DIY Felted Soap  Felting is an easy and fun textile art. All that is needed is wool, moisture and agitation. Felted items can be strong, weather resistant and warm. Hats, socks, boots and tunics can all be made of felted wool. So why felted soap? The felting layer around the soap acts as an exfoliator and creates a low waste bar cover.  Felted soap is great for scrubbing your feet, elbows, calloused hands and other tough spots. Once the soap is all used up you’ll be left with a smaller felt pouch. You can cut a hole in that felt and stuff it with leftover soap bar bits, use it to hol ..read more

Ooof… what a year this has been. All in all, I feel rather blessed to be coming out of this year mostly unscathed. Or maybe I am just having memory loss as I read back over my last post about the trials we have over come. HA! No,, I think I am simply a warrior spirit who can not be shaken. While leaving my city job and working for myself full time seemed a terrifying feat (with all the current world matters) it actually proved to be the best decision possible for our family and homestead. I was able to focus more on my livestock, raising them in such a way that would produce the highest qualit ..read more

What the 2020… We have had so many ups and downs that I get a little nauseous thinking about it. Hold on tight folks this is going to be a long one. I made the leap in March to go full time on the homestead. Quitting the 9-5 allowed me to invest more time into the property, livestock and our business. It took us about three years to get to this point and we still have expensive goals for the property as a whole but so far we are not starving, actually we live a pretty lush life, as do the critters. Even though we are fully off grid and sometimes it really gets tough we always make ends meet. P ..read more

Hello from on top of the mountain and happy first day of spring! Doesn’t really look like spring out there does it? I hope everyone is doing well during this strange and difficult time. For those of you that are extroverts and not accustomed to this way of life I hope you are finding an outlet to keep your mind and body busy. I feel for those that are in smaller homes or apartments without land, you all have the most difficult situation. And especially those that have been forced to leave work and were living pay check to paycheck. Most of society has not prepared for a situation such as this ..read more

We are slowly encroaching on one of my favorite times of year. The snow and ice is receding up the mountains and eventually daffodils will be sticking their noses up out of the soil to welcome the warmth of the sun onto their faces. Days are noticeably getting longer. Dreaming between the pages of seed catalogs has ended and I have put in my large seed and bulb orders for the year. Bring on Spring! Though I would like to sit nestled next to my wood stove waiting patiently for the plants to tell me winter is over, I cannot. There are still things to be done during this cold and dry season. Prun ..read more

October was practically non-existent, November snuck right by and here we are in December. It feels unreal when I start to think about how quickly time goes by. Each day of routine blends into the next. At least I have a warm house with amazing views to watch the world go by. The woodpile is going strong and we have already had several snowy days that have allowed me to practice using the new snowplow. The roads are icy in the mornings so I slowly chug down the mountain in second gear simply enjoying the scenery and my morning commute. The cold brings with it a multitude of chores like breakin ..read more

Do you know someone who is living a back to the basics life like myself? Have you been struggling with what to get them this year for Christmas? Well, I have a treat for you as I go over 19 of the topmost useful and durable gifts for the homestead love of your life. Keep in mind these are items I use regularly so I have a little side review of each item as well as tricks. There are affiliate links in this blog, which means I may receive a small commission if you use the link and later purchase an item. Look at you! Supporting small business in the simplest of ways, you could be restocking pape ..read more

The grass is white with frost and clothes left out to dry on the line are soaked by sunrise. How did Fall slip from my grasp and winter creep down my throat? As the plants halt their growth and the animals begin to fluff with their winter coats I am struck with a sense of accomplishment at what this year has brought to the homestead. Summer and Fall were incredibly short but somehow Luke and I were able to wrap up an incredible beekeeping year ending with 34 healthy hives, goats were added to the homestead mix as well as Solar power. With the nice weather being very short it almost left no tim ..read more

Our bodies are boycotting us, illness is rampant and I believe it is because of what we are putting in and on our bodies. Have you ever read the list of ingredients on something like chapstick or a granola bar? How many of those ingredients do you actually know in those extensive lists? Even the items coined as natural are overwhelming with how many ingredients are within. I personally want to know what those items are and why it is added. And, how it will affect my body.  I wanted to get away from using products that contain aluminum; specifically a product I use near to my lymph nodes, like ..read more

Going at least somewhat solar has been the goal since day one of purchasing the homestead. I will admit however, I was unbelievably intimidated and kind of dragging my feet on the whole ordeal. I am by no means an electrician and electricity has always had my utmost respect. Luckily Luke is very familiar with 12 volt batteries and I bought a fairly self explanatory solar kit online several months ago. The only things I was missing was a big roll of black and red 8 gauge wire and a stand for the solar panels. Luke and I were able to build a stand completely from materials found around the homes ..read more