"Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks." Dr Seuess How do you find time to read? I get asked this question a lot. I get it. We're all busy, and making time to sit down and read a book just seems so hard to do sometimes. The... Continue Reading →
Do you have your garden planned out yet for next year? I know, I know. It's only December. There's snow on the ground and we're barely into winter yet. But it's this time of year when I start getting the itch to work the soil. You know what I mean? When the days are short,... Continue Reading →
I'll be honest. I don't really know what living the simple life means. Not if by simple you mean easy. Or comfortable. But I do understand living simply. It is, after all, what we left our previous lives in Oregon to pursue. A life that is rooted in the fundamental things like good food, hard... Continue Reading →
Let's talk pigs for a little bit. We've put in a few permanent pig pens at the back of the property. They're close to the pasture so that when we are ready to put our pigs on grass they'll be right there. That day will come. Eventually. Until then, we've got feeder pigs in a... Continue Reading →
The answer is no. And yes. Confused yet? Let me explain. There are a lot of myths about raising chickens, shared by well meaning people. I've heard many of them, including the one about needing to have a rooster in order for your hens to lay eggs. This, of course, isn't true. Technically, the only... Continue Reading →
I asked a friend the other day if he had ever tried mead. He had to think about it for a while. "Isn't that what they drink in Game of Thrones?" he finally asked me. Yes. Yes it is. So what is mead? I mean, really... To put it simply, it's wine made from honey.... Continue Reading →
If there ever was a year to inspire a change to your way of life, 2020 probably wins the prize. Food shortages. Civil unrest. Political division. Lockdowns. Pandemic. These things have created fear, uncertainty and concern over what the near future might look like and whether or not we'll ever return to some sense of... Continue Reading →
Autumn has been incredibly graceful this year. In Iowa, this season is usually an unpredictable tug o war between autumn and an ever looming winter. The fallout is usually a flurry of snow, wildly fluctuating temperatures and relentless wind that violently scrubs the land of all things giving it character. Sometimes autumn, with all its... Continue Reading →
It might be said that there are a few things that you will find common among most homesteaders. One of those things would certainly be chickens. The other thing would probably be apple cider vinegar. I'll admit that I didn't really start to understand the many benefits of ACV until just over the past couple... Continue Reading →
I'm a big believer in boosting our immunity naturally. Natural ingredients like organic ginger, garlic and elderberry all are known to have tremendous health benefits, and we use them religiously. Especially as the weather starts to change, kids go back to school and the cold and flu season kicks off. We forage for elderberry midsummer... Continue Reading →