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Nature's Edge Homestead, Tillamook, OR (2026)

07/21/2026

Well... apparently my bathroom has become a rainforest. 🌿🤣

Okay, hear me out.

I was doing some plant care today.

And by "plant care," I mean I was doing what any reasonable plant person does when they have too many plants and not enough time...

I put them all in the bathtub.

Turned on the hose.

Gave them a good soaking.

Let them sit and enjoy their little rainforest vacation before returning them to their regularly scheduled lives. 😂🌱

Now...

I have seen those videos where people create a whole rainforest experience for their houseplants.

You know the ones.

The plants are getting watered and suddenly there's mist...

Rain sounds...

Bird calls...

Someone is basically recreating the Amazon rainforest in their living room.

So I guess the question is...

Did I stand in my bathroom making rainforest bird noises while watering my plants?

I'll let you decide. 🤣

(For legal reasons, I will neither confirm nor deny the presence of tropical bird sounds coming from my bathtub.)

ANYWAYS...

While I was giving my plants their luxury spa treatment, I discovered I had a guest.

A POLYPHEMUS MOTH. 🦋✨

Just hanging out.

Apparently my bathroom rainforest was authentic enough to attract wildlife.

Honestly, I'm taking that as a compliment. 😂

This giant beauty is one of the most amazing moths around, and the timing feels pretty perfect.

Polyphemus moths are often associated with transformation, patience, and trusting the process.

Which feels pretty fitting for homestead life.

So much of what we do is planting seeds, waiting, nurturing, and hoping.

You don't always see what's happening beneath the surface.

And then one day...

Something beautiful appears.

Sometimes in the garden.

Sometimes in the woods.

Sometimes...

Apparently...

In your bathtub rainforest. 🤣🌿

The good news: adult Polyphemus moths don't eat plants (they don't even eat at all!). So my houseplants are safe.

The moth, however, has been encouraged to continue its journey outside where it can do moth things.

Now I'm curious...

Have you ever had a wild visitor show up somewhere completely unexpected?

Or am I the only one accidentally creating rainforest habitats in questionable locations? 😂

🦋🌿🤣

07/11/2026

Catching up on life... Fourth of July Edition. 🇺🇸🤣

This picture absolutely cracks me up.

Out of all the fireworks...

The fountains.

The sparklers.

The booms.

The flashes.

My daughter decided that the Black Snake deserved its own documentary. 🤣

There she is...

Phone out.

Recording it like she's witnessing one of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time.

Meanwhile, my son is practically lying on the ground because apparently the only acceptable viewing distance is three inches away. 😂

And honestly...

I get it.

Because this picture instantly took me back to being a kid.

Back when the simplest things felt absolutely fascinating.

A Black Snake growing out of a tiny little pellet?

Magic.

A cool rock?

Treasure.

A stick shaped like a sword?

You'd carry that thing home like you'd just found Excalibur. 🤣

Somewhere along the way, we adults get so busy chasing the next big thing that we forget how much wonder can be packed into the little things.

Kids haven't forgotten.

They're still amazed by bugs.

Still excited about puddles.

Still willing to stop everything to watch a tiny black snake of ash slowly curl across the driveway.

And maybe they're onto something.

I've spent a lot of time lately watching chicks hatch, picking berries, finding wildflowers, watching sunsets, and apparently... supervising a very serious Black Snake investigation.

Turns out, joy doesn't have to be expensive.

Sometimes it costs about 50 cents and leaves a weird little pile of ash on the ground. 🤣

Never lose your sense of wonder, friends.

Life is a whole lot more fun when you're willing to get down on the ground and admire the little things. 💚

Now be honest...

How many of you immediately smelled this picture? 😂

:::

07/09/2026

Breaking News: We are, in fact, still alive. 🤣

I looked at my homestead page today and realized...

"Huh... it's been over a week since I posted."

Which, in homestead time, is approximately 17 years.

So where have we been?

Well...

We've been busy enough that I think I accidentally skipped a week. 😂

We've got intensive in-home services going for our 12-year-old now, which means we have professionals at our house FOUR DAYS A WEEK.

You know what that means?

I now clean my house...
..and then clean it again because someone is coming over.

And then I spend the next hour wondering:

"Do normal people have this much dog hair?"

"Has that spider always lived there?"

"Should I wipe down the refrigerator... again?" 🤣

Meanwhile...

🌱 The garden keeps growing whether I'm ready or not.

🐓 Carmel has been overachieving in the motherhood department.

👶 We've been loving on grandbabies.

❤️ Andrew and I celebrated 9 years of marriage!

🎆 We celebrated the 4th, a neighbor's birthday, and our anniversary all at one giant BBQ.

🧩 Somehow... and I truly cannot explain this... we also completed FIVE puzzles.

Honestly, I have no idea where that fit into the schedule.

Apparently Puzzle Me has a completely different calendar than Regular Me. 😂

The funniest part about summer on a homestead is waking up with a beautifully organized to-do list.

Then reality says:

"Cute."

By noon you've:

✔️ Watered plants.

✔️ Chased an escaped animal.

✔️ Pulled weeds.

✔️ Answered seventeen questions.

✔️ Gone to the creek.

✔️ Started three new projects.

❌ Finished the one you originally intended.

Every.

Single.

Time. 🤣

I'm beginning to think "getting caught up" is just a myth...

Like folding the fitted sheet.

Or socks that all have matching partners.

Or a wheelbarrow that magically returns itself where it belongs. 😂

So yes...

We're still here.

Still covered in dirt.

Still wondering why we own 4,000 flower pots.

Still making questionable fermentation decisions.

Still laughing our way through this beautifully chaotic life.

And don't worry...

I've got enough photos and stories from the past week to keep this page busy for a while.

Turns out we've been making memories faster than I've been posting them. 💚🌿🤣

07/01/2026

Homestead Question of the Day...

Does anyone ever actually get caught up? 🤣

Because I have reached the point where I don't think the chores are multiplying...

I think they're reproducing.

Today's mission was to organize my ever-growing collection of random flower pots.

You know...

The ones that start as:

"I'll just keep a couple."

And somehow evolve into:

"I should probably keep this one too... just in case."

Fast forward a few years and suddenly you own enough pots to start your own garden center. 😂🌱

So there I was...

Making neat little stacks.

Feeling wildly productive.

Convincing myself that I was finally getting ahead.

And then I looked over...
..and caught Indiana Jones and Zazu (aka Razzle Dazzle) touching noses. 🥹🥹

Seriously.

How am I supposed to get anything done when these two are over here being ridiculously adorable?

I mean...

The pots aren't going to organize themselves.

But apparently the cats felt it was important to remind me to stop and appreciate the little moments too. 💛

So today's progress report:

🪴 Pots: Mostly organized.
🐈 Cats: Extremely cute.
✅ Productivity: Interrupted by tiny cat kisses.
🤷‍♀️ Homestead: Still has approximately 9,472 more things on the to-do list.

Honestly, I don't think you ever "finish" a homestead.

You just wander from one project to the next...

Pull a few weeds...

Stack a few pots...

Admire a few cats...

Start three new projects before finishing the first one...

And call it a successful day. 🤣

Tell me I'm not the only one with a stash of "I'll definitely use this someday" flower pots... or is this a universal gardener problem? 😂🌿

🪴🐈🤣

06/25/2026

🐣💜 Hatch Watch Update 💜🐣

Okay...

I think we're on Day 5 or 6 of chick updates.

Honestly, I'm no longer sure.

Time has lost all meaning.

There is only Hatch Watch. 🤣

At this point, my days are measured in:

🐣 chicks hatched
🥚 eggs pipping
👀 trips to check on Carmel

And not necessarily in that order.

Anyways...

We woke up this morning to another surprise under Carmel.

Chick #5 had arrived overnight! 🥹

This one is mostly white with little speckles and is absolutely adorable.

Then this afternoon...

🐣 Chick #6 joined the homestead!

A little black chick this time.

And before we tucked everyone in for the night, we spotted another egg pipping.

So naturally, I'll be running down to the coop first thing tomorrow morning like a kid on Christmas. 😂

My favorite part of today wasn't even the new chicks, though.

It was watching Carmel's parenting style in action.

Now, Carmel loves her babies.

I'm sure she does.

But her approach seems to be:

"Welcome to Earth. Figure it out." 🤣

This afternoon she had all the chicks out learning how to scratch, hunt bugs, and explore.

Which is great.

Except one of the little black chicks had only hatched a few hours earlier.

A FEW HOURS.

The poor thing wasn't even fully dry yet.

Meanwhile Carmel was already running Chicken Kindergarten.

That tiny fluff nugget was stumbling, face-planting, getting stepped on by the older chicks, and doing its absolute best to keep up.

I swear if chicks could talk, it would've been yelling:

"MA'AM, I WAS BORN TODAY!" 😂🐣

So we brought the little one inside for a couple hours.

It got a warm nap.

A little recovery time.

And yes...

I may have carried a baby chick around in my shirt.

Again.

Honestly, this is probably not the last time.

The chick is now safely tucked back under Carmel with its siblings...

Or cousins...

Or half-siblings...

Or random roommates.

Nobody really knows.

Remember, Carmel collected eggs from several different hens.

We're basically running a tiny chicken foster program over here. 🤣

Current status:

🐣 6 chicks hatched
🥚 Several eggs still under Carmel
👀 One egg actively pipping
💜 One very dedicated momma
🤣 One homesteader who can no longer remember what day it is

Stay tuned.

At this point, every morning is a surprise.

🐣💜🤣

06/22/2026

🐣💜 End of Hatch Day 2 Update! 💜🐣

Well, Carmel's mystery chick collection continues to grow...

We're up to FOUR chicks! 🥹

Two more little fluff nuggets joined the homestead today, bringing our grand total to:

🐣 Chick #1
🐣 Chick #2
🐣 Chick #3
🐣 Chick #4

And oh my goodness, chicks #3 and #4 are TINY.

Like... "how is that much attitude fitting inside that little body?" tiny. 🤣

Today's hatch was especially memorable because Chick #3 needed a little help getting into the world.

The poor little thing got shrink-wrapped during hatch.

Which meant I got to assist with my very first chick hatch!

Now, let me tell you...

Nothing quite prepares you for the experience of helping a wet, exhausted baby chick emerge from an egg while simultaneously wondering:

"Am I helping?"

"Am I making it worse?"

"Should I be touching this?"

"WHY DID I VOLUNTEER FOR THIS?" 😂

Thankfully, Chick #3 pulled through like a champ.

And before long, Chick #4 decided to join the party too.

Meanwhile, Carmel is taking motherhood very seriously.

She's got babies tucked under every available feather and is giving me increasingly judgmental looks every time I stop by to check on them.

Ma'am.

You hatched four mystery babies.

Of course I'm checking. 🤣

The best part is that we're still playing Chicken Genetics Roulette.

Remember, these eggs came from several different hens, so every chick that appears is a complete surprise.

Every hatch is basically:

✨ Mystery Chick Reveal ✨

And we still have SEVEN eggs under Momma.

SEVEN!

So now I'll spend the evening pretending I'm not thinking about chickens while absolutely thinking about chickens. 😂

Can't wait to see if any more little peepers decide to make their appearance overnight.

Who wants to place bets on our final chick count? 💜🐣

🐣💜🤣

06/20/2026

🐣💜 CHICK UPDATE! 💜🐣

Well...

I may or may not have gotten up ridiculously early this morning and immediately headed down to the chicken coop.

No coffee.

No breakfast.

Priorities. 🤣

And the official count so far is...

🥹 TWO CHICKS! 🥹

One little brown chick.

One little black chick.

And they are absolutely precious.

Momma Carmel was... moderately pleased to see me.

By "moderately pleased," I mean she tolerated my presence while giving me a look that clearly said:

"Excuse me. I'm busy raising children." 😂

The brown chick was even less impressed.

I tried to get a picture and that little fluff ball had exactly one goal in life:

GET BACK UNDER MOMMA.

Immediately.

No interviews.

No photos.

No paparazzi.

Just mom. 🤣

The black chick, on the other hand, was pretty chill about the whole thing.

Future model, perhaps.

The funniest part is that we're still playing Chicken Genetics Roulette.

Remember, Carmel isn't just hatching her own eggs...

She's sitting on eggs from several different hens.

So every chick that emerges is basically a surprise.

At this point we're opening mystery loot boxes one fuzzy baby at a time. 😂

And there are still NINE eggs left under Momma!

So hopefully we'll have more little peepers joining the crew over the next couple of days.

Honestly, watching a broody hen become a mom never gets old.

A couple days ago those eggs were just eggs.

Now they're tiny little fluff nuggets with opinions.

Very strong opinions, apparently. 🤣💜

Who wants to guess how many chicks we'll end up with when all is said and done?

🐣💜🥚😂

06/19/2026

🚨🐣 HATCH DAY ALERT!!! 🐣🚨

Well, I was checking on Carmel and her 11 eggs this morning...

You know, the eggs she's been sitting on for approximately 47 years. 😂

Seriously.

At some point I stopped counting days and started measuring time in:

"Surely they should be hatching by now..."

Anyways...

I was peeking into the nest when I saw something move.

MOVE.

👀

So naturally I froze.

Then I leaned in closer.

And there it was...

A tiny little pip in one of the light blue eggs! 🥹🐣

For anyone who hasn't spent an unreasonable amount of time staring at eggs, "pipping" is when the chick makes its first little crack in the shell as it starts the hatching process.

Which means...

THERE'S ACTUALLY A BABY IN THERE!!!

And if all goes well, that little blue egg should be opening up soon, with hopefully many more siblings following over the next day or two. 🤞🐣

The best part?

This is Carmel's first hatch.

And if you've followed our homestead for very long, you know Carmel is one of my favorite birds.

She's taken motherhood very seriously.

No vacations.

No coffee breaks.

No complaints.

Just sitting on those eggs day after day like a tiny feathered dragon guarding her treasure. 😂

But here's where things get extra fun...

Those aren't all Carmel's eggs. 🤣

At some point she apparently decided that if she was going to hatch babies, she might as well hatch EVERYBODY'S babies.

So she's sitting on a collection of eggs from several different hens.

Which means we have absolutely no idea what's about to emerge from that nest.

Will they be black?

Brown?

Speckled?

Fluffy?

Have feathered feet?

Fancy hairdos?

Tiny velociraptors?

Nobody knows. 😂

Carmel basically assembled the chicken version of a mystery grab bag.

It's like a barnyard lottery, and we're all about to find out what we won.

Now begins every homesteader's favorite activity:

👀 Staring at eggs
👀 Watching eggs
👀 Checking eggs
👀 Pretending we're not checking eggs every 12 minutes

Keep your fingers crossed for Carmel and her mystery babies!

How many chicks do you think we'll end up with? 🐣💛

🐣🥚🤣💛

06/19/2026

Last night's sunset did not disappoint. 🌅

The sky was showing off.

You know the kind.

The kind that makes you stop mid-chore and think:

"Okay, fine. I'll look." 🤣

Because no matter how busy I am, or how many things are on my list, a good sunset still has the ability to completely derail my plans.

And maybe that's part of why I love them.

A sunset is one of those things that almost everybody sees.

Different towns.

Different states.

Different lives.

Different circumstances.

Same sun.

And standing there looking across the canyon last night, I found myself wondering...

Can my daughter see the sunset where she is?

Does she stop and look?

Does she notice the colors?

Does she feel the evening air?

Or is she too busy surviving another day?

It's been a long journey.

The kind of journey I never expected parenting would take us on.

Hospitals.

Programs.

Placements.

Phone calls.

Meetings.

Advocating.

Waiting.

Hoping.

Trying again.

And then trying again after that.

One thing I've learned is that when your child is struggling, you never really stop reaching for them.

You never stop missing them.

You never stop hoping.

You never stop looking for the pieces of them that are still there beneath all the hurt and chaos.

You never stop believing they're reachable.

Even on the days when you have no idea how to reach them.

So last night, while the sky was busy painting itself in ridiculous shades of pink and gold, I spent a few minutes thinking about my girl.

Hoping she caught a glimpse of it too.

And if she did...

Maybe, just for a moment, we were both looking at the same thing.

The same sunset.

The same ending to the day.

The same promise that tomorrow gets another chance.

And if that isn't enough to make a mom cry over a sunset, I don't know what is. 💛🌅

Now excuse me while I return to my regularly scheduled coping mechanism of making jokes about thistles and goats.

Because feelings are exhausting. 🤣🌿

06/18/2026

Homestead Update:

The thistles are winning. 🌿⚔️🤣

Not by a little.

Not by a moderate amount.

They are absolutely dominating the battlefield.

Every day I go out and pull thistles.

Every. Single. Day.

I pull a bucket.

Sometimes two buckets.

Sometimes enough that I feel like I deserve a medal.

And yet...

The next morning there are somehow more.

At this point I'm starting to suspect they're pulling me when I'm not looking. 😂

The real insult?

I can't even take a picture of a plant I actually WANT without a thistle sneaking into the frame.

Wildflower? 🌸

Thistle.

Berry bush? 🫐

Thistle.

Cute goat? 🐐

Believe it or not... thistle.

I swear they're photobombing my entire life. 🤣

I've reached the stage of gardening where I no longer ask:

"Why are there thistles here?"

I ask:

"What are the thistles allowing to grow in their field?"

The answer, apparently, is me.

I am the invasive species now. 😂

Anyways, if anyone needs me, I'll be outside participating in the annual Oregon sport known as:

Competitive Thistle Removal.

Current score:

Thistles: 8,472

Me: 3

Wish me luck. 🌿💪🤣

Nature's Edge Homestead

07/21/2026

07/11/2026

07/09/2026

07/01/2026

06/25/2026

06/22/2026

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06/18/2026

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