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Home / Planning / Visiting the land
Posted on October 5, 2016November 15, 2020 by Sarah

Visiting the land

These photos were taken just after we officially became the owners of this land. It was a beautiful, sunny October day.

The Lane
Sarah & L by the lane
Peter & Jeep
The land
The view
Sunset by the cedar trees
Sunset by the cedar trees
Category: Planning

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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.

Our Heritage & Rare Breed Poultry

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

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Located in Shepherdstown, WV

Phone: (240) 805-3618

Email: send us an email

Hours: by appointment only

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Fermented Diakon radishes are one of the easiest f Fermented Diakon radishes are one of the easiest ferments to make, and they are great for preventing migraines. Start with a large firm radish and peel the outer skin. You can either slice it into discs or sticks, just make sure your sticks will be at least an inch shorter than your jar height. Make a brine by dissolving 1-3 tablespoons of sea salt per quart of water. Stuff the jar with the radishes and fill with the brine, leaving about an inch of headspace. Sticks are easier to keep below the brine, but if any of the radish is floating, you’ll need to weigh it down. We use glass fermenting weights. Cover the jar and leave at room temperature for at least 7 days before transferring to cold storage or the refrigerator.
Yesterday we were fermenting according to the sign Yesterday we were fermenting according to the signs with @theappalachianhomestead and today we plan to do some more! You can get the recipe for this fermented salsa by swiping on the photos or there’s a link to a printable PDF in my profile. Do you know how fermenting works and why we do it? Lacto-fermented foods improve digestive health, support the immune system, are anti-inflammatory, reduce stress and anxiety and even prevent some cancers. When I first heard the term I mistakenly thought it was related to dairy. You can lacto-ferment dairy but that is not where the name comes from. Lacto-fermentation is possible because various strains of Lactobacillus bacteria are present on the surface of all plants (they are also common throughout our bodies). Lactobacillus bacteria convert sugars into lactic acid. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria. Salt is added to keep harmful bacteria from growing before there is enough lactic acid built up to preserve the food, but if too much salt is added it will prevent fermentation. A good rule of thumb is no less than 1 tablespoon of salt per quart and no more than 3 tablespoons of salt per quart. Lacto-fermentation preserves food and increases vitamin and enzyme levels and digestibility of the fermented food. With a little bit of practice, you can become confident in making your own fermented foods and enjoy all the health benefits. #lactofermentation #fermentedsalsa #tomatorecipes #homegrowntomatoes #foodismedicineforyourbody #traditionalfoods #recipes
Species Appropriate Raw Nutrition For Dogs Part 3: Species Appropriate Raw Nutrition For Dogs Part 3: Supplements This is the last post in the series. If you missed part 1 and 2 they’re on my profile or you can use the link in my bio to see all the information + resources all in one place (see the Natural Rearing Resources link. #ackgreatpyrenees #pyreneespuppies #greatpyrenees #livestockguardiandog #lgd #naturalrearing #naturalrearingbreeder #rawdietfordogs
Species Appropriate Raw Nutrition Part Two: How to Species Appropriate Raw Nutrition Part Two: How to Get Started In this post I’m sharing an overview of how to get started, and no you do not need to wait until your dog is a certain age. The puppies in the videos are 4 weeks old! As always, let me know if anything is unclear or if I missed anything. ❤️ #ackgreatpyrenees #pyreneespuppies #greatpyrenees #livestockguardiandog #lgd #naturalrearing #naturalrearingbreeder #rawdietfordogs
Species Appropriate Raw Nutrition Part 1: The Why Species Appropriate Raw Nutrition Part 1: The Why I’ve been told by many visitors that they see something special about our dogs, and I believe the most important decision we made is the way that we care for them and feed them. Swipe through the photos to learn why a raw diet for dogs has such a big effect on their health. Do you feed a raw diet or would you like to? Tag a friend below who could benefit from this info! In my next post I’m going to share more about the how. #ackgreatpyrenees #pyreneespuppies #greatpyrenees #livestockguardiandog #lgd #naturalrearing #naturalrearingbreeder #rawdietfordogs
Wouldn’t it be so sweet to have puppies all the Wouldn’t it be so sweet to have puppies all the time? They are so precious. Our current goal is to have a litter once every two or three years. Part of the reason for that is that we’re committed to Natural Rearing and we’re not only looking to find homes for each of the puppies that are a good fit for the breed, but we also strive to find families who will continue natural rearing the pups throughout their lives. When we got our first Pyrenees, we started feeding him a commercial raw diet in addition and focused on providing a natural environment (avoiding toxins and artificial lighting etc). With continued research we’ve been able to expand our feeding practices to a homemade raw diet with supplements we adjust with the seasons, and we’ve learned to use homeopathy and essential oils with our dogs for natural wellness tools. Have you heard of the Natural Rearing Breeders Association before? #ackgreatpyrenees #pyreneespuppies #greatpyrenees #livestockguardiandog #lgd #naturalrearing #naturalrearingbreeder #puppiesandtoddlers
We had a perfectly curated toy collection with our We had a perfectly curated toy collection with our oldest child, but with each new baby and all the birthdays and holidays plus well-meaning friends and family, our toy situation got out of control. 😬 Can you relate? 🤪 I did a complete overhaul of our kids’ playroom. 💃🥳 When they saw the room what was their reaction? They loved it. It’s been a couple of months and they don’t miss any of the toys they no longer have. They are using the room more often, playing more creatively and collaborating more. Swipe through the photos for more info on how you can achieve the same results!
Do you have any projects that seem insurmountable? Do you have any projects that seem insurmountable? Over the last several years the list of projects we’ve wanted to complete as we’ve begu begun creating our homestead/farm (from nothing but a hayfield!) has grown and shrunk and grown again many times. Some projects have felt like they will be lingering forever, but recently we’ve been focusing on how to create more time freedom. We’re working on simplifying and streamlining, as well as taking some things off of our to-do list permanently while we focus on our long term goals. One project that we have made a lot of progress on recently is decluttering the kids playroom and reclaiming our entryway (it’s the room in the photo - which had somehow turned into “the Lego room”.) Everyone in the family is happier now that all the kids’ toys are in one room. It feels so nice to come down the stairs in the morning to a completely clean entry and it’s easier to keep the toys tidy since they’re all in one space. Swipe for some of the questions I ask myself when I need help staying motivated and on task! And check back soon for my next post with more specifics on decluttering toys. ⁣ #betterwiththymefarmhouse #simplifyyourspace #organized #getorganized #decluttering #organizeyourlife #organizedlife #organizedhome #simplifyyourspacesimplifyyourmind #simplifyyourlife #homeorganization #simplifysimplifysimplify #simplify #clutterfree #organizing #simplifynow #organizedliving #declutter #organizingtips #cleaningmotivation #cleartheclutter #declutteryourlife #getorganized #home #homestyle #homesweethome #tidy #tidyhome #tidyhousetidymind #tidyingup
I realized our sheep haven’t made an appearance I realized our sheep haven’t made an appearance in a post for way too long. We brought home our first babydoll sheep in the fall of 2019 (in the back of our minivan 😆) and we’ve been strategically growing our flock the last two springs when new lambs were born. This lamb is the first that was born on our farm a little over a week ago. 😍 We rotationally graze our sheep with portable fencing and plan to have lambs for sale in the future, as well as raising some for our own meat consumption. Eventually we like to learn to use their wool too. Check out my babydoll highlight if you’re interested in learning more about the breed and our experiences so far with keeping them. #lamb #babydollsheep #babydollsouthdown #sheep #rotationalgrazing #permaculture #permaculturesheep #farmlife #homesteadmama #oldeenglishbabydollsheep #southdownbabydollsheep #oldeenglishbabydollsouthdownsheep #farmkids #bornonthefarm
I’m still waiting on the calcium hydroxide I ord I’m still waiting on the calcium hydroxide I ordered from Etsy so I can water glass some eggs, but in the meantime we’re putting the eggs to good use... We’re hatching lots of chicks under broody hens and in the incubator. Anyone who is close enough to drive and pick up, we’ll have chicks available in June. #chickens #chickenmama #chickenfarm #petchickens #chickenlife #chickenkeeper #lovemychickens #chickenkeeping #backyardchickens #homesteadinglife #homestead #crazychickenlady #spoiledchickens #permaculture #permaculturechickens #pastureraised #splashmarans #ameraucana #fbcm #marans #silkies #silveruddsblue #silveruddsblues #isbar #lavenderorpington
Every day is bee day for us. 🐝❤️ We love t Every day is bee day for us. 🐝❤️ We love to include all kinds of flowering plants in our garden and we let almost everything that sprouts in our pastures grow - to feed the soil, insects and provide medicine to our grazing animals. We do dig out wild roses and thistle, by hand, because rose thorns hurt in the hay and none of our animals eat thistle. #pesticidefree #handweeding These are a couple of my favorite bee photos I’ve taken. Bees seem to love borage. We also eat the flowers and they self-seed so you can plant borage once and have it forever. ❤️ What’s your favorite bee feeding flower? #worldbeeday #permaculturegarden #homesteadingmama #homesteader #homesteadfarm #westvirginiahomestead #edibleflowers #herbgarden #borage #borageflowers #borageplant #borageofficinalis
Our dogs know how to preserve eggs and I thought t Our dogs know how to preserve eggs and I thought this year we should learn too. Beau retrieved the duck egg in the second photo from wherever he stored it, who knows how long ago and it was perfectly fresh. I ate it myself to test the flavor! 😆 Since we started keeping chickens we’ve eaten a lot of eggs in season and way fewer eggs during the winter. Or we end up buying them and it’s not easy or cheap to source corn free soy free eggs. Here’s how we’re storing eggs for next winter: 1. Washed eggs are cracked into a small mason jar and frozen for baking etc. you can also pre-scramble them, freeze them in ice cube trays and then transfer to Ziploc bags. I’m only storing a small amount this way and the eggs that need washing during the rest of the season we will eat or feed to the animals. 2. Unwashed eggs will fill an extra refrigerator in a cool place (so that it uses less electricity). They should keep for a year. 3. Next I’m going to try water glass preserving for the first time. It requires no refrigeration and may keep up to two years! 😮 Are you ready to try preserving eggs? Or if you have already, what’s your favorite method(s)? #homestead #homesteading #homesteadmama #preservingtheharvest #foodsecurityisfreedom #freerangeeggs #offgridfoodstorage #offgridfoodsecurity #greatpyrenees #akcgreatpyrenees #beauofbetterwiththyme #cornfree #soyfree #soyfreelife #westvirginia #westvirginiafarm
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