"
You are what your grandmother ate.
~ unknown

For the last couple Summers we’ve been offering our farm-crafted/home-brewed Kefir Sodas for sale at the Magdalena Farmer’s Market. We have managed to build up quite a store of kefir grains and are eager to share them as well as the process of making the sodas yourself at home. Of course we will still brew […]

We are new to living out of the city . . . to residing so fundamentally amidst primal natural forces that command and carry, that lift and that move us beyond the realm of the living. Of course, even when we were in the city we got a taste of these forces, but we had […]

I mean isn’t it just a big stupid hassle?? As you may have read before, I’ve struggled with Easter in the past, making it feel relevant. For most of my adult life I just ignored it. Once I had kids I kinda had to think a little more deeply about it – so I could […]

I went to the movies the other night . . . The film was called Wonderstruck and it was loosely related to museums. Anyway, at one point in the film, one of the narrator explained the phenomenon of “Cabinets of Wonder”. Wikipedia defines them like this: Cabinets of curiosities (also known in German loanwords as Kunstkabinett, […]

Today is the time to celebrate not only the New Moon, but the Spring Equinox! As part of our Soup & Story series, we are having a simple ritual here at the farm led by Moona Cancino to celebrate the coming of Spring. Moona has been hangin’ out here at the farm for a few […]

Dear Hettie: I would like to have backyard chickens. Is it really as easy as people say? ~ Adrienne Well, Hettie says, “Haven’t you heard? Chickens are out. Ducks are in! You should really get yourself some Ducks!” I know what you’re thinking, of course Hettie prefers ducks – she IS a duck. How do I […]

The last couple days we’ve been focusing on Permaculture Ethics. Another very pervasive idea in Permaulture is the idea of zones. The kitchen garden is zone 1 and the back 40 is zone 5. That’s the basic idea. There has been, and still in, a lot of thinking about zones 1-5 and how to use […]

All human beings have needs and they are pretty much the same for everyone. The truth is that the vast majority of the world’s population, rich and poor, is not getting their needs met. The poor are most often the focus of “Fair Share” conversations in permaculture circles and beyond. It is certainly true that […]

One of the first things to know about Permaculture that makes it different from other paradigms of ecological and social reform is that it is rooted in 3 basic ethics. These 3 ethics form the foundation of what makes permaculture so unique. For example organic agriculture simply requires that one not use synthetic pesticides. Of […]

The principle of biodiversity is at the root of what makes permaculture work. Imagine what it would be like to not have to out-source everything in your life, that everything you need is there for you to make it all work. Everything is close together, one thing extending into the next and you can tangibly […]