So, the past month or so I’ve been learning more about herbal medicine and being more systematic in my approach. I’m attempting another herb garden, and ordered some quality dried herbs as well. With prices rising on everything, I really want to have my herbal medicine cabinet well stocked within the next few months.

My mulberry tree has grown a lot and I realized today I have lots of ripe berries ready! Mulberries are pretty fragile, so I need to use them soon after picking. So, this morning I’m looking up jam and cobbler recipes. Yum!

Hopefully, I’ll have some photos up of my creations later today.

I’ve been wanting to make infused herbal oils for awhile, and today seemed like a perfect day to give it a try.  Though I’d love to say I grew the herbs I was working with today, that’s not the case.  Some friends and I put in an order together for bulk herbs from More Than Alive.  I’ve had them for a couple months, and definitely don’t want them to lose their potency before I have a chance to give them a try.

Since I have two sons playing basketball, Arnica is always useful to have around.  I’ve purchased commercial salves, but really wanted to make my own so I have more control over potency and ingredients.  I used my solar oven to infuse Arnica and Chamomile.  Yes, I could be more patient and let the herbs infuse in the oil on a sunny windowsill for a few weeks, but I really want to use the oil, so heating with the sun in the solar oven was the next best thing.

The weather we’ve had lately has been perfect!  THIS is why I live in Florida — these days don’t last long before the heat and humidity come back, but I enjoy them while they are here.  My garden is doing well, and I’ve enjoyed a couple salads from my productive lettuce bed.

The tomatoes that survived our hard freeze a couple weeks ago are starting to get some blooms, so all is not lost there.  So, far my winter garden raised beds consist of tomatoes, kale, basil, radish, onions, spinach, lettuce, and broccoli.

This morning I picked some fresh lemon balm and added it to some dried homegrown mint for delicious tea.  I also had time to work on some hot pads and dishcloths while sitting on the lanai watching the hens scurry around the yard searching for bugs.

I recently learned how to felt soap and did some felting this morning.  They turned out pretty well.  My friend and I have started a company, Soapsy Daisy, and are doing a few local craft shows this winter.  I’ve also been working on getting an Etsy store up and going for selling our soaps and salves.  I think the chamomile oil I infused today, along with the  dried flowers, will be great in a bar of skin-soothing soap!

Lately I’ve been pondering how I can be more home-centered and what other steps we can take to live a simpler more sustainable lifestyle.  Things like making our own teas from homegrown herbs, and growing our own food is definitely a start.  Slowing down and taking the time to figure out how we can make do with something we already have rather than buying new is also a habit we are cultivating.

I’ve been reading some books about the great depression and thinking back on conversations I used to have with my grandmother.  We have so much available to us these days!  Things are often cheaper to buy, than to make.  However, part of simplifying is being creative and taking the time to make things ourselves.  Those “cheaper” items come with a price — whether it is fuel to travel thousands of miles, or being the result of underpaid workers, or simply that it wears out or breaks because of poor quality, causing us to have to purchase the item again.

Of course, another advantage of making things myself is the satisfaction of producing something with my hands.   Lately, even my teen sons have begun to use their creative juices!  I love sitting down to sew or crochet, and having them working beside me on art, drawing, music, and even sewing and crocheting!  Even though I was in consumer mode when they were young, and lamented about what they and I missed by not slowing down all those years ago, I can see that it really isn’t too late!  Partly from necessity, partly from their parent’s example as we embark on this journey, we’re all changing and growing…together.

Everything was fine during the winter months, but when spring came, so did the pests.   After visiting a couple forums dedicated to backyard poultry, the Wolf Creek Ranch site was recommended for further reading.  The author recommends using food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) for fly control.  DE is actually tiny fossilized, hard-shelled algae.  The microsopic shells are rough and sharp.  From the Wolf Creek site: “When diatomaceous earth comes in contact with the insects, the sharp edges lacerate the bugs waxy exoskeleton and then the powdery diatomaceous earth absorbs the body fluids causing death from dehydration.”

My local feed store sells DE, and I also knew I needed some bedding to help with moisture during rainy season, so I chose pine shavings.  I put down a thick layer of pine shavings and mixed in the DE.  I also put it in their feed.   After about 2 weeks – no more flies!  Plus the DE helps with moisture and smell as well.

Since trying diatomaceous earth for the coop, I’ve learned that there are many health benefits for both humans and animals.  You do need to be careful not to inhale the fine dust when using it.  DE makes a natural pest control and kills all sorts of critters in feed and around the house.  Nutritionally, it is high in calcium and other minerals.  MoreThanAlive.com also has a lot of ideas for using diatomaceous earth for a variety of household and nutritional purposes.

I am so glad to have discovered diatomaceous earth!  I have used it for dusting garden plants (be careful though, you don’t want to kill the good bugs), and have found that it holds down algae growth in the chicken’s water container.  That one layering of pine shavings and DE in the coop has been all I’ve needed for several months, so it really is a low cost way of keeping pests and smells under control.

Much of the clutter steals away my time and energy as I seem to always be moving it, cleaning it, making sure it doesn’t get damaged, etc.  I am a packrat by nature – much to my husband’s chagrin – so letting go of things can be a challenge!  This life of buying less, using what you have, can also feed my packrat nature.  Afterall, I don’t want to get rid of that container, or ___________ (fill in the blank), because I might be able to use it someday.  While this is good – I need to get rid of other useless items, to make room those things that truly have the potential to be utilized in the near future or on a regular basis.

I’m also trying to declutter my heart and mind these days.  As I mentioned the other day, there are so many things I am inspired to do or try, that I sometimes get overwhelmed and do nothing.  In pondering this over the past few days, I started to see that part of my problem is trying to “hold” the info in my brain.  So, I’ve started a few notebooks on different topics.  That way I can print or make notes when I encounter tips, ideas, recipes, etc., to have for reference later.  I know I can use the computer to store this info, and much of the time I do keep it on my harddrive.  I have found, however, that there is info that I need when away from technology, or if technology fails, so the notebooks will (hopefully) allow me to keep important info, and allow me to get it out of my head knowing it is safe and waiting for me when I need it.  My most valuable notebook so far is the one that holds the back issues of “New Harvest Homestead”.  I really appreciate the yearly index Lisa supplies her readers.  It makes finding various articles and recipes so easy!  If you haven’t already, I highly recommend this bimonthly enewsletter.  Each issue is packed with helpful info from others who desire to be steadfast at home.

I got the fabric cut to make a couple handkerchief style headcoverings out of linen.  I love how linen feels (keeps me cool) and it tends to stay put on my head better than other fabrics, which is something I’m appreciating more and more as I’m outside working.

I’m back to looking for a rabbit and cage.  It will be a pet, but we will use the manure in the gardens.  Hopefully I’ll be able to pick one up for free. I also did some more research on composting with worms.

I got another washcloth crocheted – this one will be a gift, along with some homemade soap.  I’ll probably stitch up another one tonight during the Presidential debate.

As I watch the economic situation worsening around me, I find myself wishing I had moved forward on many things sooner.  I’m not in a panic though – I know the One Who owns a cattle on a thousand hills and He is my loving Abba, so I have nothing to fear.