Living off-grid with a baby
Being off-grid is both circumstantial – we’re too far from water or electricity connections for them to be financially viable – and by design, as we aspire to live as sustainable a life as possible (it occurs to me that I may never have really shared more about why and how this is
And then there were 5 (goats)
If you follow us on Instagram, you’ll know that we recently downsized our goat herd. In 18 months of owning goats, we went from four does (not a deer in this case, but a female goat) to sixteen goats including two billy goats. It was fun because we regularly had baby goats, and kids are the happiest, funniest, most adorable things that never fail to make your day. Unfortunately, it was also chaos. Goats are sneaky: This is not an overstatement or a drill Amidst the 16 goats, we had a few
Interview on Farmstead Talk
Earlier this week, I had a wonderful talk with Gloria from Farmstead Talk. We "met" on Instagram, and chatted via Zoom. Ah, the beauty of social media and technology. Gloria is a retired nurse (back at work to provide additional Covid19 support to her community) who lives on a farm in the mountains and embarked on a project to interview one homestead for each of the 50 states in the US. Then she decided to expand her interviews to international projects, which is where we raised our hand, almost
Newsflash: A donkey is not just a horse with long ears
It seems obvious (that a donkey is not just a horse with long ears)… and yet. As an avid horse-rider since as far back as I can remember (which means it has been some 30 years, and now I feel like I’m a million years old), my first experience with donkeys dates back to the 90’s (yep, that didn’t help). At the barn where I learnt to ride, they had a big field used for occasional jumping lessons and the annual horseshow. On every other day of the year,
The Farmstay Sustainability Manifesto
Earlier this fall, I finally met Antonella Notari – the cofounder of an agriturismo in Italy, Podere Trafonti – in person. A mutual friend connected us, and was spot on when she said we had a lot in common. Regardless of the age difference between us, with years of “corporate life” behind us, we have both opted to shift to a simpler life. A life closer to nature, on a farm, and hosting guests. In our first conversation, over coffee and a hot chocolate (piled with whipped cream, my
Duck, duck, fox
In the middle of the night on Monday, Francois and I were startled awake by one of the dogs barking inside the tiny house. I was about to tell them to be quiet when I heard the ducks quacking – unusual at best, as they usually sleep through the night (as do the chickens, and contrary to the goats). I let the two dogs out and they raced off, barking at the top of their lungs. The next day, I noticed that our white duck Marilyn (her name might change)
Mushrooms, luck & puppies
We begrudgingly gave up on mushroom foraging and headed back towards the car. Our friends Jacky and Menno had found a small handful of purple mushrooms, but the outing was pretty much a bust. Mojito didn’t care, he loved running around in the woods and exploring. Mojito's discovery We were not that far from where the cars were parked, so I whistled for Mojito. He had been ahead of us on the path, but seemed to have veered off on some adventure. Nothing. I whistled again. Still no Mojito –