Planting a Bare-Root Tree
You ever stick a lifeless-looking stick into the ground and think, “Yep, this is gonna be a tree”? That’s the kind of optimism gardening gives you. I planted my first bare root tree years ago, and Josh swore I was being scammed. “You paid for that?” he said, holding the sad little twig like it […]
Stuck in a Rut… Literally
You ever feel like life’s a muddy rut you just can’t climb out of? Yeah. Same. The yard’s been a swamp since the hurricane blew through, the chickens look personally offended by the rain, and every time I step outside, my boot gets swallowed whole. It’s like quicksand with mosquitoes. The garden’s half-drowned, the coop […]
Planting a Tree
You’d think planting a palm tree would be easy, right? We live in Homestead—palms are basically our neighbors. But there I was in the Home Depot parking lot, trying to shove a seven-foot palm into the back of my SUV like it was a reluctant toddler refusing to get in the car seat. Josh stood […]
Bloat in Cows
I swear our cow, Bessie, has the kind of stomach that could scare a vet student. One minute she’s fine, chewing her cud, minding her business—and the next she looks like she swallowed a yoga ball. Cow bloat is one of those things they don’t tell you about when you start homesteading. You think it’s […]
Livestock Fly Spray – Long Lasting
If there’s one thing I can’t stand in summer—besides my hair sticking to my neck—it’s flies. They show up like uninvited relatives at a BBQ, landing on everything, buzzing in your face, and acting like they pay rent. Around the animals, it’s even worse. Bessie flicks her tail like she’s flagging planes, and the goats […]
Solar Heated Water Tank
There’s something about showering with water that’s been heated by pure Florida sunshine that makes me feel like I’ve won some kind of homesteading lottery. Our solar-heated water tank might be one of my favorite “grown-up” decisions—right up there with planting fruit trees and buying that ridiculous hat I wear when I’m weeding. Josh, of […]
Great Garden Soil – Coffee Grounds
Coffee fuels my mornings and, apparently, my garden too. One day, after making my third cup and realizing the grounds were piling up like Mount Caffeine, I figured—why not toss them in the dirt? Josh gave me that look. You know, the one that says, “Are we starting another compost experiment that’ll attract raccoons?” Probably. […]
Pallet Feeder
There’s something about making a feeder out of an old pallet that just hits that perfect homesteader nerve—the part of me that hates wasting things but loves pretending I’m on one of those DIY shows where people clap when it works. Except in my version, Josh mutters under his breath, and Ethan asks if he […]
First Fire – Wood Cook Stove
You know that feeling when you think, How hard could it be? Yeah, that was me with our wood-burning stove. I’d seen people online, all cozy with their mugs and glowing fires, looking like they were living inside a cabin-themed coffee commercial. So, I thought I’d try it. Let’s just say, reality smelled a lot […]
Giveaway Winner!!
Y’all, I’m so excited I could burst into sparks like a dry pine log—Chelsie is our wood-burning stove giveaway winner! And get this—she’s getting the exact same one as mine. Yep, I went ahead and bought a matching stove just to give away, because I couldn’t keep this cozy magic all to myself. If you’ve […]