Lasagna Gardening

Organic Gardening, Sustainable Farming

Since the bible states unequivocally that Adam would toil to produce food by the sweat of his brow and that the ground would produce thorns and thistles instead of good food,  it makes sense that a woman would come up with a method of gardening that would keep down...

Greek Style Yogurt

Cultured Foods, dairy recipes, Homesteading, Raw Milk, Recipes

Thick, creamy yogurt is all the rage and with good cause. Ever since my travels to Germany where I found myself, trudging zombie-like over hills, through hamlets, over church yards with 125 steps (each way) for my daily dose of quark I have been addicted to the stuff....

Fall comes to River Cottage Farm

Farm News, Simple Living, Sustainable Farming

There is no doubt about it… the air is crisper, the nights cooler, and the colors are about to change the the face of the ridge behind our farm. Every year autumn seems to come from nowhere and I never feel I am quite ready for it and the letting go of summer,...

Hand Shearing

Animals, Farm News, Sheep

In a constant attempt to simplify things on the farm and bring life ever closer to a sane pace, I have always wanted, nay needed, to change the way we shear our sheep. It isn’t that we have had incompetent shearers, actually we have been blessed with some of the best...

Family Meal Time

Simple Living, Slow Food

My foray into farm life was certainly idyllic if nothing else.  I set my feet in the tall grass of our new pastures with many, many nostalgic dreams in my heart.  Looking back now, some 18 years later, I can see with a bit of clarity the ones that were to be and the...