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My greenhouse is bursting with green and I love it

My greenhouse is bursting with green and I love it so much!! With each seed, we put down roots on our land, backyard garden memories for our children, and hopefully a quiet place of solitude from time to time.
🌱
🌱
I’m often asked for my favorite places to buy flower and vegetable seeds, so here is a quick list of my go-tos:
🌱 @bakercreekseeds
🌱 @floretflower
🌱 @johnnys_seeds
🌱 @seed_savers_exchange which I find at my favorite local feed store, @thegrangeissaquah

A skill as old as time. (And my anemones are bloom

A skill as old as time. (And my anemones are blooming!)

Many of you followed along a couple weeks ago as I skirted and cleaned the wool that was grown my our babydoll sheep. Since it is the first shearing of a new lamb (under a year old,) the“lambswool” typically produces the softest and finest wool that our sheep will ever produce. So, I took my time washing each fleece separately to ensure all the dirt and lanolin was removed. Some of the fleeces took four rounds of soap soaking and as many as four rounds of rinse soaking. I chipped away at it over a week and hung it on a special drying rack that I’ll share in my stories later today.

Now we’ve begun the carding process. My husband bought me these gorgeous hand carders that were recommended by a friend. The friend also lended me her identical set so two of us can card at one time. Maddie has taken an interest in carding and Adam too! Henry is the wool sorter and Jack? Well, he’s too busy Minecrafting.

Carding is the very simple but time consuming manual processing of wool for use in fiber arts or to be spun into yarn. In my case, I will use our wool for both. Most simply put, carding brushes small sections of wool together to align them in one direction and get out the tangles. It also helps continue to remove small pieces of vegetable matter still in the wool after cleaning. The process leaves you with the beautiful, soft, fluffy “rolags” you see in the basket on the left. The basket of wool on the right is washed and ready for carding.

#fiberprocessing #woolwashing #woolprocessing #woolcarding #lambswool #rawfleece #craftastherapy #spinnersofinstagram

Without words, this image shows my children how mu

Without words, this image shows my children how much they are loved.

Also, it’s April 10th and we’ve had a heavy snowfall for four hours straight. Here in the Pacific Northwest, this is quite unusual, even for us up on this hill. Not cool, Mother Nature. Not cool at all.

#KOTL_Lifhr #T_C_C_LightFlare #JIP_laughter

I’ve been busy growing hundreds of plants in my

I’ve been busy growing hundreds of plants in my greenhouse the past few months and am steadily tucking them into their beds in our new garden. This garden is a new chapter for me and @herbalacademy new Botanical Skin Care Recipe Book was the perfect fit for this homestead project. This week, I made simple skin-soothing bath salts that I am using to help with dry itchy skin and eczema. I made extra and gifted them to friends and neighbors this week too. The idea of growing the ingredients from seed and then creating my own herbal skin care products makes my heart sing.

#herbalacademy #botanical #botanicalskincare #skincare #naturalherballiving #chamomile #botanicalskincarerecipebook

Spending time with animals is so calming. Just wat

Spending time with animals is so calming. Just watching these little fluffy butts peck around makes me smile and reflect and be thankful. We’ve found that life is so much richer now that we’ve slowed down and taken time to notice. Not richer in earthly possessions. Rather, richer in the things that really matter.

The sea. It heals. It grounds. And it reminds us t

The sea. It heals. It grounds. And it reminds us that we are merely a small part of something so much greater than ourselves.

This weeping cherry tree is the newest addition to

This weeping cherry tree is the newest addition to Cedar House Farm and we are totally smitten with it.

(Maddie’s clothing by @pilesofhygge . Their collection of minimalist, cozy, meaningful clothing is truly gorgeous! If you’re looking for a few staple pieces of everyday wear in neutral colors and Hugh quality fabrics, use code JESSIEB20 for 20% off your entire first order. More info and link in stories.)

#weepingcherrytree #Blooming_hp #mom_hub1246 #hs_Spring #llb_Spring21 #tpn_SpringIsHere #sj_Spring21 #cw_SpringVibes #sc_theme409 #weekly_Spring #dym_FlowerPower #dv_Umbrella

I overheard the kids chatting with Adam about thei

I overheard the kids chatting with Adam about their dreams for when they grow up. All three of them want farms and listed the farm animals and breeds of choice. Henry also wants two Bernese Mountain dogs. We love this simple farm life. It is clear to me that this place is part of us now. It is.

Maddie and Willow in their matching hats! 😂 We

Maddie and Willow in their matching hats! 😂

We’ve joined a few bunny-loving friends for an Easter bunny hop. I hope you’ll visit the following accounts and give their bunny posts some love:

🥕@wildfeatherfarm
🥕@festfarmshandmadehomegrown
🥕@blueberryfieldsfarm
🥕@thesweetfluff
🥕@darling_rabbits
🥕@everbrookefarms
🥕@theyounghomestead

Happy Easter, everyone!

Wildflowers for days. The Pacific Northwest is tru

Wildflowers for days. The Pacific Northwest is truly breathtaking.

This is our story of twelve artists. Twelve daughters. Twelve cities. One Dress. I’m thrilled to share with you the final installation of the traveling dress project. We are women, mothers, photographers, artists and friends. Each of us, with our own unique style and creative voice, made a collection of memories with our daughters and a single dress. Join us on the dress’s journey around the world. The next artist is @hollynicoletimekeeper

#tealtravelingdress

Good morning, farm.

Good morning, farm.

After long discussions with my husband and physici

After long discussions with my husband and physician, I’ve decided to pull back a bit on the homeschool reins. I’ve been so focused on making sure each child has a wide range of subjects that are age appropriate to them each day and I’ve found it increasingly difficult to balance everything else in my life. I’m simply stretched too thin and it has led to increased anxiety and, most recently, severe migraines, which I had never experienced before. The way I’m moving through the days and weeks is just not sustainable so I’m going to spend the rest of the homeschool year creating lighter lesson plans. Focusing on the areas the kids need the most improvement (multiplication facts for Jack, “b” and “d” recognition for Maddie, and alphabet for Henry) coupled with nature-based seasonal science units that we can all enjoy together and that lend themselves to more outdoor activities. It’s a small change, but profound all the same. After all, if I don’t find balance for myself, I can’t be fully present for my family and then we all suffer. I already feel lighter having made this decision.

We are among friends here, I can feel it. So I would love to know: how do you find balance each day? What things keep you centered most?

PS - we made these darling beeswax eggshell candles last weekend and I’m just in love with them! We used leftover wax from other projects mixed with some of our favorite essential oils and poured it into shells from our hens. Perhaps they’ll decorate our Easter dinner table this year.

#inthemagicofslow

@slowly_we_go
@chelsea.thorpe
@barefoot_wandering
@madlynj
@jessie.b.photo
@mamapossum
@jaala_makes

#cw_SpringVibes #sc_theme409 #tsd_Spring #dym_IsItSpringYet #jip_Spring #tpn_SpringIsHere #sj_Spring21 #weekly_Spring #cm_Easter4

Spring vibes from the archives, while I (impatient

Spring vibes from the archives, while I (impatiently) wait for my spring garden to bloom outside.

The beautiful, subtle shifts from winter to spring

The beautiful, subtle shifts from winter to spring. They mend us.

I wanted to take a moment to celebrate one of the kindest hearts in the photography community. My dear friend @meg_nlo gives without question and is always lifting others up. Thank you for everything you do and everything you are in this community! #loveformegloeks

Good morning, friends! I’m so excited because th

Good morning, friends! I’m so excited because this week is Simple Homestead Photography Week and I’ve been asked to share some of my experience and insight on how I create meaningful photography around my homestead. If you head over to my stories today, you will learn what I consider to be three of the most critical yet simple ways you can enhance your everyday imagery to help engage your following, interest potential clients or customers, or simply create authentic imagery that captures the true essence of your homestead. Most importantly, everything we talk about today can be done with any camera. While I will share what in my professional camera bag, every piece of guidance I provide, from shooting to editing, is relevant for whatever camera you happen to have on you at the moment you want to shoot. So, grab a cup of coffee, light your favorite beeswax candle, and head over to my stories. See you there!

“Excuse me, Mom, but I thought you said we were

“Excuse me, Mom, but I thought you said we were only getting a trim?” 😬😂

The spring equinox, with it’s much needed nearly

The spring equinox, with it’s much needed nearly perfect balance of day and night, is a sign of hope. Hope for longer days, bountiful bloom and new life.

I am excited to share that I’ve been asked to participate in a small homestead photography week that begins tomorrow! Each photographer will share tips, tricks and insight on particular photography subjects. It’s going to be an amazing week and I hope you will follow along with us! And guess what else? There will be an amazing giveaway at the end of the week, including a pack of my presets (which include ACR, Lr and Lr Mobile files!)

The homestead photographers who will participate are:

Monday — Angela @axeandroothomestead
Tuesday — Gabrielle @downhomesoapco
Wednesday — yours truly
Thursday — Meagan @leecohoney
Friday — Laura @wingandwool

Stay tuned into my stories for more information. Happy spring, friends!

#iamcountryside #betterhomesandgardens #country_features #countryeverafter #countryhomemagazine #countrylivingmag #countrylifemagazine #renegade_rural #homesteadeverafter #homesteadgratitude #homesteadhappy #homegrownhappiness #myhomesteadharvest #beautifulbackyardbounty #homegrownhappiness #modernminihomestead #candidchildhood #theartofchildhood #talesofthemoment #mom_hub #magicofchildhood #jj_its_kids #the_sugar_jar #dearestviewfinder #childrenseemagic #childhoodwonders #my_magical_moments #farmsteadmagic #hobbyfarmsgram #iamamodernfarmer

This guy, with no construction background, took a

This guy, with no construction background, took a sketch of my dream garden and turned it into a reality. Every square inch was made with his two hands (with the occasional help from our dads if they dared visit during this build!) Without the luxury of heavy machinery due to our narrow landscaped pathways, this project was truly a (manual) labor of love.

I’ve received lots of great questions about the build, so I wanted to answer a few of them here:

🌱 There are 5 L-beds (longest edges 7’x8’) and 6 3’x6’ beds. After receiving advice from a few trusted gardeners, we chose to make the beds 3’ wide to keep harvesting easy. The beds are 2’ tall because, let’s face it, I’m not getting any younger and my achin’ back!

🌱 Every main aisle is 4’ wide so a wagon can easily maneuver through. There is a large space in the center for seating.

🌱 We filled the beds halfway with compost and then a nutrient-rich garden mix on the top half consisting of more compost, soil, peat moss and bone meal.

🌱 We laid landscaping fabric over the entire surface area of the garden (cutting around the beds) and secured it with 6” garden stakes. Entire perimeter is lined with edging to contain the gravel. Gravel is 5/8” clean. It took about 7 yards (10 tons) to cover the area 2” deep. In the PNW, gravel is very beneficial, as it drains well to keep the garden space from becoming a muddy mess.

🌱 A 4’ fence surrounds to give the garden its own dedicated space. (We have 8’ chain link fencing around the property so the garden fence is not intended to be deer-proof.)

🌱 The wire arches are made from 4’x16’ utility panels (each square is 4”x4”) and can be purchased at most local feed stores and co-ops. I chose to incorporate them because they’re perfect for climbing plants! I love the idea of vertical gardening to add dimension and interest to the garden design. They can be cut to fit your space with a reciprocating saw. I plan to add bamboo teepees and planters too, and am dreaming up some other ideas that I’ll share later on.

I will cherish this space for the rest of my days. And every time I walk through its gate, I will think of this man and thank my lucky stars.

Let them be wild and get dirty. With their messy h

Let them be wild and get dirty. With their messy hands and wind-blown hair. Let their hearts be happy and their imaginations free.

This is our story of ten artists. Ten daughters. Ten cities. One Dress. I’m thrilled to share with you our traveling dress project! We are women, mothers, photographers, artists and friends. Each of us, with our own unique style and creative voice, made a collection of memories with our daughters and a single dress. Join us on the dress’s journey around the world. The next artist is @karleehooperphotography
#tealtravelingdress

Now this is my kind of St. Patrick’s Day green s

Now this is my kind of St. Patrick’s Day green spirit. Those speckles though.

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