Nearly 20 years ago, we set out to create a self-reliant homestead. Now we produce our own food and our own power, and can tackle whatever craziness this wild world throws at us. If you’re ready take back control from Big Pharma and Big Food and feel confident facing Everyday Emergencies, join us.
Common Sense Home Good News Letter 3/29/26
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"Spring thaw mud season" was always a messy one, distinctive from other wet times of the year. With frost still in the ground, water from snowmelt pooled on the surface instead of being absorbed. This was great for refilling the ponds, but hard on the lawn, as the duck patrol set to work on creating a muck hole near the garden." It's been "ducky weather" this week, as the ponds opened up again after the recent blizzard and there is mud just about everywhere. I love our ducks, but they sure can be messy. I don't recommend them for people who prefer neatly manicured yards. The chickens are joining in the mess-making, too, hopping out of the run and excavating the garden beds. It's going to be time to move them to their larger seasonal run shortly, once temperatures are consistently a bit warmer. I was reading an article this week about how muscle power (the ability to exert maximum force quickly) is a critical predictor of longevity and functional independence as we age. This ties in directly with maintaining our reflexes - how quickly we can respond to situations (like slipping in the mud or on the ice or with a missed step). I've been seeing more people talking about lifting weights and heavy objects to help maintain muscle mass with age, but less about muscle power. It's important to establish routines that help improve both. This Week’s Resilience & Abundance Boost
Resilience isn’t just about what we store. It’s how well we move, react, and adapt to the ground beneath our feet and changing conditions around us. All our best to you and yours, Laurie (and August IV, August V, and Duncan) This week's featured articles...Our modern lives can take a toll with non-stop demands on our time and energy. Anxiety impacts roughly one in five people in the US, so I put together a guide featuring natural ways to help reduce stress and anxiety. Note: this guide includes knitting and saber tooth tigers. We have been in our current home for over 20 years now, and it still feels good, works well, and makes me happy to live in it. One of the big features that I like the most is the ICF Construction, and this article shares why. I can't believe Easter is next weekend. This year is flying by at high speed. These chocolate truffles and cookie dough truffles are always a fun treat. If you need to prep some hard boiled eggs in a hurry, try using the Instant Pot. More Yummies...Speaking of life being busy, my friend Wardee at Traditional Cooking School has a free guide that will help you get started with sourdough baking, including creating your own starter, in time for Easter. You can grab The Living Starter Method Sourdough Guide here. The guide includes the Living Starter method, a no-knead sourdough artisan loaf recipe, and a fluffy sourdough pancake recipe. |
Laurie Neverman @ Common Sense Home
Nearly 20 years ago, we set out to create a self-reliant homestead. Now we produce our own food and our own power, and can tackle whatever craziness this wild world throws at us. If you’re ready take back control from Big Pharma and Big Food and feel confident facing Everyday Emergencies, join us.
Lady amaryllis flourished her brilliant red petals in the morning sun, like a dancer answering the call of the music. Beside her, her daughter listened, too, and joined her in the dance. It was an eventful week here in northeast Wisconsin, as Blizzard Elsa ended up being one for the record books. We snagged the number two spot for heaviest snowfall in a single storm (since they've been keeping track), with the Green Bay tally at 26.6 inches, making it the snowiest in 138 years. It was also...
Their calls echoed across the half-frozen landscape, lonely yet comforting in the waning light. As the sandhill cranes passed closely overhead, gliding in for a landing, their silhouettes seemed almost prehistoric, a giant relic from some ancient past. It was hard to believe these majestic creatures shared a common ancestry with the delicate songbirds that fluttered around the yard. Spring was teasing us this past week as unusually warm weather cleared out the snowpack here in northeast...
The wind howled and twisted through the treetops, but down in the sheltered yard only a light breeze filtered through. The line of evergreens, planted when the homestead was first established, had matured to become the protectors imagined nearly two decades before. When we purchased our homestead, we started with bare ground. 25 acres was rented to a neighbor, and 10 acres (where we eventually built our home) was an abandoned pasture. We'd lived in the suburbs for nearly 10 years, so this was...