The Willowwinds at Freedom Acres

07/17/2023

I am dying from laughter... Tyberius has his dad's phone!

05/22/2023

Hello my friends! Spring update for the garden...

04/22/2023

Waiting for a tow truck to come & loosen lug nuts on a flat tire from last night... so... I will post UPDATES!! So much has been going on at the homestead!

07/21/2022

I took this picture a few days ago... today, Monarchs are listed as ENDANGERED according to National Geographic. 😥

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/monarch-butterflies-are-now-an-endangered-species?rid=4A0A7EA4F610ED771A926D146682FEF7&cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Animals_20220721

07/04/2022

Before & after... reviving an old swingset...

06/14/2022

Chose the difference you will make today...

05/17/2022

YES please!

04/18/2022

We hope had everyone had a wonderful Easter...

04/04/2022

03/15/2022

HELP! What am I looking at?

Trying to identify (correctly) all of the plants at our new home... I originally thought this was a Magnolia of some sort, but then switched to P***y Willow... now I'm STUMPED... plant "ID apps" are not helpful, so I am turning to all of you!

02/19/2022

Grateful for Bestie visits! Even if it's only for 33 minutes! Drive safe... Happy Birthday CC...

02/02/2022

Horse owner problem... Flat Tires, Lots of P**p

01/15/2022

Prepping some videos for my upcoming course on building a sustainable life (homesteading, gardening, family)... Here's a sneak peek... Who can guess what I am doing?

12/24/2021

Merry Christmas Eve...

12/17/2021

Settling in... finishing parts of the fence today, prep for podcast interview, and pet/feed store run...

12/05/2021

... 7 days until the Horses get a new home! I have been MIA for a while helping to make this happen for our family and homestead! The Willowwinds at Freedom Acres!

11/23/2021

The white squirrel is back again this morning! I am inspired to do a blog post about (him) so stay tuned to the meaning of seeing a white squirrel!

11/04/2021

Please pray for my dad, his care team and my family. He is in the hospital and not doing well. I don’t want to go into details here. But I know he would covet and appreciate your prayers.

10/29/2021

Happy Birthdays to my two nieces who share my birthday! I love you both my Birthday Buddies! I can't wait to see you again! I miss you like crazy!!! 🎂🎃🎈

10/26/2021

Moving a homestead and hobby farm are significantly more complex than a regular "move". I have done a regular move (military), but this process requires so much more coordination than I thought! Follow my posts to see the steps that we took to successfully move from two different states to my dream homestead!...

https://thewillowwinds.enterprises/2021/10/26/moving-a-homestead-and-hobby-farm-are-significantly-more-complex-than-a-regular-move-a-multiple-part-post/

Moving a Homestead

09/23/2021

These are everywhere in South Eastern PA... destroy the muddy egg patches if you see them!

📣 It's that time of year.... egg masses are starting to be found across PA!

😳 If you see a brown, mud-like substance on tree trunks or a flat surface outside, it could be a egg mass!

If you’re in a quarantined area, look for these masses, SCRAPE & DESTROY! They hold 30 – 50 eggs + the more we destroy now the more we decrease the population next spring!

C/o this video demo: https://youtu.be/WoFp_MbDiE8
✏️ , report it: https://bit.ly/3udU1Lp

08/16/2021

Kiddo wanted smores🏕 so we had a mini camp-out...

08/16/2021

Georgie the Bat (part 2)

08/16/2021

Georgie the Bat (part 1)

08/15/2021

Learn some stuff...

Anchored by live events across the Midwest, farmers, ranchers and growers across America have the opportunity to join a personalized experience in person or online.

08/15/2021

Today is the last 10 hours of 30+ hour training with Dean Graziosi, Tony Robbins, Jenna Kutcher, Chalene Johnson, Glo Atanmo, Karissa Kouchis, Lisa Nichols, and so many more... I love being a lifelong learner. Maybe it is my PTSD (ultra-focused), maybe my ADHD (need for my mind to be constantly busy)... but I feel like I am made for so much more [*cue Switchfoot song*]....

https://thewillowwinds.enterprises/2021/08/15/lifelong-learning/

learning, knowledge, training

08/13/2021

Updated my BIO! THANKS to on this lesson! You were speaking DIRECTLY to me!

08/06/2021

Amish Paste & Cherokee Purple Heirloom Tomatoes and a beautiful Bell Pepper! Yellow Squash are from my Uncle's garden...

08/06/2021

Baby Succulents, Death blooms, giant Brussel Sprouts, and Amis Paste tomatoes... lots of weeding and laundry to do tomorrow... and possible broken baby toe!

07/15/2021

I don't often get quiet mornings. They are usually started with a dog head sniffing at my hand to wake me up (at around 5 am-ish). Then I hear scampering of feet, and "WAIT FOR MEEEEE"! I get to give a "BACKPACK" (aka piggy back) ride down the stairs for my toddler, Ty, who will be 4 years old in December....

https://thewillowwinds.enterprises/2021/07/15/quiet-mornings/

Quiet Morning, To Do, Family Time,

07/13/2021

... 2 years later, his hind legs have healed (except to modify the tightness of his stools - oval in shape, instead of round). Fuzzy's front leg continues to have an Abscess at the top and bottom of the pin (which has bent). Continual draining, treatment, and physical therapy are done daily, but he continues to smile and run around on 3 legs, with sore leg in the air.

07/13/2021

Beetles, chicks, garden & snails...

06/25/2021

I love how Ty wants to always be outside! Shasta Daisy looking beautiful and sun rise shining on the willow trees at a bit after 5am was beautiful... if I wasn't doing my chores, I would bring out my good camera... I need a photography trip...

06/23/2021

Riding on the jolting 10 minute bus ride with my weapon on the way to my place of work during my 18th deployment to Iraq, I look up for a tiny moment each day and see a beauty in the war zone. Fields of sunflowers, vineyards and the Baron fields for goats and sheep and cows surround the forward operating base that I have been assigned.

The growth and beauty of the sunflowers takes me back in home in my mind, to central Pennsylvania growing up in my grandfather's victory garden - overflowing with tomatoes and sunflowers - learning skills about nature and finding love of plants as I learn. My mind is jolted back to where I am... somewhere in the desert between the Tigers and the Euphrates Rivers... away from my family and away from everything I love...

AND THEN, reality sets in...

The sunflower field is where the insurgents hid mortar tubes to attack us. In contrast, the local population were very kind and generous; I was blessed to have been invited to several feasts for which everything was hand grown and raised. Fresh food always tastes IMMEASURABLY better... (especially in a war zone!!)

I returned home with both physical (neck & back issues) and mental (PTSD, anxiety, & depression) injuries from things of war, but have found peace and sustenance working in my garden with my family. Life has changed so much since my grandfather's garden and even more so since my time spent in the desert... But ALL of it brought me to where I am today... Working to become more sustainable in this changing world and finding natural ways to continue to move forward and grow...

06/23/2021

The List: 8 Ways You Can Help Pollinators, Even if You Don’t Have a Garden.

June 21-27th is officially “Pollinator Week“1) Plant for Pollinators
2) Create a Wildlife-Friendly Yard, Beyond Flowers
3) Avoid Using Pesticides
4) Go Organic – Conserve ALL of our Resources – Use Less – Reduce your Impact
5) Plant Butterfly Host Plants
6) Make an Impact Outside Your Home
7)  Donate, Learn, Teach.
8) Inform and Inspire: Reach Out to Others!

06/11/2021

My little helper...

06/06/2021

Grain-hog... aka being beautiful and impatient as usual...

04/14/2021

Bikes & Dogs... 🧡🧡🧡