I'm an amateur gardener, Family Physician, wife, and proud mother of three girls. Through this blog I hope to create stronger neighborhoods by networking with local food sources.
Four years ago was my first year tapping trees. Year one I Started at a neighbor’s sliver maple grove, and tapped sufficient sap to produce 2 quarts of syrup. The following year I discovered some Red Maple at my workplace and Sugar Maples at several friends homes. These last two years have expanded to the … More Six Simple Steps to Make Your Own Maple Syrup
Carver was a man who worked extensively on finding uses for the peanut, sweet potato, soy beans, cow peas, and pecans. He discovered myriad industrial applications for these crops, from plastics to nitroglycerin, as a means of offering economic alternatives to cotton for poor farmers in the South. Carver never kept a lab book and left no formulas or procedures for his products; he seems to have been more concerned with proving sustainable agriculture as a viable means of existence. … More Gleaning Wisdom From George Washington Carver
Humane Society’s South Dakota State Director, Darci Willemssen Adams, tells us the surprising love found between her and a rescue pig. … More Why It Is Easy To Fall In Love With Pet Pigs
Growing your own food is the perfect way to supplement your diet- regardless of what diet you’re on. I’m hard pressed to think of a single diet that doesn’t benefit from more home-grown vegetables.
Furthermore, some of the most pleasant (and free) exercise I can imagine is to plant, maintain, harvest, weed and clean up the garden.
More and more research supports the benefits of gardening to ease depression, anxiety and chronic pain. Over time, these claims have become more widely accepted and convincing. … More Why This Doctor Resolves Not to Diet or Exercise This Year & What She’ll Do Instead
this infectiously joyful man is one of the Lost Boys of Sudan- a group characterized as the most war-traumatized children ever examined. As a young boy, he survived two life-threatening injuries; first from a severe bullet wound and second from a grenade to the chest. He miraculously survived impossibly long journeys across deserts without food or adequate water. He lost 13 brothers and his father during to Sudanese conflict. And despite these experienced and witnessed horrors, his Christian faith is strong, his compassion great and his desire to improve his home Khor Wakow Village is genuine and gaining traction. … More Lost Boy of Sudan Finds His Bearings and Directs Our Attention Abroad
Most enter The Treasure Chest of Garretson, SD to shop for South Dakota products, shabby chic collectables and furniture. But many return because of two women and their desire to build meaningful relationships within their community. … More Garretson’s Treasure Chest is a Miracle Worth Discovering
Making homemade maple sugar is fast, easy and cheap! … More How to Easily Make Maple Sugar
Understanding of the Urban Impoverished- Infusing Hope in a Culture We Don’t Understand, was a four week study held Summer 2019 at First Evangelical Free Church in Sioux Falls, SD. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, consider this inspirational series from Barry Termaat and Rich Merkouris to center your love on things that matter. … More Develop a Heart For The Poor This Valentine’s Day
Felting combines two or more layers of wool into a single piece of cloth. Wrapping this around soap, the project makes for a unique, fun and easy gift! … More How to Make Felted Soap
Sherman Park, located just south of the Great Plains Zoo, and north of Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, SD, has dozens of mature walnut trees. I brought my daughters there after-school to play with their cousins and enjoy the foliage. Little did I know, there were pounds and pounds of food to harvest! … More How Your Tax Dollars Pay For Free Walnuts