As a boy I was always a nature lover. I spent my youth exploring creeks and woods and wild places in Iowa, Pennsylvania and South Jersey. I became very interested in edible plants, wild foraging and primitive skills. Euell Gibbons and Larry Dean Olsen were my heroes. After high school I went to Peru as […]
A New Disease Syndrome! A new disease syndrome in dogs has recently emerged in the United States. Cases have shown up in several states and it’s likely to spread quickly. The illness is characterized by a severe, hacking cough much like Kennel cough but much more serious. Infected dogs also tend to run a fever […]
Life is unpredictable. Things can be puttering along just fine one minute, and the next moment, everything changes. In cases of illness or injury, the speed of our response can often have a significant impact on outcome. And, the immediate availability of the remedy for the problem is often critical to a good outcome. Let […]
There’s a parasitic fungus growing on your birch trees…and you should be really excited! I’m talking about Chaga, a black, woody lump that really can change your life. In the world of herbal remedies, few species can claim the same level of medicinal diversity and utility as the Chaga mushroom, scientifically known as Inonotus obliquus. […]
Learning to incorporate herbal powders into your daily routine can be a real rollercoaster. Trust me, it’s not all ‘mix with a lil water and down the hatch’ like you might expect. Sure, there are some daring souls out there (like my crazy dad, Doc Jones) who DO mix powdered herbs with water and gulp […]
A few weeks ago, I drove from Idaho to Washington state for a workshop I was putting on with Melissa Norris. Melissa is doing wonderful work educating folks on how to live a simpler more self-reliant life. Her YouTube channel, Melissa K. Norris – Modern Homesteading and her website MelissaKNorris.com are wonderful educational resources for […]
“Sleep when the baby sleeps”. This is a little nugget of wisdom that all mothers spout, and no mothers ever actually practice. It’s nonsense. Baby naps are golden! When these rare and miraculous moments present themselves, I always attack my dishes with the panicked, frenzied desperation that stems from the realization that my freedom could […]
How much control do you have over your life? How much control would you like to have? When you’re sick, do you say? “I have a bladder infection…I need to go to the doctor.” I think if I typed that sentence into a translating app it’d likely say, “I need to go sit in a […]
Teenage boys are the most wonderful things. I have a particularly nice one: Marty. He’s turning fourteen this December. He’s terribly handsome, kind, smart and protective to his three little sisters. He’s the best boy in the world. I can speak with authority on this, being his professional mother and therefore a completely unbiased expert. […]