"One attraction in coming to the woods to live was that I should have the leisure and opportunity to see the spring come in." ~Henry David Thoreau ...
The Amazing Benefits of Stinging Nettles Article
In case it wasn't obvious that I am a huge fan of nettles, here is my latest article in Organic Lifestyle Magazine: The Amazing Benefits of Stinging Nettles, With Recipes ...
Potato Cages
When it comes to food, we are often encouraged to try something new. I like to apply the same idea to growing food. It's all food related, right? One of my favorite parts of gardening is trying out new ways to grow things and improving my skills as I go along. I got the nifty idea to build some potato cages this week because we are almost out of storage potatoes and the garden is nowhere near ...
Cabin Camping at Cape Lookout State Park
Every February, we meet up with my brother and his family for a camping trip on the Oregon coast. We found a couple of state parks about half way in between for us between Seattle and the Eugene area, and have been enjoying time there together as our families grow and change. This has been a tradition for about 5 years now, and one I look forward to all year. We started out yurt camping ...
Building a Cordwood Path
Cordwood constructions is one of those things I've always read about and wanted to do, but never quite got around to doing. With piles of cedar logs in our yard from the trees we thinned this fall, we decided there were plenty of other kinds of wood we should use for firewood, and started scheming some cordwood projects. A new chicken coop and a forest gazebo/shed were up there on the list, but ...
First Daffodils
Daffodowndilly "She wore her yellow sun-bonnet, She wore her greenest gown; She turned to the south wind And curtsied up and down. She turned to the sunlight And shook her yellow head, And whispered to her neighbour: "Winter is dead." ~A.A. Milne ...
Nettle Surprise!
Look what I found popping up around the compost bins! I planted a stinging nettle patch next to the compost last spring after a couple of failed attempts in other spots around our yard, and was very happy to see them not only surviving, but thriving. It's fun to go out and gather nettles, but when you have them growing in your own yard it is much easier to incorporate them in your regular diet. ...
Greenhouse Updates
Our upcycled glass window greenhouse has been coming along, and I am happy to report we made some headway over the weekend and the end of the project is in sight! Over the weekend we built the raised beds, laid out the brick floor, and put up brackets for the seedling benches. I have been wanting a greenhouse like this pretty much all of my life, so this is big excitement around here. We ...
Chaos and Progress
We have had both a lot of chaos and a lot of progress around the homestead lately. The two seem to go hand in hand. Last month I wrote a post about all the unfinished works in progress, and as we have cleaned up the mess of felled trees, pruning and things that needed moving; beautiful things are taking shape. This weekend I dug into the task of moving the raised strawberry bed to make room for ...
Elderberries for Winter Health Article
My article on elderberries is published in Organic Lifestyle Magazine. Read it here: Elderberries for Winter Health - With Elderberry Syrup Recipe ...