This winter, one of our Indian Runner ducks, Ana Sophia, hurt her leg in a bad way. We have no idea what happened, but it may have been related to the ice. The poor baby couldn’t walk, so she had to come live inside with us for a couple of months. We had originally thought […]
I was never that much of a nature girl when I was growing up, I guess. I always loved animals, but I don’t think anyone in my family would have guessed that I would grow up, quit a hard-earned administrative job, and become a homesteader. My husband and I have a small-but-growing-more-efficient-by-the-day homestead, and we’ve […]
I’ve never been a Black Friday shopper. It’s just too stressful to me, and there’s nothing I want or need badly enough to stand in line for hours or get up at 4:00 in the morning to go get. I am, however, a big believer in Small Business Saturday. I’m not much of a shopper, […]
This Thanksgiving, my husband and I decided to do something a little different. We are homesteaders, and we had a really good year in our harvest overall. So we decided our Thanksgiving dinner this year would be a celebration of our harvest. We haven’t raised turkeys, so we’re having one of the chickens we raised […]
It’s that time of year when chicken owners of older flocks are telling sad stories about how they aren’t getting any eggs because their hens are molting. I am one of those people. Most of my girls are going on four years old, are molting like crazy—and not laying eggs. We have 27 hens, 20 […]
When I first learned about the old Maine flag a year or so ago, I fell in love with it. It thought it looked like something that was quilted by women hundreds of years ago. I don’t know if that’s true, but I thought I surely needed to see this flag as a quilt. I […]
It’s my favorite time of year! I love when the leaves begin to turn, the temperatures finally cool, and the Common Ground Fair begins! Last year, I wrote about how overwhelming the Common Ground Fair can be for beginners. It’s easy to see how someone just getting started with farming, gardening, or homesteading might feel […]
Even if you’re not a chicken person, you’ve probably heard about the rise in salmonella outbreaks in the United States in the last few years. This rise in the number of salmonella cases directly corresponds with the rise in the number of people keeping chickens. But every time this issue comes up–and it does keep […]
I think it’s pretty much common knowledge that a lot of people like chickens. In fact, I would argue that we’re right smack dab in the middle of a veritable chicken renaissance these days. Well, it turns out that rich people really like chickens too. And, as you would expect, rich people have so much […]
Our blueberries aren’t quite ripe yet here in Maine, though I did steal one that was pretty close this morning, but I just learned that today is National Blueberry Muffin Day! Of course, blueberry muffins deserve a day! With this important holiday in mind, I thought you might want try this delicious bed-and-breakfast-style blueberry muffin […]
