*now, if you’ve been reading this, you may or may not know that i [heather] have been writing and posting [albeit sporadically] about our homesteadic nomadic adventure.  after much prodding and persuasion, regan has given me lots to post!  not that i mind documenting, but my POV is not omnipotent.  so!  without further a due – this is the reganomic connection!*

I hadn’t built anything except a wobbly doghouse and a funky shack. But it’s amazing what the onset of winter will do to you when you need a roof over your head. After three years on and off in the shack; I spent a year collecting and milling logs from arboristsfriends and started to build a timber frame…..it would not have happened without the help of some key friends and neighbours, not to mention two very supportive and adventurous parents all of whom happened to be good carpenters and didn’t want me to freeze through another winter. It’s amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it. I never thought I could build a house, but I went for it with all my energy, a lot of research and good books (especially Lloyd Khan’s Shelter series) and trusted my instincts. It feels so good to finally have a home base after years of wandering….the bills are kind of stressful, but its worth it.

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)
“ I hate that plant”….I have heard people say this about Colstfoot, it’s large leaves carpet the ditches around here. I am still learning about it after been told casually by one old timer: “ we used to smoke that when we had no tobacco, good for coughs, acts as an expectorant”. Funny how the leaves look like lungs. We want to try making it into candy, which is apparently very easy. The tea, both fresh and dried is good, and good for you, the leaves can be burned into an ash which can be used instead of salt. The skin wash from boiling mature leaves is something else I want to try. So many plants, so little time…