Month: February 2023

Want to know how to make your own herbal poultice? If you need some homemade herbal remedies for your aches and pains, try this.

How to Make Herbal Poultice

Do you have any memories as a child when your mother used to put mashed herbs on your wound or sprain? If you have then I’m sure you’re wondering how it works and how it was done. Maybe I’m the odd one out, but when I was a child I was so intrigued, and I learned all there is to know about herbal poultices.

A poultice is a healing remedy for sprains or wounds that comes from herb oil and natural ingredients that you can find at home. Learn how to make them, and use them. This tutorial will teach you some survival 101

Find out how you can make a Comfrey Poultice with this DIY tutorial!

Comfrey is known for it’s healing and cell-regeneration qualities. Do not ingest comfrey, it is toxic to the liver. Read more facts here.

 

Here’s what you’ll need to make a Poultice

• Dried Comfrey Leaves (or other herbs of your choosing)
• Lavender Flower Powder
• Organic Muslin Bag
• Spoon
• Hand Blender

 

1. Cook and soften the herb.

Place a quarter of a small muslin bag of comfrey into a pan. Add water just enough to soften the comfrey and heat the mixture.

 

2. Blend and Mix.

Add lavender flower powder and hand blend it until it gets pasty.

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3. Stuff and Use.

Stuff the muslin bag with the mixture and it is ready to use!

 

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Want to see how to make your own poultice at home? Then watch this video tutorial from Cat the HerbalPrepper:

 

What do you think of this tutorial on how to make herbal poultice? Will you give it a try? Let us know how it went and share your experience with us in the comment section below.

Have any homesteading projects you’d like to share? Share it with us an we’ll give it a try. We’d love to know what you think!

LIKE this? I’m sure you’ll LOVE:

How To Make Herbal Infusions | Herbal Remedies

Indoor Herb Garden Ideas

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The agriculture industry is one of the largest in the world and it keeps on growing with new developments in technology. Today, you see agricultural businesses and farms actively use social media platforms and reach out to customers through their websites. It has quickly become one of the most effective ways to engage the consumer. This is why good web design in agriculture is now prioritized by many businesses.

It’s how you as an agriculture business owner can expand your target market and attract customers immediately. Now, this brings us to the question, what makes up an attractive agriculture web design?

Well, take a look at these 5 agriculture web designs that have managed to make an impression and find out what they all have in common!

The web design of Arla Foods UK has used big pictures of both people and animals to give their audience an idea of their products. Now, this agriculture business is already known across the globe and has dairy farms in many countries.

It doesn’t matter whether people are already familiar with the name or not, Arla in the UK has designed their web page in a way that engages new as well as old customers.

The use of large pictures and font is one thing that you will find in common in successful agriculture web designs. These can be of animals, the farmers, or farms, or just include them in your business logo. A striking agricultural brand logo design can also be highly effective in attracting attention if it’s designed well and features striking colors and imagery.

 

Usually, you will find a lot of agricultural web designs featuring horizontal layouts. This means that there might be one or two large headers on the home page with white space below or sometimes on the sides. By keeping the web design horizontal, you can keep things clear, and precise and also create a feeling of space and openness.

When you will go through Openfield’s web page, you can see how effective this is. There is a small tagline appearing on the header that is informational and welcomes customers as well. Its horizontal layout tells people as much as possible about Openfield, its processes, and new developments without having too much crammed into it.

Like this business, the Beck Ag website has also made good use of a minimalist design and horizontal webpage.

 

<img src="https://www.farmingsecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/3-300×138.jpg" alt="large image with headline and corn in the background with a green and white navigation bar" width="552" height="254"…

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Bird bath, bird house, and bird feeder are all essentials in keeping your feathered friends happy. Here’s how you can have the best bird bath, bird house, and bird refuge on the block!

Bird Bath To Make Your Backyard A Destination For Birds

Aren’t wild birds simply awesome? Chirping beautiful songs in the morning as you wake up, visiting your bird bath in the evening for a little bath, nesting in the birdhouse you made yourself… doesn’t that sound amazing? To me it does, and to some of you it probably does too, for others, you just don’t understand the pleasure. Why don’t you just hang up a bird feeder and see for yourself how those little-feathered souls turn your life around towards the best!

 

1. Hang Up A Bird Feeder

There is a reason why bird feeders are the most popular item bought to attract birds. Birds love feeders. Who doesn’t love free food? Imagine: coming to your bird house after a fly at the beach and visiting a restaurant for free on your way there. You’d feel like royalty, wouldn’t you? If you go to a local hardware store or pet shop, you’ll discover a huge variety of feeders. Some have suction cups so they can get stuck to windows, others have rods so they can get attached to posts or walls.

Then there are suet feeders. They are like cakes made from beef fat and usually have seeds added. They are very nutritious and high in protein, and from my experience, birds like suet feeders more than normal feeders! Most people buy little boxes made from chicken wire to slip the suet inside.

Do not put up feeders close to windows because birds will be scared of you and won’t visit them. You also don’t want them to crash into your window, this is not good for the bird. Also avoid hanging them where rain water will gather and pour down, as bird seeds will rot if they get wet. Make sure to wash your feeder with mild soap every time you add seeds.

 

2. Add A Bird Bath

Most people think that bird baths are useless to attract birds, as the only purpose they serve is for decoration. That is incorrect! Birds love bird baths almost as much as bird feeders. Actually, birds need the bird baths just as much as seeds! Birds need to bathe because bugs cling to them and could be deadly. Birds also need to stay hydrated. These are two reasons why birds need bird baths!

Just keep in mind that bird baths aren’t deep, and if you’re planning on making one yourself, make it shallow 1 inch…

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Deer are among the most plentiful and most popular game when it comes to hunting in North America. With a range that stretches from Canada all the way down to the northern part of South America, deer can be found virtually everywhere.

a bachelor herd of red deer with their antlers

Whether you are in pursuit of a trophy rack for your wall, a freezer full of prime, organic meat or just looking for a way to keep these pesky animals from chewing up your garden and flowers, outsmarting these ungulate animals is quite the trick.

But is it possible for the hunter to become the hunted? Are deer dangerous?

Yes, deer can sometimes be dangerous to people, and they can cause severe injuries on the attack using their antlers and kicks. You should never approach a wild deer.

When it comes to negative human and deer interactions, deer are probably most infamous for the tremendous number of automobile accidents they cause every year. But this isn’t the only way they can hurt you.

The antlers that bucks have are not for show, and deer that are very threatened might go on the attack instead of running away. This can turn into a seriously bad day for you! Keep reading to learn more.

Understanding Deer Behavior

Deer are typically concerned with two things: mating and eating, and little else besides unless they are taking care of young.

If they aren’t in the middle of the rut, mating season, deer are either resting or eating, or else looking for something to eat. And this is with good reason!

Compared to other animals their size, deer need a lot of food in order to survive.

An adult white-tailed deer will consume between 8 and 10 pounds of vegetation per day during the spring and summer, and more in the fall!

This is necessary to maintain their high metabolism and keep their energy levels up so they can escape predators and compete during mating season.

Prior to mating season, males will grow a new set of antlers. These start out covered in a soft, spongy tissue called velvet that will eventually harden into multiple spars of the bone-like substance we are all familiar with.

Once their antlers have hardened, bucks will use them to battle other bucks for the chance to mate with does. These battles can be quite fierce, and sometimes even deadly.

During mating season, bucks will become much more aggressive and territorial as they attempt to assert their dominance over other males.

This is when most negative on-foot human-deer interactions occur, as bucks will charge at people that come too close to their does or to them.

Are Deer Aggressive Toward Humans?

Generally no. Deer are not typically aggressive animals and will usually only attack humans if they feel very threatened or cornered.

Deer, as a rule, prefer escape to combat in all circumstances outside mating…

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Today in a letter to TSA Administrator David Pekoske, Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) urged TSA to halt the agency’s use of facial recognition technology. TSA is currently using facial recognition at 16 U.S. airports with plans to continue its expansion. The Senators called TSA’s use of facial recognition “alarming” and “a risk to civil liberties and privacy rights.” The Senators state “American’s civil rights are under threat when the government deploys this technology on a mass scale, without sufficient evidence that the technology is effective on people of color and does not violate American’s right to privacy.”

EPIC has previously called on Congress to suspend of TSA’s use of facial recognition and urged lawmakers to halt the funding for the program. In comments directly to TSA, EPIC warned that “the use of facial recognition completely lacks the safeguards necessary to even consider its implementation.”

Jeramie Scott, EPIC Senior Counsel & Director of the Project on Surveillance Oversight, released the following statement on the call for TSA to halt the use of facial recognition:

“Facial recognition is a dangerous and invasive surveillance technology that lacks federal safeguards and can too easily be expanded. TSA should end its facial recognition program as a step towards reeling back-in the use of facial recognition by the federal government. We must not sit idly by while the infrastructure for mass face surveillance is created. A perilous technology like facial recognition should not even be considered by the federal government, even for identity verification, before strict regulations are put in place to protect privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties and decisions are made on how it should be used if at all.”

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Learn how to press flowers with any of the foolproof DIY pressed flower tutorials here! We’re featuring several methods on how to press flowers of different varieties for your projects. We’ve included how to dry roses, and bonus tips and tricks to press flowers perfectly. Get free craft materials from resources available in your homestead by learning how to press flowers as you read along!

How to Press Flowers for Perfectly Dried Petals

In This Article:

How to Press Leaves and Flowers

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Do you have any encyclopedia or heavy old books lying dusty in your shelves? Put them to good use including your abundant flowers in the garden. This simple technique takes some time but it’s worth the wait.

What you need:

• Flowers, leaves, or plants
• Two sheets of paper
• About 2 or 3 heavy books

What to do:

1.  Pick the flowers, leaves, and plants you want to dry. Remember, if you are picking plants right out in the woods or neighborhood, make sure you are not on someone’s property, picking their plants!
2.  Place two pieces of paper in the middle of the heavy book. Take your flowers and place them in the middle of the two pieces of paper. Make the flowers lie flat so when the book closes, the flowers won’t bend the way you don’t want them to.
3.  Close the book, place the other books on top, and push a bit on top of the books. Leave them in the book for a few days until they are delicate, crisp and dried.

Here’s what the pressed flowers should look:

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How to Mount Dried Flowers in a Frame

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Roses are lovely and keep their lovely scent long after they’re dried. Keep them longer by drying the roses or pressing these lovely flowers.

If you want to dry a rose, you will need:

• One fresh rose
• Scissors
• Heavy books
• Two pieces of paper

What to do:

1. First, you will need to cut the stem. If you noticed, the rose’s stem is thicker than most flower stems. The stem will take longer to dry than the flower itself because it’s thick and has lots of moisture in it.
2. Take your scissors and cut the stem lengthwise. Snip off one part of the stem, once you are at the top of the stem. Now you only have half a stem.
3. Like drying most flowers, put the rose in the middle of the two pieces of paper, and into the middle of one large book.
4. Now, if you close the book in the rose, you will not see the middle of the rose. You will have to bend the rose so you can see the middle when it’s lying flat.
5. Close the book, and add more books on top of the first book. Leave the rose in the books until the rose is completely dried.

How to Make Pressed Flower Art

A simple message in a homemade card made from pressed flowers…

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A newly released government audit revealed details about the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) abuse its access to foreign intelligence information collected under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Section 702, which is due to expire at the end of 2023, authorizes the government to target foreigners for surveillance and acquire their internet communications with the compelled cooperation of U.S. service providers. According to the audit, highlighted in a Wired report today, FBI personnel conducted unlawful searches of Section 702 databases on numerous occasions, including searches relating to a member of Congress, a local political party, and a tip based on racial profiling.

For years, EPIC has advocated for a ban on warrantless backdoor searches, arguing that the FBI’s query and use Section 702 data in routine criminal investigations entirely unrelated to national security without a warrant—or even an individualized court order—raises Fourth Amendment concerns. Most recently, EPIC urged the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to recommend prohibiting warrantless backdoor searches and has joined a coalition of civil liberties groups proposing broader reform to Section 702. EPIC is also committed to increasing transparency around the FBI’s Section 702 activities. In EPIC v. NSD, EPIC obtained a report containing important information about the FBI’s use of Section 702 authority.

EPIC recently published an overview of Section 702 as part of a new blog series focused on explaining Section 702 and the need to reform it.

Jeramie Scott, EPIC Senior Counsel & Director of the Project on Surveillance Oversight, released the following statement about the recently declassified report regarding the FBI’s abuses of Section 702:

“There is a reason EPIC has spent years advocating for reform of Section 702 and for the end of the backdoor search loophole the FBI uses to conduct warrantless searches—these searches are ripe for abuse. The FBI has proven this over and over again. These latest revelations are only the latest in a string of improper FBI searches that violate Americans’ privacy. Congress must enact serious reform of Section 702 or let the authority expire.”

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Despite trends in poultry keeping—such as a few years back, when everyone had to have Columbian Wyandottes in their flock—occasionally a breed that appears popular is actually in decline. Finding their chicks at farm-supply stores or at online hatcheries becomes increasingly difficult, and locating a breeder who’s within your state or region seems more and more like a pipe dream. Even if not critically endangered, these breeds can be ones to watch.

When a specific chicken you’re looking for seems nowhere to be found, you’ll more than likely find it on the Livestock Conservancy’s Conservation Priority List.

While breeds in active decline may not have lessened to the point of Critical or Threatened classification, they may meet the parameters required for categorization as Watch. For poultry breeds to be considered Watch worthy, they must have fewer than 5,000 breeding birds and 10 or fewer main breeding flocks in the United States.

Five thousand birds may seem like a lot, but let’s put that into perspective. According to the National Chicken Council, the U.S. produced more than 9 billion broiler chickens in 2021. This 9 billion does not include heritage or hybrid chickens being farmed for eggs, nor does it include all the birds being kept in backyard flocks. Suddenly, 5,000 birds seems insignificant, especially since extinction is only 5,000 birds away.

The following breeds, all developed in North America, are currently categorized as Watch. Perhaps one or more may inspire you to start your own breeding flock.

Chantecler

Don’t let the name fool you. The Chantecler is not a Continental-class (Northern European) bird.

It is in fact the first chicken breed developed in Canada, developed by Brother Wilfred Chatelain of the Cistercian Abbey of Notre-Dame du Lac in Quebec. Brother Wilfred set out to create a bird that could withstand Canada’s harsh winter climate. Using Dark Cornish, White Leghorn, Rhode Island Red and White Wyandotte stock, he succeeded in developing the White Chantecler (chanter means to sing and clair means clear).

The breed which was recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) in 1921.

Halfway across the country, in Alberta, Dr. J.E. Wilkinson decided to improve on Brother Wilfred’s bird. Believing a white chicken to be too easily targeted by predators, Dr. Wilkinson developed a partridge variety of the Chantecler using Dark Cornish, rose-comb Brown Leghorn, Partridge Cochin and Partridge Wyandotte stock. The Partridge Chantecler was admitted into the APA in 1935.

Both Chantecler varieties are exceptionally cold hardy, with minimal wattles and a tiny rose comb. The breed adapts well to both confinement and ranging and gets along with other varieties of chicken. Chantecler hens lay throughout winter, producing up to 220 beige-pink eggs per year. A calm, friendly bird, the Chantecler is the ideal chicken for those flock owners living in the northern U.S. and Canada.

Read more: These three chicken breeds are critically endangered.

Delaware

Sometimes mistakes…

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