Something I have learned along the way in life is that a sense of adventure makes everything more fun. This is true for many things, including homebrewing and wildcrafting. Combine the two and you can end up brewing some pretty wild things while having fun along the way. I have wanted to brew nettle beer for a long time now, and just hadn't felt like I could pick enough quantity for a decent sized ...
Cape Blanco Camping and Spruce Tip Harvest
When you've got wildcrafting goals and camping goals, and only so many weekends, sometimes you just have to multitask it. We did just that a few weekends ago on a camping trip down to Cape Blanco State Park on the southern Oregon Coast. We had been talking about picking spruce tips for a while, and noticed that on the coast, they were coming out in full force. With another batch of our spruce ...
It’s Good to be a Cat
While we've been working hard around the homestead, Little Sadie and Sundance are just being cool cats in the shade. It's good to be a cat. ...
Glass Window Greenhouse
As is the story with many DIY-ers, an up-cycled glass window greenhouse project was on my to-do list for years. I started saving a window collection when we moved onto this homestead three years ago, and responded to a few "free window" offers from friends who were updating the windows on their houses. I even found a snazzy antique grange door and stained glass window left here in our barn that I ...
Healing Allergy Inflammation With Stinging Nettle Article
My latest article published in Organic Lifestyle Magazine is all about stinging nettles as a treatment for allergy related inflammation. Check it out! Healing Allergy Inflammation With Stinging Nettle ...
About the Birds and the Mason Bees
When you have all the chickens you can handle taking care of and are busy working, but you want to add more critters your homestead, the struggle is real. I would really love to get more chickens, some ducks, maybe a turkey or goose, but now is definitely not the right time. The cool thing about living out on the edge of the wilds is that you can always make friends with the local wildlife and ...
Viva la Nettles!
Not to brag or anything, but... My nettle patch is pretty much winning at life right now. That is all. ...
An Elwha Without A Dam is Like a Fish Without a Bicycle
Growing up on the North Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, I spent a lot of time around the Elwha River. Whether it was hiking in the Olympic National Park on the Elwha River Trail, fishing on Lake Mills, collecting rocks on gravel bars at the various river access points, or stopping on the way up to Olympic Hot Springs, it was always a special place to visit. As a result, I think of the Elwha ...
Nettle Cake from the Good Green Earth
In case I haven't made it clear how much I love nettles, I wanted to share this amazing recipe. While visiting my home town and home ground on the Olympic Peninsula, my amazing herbalist friend Ellen made this fantastic nettle cake. Since cake, nettles and good friends are some of my favorite things, this was a very exciting occasion. I had heard about Ellen making this cake last year, and felt ...
Day Hiking the North Fork Quinault River Trail
Every once in a while, it's good to visit our home ground and stay in touch with our roots. Making trips up to Washington's Olympic Peninsula has been a regular thing for me over the last decade of living in Oregon, and I find I start to really miss it if I go too long. This time, I was itching to spend some time up the Quinault River, and even had grand plans to backpack up to the Enchanted ...