Starting sweater number 3 🧶 #knitstr

Celery in the garden did well this year 😋 Tomatoes are out, garlic is in, the winter greens are growing, and I'm about ready to settle inside for the season.

My son snapped this photo of me--he was laughing at how I had rearranged the furniture to get more cozy by the fire. Plus I was lazy and had thrown a Duralog in to start it (it was either take time to build a fire OR do a few rounds on the needles...you can see I chose wisely). I'm reading this great book, too, trying to find a better way to feed my pigs. My feed supplier has been inconsistent (and that's putting it as nicely as I can). When I had goats, I always mixed their own feed, so why not figure it out for my pigs? I'm hoping to add a new batch of goats and some rabbits before next spring so thought I'd start planning out their feeds as well. Does anyone else mix their own feed for their livestock? And do you have a favorite book or resource for that? #asknostr #grownostr #homesteading

No internet, TV, and cell service but plenty of God's creation from the seat of a horse. Bliss. And inspiration for my future life, God willing.

I’ve had a bit of a run of low days. Grief, hormones, weather changes, who knows. Taking a long weekend break and grabbing some girlfriends for a road trip and some horse riding, and going offline. Books and tea and knitting for the evenings, maybe a movie or two, and definitely some laughter mingled with tears. Grateful. Here's a pic of an easy snack (for kids too): pan fried (in lard) canned garbanzo beans, dusted with garlic powder and salt. Sometimes I add something like taco seasoning or curry, depending on my mood. I've tried cooking my own beans, but they don't hold up as well as the canned. See ya later!

Having a low day. Not sure if it's grief or physical or SAD (but really? it's only our first overcast PNW day...). Did the laundry and a bit in my art journal and tried to eat a little something. Maybe that's just going to have to be enough for today.

Picked the last of my sugar pumpkins and decided to let the squash keep kicking out as long as it wants to (this striped variety is delicious). Cover crops are getting sown into the gardening tubs, and carrots look good for the growing/taking this late fall/winter. I'm trying to practice restraint with the tomatoes; there are plenty of green ones on the vine but frankly I'm sick of eating tomatoes. Lovely lunch with local folk at the farm today (their own beef and veg), what a perfect sunny day to spend outside visiting, eating, and picking flowers to bring home. It was beautiful just to wander through the spent sunflowers, honeybees collecting what they can before the rains come. Sometimes I feel so grateful, I cry just to be happy to be alive in this moment.

It's getting dark and damp, but I haven't started up the wood stoves yet. Maybe that's why my bones feel cold! Here is a blend of ginger, cinnamon, cardamom pods, astragalus root, peppercorns, cloves, fennel seeds, coriander and maca powders, and orange peel. Once it's simmered, I'll add black tea and raw milk for a few minutes, strain, add honey, and dust the whole thing with nutmeg. A nice warming digestive and immune supportive chai that will hopeful take the chill off. #grownostr #herbalist

I think preparing and eating organ meat is a missing part of my diet, but I don't yet have the skills or motivation to embark upon it. So I use this seasoning blend in the meantime; it has liver, spleen, kidney, heart and pancreas. It tastes pretty good! Seeing Dr. Cowan's veggie powders inspires me to make my own garden varieties. I already dehydrate and powder my garlic. Wondering if there's a big difference nutrition wise between dehydrating and freeze drying.

It's a hard day today hitting the birthday of one of my best friends so close to her dying. Grief is a difficult road. She was my art buddy and we shared with each other the stuff we did. Kind of an empty void right now, who to share with, on so many levels. I guess today it's you, Nostr.

I am always happy with the seeds and plants I get from Strictly Medicinal Seeds. Little by little, my outdoor apothecary grows 🌿 #grownostr #herbalist

Strictly Medicinal Seeds | Organic growers of medicinal herb seeds, medicinal herb plants, organic vegetable seeds and organic garden seeds

I've been hearing more and more about the horrible situation in the mountains of North Carolina and I swing from being heartbroken to just being angry at our gov't that more isn't being done. But I'm also inspired by the courage and tenacity of everyday Americans to care for and help each other, and it has gotten me thinking how I can better prepare myself to be someone who has useful skills to likewise help others in disasters like this. One of my daughters for example is already in Search and Rescue training (with dogs), and is bolstering her swimming skills with a trainer. Here are some of my own ideas I'm chewing on...what are some of yours? * upgrade my HAM tech to general * consider raising/training pack mules (I currently have unused pasture) * revisit and repack my first aid bag for my vehicle * get a hand pump for our well

Slowly getting some good fencing put up, to keep dogs and kids where they belong. The tops still need to be lopped, and I'm going to put some sort of lighting on it. Best of all, I have another beautiful area for zone 1 planting, right off the walk to my house. Note we still have multiple buckets of apple scraps from Saturday's press. Glad to save a little money on hen and pig feed at the moment.

We had a great time apple pressing with friends and neighbors yesterday. We invited everyone on our street, even the ones we didn't know. Two of those households showed up, and we were glad to get to know them. We pressed over 30 gallons of cider, and then enjoyed a potluck chili supper and sat around the fire well into nightfall. It's such a blessing to enjoy real people and real conversations in real time 🍎

Having some fun this afternoon.

Here are some handy herbs to help you navigate through grief:

Herbs for Grief

And other symptoms of stress and anxiety

#herbalist

Sadly, I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends. I hate cancer and can't wait for Revelation 22.

My Beautiful Friend Flew Away

On cancer, grief, and second moms.