It is finally that time of year here in Montana when our favorite wild huckleberries are ripe enough to start picking. Today we headed out to our secret huckleberry patch that I wrote about last summer. We were excited to try out our new berry rake to see if it would help harvest more berries without destroying the bushes. This handy gadget called a Berry Picker isn't perfect … [Read more...]
Our Top Five Most Popular Blog Posts of the Last Year
Now that Christmas is over and we're quickly headed towards the start of a new year, many of us find ourselves looking back over the last year as we plan and dream for the new year. Maybe in the new year you want to try living more simply, work on more DIY projects or even start dabbling in wildcrafting. To inspire you with some fun ideas, here are our top five blog posts from … [Read more...]
Backyard Farming on an Acre Book Review
Angela England's new book, Backyard Farming on an Acre (More or Less) is an inspiring guide and must have for folks new to small scale backyard farming and homesteading. With 25 helpful and easy to read chapters, England outlines the basics from choosing land to gardening, animal care, preserving and even homestead crafting! England's knowledge, experience and … [Read more...]
Foodie Friday: Wild Morel & Garden Harvest Walnut Pesto
I’d been wanting to make pesto all summer, but every time I went grocery shopping I looked at the pine nuts and just couldn't bring myself to fork out the high cost of what they’re selling for right now. While camping with some friends a few weeks ago, one family made walnut pestoto share with the group. When I tasted the walnut pesto and realized it was just as tasty but more … [Read more...]
Nature’s Band-Aid
I once heard that Yarrow was Nature's Band-Aid but had never tried it. Recently when we were out in the woods exploring, I found a meadow filled with native perennials including yarrow. I had a small knife with me and began harvesting. My intent was to harvest the yarrow along with some Ceanothus to dry and use for tea. As I was placing the cut yarrow in my little … [Read more...]
Preserving Huckleberries & Wild Huckleberry Lemonade Recipe
Each summer we venture out to our secret huckleberry spot to pick the sweet, juicy berries. This year we made huckleberry lemonade aide with our berries and it is a new favorite summer beverage in our family!My parents are visiting us this week from the east coast so we thought we would venture up the mountain to our secret huckleberry spot to share with them our family … [Read more...]
Making Tinctures and Infused Oils
Making your own herbal tinctures and infused oils at home is so easy I can't believe I never made them until now! With a few basic tips, you can start making your own infused oils and tinctures to use in your home crafting or herbal medicine chest. After our little nugget was born, another mama in town gave me the book Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susan S. … [Read more...]
Wild Huckleberry Harvest!
After checking our secret huckleberry spot up on the mountain two weeks ago, we've been counting the days until we could head back up and find a mountain covered with dark purple, juicy huckleberries. Heading up the mountain yesterday seemed like the perfect reward for finishing the painting in our back room just in time for my parent's visit this week.As we drove up the windy, … [Read more...]