Category: Around the Homestead

My husband and I are trying to take more responsibility for our health and how we address common illnesses in our household.  We have recently discovered the amazing ability of essential oils to not only help you when you are sick but to keep you healthy with everyday use.  We use Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade oils from a company called Doterra.  They have many straight oils such as lavender and peppermint but they also have oil blends that are formulated to help with certain issues.  They have a oil called Breathe that really helps when your chest is congested.  I am endeavoring to learn more and will share what I learn and experience.

While the west coast is still in severe drought conditions we had yet another snow storm here in Maine.  Over the course of about 36 hours we got an additional 19.5 inches here at the homestead.  Of course that just added to the couple of feet that was still on the ground from previous storms.  The front of the barn is now all cleared away so we won't have to use the previously shoveled path any longer.

Well, our winter does not seem to be over.  The weather folks are predicting a storm of 6-12 inches of snow for us in the next couple of days.  We have had a few days that were above freezing but they are predicting the temperatures to drop again.  Depending on how much snow we get this week I will be tapping the maple trees this coming weekend.  I really cannot wait too much longer.

I have been planning my new herb garden that I will be putting into my food landscape.  I will have many different culinary and medicinal herbs.  I am going to plant most of them from seed around the first of April.  That is the same time that I start a lot of the plants for my garden.  This extra growing time for many heat loving plants like tomatoes and peppers is necessary here in zone 4.  We are only guaranteed about a 90 day growing season between last and first frost.  Of course there are plants that will stand a light frost and even get better with one.

It is nice to have something to plan with all the snow still on the ground but I am really looking forward to get my hands in the dirt.