Laurel Woods Homestead

06/02/2026

Big day, we are getting a (partial) concrete drive down by the house, fire pit and parking pad. It’s crazy and everything is a mess. But on Friday, the cement will be poured and it will look amazing. Can’t wait for the finished product! We have had terrible rain runoff issues here and hoping this final fix will do the job. Our builder was terrible and left us a grading nightmare. But we handle it one rainfall at a time. And little by little the problem gets better😁

06/01/2026

05/27/2026

3.5 inches of rain in 30 minutes. It happens and it’s crazy!

05/18/2026

13 bulbs of garlic harvested today!! Sometimes I feel like I can’t grow stuff. For instance, I had to reseed my cucumbers and start over. It is deflating. Today is a good day though, the garlic is wonderful. Now to cure it!!! 😁

05/11/2026

Elderberry!! These two bushes are one of my favorite things out here. I took cuttings from an elderberry that was in a horrible place, rooted them, planted them, and nurtured them to be these two beautiful bushes. They sent up new shoots this year and have their first flowers 🥰 I have found several plants along the driveway and moved them to make groves of elderberry along the edge of my clearing. It’s an ongoing, free project and now I get to see the lovely elderflower while I wait for berries to arrive.

This is exciting for me since I have been making elderberry syrup for a few years now. Soon, I’ll get to use my own berries. 🤩I have been waiting years for this…so satisfying!

11/09/2025

Most of the winter crops got planted today. Excited to see what grows and what I need to change. Mainly propagating herbs for next spring and planted seeds for lettuces and broccoli. Can’t wait to start spring plants this winter.

11/02/2025

What a long process this greenhouse has been. We kept pushing it aside because there was so much other stuff to do. It wasn’t hard to put together…but the directions were not good, so it became harder than it needed to be. The end result though is amazing. I’m so excited to fill it with plants!! 😍

10/28/2025

Almost peak! Love autumn when the land transforms into a colorful palette. We have so much evergreen here too with the mountain laurel, pine, and holly. It all brings such beautiful contrast to to scenery. Absolutely amazing to watch it all happen. The oaks will go next and that is a whole new view! 😍

10/23/2025

Making fresh elderberry syrup. This is my 3rd batch this season. Now, if you get a cold elderberry syrup won’t “cure” it. BUT… if you take a tablespoon or 2 everyday during flu season, you don’t get sick and if you do get sick, it really is shortened. This is my 3rd flu season and my yearly sinus infections are gone. This pot will make about 8 bottles.

Good stuff in it:
Elderberry
Ginger
Lemon
Cinnamon
Clove
Honey

10/21/2025

16 meals total! Plus, 8 bags of bones for broth. I’m making one batch now. Wow so cool and we ate some tonight, it was delicious….soooooo tender!