A dog’s aging process happens gradually, but it may become apparent suddenly, as he’s no longer able to jump onto the couch or navigate the home as easily as he used to. In my own home, I’ve been making changes for my dog Leo who just celebrated his 14th birthday. I wish I’d made … | Continue reading
Eating 30 plant foods a week has a healing effect on health, and is even important for those with food sensitivities. Diversity on the plate leads to diversity in the gut. This simple strategy makes a huge difference to your microbiome, gut health, and immune system. | Continue reading
Has something happened to you that makes the world seem full of toxic traps that might cause cancer? Are you overwhelmed and don’t know where to start? I’m here to… Keep reading | Continue reading
Has something happened to you that makes the world seem full of toxic traps that might cause cancer? Are you overwhelmed and don’t know where to start? I’m here to make it easier for you. First I’m going to tell you my background and explain why I think you should take my advice … | Continue reading
Dealing with SIBO and food chemical sensitivities, my diet has needed to change frequently over the past few years, but one part of my food prep routine has remained the same – I always soak … | Continue reading
Last year in the garden, a new variety climbed up to take the gold medal place for summer squash in my heart: ‘Friulana Rugosa.’ This summer squash is an Italian heirloom – the fr… | Continue reading
As the year comes to an end and a new one begins, there are a lot of things for me to celebrate – the gradual return of light as the days grow longer, a new garden to plan and new seed variet… | Continue reading
There’s nothing delightful about carrot roots that have bolted. Yet, I’m here to sing their praises. Carrots are biennials, and are supposed to wait until year two to produce flowers.…Keep reading | Continue reading
One of the delights of my gardening life is trying new seed varieties – a pleasure that my husband Chad and I share. Lately though, I’ve been dealing with gut dysbiosis related food che… | Continue reading
After our Mama Sheep, Izzy, passed away recently, we were left with just one sheep, Buttercup. As herd animals, sheep feel stressed out living alone, and while other types of animals can make decen… | Continue reading
We keep sheep for their wool and for manure for our garden – and because we love animals. This week we had to say goodbye to our sheep Isadora (also known as Izzy or Mama Sheep), who was abou… | Continue reading
It’s summer, and summer is a good time for a break, a good time to send post cards. Here’s my summer garden post card to you. While the “official” purpose of our garden is t… | Continue reading
On our farmstead we have a pro-wildlife stance, and that includes smaller types of wildlife too. We don’t kill bugs outdoors without good reason, and we have the same philosophy for bugs that… | Continue reading
I love plants – growing them, learning about them, seeing them in their natural habitats. I also love learning how humans and plants have interacted across time, with humans…Keep reading | Continue reading
The wind lifts and drops the branches of the box elders outside our kitchen window in front of a dark sky. Rain showers pelt down, and then disappear. The sun appears, seeming to banish the clouds,… | Continue reading
One of the ways we assert ourselves as creatures of the natural world is to celebrate equinoxes and solstices. As part of these seasonal celebrations, a few years ago Chad and I started a tradition… | Continue reading
As I went through our garden and orchard this morning, watering our annuals and fruit trees, I marveled at how much better I felt today than yesterday. It was a reminder that sometimes the signs my… | Continue reading
I believe that connecting to nature can bring joy, satisfaction, and meaning to one’s life – because it has done so for me. My husband, Chad, who is a certified wildman, provided some s… | Continue reading
I wrote recently about some of the accomplishments I’m proud of from the last decade. Here’s one I’m less thrilled with: I have become an expert of sorts on food chemical intolera… | Continue reading
Almost a year and a half after my SIBO diagnosis, I realize that dealing with this gut ailment has changed me in many ways. Some of theses changes are ones I’m happy to embrace, others are on… | Continue reading
I missed an important anniversary last year – 2021 marked the ten year anniversary of my leaving Paris, France for a return to life in the US. Essentially, I transitioned from being a “… | Continue reading
Chayotes, also known as “chokos” or “mirlitons,” are used in Latin American cuisine, but not so much in standard American fare. Unless of course, you develop salicylate sensitivities like I…Keep reading | Continue reading
I’m growing chayotes in my garden for the first time this year after developing salicylate sensitivity and I’ve found that there’s just not a lot of guidance out there on…Keep reading | Continue reading
The last few years of my life have been very centered around my gut health and food sensitivities – and I would have been truly lost in this process without keeping a food journal. I’m … | Continue reading
Me and my sleep have been through some rough times in the past few years. My troubled sleep has ranged in severity, from months of insomnia so bad that I would go for days without sleeping at all &… | Continue reading
It was summer and the wildfire smoke was at it again. I was feeling miserable, trying to hide indoors with air purifiers on full blast, and meanwhile I was having new food related symptoms. Confusi… | Continue reading
I was diagnosed with SIBO in late 2020, but believe I’ve been living with this condition for at least a decade and a half. Over the past year I’ve done everything I can to learn about t… | Continue reading
When the days get cooler I find myself craving foods that have warming flavors, such as cinnamon and ginger. Unfortunately, because of several food chemical intolerances, I have to follow…Keep reading | Continue reading
I could say the past year has been an interesting one for me on an existential level, if I were to put things in a positive light. I keep having major life changes that seem to tell me, “Oh, … | Continue reading
Life on the homestead in NE Utah is thrilling in many ways – gorgeous sunsets, seedlings emerging dramatically from the soil in spring, or the surprising call of sandhill cranes flying overhe… | Continue reading
Who needs candy and costumes? We celebrated Halloween with a hike in the desert where we found signs of life and death to help us contemplate the holiday. Since we’ve been enjoying a mild, ex… | Continue reading
For a while it was a running joke between Chad and I that we didn’t need any other cats – but, we didn’t have an orange one yet, so maybe if one showed up…? Last spring, sho… | Continue reading
Behold, cranberry muffins that even those with gluten intolerance, histamine intolerance, oxalate overload, and SIBO can eat! I’m not going to be entering them into any Bake Off contests –…Keep reading | Continue reading
In early October we brought in what we thought would be our last harvest before wintery weather put an end to our summer garden. Now, a day away from November 1st, after several rainstorms and a fe… | Continue reading
It can be easy to forget that a plant has a point of view. We tend to not see them doing much, so we think that they aren’t very much like us. We are constantly busy – moving, and makin… | Continue reading
When it comes to differentiating between a weed and a wildflower, the answer lies in one’s perspective. Many farmers find that milkweed gets in the way. I wouldn’t exactly say…Keep reading | Continue reading
In addition to ‘Cube of Butter,’ another of our favorite zucchini varieties in the Hearthwilde garden is this Italian heirloom, ‘Costata Romanesca.’ What initially appealed to me about this summer…Keep reading | Continue reading
Being nature lovers, we like to celebrate the equinoxes and solstices, those special moments in the year that mark the rotation of the earth around the sun. At each of these occasions, we take a hi… | Continue reading
This year, 2021, we grew at least 11 different cultivars of winter squash and pumpkins. ( I say “at least” because we can’t peg an ID on some of them.) While our 2020 winter squas… | Continue reading
As much as I love gardening during summer, the transition into autumn makes me want to give a big sigh of relief. Along with the cooler weather, some glimpses of fall color seem to bring a promise … | Continue reading
Today my dear grandfather left his mortal form and passed on. Since I’m unable to grieve with my family in person, I’m sharing this here to celebrate his life and proclaim my good fortu… | Continue reading
Once the days are warm and the flowers in bloom, one of my greatest and most simple pleasures is watching insects – and our garden affords many opportunities to do just that. Actually, harves… | Continue reading
Coreopsis is a plant I’ve been fond of back since my high school days when I had an afternoon job working at a family owned garden center. There’s something reassuring and cheery about … | Continue reading
While we still grow some exotic garden flowers in our polyculture garden, such as cosmos and zinnias, this year I decided to add more native annuals to the mix. One of the native wildflowers I plan… | Continue reading
A year ago today, my body was so inflamed, it seemed like everything hurt: my back and my joints in particular. I felt like my body was attacking itself and wondered if I had developed an autoimmun… | Continue reading
I’m not sure why, exactly, but I decided to grow several different types of poppies from seed this year. Lauren’s Grape poppy was one of my favorite varieties. With deep purple flowers,… | Continue reading
Living in a rural area means we have lots of wildlife visitors. Loads of friendly pollinators visit our garden, deer come to browse at the apples that fall from our apple trees, and skunks make the… | Continue reading
Have you ever hugged a tree? And have you wondered if it might be aware of you hugging it? If you are the type of person who might entertainment such a question, I have a book recommendation for yo… | Continue reading