Nature’s Guys: Two Brothers, East Coast and West Coast, Home in the Woods

My brother (Gene Kuhns, Jr.) and I (David Kuhns) connect to nature. We have since we were young. Our Dad and Grandma Bertha, as well as aunts, uncles and family members, taught us how.

He's planting and organizing 10 acres on Vashon Island (near Seattle). I recently moved to 5+ acres of cedar and hickory woods along West Chickamauga Creek in Northwest Georgia. We're both working toward natural and self-sustaining lifestyles. Wildflower cultivation; bee, butterfly and bird attracting; organic gardening: In short, getting off the grid and back to the woods, fields and waters as much as possible. He's an energetic, engineering type. I'm the contemplative, creative type. (He gets stuff done. I think and write about it!) We capture -- with photos and writing -- what we observe and learn. Follow the Nature Guy(s) and our opposite coast adventures!

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controlled burn

Working In and With Nature: Toil or Meditation?

In one of the nature-oriented Facebook groups I’m in, a land-management newbie was talking about how they were frightened to do a controlled burn of their property (for weed reduction). They were afraid the fire would get away from them, and were thinking, rethinking, and (I think) over-thinking the difficulty of doing the burn. As […]

Canoeing West Chickamauga Creek – Nature Bathing

Canoeing, kayaking, floating, swimming — I was born to be on the water. Lucky us: We LIVE on West Chickamauga Creek, the boundary between Walker County and Catoosa County in Northwest Georgia. Our 6-acre Spirit Tree Farms property is across the creek from the #ChickamaugaNationalMilitaryPark (actually in the Southeast corner of the park, where there’s a […]

Heeding Nature's Calls to Love Her

Heeding Nature’s Calls To Love Her: My Nature’s Guy Manifesto

Nature’s calls resonate all around me. Whether I’m home on the banks of the West Chickamauga Creek in Northwest Georgia, at my Dad’s on Lake Winneconne, Wisconsin, or visiting my children, friends and relatives in Arizona, Utah, Lake Tahoe area or the Pacific Northwest, Nature’s calls reach out to me, grab me and hold me […]

Old Woman of the Woods oak tree with a sunset and sundog, January, 2022 near Chickamauga NMP, NW Georgia

Observing Nature with a Purpose

I spend a lot of time observing nature as I wander and work in the woods, creek and fields. Whether on my property near the #ChickamaugaNMP in Northwest Georgia, at my relatives in Arizona, Wisconsin or Washington, or traveling around this fantastic country (and world), I’ve always loved seeing God’s creations, and how they work […]

The delicate Frost Flower whorls on a crownbeard in Catoosa County -- Wildflower Spiral at Spirit Tree Farms

Frost Flowers from Crownbeard Wildflowers

Our Wildflower Spiral on SpiritTreeFarms is home to crownbeard wildflowers in the summer and frost flowers with the first  hard freezes of late autumn. But what are frost flowers and how do they form? Watch the video to find out! (Or read more). Dead Crownbeard Stems Wick Up Water Which Freezes Into Frost Flowers Crownbeards […]

Wildflower Seed Harvesting Tips

At Spirit Tree Farms, we’re learning a lot about wildflower seed harvesting as we go along. Why do we do wildflower seed harvesting? Simple: To grow more wildflowers, to aid Mother Nature, and to attract more butterflies and other pollinators. Wildflower Seed Harvesting Lessons This year (Dec., 2021), as I was harvesting goldenrod and crownbeard […]

Take time to see dandelions at sunset -- feel nature

Feel Nature: Get Outside Often

We need to get outside, to breathe fresh air, to see the sun, to feel nature. There was a time, when I worked at Microsoft near Seattle, where I never saw the sun. Even now, memories of sitting in a closet-like room with no windows, where I had to walk out a door and look […]

stuffed jalapenos and garden salad

Stuffed Jalapeño Recipe and Garden Salad

Our garden is shifting from summer to fall. We’re harvesting lots of jalapeño peppers and our greens are coming in. Below you’ll find my simple yet delicious stuffed jalapeno recipe with a Greek yogurt dip and a fresh garden salad that is out of this world! Garden Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing We’ve been using […]

goldenrod in wildflower spiral

Goldenrod Uses & Medicinal Qualities

We’ve had a thick patch of crownbeard on our property for years. I haven’t been much of a fan of it. It does make a nice yellow or white flower in the fall and ice crystal flowers in the winter. But in between, it seems to crop up everywhere … especially in the garden. I […]

Harvesting Elderberries, NOT Pokeweed / Pokeberries!

Lots of folks are out harvesting elderberries, especially the North American native American Elderberry, or Sambucus Canadensis. Health benefits abound! BUT, many people are posting photos of Pokeweed or Pokeberry (also known as Pokesalat) on social media, and asking: Are these Elderberries? NO! And knowing the difference when you’re harvesting elderberries is critical! Pokeweed berries […]