Itty Bitty Impact

Making Maple Syrup: Tapping

Posted on04. Apr, 2010 by Tonia.

Sweet, buttery, sticky, wonderful maple syrup has been made in my family for 23 years now. Back in the day, we used to tap 1,100 trees on our land, pouring what we collected into a big tank on a sleigh, pulled by a draft horse. It was a lot of work, but we were never short on help {all we had to tell people was that they could take home some syrup, and they’d show up to help all season long.} Even though we have scaled the operation back in recent years {we no longer have our horses, so we do all the collection on foot now}, syruping is still a beloved family “chore” that brings us together every spring.

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The No Impact Project: They Did It, And So Can We!

Posted on16. Mar, 2010 by Tonia.

Now this is what I’m talkin’ about!!  Have you heard of the No Impact Project?  It’s genius. I couldn’t wait to share it with ya’ll as soon as I found out about it.
In a nut shell, one family decided to make small changes every day in their lives to reduce their impact on the environment…and [...]

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Interviewed by Green Baby Green Mama

Posted on05. Mar, 2010 by Tonia.

I had the pleasure yesterday of chatting with Heather, the main mama behind Green Baby Green Mama, about homeschooling. I was homeschooled grades K-8 by my amazing parents, and it was a great experience for me. I love talking about the good old homeschool days, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask! I’m honored that Heather interviewed me for her blog.

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How to Preserve Your {Locally Grown} Herbs

Posted on09. Nov, 2009 by Tonia.

Mike and I planted a little garden in our backyard last spring, and our tiny patch of dirt exploded with peppers, peas, lettuce, herbs, rhubarb, and more.

But the arrival of cold weather meant we had to watch our beautiful crops whither away. We had eaten almost everything, except for the herbs. Large patches of basil and parsley still remained, and we wondered how we could preserve these plants for cooking with all winter long. My mom came up with this great way to preserve herbs.

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