Introducing Little Pirate, Our Babydoll Sheep
After our Mama Sheep, Izzy, passed away recently, we were left with just one sheep, Buttercup. As herd animals, sheep feel stressed out living alone, and while other types of…
A Dying Sheep – Saying Goodbye to Izzy
We keep sheep for their wool and for manure for our garden – and because we love animals. This week we had to say goodbye to our sheep Isadora (also…
Welcoming Barney – Transitioning a Feral Cat into Our Home
For a while it was a running joke between Chad and I that we didn’t need any other cats – but, we didn’t have an orange one yet, so maybe…
116 Ways to Connect with Nature
I believe that connecting to nature can bring joy, satisfaction, and meaning to one’s life – because it has done so for me. My husband, Chad, who is a certified…
Death and Life – A Walk in the Desert
Who needs candy and costumes? We celebrated Halloween with a hike in the desert where we found signs of life and death to help us contemplate the holiday. Since we’ve…
Garden News: Overwintered Carrots
This week, Chad and I received a gift from ourselves from the past – almost 20 lbs of carrots! We had a large carrot crop last summer and decided to…
Celebrating the Autumn Equinox
Being nature lovers, we like to celebrate the equinoxes and solstices, those special moments in the year that mark the rotation of the earth around the sun. At each of…
Homesteading: Creating and Keeping Routines
When we’re on the road, Chad and I like to listen to Great Courses CDs, and one of them we listened to recently was on decision making. Chad wasn’t excited…
December 30, 2021
Gardening With Nature Gardening really helps me get in touch with nature. But taking things a step further, gardening with plants that are well-suited to our climate, incorporating native species,…
Showy Milkweed – Weed or Wildflower?
When it comes to differentiating between a weed and a wildflower, the answer lies in one’s perspective. Many farmers find that milkweed gets in the way. I wouldn’t exactly say…
Rice Salad with Beef, Lime, and Herbs
After months of eating a restrictive and not super flavorful diet, I’ve finally come up with a meal that gets my taste buds excited. This is now one of my…
A Natural Remedy for Ringworm – Coconut Oil
One day I noticed our cat Louie licking his belly. This didn’t seem to be a typical grooming session, he had been licking the same spot for far too long.…
Why I Embraced Vegetarianism – And Why I Gave It Up
One evening as a young teen I was babysitting for some family friends. The baby was safe and sound in bed and all I had to do was eat my…
Prompts: Know Your Neighbors
Hi there! I hope everyone reading this is staying healthy, or recovering. I was sick for a month myself and am just regaining my normal rhythm, routine, and (mostly) energy.…
How to Be Less Reliant on Heating and AC
As I write this it is the middle of summer, and like many of the recent summers past we’ve experienced hotter than normal temperatures. And yet, in our household we…
Homesteading – Sheepy Poos
When my husband introduced me to his two icelandic sheep, I asked what their names were. He looked slightly embarrassed and told me he hadn’t named them. Strangely, two names instantly came…
Native Plants: Curly-Cup Gumweed
This summer, anytime we walked up to the end of our lane, Chad would point out a plant with bright yellow flowers growing along side it and tell me he…
Wildlife: How to Attract Birds to Your Backyard
Last weekend I took a class on birds. It was a great crash course in ornithology and I was delighted to learn all sorts of interesting things about our feathery friends. The…
