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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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Next post: Getting There
About Our Family
Family photo 2020
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

  • Silkie Hatching Eggs (White)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Genevieve Robson
  • Silkie Hatching Eggs
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by auberryallison
  • Lavender Orpington Hatching Eggs
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by A Lauren Trapp
  • Silkie Hatching Eggs
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by A Lauren Trapp
  • Lavender Orpington Hatching Eggs
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Shawn & Chellie
  • Lavender Orpington Hatching Eggs
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Michaela H.
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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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Sarah | Better with Thyme
Homestead Scavenger Hunt How does it work? - Each Homestead Scavenger Hunt How does it work? - Each morning the hosts will post something to find on your homestead around 9am CST - You have until 8pm CST to submit your finds!!! - Make a post, reel, video, or story showing us what you found! - Tag all hosts and #homesteadscavengerhunt for your entry to count towards our prizes. We are PROUDLY sponsored by: @GoldenStagGloves Gloves that work as hard as you do! And @Grubblyfarms for all your chicken feed and treats! DAILY PRIZES: (Winners will be drawn daily and announce each morning!) - 8 Different Varieties of Heirloom Seeds from both the Appalachian Homestead and the Spraustead - Dehydrated Sourdough Starter from both the Spraustead and the Appalachian Homestead - Organic Swanky Chicken Rub from the Highway Homestead - GRAND PRIZE: - 2 Pairs of Golden Stag Garden Gloves - 5lb Bag of Chicken Treats from Grubbly Farms - 15 Different Varieties of Heirloom Seeds from both The Appalachian Homestead and The Spraustead - Dehydrated Sourdough Starter from both the Spraustead and the Appalachian Homestead - Goats Milk Caramels and Elderberry Syrup from the Highway Homestead - Bottle of Young Living Thieves Cleaner from Better with Thyme - Homemade Soap Assortment, Jewel Weed Salve, Plantain Salve, and Herbal Lip Balms from Bluegrass in a Jar - Hopeful Haven Farmhouse Photography Print Head over to the main post on @sprautsonsprouts to enter now!
Something I learned in 2020 is that abundance is a Something I learned in 2020 is that abundance is a mindset not a destination. Ever since I started studying permaculture I’ve been attracted to the word abundance, but I was looking at it as a goal to achieve. While I do still whole heartedly believe that we can achieve more abundance with time (this is part of what went into our name - Better with Thyme) I also now fully see that abundance is all around us, in our hearts and minds. Abundance is ours to embrace and share by making friends and building each other up. When we open our hearts and minds fully to the energy around us, the physical abundance begins to manifest before our eyes more quickly than we could have imagined. What do you think, have I lost it or are we on the same frequency with this? PS Rather than criticizing ourselves for not getting a holiday family photo, I’m embracing that we’ve switched to taking our annual family photo every January 1st and we’re done for the year. Any more family photos this year will be a bonus. How’s that for abundance mindset?
Last week we picked up a side of beef! Here’s a Last week we picked up a side of beef! Here’s a bit about what that means, why we do it and how we use it. Buying side of beef means that you’re getting all the meat from half of a cow. We buy this for several reasons. The most important for us is knowing that we’re getting meat from an animal that was raised well, grazing pastures that did not have any chemicals applied to them and finished on grass as well. Some meat that is labeled grass fed is still corn finished which alters the omega-6/omega-3 ratios (look it up if you haven’t heard of this!). It’s not easy for us to find quality meat locally and buying it piecemeal can be quite expensive. We also like to keep our freezers full to be prepared. The last time we filled our freezer we still had plenty of meat when the pandemic situation led to meat not being in stores. Ordering We found our farmer through our local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation. When we moved from New York we realized we were moving closer and now we meet in Pennsylvania. Another option for finding a farmer is farmmatch.com. When we’re ready to stock up we contact the farmer and let him know, then we coordinate a date. Butcher The price of the meat is based on the hanging weight. We call the butcher and they review the options for cuts. We chose to maximize variety and we like to include the organs and bones. Even if you have not used these things in the past you’re paying for them in the hanging weight so you might as well try them! Packing We found that you can cram it all into a 5 ft.³ freezer but we like to split it up so that we utilize all the different cuts equally. So for example I set out eight bags, got out all the ground beef and then split it up evenly between the bags. Cooking We bring one bag worth of meat at a time from our garage freezer to our kitchen freezer. I have a weekly plan to make sure that we rotate through everything, for eg slow cooked (roast) one night of the week, steak another, ground beef another etc. For each type of meat I have a handful of go to recipes or techniques. Then we repeat until it’s time to bring in the next bag.
It’s almost 2021 and I’m sharing Mulberry for It’s almost 2021 and I’m sharing Mulberry for #joyfulhomesteads day 30 “highlight of 2020” and day 31 “make a wish.” Adding Mulberry to our farm was definitely a highlight of the year. Having our own grass-fed milk has felt like a huge step in food security and self-sufficiency. And it has been truly wonderful seeing Moonbeam have her sister here so she can get to do all the things cows like to do together. I love watching them move in tandem grazing and spend time grooming each other. A wish I have is for both of our cows to get pregnant and have calves next year. Hopefully that will happen very soon! I also included my most liked posts of the year. I think you might love our dogs almost as much as we do! 😉😘 The likes are also heavily weighted to before the algorithm changed and not all my followers even see my posts anymore. 😢 I wonder when photos get a lot of likes but not comments what you are thinking and so I also checked out the most commented on photos. The first by far was my post about how essential oils helped transform our emotional experience after being verbally attacked by extended family members. I think we all have our own traumas and hurts and this was relatable to many of you. I wish peace for all of you in this. So if you’re still reading, tell me what you’d like to see more of on this account in the new year?
This morning while I was making breakfast, Little This morning while I was making breakfast, Little Peter looked out of the window and said one of my least favorite things to hear. “The cows are out!” The reason it’s one of my least favorite things to hear is because we have a lot of very young trees that are quickly destroyed by their munching. Yes, cows mostly eat grass but they eat many other plants and even browse trees a little bit. Thankfully both of our girls are easily walked back in to where we want them to be when we put a lead on them. Check out my stories to see if you can guess which animal of ours is the hardest to get back in!
We have yet to take a family photo (again) this ye We have yet to take a family photo (again) this year, so I’m borrowing a video I took for my stories this morning to wish you a Merry Christmas. I hope your day was filled with love and light! ✨
When we first bought this property, I imagined thi When we first bought this property, I imagined this little hill would be a good place for an orchard. As I’ve continued to study permaculture and observe the land, I’ve been leaning more and more toward this being the best place for a little barn. Nutrients flow downhill (thanks Ben Falk for that epiphany), the area is easily observed from the kitchen window and the area gets the most sun in the winter (the recent snow melted here before anywhere else). I hope a barn is in our future. I envision it as a place to store hay, keep new mamas and their babies separated if needed and it sure would make it easier to care for the animals when we have snowstorms and very cold weather!
✨ Birthday Giveaway ✨ I usually buy a little ✨ Birthday Giveaway ✨ I usually buy a little something for myself that brings me joy on my birthday but this year I’ve been so focused on giving (and decluttering!) that the thought slipped my mind. Instead, I would like to continue the giving spirit by giving gifts away for my birthday. I have three roller bottles that I’d like to share with people who haven’t experienced the magic of Young Living essential oils yet. I’ll send one bottle each to three winners, and you can pick your blend: 😴 Relaxing sleep support 💪 Immune boosting support 😊 Glowing skin support 😁 Happy mood support Whichever option you choose I will include skin-safe/diluted oils so all you need to do is roll on and enjoy - no instructions to figure out. To enter: follow me, like this post, and comment/tag a friend who needs oils in their life. Three bonus entries of you share this post, but make sure to tag me so I see it. Giveaway closes December 24 at 8pm eastern. Winners announced in stories on Christmas morning! This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram or anyone else. US residents 16 and older please.
The Christmas Star and winter solstice sunrise! ✨☀️ Got my technical difficulties figured out so I could share my telephoto lens photos from yesterday. 🥴 #sunrise #christmasstar2020 #wintersolstice #solsticesunrise #greatconjunction2020 #countryskies
The next step toward freedom. I grew up going to The next step toward freedom. I grew up going to public school. I remember being shocked in 5th grade when our teacher talked to us 10 year olds about college preparation, but within a few years it was a big focus of mine. I was taking PSAT and SAT tests and applying to several colleges. When the time came I chose my college for the architecture program I was pre-admitted to (everyone else had to go through 2 years of classes and then compete for limited spaces). Up until this point I thought I was “making it.” I loved architecture and I followed the directions of how to get good grades and get into a good college. Next would be a good job and salary. Only it turned out architecture was not a good fit and I left the program. I met with my mentor from my minor and decided to change my major to Psychology to graduate “on time.” Again, I executed the plan perfectly but if I wanted to pursue psychology I had to chose more years of education and more debt. I opted to find a job, and ended up with a salary less than the annual cost of the university I graduated from. It took many years to pay off that debt. If I only knew then what I know today… There is a viable career that enriches your life in so many ways and builds organically from your desire to help others. It doesn’t require you to invest years of your life and thousands of dollars before you start. When I learned this, I dove in. Every day I do my best to share with others, pass on what I have learned and offer encouragement and inspiration. After less than half of a year, my business has grown so much that I squealed when I saw my last paycheck. We’ve taken many steps toward self-sufficiency and freedom and now we’re working on financial freedom. We don’t have to trade our time for money for the rest of our lives and neither do you! I am also beginning to share what I’ve learned about building with my team members who want to build too. I adore the culture of our Young Living team, building each other up and serving others with joy. There is so much abundance and plenty of room at the top for anyone who wants to get there. I’m all in, and on my way. Who wants to come along?
“He who marvels at the beauty of the world in su “He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter.” — John Burroughs Winter solstice sunrise in WV this morning. Today is the turning point. Slowly building, the dark will no longer triumph over the light. 🙏 #sunrise #wintersolstice #snowysunrise #naturephotography #winterlandscape #homestead #intentionalliving
The last time we had snow like this, we did not ye The last time we had snow like this, we did not yet have turkeys, sheep, pigs, or a cow to milk. (Snow storms typically miss our area and we just get a dusting.) I think we have about 6” as of now and the snow is supposed to continue falling for another 6 hours. It was a busy and activity filled day, including a couple more last minute preparations in case of power outage and lots of outside time, which was gladly ended with warming up by the fire multiple times. Having a wood stove is turning out to be so much more of a source of joy than I anticipated. We also made (throughout the day) snow ice cream, hot cocoa with whipped cream and a big pot of soup made with Bresse broth, mushrooms, turnips and broccoli. The turkeys decided to roost on top of the play set tonight but other than that all the animal chores went smoothly, even milking in the snow!
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