BACK TO THE LAND
Reconnecting with nature. Off-grid living. Lake life.
Given my love of the outdoors, I suppose it’s only a natural progression that I’ve taken an interest in living a more self-reliant and nature-focused lifestyle. Currently, that means I’m learning more about how we can use things like permaculture, agroecology, foraging, and food growing to meet our needs and bring us closer to nature – whether that’s on our prairie acreage or at our off-grid island cabin in the Boreal Forest. It means embracing simplified, lower-impact ways of living that include getting creative and DIYing. It also means simply paying more attention to the plant and animal life that we share these spaces with and the ecosystems of which we are all a part.
If you want to follow along as I learn and explore what this lifestyle looks like, check out my recent posts below.
A GIFT GUIDE FOR GARDENERS
Have a gardener on your list but not sure what to buy them? I’ve curated my favourite gardening items that I use all the time, as well as a few…
ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR A SCRATCH-COOKING KITCHEN
Cooking from scratch is a skill that has become much less necessary in our modern world where convenience foods and take out are more accessible than ever. As much as…
A COMPLETE GUIDE TO BROODING QUAIL CHICKS
After brooding multiple batches of quail chicks and learning a thing or two in the process, I thought I’d compile all my tips, tricks, and recommendations…
A COMPLETE GUIDE TO INCUBATING AND HATCHING QUAIL EGGS
After incubating and hatching multiple batches of Coturnix quail eggs, I thought I’d compile the tips, tricks…
70+ SKILLS FOR GREATER SELF-RELIANCE
Our modern world is filled with conveniences, consumer products, and technologies that make our lives incredibly easy. Very few of the skills which would have been commonplace…
AREOGARDEN HARVEST REVIEW: MY HONEST OPINION AFTER 2 MONTHS USING AN AREOGARDEN
It’s now been roughly two months since I began using my AreoGarden and I thought I’d share my thoughts and experiences…
RAISING COTURNIX QUAIL FOR MEAT
Raising Coturnix quail is growing in popularity, and for good reason. They are small, easy-to-care-for birds that provide a source of…
IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT?
With a growing movement towards homesteading, off-grid, and DIY lifestyles, self-sufficiency is a term I’m seeing more…
WHERE TO FIND FERTILE QUAIL EGGS FOR HATCHING IN CANADA
If you’re looking to hatch out a brood of quail, you might be wondering the best place to source fertile quail eggs for hatching.
RAISING QUAIL FOR EGGS
One of the greatest benefits to raising quail is the supply of fresh, delicious, and nutritious eggs that they provide…
WHAT IS PERMACULTURE?
Permaculture has become quite a buzzword lately, especially among the homesteading, off-grid and gardening groups I frequent…
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RAISING QUAIL
Quail are a small bird which are becoming more and more popular as an option for a backyard flock…
PUTTING PERMACULTURE PLANS INTO ACTION: OUR PHASE ONE EXAMPLE
As much as it stresses me out, our default setting around here seems to be a state of chaos. Despite my affinity for a false sense of control…
MY ANNUAL READING LIST: 2020
I had a plan to read 20 books in 2020. One would think that a global pandemic would allow the time to reach such a goal, yet…
BACK TO THE LAND BEGINNER: MY FIRST VEGETABLE GARDEN
As part of our efforts at becoming more self-reliant, growing our own food has become a significant focus of mine lately…
#CABINLIFE WORKOUT
Looking for the latest trend in fitness? Try my no-fail, guaranteed-to-kick-your-ass #cabinlife workout!
WELL, THAT WAS FUN: A DECADE IN REVIEW
Always a sucker for an arbitrary moment of significance, I thought it would be fun to look back at the past decade as we turn our calendars over to the 2020s.
THE ADVENTURES OF JUNO: ROAD TRIP EDITION
Since finding out that Juno has a heart condition, I’ve come to the realisation that this could very well be her last summer with us…
CEDAR STRIP CANOE BUILD: PLANS, PREP, AND PROGRESS
One of my goals for 2018 is to build a cedar strip canoe. I wanted to document the process here in case anyone is…
THE BEST (AND WORST) OF 2017
I’ve been spending the last few days looking back on 2017 – thinking about what worked, what didn’t, and what I would change in…
LAKE TRIP ROUNDUP
We recently took our first trip to the cabin this summer. The six-day trip was mostly a working holiday as we had a couple of projects…
LEARNING TO LOVE WINTER, OR AT LEAST HATE IT A LITTLE LESS
Anyone who knows me knows I am not a fan of winter. I usually spend about 12 seconds enjoying the first snowfall of the season and…
2016 IN PHOTOS
Here’s a brief recap of our year, and some my favorite photos of the past 12 months.