A Cat Finds A Homestead

One dark morning as I flipped the porch light on to walk out to the bus stop, a small shadowy movement caught our attention near the trash can. This stray cat would find its way into our home and heart.

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Dilly Beans Recipe, Small Batch

A good green bean harvest meant we could feast on dilly beans this year. This was our first season of pretty good success with beans. At least in our eyes. Success looks different to different people. Let me explain that last year we were only able to save 11 ounces of beans… carefully packed away…

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Bone Broth Basics

Making bone broth from scratch was much easier than we ever imagined. We’ve been easing into homesteading with the mindset of using what we have on hand and trying new-to-us things as we are ready. We harvested a half-dozen of our first meat birds over the summer. I saved the bones after meals and simply…

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Lemon Balm Tea, aka Melissa Tea

Herbs have so many uses, you should grow some. Herbs can be used for so many ailments as well as for enjoyment, that’s especially true with Lemon Balm. Our herb garden started out small, with the herbs that were most familiar to us. As we began learning more about homesteading through taking classes, listening to…

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Growing Coriander in the Garden

You may be growing Coriander and not even know it. It’s what comes after your cilantro plant bolts Our coriander was truly a “learning by living” experience. We had an extended cool, spring season. Many of our herbs thought summer had gone and started “bolting” into flowers. It took about a month after the white…

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Frugal Gardening and Farm Tip: Tomato tie-up wire

Check out this frugal gardening hack. Why pay full price for stuff to tie-up your tomatoes? This is actually Christmas wreath tie I bought at Walmart. I picked it up the day after Christmas for 75% off… they were basically giving it away. This is what we like to use to tie-up our tomatoes. It’s…

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Wild Violet Jelly Recipe

“How to make wild violet jelly” or “Another weed not to kill in your yard”. Wild violets usher in spring. The dainty purple wild violet flowers carpet the grass and hint of warmth to come. These flowers come in various shades of purple that are so intriguing at a closer look. At your next opportunity,…

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