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.
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!
Continue reading “Live Beverages: Stimulating Summer Shrubs”
There comes a time in our young poultry’s lives where they must make the transition from being human-raised babies to becoming the fowl that they’re meant to be. That time arrived recently, when the last of this season’s ganders, Eddie, Alex, and Wolfie, joined the Pilgrim gaggle.
Continue reading “Farm Fowl: The Year’s Final Gosling Integration”
Are you interested in understanding yourself better? As a naturally curious person, I am. While I believe that there can be value in some personality tests, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), there is also the potential for misuse – particularly in employment settings – because they can encourage “shortcuts” like labeling. When shortcuts are taken, we fail to see a complete picture of an individual…to our detriment.
Continue reading “Musings: No Shortcuts To Understanding (People)”
It’s been 11 days since I started the Mugolio and it’s been a fascinating process to watch the maceration occur: fermentation really is like magic!
Continue reading “Wildcrafted Update: Making Mugolio (Fermented Pine Cone Syrup)”
We’ve been suffering the effects of a “heat dome” here for about the past week. Temperatures have been in the 90s during the day (reaching 105F+ with the heat index), and it doesn’t cool off much at night. This makes for dangerously hot weather, for people and animals. We’ve learned some tricks over the years that helps keep our flocks healthy and resilient, and are employing them now.
Continue reading “Farm Fowl: Weathering The Heat”
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!
Continue reading “Wildcrafted: Making Mugolio (Fermented Pine Cone Syrup)”