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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free range eggs - increasing production

Free Range Eggs – Increasing Production

Are you raising chickens or thinking of raising chickens? Are you looking forward to lots of fresh free range eggs? That’s the main reason we decided to get chickens – for the free range eggs. Some people have told us that if you don’t have a rooster your hens won’t lay as many eggs. After […]

panorama of a cedar circle in the woods of NW Georgia

Going Away Where You Are

Two days after going away and then returning from a week-long trip to the Enchanted Isle that is Puerto Rico, I finally went out walking my few acres of property. Guess what? I kept finding new paths, new bits of nature I hadn’t experienced before. I discovered small plants, large trees with small budding spring […]

found canoe

Canoe the Right Thing: Chickamauga Creek Lesson

This isn’t meant to toot my horn or anything. It’s just a reminder: When you’re living out in nature, it’s always good to do the right thing, even if nobody else knows. Case in point? Several days ago, the dirt road to our place flooded. Yesterday, it was still flooded, BUT, it was sunny, so […]

When is it safe to plant seeds outdoors in the south? Here's your answer from Marnie Pehrson Kuhns

When Is It Safe to Plant Seeds Outdoors in the South?

Are you wondering when it is safe to plant seeds outdoors in the South? We live in Northwest Georgia and the weather here can fool you sometimes. So let’s get a few things clear if you’re a transplant to the South or are a Southerner who hasn’t gardened before or paid much attention to how […]

Cushaw bread recipe with no processed sugars. Sweetened with dates, raisins, honey, molasses, and applesauce. Sugarless.

Cushaw Bread Recipe: No Processed Sugars

I adapted my Granny White’s zucchini bread recipe to make this cushaw bread recipe. She used regular white sugar in her zucchini bread. We’re trying to eat less processed sugar so I created a substitute that uses dates, raisins, honey, molasses, and apple sauce. Cushaw bread is a bit dryer than zucchini bread so the […]

cushaw squash pie recipe

Cushaw Squash Pie Recipe – Like Pumpkin Pies

My dad gave us some cushaw squash starts and they really took off this summer. From a single vine, we’ve gathered about ten 15-20 pound cushaw squash. We’ve made pies, bread, soup, casseroles and baked herb squash. We’ve given away several of cushaws, and as much as I’ve cooked, we’ve only gone through 1.5 of […]

orange and black butterfly on woodland sunflower, NW Georgia, July 2018, part of a natural yard

Wildflowers and Butterfly Beauty: Three For The Price Of One

Wildflowers and butterfly beauty is one of the best parts of rural life. As people go back to the woods or the fields, focusing on being self-sustaining and off-the-grid, one of the first questions they ask is: “What should I DO?” One of the most vital things I tell them is what they should NOT […]

Blackberries. Thorns. Cobbler. I Accept.

Today my wife and I went out to the lower meadow to pick blackberries with thorns. About 20 minutes later, we made a fresh blackberry cobbler, and I wrote this poem about the experience: It reminds me of the time I visited a rose garden in Freiburg, in the southwest corner of Germany, just south […]