A Farm Fresh Life

Hello friends! The chickens have officially stopped freeloading and are laying eggs again. I’ll be at the farmers market today until 2pm with a limited supply of farm fresh eggs for $4 a dozen from the most well rested hens in the county. First come first serve only, no savesies

Sunday morning espresso for one please! . . . Considering I’ve only posted a handful of times in the past couple of months, it’s safe to say life has been pretty busy! The chickens and geese are all happy and warm in their coop mansion, while work and the farmer’s markets have officially slowed down until the new year. I am finally finding some little pockets of time to relax. I will be making lots of soaps during the downtime, drinking more of these tiny espressos and brushing up on my French. Happy holidays everyone!

This past week I welcomed 5 little goslings to @a_farm_fresh_life It’s impossible to get them all in one photo as they are far too preoccupied with eating all the delicious green things and splashing in the water One is named Moose because it’s so big, and one named Maggie because it’s so small. The other three will earn their names soon I’m sure! I can tell already that this lot is going to be a handful! #goslings #babygeese #newadditions #farmbabies #geese #domesticgeese #afarmfreshlife #homestead #homesteading #alberta #canada #backyardgeese

The blue eggs are finally back!!! A big thank you to my freeloading #ameraucana hens for finally getting back in the nest boxes after a 6 month hiatus! #farmfresheggs #fresheggsdaily #backyardchickens #backyardhens #hen #hens #easteregger #blueeggs #rescuehens #homestead #homesteading #homesteadinglife #alberta #afarmfreshlife #canada #athabascafarmersmarket

I’ve been quietly experimenting on a very small scale with gourmet mushroom farming to see if it is something I should add to my weekly Farmer’s market stand. What do you think, would you support locally grown gourmet mushrooms!? Here is a look at my first official harvest of white oyster mushrooms! They look delicious and about 100 times better than the ones available in the grocery store in town! Mushrooms generally don’t transport well, especially on a large scale, so... if you can get your hands on some locally grown ones, you can really see the difference! Three cheers to my husband who didn’t act too annoyed when he came home to find I had started a mini mushroom farm in our living room three weeks ago! I hope these beauties fried up in a little garlic make up for it! (It’s still not as bad as the time he came home and found chickens in the bathroom, I’m still making up for that!) I’ve also got lion’s mane mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms growing that might be ready in a few more days! #locallygrown #growyourownfood #growyourown #mushrooms #mushroomfarm #mycology #oystermushrooms #whiteoystermushroom #homestead #homesteader #selfreliance #afarmfreshlife #alberta #canada See more

Hello friends! I’m doing a giveaway with the lovely Alaskan homesteading mom machine aka Misty of @thepioneerprincess !!! If you’re not following her already, what are you waiting for!?! This homesteading mama is raising her littles offgrid in the Alaskan wilderness and has a knack for sharing her beautifully written adventures and misadventures with all of us on Instagram! Some amazing Instagram #makers have joined forces to put together a men’s basket to show those important guys in our lives just how much they mean to us! @thehiddenwoodsmen @highdesertmanaz @steelandsander @deniserobinson2015 @woodlandernorth and myself have all donated goodies to this giveaway basket! Go visit Misty @thepioneerprincess for details on how you can win! Good luck!!!!

Look at this pretty, marbled soap! I’ve been a bit uninspired with my soap making lately, so have decided to experiment with some new essential oils and swirl techniques. I’m getting back on track and will be adding these new soaps to my market stall for the summer season, along with an upgrade to my packaging. This is my first time experimenting with the in the pot swirls technique and I am obsessed with the marble pattern that it created! I scented this soap with Anise essential oil and it smells so uplifting!!! #soap #soapmaker #cpsoap #allnatural #handmade #vegan #palmoilfree #inthepotswirl #anise #makersmovement #makersgonnamake #homestead #homesteading #anise #afarmfreshlife #alberta #canada

A little friendly Easter wish from the nice ladies who run the Athabasca Farmer’s Market social media pages (wink wink, I may or may not be one of them ) Have a Happy Easter, farm fresh friends! Our Easter supper has been cancelled due to a pesky cold, so James and I are having spaghetti instead!

The look I get when I come into the coop without treats...#notamused #chickens #chickensofinstagram #backyardchickens #easteregger #homestead #homesteading #spoiled #afarmfreshlife

Come and say hello at the Athabasca Farmers Market! I’ve been selling out of eggs before noon every market so get here quick if you’d like some farm fresh eggs from the rescue girls!

Happy Spring from me and Athabasca Farmers' Market If we could just get rid of all this snow a few weeks early, that’d be great!

Soap soap soap, all the pretty soap! A little sing song I mumble to myself whenever I pack up my soaps and take them to the market. I’ve just ordered some new essential oils to make even more soaps to choose from. Stay tuned for pictures of Pink Grapefruit and Sea Salt, Spruce, Anise, and Vanilla Rose! Now, time to stalk my mailbox!!! #soap #soapmaking #soapmaker #handmadesoap #cpsoap #cp #allnatural #handmade #vegan #palmoilfree #afarmfreshlife #photography