Last night I went to bed and started to feel terrified. It was a really spooky, windy night. But I wasn’t terrified about the weather – I was worried about the ducks. Our original intention with our backyard flock of ducks was to lock them up every night in their duck house. Unfortunately, after a week of that they became completely frantic whenever they would
My Book
In 2011, Renee Wilkinson released her first book Modern Homestead: Grow, Raise, Create. Since then she has traveled across North America for book readings, homesteading workshops and lectures. Today you can still find this wonderful guide to homesteading at national retailers, independent bookstores and at your local library. Description: Sixth-generation gardener Renee Wilkinson embraces the old school while adding a bit of funk in this
Spring Vegetable Starts
Last weekend, my nephews went with me on a tour of garden and feed stores. Their family is interested in keeping backyard chickens after babysitting ours last summer while we were living in New York. I was also getting impatient with the slow seed germination in our garden and decided to buy a few starts to take the edge off this waiting game. We stopped
Heiße Zitrone
I got hit with either a bad, bad cold or the flu and have been held up on the couch for the last two days. I have a fever and every bone in my body aches. Admittedly, I am not the best patient because I have a hard time sitting still. That said, I am trying to give in to resting. I’ve been drinking ginger
I’m Somebody!
I am honored to have had my first book signing event at Powell’s City of Books in Portland this past Sunday. When I arrived, I saw my name on their list of author events and my nervousness was replaced with excitement.My mind raced immediately to that scene from the movie The Jerk. Steve Martin’s character gets the new phone book, sees his name and starts
Poultry-Proof Garden
We love having our chickens free-range in our backyard. They eat a wider range of food, which saves us some money on chicken feed and also makes their eggs taste ten times better. But they can be really destructive in the garden beds – trampling seedlings in search for the next great worm. It’s even more important for backyard ducks to have some free-range access,
Visit Me At Powell’s
Come say hello and talk homesteading with me! This Sunday, April 17th, from 4:00p-6:00p I will be signing my new book at Powell’s downtown location on Burnside. It’s such an honor to be invited for an event at Powell’s. I blush just thinking about it and need to pinch myself to see if I’m dreaming. I am fortunate to have a really supportive community in
Ducklings Bath Time
The ducklings are getting so big so fast! We change their bedding out about 2-3 times a day now. When I come home from school it smells remarkably like a barnyard. Not the most welcoming smell I could imagine coming home too… The other day I thought they looked kind of dirty on their bellies. The yellow duckling was starting to look brown on her
Share Your Homesteading Tips
The fine folks over at Fulcrum Publishing are offering a giveaway for my book, Modern Homestead. All you need to do is comment on their blog or Facebook page offering one of your best homesteading tips. Tonight at the dinner table I was talking with Jay about how I approach moving into new digs. Step one is to set up a compost system. The compost