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

  • Chickens vs. Guineas vs. Quail: A Homestead Poultry Comparison

    “Every farm has its own rhythm; the right bird is simply the one that sings in tune with yours.” If you’re looking to expand your homestead flock beyond standard backyard layers—or deciding where to start—it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the options. Chickens are the universal default, but guineas and quail offer unique options that…

  • 8 Homeschool Favorites + An Easy Hours Log That Works No Matter How Chaotic Life Gets

    “Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.” — O. Fred Donaldson If you’ve ever looked at unending curriculum options and complex homeschool tracking systems and felt instantly overwhelmed, welcome to the club. I am not naturally built for rigid schedules, color-coded binders, or complicated homeschool planners. Between farm…

  • DIY Yarrow & Plantain Salve: A Hands-On Homestead Project for Kids (and Adults)

    “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin If you spend any amount of time working with your hands—whether that’s tending livestock, gardening, wrangling energetic kids, or just living life outdoors—scrapes, bug bites/stings, minor burns, and dry skin are daily occurrences. A few days ago,…

  • Splintered Fragments: From Bookworm to Book Dragon

    We have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming ‘sub-creator’ and inventing stories, can Man aspire to the state of perfection that he knew…

  • Favorite Foraged Flavors: 3 Ozark Native Plants Ready to Harvest Right Now

    “Late summer is a secret season, a time of harvest without planting, where wild branches yield what no gardener ever sowed.” — Hal Borland **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…

  • From Survival to Spreadsheets: Finding My Spoons Again

    “Motherhood is a constant process of letting go—including letting go of the expectation that you should feel like yourself overnight.” I never thought I had postpartum depression. There were no crying spells on the nursery floor, no terrifying anxiety, and none of the overwhelming symptoms that medical professionals ask about at your six-week checkup. I…

  • Bearing the Ten-Ton Burden: Why Community is so Important

    “The reason most people think that something cannot be done is because they know that they can’t do it by themselves.” — Herman Ostry We’ve all been there. You’re staring at a massive, seemingly insurmountable problem on your land, and the quote you got to fix it makes your stomach twist into knots. For Herman…

  • Foraging Wild Bergamot: How to Identify, Harvest, and Create with Monarda

    “Still, everywhere flowers are blooming in the sun. Bees in the bee balm buzz and hum… these flowers will be here when we’re gone.” ~Rachel Hadas, “Zoom and Zoom” **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…

  • Wild Yarrow: History, Healing, and Hunting This Ancient Herb

    “I will pluck the yarrow fair, That more brave shall be my hand, That more warm shall be my lips, That more swift shall be my foot. May I an island be at sea, May I a rock be on land.” — Ancient Gaelic Charm, Carmina Gadelica **Before proceeding with this article, please note that…

  • Wild Foraging for Clay: Reclaiming the Ancient Art of Pottery (No Kiln Required)

    “Foraging isn’t just about what grows out of the soil—sometimes it’s about the deep history waiting right beneath our feet.” Foragers are trained to keep our eyes on the landscape. We watch the seasons shift, looking up at the trees or down at the green things growing along the fence lines. We look at dandelions,…

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