organic

bluegrass does big mountains.

/ bluegrassbackyard / Leave a comment

I was born in Central New York, and all of my family still resides there- so I make an effort to venture up north at least a few times a year.  New York is really one of the most beautiful and versatile states, you have beaches, mountains, lakes, islands, and cities.  A far cry from the bustling and crowded New York City everyone envisions when you tell them you’re a Yankee.  On my visits, we usually stick close to my home town of East Syracuse, NY- but this time we made the time to vacation in the Catskill Mountains.  Specifically- Phoenicia, New York.

Nestled in the heart of the Catskill Mountains, Phoenicia is a small town-with a serious small town feel and dripping with nostalgia.  The scenery is beautiful, the shops are as local as they get and we found some amazing eats.

We were lucky enough to stay at the Phoenicia Lodge, a beautifully maintained, simple cabin style accommodation that fit our needs perfectly.  We rented Cabin 3– and could not have been happier.

We were surrounded by mountains, and the hiking and scenery were great (but the company was better).  The first day we hiked up the Terrace Mountain trail, and upon leaving the trailhead stumbled onto 3 bear cubs (don’t worry we were in the car already) The second day we conquered Slide Mountain the highest peak in the Catskills, coming in at 4,180′.

With all the hiking and fishing we did- we definitely worked up strong appetites.  My absolute favorite spot was Tavern 214.  This was a local farm to table restaurant, close to town but with a big city feel in the way it is run.  The food was thoughtfully prepared, expertly served and absolutely delicious.  I didn’t get any pictures of our meals-we ate them too fast, but if you’re ever in the area or looking for a spot to dine out after a scenic drive, that’s your place.  You will not be disappointed.

We also stopped into Mama’s Boy Coffee Shop for some much needed caffeine and dined at Brio’s Restaurant

If you’re looking for a town with great views, fantastic hiking and a small town vibe- Phoenicia is it.  A few hour drive from Central New York and you will feel like you’ve reached a whole new world.

the good, the bad and the downright sad.

/ bluegrassbackyard / Leave a comment

Today, this blog-it’s a little sad for me, a familiar feeling of grief tinged with a little bit of failure.

As a child growing up, I was fortunate enough to have parents who understood and supported my fascination with animals-we had cats, dogs, horses, fish and even the occasional flock of orphaned ducklings.  At an early age, I was made well aware of the feelings of loss, grief and profound sadness associated with losing a pet.  It varied with intensity-but regardless, big or small it was there.

As I have aged, I am still overcome with sadness when I lose a pet, and a deep sense of failure-as if I could have predicted the future and created a better outcome. As an adult, the grown rational side of you understands the loss and the “whys”, but your heart still feels overwhelming sadness.

Yesterday, I was reunited with these all too familiar feelings-in the most unsuspecting of places.

Our rooster, Nugget had wandered off of his many acre farm and was killed by the neighbors dog.  He was raised with our dogs, who are completely trustworthy with the birds.  When we relocated him to his new home (we aren’t able to house roosters in our neighborhood, due to the proximity of other homes and a roosters propensity for screaming in the wee hours of the morning), it was also home to 3 other trustworthy dogs-he wasn’t raised to have (what I now believe is a healthy) fear of dogs.

This is the first chicken I’ve lost, and I certainly did not think I would be as upset as I was.  Darn, it hit me right in the feels.  I truly believe you have a personal responsibility to all animals you choose to bring into your home and life, regardless of if they are pets or producers.  I have responsibility in the end, and let this little guy down.

Looking forward, I don’t see that it will get any easier- but these things happen, especially when raising livestock.  You do your best to protect and care for them-but inevitably these things happen.

There is so much care, time and love that goes into raising livestock and produce. You are hit with a bit of defeat every time a plant dies or doesn’t produce the way you think it should, all the time you spend tending to them seems wasted.  Then, the next morning when you’re collecting dozens of eggs or canning pounds of tomatoes- it all feels great, and makes perfect sense and you’re filled with happiness.  I cannot imagine the rollercoaster larger scale farmers ride, it makes me respect their process so much more.

See ya on the flip side Nugget-thanks for the lessons.

image

art of organics.

/ bluegrassbackyard / 2 Comments

Trying to find new organic and natural products can be challenging and overwhelming, especially when you first decide to make the switch from their chemically laden counterparts. There are hundreds of fabulous small batch shops that create beautiful, safe and effective products- but unless you know where to look, they can be tough to find.  Art of Organics offers a solution, curating beautiful monthly theme based product boxes, and delivering them right to your door!

Every month you’re sent an email, going over the products offered in that months box and giving you the option to opt out.  The boxes are $58 a month with a subscription and $68 for a one time purchase (if they don’t sell out- they’re becoming quite the hot item)!  Both prices include shipping.  Each box comes with an outline of each brand and suggestions on using each product included, which is extremely helpful- and familiarizes you with the brands.

In the three months I have gotten boxes, I have NEVER been disappointed.  One month I did receive a broken Jade Roller, and within days of emailing their Customer Service department a new one arrived at my door! The customer service is phenomenal!

This months box has to be my favorite, the theme was “Sea” and it did not disappoint!  The box description pulled from the Art Of Organics website:

Inspired by sunshine filled days at the beach and the warm nights that follow. SEA provides everything you need to create a blissfully low maintenance beauty routine that makes you feel like a sun-goddess. Our collection of essentials will keep you hydrated, glowing and refreshed all summer long.

The Clean Beauty Box is a thoughtfully curated assortment of green beauty products, carefully nestled in biodegradable aspen excelsior and presented in a recyclable gift box featuring premium gift wrap and a natural cotton ribbon.

The first product I want to talk about is the Coconut + Mint Cooling Spray from Little Barn Apothecary.  I am familiar with this brand and have been using their Simple Face Oil for the past couple of months and love it.  (I want to mention I just tried to link the Simple Face Oil and couldn’t find it on their site-I will riot in the streets if I can’t buy it any longer and you can’t try it-it is divine!)  First, this product smells so clean and instantly cools your skin. Second positive- I’ve found it nicely moisturizing, and really enjoy using it on my face and neck as a refresher.  This product is a total win, especially in the Kentucky heat.

The next two products came from Leahlani, a brand I had never tried before-but boy I am glad I’ve discovered them.  The Mermaid Mask is my new goto, it is nice and thick which means it will last a while and it really works to brighten and moisturize your skin.  It smells great and feels nice going on.  I can see this working its way into my routine a few times a week because it is so enjoyable to use and beautifully packaged.  The second product that came from Leahlani was the Mahana Coco Infusion Oil.  This is a use anywhere oil, with sexy gold shimmer built in perfect to enhance that summer glow! Oh, and it smells AMAZING.

I have to say I was really hesitant to try the Soul Sunday Seacliff Wage Spray, with 2C/3A Curly hair I didn’t think this would work for me.  I was so wrong.  I tried this on a Saturday morning-spritzed it on my hair after the shower and let it air dry-the result was a great soft and easy curl.  I was so happy with it.  I have used it to liven up my hair after work, or give it a little more texture before I step out the door.  If you’re a curly girl (or guy!) like me, you should really give this a try, the price is super reasonable, and it smells like summer!

I look forward to the release of each and every Art of Organics box-it’s like celebrating your birthday each month.  I just love this company-they really, really get it!  There is no cutting corners, no skimping on packaging, and each box oozes care and thoughtfulness.  I hope you get the chance to check out all of these great companies, I guarantee you’ll love them as much as  I do!

Beautiful Packaging
It’s all in the details.
See what I mean-details..
So much Love
Soul Sunday Seacliff Wave Spray
Leahlani Mermaid Mask
Leahlani Mahana Coco Infusion
Little Barn Apothecary Coconut + Mint Cooling Mist
Baudelaire- Wool Sponge

nugget gets gone.

/ bluegrassbackyard / 2 Comments

When we purchased our chicks, we purchased them sexed as females.  Sexing chickens can be really tough, so we weren’t too surprised when we ended up with one Roo.  As he aged, he turned into a beautiful golden boy-but as he grew, so did his voice.  It wasn’t too long before his vocal abilities were center stage-and he was singing the song of his people in the early morning light.

Living in a neighborhood, we knew that this wouldn’t work and we would have to relocate our dear friend Nugget.  Luckily, I have a friend who owns a larger farm and a flock of her own, she was willing to take him in.  Today we separated him from our girls, stuck him in the car and brought him to his new family.

Backyard chickens are becoming more and more popular as urban gardening takes off across the country.  It’s important to remember, that if you’re going to be an owner of backyard chickens- you be a responsible one.  One bad egg can ruin it for the whole group.

Noisy chickens and crowing roosters don’t make good neighbors (for some people).  It’s important to remember that, although you may love waking up to that sweet rooster song-there are many people who do not.  I recommend keeping your coop as far away from your neighbors as possible, keep it as clean as possible, and restrict your coop residents to hens.  Sharing the fruits of your labor doesn’t hurt either- who can look at a farm fresh egg and not smile?

a straw bale, what?

/ bluegrassbackyard / Leave a comment

This year we knew we wanted to expand our garden, but wanted to do so as easily and as cost effectively as possible.  We stumbled upon straw bale gardening, and after a bit of research decided this would be the method for us.  The straw bales could be placed outside of our existing garden, didn’t require any additional building of raised beds, and would cut down on the amount of weeding we’d need to do (all big positives for us).

The unfortunate thing, is that you can’t just stick your plants in a straw bale and expect them to grow- the bales take some conditioning before they’re ready to plant.  Roughly 10-15 days before you’re ready plant, you need to begin a fertilizing and watering protocol to promote decomposition of the bales, and to put “food” into the bale for your plants to munch on as they grow.   Once this is done and you’ve got your plants set into the bales- you can continue on with any fertilizing program you choose to use.  To condition our bales, we chose to use Organic Plant-tone Plant Food from Espoma. This is a 5-3-3 mix, that we felt would give the bales the jump they needed to break down. This is mainly comprised of feather meal, chicken manure and bone meal- your dogs will find this concoction tasty-so make sure to keep it in a safe place (we learned this the hard way).

So far we’ve been really happy with the results.  If I were to do anything different- I would have staked each bale from end to end to keep them together.  As they break down, they get a little loose and start to wash out.  The bales that we planted tomatoes in, we staked at each end, knowing we’d need to tie up the plants.  These bales have held together much better and I think they hold water better.

My Personal Pros & Cons for Straw Bale Gardening

Pros:

  • Decreased influence of weeds
  • Plants seem less susceptible to rotting and slugs, as they’re elevated off the ground
  • Easy to maintain and prune-everything is raised
  • Low investment for the planting materials
  • Can be put anywhere

Cons:

  • They seem to dry out quickly and take A LOT more water (we had a hard time starting seeds due to this)
  • If they’re not staked, they’ll slowing spread and break down a bit faster
  • Not very aesthetically pleasing (we tried to plant marigolds and mulch around them for the look factor)

Overall I think we are pleased with our results.  The tomatoes have done really well, along with our zucchini, jalapeño peppers, pak choy and kale.  The most beautiful thing of all- is that we can turn around and move the bales to the compost pit for the winter, and use them as fresh compost next season!

Bales first planted with zucchini and tomatoes, using marigolds on the end caps!
Three weeks after planting
The zucchini has taken over!