Today the entire Atlanta area is under a code red smog alert. This means that we have polluted the air so badly that it is actually unsafe for anyone to be outside. This is different than a code orange alert in that code orange is only dangerous for our children and older family members. Government officials encourage everyone to stay inside and to refrain from outdoor activities. This gives me pause. Let’s stop for a moment and think about our government’s suggestion. To my ears it sounds…

I over planted the Zucchini again this year, I’ve got five groups of 2 plants each. Needless to say, we have a lot of Zucchini right now. What are we gonna do with all this stuff? We’ve had Zucchini bread until we can’t take it anymore. We’ve baked it, fried it, grilled it, sauteed it, and even shredded it over our eggs in the morning. We’ve given it away to friends, offered it to neighbors, and even set it out on the street in a bucket with a sign that said “FREE”. Despite all of that, I’ve…

This is a guest post and entry in Round 2 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

Door #1: A Travel Royal Berkey Walter Purification system from Directive 21. Valued at $228!

Door #2: Two…

In my previous post, I listed some things that we thought were advantages when we considered the plot of land we are wanting to purchase.  There are, however, quite a few disadvantages.  They are:

The lake - as much as we love the fact that this property has a lake, it has been invaded by beavers for some time.  Many of the surrounding trees have been destroyed and they have made tunnels in the levy which is allowing water to run down to a lower level of the property and it is…

Wild Wanderings Blog – June 28, 2012 

Happy Thursday everyone! It’s been wonderful being back in Western NC these past few days. I spent last week in the woods of Western TN and although the terrain…

The Practical Prepper

Each year in the United States, more than 400 people are struck by lightning. Typically, between 50–60 of them are killed by it, while hundreds of others suffer permanent neurological disabilities.

To help let the public avoid this threat, the…

It's a delicate balance in my garden that I do not yet have under control.  Each year I prepare for cucumbers and pickles by trying to figure out how many cucumber plants I should plant.  The goal is always to have a constant supply of fresh cukes for slicing and eating throughout the summer.  They are delicious, but really, how many cucumbers can you eat?  In reality one plant would be enough for our family.  The problem is that I also make a lot of pickles and this means that you need a…

Like all of us that are searching for land, we have a list of things we want in land.  As we go out to look at more and more parcels, the "must haves" are becoming the deciding point over and over again. 

The land that we are currently hoping to get (unless something better comes up between now and the time we have our down payment) has some "advantages".  In my next posting, I'll list the disadvantages.

Advantages include:

Location - we knew we did not want to have a…

The Aspiring Farmer Blog



When Dusty first asked me to write for Farm Dreams he asked that I write about the emotional side of moving away from the city and starting a farm. It's a huge transition and one that comes with a lot of responsibility. Previously, we literally had no responsibility. Paying the bills was about it. No car, no home, no kids, no pets, just us and our day jobs. Sounds nice to some, but that lifestyle drove me…

(This was originally posted at my Blog Peaceful Heart Village Blog)

I saw him four times today. It’s a little newborn fawn. He is very brave — so I’ll call him Bambi. It all started this morning while I was on the phone with a fellow health coach. I love sitting at my computer in the morning looking out across the field and pond. So while I was speaking with my friend…

Wild Wanderings Blog – June 21, 2012   

The beginning of Summer is here and I'm excited about the possibilities and promise it has to offer! After an early, but breathtaking Spring I welcome the grandeur of our maturing plants and wildlife. Young rabbits are everywhere on the farm, it seems,…

Wild Wanderings Blog – June 21, 2012

The beginning of Summer is here and I'm excited about the possibilities and promise it has to offer! After an early, but breathtaking Spring I welcome the grandeur of our maturing plants and wildlife. Young rabbits are everywhere on…

The Practical Prepper

With summer arriving this week and the NOAA predicting a warmer-than-normal summer, it's important to get ready to deal with heat waves. High temperatures can kill by heating the body above its ability to cool…

The Happy Homesteader

June is a good time around here to harvest the first of the year's honey.  When I first started beekeeping it took me a long time of observation to understand our seasons from the bee's perspective.  Pretty much as March rolls around we'll begin to see the bees buzzing on the first flower blossoms that appear.  By April they are in full flight and are bringing in honey at an alarming rate, so we give them…

After being away from living on the land for over 17 years, we started getting serious about getting back to it.  The first thing we tackled was a budget - we needed to get out of debt and save as much as possible.  We found out the hard way just how much we would need to save when our first land contract failed. 

We had applied at our local credit union for a "pre-approval" on a 15 year mortgage.  We were pre-approved.  At the time I applied I told them we were looking for land. …

10: Break the “Disposable Habit”

Each year we dump 14 billion pounds of garbage into the worlds oceans . We have become addicted to the convenience of disposable products. Plastic cutlery comes to mind. If I have to use it, I wash it after and hang onto it. I’m usually able to keep up with it for a few months.

9: Don’t Waste Water

Water is heavy and because of this it is very energy intensive to move it. The majority of energy used by the City of…

The Aspiring Farmer Blog

When we first moved out here we were so busy that we couldn’t even find time to visit farmer’s markets on the weekends. We were shopping at the typical grocery stores, reverting back to foods…

It's been 11 days since hail, torrential rains and violent winds whipped through my little Wabi Sabi Garden.  My plants took a beating and I was uncertain what the survival rate would be. This morning, while doing my morning chores, I perused the garden paths, and discovered some "Ultimate fighters". Plants that have raised a fist at Mother Nature saying, "You can't keep a good plant down!".

Like after any fight, some are not as pretty as before, I see so much fight in them, a desire…

I have been totally slacking on the blog and I am due a follow-up to A Hare Raising Proposition but, recent activities and developments have rendered me WAY too busy and exhausted. Before I let inspiration fade, I do need to form thoughts into words regarding these recent developments.

One of the primary considerations one must take into account when making the decision to farm (or any…

We like so many others on this site are dreaming of owning land some day.  We owned land at one point, back in 1995, before we moved from OK to TN to follow my job.  From there we moved to MO, again for my job, and now we're at a point where we all want to get back to the land after having lived in suburbia for 17 years. 

We didn't own alot of land - 5 acres with access to the adjoining 5 since my inlaws owned it.  But we loved it and had made a nice homestead of it - built a pole…