Herbal Resilience

Resilience is the ability stand strong in the face of crisis. Resilience is overcoming obstacles and limitations. Resilience is accepting the challenge and moving forward anyway. Resilience is bouncing back with new experiences and knowledge. Community Resilience As I work toward building resilience in my community, it is necessary to maintain resilience in my own […]

Grind this

Lately I’ve been casting around trying to figure out how to make the Chicken operation more affordable, and better able to pay for itself. We’re still working towards getting our Egg License, and that is almost at hand. Selling them is one thing, keeping the cost down is another. Driving to Tractor Supply and buying […]

I can almost taste it

Slowly we are watching Winter and the Ice Giants recede into the Northlands for another year. But before they depart, we still face the possibility of blistering cold and mountains of snow and ice. This week has proven to be just such a time. The Jet Stream has wandered into the the south western part […]

Possessing Teff in NE Ohio

Did you know that possessing teff might get you in trouble? I guess I need to start at the beginning… for instance, what is teff? Teff is a grain that is native to the Horn of Africa. It is used as food, fodder for livestock, and as a building material (probably as a binding agent […]

Looking forward to winter

Old Father Winter has finally thrown his fluffy white blanket over the Erie shoreline, and with its arrival, things have slowed to a crawl. The woodshed is stocked and the barn is squared away for the time being. Nothing to do now but chores. There are things happening here, but they are moving much slower […]

The Hungry Ghost in the Backyard

Every time I emerged from the back door for much of the summer, I was haunted by the sounds of the Hungry Ghost. I look up and all I see is a white face floating in the backyard. Reminiscent of No-Face from the movie Spirited Away (2001). Her name is Thelia. She is a white-faced […]

Building for Ice Giants

With the turn of yet another season, fall has arrived and winter has reared its frigid head (at least for those in the Northern Rockies). The temperature here along the southern shores of Lake Erie are still in the upper and middle 70s, but the trees have noticed the shortening of the day and the […]

Three steps forward

The barn is finally finally nearing completion. It’s been a long haul to get here and I’ve had a ton of help for which I’m grateful. Funny thing, I was talking to my friend Skip last year and showed him the drawings of what the barn would look like and he asked me, “why does […]

A Story of Hawthorn

“There are only two things: energy and its direction. One needs both energy and a direction, the direction is the dream you have, and you have plenty of energy – knowing you. So “Never Give Up!” for me is to continue to attempt to build the dream, the love life, the Path with Heart. I […]

On being a stranger in an alien land

After nearly 49 years (minus a couple of weeks) I find myself on what may be my first legitimate vacation. Leah and I have come back to her homelands to visit her family and to celebrate her grandmother’s 100th birthday. Back to the desert that is Southern California. After the obligatory helloing and howdies, I’ve […]