These Are a Few of My {Recent} Favorite Things

1) Homemade fudgesicles.  My favorite popsicle growing up: the fudgsicle.  So when a friend (thank you, Beck), posted on facebook about these treats, I knew I had to make them.  Here are the ingredients: plain yogurt, vanilla, cocoa, milk and (drumroll, please) maple syrup.  I kid you not.  No processed sugar, friends, and they are delicious- rich chocolate flavor with a hint of tang from the yogurt. The whole family loves them.  We've eaten three batches already this summer.  Recipe found here.

2) Summer Reading.  We've thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Homer Price.  Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is an eccentric lady who lives in an upside down house.  All the parents in town end up calling her because she can fix their children's behavioral ailments using some very creative treatments including "The Won't-Pick-Up-Toys Cure" and "The Answer-Backer Cure" and "The Selfishness Cure" and "The Never-Want-To-Go-To-Bedders Cure" and so on.  My kids, between giggling, were pretty embarrassed to hear how awful some of these behaviors sound when read about- how familiar they sounded was the embarrassing part.  This book was highly entertaining and very sweet.

Homer Price is about a boy and his adventures in the quaint little town of Centerburg which include how he and his pet skunk help catch some thieves and what happens when his uncle's donut maker contraption goes haywire.  It, too, was delightful.

3) An Outside Sink.  Jamey recently installed one for me.  Now no more muddy hands or vegetables (think carrots and potatoes) in my kitchen (or bathroom) sink.  Dreamy.

The water comes from the barn roofs via our rainwater storage tanks.  Used water runs out of the sink and into the bucket to the left (to be reused yet again).  The stump is a stool for little people and the shelf on the right acts as a little counter space.

4) Smooze.  Another cool and healthy treat.  I've only been able to find these on Amazon thus far.  Made with coconut milk in flavors mango and pineapple, they taste even better bought with Swagbucks!  Click the picture to find out more.

5) Coconut Oil.  You may have been hearing all the recent hype about coconut oil.  Well, a few months back, I bought some from Tropical Traditions because they were running a sale and offered free shipping.  I've completely switched over to using it for all my sauteing and have even substituted it for butter in some baked goods.  Along with my first order, I received a book (no pamphlet, a real book) about how this company came to be and how real families are harvesting the oil using authentic methods in the Philippines.  It also includes the owner's personal testimony in the back- yes, the owners are Christian.  I highly recommend their coconut oil.  You'll receive the free book, too, with your first order (and through their referral program, I'll receive a discount coupon).  To find out more about it or to place an order go here.

6) Pet {Wild} Bunnies. Their mama built their nest in the midst of our strawberry patch, inside the garden (inside the "rabbit proof" fence).  It was either dispose of them or try to tame them. Everything we read said that taming and keeping wild baby bunnies alive is close to impossible and they've proven so.  One of the original four sneaked out of the box one night never to be seen again and, just recently, two more died from us moving them out of their pseudo nest and into a small rabbit tractor of sorts when we went away for the day (totally our fault and I was sick about it).  But we still have one!  And the kids adore it.  And, maybe I do, too.

feeding them baby formula with a plastic syringe- every few hours- at the beginning

So...what's one of your {recent} favorite things?

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Permaculture

Permaculture is a word that I hadn't heard prior to just a few years ago even though it's been around for awhile.  It's very basic definition is...

the development of agricultural ecosystems intended to be sustainable and self-sufficient

I've been reading more about permaculture lately because I've been curious to see if this term is descriptive of what we're doing and the direction much of my recent interest seems to be headed.  As you may have noticed, I don't talk as much about growing specific vegetables, individual recipes or even preserving as much as I used to.

view across the back of our property (1.5 acres) with our neighbor's house in the background

Of course we're still growing vegetables (and fruits), making food and putting it up (and all those posts exist on this website, please look them up).  But since getting bees, I've become much more fascinated with how it all comes together.

(top to bottom, left to right) honey bee on clover, wild black raspberries, house roof rain water cistern/pump, butterfly on black raspberry bush, mulberry tree, blooming chestnut tree loaded with pollinators, day lilies, mulberries, young peaches, honey bee on butterfly bush, wineberry bushes, first crop of blueberries

How can we create an environment that is attractive to pollinators, birds, worms, ladybugs, etc?  What are the best ways to use and reuse water and other resources on our property?  What balance of wild to tamed works best for us?

Sadie's garden mound of vegetables and flowers in front of our large brush pile

our used-to-be-all-lawn side yard with sweet cherry and blueberry rows, wild grasses (the birds are loving the seed heads) and sunflower patch

As you may have noticed, it's never been important to us to have a manicured yard.  And, no, this isn't just what happens because we don't have the time or interest in manicuring it.  It comes from the desire to have a more natural-looking property and the desire to not be slaves to our land- there is more to life indeed.

paths

We hope that our brush piles and brambles will encourage birds to come and stay.  We hope that the mulch will turn our garden soil into a lush home for worms and that beneficial insects and healthy plants will deter pests without much intervention on our part.

That flowering weeds, trees and bushes will provide nectar and pollen for our bees and butterflies. That wild raspberries and wineberries will continue to multiply, pushing their way into mowed paths if they like.

black raspberries and wine berries at the edge of the woods with bee hives in the background

The way God created His creation to live in harmony is breath-taking.  I have been relishing it and look forward to reading and learning more about what we can do to encourage it instead of fight it- whatever it might be called these days.

If you're interested in more of the specifics of Permaculture, Wikipedia provides this list as one version of it's twelve design principles:

1. Observe and interact: By taking time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation.
2. Catch and store energy: By developing systems that collect resources at peak abundance, we can use them in times of need.
3. Obtain a yield: Ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the work that you are doing.
4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback: We need to discourage inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well.
5. Use and value renewable resources and services: Make the best use of nature's abundance to reduce our consumptive behavior and dependence on non-renewable resources.
6. Produce no waste: By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us, nothing goes to waste.
7. Design from patterns to details: By stepping back, we can observe patterns in nature and society. These can form the backbone of our designs, with the details filled in as we go.
8. Integrate rather than segregate: By putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop between those things and they work together to support each other.
9. Use small and slow solutions: Small and slow systems are easier to maintain than big ones, making better use of local resources and producing more sustainable outcomes.
10. Use and value diversity: Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which it resides.
11. Use edges and value the marginal: The interface between things is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the most valuable, diverse and productive elements in the system.
12. Creatively use and respond to change: We can have a positive impact on inevitable change by carefully observing, and then intervening at the right time.

Sadie feeding kitchen scraps to the chickens

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