Author: Second Time Around Homestead

This blog is one of the steps we are taking to be more self-sustaining. We’re glad you are along for the ride! Rachel is a freelance editor and writer as well as a middle school teacher. Chris is a millwright as well as an expert in many of their fields like hydraulics, snow plows, auto mechanics,...We would prefer to live simply and spend every day together. Our children are two boys and two girls. We have gardened, hunted, canned, and created our whole life. We began raising chickens and other barnyard fowl. 2021 brought us to some local farmers markets. This blog covers all sorts of aspects of our life, but often relate directly to Homesteading.
bouquet of tulips with "Happy Mother's Day"

To the Woman Who Finds the Cow Vaccine and the Missing Socks: Happy Mother’s Day

There is no greeting card for you. Not really. The cards in the drugstore aisle show flowers and teacups and … More

illustrated image of Brynne Briarwood sitting on a small town porch with flowers in the background.

A Conversation with Brynne Briarwood

If you’ve been around this blog for a while, you know I occasionally step away from the garden and the … More

image of water rippling around a smooth stone. text: What homesteading has taught me about patience.

What Homesteading Taught Me About Patience

I am not, by nature, a patient person. I want to say that upfront, because most writing about patience — … More

Three tomato seed packets with all the text folded out of sight. In front of each packet is a shallow dish with seeds spread in it.

What’s Actually in Your Seed Packet: Heirloom, Hybrid, and GMO Seeds Explained

Stand in front of a seed display long enough and the labels start to blur together. Heirloom. Open-pollinated. Hybrid. Non-GMO. … More

The Good Neighbors: A Beginner’s Guide to Companion Planting

Gardens, it turns out, have a social life. The way we tend to picture a vegetable garden: tidy rows, one … More

Cold Frames, Hot Beds & Milk Jugs: Season Extension for Gardeners Who Refuse to Quit

If you garden in northern Vermont — or anywhere else that gets serious winter — you already know the particular … More

The Ground Beneath Everything: A Gardener’s Year in Soil

Every experienced gardener will tell you the same thing, eventually. You ask them about their tomatoes and they talk about … More

weathered green wood with daisies and the text "Hello Spring, Time to clean"

Spring Cleaning the Homestead Way: More Than Just Sparkle and Shine

Ah, spring. That magical time when the mud finally starts drying up, the chickens remember how to lay eggs, and … More

Cooking from the Pantry: Real Meals for Busy Homestead Days

There’s a particular kind of homestead day that ends with you coming through the back door at six o’clock, boots … More

Written like a note, Flowers are for more than being pretty" with pressed flowers beside the note.

Seasonal Homesteading: Planning the Year Before the Year Plans You

Every January, the seed catalogs arrive and homesteaders everywhere get a little dangerous. You know the feeling. It’s cold outside, … More