Personal stories and reflections from my home and heart.
If you’re nervous about washing wool blankets, garments, and other things that are made of delicate materials I can’t blame you. Wool blankets can be expensive but if you know how to take care of it a wool blanket can last a lifetime. On the one hand, wool can shrink and stretch and easily lose … Read more
Grape juice is absolutely delicious, but if you’ve only ever had the store-bought stuff you don’t know what you’re missing. Making your own pure grape juice with that distinctive sweet and tart tang at home is a lot easier than you think, and best of all you can keep it at room temperature for at … Read more
No matter what sort of animals you keep on your homestead, a big part of taking care of them is understanding their phases of life, and that includes their end of life. Most livestock, and that certainly includes our goats, tend to slow down, become less productive, and more likely to get sick or injured … Read more
Eggs might well be the perfect food. Packed with protein and tons of vitamins and minerals, they are affordable, delicious, and form the bedrock of a good diet and any meal—breakfast, lunch, or dinner. But if you are stuck in a rut when it comes to preparing eggs, it’s easy to hit that wall of … Read more
You can’t argue that ducks aren’t adorable. They absolutely are, and they will never be cuter than when they are ducklings. Those precious, fuzzy little darlings will just melt your heart. And when it comes to ducklings, there are none more adorable than yellow ones. So adorable, in fact, that they are the very picture … Read more
Out of all the unwanted and unexpected messes you might have to deal with in and around your home, one of the very worst and most dreaded is mold. Specifically, black mold! This nasty fungus has achieved boogeyman status over the past couple of decades because of its propensity to make people sick, sometimes terribly … Read more
If you’re thinking about bringing a herd or flock of animals onto your homestead, you’ll have a lot of work to do before that day arrives. The biggest job is figuring out how much space they’ll need and if you’ve got enough for them to live comfortably. When it comes to raising pigs, they are … Read more
Goat milk, for some of us, takes a little bit of getting used to. It definitely doesn’t taste like cow’s milk. If I’m being honest, some of us will never get used to it! I’ve heard it described as too tangy, too rich, too funky, and even skunky. I know, hardly appealing. But what you … Read more
Chickens are omnivores, and as omnivores, they eat a wide variety of foods. Lots of plant matter, yes, but also animal protein. One favorite food that all chooks love is insects, and among insects, there is nothing that will get your birds excited like a juicy, wriggling mealworm. They’re an amazing source of protein, packed … Read more
Wood heat has been around forever. Well, I can’t say forever: I suppose there was a point in time when mankind didn’t even have control over fire! But once we did, wood has been the fuel of choice ever since. Versatile, abundant, and cheap, it still makes a great choice today if you have a … Read more
For most gardeners, winter and cold weather are synonymous with death and packing it in until spring arrives. If you don’t have a greenhouse or aren’t willing to start seeds indoors, there’s probably not much for you to get out of your garden, right? Not exactly! Though many gardeners fear the frost and subsequent freezes, … Read more
If you’ve ever seen bees flying around your yard before, you’ve probably thought that there has to be a hive somewhere nearby. Most of the time you’d be right, but not always! Turns out there might not be a hive anywhere close by, and the bees are commuting to do their work just like you … Read more
You know, we didn’t always have air fresheners. Those little cans of spray fragrance that are so ubiquitous might be convenient, but they are expensive, harmful to the environment, and as far as I’m concerned, creepy. Almost all of them smell like what they are: laboratory imitations of actual, real things. I don’t even want … Read more
No insect is as unwelcome in your home as a common housefly: nasty, germ-spreading, and annoying! Like all insects, they have their part to play in nature, but they need to play it outside and not in your living space. It goes without saying you’ll want to get rid of them, and in this article, … Read more
Homesteading looks a little different to everyone: for some folks it looks like a thriving farm, for others just a place to settle down way out in the country away from it all. But big or small, business oriented or not, all homesteaders need a particular set of skills. That’s because homesteading is a lifestyle … Read more
If poultry to call your own is what you want, but chickens just aren’t your thing, ducks might be the answer. Ducks can provide you with lots of eggs and meat just like chickens, help control pests on your property and around your garden – and, of course, offer lots of entertainment throughout your day! … Read more