Tara Dodrill 
Spinning wool or mohair does not require a huge investment of money. Spinning wheels are beautiful – but very pricey. A handheld drop spindle typically costs less than $25, and can spin beautiful wool or mohair that you have raised on your homestead into a skein just as well as a large spinning wheel that … Read more
Homeschooling without a set schedule is bliss … pure bliss. Setting a rigid schedule when educating your children at home will turn what should be an exciting journey of discovery and learning into an exercise in absolute drudgery that too closely mirrors the public school experience. When I first started helping my daughter homeschool her … Read more
Cayuga ducks are a beautiful and wonderfully docile breed. They were once the most popular meat duck in both the United States and England. Sadly, these docile and lovely poultry birds were classified as “threatened”, but have improved their population numbers to the point where they now have just a “watch” designation. Finding Cayuga ducks … Read more
Ducks need water – ducks love water … it is just that simple. Whether or not they need a pond is the one question most asked by potential newbie duck keepers. These cute egg birds are a great addition to virtually any homestead. This begs the question: do ducks really need a pond? Well, they … Read more
Buff Orpington ducks have an extensive history of being both high quality meat, and egg birds. These hardy beauties cannot fly away and can thrive both on large homesteads and in small town backyards. Ducks of this breed are affable, docile, and bond well with their keepers. In addition to being used just for their … Read more
Oregano is a superb multi-purpose culinary and medicinal herb. The delicious herb is not only often used in my homesteading kitchen, but also in herb balls that I made for all of our livestock to boost their immune systems and help keep them healthy. This herb plant is a part of the Origanum genus. Origanum … Read more
What kid doesn’t like play dough? I used to love playing with play dough and molding clay as a child, and I continue to enjoy working with it as an adult. Salt dough is a form of play dough that you can easily make out of flour, salt, and water. You can use it to … Read more
Thanksgiving and Christmas bring joyous gatherings with family and friends. We gather together to celebrate, eat, and share gifts with the folks we love. Gift giving can become quite expensive – and finding ways to entertain children before a big meal is served can also become frustrating. Making holiday Play Doh can become not only … Read more
Brown sugar and cinnamon exfoliating soap makes both a great part of your natural everyday beauty routine as well as a beautifully scented homemade gift. Using a goat’s milk melt and pour base takes the guesswork and lye concerns out of the soap making process. It takes just roughly 10 minutes to make multiple bars … Read more
Finding a wild beehive in a backyard tree or hundreds of bees living inside of a wall of your home can be quite an unwelcome discovery. Beekeepers, both of the amateur backyard variety as well as professionals, often accept requests to remove bees from a home or yard – making bee removal necessary. Why do … Read more
Instilling a love of learning into a child is completely unnecessary – they are born with it. What parents really should be focusing on is fanning the flames of that inherent joy and preventing it from being stifled by exposing them to rigid forms of education. Children are born with a sense of wonder and … Read more
Caring for ducklings in the winter is not necessarily a difficult task, but does require the following of some specific husbandry techniques. Ducklings are, of course, baby ducks. And like all babies, they are fragile, vulnerable, and depend entirely on the help of grown ups (either feathered or human) for their survival. Both ducks and … Read more
Making soap is not a complicated process, but it is a process that involves some very specific steps … unless you want to wind up with a useless pile of goop. Soap is basically a mixture of combined oils, fats, and a caustic solution. So, can you make soap without any lye? No, you can’t … Read more
Dandelion soap is such a mood lifter in the early spring as the bright yellow flowers start popping up everywhere after the long, cold winter. This colorful and fragrant soap is wonderful to use any time of the year, and leaves the skin feeling fresh and well moisturized. This recipe used a glycerin melt-and-pour base … Read more
Ducks are far easier to care for during the winter months than chickens, according to my years of personal experience. If you start preparing for the coming months of frigid cold in the fall, just as you do for firewood and hay bales, keeping your duck flock safe, healthy, and laying eggs will be a … Read more
The first thing you should do when trying to figure out a way to stick to a homeschool schedule is stop thinking of the daily learning plan as well… a schedule. Developing a homeschool routine instead of a rigid schedule that mirrors a public school day is often a part of the “deschooling” process for … Read more