Hearthwilde

When I started Hearthwilde, my goal was to write about ways to connect to nature in order to heal the many divides that separate us.

Ever feel overwhelmed by the uncertainty of the future?

A dog’s aging process happens gradually, but it may become apparent suddenly, as he’s no longer able to jump onto the couch or navigate the home as easily as he used to.

Eating 30 plant foods a week has a healing effect on health, and is even important for those with food sensitivities.

Has something happened to you that makes the world seem full of toxic traps that might cause cancer?

Dealing with SIBO and food chemical sensitivities, my diet has needed to change frequently over the past few years, but one part of my food prep routine has remained the same – I always soak rice before cooking it.

Last year in the garden, a new variety climbed up to take the gold medal place for summer squash in my heart: ‘Friulana Rugosa.’

There’s nothing delightful about carrot roots that have bolted.

One of the delights of my gardening life is trying new seed varieties – a pleasure that my husband Chad and I share.

After our Mama Sheep, Izzy, passed away recently, we were left with just one sheep, Buttercup.

We keep sheep for their wool and for manure for our garden – and because we love animals.

It’s summer, and summer is a good time for a break, a good time to send post cards.

On our farmstead we have a pro-wildlife stance, and that includes smaller types of wildlife too.

I love plants – growing them, learning about them, seeing them in their natural habitats.

The wind lifts and drops the branches of the box elders outside our kitchen window in front of a dark sky.

One of the ways we assert ourselves as creatures of the natural world is to celebrate equinoxes and solstices.

As I went through our garden and orchard this morning, watering our annuals and fruit trees, I marveled at how much better I felt today than yesterday.

I believe that connecting to nature can bring joy, satisfaction, and meaning to one’s life – because it has done so for me.

I wrote recently about some of the accomplishments I’m proud of from the last decade.

Almost a year and a half after my SIBO diagnosis, I realize that dealing with this gut ailment has changed me in many ways.

I missed an important anniversary last year – 2021 marked the ten year anniversary of my leaving Paris, France for a return to life in the US.

Chayotes, also known as “chokos” or “mirlitons,” are used in Latin American cuisine, but not so much in standard American fare.

I’m growing chayotes in my garden for the first time this year after developing salicylate sensitivity and I’ve found that there’s just not a lot of guidance out there on growing this crop in the home garden.

The last few years of my life have been very centered around my gut health and food sensitivities – and I would have been truly lost in this process without keeping a food journal.

Me and my sleep have been through some rough times in the past few years.

It was summer and the wildfire smoke was at it again.

I was diagnosed with SIBO in late 2020, but believe I’ve been living with this condition for at least a decade and a half.

When the days get cooler I find myself craving foods that have warming flavors, such as cinnamon and ginger.

I could say the past year has been an interesting one for me on an existential level, if I were to put things in a positive light.

Life on the homestead in NE Utah is thrilling in many ways – gorgeous sunsets, seedlings emerging dramatically from the soil in spring, or the surprising call of sandhill cranes flying overhead in summer.

Who needs candy and costumes?

For a while it was a running joke between Chad and I that we didn’t need any other cats – but, we didn’t have an orange one yet, so maybe if one showed up…?

In early October we brought in what we thought would be our last harvest before wintery weather put an end to our summer garden.

It can be easy to forget that a plant has a point of view.

When it comes to differentiating between a weed and a wildflower, the answer lies in one’s perspective.

In addition to ‘Cube of Butter,’ another of our favorite zucchini varieties in the Hearthwilde garden is this Italian heirloom, ‘Costata Romanesca.’

Being nature lovers, we like to celebrate the equinoxes and solstices, those special moments in the year that mark the rotation of the earth around the sun.

This year, 2021, we grew at least 11 different cultivars of winter squash and pumpkins. ( I say “at least” because we can’t peg an ID on some of them.)

As much as I love gardening during summer, the transition into autumn makes me want to give a big sigh of relief.

Today my dear grandfather left his mortal form and passed on.

Once the days are warm and the flowers in bloom, one of my greatest and most simple pleasures is watching insects – and our garden affords many opportunities to do just that.

Coreopsis is a plant I’ve been fond of back since my high school days when I had an afternoon job working at a family owned garden center.

While we still grow some exotic garden flowers in our polyculture garden, such as cosmos and zinnias, this year I decided to add more native annuals to the mix.

A year ago today, my body was so inflamed, it seemed like everything hurt: my back and my joints in particular.

I’m not sure why, exactly, but I decided to grow several different types of poppies from seed this year.

Living in a rural area means we have lots of wildlife visitors.

Have you ever hugged a tree?

I’ve struggled with gut issues for over a decade and a half.

Since I began gardening seriously in 2013, I have always been focused on expansion.

One day I noticed our cat Louie licking his belly.