Homemade Witch Hazel

Today's hippie experiment: homemade witch hazel. Deciding what to infuse it with.

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Sometimes I buy plants because I want to try my hand at using them for the mainstream product associated with the plant name. Well, maybe just one time I did that? I don't know how long ago I bought a witch hazel tree (H. vernalis), but I put it in a big pot when I got home and never got around to making the skin astringent I'd intended.

Making homemade witch hazel extract!

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I {finally} put that sucker in the ground (it outgrew the pot a looong time ago--oops) and decided I should prune it a little. Since I had a branch I might as well make witch hazel, right?

Ready to infuse with herbs. #DIY #witchhazel

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After a few hours on the internet (over-research much?) I settled on the second set of instructions in this post.

I've added Camellia sinensis, lemon balm, comfrey, and mint. Now I wait. And sometimes shake. #DIY #witchhazel

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Goats: An Update

We're a week into having 2 living weed eaters in our yard. Meet Mowgli (left) and Chives (right). These guys knocked out the overgrown area outside our kitchen in a week. Above you can see a semi-before and after: the left is what it looked like on day 2, the right is what it looked like after a week (and Charlie cutting down the ligustrum that was too tall for the goats to reach and/or knock down to eat).

Now we've moved them to the front yard where they'll work on English ivy and wisteria. I'm not sure how long it will take them to demolish the area, but they're already clearing it out with vigor, fertilizing as they go. That particular area will become a woodland garden with paths, hopefully being clear enough for little hands and feet to get in and explore safely.

When I was a kid we rode our bikes through the woods, jumping fallen logs and feeling "extreme". Yes, I realize just how dorky that sentence makes me sound and I'm ok with that. I just want M and F to have the same opportunity, a natural playground available for whenever they feel compelled to get out there.

If you love goats and want to help us make this happen, prints are still available on a Pay What You Can scale.

If you're in the Charlotte area and are interested in renting goats, I can't recommend Wish We Had Acres enough.

Get my goat: A print to expand our homestead

While we're busy working on household projects, we've got a few other projects in the works too. I've been dividing plants and expanding gardens like a maniac. We've constructed a few ideas to regain control of the wooded front half of our property. There are others, but the list is just too long; it gets overwhelming.

We've been talking for several years about renting goats to help regain the areas overtaken by poison ivy and other impossible-to-battle vines. Well, it's finally time! We're ready to rent 2 billies from Wish We Had Acres, a pretty phenomenal farming and natural living, goat herding duo located here in Charlotte.

6x6 version

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We'll need to have these literal weed eaters for a fairly lengthy time. To celebrate (and offset the cost) I've created a colorfully goat-themed print.  Think of it as a CSA, you'll be helping these goats clear and enrich the land for us to grow even more food and you won't even break a sweat. (Not to mention avoiding the poison ivy!) What you will get is an archival print of some pretty feisty weeds, a tasty lunch for a wonderfully capricious critter.  

12x12" print

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These prints are archival and of the same quality of my other prints.

There are 2 sizes: 6 x 6" and 12 x 12". Make sure to leave me a note saying the size you prefer. Ready to pitch in? Click the donate button and pick your price; you'll be taken to Paypal for check out, please make sure they have the correct shipping address listed.

{Prints ship First Class, so please consider shipping costs.}

Glimpses from the Garden

The Sneak is gettin' on up there. I can't remember if he's turning 15 or 16 this summer. He enjoys keeping watch over his territory, which includes guardianship of the goldfish and chickens. Despite their sizable difference, he also keeps Wolfgang and Murray, the dogs, in check with a nose swipe every once in a while.  

Elvis has traveled throughout the yard at various stages of garden development. He's looking a little weary and worn these days, but I still love him. Here he keeps his one good eye on the Maxibel haricot vert, and other nearby annual veggies.

The Opportunity

After saying good bye to the community garden, it took no time to fall back in love with our own yard. Two truck loads of mulch, several plant swaps, and a little bit of happy fatigue later, the yard is lookin' pretty good.

I'm in project mode! A strapping young Matt Damon look-alike just brought us a truck load of mulch!

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We've added several new deep mulch beds, cleared out overgrown areas, and *finally* moved the old iron tub to the side of the pond to create a bog filter.

Future bog filter

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Even the kids have been enjoying our outdoor projects because that means entire afternoons spent outside.

Enlist only the most excited helpers.

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