Exchange.

Perhaps I'll organize a Homestead to Homestead Seed Swap at Homesteadblogger. Anyone interested?

Catherine Love lives in Texas with her husband, Carl, and three daughters, Sarah, Hannah, and Cana. Visit her blog to read about their adventures in gardening and other homestead and homeschool activities.