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 wondering why you haven’t seen many posts here lately about what’s going on at the farm? Have we packed it in, rehomed the animals, started a new chapter? Short answer: no.
Continue reading “Musings: Semblance Of Sameness”
Slugs seem to get no love. I’ve considered why I’m enamored of snails, with their wonderfully whorled shells, but not slugs…and realized that it’s unfair. A slug is basically a snail, without that magnificent shell upon its back. Did it choose to live its life without a shell? Of course not. So, I’m consciously making an effort to appreciate the beauty of the slug, like the subtle but striking raised pattern on its skin – resembling a fingerprint – or how it seems to effortlessly and soundlessly glide along the ground. See the beauty of the slug today.
Inviting, yes…and uninvited. But no invitation is needed for this lovely greenery: morning glory vines just seem to appear along a rock retaining wall near our house, stunning with their early-morning cornflower radiance. A cheery flower, indeed, and a wise one, retiring (for the day) in the afternoon. That we should all keep such a schedule – an afternoon siesta might keep us similarly glorious!
And for the pedantic, I know rhyming haiku is somewhat frowned upon in poetry circles. I don’t care. The verse flowed, so I’m going with it. I am, after all, a rebel at heart.
I found a snail in the duckling swimming tub (it’s deep enough for them to swim in, but shallow enough to prevent drowning) this morning. At first, I thought it was just another slug, but something caught my eye.
Continue reading “Haiku: Wondrous Whorls”
I think every person should have access to trees – to enjoy, to touch, to revere. Sadly, I know that some people don’t…and I have lived in places with very few trees, stunted creatures that did their best to survive surrounded by concrete, blanketed by pollution, and subjected to abuse and neglect. They still put forth their hopeful leaves and continued reaching toward the sun – and making oxygen for the people too preoccupied to notice them, let alone appreciate them.
I vastly prefer living, as I do now, in a place with trees. I find it difficult (if not impossible) to feel angry or stressed when looking up into the leafy canopy, shielded from the sun’s rays. It’s quiet and soothing there. Birds sing from the branches, nests hidden high above. Under the tree, it’s almost a different world.
Learn more about the health – and other – benefits of trees here.
As I walked through the pasture today, something caught my eye – a miniscule turtle! It was in a fairly open area, but well-camouflaged.
Continue reading “Haiku: One Step At A Time”