A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God. Ecclesiastes 2:24 Our culinary interest spikes when the homegrown food starts to come in! This entirely homegrown (pesticide free I might add) little harvest made for an … Continue reading Edible Pleasure →

Truth- we are not always in the mood to volunteer. My husband and I met at a therapeutic riding center, and that specific realm of volunteer work has been a major part of my life for 15 years.After settling down in our area of Tennessee, we again started volunteering at the therapeutic riding center closest … Continue reading Volunteering. →

There's a yard game we play that is our sure sign of summer. We get our drinks and sometimes have music on or dinner on the grill nearby. The chickens and ducks are usually exploring the yard to find their evening snacks, lightening bugs help set the evening summer mood, as does the fire in … Continue reading Sure sign of summer. →

I latched onto Violet when we first brought her home. She and Sweet Pea were our Homestead Christmas gifts, but she was extra special to me from the start. Violet spent extra time in the house, rode on my shoulder, and has more than once jumped up into my lap when exploring the yard and … Continue reading Chicken Snuggles. →

Of all the things I attempt to grow, I'm so thankful that the berries naturally do well! Current gardening dilemma is realizing that I really need to get something figured out for all the future plants these tiny but prolific strawberries create! Last year I gave out the new plants to co-workers and friends (the … Continue reading A great problem. →

What we see depends mainly on what we look for. - John Lubbock "Backyard beauty hunt" is a regular occurrence at our house. I grab the camera, take the dogs out with me, and very slowly make my way around the property, stopping for pictures of every little thing that grabs my attention. I love … Continue reading Beauty Hunt. →

Anticipation is half the fun. Not sure what I did in childhood, but now, I always am quick to admit to being impatient. Impatience is not always the most horrible thing. I do get stuff done. It may not be perfect, it may not be fully completely researched on the front end, it may need … Continue reading Beauty and dreams and impatience. →

Y'all know I'm a sucker for variety. Of the (current) 25 chickens on our little homestead, I think we have 20 different breeds. I love not only learning the differences in personality among different breeds, but also love the beautiful variety of feathers they each have, and the eggs they lay! And of course, that's … Continue reading Heart for Variety →

It's not much in the grand scheme of things, but sharing our eggs with friends and family gives me great joy! We have put significant time and intentional thought into bringing home hens that will lay eggs of beautiful shades, and three years later it still is a joy to collect eggs in my little … Continue reading Sharing Small Beauty. →

The porch days have begun! What a joy to pause from the homestead list and simply sit under the sun-hand in hand with Farmer Jim, dogs laying down in the shade, chickens exploring the yard, and all of us enjoying the moment. I really like to go, go, go ("Slave Driver" has unfortunately been a … Continue reading Porch Days →

Several weeks ago we brought home our last haul of chicks for the year. In the several days before the purchase I went over and over the list, wanting to keep the numbers (relatively) down, but also include every breed that I wanted to add. In meticulously building this list, I repeatedly kept coming back … Continue reading Chicken Momma Intuition? →