Musings: Rewilding The Farm (AKA The “Transitional” Property)

Have you seen the documentary “ReWilding Kernwood“? If you haven’t, it’s worth watching, especially if you love wild spaces and believe in the “leave no trace” philosophy. Here, we’ve been doing a bit of rewilding of our own property, for multiple reasons. It may look unkempt and unappealing to some, but the pollinators and animals that call our land home are big fans.

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Live Beverages: Stimulating Summer Shrubs

Hello, blackberry!

Hot, sticky days seem to go hand in hand with cold, refreshing beverages. Though we keep delicious probiotic drinks like water kefir and kombucha on hand, we recently decided to expand our repertoire to include shrubs – AKA “drinking vinegar”. A combination of fresh fruit, raw vinegar, and sweetener, rounded out with the effervescence of sparkling water…it’s summer in a glass!

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Reality Check: The Melted Farmer

As someone who currently lives in a humid subtropical region, I expect some heat and humidity in the summer. I do. But what I don’t expect is days-long stretches of heat and humidity that reach 110F with the heat index and nighttime temperatures in the 80s – heat waves that necessitate “excessive heat warnings” from the weather service that basically advise rational people to stay indoors. How, exactly, does a farmer do that?

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Wildcrafted: Making Mugolio (Fermented Pine Cone Syrup)

As we near the official start of summer here in the northern hemisphere, baby birds are fledging, flowers are blooming, and the pine treees are putting forth beautiful cones. I’m always looking for ways to utilize the bounty of the land, so when I discovered a wildcrafted syrup called Mugolio, I knew I’d be making some!

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