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About Our Farm
Heritage & Rare Breed Poultry
Livestock Guardian Dogs
Holistic Wellness
- Traditional Foods
- Essential Oils
Shop Our Farm

About Our Farm
Heritage & Rare Breed Poultry
Livestock Guardian Dogs
Holistic Wellness
- Traditional Foods
- Essential Oils
Shop Our Farm

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About Our Family

About Our Family — We are passionate about intentional living and wellness. Our family values include holistic wellness, nonviolent communication, self-directed education and gentle parenting. We strive to implement permaculture principles in all areas of our lifestyle.

We Love Thyme

Thyme and rustic scissors — We love thyme. With seemingly endless varieties of this aromatic, delicious, medicinal, flowering evergreen ground cover we thought it was a perfect namesake for our farm. We especially loved creating a play on words that reflects our values of hope, regeneration and abundance.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. -Lao Tzu

Our Heritage & Rare Breed Poultry

Ameraucana ~ Bresse ~ Cream Legbar ~ French Black Copper Marans ~ Lavender Orpington ~ Silkie ~ Silverudd’s Blue Isbar

Recent Reviews

Bresse Hatching Eggs
Rated 5 out of 5
by Elisha Cram
Bresse Hatching Eggs
Rated 5 out of 5
by Elisha Cram
Lavender Orpington Hatching Eggs
Rated 5 out of 5
by Cathy
Colorful Egg Basket Hatching Eggs
Rated 5 out of 5
by Shari G.
Silkie Hatching Eggs
Rated 5 out of 5
by Kathy
Silkie Hatching Eggs
Rated 5 out of 5
by Denise Y.

Hours & Info

Located in Shepherdstown, WV

Phone: (240) 805-3618

Email: send us an email

Hours: by appointment only

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Juvenile & Adult Birds
Farm Fresh Food
Livestock Guardian Dogs
Essential Oils
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betterwiththyme

I realized I needed a second post today because th

I realized I needed a second post today because this photo of Lorelei is so lovely and I didn’t want to stick to the number of posts I was up to. 😳

Lorelei is so happy we have ducklings to love again!

I love our ducks because they are excellent foragers (early and later than chickens), they don’t scratch up young plants and they always lay their eggs first thing in the morning.

I wonder why ducks are synced to a 24 hour cycle but chickens are not?

#chickensvsducks #permacultureducks #welshharlequin #welshharlequinduck #ducklings #freerangeducks #freerangeducklings #farmkids #homesteadmoments #homesteadmama #westvirginiafarm

I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but t

I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but this was refreshing to my soul & I wanted to share it with you!

“Comparison is the death of all joy, and the only person you need to be better than is the one you were yesterday.” - Rachel Hollis

Yesterday was a rough day. Rushing to get everything done before leaving and getting frustrated when things weren’t going according to the plan left us all very cranky after the long day of driving and being at the dentist. It’s easy to fall into the trap of wishing for something else but today we’re back home and slowing down again. Their little faces remind me to just keep going and making today better than yesterday. More on the ducklings in my stories.

Drop a “🙌” below if you needed that reminder today & tag a friend you want to encourage!

#ducklings #homesteadkids #farmlife #farmkids #gentleparenting #intentionalparenting #intentionallife #permaculturefarm

Love your face! 🌸 I’ll be honest, I’ve bee

Love your face! 🌸

I’ll be honest, I’ve been pretty lackadaisical about taking care of my skin most of my life. I was a lifeguard for many years, then I started learning to grow a garden and then we started our farm which is all pasture with very few trees for shade... so I spend a lot of time outdoors in the sun.

Every year in March, my freckles start to come out and usually throughout April and May I get at least a little sunburned a few times until my skin gets darker. Last year when I got a new phone (with super detailed photos) I was a little shocked at how much my skin had aged since the last time I took a good look at myself. 😬

I committed to doing better. If you can relate, I have some tips for you!

1. Wear a hat outside! And if it doesn’t cover your shoulders with its shadow,
2. Wear a shirt with sleeves (but don’t rely too much on clothing, you can burn through it).
3. Getting sun on our bodies is incredibly important for our health, but knowing your limit is just as important. Seek shade!
4. Grow Aloe Vera as a houseplant to use the gel on your skin.
5. Get your hands on some good, clean products that will nourish your skin. I swear I’ve been aging backwards since I started actively talking care of my skin. 😆

I started with using some of the oils that came in my starter kit from Young Living to create a “glow serum” (eg Frankincense and Lavender) and then each month I started adding one more oil or product to my routine. I had also been struggling with breakouts since we added dairy back into our diet. I thought I was going to have to give it up again, but I was happily surprised when one of the new supplements I started made that disappear! 🥳

Here are some of my top favorites (more info in my stories):

- CBD Beauty Boost
- Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood Hydrosol
- Mint Satin Facial Scrub

What are your favorite skin routine tricks?

#homsteadmama #gardenerslife #naturalbeautytips #simplebeautyroutine #aloeveraskincare

We’re in the season of birthdays around here. Ou

We’re in the season of birthdays around here. Our oldest recently turned 10! His birth feels like yesterday and a lifetime ago at the same time. 😭

We’ve learned and grown so much in the last 10 years and much of it inspired by him. The experience of going from a homebirth to the NICU gave me the clarity I would need to be the parent he needed in this world.

He usually requests a watermelon cake, but this year he wanted a baked cake. I made a cassava flour chocolate cake with real buttercream frosting on top and it was delicious. 🧁 And the sweet bees wax candles from @joyinthewilderness were perfect!

Do you have a favorite type of cake for your birthday? I’d be happy to pass on the recipe if anyone needs a good gluten free chocolate cake recipe.

#glutenfree #homemadebirthdaycake #homemaking

It’s been 3 weeks since Stormy (the bull) went b

It’s been 3 weeks since Stormy (the bull) went back to his farm, and we haven’t seen any signs of either of the girls cycling again!

Stormy was a pleasure to have here; he was quite the gentleman and made our little herd feel complete. We’ve really missed him since he left, and he convinced us that we would like to keep a bull in the future.

For now, we have one less animal to haul water for and each paddock gives that much more grass to the girls. We’re appreciating the slightly diminished workload as we continue to reign in our overall commitments to match the plan we came up with.

In other news, Mulberry has been making more milk since going back to eating pasture (no more need for hay for about a month). When we started milking her last July, we were getting 1.5 gallons per day. After a few months it was a gallon, then over the winter it dwindled to 1/2 gallon. Now it’s back up to 3/4.

We’re also getting more (and richer) cream. I didn’t notice how mild the flavor had gotten over the winter until I started wondering if something was off with my tastebuds in the last couple of weeks. I realized it’s all the diversity and fresh spring growth in the pastures. You can even see it in the yellow color of the cream and butter, much like a pastured egg yolk.

Mulberry has maintained her condition really well, and we plan to continue milking until a month or two before she is due to calve. I can’t wait to milk Moonbeam for the first time too.

#minijersey #minijerseybull #permaculturefarm #familymilkcow #rotationalgrazing #a2a2 #grassfeddairy

Do you ever unplug? 🔌 This week I decided to u

Do you ever unplug? 🔌

This week I decided to unplug intentionally for several days. We had a deadline for a lawsuit that took a lot of time and energy and after that I spent extra time focusing on investing in my family. Rather than being frazzled after an extra stressful week, we’re connected, grounded and we also knocked a bunch of things off our our wish-to-do list that had been on there for a long time!

I would like to extend this challenge to YOU!

Pick a block of time when you will put away the screens and be truly present! (I plan to continue unplugging every Sunday, and spending as much of the time as possible outdoors with my family, preferably in the garden!)

Comment below and let me know if you ever unplug or if you will now.

PS In the photo is one of our pear trees; it’s a little worse for the wear after three nights below freezing, but the flowers are hanging on for now. 🤞 for some fruit this year!

#unpluggedfamilytime #intentionallife #gardeningismytherapy #peartreeblossoms #permaculturegarden #springonthehomestead

Yesterday we said goodbye to Baby cat, who has bee

Yesterday we said goodbye to Baby cat, who has been with me since before Peter and I started dating.

She was a big snuggler who always managed to get visitors to pet her endlessly. She was also very tolerant of toddlers. I have photos of her being hugged and loved by each of our kids when they were little, even if they were a little rough she always came back for more.

Yesterday when we buried her, someone asked me what she was like as a kitten. I don’t know because she was already an adult when I adopted her. But she was very playful and vocal when I got her. She meowed a lot, and I teased that she needed more attention than a baby, so that’s how I named her. If someone closed a door, she immediately wanted to be on the other side of it and wouldn’t stop meowing until it was opened.

The kids decided to cover her with dandelions, violets, plantain leaf, yarrow etc before we covered her with soil. It felt like it meant something. Keep looking to the plants for healing maybe? I wish we could have healed her but at least she’s not suffering anymore.

One of the first foods we’re harvesting from our

One of the first foods we’re harvesting from our garden this year is walking onions.

I originally bought a set from a woman who had visited Egypt and brought them home with her. We grew them in our garden in NY and then carried a clump with us when we moved to WV.

Walking onions are perennial and only need 2” of rain per year. For us they thrive in raised beds and fabric pots, since they drain so well.

Each year a cluster of small bulbs is set at the top of each stalk, weighing it down until it touches the ground and starts a new clump (hence the name walking onions).

As much as I love the magic of growing food from tiny seeds each year, I prefer perennial and self-seeding annual versions of plants wherever possible.

We now have plenty to share, so let me know if you’d like some for your garden.

#permaculture #permaculturegarden #perennialedibles #walkingonions #springinthegarden #growyourownfood #growyourownmedicine

Today was an incredibly challenging day, and the w

Today was an incredibly challenging day, and the work still isn’t done.

I don’t enjoy being busy. I don’t enjoy feeling like we’re one problem away from being totally overwhelmed.

We’re going to be making some changes on our farm that we’ve been talking about for a long time. It’s time to take action.

Something that has held us back is feeling like once we take on an animal, we’re responsible for it for the rest of its life.

We’ve been keeping some animals that we know are taking our precious time and making everything more difficult, keeping us so busy that it leads to other problems.

We have the experience of getting through this with goats - we tried for a half of a year and they weren’t a good fit. It wasn’t very hard to find them a new home.

I hope that sharing this will help someone else feel validated that is okay to try something out, realize it doesn’t work for you and move on. You don’t have to bear that burden indefinitely.

I included these flowering quince blooms, with chicks and children’s voices in the background as a reminder to myself that I want more down time to stop and “smell the roses.”

#springgarden #floweringquince #redflowers #farmlife #intentionalmotherhood #homesteadinglife #homesteadmama #stopandsmelltheflowers #slowdownlife

We did not take a family portrait today, so I thou

We did not take a family portrait today, so I thought some of our white silkies would represent and tell you Happy Easter from our family and farm.

#silkies #silkiechickens #whitesilkie #happyeaster

The wind this evening blew away just enough of the

The wind this evening blew away just enough of the clouds for this beautiful view. So thankful for a weekend of connection with friends and family. One day sunny and warm and the next cool, overcast and a light rain most of the day. Perfect spring weather. ❤️🙏

#thankfulsunday #countryskies #westvirginia #westvirginiafarm #springshowers #greenpastures #permaculturefarm #homestead #homesteadmama

Stormy checking out the cleanup crew. Chicken feed

Stormy checking out the cleanup crew. Chicken feed on top of yesterday’s cow manure means the chickens get bonus nutrition (fermented green + insect larvae) and the pasture gets more evenly disbursed nutrient deposits.

Stormy is headed back to his farm soonish. We’re pretty confident Moonbeam is pregnant but still not sure about Mulberry. 🤞

#minijersey #minijerseybull #rotationalgrazing #pastureraised #freerangechickens #freerangeducks #freerangeturkeys #permaculturefarm #permaculture #homestead #homesteadinglife #homesteadmama

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