Bear Trap Creek Farms

09/05/2026

My daughter helped me process tomatoes and more grapes today💕 We ended up with 15 more quarts of grape juice and a huge batch of roasted tomatoes with onions & garlic. I will be blending the roasted tomatoes up tonight and freezing them since I have more than enough canned. Smells amazing and so pretty to look at too💖🤤🍇🍅

09/05/2026

💖✨

🌺 The Great Hummingbird Migration Is Underway! 🐦

Every fall, these tiny travelers embark on an incredible journey, flying hundreds—and sometimes thousands—of miles from their summer breeding grounds toward warmer winter homes in Mexico and Central America.

Some Ruby-throated Hummingbirds even make the remarkable nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico.

And if your hummingbirds seem to have disappeared, don’t take your feeders down just yet! Late migrants may still be passing through and can use the extra fuel along their journey.

📍 Are you still seeing hummingbirds where you live? Tell us your state or province in the comments!

09/05/2026

We had so many this year. I will miss seeing them until next Spring. Such beautiful, amazing, magical little creatures💖✨

🌺🌺🌺
National Hummingbird Day, September 5th, 2026

09/04/2026

One of my projects today was using up the last of the beans from our gardens. So...as I have some of a delicious Pizza Fry from Egg Roll Chick and an absolutely lovely Skinny Sticks Maple Rootbeer🤤....I am cutting & stringing these Leather Britches Beans to dry for winter while assuming they may end up tasting like their name 😂 I love learning about the old ways of food preservation. I am totally fascinated by how folks survived long ago with no convenience in the picture.... especially through the winter months. It makes a person truly appreciate how good we really have it. I actually made these once before but forgot about them and never cooked them. This year I'm on a mission to learn how they used to cook these Leather Britches Beans and try it out. I know they are cooked with pork and that they have to cook a long time. I will post an update on how it goes this time when I actually finish this process. My kids are probably praying this isn't on our holiday food menu 🤣😁
***To make them you just cut up the beans and string them with a needle and thread. Then hang them up to dry. I'll share how the actual cooking part goes once they are dried & ready to go***

09/04/2026

Yesterday we had a couple of Trumpeter Swans visiting our farm pond. My grandkids even got to see the beautiful creatures fly out of the pond and up into the sky. It's quite a sight to see from close by. We have had as many as 5 at one time stop in for a visit over the years. Didn't get a picture of the Trumpeters, but I did get a picture of the geese that know where the local safe place to be is when September rolls around. It happens every year and word gets around fast😂😁💖

09/04/2026

This is 1/2 gallon of a special herbal pain relief liniment that I started making a couple of years ago✨It's for external use only✨ This year I made 2 of these jars to make sure I don't run out because I love it so much😁 The ingredients in it are 70% Isopropyl Alcohol, Arnica, Mugwort, Elder Leaf and Comfrey Leaf. I added the Comfrey Leaf last year after reading it can help with varicose vein pain. I have to apply it a few times a day but it helps with my leg pain, back pain, etc. and I love that I make it myself to fit my needs💖🌱✨

09/04/2026

Harvested a few Garlic Chive Blossoms to freeze for the winter to use in soups and with anything that needs a little garlic flavor boost. I did this last year and they have a really nice, light garlic flavor. Perfect to use in my many different ways. A new way I'm going to use them this year is making a Garlic Chive Blossom Vinegar. The bees absolutely love them too so I leave a lot for them also💖

09/03/2026

So very many bees have been enjoying our Anise Hyssop every day. I completely get them loving this gorgeous plant because I really love it in tea all winter long. Always makes me feel warm & cozy💖🌱✨

09/03/2026

We now have these amazing herbal tea blends from Sacred Blossom Farm in Mondovi WI in our farm store💖🌱✨

09/03/2026

This morning's project was garbling the rest of my dried medicinal herbs that we will use until next season's harvest. Garbling is getting the dried matter off of the stems. It's a great name for it because the name describes it perfectly. I rub the dried plants between my hands and it seems to work perfectly. I also make tinctures with plants but I mainly use fresh plants for those. I always had an immense love for nature and as a child I loved making potions with sticks, flowers, dirt, water, etc. I did some herbal stuff over the years but really got into it in 2018. I took one of Gigi's Herb classes at WITC during the winter, then took her Begining Herbalism course that Spring, then the Advanced Herbalism 8 day program that summer(Herb Camp) which was amazing and really hooked me😁🌱and then took Gigi's Green Wisdom School of Natural & Botanical Medicine Master Herbalism program and graduated from that in the Spring of 2019. I've been completely immersed in it ever since. I highly recommend any of Gigi's classes or programs to anyone interested in Herbalism. I was already in rhythm with nature & the changing seasons because we farm and garden. This took it to a whole different level. I'm grateful for everything I have learned over the years and for every amazing Herbie Sister and herbal knowledge holder that I have learned from. This old world is beautiful and magical & I am thankful to be so close to it💖🌱✨💕