Today, I attended a Sustainable Living Conference at All World Acres near Tampa. An Eternal Student t-shirt, worn by a fellow conference attendee, perfectly expressed the importance of lifelong learning as the morning began with a search for wild edibles led by guide Andy Firk from Bamboo Grove Farm in Arcadia, Florida and his Ithaca Forest Farm summer homestead…

 My barred rock and red star chicks are two weeks old today. A major growth change since my last photo shoot at one week old is their wing development. We created an outdoor playground where Olga, Pearl, Flossie, Opal, Henny Penny, Cora, Phoebe, Edith, and Hilda frolic in the sunshine during the daytime hours. 

Normally, on Saturday morning, I am at the downtown farmers market. Today I switched things up a bit and attended an organic gardening workshop taught by two market vendors, Jeff and Peggy Campbell, at their farm. To be standing on the ground where the food I put on my table comes from… immeasurably meaningful.   While the sunlight filtered through the fresh…

My chicks hatched on March 7, 2011, so they are one week old today. In this brief timespan, their wings have grown noticeably larger.   

If we invest extra time and expense in raising a flock of hens or purchase eggs from a local farmer… or grocery store, it's prudent to take measures to lengthen the eggs' shelf-life. Because egg shells are porous, they are prone to moisture loss and odor absorption. Storing them in their original carton is better than in…

Tomorrow afternoon is raw milk delivery day which means that I needed to use up some surplus homemade cultured buttermilk to make room in my fridge. Buttermilk's acidity deactivates the phytic acid in grains, so I am prepping hearty pear pecan muffins and oatmeal hot cereal by soaking the grains overnight. In preparation for making bean soup, I am soaking a variety of…

‎"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." ~ Kahlil Gibran  When I was shopping in my local health food store this week, I was drawn to a display of organic heirloom seed packets. I couldn't resist. It got me so pumped that when…

This was the view in our front yard a bit shy of 8:00 this morning before it was completely light outside… our first snowfall of the season. The snow continues to silently flutter to the ground forming a blanket that has muffled virtually all sound. The silence… Can you hear it? Listen ever so quietly.    

With the exception of oak trees that are still hanging onto a few of their brown withered leaves, the trees are nearly bare in central Minnesota. Our flowering crab apple tree is still providing a pop of color in the landscape.   

One year ago today, this photo, taken by Brainerd Dispatch photograper Kelly Humphrey, appeared on the front page of our local paper. I saved it because it looks like the sky was painted with watercolors.    Grain in our own field, cut and raked into rows, dries in the early September sunshine. A cover crop of clover interplanted with the oats…