I once read an article in Mary Jane's Farm magazine called "Zen and the Chi of Chickens." The author observed that chickens have the Zen of meditation, and remind us to slow down and stay in the present. She suggested using chicken watching as a form of therapy. Whenever I think of chickens, this article immediately comes to mind and resonates with truth. If you have ever sat outside on a sunny ...
A Hot Springs Back-Roads Trip in the Idaho Panhandle
The summer my children were 6, we had just sold our housebus, and decided it was time for a family vacation. If we were to go anywhere, where would it be? The answer was simply Idaho hot springs. Having been hot spring enthusiasts for quite some time, the geothermal wonderland in the mountains of Idaho was an easily chosen destination. In September, we took the kids out of Kindergarten for a whole ...
Crafters i Love: Lara Colley of A Mountain Hearth
Here's another Mountain Hearth interview by Erin Gilday, crafty seamstress extraordinaire of Patchwork Underground. I am constantly inspired by her crafting business, freelance writing projects, and her home on wheels, Luna the house bus. Have a look around her website and you will see what I mean! http://www.patchworkunderground.com/Here is the link to the interview below:Crafters i Love: Lara ...
Wooly Moss Roots: Meet Lara, a wild mountain woman…
Mountain Hearth is featured in an interview this week on Wooly Moss Roots by Taryn Kae Wilson, an amazing mountain homesteader of the Siuslaw River. Here is the link below...Wooly Moss Roots: Meet Lara, a wild mountain woman... ...
Getting Organized and Coming Prepared With Camping Bins
A few years ago, I realized that it was taking us a very long time to pack for a weekend camping trip. Our goal was to get out more frequently, as many weekends as possible, and no less than once per month. We had friends who went nearly every weekend (who did not have kids), and we decided we could do it too if we could just get organized and always be ready to go. I remembered when I was in ...
An Enchanted Valley Day Hike
One morning in late December, while the kids were on winter break from school, we got a group of friends together for a hiking adventure. I was feeling like exploring a new place, so I searched on the internet for some ideas. A place near Florence called the Enchanted Valley, caught my imagination. I was familiar with the Enchanted Valley up the Quinault River in the Olympic National Park near ...
Sleeping in a Yurt by the Wild Wintry Sea
I awoke to a deafening boom in the night accompanied by a bright flash of light, which caused me to sit bolt upright. A winter storm wailed around our snug little camping yurt by the ocean, sending rain pelting and blowing sideways against the clear dome skylight. I could almost make out the dark shapes of Sitka spruce branches dancing wildly in the dark above us. All the while, my little family ...
Camping With Children Throughout the Seasons
Many of us have been camping in the summer. The weather is warm and comfortable to be out in, we need less gear and clothing, and it just feels good to be outdoors on sunny days and see clear vistas or swim in cool water. Often people go to campgrounds for ease, amenities, reserve-ability, and possibly for the comfort of having other people around so we don't feel quite so out in the middle of ...
A Mountain Hearth
I have always been an outdoor girl. I grew up camping, backpacking, and playing outside in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains. Back in college, I aspired to become a backcountry ranger, wilderness plant researcher, or something equally rugged, solitary and wild. Then I had twins and decided I needed to be at home raising them. Ever since, I have aspired to be a backcountry forest mother. With ...