The Wild Homesteader

23/12/2023

My final gig of the season tonight at UnWined in Livingston. Awesome wine bar. I'd love a hug! 6-8pm
Merry Christmas!

20/12/2023

If you're in Livingston tomorrow night, I'm playing The Fainting Goat from 7:30-9:30pm. Gonna be some grand craic I tell ya!

06/12/2023

Local friends! I'm playing music @ the Manhattan Depot tomorrow from 5:30-6:30 for the Christmas Stroll. Love to see your faces!

15/10/2023

Death is such an illogical thing. ⁣
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This is the 19th time I've celebrated my mom's special day without her being on this physical plane. ⁣
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Each year is so different. ⁣
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Some years without her feel so heavy I can hardly rise out of bed, but mixed with today's sadness, I feel a tinge of gratitude. ⁣
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Grateful for the fact that she's pure light now, no pain or sorrow. As always, grateful for the fact she was my mother. I don't know anyone else with such a fiercely funny + incredibly intelligent + always sparking + always positive + always lovely + perfectly adventuresome woman to shape them. If you were loved by Dinky, you walked the earth a lucky one. ⁣
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Happy 74th mama...you were as much an angel this side of Heaven as you are right now. We'll be in the mountains raising a rootbeer with our tuna fish sandos just for you. ⁣
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🍺♥️🐡⁣

16/05/2023

Foraging season is upon us here in Montana & I couldn’t be more tickled. ⁣
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15/09/2022

13/09/2022

Best puppos up for adoption!

19/08/2022

Still taking donations in the Gallatin/Park County area until early next week!

It's food drive time!!! Doggo food that is. 🥰🐶🐱

Prairie Song Rescue in tandem with Montana Dog Company LLC is gathering food donations for Spirit of Imitáá on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation.

This lovely mama dog and her pups are currently enjoying their bark n' breakfast stay @ Spirit of Imitáá and are helping to raise awareness for the rez dog need for grub.

If you would like to donate to the cause, Prairie Song is transporting all donations straight to the mouths of many hungry pups in northwestern Montana.

DONATIONS CAN BE MADE at Montana Dog Company in Livingston MT or by messaging us here at Prairie Song and we can arrange pickup.

And as always, THANK YOU for your generosity and support for the creatures of Big Sky country.

All our wild love. 💚

19/07/2022

Growing up, I sometimes found acceptance amongst humans to be difficult. ⁣
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I was accused of being too inquisitive. ⁣
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Too talkative. ⁣
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Too poor.⁣
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Too curious.⁣
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Too wild. ⁣
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Too this. Too that.⁣
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Too much. ⁣
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I tended to prefer the company of a loquacious little creek or a herd of horses. ⁣
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And I still do at times....but as I've grown older, I am exceptionally fortunate to have the friendship, support & love of an excellent group of people & animals alike. ⁣
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Recently, I've grown to adore a community of women who are beyond creative & astonishingly & unendingly accepting of all shapes and sizes and kinds and colors of people. ⁣
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These are the women who have my heart - the ones who are drawn to the wild and the distinctive. The women who have each other's backs & lift each other up & share their strengths and tears the same. ⁣
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and are two of these alluring souls & I'll forever be grateful for the way they've embraced me. ⁣
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To see some of their pure magic, I encourage you to seek out a copy of Montana Woman Magazine. ⁣
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Any addition will do, but if you'd like to learn a little more about me and my corner of the world along with the awe inspiring work of folks like + + many many more, check out the most recent publication -⁣
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Issue 19: 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐝. ⁣
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Your heart will be better for it. ⁣
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All my wild love,⁣
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Jess⁣
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:muscle: ⁣

21/02/2022

This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.⁣
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Preface to Leaves of Grass⁣
by Walt Whitman⁣
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03/02/2022

02/02/2022

𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. ⁣
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Like the Navajo people who originally shepherded and saved this incredible animal, they are life on our farm. ⁣
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We honor them & lift up gratitude for them every single day. ⁣
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Part of honoring them is recognizing each gift they provide, & their wool is one of my favorites. ⁣
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We nurture Navajo-churro sheep on our farm & working their wool into unique, 1-of-a-kind pieces of art brings me immense joy. ⁣
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Living Wool Pieces are my favorite form of fiber art to create. ⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 '𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐥' 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤? ⁣
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It's simply the process of crafting each sheep's yearly haircut into an eco-friendly, sustainable, CRUELTY-FREE piece of art! ⁣
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The backs of each of these pieces are felted with magical powers to create a piece that is not only stunning and original, but also just as durable as a hide backed option & much easier to care for. ⁣
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And the best part is, the sheep that helped craft each living wool piece is still living their very best life! ⁣
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Check out the link in my bio to purchase your own living wool rug + stole + saddle blanket + wings or whatever you can dream up! ⁣
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🐏♥️🐏♥️🐏♥️🐏♥️🐏⁣
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29/01/2022

The Crazy Mountains are really showing off through my bedroom window this morning. ⁣
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While the mountains always instill gratitude in my heart, this morning they gave me a bit of worry as well. ⁣
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The snow blanketing Montana ranges is looking pretty scarce this year. We're in a drought & this effects farmers, ranchers & wild crafters in a major way. ⁣
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It effects pretty much everyone who makes their living in tandem with the land. It effects the creatures both domesticaed & wild. And we're set to have one of the worst fire seasons on record. ⁣
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So we pray. ⁣
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We pray for moisture. We pray for the winds that dry the land to sleep. We pray the creek won't run dry. ⁣
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27/01/2022

'𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲.’⁣
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- Hank Williams⁣
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life

18/01/2022

Anything is possible...& we're worth it. ⁣
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Today is a good day to dwell in that reality!⁣
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♥️💥♥️

31/12/2021

𝐕𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠⁣
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What does that look like for you? ⁣
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This year I learned a lot about myself & what it means for me to thrive. ⁣
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🌟 I healed. ⁣
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🌟 I grew more in a spiritual and mental capacity than ever before. ⁣
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🌟 I learned I can't do the work for others no matter how much I'd like to. ⁣
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🌟 I experience life more fully…so much more fully! ⁣
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🌟 I forgave. Myself & others. ⁣
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🌟 I decided I put up with a lot of crap. I'm not doing that anymore. ⁣
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🌟 I started to value my time and how I spend it. ⁣
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🌟 I began to choose to love myself radically & totally. No matter what. ⁣
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My rescue also saved more animals in 2021 by more than double. I'm probably missing a few but the estimate is over 100 animals across 11 species, in 3 countries. ⁣
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And that my friends feels like truly vibrant living. ⁣
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𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 & 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. ⁣
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Much much more on this to come in 2022!⁣
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May this year bring you more joy, happiness & good living that you've ever known before. ⁣
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13/12/2021

One of the most impactful lessons I have learned this year is the incredible power of radical self-love. ⁣
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The stories I choose to tell myself are the foundation of living well. ⁣
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𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. ⁣
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𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲. ⁣
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𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝘓𝘖𝘝𝘌. ⁣
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Anyone who tries to make you believe differently isn't worth listening to. ⁣
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And that includes the voice in your own head. ⁣
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How are you choosing to love yourself fully & radically? ⁣
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Drop me a DM or a comment below and tell me all about it! ⁣
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♥️♥️♥️⁣
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❤️

09/12/2021

💚 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐒𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 💚⁣
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What does it mean to you? ⁣
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There are so many definitions, each as individual as we are! ⁣
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I believe that self-sufficiency begins at the root. The very essence of who we are. ⁣
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We can harvest all our own food + change our own tires + pay our own bills...⁣
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But are we loving ourselves well? ⁣
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Are we focusing on closing the circles of our lives in healthy ways? ⁣
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Do we protect ourselves against toxicity? ⁣
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There is so much depth to explore past the conscious level of being truly self-sufficient. ⁣
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So…what is YOUR definition of a self-sufficient human being? ⁣
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Do tell! ⁣
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🙏💗🥰⁣
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🌾

07/12/2021

🐏 🐷 🐓 🐐 🐏 🐷 🐓 🐐⁣
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What's your most majestic choice & why? ⁣
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Personally I'm going to go with sheeps because I'm bias...but chickens aka modern day dinosaurs are a close second. 🤣⁣
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Let us all be grateful we don't live in a world with horse-sized goats!? ⁣
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Drop your answer in the comments below! ⁣
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11/05/2021

I've spent the last week solid foraging, feasting & preserving the harvest. ⁣
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Things are finally starting to awaken here in Montana & I'm positively jumping with joy!⁣
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We even found some morels at lower elevations, but mostly it's been the early bird options like ⁣
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⭐️ wormwood⁣
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🌳 linden ⁣
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🌿 nettles ⁣
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🍄 oysters ⁣
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💐 violets ⁣
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⚜️cottonwood buds = pure gold! ⁣
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Stay tuned for some fun videos on medicine making & my favorite wild recipes this week. ⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝 & 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞?⁣
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27/04/2021

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝗪𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲?! ⁣
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🐑🥰🐑♥️🐑⁣
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He sure has been a blessing on the homestead. ⁣
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What’s your favorite farm animal? ⁣
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🌾 ⁣
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23/04/2021

🌏🙏💚⁣
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When you live from the land, every day is Earth Day.⁣
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When you tend a garden, you're nourishing much more than food & beauty. ⁣
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I love how gardens are as individual as snowflakes. Besides the usual, I'm excited to try for artichokes and butterfly pea flowers in my cold northern growing zone. ⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫? ⁣
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14/04/2021

🍲💚🙏⁣
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𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡. ⁣
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I'm a big fan! ⁣
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It's on my go-to list of necessities to stay healthy, happy & nourished. ⁣
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Sometimes I find my ever-healing body feels best with collagen-based bone broths from well harvested elk, bison, deer or yak. But many times the broth is based off of foraged food & plants I've grown & gathered. ⁣
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This is the start of a wild broth that will be served to my vegan friends this evening, whom I haven't seen in almost two years. I'm going to add wood-fire roasted garden veg + handmade cauliflower noodles + fermented veggies for a pho style dish. ⁣
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It was an honor and a therapy to blend together this barely budding harvest season & the remnants of last year's bounty. ⁣
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No matter what your diet or schedule is like, broth is a simple, nutrient dense, healing & comforting addition on your journey. ⁣
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I rarely follow a recipe for anything, but here's an idea of the creation of this sustaining, delicious meal. ⁣
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2 handfuls dried sh*take mushrooms⁣
1 pinch ethically harvested chaga⁣
1 handful calendula blossoms⁣
1 handful wild oregeno⁣
2 stalks wild tarragon⁣
1 stalk garden rosemary⁣
1 pinch of ground dock seeds⁣
Light speckling of the last of my dried nettles⁣
1 dusting each of dried rosehips & juniper berries⁣
1 whole head of garlic⁣
1 generous section each of raw ginger & raw turmeric ⁣
1 whole fermented lemon⁣
1 piece of seaweed. I used kombu⁣
Generous sprinkle of your favorite spices - I chose spanish paprika, red pepper, black pepper, sea salt⁣
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I simmer all of the ingredients in my favorite cast iron on the back of the woodstove overnight. But a simple crockpot set on low will do as well. ⁣
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The sky is the limit on this easy to create powerhouse delight. You can add whatever ingredients your heart desires and it can be the base of a hearty meal or it's well enjoyed on it's own. ⁣
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𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺? ⁣
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13/04/2021

I've been absent from this space for awhile...⁣
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There aren't words really to describe the time that has passed. ⁣
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All I know is I'm a wave.⁣
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I dance in between dream world & waking times, rising over & over with curiosity for new life. ⁣
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Yesterday was hard.⁣
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The day before today was beautiful. ⁣
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I rose just now to spread balm of forgotten cottonwoods and medicine over my harrowed bones. The sorrow and milk and tears and blood and loss and birth of the day before today is still on my skin. ⁣
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We are lambing, new life springing forth like the hint of green on the earth. ⁣
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It's heavy. It's light. ⁣
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I'm grateful. ⁣
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I'm capable. ⁣
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I'm exhausted. ⁣
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I miss you. ⁣
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Thanks for sticking with me....& for being everything you were meant for. ⁣
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All my wild love,⁣
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Jess⁣
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11/03/2021

I might be getting a tiny bit ahead of myself...but it really feels like spring in Montana country! ⁣
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On the homestead, spring means projects. How I love a good project! ⁣
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Here are some of the fabulous adventures I'm undertaking in the next couple of months. ⁣
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🌱Seed starting & prepping for our organic garden⁣
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🐑 Shearing & lambing our flock of Navajo-churro⁣
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🏡 Building our off-grid home⁣
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🐤 Raising baby chicks⁣
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🌳 Planning permaculture additions like water catchment & diversion, spiral bed building & native re-wilding of the garden⁣
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🌸 Foraging for food & medicine⁣
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🐎 Mule baby training ⁣
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🥕Crafting an old fashion root cellar⁣
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🪵 Building a cord wood sauna & wood fired hot tub. ⁣
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👩🏼‍🌾 Fencing...always fencing. ⁣
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𝐃𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮? ⁣
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What do projects look like for you on the homestead this season? Urban or traditional. ⁣
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I'm doing a few online & in-person classes this spring & I want to know what you'd like to learn more about. ⁣
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So could you do me a solid & comment with the educational subjects you'd like to learn most about? ⁣
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𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 & 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭? ⁣
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10/03/2021

❤️🤟🏻🏔⁣
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𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 & 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝. ⁣
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🌾

26/02/2021

❤️🦥❤️🦥❤️🦥❤️⁣
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If you know me, you know one of the things that defines me is animal rescue. ⁣⁣
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My entire life has been devoted to it. ⁣⁣
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And I always say animals are smarter than humans. ⁣⁣
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Including the little black lab that saved this orphaned 2 toed sloth in the depths of the jungle. Totally fate that I would be crossing paths with that lab when I hadn’t seen a human all day & get to care of this little guy until he could find sanctuary. ⁣⁣
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It's very common for them to fall from their mothers. Sometimes mama finds them & sometimes for whatever reason she can't. Like with little Martin Jr....named after the man who's dog found him. ⁣⁣
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When he gets to be about 1.5 pounds, he'll go live with other 2 toed sloths on Isla San Cristobal. ⁣⁣
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One of the coolest experiences of my life. I'm still in awe of him!

17/02/2021

No caption necessary!⁣
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Get you some good medicine today. ⁣
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All my wild love,⁣
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Jess⁣
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11/02/2021

There hasn't been time this week for anything but putting every homesteading skill I have to use as I manage the farm on my own through this arctic freeze. ⁣
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❄️ Chopping wood⁣
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❄️ Layering bedding⁣
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❄️ Feeding & feeding some more⁣
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❄️ Cutting watering holes open⁣
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❄️ Keeping toes & lungs & eggs from freezing⁣
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❄️ Layers of firewood 24/7 in the antique stove⁣
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❄️ Getting creative about how to keep strong and sane in the midst of it all. ⁣
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And then doing it all over again. ⁣
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There's been lots of singing to the creatures, and to the sky...& taking moments to raise up thanksgiving for all the lovely little moments, too. ⁣
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I'm grateful for the lives I get to care for, for the smarts & talents to execute some pretty intense tasks for a gal my size & for the fact that at least I don't have to worry about indoor plumbing freezing.⁣
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Tell me the top three skillsets you'd like to learn for the homestead or otherwise to help you be more self-sufficient? ⁣
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All my wild love,⁣
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Jess⁣
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♥️