Pumpkin pie cobbler is a fun twist on a classic Thanksgiving dish. It's a rich and filling dessert that is always a hit when I take it to parties and potlucks. I recently shared photos of this simple cobbler on Instagram and got dozens of requests for the recipe, so here it is. I hope pumpkin pie cobbler will find a place on your table this Thanksgiving season. 

Filling:
1 - 30 ounce can of pumpkin pie mix
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream

Topping:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
​1 1/2 sticks butter (melted)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Make your filling:
Combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl and stir until smooth and blended. Pour into a cast iron skillet. (You could also use a glass baking dish, but I love using cast iron. If you're new to cast iron, here's a good starter cast iron skillet like the one I used in this recipe).

Make your topping:
Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix with a fork. Pour in the melted butter and mix until it forms a crumbly texture. Sprinkle the crumb topping all over the pumpkin filling.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is gold brown. Enjoy!

If you try the recipe, leave a comment and let me know what you think. I hope you love this one as much as we do! 

Growing medicinal herbs in the home garden can unlock a whole new world of benefits for your mental and physical health. Adding herbs to the home garden is easy and many of them are perennial so you don’t have to replant them year after year. Some of the most popular medicinal herbs for home use include:

• Calendula
• Lavender
• Sage
• Chamomile
• Echinacea
• Aloe Vera
• Rosemary
• Peppermint
• Ginger
• Lemon balm

 
When you first begin learning about herbs, it can be overwhelming. There are so many websites and books about medicinal herbs available today, but in my experience, very few of them are aimed at total beginners. So today, I want to break down some simple herb preparation methods you can use in your home garden to take advantage of the healing properties of herbs … no experience needed!
 
Method #1 - Brew Your Own Herbal Tea
 
Making tea is the easiest method to start using your homegrown medicinal herbs. A strong brewed tea can be helpful to treat a variety of health concerns. Peppermint leaves can be used to make a tea that boosts your mood and eases a headache. Lemon balm is an excellent plant to use for tea brewing and it can level out your mood and calm anxiety. 
 
You can make DIY herbal tea with both fresh and dried leaves. If you are using fresh herbs, you’ll need around 3 or 4 large leaves for a cup of tea. Rinse your herbs off gently in cold water and then put them in your mug of choice. Pour hot water on top and let the herbs steep in the water for 5-7 minutes, depending how strong you like your tea.
 
If you’re working with dried leaves, you will need an infuser or a tea ball. This is the tea ball that I use regularly (bonus - it’s pretty inexpensive!). Fill the tea ball with your dried leaves and then place it in the mug and pour in hot water. Let it steep for 5-7 minutes, or until it is the strength you prefer. 
 
Just a quick word of caution - some home brewed herbal teas can be bitter. You can counteract this by adding a spoonful of raw honey, which contains numerous health benefits of its own. 
 
Method #2 - Make a Poultice
 
Using medicinal herbs in a poultice allows you to directly apply the herbs topically. To try this method, crush the herbs up and mash them into a paste and then spread it directly onto the skin. Cover the area with gauze or muslin to hold the poultice in place. You can adjust the temperature of the poultice depending on how you are using it. A warm poultice will boost circulation while a cold poultice is best if you are trying to soothe inflammation. While most people reach for salves for topical applications, a poultice is actually more beneficial because you are using fresh herbs with the fullest benefits. 
 
Method #3 - Make an Infusion
 
To create your own herbal infusion, you follow the same steps as if you were making tea, but allow it to steep for a much longer amount of time. Instead of 5-7 minutes, you might let the herbs steep for a full 24 hours to get maximum concentration of medicinal herb benefits from your homemade brew. 
 
Method #4 - Create a Medicinal Syrup
 
You’ve probably heard of elderberry syrup, which has a near cult following for its healing benefits for the immune system. Medicinal syrups are a great way to use herbs when you have kids who aren’t likely to drink a typical herbal tea or infusion. Making syrups starts by boiling your herbs down in a decoction and then adding a sweetener. Here’s a great tutorial on how to make elderberry syrup.
 
Method #5 - Make a Tincture
 
Did you know you might already have a tincture hiding in your spice cabinet? Vanilla extract is very common tincture that many home cooks keep on hand. Tinctures are made by steeping herbs in alcohol or vinegar. I’ve found that the shelf life is superior if you use alcohol - a cheap vodka works perfectly. Tinctures are shelf stable and you can take them as a shot or add them into syrups.
 
Method #7 - Make an Herbal Steam Pot
 
One of the easiest ways to use medicinal herbs is through steam. Add herbs to a pot of water and bring it to a simmer on the stove. As it simmers, the steam will be infused with all the wonderful benefits of your herbs and your house will smell amazing. This is one of my favorite methods for using peppermint to combat sinus congestion. Stand over the steam and breathe deeply for a quick sinus cleanse. 
 
These 7 ways to use medicinal herbs from the home garden will get you started on the journey of herbalism. If you would like to learn more, make sure you sign up for my newsletter to get monthly tips sent straight to your inbox (and no spam - I promise!). 

​I just came in from checking on the chickens and I noticed a chill in the air. It was that first little nip of cold that means fall is really here and winter is coming soon. Fall is critical time in your garden, so don’t pack up your garden gear quite yet. By investing a little time to prepare your garden for winter, you will have peace of mind that your soil is protected. Plus, you will enjoy a head start on spring’s garden chores.
 
Evaluate Your Garden Layout and Design
 
Take a little time to think about your current garden design and layout. What worked well for you in the garden this year? Is there something you would like to change? Maybe you had a vegetable that didn’t grow well this year and you want to place it in a different area of the garden next year. Now is the time to write down those observations and ideas. That way you can refer to it when you plant next spring. Fall is a good time to think about crop rotation too. If you want to rotate your crops, make sure you have drawn a garden map that you can refer to so you remember your previous year’s layout.

​Clean Out the Garden 
 
As the growing seasons starts to end, clean out the annual plants. Pull up the vegetable plants that are finished producing or damaged from the frost. Remove any weeds that have grown into your garden beds over the summer. Give yourself a fresh start in spring by removing weeds now. You’ll be glad you took this tip when it’s time to start planting next year. 
 
Plant Cover Crops 
 
Leaving your soil bare for any length of time is never a good idea. Uncovered, empty soil will quickly fill up with weeds and it can lose vital nutrients. You can avoid this by planting a cover crop for winter. There are a variety of cover crops you can use, ranging from wheat to rye to clover. You can also use cold hearty greens as a cover crop and have a harvestable vegetable in your garden even through the winter, depending on how cold it gets in your area. 
 
Here in Zone 7B, we have successfully used collard greens, romaine lettuce, carrots, and cabbages as cover crops. They stop growing in the coldest part of winter, but when the temperatures warm and the days get longer, they will reawaken and start growing again. Keep in mind that this may not work in your climate so always check your growing zone or the farmer’s almanac for specific tips!

​Mulch Your Garden 
 
If you don’t want to plant cover crops, you can place a thick layer of mulch on your garden. I mulch all of my garden beds heavily before winter, including the beds where I have cover crops. You can mulch with any organic material - straw, wood chips, or my favorite free option - leaves! Put those piles of leaves to good use after you rake. Just dump the leaves on top of your garden. They will break down and enrich your soil!
 
Clean Your Pots, Trays, and Garden Tools
 
In just a few months, it will be time to start seeds for next year’s garden. Get a head start by cleaning all of your pots, trays, and tools now. Garden tools can actually carry diseases and spread pathogens from one plant to the next. Wash your pruners, your hand shovel, spade, hoe, and other tools in hot, soapy water. Dry them well to prevent rusting and then store them in a dry, covered place. 

​Make a List of Supplies to Restock
 
What supplies will you need when spring rolls around? Take time to make a list of what supplies you will need to purchase. Maybe you need more pots or trays for seed starting. Will you need new zip ties or string for tying up plants? Do you need more trellises or stakes or cages? Is there a garden tool you really want for next year? Make a list now and then you can purchase these items incrementally through the winter. These small purchases will help you avoid a major garden expense in the spring, plus you’ll have everything on hand and ready when it’s time to start spring gardening.
 
Take these small steps this now to prepare your garden for winter. The chill of fall will soon give way to freezing nights, so don’t miss your window of time to finish the garden season well and get everything in order for next year. Happy Gardening!

It’s time to start planting a fall garden. If you want to enjoy some fresh vegetables as the weather turns cooler, it’s time to start putting seeds and plants into the garden that will thrive in cooler weather. Everyone knows that spring and summer is prime garden season, but you might be surprised to learn that you can keep your garden production going in the fall, perhaps even into the winter depending on where you live. Here in zone 7B, we can grow a handful of crops year-round, but fall is one of the best times for gardening in our area.
 
What Can I Grow in the Fall Garden?
 
The easiest way to think about fall gardening is to imagine it as Spring 2.0. Those cool weather crops that you planted in spring can all be planted again. It’s a good opportunity to try again if your peas or lettuce didn’t quite turn out the way you had hoped earlier this year. 
 
Fast-growing crops like salad mixes, greens, kale, and chard will perform well in the fall. You might be able to get another round of cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower for fall depending on how early the cold weather arrives. Root crops like beets, turnips, radishes, and carrots will thrive in fall as the cooler weather arrives. 
 
Transitioning Your Garden from Summer to Fall
 
As summer comes to an end, you may have some tomato plants or bush beans that are starting to show signs of damage from pests and the heat. You really have two choices. You can rip out those plants completely and start over with cold hardy fall vegetable plants or you can try to extend your summer crops and just plant carefully around them. 
 
By the time your fall crops are large enough to need the extra sunlight, your summer plants should be coming to an end and you can simply cut them off at the ground level and leave the root ball in the soil. It will break down and add organic matter to improve your garden’s health.
 
Don’t forget to remove any weeds that will rob nutrients and moisture from your garden. You can top off your garden with a fresh layer of compost if needed. I generally wait and add fresh compost in spring, but any time of year is fine. 
 
After you plant your fall crops and everything sprouts, add a thick layer of mulch to your garden. We use woodchips and straw for mulching, but the mulch is a critical piece of successful fall gardening because it helps the ground hold heat a little longer, giving you a leg up on getting your cool weather plants going strong before the real cold hits. 
 
Where to Buy Plants and Seeds for a Fall Garden
 
Sometimes, you can find cool weather plants at your local hardware store or plant nursery. Just watch those prices! Recently, I saw some cabbage plants at the hardware store, but they were $4 each! This is excessive in my book when I can buy a head of cabbage for around $1-2 at the grocery store or farmer’s market. If I’m going to grow it myself, I want to reap some cost savings. For that reason, I grow most of my fall garden directly from seed.
 
During the fall, you can use any seeds you had leftover from spring. Just pay close attention to the seed packet and how many days the plant takes to produce. Check the calendar and make sure you have enough days left for the plant to mature before your first estimated frost date, unless it is a plant that can handle a freeze.
 
Start Planting Your Fall Garden
 
You can start seeds indoors under grow lights for the fall garden, but I prefer to plant them directly into my garden beds. I find that I get faster, more successful germination when I direct sow seeds in the fall compared to the spring. Some of my favorite places to buy seeds for fall are Hoss Tools and Baker Creek. You can order them online. In my experience, Hoss Tools ships fastest so if you haven’t ordered yet, I’d recommend Hoss! You might be able to find seeds locally at plant nurseries too.
 
Caring for Your Autumn Garden 
 
When you first plant seeds for fall, watering is the most important thing you can do. As summer comes to an end, the heat can still be intense at times. Make sure you keep your plants and seeds watered and don’t let the soil dry out. Once the plants are well established and the weather cools, you won’t have to water nearly as often. Adding a layer of mulch on top of your garden beds will help moisture retention tremendously. 
 
Be Prepared for Fall Garden Pests
 
A fall garden can struggle with pests so it’s critical that you are checking on your plants every day. Look for holes and spots on the leaves as a first clue that the pests are starting to wreak havoc. Deal with pests quickly and regularly to avoid losing your harvest. Some organic pest control options are Neem oil, Monterey BT, and diatomaceous earth. You can treat your garden with these organic pesticide options to prevent damage. 
 
Extend Your Growing Season
 
You might be able to extend your growing season for crops that are sensitive to frost by adding row covers. You can cover your plants with frost blankets to protect them from cold nights. The frame can be reused in summer with shade cloth too! We were able to extend some of our spring greens well into June by using shade cloth.
 
Best Vegetables to Grow in the Fall
 
Your best options for the fall garden will grow quickly. Some quick crops can mature from seed to fully grown and ready to harvest in just 40-50 days. Try planting fast growers like arugula, radishes, turnips, beets, mustard greens, and spinach. Asian greens like Tatsoi will thrive in fall and they make a great addition to soups and stews in the chilly fall weather. 
 
Some fall vegetables will be hardy enough to survive the winter if they are mulched well enough or put under a row cover. Last year, we successfully grew collard greens, kale, swiss chard, carrots, and lettuce through the winter. At the coldest point, they stop growing but they stay alive and will start to flourish and put on new growth when the first days of spring arrive. You’ll have less to plant in the spring by overwintering some of your fall crops. 
 
Don’t forget that fall is the perfect time to plant garlic. Put the bulbs in now and next summer, you’ll enjoy big flavorful bulbs of garlic. 
 
Here’s a list of recommended vegetables to grow in your autumn garden:

• Collard Greens
• Swiss Chard
• Lettuce
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Brussel Sprouts
• Radishes
• Turnips
• Beets
• Garlic
• Carrots

Spring is right around the corner and it's time to start planning a spring garden. It might seem crazy to start thinking about a garden in January, but now is the time to make sure you have everything ready and have a solid foundation to guide you as you go.

Gather Helpful Resources

January is the time to start gathering the resources that will help you as you go. There are three must-have resources that we recommend...

#1 - Baker Creek Seed Catalog - Even if you've already ordered your seeds, this catalog is a really handy visual guide with short descriptions of each plant. This will be your go-to as you dream and plan for the coming months in the garden. You can order your catalog at rareseeds.com or just browse their seed options online if you prefer.

#2 - Farmer's Almanac - Grab the new 2021 edition of the Farmer's Almanac. It is full of helpful information and even breaks down when to plant your seeds and baby plants according to the moon phases and your region. 

#3 - Encyclopedia of Country Living - This book offers a wealth of information on everything from gardening to keeping animals. This is one of my must-have books for homesteaders. I reference it often and I definitely recommend it!

Order Your Seeds and Seed Starting Supplies

January is the time to order your seeds unless you plan to buy plant starts from a local nursery. Choose the varieties you want to go and place your order now. If you will be starting seeds indoors (recommended), make sure you have a grow light and heat mat. You can find the grow light I'm using here and the heat mat I use is here. 

​Figure Out the Best Location for Your Garden

Choose an area that gets plenty of sun for best results. We grow in raised beds and we will be walking you through the process of how to build one on our youtube channel in a few weeks. For now, figure out where you want your beds to live or where you plan to put a garden in the ground. If you are going to do a raised bed garden, you will also need soil to fill your new beds. Check with local mulch yards to find top soil and compost to fill your beds.

We will share an update with a full list of what we are planting this spring in the next week or so. We also plan to launch our Youtube channel this week where you can watch our entire process of gardening, raising animals, and homesteading throughout the year. This will be the best way for you to get detailed tips, DIY's for building your garden beds, and more. Stay tuned! We'll add a link on the home page when the first video goes live.

​Happy Gardening!


Note: Some links may be affiliate links. This means that when you purchase items through our links, we may receive a small commission for the referral. Please know that we never recommend items that we haven't tried and used. We only share links to products we believe offer real value to you, our readers.

​Now that 2020 has come and gone, I've been reflecting on what we learned in our first year of homesteading. We started out the year with very little knowledge about gardening, animal keeping, or generally anything related to small scale farming, but it's been really remarkable how much we have learned along the way in only our first year. Here is a look at some of the most important gardening lessons I learned this year.
 

​We had some minor gardening experience before 2020, but I was honestly never very successful with it. This year, I’ve learned that it’s kind of like doing a science experiment that never ends. Sometimes, seeds germinate and you get beautiful, healthy plants. Other times, you plant those seeds and wait and wait and wait… and nothing ever happens. 
 
So many factors can impact your garden. Is it getting enough water? Is your soil healthy? Are you planting the right things in the right time of year? My first big lesson was learning what to plant and when in our zone (7B). Knowing your zone will help you so much because you can literally just go online and look up what to plant in the current month for your particular area. If you don’t know your zone, you can find it online here by just putting in your zip code. 

The first things I planted didn’t do too well honestly. I started seeds in the spring and put them on my greenhouse shelves on the back deck and figured as long as I gave them a little water along the way, they would do just fine. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite that simple. I planted all the wrong things to start! 
 
Here in western NC, there are basically three gardening seasons: spring, summer, and fall. You can grow a few things in winter, but not a lot. For my spring garden, I tried to plant summer crops. They couldn’t handle the unpredictable temperatures and cold nights and most of them died before they ever came out of the seed trays. Some didn’t germinate at all.
 
Like a good scientist, I didn’t give up. Once warmer weather came around, I replanted the summer crops and this time, I had better results. I learned that starting things from seeds is tedious and baby plants are very delicate. I felt like those little seedlings would die if I looked at them the wrong way sometimes!
 
I ended up doing a 50/50 approach to summer gardening. I relied on plant starts from local nurseries for 50 percent of my garden and I started seeds for the other half. I also learned that sometimes it’s better to direct sow the seeds into the garden, instead of using those seed trays. Some plants came up nicely in the seed trays, but they just couldn’t survive transplanting. 

​During the summer months, we enjoyed an overwhelming success with tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans, okra, cucumbers, basil, banana peppers, turnips, jalapenos, and a few other herbs. We had mediocre success with potatoes - I should have purchased indeterminate seed potatoes, but instead, I bought a determine variety so the yield wasn’t great. However, those homegrown potatoes tasted amazing!
 
Our corn crop was mediocre. We planted too early the first time and got no results so I replanted and the corn came up nicely. However, it was FULL of worms so we only had a handful of edible ears to enjoy. I probably won’t even attempt to plant corn again because it’s so cheap and plentiful here in the south in the summer. I will, however, continue to keep seeds for corn in my freezer as an emergency stash in case I change my mind (and I might!).

​In the thick of July’s heat, we were overrun with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and green beans. Those four crops were so prolific that I actually started selling vegetable bags to a handful of friends and neighbors. We were able to share our bounty with friends at church too. Even with selling and sharing a large portion of our summer harvest, I had to figure out how to preserve all those beautiful vegetables.
 
I invested in a gardening tool I had never planned on - a canner. I learned to can using both a water bath canner and a pressure canner. This turned out to be a lot of fun and I built up a beautiful stockpile of jars filled with my own produce. I canned tomato sauce, tomato soup, diced tomatoes, pickles, pickles, and more pickles. Then just when I thought I was catching up, green beans were ready to pick and it was time to can some more!

​With all the planting, weeding, watering, picking, and preserving, I quickly found out that a successful garden takes a lot of work and a ton of time. During the summer months, I would wake up and start my day in the garden before it got too hot. Then in the evening, I’d go back for round two when it had cooled down enough to get more work done.
 
Then when we decided to try selling some vegetables, there was the matter of dividing produce, packaging it, weighing it, and scheduling pickup times. I really enjoyed this part though and it led me to dive deep into researching commercial gardening, CSA’s, farmer markets, and other models of selling produce. 

​By the time fall rolled around, I was so in love with my little garden that I wasn’t about to let it come to an end. As I pulled dying plants out of each bed, I replaced them with baby plants I had started indoors or I planted new seeds. This time, I planted the right things at the right times and had much more success than in the early spring. 
 
Fall has delivered a great harvest of kale, arugula, broccoli, an abundance of lettuce greens, and collard greens. These leafy greens thrive in the cooler temperatures and I’ve learned different ways to prepare them so that even my kids will eat them. 

​As I start to plan my garden for 2021 and order seeds, I have to confess that I’m feeling like a kid at Christmas. I want to plant ALL THE THINGS. It’s truly like magic to watch a garden grow, to eat food that started as a seed in your hand, and to know I’m feeding my family homegrown vegetables with absolutely no pesticides or sprays that could make us sick.
 
In 2021, my plan is to go bigger. Last month, Josh worked with his dad on the excavator and tractor to clear a big part of our upper land. This will become our first market garden and we plan to grow those summer bumper crops that we know will sell well to friends and neighbors. We’re going to offer produce bags weekly this summer and start to experiment with creating a profitable business model for our little farm. 
 
Our raised bed garden will continue to be used to feed our family and I plan to experiment with a few new varieties this year. I’m shopping for seeds now and trying to decide what all I will plant. I definitely want to do more potatoes this year and I also hope to add a pumpkin patch.
 
So there you have it! That is our 2020 gardening recap and a quick look at what we learned in our first year of homesteading. If you are considering a garden, I really encourage you to jump in and give it a try. Even mistakes help you learn and there is a lot of joy found in the garden. Personally, I find that God speaks to me most often in the garden. Sometimes about having my hands in the dirt, my heart quiet and ready to listen, and my attention fully on work at hand just lends itself to growing faith and time in prayer. 
 
What about you? Did you grow a garden in 2020? Was it successful? What do you plan to do differently in 2021?

From the time we started thinking about homesteading, we knew we wanted to raise a variety of animals. When we bought our property, we knew that we would be a little limited in what types of animals we could raise because we only have 3 acres to work with here.

However, after doing some research, we learned that we could do way more on 3 acres than we originally thought! Weed Em and Reap has been particularly inspiring to us! They have just one acre in the middle of the city and have successfully raised chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, turkeys, ducks, emus, and more. If you have never watched their channel on Youtube, you are missing out. Check them out! 

We decided to approach adding animals to the farm slowly because we want to learn all we can and make sure we can offer our animals the best home. The plan is to start with chickens and then add some goats later this year. We are also looking at possibilities for raising turkeys, rabbits, and maybe pigs sometime down the road. Right now, we have a lot of land left to clear and then we need to add the right fencing. This is high on our list though because I am begging Josh daily to hurry up with the first fenced pasture area so I can bring home a couple of goats.

Two weeks ago, we decided to go ahead and dive in and get our first batch of baby chicks. The kids were so excited about this! They had both been begging for us to get chickens for about 3 years and were totally surprised when I came home from Tractor Supply with a little box of babies.

We decided to start out with hens so we could have fresh eggs daily. After reading that chicks don't always survive, we bought 8 knowing that we wanted 6 egg layers. We lost one chick on the first night. We still don't know quite what happened, but when we got up the next morning, it was just gone. The other 7 chicks are all still doing well and they are growing like crazy! As they are getting older, they have learned to like us a little more and aren't quite so skittish. They get excited when we come close to the brooder. This morning, they hopped right onto Walker's hand when he placed it down in the brooder.

Although we can't really tell them apart yet except for one with a much lighter colored head, the kids named them after the characters on "Friends". So we currently have Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, Joey, and Janice. I guess the girls can cope with some boy names, right? 

We also have a few fur babies enjoying life on the farm. Shadow is our golden retriever. She is 11 years old now (we think). Shadow joined the family one fateful day when Josh sent me to the pet store for an aquarium tank to hold hermit crabs we brought home from a beach trip. The local animal shelter had about a dozen dogs there to adopt and they were all tiny breeds except for Shadow... she was big and lanky and looked really sad. I asked about her and they told me she had been there for 3 adoption events and no one had so much as asked about her.

Well that's all I needed to hear. An hour later, I drove home with a hermit crab aquarium and a big golden retriever. Josh about killed me when I pulled in the driveway, but after about an hour of tossing a ball to her in the backyard, he fell in love with her too. The vet estimated she was around a year old when we got her.

She was sick with a respiratory infection the week we brought her home. Antibiotics did the trick and she got better quickly, but we read in the newspaper around that time that a respiratory infection had swept through the shelter where she had previously been and they had to put down a bunch of dogs who got sick. I am so thankful that I went to the pet store that day and saw her! 

Ten years later, her face is all gray and she groans a bit when she lays down. Our old girl has a good life and Shadow was the perfect name for her because she follows me everywhere. 

We also have a dog named Freckles. We bought Freckles from an ad on Craigslist after our dog died when Ally was 3 years old. We looked high and low for a chihuahua that had the same markings. The Craigslist ad promised that she was a full-blooded mini chihuahua like our former dog and she had the same colors. It was right before Christmas when Santa brought Freckles as a gift for Ally. Of course, we later learned that the Craigslist ad wasn't exactly honest. She's not a mini chihuahua at all. The best we can figure, she is a mix of Jack Russell and Chihuahua. 

She is 12 years old now and fairly grouchy these days, but she still likes to play in the backyard with Shadow or take naps on her favorite pillow on the couch. Freckles is a big fan of sleeping, exploring the farm on walks to the creek, and begging for cheese-its, her favorite snack.

Last, but certainly not least, we have a cat named Penelope (or Penny for short). We adopted Penny in 2014 when she was 6 weeks old. She lives a charmed life as Ally treats her more like a human baby than a cat. She loves to "talk" and is famous for chattering at the birds and squirrels from her perch on the window sill. Penny is a big fan of torturing the dogs (she is the boss around here!), begging for her nightly can of wet food at precisely 9:00, and posing for endless Instagram photos for Ally.

Penny has also taken a real interest in the chickens and our outdoor brooder is set up right beneath the window where she can keep an eye on them throughout the day. Last week, she alerted us to a random cat lurking in the yard near our brooder by meowing and pitching a literal "hissy fit." So it seems she will be the guardian angel for the chickens (as long as she is inside and they are out!).

So that's it - now you have met our animals! Stay tuned as we share more about how we built our chick brooder and our plans for the next round of chicks... we are planning to place an order with a hatchery soon for some meat chickens. Maybe we'll even have a couple of goats around here soon (pretty please, Josh!).

If you read our post about the raised garden beds, you already know the story behind our farmhouse. This little house is a total answer to prayer! We bought it at an auction and the land was everything we had dreamed of and more. Unfortunately, the house was a complete and utter disaster.  If this poor house could talk, I wouldn't want to hear the stories it told. The carpet had an odor that was indescribable. Floors were rotten, the heat pump was toast, the walls were full of holes, and the bathrooms... well, let's just not talk about that. 

Thankfully, I married a guy who is pretty amazing and he can build practically anything. His dad is a general contractor and he grew up learning the ropes of building and remodeling. So while I was horrified by the sight (and smell) of the house when we first looked at it, Josh saw it as a project and couldn't wait to get started. 

Once we bought the house at auction, we began the long process of renovations. It took 7 months to get it to a point where we could move in. About five months into the work, our other house sold so we moved in with my in-laws while we finished it (thanks Alvin and Debbie!). It's still a work in progress as we finish a few things here and there, but we love it! It has plenty of room, an open floor plan, and a huge kitchen that is perfect for cooking, canning, and spending time together as a family.

Eventually, I hope to write a post about each room and what was involved in the renovation. But for now, here are some pictures of our renovation journey...

Coming Soon

Coming Soon