Common Sense Home Good News Letter 7/9/23
“I’m not young enough to know it all.” – Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
The older I get, and the more I learn, the more I realize that I have barely scratched the surface of potential knowledge – and my to-do list.
Still, looking back reminds me that progress has been made, even if it’s not at the pace that I would prefer. (I bet you’ve made progress and learned a lot, too.)
We’re not getting a harvest from some shrubs this year because it’s been so very dry, but we’ve kept them alive to produce next year. Now I know which plants are more tolerant to wild temperature swings and drought, too.
A couple years ago, my vision was getting so bad it was hard to work on the computer. Now my prescription is improved and my eyes are less irritated. (More on that here.)
Eight years ago, my body was covered in pealing, itching skin. Now it’s clear.
Eighteen years ago, we’d just moved into our new home, and were surrounded by raw dirt in an old pasture. Now, it’s messy, but there are coops, greenhouses, solar systems, and a TON of food producing plants of all shapes and sizes.
If you’re in the area (northeast Wisconsin), we’d love to meet you in person and show you around the place on July 29th. Our open house will be from 10 am to 4pm, rain or shine.
Around 10:30, my friend, Dana Schlies of Freedom Acres, will be giving an herbal presentation. You can learn how to infuse herbs to create your own herbal infused oil for a fantastic moisturizer or to further create herbal salves, soaps, lotions, or body butters. Learn which herbs are best used in infused oils, the benefits of each, and her favorite herbs to use in salve and soap recipes.
Just reply to this email to let us know if you plan to attend, and remember to keep focusing on the positive and the progress made.
All our best to you and yours,
Laurie (and August IV, August V, and Duncan)
This week’s featured articles…
Our cherry trees had a light harvest this year due to lack of rain, but friends had more than they could use and invited us over to pick. The freezers are full with the first round of chickens and half a steer, so most of the cherries went in the canner. Those jars full of cherries sure look pretty!
I put together a how to post, along with answers to some common questions and canning tips. Get the instructions here.
When I make jelly or mostly seedless jam, I hate to throw away the fruit pulp. These chocolate raspberry granola cookies use the pulp from making mostly seedless raspberry jam.
The seeds are rich in Vitamin E and Omega-3 fatty acids, and the cookies are not too sweet, with lots of raspberry flavor.
This one is from the archives – how I discovered the link between candida and psoriasis (and many other illnesses). I had no idea that it would change my life forever – and may be affecting a lot of other people.
Popular on Instagram – Miss Sassy hatched out her ducklings and the ducklings discover the bird bath. All six eggs she was sitting on hatched. 3 were from Sarah Sweetpea, our Thanksgiving rescue duck, and 3 eggs were hers. Sarah is a Khaki Campbell duck. Khaki Campbells were bred from a cross between Rouen ducks and Runner ducks, and you can see the characteristic Rouen face striping on the darker ducklings.