Chickens That Don’t Melt in the Heat
South Florida summers feel like standing in front of an open oven that never shuts off. If I’m sweating through my shirt just walking to the coop, you better believe the chickens are feeling it too. Picking breeds that don’t faint at the first whiff of humidity has been a real lesson in trial and […]
Bugs Don’t Pay Rent Here
If you’ve ever tried to garden in South Florida, you know the bugs think you planted everything just for them. And it’s not just the plants—they seem to think Ethan is part of the buffet too. Mosquitoes, beetles, caterpillars, you name it. At one point, I swear I saw a grasshopper giving me a smug […]
Buckets in the Rain
Florida storms don’t mess around. One second it’s sunny, the next it looks like the sky is emptying its entire bathtub on the backyard. For most people, that’s just a nuisance. For us? Free water delivery service. Rainwater collection might sound fancy, but honestly, ours started with a couple of barrels and a lot of […]
The Chore Chart That Lives in My Head
People always ask how we “do it all” on the homestead, which makes me laugh because if you peeked through my kitchen window at 7 a.m., you’d see me still in pajamas, hair half up, trying to pour coffee while Ethan is asking if chickens can eat pancakes and Josh is muttering about the mower. […]
Flowers That Keep the Party Buzzing
If you’ve ever watched a bee bounce from flower to flower, you know they look like tiny workaholics on a sugar rush. In South Florida, the heat can be cruel, but certain flowers don’t just survive it—they thrive and turn the yard into a pollinator’s buffet. And if you’re like me, chasing butterflies with a […]
Mud Pies Count as Chores, Right?
If you ever want to teach a kid about responsibility, hand them a bucket and point them at the chicken coop. Suddenly, they understand cause and effect real quick—no water in the bucket, no happy chickens. Ethan complains about the smell every single time, but he still beams when he finds a fresh egg in […]
Math in the Chicken Coop
If you’ve ever tried to get a nine-year-old to sit still and do fractions at a table, you know it feels a little like pulling weeds that just grow back the next morning. That’s why I stopped fighting it and started slipping schoolwork into the homestead itself. It’s sneaky mom math, and honestly, it works. […]
Bananas Gone Wild in My Backyard
Bananas sound so tropical and dreamy, right? Like sipping something cold under a palm while the breeze smells like sunscreen. What they don’t tell you is that growing bananas in South Florida is more like babysitting a bunch of leafy toddlers who eat too much and hog all the water. When we first planted ours, […]
Too Many Mangoes? Never Heard of It
There are days I look at the baskets of fruit on my counter and wonder if I accidentally opened a roadside fruit stand without realizing it. Living in Homestead means mangoes fall like rain in June, avocados grow big enough to feed a family of four, papayas show up overnight like uninvited guests, and lychees—well, […]
Gardening All Year Without Losing Your Mind
South Florida doesn’t really do “seasons.” We just have hot, hotter, and hurricane. But here in Homestead, I’ve learned that zone 10B can be a blessing if you lean into it. You can grow something all year long—though not always the same something. My garden feels like it has moods, and I just try to […]