Country Consultant - Living The Good Life

Bobwhite Visits Our Yard

Dene Brock — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:10:23 +0000

I had been listening to the distant call of a Bobwhite all day, somewhere southwest of our property. Then while cooking dinner, I noticed that Neo, my black cat, was acting peculiar in the back yard. Not sure why Neo acting ‘peculiar’ was anything new to me (he’s a bizarre cat even on a good [...]

The Fast & Furious Growth of Our Spring Garden

Dene Brock — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:04:55 +0000

It’s fair to say that our winter was almost non-existent. And it appears that our spring is moving at the speed of light right into summer! All of the plants look like they normally would at the end of May instead of the beginning- but as lovely as that may seem, my biggest fear is [...]

Farm Photo Update

Dene Brock — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:06:50 +0000

It’s nice to take a stroll around the place and see how things are doing in the gardens. While most of the plants are still pretty small and non-impressive, I am excited with the progress we are seeing in our hugelkultur bed behind the coop. __________________________________

Herbs That Repel Pests

Dene Brock — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 07:23:15 +0000

OK.. I ran this post in January and lots of my facebook friends liked it, but wished that I had run it in the spring time .. so here it is again to refresh your memories.. Here are some herbs for you to consider in your garden as pest repellants along with the pests they [...]

Getting A Grip On Normalcy Bias

Dene Brock — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:38:42 +0000

Normalcy bias refers to a mental state people enter when facing a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster occurring and its possible effects. This often results in situations where people fail to adequately prepare for a disaster. It is not unusual to have normalcy bias. Our lives are filled [...]

Early Spring Weather Means Extended Growing Season

Dene Brock — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:00:08 +0000

OK.. are we actually going to be lucky this year and make it through the first two weeks of April without a freak snow storm or cold snap that knocks out every piece of fruit along with all things green? I think we just might.. I took a few photos this week to share with [...]

Pocket Change – Silver Is Still In Circulation

Dene Brock — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:24:24 +0000

It’s laundry day- and part of my laundry ritual includes gathering up any scattered clothing left outside of the baskets I strategically place throughout bedrooms and bathrooms, in hope of catching at least a portion of the laundry in a centralized location. Most of the time these efforts prove unfruitful, and even when clothes do [...]

Personal Safety In Rural Areas

Dene Brock — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:36:47 +0000

Whenever I see an article with lots of statistics, I can’t help but think of an old David Letterman joke: “…did you know that 59% of all statistics are made up on the spot?….” But all kidding aside, the statistics I’m about to show you are no laughing matter. It is important for everyone [...]

New Documentation At My Resources Page

Dene Brock — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:16:20 +0000

I’ve recently decided to remove the ‘members only’ password from my resources page, so now everyone can access this section. This is the place where I provide links to many of the documents that I keep in my own documentation folders at home. The internet is GREAT when you can access it, but in the [...]

Feeling Fat?

Dene Brock — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:30:00 +0000

My answer to that question, is YEP- at least a lot heavier than I was in my teens, or even my twenties.. If I had to give the primary reasons why my weight has increased over the years I’d have to say my weakness for carbs and my more sedentary lifestyle. But after reading Jason [...]