Hey ya’ll, I’m Jess from Roots & Refuge Farm
Welcome to a place that feels like home. A small farm with a big family. We hope you’ll pull up a chair, grab some coffee and visit awhile.
There was a time that all I wanted in the world was a little farm where I could raise my family and grow our food. Now, that is exactly what exists outside my door. In watching it unfold, a new dream was formed in my heart – to share this beautiful life with others and teach them the lessons we’ve learned along the way. Welcome to our journey, friend. I am so glad you’re here.
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WHERE TO FIND US (Some of the links here are affiliate links. If you purchase through our links we’ll receive a small commission but the price remains the same – OR BETTER – for you! Be sure to check for any mentioned discount codes.)
– Our Website: https://rootsandrefuge.com
– Sign up for our newsletter: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-signup
– Abundance+ (Grab a FREE 7-day trial): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-wilder-still
– Shop our Stickers & Shirts: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-shop
– Order my book First Time Gardener: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-ftgbook
– Pre-order my newest book First Time Homesteader: https://rootsandrefuge.com/first-time-homesteader-yt
– Our music is by our friend Daniel Smith
– Instagram: www.instagram.com/roots_and_refuge
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rootsandrefugefarm
– Email Us: rootsandrefuge@yahoo.com
– To drop us a line:
PO Box 4239
Leesville SC 29070
– To have a gift sent to our house from our Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/SFA0IZHZRCOZ?ref_=wl_share
– To support us through PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jessicasowards
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PRODUCTS WE LOVE – You’ve probably heard me talk about these things a million times, so here’s where you can order them (and get a discount with my code!):
– Greenstalk Vertical Gardens (Use code “ROOTS10” for $10 off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-greenstalk
– Squizito Tasting Room (Use code “ROOTS” for 10% off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-squizito
– ButcherBox: https://rootsandrefuge.com/butcherbox
– Growers Solution: https://rootsandrefuge.com/growers-solution
#rootsandrefuge #homesteading #gardening
Prayer. Thankfulness. Thank you for the season that I am in, help me to learn what you have for me here. Thank you for laughter and friendship on the hard days.
There is a quote it goes something like, thank you for this life (maybe? and then) I'm sorry I don't love it enough. There has been so much loss going on five years now. It makes me tired. I had court today. I am so thankful that we can do that on zoom now, much less stress. But it still makes me sad. I just don't understand how a man could leave his family, lie, abandon, stop caring for… stop being the man he used to be. Thank you Lord for protecting us and providing for us each and every day. Amen
I LOVE winter. For me I plan my garden and this next year we will be expanding my garden. I am planning the roof to my chicken run. And to fence my garden so my chickens can free range without the predators bothering them. But winter is beautiful here in Ohio. The sunsets are gorgeous and the snow makes things new. Then before you know it spring comes and it os time to plant and grow things. Then summer brings cookouts and lightening bugs. The the beautiful colors of fall. So I really look forward to winter. Makes me appreciate all God has designed for me to enjoy.
Sending you Winter Garden Magic. Here in the desert we have our full garden going. I even have Winter Tomatoes and Peppers here in the AZ Desert.
It’s currently-14 F. I use this time to enjoy every beautiful moment of this season. It’s a winter wonderland beautiful but so cold your nose burns breathing the cold air but totally worth your eyeballs freezing looking up at the breathtaking northern lights.
And in the summer the sun stays up until 2 am. so that’s when my day in the garden is over in the really short summers we have I don’t sleep for months. But I guess that’s why I hibernate in the winter. ❤
Jess here in Brisbane Australia Autumn/Winter is when all our Brassicas grow so well. Our Gardens come alive really as our Summers are so harsh with extreme heat- NO I hate Winter but yes it is necessary over here. Great Video Jess Thank You. Cheers Denise- Australia
I am starting into my season of preservation. My freezers are full. Time to make and can bone broth. Time to pull out those frozen bags of tomatoes from the time of overflowing abundance and create a ready hearty meal in a jar. Time to pull out those dehydrated or frozen Thai chilies with a smile to spice up a thrown together stir fry. Time to take notes of what I run out of so I know to plant more next time. As the freezer empties, the time will come when I will desperately long to hold a tomato in my hand that was picked in the heat of the day. I already miss the garden breakfast treats still wet with dew. I look forward to the time of hearing my rowdy hens talking me into sharing my bounty on my garden walks. My now empty garden baskets grieve to be filled with a vibrant colorful collection and make me wish I had the talent to capture it on a canvas. My heart longs for the casual bouquets of flowers in random vessels for my eyes to feast on their beauty. I am so very grateful for hope and promise of the tomorrows that will lead to the next season.
So much beauty ❤
My daughter is turning seven tomorrow. I'm saying no thank you to her growing up ….
We have a few inches of snow already here in Utah and it's cold. I'm finding sewing & quilting to be a great thing for me right now. I really love quilting and it feeds my soul similar to you and seed catalogs. 😀
So yeah, my answer to Winter is to give the body a break, and challenge the mind. They both need to exercise.
Summer work can become repetitious and tiring, which puts the brain on autopilot. Learn new skills while there is a little downtime.
I have gained and lost my flexibility THREE TIMES, so I definitely feel you on that. Attempting to earn it back for old times sake. Once a ballerina, always a ballerina, right?
I'm like you i dont lime gray winters either but its necessary
I really appreciate you and your encouragement. I'm thankful for the time to plan the garden, celebrating the coming of our Lord and Savior with my family.
I'm thankful for
Winter RAIN.
Here in Central Texas Summertime has never been "the rainy season".
Drought, or no drought, we will be getting rain during the Winter, and some in the Spring.
(If we're lucky.)
So even though we haven't been getting as much rain right now as we need to, to make up for a brutally dry Spring, (and the year before that too!) what little rain we have been getting is GLORIOUS!!
So even in the middle of Winter when I get bummed bcuz it's cold outside,
I MAKE MYSELF remember that Winter is for RAIN.
I even went out in the rain to do some gardening, and another time this year I was so happy to have rain stop by that I even went out and danced in that rain!!
I never would have done that in my younger years!
But just like you Jess,
I too am a frost free flower!
For instance, a couple days ago it was 55° F out there, and I bundled up to go do a little garden maintenance.
I was not out there 5 minutes before I started thinking up reasons of why I NEEDED to go back inside bcuz I was FREEZING!!
And also I was wondering why nobody has invented a
Nose Mitten yet…
When it gets REALLY COLD
that's when I like to cook.
Low and Slow.
Just anything that will take ALL DAY to make, but not stressful recipes.
You know, the easy stuff.
Things like soups, stews, bone broth, rice n beans (the long cooking version), a giant pot of tomato sauce, just all that stuff!
Hey, WHY is tomato SAUCE soooo satisfying to cook??
I cannot even eat it anymore bcuz my stomach said –
"No Thank You!"
to it.
But MAN, I LOVE
to cook a ginormous pot of sauce all day long!!!
And then there's the gardening.
And bcuz we live in zone 8a Texas, some Winter weeks switch from freezing for one night, and then the days following can be as hot as 90° !
So, I also do A LOT of Winter gardening.
Actually, more Winter gardening than Summer gardening!
It's MUCH less HOT!!!
Now, at this time of year, I can grow Cilantro, Parsley, Dill, and all those things that definitely bolt in the heat.
Like me.
I tend to bolt in the heat too!
When its over 95°F I cannot get into the A/C fast enough!!
So yeah, I'm SUPER THANKFUL for the NOT HOT
Dog Days of Summer!!
In my teens, 20's and 30's, I did a lot of "lake living" to stay cool in the Summer.
We had a boat and spent a lot of time water skiing, fishing, & swimming.
During those years I too struggled with the grey days of Winter.
I'm pretty sure I suffer from S.A.D.
(Seasonal Affective Disorder)
Bcuz I did get a lot of depression during the not sunny months of Winter.
But things have changed.
We sold the boat.
Now I garden more.
I do year round gardening.
But I garden less in the heat of Summer.
It's just TOO HOT.
And so, I guess my grey days of Winter feelings have switched over to the Dog Days of Summer.
The difference is that the Summer doesn't depress me like the Winter used to do.
Probably bcuz the Summer days are not grey & cloudy.
And truthfully, this way of doing things is just a lot less depressing overall.
In the Summer I still garden, but just in the morning,
or late in the evening.
Sometimes Midnight Gardening is fun too!
But the Spring and Fall are prime "getting it done" in the garden days!! And in between I'm ALWAYS planning on what to do next, so planning my garden is a BIG distraction for me. Maybe a better description is DREAMING my garden!!
With happy thoughts of getting to do the Winter gardening in nicer weather,
and the mosquitos hibernating,
and between covering my garden for a quick freeze,
bcuz they never last long-
(Well, ALMOST never!!)
I am always looking at the forecast to see when can I go outside and get my fingers in the dirt again!!
And I (usually) never have to wait for more than a couple of days for the cold to go away!
Meanwhile, I'll cook some all-day soup!!
It sure makes the house smell good!
Another thing that's good-
In all the places where I've lived in Texas, the Fall tree colors have never been that great of a show.
It's just kinda, meh…
Most leaves are a dull brown,
or a dull gold and brown.
Like, not even a bright YELLOW, just a very dull yellow or gold.
And one thing's for sure-
COLOR AFFECTS ME DEEPLY!!!
I think to be DEEPLY affected by color, that might be an artist thing… ?
As a matter of fact,
instead of calling it Seasonal Affective Disorder,
for me,
I think it should be called:
Color Affective Disorder.
C.A.D.
ummmm,
wait…
ok,
not quite as catchy as S.A.D.
And I'm not too sure I
want to BE a CAD!
Well, that's a story for another day…
But anyway,
the Fall Leaf Show over here was something that always kicked off my Winter depression.
And when I bought my house 20 years ago, even though we have HUGE Live Oak trees that are at least 200 years old, well… they NEVER go bald!!
They drop leaves, yes.
But the leaves they do drop are a dull, tan brown color.
The big thing is they NEVER GO BALD, and that means they don't EVER look like the season has changed!!
I mean, I LOVE them dearly.
(I actually hug them pretty regularly. )
But I really needed a good
Fall COLOR Show.
So – I made
MY OWN FALL SHOW!!
I planted trees with vibrant Fall color all over my yard!
And let me tell you-
THAT AUTUMNAL COLOR
has helped me A LOT!!!
All Summer, as I peer out my window during the hot parts of the day, I look forward to the myriad of colors that my Japanese Maples, Sweet Gums, Ginkgos, and the other Fall Colors that are coming my way.
Not to mention the fantastic rose hips & Hibiscus calix I collect, and dry for tea, and drink cold all Summer!
Oh, and Stevia is reported to taste even SWEETER after a good frost!
Much like the carrots do!
I haven't done that yet,
I'll have to let ya know about THAT one!!
(Bcuz my body ALSO said NO to sugar…)
Unless you've already grown it!
Then you can tell me!
And ya know, that Fall Ginkgo Tree has such a
CHEERY Yellow Fall Color!!
It fills me full of "Happy" whenever I see it!
And it's right next to a fire engine red Maple!!
I mean, there's just NO WAY to feel ANY kind of S.A.D. when you're looking at those colors!!
AND
I also make sure to leave those leaves on the ground
AS LONG AS I POSSIBLY CAN !
Bcuz even on the ground,
they are soooo full of happy color!
So, going into Fall-
I mean when it really
FEELS like Fall-
Now it always feels like HAPPY to me!
And hearing you say,
"NO THANK YOU!!!"
to the leaves falling,
I agree!!
I feel like that too, and it's bcuz I always want those bright reds, yellows, and oranges to STAY on the trees longer than they seem to want to do!!
But I know after they are on the ground, at some point, that I will be vacuuming them up,
and making rich, garden gold, out of them!!
And that weirdly makes me excited for that too!
I guess bcuz the leaf mould changes my clay soil into rock star soil !!
And with it, the soil doesn't dry out so fast in the super hot summer.
And THAT makes my plants SUPER HAPPY!!
Which makes ME Super Happy!
And I'm ALL about the soil.
So yeah, I have a big connection with the leaves!
And so, over the years I guess I've found out it's just all about my P.O.V.
And making SURE I have some good color around!
And you have those high tunnels AND a jammin' greenhouse now!!!
I bet if you grew something that will hold a bright color in their leaves all thru the Winter, then that would probably help stave off the Winter blues!
I wonder what a Japanese Maple would do if it lived in your greenhouse all year round?
There are some that stay bright red all year, like you don't have to wait for Fall to be blessed with that glorious color.
Soooo, whaddya think…
If it lived in there, would it never turn it's Fall Color, bcuz it would never get cold enoughmonthsif so, you could park yourself under that tree all thru the Winter months!!
Or maybe find some tree, or bush, that's tropical and colorful 12 months of the Bush,
Let the flowers be secondary, bcuz colorful LEAVES make a bigger impact.
Just sayin…
Sorry for keeping you up all night reading that book I just wrote!
Let's go make some all-day soup!
God made me obsessive about beauty. Some may say that's a strong word, but I intend it that way. It is a reflex for me to not only appreciate beauty, but also be deeply motivated to share it with others.
I've learned over the years that that reflex was intended by God, but I have to learn when to share and when to savor. As much as I try to do both, the work of sharing always interferes with my savoring, so I have to learn to hold back. Holding back is hard for me, but it's an important part of staying present, and to reference your love of birth photography earlier, avoid burning out.
There are times where I wish that I didn't have this reflex, that it wasn't so strong, so overpowering.
And yet, I see what God has made me to share and I realize the wisdom of the potter.
Right now, God is teaching me to unlearn daily sharing. I’m stepping away from social media permanently, which is hard considering that I’ve been scrolling and reading and befriending for well over a decade. I’m learning to keep more of my life private and even though I know this change is healthy and for the better, it still feels unnatural, just like when I gave up vlogging in 2021.
In the midst of my own “no thank you” season, I am keeping my eyes open to the blessings of hiding. Self control is the other side of love, and in this moment I am practicing self control as a way of receiving God’s love, both for myself and for others.
I don’t know if that makes sense, as it’s certainly not as visible as your two beautiful eggs in a basket crate, but I know that it is there and the glow extends into the unseen.
Thank you for hanging with me in this comment. I bless you until next time.
I dive in to my art and draw and embroider in the wintertime, Its something I don't have as much time for in the summer time and miss dearly and it gives the winter some well needed passion!
Tell Mia thank you for using a hay ring for the round bales. I roll my eyes every time I see someone not using a ring and not caring if the bale is laying on its end or laying flat to shed water like it was designed. THANK YOU MIA FOR DOING IT RIGHT!!
Not having land to do those things and living in the Netherlands in a small village is the thing that makes me a bit homesick. I always loved the country life. Yet, my circumstances has made that not possible. What I would be doing if I had the land is far to lengthy to write in here.
AS FOR NOW:
Decluttering our home this winter and getting down to minimalistic ways with unneeded frivolous items such as knickknacks my husband seems to collect beyond reason. I prefer items that will be of use and used. We will see how things turn out.
Trying to get a freeze dryer so I can start preservation of foods and remedies with it. Although I am canning still I want freeze dry option.
COME SPRING
Since our home has been mostly as it is since moving in and things need replacing it is time for me to get things done:
House interior needs painting
Hardwood floors stripped/stained/waxed
Kitchen counters and pantry that were originally there when I moved in replaced with solid wood and butcher block counter top.
The storage room made as freezer, tool and craft storage room.
A guestroom to be completed (have all the stuff still in boxes waiting for flooring to be put in.
A second spare room that is a mancave cleaned out and his desk and bookcases moved to the big empty area of our bedroom. Then this room will become another bedroom!
Change the living room/ dining room where the coffee table is the dining table and where the dining area having an extended pantry put in that area.
My husband and I do not have children. We are both over 45 years of age. With things getting expensive and moving to a smaller place would cost more than where we are it is best to fix up the two spare bedrooms to have them for extended family when things become too expensive for them and us. The way things are going it will become better if grandparents and their children and grandchildren lived together like what my 3 times great-grandparents and previous generations did. After them the extended family living together stopped. It may be necessary in the future to do so again.
We bundle up and take long walks enjoying the splashes of color from red berries & evergreens.
I love the pictures of the chickens.
Good morning everyone happy Thursday morning and I hope you having amazing day today and I loved your vlogs and you are amazing Supporter