Returning to my roots has been on my heart for a long time. Radiant is defined as sending out light; shining or glowing brightly. My vision for this page is to share my journey through homesteading, homeschooling, farming and faith. I hope my journey can be a shining light to help others find their way back to their roots.

“Go back to your books, to your armchair. Plant your trees, watch them grow. If more people valued home above gold, this world would be a merrier place.”

— Thorin Oakenshield – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

  • From Vine to Table: Discovering the Hidden Treasure of the Wild Passion Vine

    “Be Like a Passion Fruit: vibrant, full of flavor, and true to your unique essence.” Passiflora Incarnata, also known as Purple Passionflower, Maypop and Wild Passion Vine The fruit of the Wild Passion Vine is one of my absolute favorite… Continue reading

  • Everyday Wonder

    “I like people who get excited about the change of seasons, the sound of the ocean, watching the sunset, the smell of rain and starry nights.” Brooke Hampton If you have read my post How do I do it all?, you… Continue reading

  • Right Here, Right Now

    “If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they… Continue reading

  • Lighting of a Fire

    “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” -William Butler Yeats My mom was a preschool teacher for 25 years. She recently asked me when I was going to start my 4 year old… Continue reading

  • Water Bath Canning – Yes You Can!

    “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” Aristotle Water bath canning can be quite intimidating for a beginner who doesn’t have someone to teach them. It used to be part… Continue reading

  • Cooking with Abandon

    “Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” Harriet Van Horne I recently discovered that I have contracted Alpha Gal. For those who are not yet familiar with this term, it is a… Continue reading

  • Good Eggs and Guineas

    “It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for a bird to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go… Continue reading

  • Garden Gatekeeper

    “Dear friend, don’t let the bustling culture determine the needs of your own children. You get to choose how they grow up. You can protect their time, energy, and imagination. You are the gatekeeper of the garden of their childhood.”… Continue reading

  • New Horizons

    “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”  William Faulkner I am at a place in my life where I am feeling pulled in two different directions and no matter how… Continue reading

  • Perfect House

    “That house was a perfect house. Whether you like food or sleep, or storytelling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best or a pleasant mixture of them all. Merely to be there was a cure for weariness, fear, and… Continue reading

Latest Posts

  • The Footprints of the Forager: An Introduction to Plantain

    “Nature is a first-aid kit, and the world is a garden; we need only to look down to find the remedy.” **Before proceeding with this article, please note that these articles in my foraging for food and medicine series are very in depth and therefore can get a bit lengthy. I utilize a type of…

  • Clever Cleavers: Nature’s Velcro

    “Whoever drinks cleaver water for nine weeks shall be so beautiful, everyone will fall in love with them.” — Ancient Welsh Folk Belief **Before proceeding with this article, please note that these articles in my foraging for food and medicine series are very in depth and therefore can get a bit lengthy. I utilize a…

  • The Elusive Morel: The Ultimate Treasure Hunt

    “Hobbits have a passion for mushrooms, surpassing even the greediest likings of Big People.” The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien **Before proceeding with this article, please note that these articles in my foraging for food and medicine series are very in depth and therefore can get a bit lengthy. I utilize a type of expanding…

  • Pineapple Weed: The Trampled Tropics

    “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” — Confucius **Before proceeding with this article, please note that these articles in my foraging for food and medicine series are very in depth and therefore can get a bit lengthy. I utilize a type of expanding detail feature for some things (particularly all the recipes) to…

  • Purple Dead Nettle: Purple Powerhouse

    “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” Luke 12:27 **Before proceeding with this article, please note that these articles in my foraging for food and medicine series are very in depth and therefore…

  • Unschooling: Farmstead Style

    If you have been wondering where I’ve been the last three weeks, it is goat kidding season here on the farm which means a chaotic whirlwind of waddling goats finally releasing their long-held hostages in a flurry of grunts, calls, and slimy afterbirth. It often means late nights and early mornings, and sometimes hardly any…

  • Chickweed: The Forager’s Winter Star

    “He who seeks the mind of the Creator in the little things of the earth shall find a wisdom that the world cannot give.” — In the spirit of George Washington Carver **Before proceeding with this article, please note that these articles in my foraging for food and medicine series are very in depth and…

  • Dandelions: Not a Weed – A Forager’s and Homesteader’s Treasure!

    “Why doesn’t constant trampling defeat the dandelion? The key to its strength is its long and sturdy root, which extends deep into the earth. The same principle applies to people. The true victors in life are those who, enduring repeated challenges and setbacks, have sent the roots of their being to such a depth that…

  • The Beautiful Mess and The Potter’s Hands

    “Whether it’s pottery or life, it takes more than one attempt for them to come out right. And all that effort makes the end product more valuable, too.” — Yeon Somin Teaching five-year-olds on a pottery wheel is a sensory-rich experience. The goal isn’t to produce a perfect vessel; it’s about exploration, cause-and-effect, and fine…

  • A Winter Wonderland of Wildlife Tracks

    “The tracks we find in the snow are more than just footprints; they are the signatures of the Creator, proving that even in the deepest winter, His world is vibrantly alive and perfectly sustained.” Winter weather often makes us want to get the necessary outside chores done as quickly as possible in order to cuddle…

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