The Essential Herbalist

Recent Posts

  • How could you eat something soooo cute….

    Invariably this is what the “moderns” say when they are visiting the farm and see the new baby chicks, calves or goats. I have heard too many tales of families selling off steers, chickens etc. because their kids couldn’t handle the thought of eating them. We have not had this problem on our farm. Our first rule…all edible animals must have food names. We made this rule to avoid the “how can we eat him” scenario. I must say that I don’t think it was necessary. Although we have had steers named T-bone, Meatloaf, Ham (short for hamburger), Taco, Burrito, Potter (pot roast) and yes even, Hershey (see the Ksmilkmaid’s recent post!), I must say now that I don’t think it was necessary.

    In our experence when you have repaired the fence for the 49th time because they trampled through it (see my post “One of those days”)…when you have had to get on horseback and round up 8 rowdy bull calves from down the valley and drive them home (the great cattle drive of ’02)….when you wake up to strange noises in the middle of the night and find the calves in the yard enjoying the flowers….when you have to get up and round them up in your nightgown, coat and muck boots at 3:00am IN THE SNOW…and (the final straw) when one of them challenges you from the other side of the fence and you just know he will kill you if he gets the chance…our family actually does the happy “They are going to the butcher” dance….not once have any of my 4 boys ever expressed regret at the
    thought of putting a cow into the freezer.

    Nor has anybody ever hesitated to eat a meal. I have actually heard my boys make such odd comments as “so…do you think Hershey tasted better or T-Bone?” Hopefully the visitors thought they were talking about chocolate bars and steaks!

  • Seasonal changes

    I finally got my nose out of the canner for a wee bit this afternoon. I was surprised to find the leaves falling from our Catawba tree in the front yard. The sun was warm but the breeze was
    cool. We have been out of the city for about 7 years but feel like we are just beginning to recognize some of the signs that God gives us in reference to weather and seasonal changes.
    I don’t recall the weather being this mild or the leaves dropping this soon in 7 years. I will have to take a look at the horses’ coats and see if they are “wintering” up already. Help me out here folks…what should I be looking for/listening to?

    I had the sweetest birthday present today…my 7 year old told me after breakfast that he had a special present for me but needed to go outside to “catch it” and it might take a long time. How could I refuse those big brown eyes (after I made sure it wasn’t a snake!)? Well, I kept an eye on him through the kitchen window. He was after a butterfly! He spent over an hour standing with a bloom he had clipped off of the butterfly bush and sure enough a beautiful butterfly landed on it and Elijah walked ever so carefully to the window to show me my present. This inspired him.
    He put the bloom in his screened bug box and spent the morning catching more butterflies for me. He would race to the door…show me his catch and then set it free and start over. He truly loves and enjoys God’s creation and being outside!

    Seems we get in such a rush in life…hurry to get this done and that done that sometimes we forget to take the time to enjoy the beauty that God has given us here on the farm. Isn’t it wonderful how God’s creations come alive again through the eyes of our children?!

  • One of those days….

    Well, Saturday was just one of those days. We were off to pick berries at a friends farm at the top of the mountains. We got off late….cows were uncooperative during milking time. But finally the whole family was in the Suburban and headed out.

    Berry picking was wonderful! The weather was warm with a cool breeze, berries were plentiful and yummy. I enjoyed seeing the boys working together, baskets strapped to their waists while red and purple juice ran down the corners of their mouths.

    We headed home a few hours later only to find a frantic Mom (mine). While we were gone, those uncooperative cows had planned and executed an escape. My Mom looked up and there they were, outside her living room window in the neighbors field (Mom lives on our farm in her own home). Now…Mom is 79 and pretty spry but not up to chasing cows all over creation…although she tried. She was in tears by the time we got home. She was afraid they’d “run away”, get stolen by thieves who would butcher them before we could find them or they would get hit by a car. Now in our little valley, when a cow or horse runs away, someone always calls to tell you they found it. I haven’t figured out how they do this. Somehow they always know which cow belongs to which family. People in this valley know our animals….even though we have never met these people!

    Anyway, I went about putting berries in the freezer while the boys and hubby went cow hunting.
    Before long they came strolling up the drive way, single file, followed by dirty boys and hubby.

    Fences were repaired and everyone seems happy now. Except perhaps for Mom….I don’t think she has quite gotten over her cow chasing episode. She jokingly asked if she could move to the city….the answer was no 🙂

  • Judgement and Joy

    I have been reading the news about New Orleans with a sinking heart. The cruelty that man (living apart from the Father) can inflict on fellow man shocks me. I believe that we are beginning to see the hand of the Father’s judgment on our nation…and we should not be surprised. We have gone beyond turning our backs on Him. We, as a nation, have made it a priority to drive Him out of our nation and out of our culture. It is rather surreal to read about the devastation several hundred miles away, yet watch the birds singing in the apple tree outside my window. Our gas prices have shot up and I hear that local people have made runs on the grocery stores….trucks won’t be rolling for awhile is the rumor. Yet in the midst of all of this, life on our little farm continues without much change. Surreal. Today I have been contemplating the joy that comes from the simple pleasures He places before us if we only “have eyes to see”. It is amazing when people ask me “how do you know He is real” when His handiwork is everywhere. As I have been working on tomatoes today (canning ketchup and spaghetti sauce) I have delighted to watch the hummingbirds playing and fighting at the feeder outside my kitchen window. I took my youngest boy (7 years old) outside and we peeked around the corner at the feeder…we could watch the hummingbirds drink and fly to the apple tree. As we looked closer we could see lots of hummingbirds flitting from branch to branch…the tree seemed alive with them…all colors…big ones and baby ones. My son has decided that there must be nests there and he has determined to find them come cold weather. We found one several years ago – it was about the size of half an eggshell. The joy of simple pleasures. We have also been enjoying a butterfly bush – it is filled all day with butterflies…yellow, blue, purple, orange….my youngest likes to go as close as he can, stand still and hold out a hand. Invariably a butterfly will light on his finger. His face lights up and his eyes grow wide with wonder as he looks for me at the kitchen window…he wants Mom to see this miraculous sight! The joy of simple pleasures. My favorite “simple pleasure” this week…watching my 7 year old trying to talk without his two front teeth. He hasn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet…I have to bite my lip to keep from giggling as I watch his tongue trying to navigate this huge hole in his mouth. Simple pleasures We got an invitation this week….to come to Florida and “do Disney” with relatives. We declined…how could “canned entertainment” ever compete with the simple pleasures our Father puts in our path each day.

  • Introduction

    Welcome! Our family (3 generations) moved to this farm about 7 years ago. We were what I call “moderns” living the “normal” American life. We were city people. We were active in our church, homeschooled our boys (for 17 years now!) and lived the conventional Christian life.

    Then our Father spoke! One of those instances when the Word just jumps out at you, dances around awhile and lands in your heart to dwell there for awhile. Scriptures that talked of reliance on our Father…for everything…not relying on others….for anything….and scriptures that talked of the wise man who looked to the future, saw the dangers and prepared himself against the day. We came to realize that we relyed on others for EVERYTHING!!! God began moving in our hearts to change our lifestyle…live in a more self-sufficient way that would cause us to rely on Him more. He was wooing us to the country.

    So….7 years ago, we left the big city, moved to the country (a miraculous story that I will share another day) and bought a little farm. We raise almost all of our own food and medicine. We cook almost everything from scratch (another story!) and can, dehydrate and freeze our garden bounty for winter. We are so thankful to God for his provision and blessings and for taking us out of the mundane city life to this life full of wonder and excitement…where every day is an adventure…where His handiwork is evident everywhere we look.

    We hope to share some of our adventures here….thanks for dropping in