Outdoorsy by nature, I love spending time in the woods, whether it is taking a leisurely walk around my property, hiking a few miles, or going on extended backpacking trips. I also love just about everything that involves homesteading and pursuing the simple life. Chopping firewood, building sheds and cabins, helping fellow homesteaders on their projects, canning applesauce, planting, and hanging out with my two daughters are some of the greatest joys in my life. And I've got to mention what someone once pointed out to me - I can’t help but smile every time I drive my tractor!
I recently got back from a 7 day silent meditation retreat at the Bhavana Society – www.bhavanasociety.org. Everett told me he didn’t think retreat was the right word and I agree. It’s a retreat from everyday life, but definitely not a lay back and take it easy kind of thing! Once, I even heard a [...]
Wow, can you believe it’s that time again! It seems like yesterday that I wrote last summer’s posts on canning peaches and applesauce! Well, it’s peach time once again and I’m full blast getting plenty of them put up for lots of winter and spring smoothies! This is the second year in a row I [...]
I was tetter-tottering back and and forth on whether I wanted to write and publish this post. I didn’t want to cross any ethical lines on whether I should use this forum for personal gain, but after much thought, and reassurance from a good friend, I’m going for it. After all, I assume most viewers [...]
Welp, it’s early July and my tomatoes are still green, but I have plenty of other things in my garden that contributed to a simple, yet delicious, meal this evening. I was outside working on my homestead and started getting hungry. Hungry for something natural and something local. So, I walked out to my garden [...]
Before I moved to Floyd County I used to take all of my old or unwanted stuff to Goodwill, Salvation Army, local thrift store, or, shamefully, just throw it in the trash. Not now. Since moving back to Floyd I have learned of the fine art of “Greenbox Recycling.” What I used to call dumpsters [...]
I belong to an email list for a local beekeeping club and for the past month it has been hot with folks postings leads on swarms – in buildings, on the side roads, in gardens and so on. It’s amazing how quickly beekeepers get on these leads and immediately snatch them up. Just the other [...]
Spring is fastly approaching. This evening after watering my peas (yes, they are up about an inch now!) I went for a walk around my property starting at the creek and noticed the skunk cabbage is about 3-4 inches out of the ground already. A little further I saw a bunch of new greenbriar growth, some [...]
A friend of mine forwarded me an email of a beer bread recipe he received. As I was looking at the recipe I noticed he, also a homebrewer, inserted his Murphy’s Ale as the beer ingredient! Not having a Murphy’s ale on hand, and not having much experience making bread with beer, I decided to use a trusty [...]
I guess I will start this article with a “disclaimer” similar to what Everett did on one of his posts a few months back… Disclaimer: This post contains words, information and pictures on killing and eating a live animal. I make no excuses nor do I feel guilty about my current omnivore diet. I have, [...]
I have a lot of power tools – a lot! And up to this point in time I have not acquired a tool that I could not figure out how to use within the first 15 minutes. Welp, it took at 9″ band saw, several hours of my time, and finally resorting to visiting a woodworker [...]
Everett writes about voluntary simplicity. This blog catalogs his search for "the good life" as he tries to strike a balance between work and play, freedom and responsibility, simplicity and comfort.
