One of the things I love most about this blog is my readers – YOU are the reason for the Homestead. I love your comments and questions, keep ’em coming! We’ve traded recipes, ideas and inspiration, and many of you have found greater health and well being. That is the real goal of The Holistic Homestead.

Mommy and “Dr.” Jimmy with hands-on health literacy activities for kids and our fundraiser/poll at the Gilpin County Fair

The number one best seller is Dr. B’s – which I wouldn’t have without my husband Cory. That first winter in our cabin when I was pregnant, Cory came home with a handful of herbs from his personal herbalist, a local healer named Bea. She gave him a bit of lobelia, horehound, cherry bark and licorice root to make into a strong tea for his terrible, chronic, spasmodic cough. Well…I watched as those herbs sat in the cupboard for months! Finally, I asked Cory if I could make something for him with those herbs. After some trial and error, the winning recipe for Dr. B’s herbal cough syrup was born. Of all the rave reviews and testimonials I receive about Dr. B’s, Cory’s is the best: “Eeewww, it tastes gross! But I didn’t cough all night!”

Every time I hike around our property I learn something new. Last summer I had the honor of going on a “weed walk” with my mom, Peggy Elk, my original teacher about all things herbal. I remember her crouching down with a smile, and gently plucking a tiny purple flower: “You have wild violets – violet is an important herb for preventing and treating cancer.” Blessings abound!

Peggy Elk, my mama, and Arwen Greer with baby Jimmy at Brainard Lake, CO summer 2013