Honeysuckle Homestead

08/18/2026

Vote for our son Gabriel Sherrell!! thank you!!!

Make your pick for The Star Press Preseason Football Player of the Year, brought to you by IU Health. The poll will remain open until noon Friday.

08/15/2026

08/06/2026

Woven baskets, weathered hands, and eggs in every shade of the countryside.

These are the little treasures that mark the rhythm of homestead life—gathered one nest at a time, nourishing both body and soul. We never grow tired of opening the coop each morning to discover these quiet gifts of God’s faithful provision. 🌾🤍🐓

07/29/2026

The homestead has a few new hearts quietly beating this week.

Tucked beneath the shade, our newest rabbits are settling into their temporary homes with curious noses, twitching whiskers, and watchful eyes. Their little cages are only for a season while we finish building the rabbit colony we’ve been dreaming of—a place where they can dig into the earth, stretch in the sunshine, and live together in a way that feels a little closer to the rhythms of nature.

One of the sweetest lessons this life continues to teach me is that beautiful things are almost always built slowly.

Before there is abundance, there is preparation.
Before there is harvest, there is patient tending.

Every fence we build, every shelter we raise, and every new animal we welcome becomes another thread woven into the story of Honeysuckle Homestead.

Raising our own meat is an act of intention. It’s choosing to know the hands that care for our food, to honor the lives entrusted to us with gentleness and respect, and to remember that every good gift comes from the Lord.

For now, these little ones wait while we build.

And somehow, that feels like its own kind of grace—trusting the process, tending what is in front of us today, and believing that the vision will bloom in its proper season.

🌿 “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” — Psalm 127:1

MeatRabbits

07/26/2026

There is something quietly sacred about gathering a harvest you’ve patiently waited for.

This week we harvested our Russian hardneck garlic, each bulb pulled gently from the earth after months of quiet growth beneath the garden. Their purple-streaked wrappers, sturdy stems, and rich fragrance feel like a little reminder that good things are almost always slow things.

Instead of simply hanging them to cure, I spent some time weaving a few into braids with dried herbs and wildflowers gathered from around the homestead. Sprigs of lavender, yarrow, oregano, sage, and whatever the garden was willing to share found their way between each bulb. Functional, yes—but also beautiful. The old ways rarely separated usefulness from beauty.

As the braids now hang in our kitchen, they carry more than garlic. They hold the memory of spring planting, summer rains, bees drifting through the herbs, dirt beneath my fingernails, and the quiet rhythm of a life lived a little closer to the seasons.

This is why I love homesteading. Not because it is always easy, but because even the ordinary work becomes a kind of art when done with grateful hands.

May we never lose the wisdom of growing our own food, preserving the harvest, and filling our homes with the simple beauty God has already placed in creation.

🌿 Honeysuckle Homestead
Telling a story with every harvest.

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07/19/2026

There is something quietly beautiful about watching the marshmallow bloom.

This week, the soft blush flowers opened across the homestead, reminding me that some of the greatest medicines don’t shout—they soothe. Before we ever harvest the roots, leaves, or flowers, the plant teaches us its nature. Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) grows where moisture gathers, holding water within itself, just as it brings moisture back to dry, irritated tissues throughout the body.

In the vitalist tradition of herbalism, marshmallow is more than a demulcent—it is a restorer of the body’s moistening intelligence. It cools excess heat, softens tension, and nourishes depleted tissues, helping the vital force restore healthy function rather than simply covering symptoms.

Marshmallow is especially beloved for:
• Dry, scratchy throats and persistent coughs
• Irritated digestive tissues and inflamed stomachs
• Sensitive urinary passages and bladder discomfort
• Dry skin and irritated mucous membranes
• Recovery after long periods of inflammation or depletion

Its abundant mucilage forms a soothing, protective layer over inflamed tissues, while its polysaccharides support healthy immune communication and tissue repair. Rich in minerals and gentle enough for nearly every season of life, marshmallow reminds us that healing is often found in nourishment, not force.

Here at Honeysuckle Homestead Apothecary, we celebrate this season by slowing down enough to notice the blossoms before the harvest. The flowers are a promise that deep medicine is quietly growing beneath the soil, patiently storing nourishment in the roots for autumn’s harvest.

Sometimes the plants with the softest voices carry the deepest wisdom.

🌿 “Gentleness is a form of strength, and marshmallow teaches both.”

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07/18/2026

There are some herbs that ask to be noticed, and then there are herbs like nasturtium—bright, joyful, and quietly powerful.

Today I tucked these fiery blossoms and peppery leaves into a fresh tincture, preserving one of summer’s most vibrant medicines for the seasons ahead.

From a vitalist herbalism perspective, nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) is considered a warming, stimulating herb that awakens stagnant states. Its lively, pungent nature encourages healthy movement of fluids throughout the body, supports the body’s natural defenses, and brings warmth to tissues that have become cold and sluggish. Rather than forcing the body in one direction, it gently reminds the vital force to move, circulate, and respond.

Modern phytochemistry reflects some of these traditional observations. Nasturtium is rich in glucosinolates, which are converted into benzyl isothiocyanate when the plant is crushed or tinctured. It also contains vitamin C, flavonoids, carotenoids, lutein, and polyphenols, making it a beautiful ally for seasonal wellness.

Energetically, I often think of nasturtium as sunshine captured in a flower—warming, uplifting, and encouraging healthy circulation both within the body and the spirit. It’s one of those herbs that reminds us healing doesn’t always have to whisper. Sometimes it blooms in brilliant oranges and reds, asking us to wake up and move with life again.

Every bottle on our shelves carries a little piece of this season, waiting to support the body just when winter comes calling.

“The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” — Ezekiel 47:12 🌿