Self-taught farmers confidently raising chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. Our focus is on practices that are environmentally harmonious and respectful to our livestock. We appreciate the beauty around us, clean eating, fermenting, and responsibly utilizing the bounty of the land. If you like thinking for yourself, continuous learning, and connecting with the homesteader lifestyle, check us out.
Are you exasperated with the ubiquitousness of plastic, too? We’re inundated by it, and it’s an undeniable environmental problem…and yet, companies continue to needlessly wrap goods in plastic – sometimes multiple layers – until it feels like there’s no escape from excessive plastic use. I’m particularly appalled by a recent order I received from Vitacost, especially in light of what the shipping box said.
Do you like limericks? Me, too! And while they’re often, well…spicy, they can also just be good, clean fun.
The bitter cold is dangerous for animals, including wild ones. One morning, a small goldfinch hopped into the garage, seemingly seeking refuge from the frigid temperatures (it’s been in the negative double digits with wind chill).
You probably already know that sourdough bread is delicious, but did you also know about its health benefits? We love our homemade sourdough with wheat and rye flours…and, now, with barley flour!
Continue reading “Audrey Tales: Barley-Wheat Sourdough Loaf”
After making Portuguese Kale Soup, I had a few woody kale stems left. Toss them? No way – they’re the perfect complement to salmon in pasta!
Continue reading “No Food Waste: Salmon And Kale (Stem) Pasta”
Every year, we find volunteer sunflowers growing somewhere on our property. The cause is easy to identify: the black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) that we feed to the poultry and waterfowl get scattered around – sometimes even by wild birds – and those plucky seeds germinate. Seemingly in the blink of an eye, a radiant sunflower appears. And what’s cheerier than a sunflower?
When the volunteer grows late in the season, though, its chances for its seeds to reach maturity become slim. One late summer sunflower, with multiple funky little heads, did manage to produce seeds.
A second one that grew just weeks behind the first (above) succumbed to a killing frost. I found it frozen one morning when the temperatures had plunged overnight. I wish that one had made it to the finish line, too…but know it didn’t worry about the future – it just lived and grew, each day.
In Spring, I’ll plant some low-maintenance, smile-inducing sunflowers intentionally…but I bet a few volunteers will still pop up, too!