This Week in the Hollow No. 1- “New Beginnings”

“This Week in the Hollow” is a new weekly series sharing glimpses of the adventures from our simple life in the hollow.

Our 1840’s log cabin with the garden in the background.

I am so excited to introduce this new series to you! I get a lot of questions about our simple life in the hollow and our homesteading projects. With my super busy schedule with homeschooling, homesteading, and my growing Women’s Natural Health Ministry and holistic health coaching practice, I needed a way to be able to continue to love what I do and not feel like sharing was just another chore or job to add to my already busy schedule. Blogging and sharing on Instagram are part of my creative outlet and how I am able to share the love and encouragement outside of our homestead’s borders. I have seen similar weekly round up type of ideas, so I hope you will enjoy it. My plan is to share a new series post every Friday and take Saturday and Sunday off for much needed and important family time and self-care. Let’s pray that it works well, shall we?

So without further adieu, let me introduce you to my first post to the series, it’s all about NEW BEGINNINGS in the hollow. Whether it’s new blossoms, new plantings, new kittens, or new chicks, our homestead is teaming with life and it does this mama’s soul well! After our beloved son lost his health battle a few months ago (he fought hard for 5 yrs), I knew that the new life in spring would be nourishing to this mama’s broken heart. So many precious memories have been made here in the hollow and have helped to shape our family and make us stronger. Especially in those toughest of tough times! We continue to move forward in this new chapter in our life, missing our precious boy and holding on to God’s promises that there will come a day when He will wipe away every tear and that there will be no more pain or suffering. I can’t wait for that day to come! What a celebration that will be!

Revelation 21:4

The view upon entering the hollow.

Wild flowers in the meadow.

This week was gardening central and the littles and I were hard at work, getting our seeds and sprouts in the ground. With all my holistic health coaching lessons focusing on the importance of gut health and the Microbiome, I find it even more refreshing and powerful during my time in the garden. Although, I did have a nasty reaction to a tiny red ant sting. Thankfully my natural home remedies and natural plant-based supplements did the trick and I once again successfully diverted a bout with antibiotics. After losing count at 15 different broad spectrum antibiotics (chasing a “mystery infection” that turned out to be what my husband and I suspected, tumor fever) during my cancer battle 2 and 1/2 years ago, I am even more judicious about what goes into my body. So, in the dirt my hands went without gardening gloves, to boot! (smile)

Cleaned and ready to flourish.

Muscadine “vineyard”

Tomatoes

So far, we have managed to plant a variety of tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans and lettuce. Along with brussel sprouts, carrots, beets, okra, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, spaghetti squash, watermelon, and cantaloupe. Starting from seed can be hit and miss in the hollow, but for those that don’t make it the year before, they get some research and replanting the next year to see if we can crack the code on how to make them thrive like the other plants. Because surely, God’s simple design of sowing and reaping applies to these tiny little seeds, too?! (giggle) I mean, take the forest for example. In our forest, we haven’t done one thing to cultivate the tall trees and hardy plants to grow. We haven’t watered or fertilized them ourselves, yet they have been perfectly tended to by God’s perfect design. If you know me, I need things to be super SIMPLE and that means my garden and homestead need to be simplified as well. It’s still work, but simplified! Amen!

View of our pond from the forest.

Golden Sex Links thriving

Along with our garden coming to life again, we have added new Golden Sex Links to the hollow and they are thriving well. They are a 4H club project for our two middle littles. They each have 10 chicks to care for and raise and then submit for judging in the fall. They will have the option to sell their best during that time as well, but something tells me that they will be attached to their babies and keep them all which I secretly delight in. (smile)

Free Ranging

Our Dominque Chickens have taken to brooding as well and we are really hoping they will be successful because they are the best little chickens. Docile and curious, happy and content in their newly refurbished barn, coop and chicken pen. The good news is that our Australian pups (3 yrs old) are able to be around the chickens without eating them (sigh) and so we will soon be able to let the Dominques roam free on the pasture again.

DIY incubation experiment with Astralope eggs we bought from friends at church.

Aren’t kittens the cutest?

One of our beloved cats just had a small litter of kittens and is the best little cat mama. Our white cat, Sophie gave birth to 3 healthy kittens and two of them already have homes lined up for them after they are weaned off their mother’s milk. I secretly want to keep them all (I have become like Dr. Dolittle), but with 6 permanent farm cats already, they will have to go and be a blessing to other families.

Beautiful Peonies

I love all the new flowers popping up around the hollow and I have planted more bulbs to add to the beauty that we so enjoy. Spring and all it’s new beginnings was just what I hoped it would be…a chance to see LIFE again and to be THANKFUL for all the Lord’s mercies and provision. What are some things that you love about spring in your neck-of-the-woods?