HOMESTEADING 

WHAT'S NEW ON THE HOMESTEAD?

Getting ready to say good bye to Summer and welcome in Autumn.  Preparations around the farm will begin soon enough to get ready for Winter.  But before that happens, we are enjoying the end of Summer and looking forward to the cooler temperatures of Fall. Fall is our favorite time to ride, and to just spend down at the barn.  The animals are more comfortable, flies and mosquitoes aren't much of a nuisance and the air is clear and crisp.  It is the perfect time to stop for a moment. To enjoy everything around us:  the animals, nature, the weather.  Before we know it, we will be at nature's mercy in the thralls of winter.  But I refuse to think about that yet...it will be here soon enough.  
SUMMER'S BOUNTY
by Mary A. Lainhart

​Tomatoes abound, peppers, herbs, onions.  Every year I start my vegetable plants.  Last year I went overboard with trying a lot of different tomatoes and too many of each.  I have a dilemma every year.  It is always the same one.  When I start my seeds I always put 2 seeds in each pot in case one doesn’t germinate.  If they both germinate,  I take one out and put it in it’s own pot.  Do you see where this is going?  My logic is, if it had the strength to grow, I’m going to let it and I don’t have the heart to just throw it out.  I know… they are seedlings.  So, in effect, I potentially end up with twice the amount of plants that I intended on.  When it comes time to  hardening off and planting them in the garden, I put the strongest ones in one garden bed, but the weaker ones, I still can’t part with, so they go in another garden bed.  
This spring, I was off to a good start.  I cut down on the varieties I wanted and how many of each I started.  When Memorial Weekend came (my scheduled date for planting my garden usually) my plants looked so small and spindly I doubted any of them would survive.  I went to a garden store and found the same heirloom tomato plants and purchased one of each and a variety of pepper plants.  Even though I had the bigger plants, I still had to give the little seedlings I started a chance.  Everything got planted in the garden and tended to the same.
The summer was terribly hot and humid.  It was truly unbearable weather that we are not accustomed to in Central New York for long stretches of time.  Typically we will have a week or two stretch of very hot and humid weather and then we go back to average temperatures.  This year we had months of hot, humid and drought.  I don’t remember a summer like this is.  Buck faithfully watered gardens almost every day.  My flowers looked stressed and sad for most of the summer.  My vegetables were hanging in there, but not thriving.  About a month ago, we finally started getting rain in fairly good amounts regularly.  I got lazy with daily trips to the garden to check on things, because not much had been happening out there.  NOW it is a jungle!  The tomato plants seem to have arms that grab you as you walk by.  All of them!  The ones I started from seeds and the ones I bought.  Same for the peppers.  You would never know the difference between them.  I forgot to mention the tomatoes that seeded themselves from last year outside of the raised beds.  Yeah, they looked healthy so I left them there too.  They now have fruit on them also.
Monkey, our barn cat, is pretty happy her catnip lived through the summer
Days are getting shorter now.  I am ready to finish harvesting my bounty and soon I will put my garden to bed for the winter.  It won’t be long before bow season starts and we will be harvesting different food.  Fall is my favorite time of the year.  I am excited to put the weather from the summer behind me and enjoy the crisp temperatures of Fall and the fresh cool air.  I don’t want to rush things too much… because everyone in central NY knows that Autumn is short lived and Winter will be taking hold before we know it.

FRESH HOMEMADE SALSA

Ingredients:
4 pounds of tomatoes, whatever kind you have on hand
1/2 of a medium sweet onion, peeled
2 small jalapeno peppers (more  or less depending on your heat preference)
1 medium sweet pepper 
2 garlic cloves, minced
Large handful of cilantro or basil
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 of a lime, juiced
Salt and Pepper to taste


Instructions:
1.  Roughly chop tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers and jalapeno peppers
2.  Add all ingredients to the food processor
3.  Pulse until desired consistency
4.  If salsa is too watery for your taste, remove some liquid by straining through a small colander
5.  Enjoy with chips or on your favorite dish
Click on recipe card for a printable version of recipe

ESSENTIAL OILS

Each month we will share ways on how to safely use essential oils on your equines and your other pets. These are recommendations and not all inclusive uses of essential oils for your animal.  Remember, all animals are individuals - so observe their behavior as you use essential oils (or anything) to see how they react to them.

WAYS TO USE ESSENTIAL OILS:
For empowerment, confidence, energy balance


​Valor® for your equine and other animals

​Useful on all animals for fear, behavior issues, and training.  Beneficial for skin tissues.  Use with Purification, Peace & Calming, and Lavender to increase the benefits of each oil.  Valor acts as  a primer for the use of other oils and will make all other oil applications more effective.

Valor is similar to a blend used by Roman soldiers before and after battle.  It has been known to build courage and confidence and bring calmness and relaxation.  Valor is extremely popular because of its balancing/aligning properties.  In this regards, it is beneficial to all animals and humans, alike.  Valor helps to enhance feelings of strength and confidence and can have those same benefits on the physical level as well.  Use for anxiety, stress, fear, competition and showing, but also for physical needs such as the proper alignment of the spine, broken bones, joints and general physical structure.

Use prior to bodywork, training, and emotional clearing to enhance the effectiveness of those sessions.  Valor can be applied directly anywhere on the body you want to promote physical strength and confidence.   Ingredients:  Spruce (grounding and protection), Rosewood (emotional release, promotes feelings of encouragement), Blue Tansy (used to combat anger and negative emotions) and Frankincense (centering, overcoming stress/emotionally uplifting) in a base of coconut oil.  Valor is an essential oil blend that benefits almost any situation.  Valor is NOT used orally.

What is the difference between Young Living Essential Oils and their Vitality™ Line?

The Vitality ™ oils aren’t really new. The labels are, yes, but in reality, these are oils that Young Living was already selling. What’s setting them apart is that these ones are labeled for internal usage whereas the regular essential oils are labeled for aromatic and topical usage. If you’re wondering, that means that, yes, they are the exact same oils. For example, Lemon Vitality™ essential oil is exactly the same as regular Lemon essential oil. But, because of FDA’s regulations on essential oils, they must be marked separately.
Young Living USB Diffuser. Use in any USB plug, on your laptop, in your car, anywhere! Over the years I have tried just about every type of diffuser out there. Clay, Cotton, Felt Pads, Ceramic, Cotton Balls to name a few. None of them gave me the lasting results I was looking for or the ease of use. Clay and Ceramic are inconsistent at best. Cotton, Felt Pads, Cotton Balls were not only not what I was hoping for results of fresh, clear aromas, they needed to be replaced frequently.  This YL USB diffuser is the best diffuser I've ever purchased that was not water based.  It comes in Black, Pink and Purple and all can be purchased from the Wild Heart Mustangs™ Shop.

YOUNG LIVING OILS
Mary Lainhart is a Young Living OIls independent distributor because after years of her own successful use of them, she's confident of the purity and quality of Young LIving products.​ The Everyday Oils™ collection is the perfect beginner's kit, containing ten of Young Living's most popular and versatile essential oils. This kit will become a useful part of your day, everyday.
VALOR® ESSENTIAL OIL BLEND
Valor® essential oil blend is one of the most popular Young Living products and a favorite of founder D. Gary Young. Its woodsy, positive scent comes from a blend of Black Spruce, Blue Tansy, Rosewood, and Frankincense. As an important oil in the Raindrop Technique®, Young Living Valor oil is great for massages, in addition to other topical and aromatic uses.

Use it to greet each morning with a positive attitude or to unwind at the end of the day. Its powerful yet calming scent is versatile enough that you can integrate it into your morning and bedtime routines and anywhere in between.

As a top-selling product, this in-demand oil is difficult to keep in stock. Because of this, orders are limited to one bottle per account per month. For an alternative, try Valor II™, a substitute personally created and recommended by Gary Young.

Valor® for You

​How to Use
Topical: Apply 2–4 drops directly to desired area. Dilution not required, except for the most sensitive skin. Use as needed.

Aromatic: Diffuse up to 1 hour 3 times daily.

Caution: Keep out of reach of children. For external use only. Keep away from eyes and mucous membranes. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult a health professional prior to use.
​
Product Tips:
  • Diffuse Valor in the morning to jump-start a busy day with its uplifting, affirming scent.
  • Young Living Essential Oils Combine with V-6™ Vegetable Oil Complex to unwind before bed with a relaxing foot or back massage.
  • Refresh throughout the day by directly inhaling or massaging onto your neck, chest, or hands and wrists.
  • Wear as a subtle cologne or use as a base for personalized scents.
  • Add to Young Living’s Bath & Shower Gel Base or to a hot bath to invigorate your bath and shower routine.
Storage: Keep in a cool, dark place.
​
Ingredients:
Caprylic/capric triglyceride, Picea mariana† (Black spruce) leaf oil, Aniba rosaeodora† (Rosewood) wood oil, Tanacetum annuum† (Blue tansy) flower oil, Boswellia carterii† (Frankincense) oil

†100% pure, therapeutic-grade essential oil
Dietary Essential Oils
Perfect for adding flavor to your favorite foods or using as dietary supplements, the Vitality™ line of dietary essential oils gives you the freedom to share and explore some of our best-loved essential oils in a variety of nutritious and delicious ways. We invite you to discover Vitality™—for food, for family, for life!
Visit the Wild Heart Mustangs™ SHOP to purchase and read detailed descriptions of each Young Living oil and blend.

For use instructions and cautions, please refer to each individual product label.​

RESOURCES FOR HOMESTEADERS

​Young Living Essential Oils - www.youngliving.com 

DISCLAIMER

The information contained on this website is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information on this website represents what I have chosen to do to take charge of my own personal health and that of my family. Statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using these products.

Information found on this website is meant for educational and informational purposes only, and to motivate you to make your own health care and dietary decisions based upon your own further research and in partnership with your health care provider.