skills for a sustainable lifestyle

If you have never made a galette before, I highly recommend it. A galette is basically a free-form pie, without all the fuss of preventing a soggy bottom or making it look fancy. The design of a galette makes it look finished in a natural and rustic sort of way, with the edges tucked over into a rough, hexagonal shape. If I am feeling like pie but I’m not in the mood to get fussy about decoration, this is my go-to recipe...

If you are just starting out with beekeeping, or are brushing up with your hive inspections, there are a few key things to look out for. It is important to conduct hive inspections no less frequently than about once every week or two during the busy season (here in the Bay Area, that's from about February until August, but in other places...

Happy Friday! I have been so busy getting to work with my Cricut machine, planning and dreaming about the upcoming additions to the farm, and quilting that I haven't been posting much. However, I did want to share some of the things I have been sketching. Maybe it's because bee season is just around the corner, or maybe I just have bugs on the brain, but beekeeping equipment...

Before I made my first loaf of sourdough, I remember being intimidated. Intimidated by the amount of time it takes to make it, the fact that you need to have a starter of some kind, and the general supposed fussiness surrounding the whole project. I had been told so many times that sourdough is hard to make. In a way, yes, artisan sourdough, the best of the best, takes a lot of time, patience and skill. But, if you want to make yummy, simple sourdough for your friends and family, it really isn't as hard as it seems...

Happy Friday! I have been working on a lot of new artistic projects this week, and I thought it would be fun to start a "Fine Art Friday" tradition here on the blog. This week, I have been making a lot of animated gifs (as you can see scattered around the site)! I finally got a Cricut machine and I am really excited to start learning how to make stickers, which has prompted the grand opening of our sho...

Raising quails from chicks can be very rewarding. My quails are very friendly and comfortable around me, and I attribute that to the fact that I hatched and raised them myself. If you are able to hatch your own chicks, or are fortunate to purchase some day old chicks, here is a quick and easy guide for hatching, brooding, and caring for...

This is my fifth year as a beekeeper and my third year keeping my own hives. I usually paint the outside of my hives and that's good enough for me. This year I got the bug to try out pyrography. I've always loved the natural look of the plain hive body, and I wanted to see if I could get a finish that both keeps the hive weather-protected...

Chickens, quails. They're both birds. How different are they from each other, really? If you are just getting started with both or either, you may be wondering how to pick between the two or what you need to get set up. There are a few major differences between these two types...