DIY Denim Heat Pack

We recently had a night that threatened frost… so this post is right on time! What you need:Old jeans. The softer the better, but not too threadbare or you may lose some rice.Rice.A sewing machine. Not strictly necessary but makes life easier. Tea. Makes everything easier. These jeans were the husband’s. They have a holeContinue reading “DIY Denim Heat Pack”

Baby Wipes – Tutorial

We try to be reasonably green around here… and I like to keep the chemicals touching my baby to a minimum. We cloth diaper as much as possible and I wanted a way to use plain water to wipe the little baby bottom. Although we ended up with several baby washcloths from a variety ofContinue reading “Baby Wipes – Tutorial”

Selective Taste

We have a mysterious visitor to the garden… my suspicion is that the adorable woodchucks up the hill have something to do with this. However, they seem to have very discerning taste. In fact, the following photo illustrates the only damage done since the fence went up. I believe that this used to be aContinue reading “Selective Taste”

Gardening – the good, the bad and the itchy

In the good news column we have the square foot veg garden. The cold weather crops are growing visibly by the day and we just enjoyed our first spinach salad. For any who may be interested, the home-made dressing was a blend of red wine vinaigrette, honey mustard, minced garlic and fresh parsley, pepper, saltContinue reading “Gardening – the good, the bad and the itchy”

Garden time – Row cover tutorial!

Spring is rolling along here in New England – I’ve calculated that we’re about 5 weeks from our last frost date, so the veggie gardening is getting busy. We built 3 raised beds this year and a cold frame to give the veg an extra head start. Everything is crammed in the sunniest corner ofContinue reading “Garden time – Row cover tutorial!”

Planning the growing season

If I haven’t updated the blog as recently as we might have liked, blame the weather. It is unseasonably warm and lovely, filling my head with dreams of this summer’s garden. Since we recently moved into our home, this season is the first to start painting on the canvas of our property. While a littleContinue reading “Planning the growing season”

A Vermi-update

I’ll admit right off that the worm’s compost bin has been going through a rough patch. Everything was great at first, but then an odd smell arose and many of the red worms went mushy. Not fun. Instead of happy, healthy red worms I now had a bin full of food and millions of littleContinue reading “A Vermi-update”

Dreaming of Spring

Yet another winter storm warning tonight and tomorrow and we’re all starting to feel the winter gloom. However, spring is just around the corner and it is garden planning time. To keep motivation high, it seems like a good time to share some photos from last year’s deck garden. I have to say, my EarthboxContinue reading “Dreaming of Spring”

Feeling extra crunchy today…

…in a granola and back-to-earther sort of way. Our home has officially become a vermicomposting site! I meant to get this whole thing going right after the holidays, but better late than never. I’d been reading (in various crunchy publications of course) about the joys and benefits of composting with red worms. They are easyContinue reading “Feeling extra crunchy today…”

World Behind and Home Ahead

Greetings to the first post and welcome to the Underhill House. Nothing fancy here- just a little snip of a blog. Lots of warm drinks and a roaring fire. There will be lovely pictures, nerdy fandom, and possibly some relevant veterinary advice. A few important links:www.knittyvet.etsy.comThe (slightly) more commercial end of this venture http://artisansofwmass.com/index.htmlLocal artisansContinue reading “World Behind and Home Ahead”