We just don’t have any luck with keeping billy goats. Last spring we bought a nice saanen buck named Boreas. Big, stro Filed under: Uncategorized

Angora — soft, luxurious angora is warmer than sheep’s wool with a beautiful fuzzy halo and is my favorite fiber to work with. I had angora rabbits before any of my other farm animals. Angora is the first fiber I ever spun. That is how I learned to spin — angora combed from my rabbits [...]

Yes, I have been long absent from my blog. The winter has been long and hard. In January I was diagnosed with Hoshimoto’s Thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. It has been difficult keeping up with everything — my family, friends, animals, art… It is amazing how a [...]

I have been doing a lot of experimenting with color in the last few weeks.  The top and most of the following pictures are examples of dying with Kool-Aid.  I normally prefer experimenting with plant based dyes, but the only dye plants I have available to me at this time come from the grocery store.  [...]

This is my favorite home made play dough recipe.  Unlike many other recipes I have tried, this play dough remains soft and smooth without crumbling. 1 cup Flour 1/4 cup salt 2 TBSP cream of tartar 1 TBSP Vegetable oil 1 pkg Kool-Aid 1 cup water Mix all ingredients in pot; stir over medium heat; [...]

Admittedly, there is nothing natural about Kool-Aid; but with winter soon on its way, my plant dying options are growing slim.  Soon the view outside my window will be barren and white, leaveless trees, brown grasses, drooping evergreens quiet in their winter slumber, cedars turning brown as they drop small cones and shed their needles [...]

It is nearing the middle of October and the ground is covered in a blanket of fresh fallen snow.  Trees with their leaves still attached, light greens fading into various shades of red, yellow and orange, hover above the cold earth and shed their leaves onto the snow.  My garden is quiet.  Hardy herbs like [...]

The cold, wet July has departed. Now it is September. The crisp fall air has surprisingly ceded to hot, dry summer like weather. I am assessing the success of the gardens as they near the end of the season. Garden greens, herbs and root vegetables thrived during the colder and wetter than normal June and [...]

yellow tansy flowers yield a bright yellow dye when using alum as a mordant. The herb tansy grows rampantly and is invasive on my home stead.   It is difficult to get rid of, has strong roots that are difficult to pull, is toxic to goats in large quantities and spreads prolifically.  I have finally found [...]

It is the second week of august. The sun, long awaited, is shining high in the sky. I have been enjoying my gardens in full bloom, the wild flowers that linger on the side and spread out, narrowing the garden paths, are also in full bloom, attracting humming birds, butterflies and bees with their sweet [...]

In the process of opening my new Etsy shop: www.northcountryfaire.etsy.com Advertised as a humane, no kill homestead that keeps various fiber animals, goats, bees and pastured poultry. We have a passion for heirloom gardening, natural living and keeping the traditions of the past alive while progressing into the future. Our products reflect these interests. I [...]