homesteading, natural living, womanhood, stories, Jesus
I don’t make new year’s eve resolutions . . . ever. They don’t work. I think we do these things to make ourselves feel better, but then we end up feeling worse. What I do practice, however, is the New Year’s “word”. For years now, I’ve chosen a word that I wanted to focus on or that I felt would…
One of my all time favorite cookies is the chocolate crinkle cookie. I can remember, as a kid, always trading for the chocolate crinkle cookies at lunch time, because they weren’t a cookie that my mom or grandma ever made. I’m not sure why they didn’t make them, but I knew they were something special. That fudgey, gooey inside is…
Nothing says “winter” more than a good chai tea. There are so many different recipes for chai tea floating around in the world. Depending on your culture, heritage, or taste preferences, chai tea made in one home can taste completely different than chai tea in another home. The best part is—no matter which way you like your chai tea, you…
Frostbite is an extremely common issue when it comes to winter time issues with your chicken flock. Your chickens might suffer from frostbite on their combs and wattles, while your neighbor’s chickens never get frostbite—why is that? It comes down to science and method, really. But no matter what you do, you should always know about naturally preventing and treating…
Every year we go to a local pumpkin patch up the road from our house. Each year, this sweet old man tells us about his pumpkins, and how to make pumpkin pie. He tells us about how the deer ate half of his pumpkins again this year, and about the little pumpkins, the big pumpkins, the giant pumpkins, the gourds,…
I had never heard of lotion bars when I first started researching for herbal products that help with dry skin. But when I finally did discover them, I was hooked. Not only are lotion bars extremely efficient in healing dry skin, but they are extremely easy to make. The best part is that you can create lotion bars with specific…
Fall and winter are some of my favorite times in the year. Why? Because that means I get to make hot chocolate! I am a chocolate lover through and through. This herbal marshmallow hot chocolate is no exception. It’s easy to make, but also beneficial to the body, especially if you’re dealing with respiratory issues. As an herbalist I try…
The busyness of life has been weighing on me these last few months. It’s incredible to watch a large event come together, but I always underestimate the amount of work that will go into it. This year we decided to make the Homesteaders of America conference a two-day event, and I’m so happy that we did. Next weekend, October 12…
Fall is upon us, and just like with anything that’s in season, we have to weed through the truths and myths when it comes to our health and our chicken’s health. One of the constant things you’ll see floating around the interwebs is about pumpkin seeds as a natural dewormer for your chickens and other livestock. It’s not a myth,…
More and more each and everyday I realize that I am simply a vessel used by God. I literally am nothing without Him, through Him. I learn that it doesn’t matter how many times I fail, how many times I give up, or how many times I have no earthly clue what I’m doing—He’s going to use me despite all…
Grace-filled motherhood—it’s something I’ve struggled with over the last few years. I’m quick to give others grace, and to tell others to give themselves grace. But myself? Yeah, no. That’s hard. When we’re young adults without kids, we think we know everything there is to know about raising children. It’s partially because we still very much remember being kids ourselves. I’d…
One of my all-time favorite things to make are these gluten free quinoa patties. Several years ago, while attending one of our local “crunchy girl” parties, a friend of mine made these and I just had to have the recipe. With our diet beginning to change and trying to eat more gluten free items, it was time to start perfecting…
Parasites and worms on your farm and homestead are one of the top leading causes of livestock death. But thankfully we can make a homemade anti-parasitic tincture for our livestock (yes, even chickens!) By offering our livestock herbal supplements and this tincture on a regular basis, we can help prevent parasites from infesting our beloved animals, and treat our livestock…
You see it all over the place—there’s at least 85 blogs talking about keeping chickens cool. Give them ice cubes. Hose them down (please don’t). Give them electrolytes and frozen water jugs. I’ve seen it all and heard it all. But here’s the reality—chickens don’t need your help to keep cool. Period. And yet, they kind of do. Check it…
Bumblefoot (also known as Pododermatitis). It’s one of those things that most chicken keepers will have to deal with at some point or another during their chicken keeping adventure. Naturally treating bumblefoot with herbs and essential oils is more than likely the easiest and more successful route to take. As a chicken herbalist, I’ve seen plenty of bumblefoot cases, and…
As a new gardener, I often found the task of growing prize winning tomatoes and succulent melons very daunting. Can I say succulent melons here? Get your head out of the gutter! But growing and drying your own herbs, now that was a new task. Gardening has never come naturally to me. But I learn and grow each and every…
Chicken bone broth is one of the first lines of defense when it comes to total health and wellness on the homestead. It’s so incredibly easy to make bone broth, and chicken bone broth is one of my favorites. You can create other bone broths as well, like beef, lamb, or venison—but chicken is one of the most versatile that…
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