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: 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 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 […]