Uncharted Heritage

When I was a kid, my mother used to wake me up in the mornings, singing this Psalm to me – every morning. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was becoming instilled in me. So much so that when I moved out, when I would wake up on my own, I could still hear ‘her singing’ in my thought processes each and every morning...

This summer we opened the pool.  However, we had a series of issues including several bouts of sickness and a lot of rainfall.  It just got away from us and it wasn’t worth the added expense to get it back up and going again this season.  A couple of weeks ago I noticed some tadpoles in the pool. ...

(Periodically John will find his way to the keyboard around here, if there is something he thinks you may be interested in or if there is something he personally wants to share with you.  We will label these guest posts of his “John-Sense.”)  I got my first knife when I was 5 or 6 years old, if not younger,...

Today we went on our first actual, official hiking trip together.  And we had a great time!  We went to a nature park, which has several hiking trails prepared with different difficulty levels.  We decided to attempt our first hike with an intensity of 3 out of 5, and we will build our endurance from there. ...

I have wanted an herb garden for a really long time.  Herbs are so versatile.  They are not just for cooking!  They have many other uses around the home and garden (i.e. crafts, bouquets, insect repellant), and some can even be used medicinally or as beauty products.  We have a perfect spot for...

Composting is simple, yet at the same time very complex.  So we are starting slow; we will begin with the basics and build from there.  Compost is the best form of organic matter to add nutrients to the soil.  In its simplest explanation, composting is the process of simply stacking [and turning periodically]...

My husband has been interested in learning the basics of survival for a long time.  He has wanted to push his limits in order to see his capabilities.  I was fine with him wanting to learn and try these skills out, and I didn’t even mind hearing about what he was learning, but I didn’t think I would ever want...

In our ‘backyard explorations’ we recently discovered that we have a persimmon tree.  I will admit, I had heard of this fruit before, but had not seen or tasted it before.  So we consulted our parents and did some other research and this is what we have learned:  The most popular comment about the persimmon...

There was an area in the yard, which once was the site of a small playground.  This square was filled with gravel and full of weeds.  So as a first step John and his brother cleared this area out.  And perhaps this may one day be a location of a garden? Before... After....

We have lived in our current home, here in Tennessee, for almost two years, during which time we had so much going on with settling in the home, the arrival of a new baby and our jobs that we honestly just didn’t have the time and/or energy to explore the approximately six acres on which we live.  Only recently have...