Check out what I’ve been up to with my neighbors! We planted 100 native plants this Spring at the Welcome to Brookland sign at 12th and Rhode Island Ave NE. The first of the purple coneflowers started blooming, just in time for National Pollinator Week! It’s the first of many year-round blooms to come. Grass lawns are devoid of life, with no food to offer our bees and other pollinators. You can help by planting something native in your yard, like an oak tree. An oak tree is a keystone species. It provides food to over 500 different species of insects, which in turn supports birds and small animals. The garden by the Welcome to Brookland sign has 3 willow oak trees that have been there for many years, and will be there for many years after I’m gone.

This weekend we took a trip to Deb's farm to pick up goat milk and meet the newest addition to the herd, Baby Fern! She pretends to eat a little grass, and ignores her mom who cries when they aren't side by side. Jameson the buck was looking handsome. He's bonded with 2 kids who aren't his. He was smelling fresh too, unlike the last time I visited when he was in rut and pissing all over himself. For the next couple weeks I will be making huge batches of goat milk soap from Deb's goats. Restocking all the soaps that you love! #56hooves #virginiaisforloversofgoats #goatmilksoap #🐐 #mustlovegoats #farmfresh #loudouncounty #keepcalmandlovegoats #rawgoatmilk #goatsofinstagram #loudouncounty #farmfamily #virginia #imakeyoursoapwithlove

Come find me tomorrow at the Brookland Farmers Market. I'll have oodles of goat milk and vegan soap, shampoo bars, herbal salves, and lipbalm. Saturday 9am - 1pm 716 Monroe Street NE Brookland metro station #brooklandfarmersmarket #freshfarms #madeindc #washingtondc #brooklanddc #artswalkdc #monroestreetmarket #artswalk #brookland #dcmarkets #dcmarket #dcmakers #202creates #bythingsdc

#solsticekitty

Today is the shortest day of the year and the longest night. The Winter Solstice is cold, and the sun seems weak and distant to us in the Northern Hemisphere. Sometimes it feels like the darkness will just swallow you up. Right now, we are tilted away from the sun, but this is the beginning of a new cycle. Over the coming 6 months the sun will grow stronger — strong enough to inspire massive growth in the natural world. That is why ancient skywatchers celebrated and felt hope on the Winter Solstice. Each day going forward will be a little longer than the last. We are slowly building toward brighter days until we reach Summer Equinox, the longest day. Hold onto the promise of sunny days and infinite possibilities ahead. There are lots of ways to celebrate. Here are a few ideas to mark this day: 🌲Take a nature walk. Collect evergreen boughs, ivy, mistletoe, and holly to decorate your home. English ivy is invasive here, and grows everywhere in my neighborhood. I saved a stand of trees in a public park this morning from the suffocating vines, and made this centerpiece on my kitchen table. 🍲 Have stone soup with friends. Share mulled wine or cider with spices. Light a candle or have a fire. Burrow into the blankets, watch the flickering firelight, give thanks, make wishes, and make peace. 🌞 Watch the sunset or the sunrise. I’ll be watching a livestream of sunrise over Stonehenge 7am GMT Thursday (2 am my time). Stonehenge was built in alignment with the sun on the solstices. The sun rises there for Winter Solstice on the 22nd. I don’t often wake up early enough to watch the sunrise, but sunrise in Greenwich Mean Time is easy to catch if you're a night owl in the east coast. Happy solstice, friends. ⛄️

Reminder: this Saturday I’ll be at the Monroe Street Market with Farmer Deb and a festive Yule Goat. Come pet the goat and take selfies. The goat will be there from 9-noon. 716 Monroe Street NE by the Brookland metro stop We can't guarantee that the goat won't eat its holiday costume. So come early and see where the goat milk in Mayapple Soaps comes from! #meetyourfarmer #yulegoat #igdcfamily #dckids

Are you still struggling to find the right gift for someone who has everything already? Here’s a tip: everyone loves a quality handmade soap, and we have plenty left for your last-minute holiday shopping. For only $9: Lump of Coal Soap made exclusively for naughty people and express delivery from the North Pole. It has a ravishing scent of patchouli and spearmint, activated charcoal, and organic oats for mild exfoliation. 14 Carrot Gold Soap: all that glitters is actually... organic carrots! It has a zingy citrus scent, organic carrot juice packed with vitamins, and most importantly: it makes the perfect gift for someone with fine taste! ✨🥕 How about a gift for a Washingtonian? Try the 51st Soap for $15. It's a creamy goat milk soap with a lavender mint scent. So much more than soap, it's a celebration of our culture, DC pride, and fight for statehood. If you spend $25, we’ll throw in a free mini bar of soap that makes a great stocking stuffer too! Shop this Saturday at our last market of the season. We’ll be at the Monroe Street Market from 9 am - 1 pm on Saturday (716 Monroe Street NE, near the Brookland metro stop). Or order online at MayappleSoaps.com. All orders ship 2-day priority mail, so it’s not too late if you order this week. #brooklanddc #artswalkdc #monroestreetmarketdc #brookland #farmersmarketdc #freshfarmsdc #washingtondc #thingstodoindc #familyfunindc #dmvevents #yelpdc #dcmade #dcmarket #nurturewildbeauty #holidayshoppingdc #bythingsdc #igdc #mycooldc #shopsmalldc #localdc #smallbizdc #thinklocalfirstdc #experiencedc #brooklandfarmersmarket #madeindc #202creates #dcmarkets #giftsunder10 #stockingstuffers #lastminuteholidayshopping