Finally home after adventuresome and long travels. My adult kids did awesome and kept the gardens alive, even if they did let the cucumbers grow to small footballs and I found more than one small infant sized zucchini 😂. They did quite a bit of harvesting and even did some unexpected canning! So happy my kids know what to feed themselves and how to put food by.

I've had a blessed abundance in the first year garden via these galvanized tubs, despite a bit of deer browsing. Now it's time for me to do some final harvesting and thinning once deciding what to keep and overwinter. It's also time to get cover crops into most of these tubs. Next year I plan to reduce the amount of vegetables and increase medicinal plants for drying and tincturing, as I have good local sources for veg but not for medicinal herbs. Potentially this could be a decent side hustle for me. How did your own garden do this year? #grownostr

As thankful as I am for alternative means of communication, nothing will ever be as good as an in person conversation. Thankful I had plenty of that today without any phones in hand.

Watering my first finished Johnson-Su bioreactor compost. I could've gone another 6" but I ran out of material. That won't be an issue next time, and I've got the second one set up and ready to go. Now I gotta find me some worms to add once the heating cycle is done. I wish to thank @Jack Spirko for teaching me how to do it (and why) and also my two sons who made the process far easier and more fun. I am SO happy with this! Makes me smile so much. #grownostr

On overcoming bad tasting herbal medicine.

But It Tastes Bad!

A question of taste in herbal medicine

Well it's been an exciting day so far: finally figured out to how buy BTC (I know, so boring...) and in my giddiness doxxed myself 🙄 So if you're a new follower, hello. I like plants. I really like people, too, and believe that in the craziness of the world God is still at work. I even see it here! Now back to picking plums and minding my own business 🙂

Speaking of preparing winter medicine... Got a couple bunches of horehound from a nearby farmer, and picked hyssop, thyme and mullein from my own garden. It's all in the dehydrator. All of these herbs are useful for various cruddy conditions (but obs--or maybe not obs--do your own study to see if they're appropriate for your own situation). My (first year) garden isn't giving me an abundance yet, but I'm pleased with even the small offerings. My plan is to dehydrate this small batch of plants and put them by for syrup making when I need it. I'll tincture whatever's left in early spring. Are you growing any of your own medicine? #herbalist #herbstr P.S. You can sign up for my herbal newsletter on my bio if that is of interest 🌿

Good morning. Take some time to watch the clouds today, you don't *have* to race through your life like a Looney Tunes tazmanian devil. #coffeechain

Did you know that sticky Grindelia makes a nice honey for wet winter coughs? It grows along our beaches. I cut the flowers and put them in a jar, and then top with honey for a few weeks before straining. I learned this from a herbalist up on Lopez Island when I was there over a decade ago learning how to harvest seaweed. I've had so many good teachers over the years, grateful.

It took a couple years, but I finally got my first passionflower bloom.

Making progress on a large art piece. #artstr #makeyourownart #grownostr