National Hermit Day!

Hermits unite!

Photo credit: KRiemer on Pixababy

This is our day 😊

Actually, nearly every day is a hermit day for my husband John and me. Around our little homesteady place, except for a trip to town about once a week, it’s just us, the woods and the wildlife—the only sound we generally hear is the call of birds and the rustle of leaves in the trees.

Now, this is no hardship for me—I’m intensely introverted, and enjoy being by myself.

However, whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, it seems the day is worth celebrating! Wherever you are, it’s recommended you set your phone aside, and engage in some solitary pursuit. 

John and I don’t have cell service out here in the Foothills, so smart phones are not part of our lives. In fact, we love our lives without them! But if you’re here at the Little Farm blog, chances are you’re a gardener!

If so, you can always go outside and commune with your plants. It’s actually a great idea to spend time with your plants regularly, so you can see issues before they turn into problems. For example, squish a few aphids on your kale before the entire plant is covered with them! 

Yet with all the benefits of solitude, we humans are social creatures. Much like herd animals—the neighborhood cows I watch often hang around together in small groups of five or six. Likewise the horses. So I  think it’s beneficial for the spirit to remember that we are (or can be) part of a community.

An interesting experience I had today really brought this home. 

On my bikeride, passing an old, dense forest, I heard an odd clucking. A grouse? I’d just seen one in our orchard this morning.

No. Not a grouse. I turned to see what was making the sound.

It was a small flock of chickens near the road! In a forest, more than a 1/4 mile from the nearest house! Rustling through the underbrush was a black rooster, with about five tawny-colored pullets around him. 

All I could think about was how defenseless the little flock would be, and all predators around here:  from coyotes to bobcats to eagles and hawks. Those chickens wouldn’t have long for this world.

So I decided to give up my hermit-y existence and turned down a deserted road not far from where I’d seen the chickens. 

I rode the short distance to the small farm I knew was tucked up against a foothill, and called out “Hello!”

I ended up meeting a nice older fellow, who’d probably lived there since we moved here, but with whom I’d never crossed paths. When I told him about the chickens on the loose he seemed really surprised, and said there were no other houses nearby. 

Confirming that the chickens were not his, I have to say he had a gleam in his eye. I’m hoping he’ll climb into his pickup and see if he can rescue the little flock. 

As it turns out, I was so glad I took the chance to *not* be a hermit. After all, we can always be hermits together. 

Light Irish Summer Read + Anne of Green Gables!

Picking scads of blueberries and harvesting the first apples, I can just feel the summer clock ticking down…

Summer always feels like it’s over by the end of August, doesn’t it? If you’re in the mood for a light, cozy read, to stretch out those summery vibes, my novel The Little Irish Gift Shop might fit the bill…

And it’s featured this week in a Kobo Books special promotion, “Great Reads at a Great Price”—now through August 29!

A summer of discovery, a charming little shop, and a once-in-a-lifetime chance at a new life… Dublin girl Emma begins her journey toward her dreams, with an unexpected romantic encounter and a touch of Jane Austen! 

The brand-new cover says “summer” to me too, with the cloud of jasmine blossoms and pink roses. You’ll find The Little Irish Gift Shop at all other ebook retailers, like Amazon, Apple and B&N.

Coming soon in paperback!

How about the ultimate cozy summer read? I’m loving reading Anne of Green Gables for the upteenth time! If you love the 80s TV series like I do, there’s more about “Anne” in my August newsletter 😊

I’ll be back next time with some new garden tips. In the meantime, you can find lots more about my “Little Farm” homesteady books and Irish novels at www.susancolleenbrowne.com !

Where the Wild Things Are

 The Wild Things Are Actually Right Here…

Along our little wooded lane, seven families live on the seven 10-acre parcels, and there’s another farmer with about 50 acres—all habitat for bears, coyotes, deer, raptors, songbirds and rodents.

Photo credit: Unsplash

Lately, most of the action has been right next door. About a 1/4 mile from our house, our neighbors put out what’s called a deer block. It’s a big chunk of manufactured grains and molasses, which ideally the neighborhood deer will feed on—instead of coming into their unfenced yard and devouring their pretty ornamental flowers and shrubs.

Our neighbors report that it’s been fairly effective—but there’s one big problem: the block attracts far more than deer. Songbirds, for instance, which is lovely. 

Black bears, which is not.

Shortly after they set out the block, some critter moved the 40-pound chunk a few yards away from where they’d set it. I don’t need to tell you that only a bear would have the dexterity—and the strength—to do it.

In the last couple of weeks, with this ready source of bear food on their property, they’ve seen a sow with two cubs several times on their game cam. Which I have to admit is a bit chilling.

The destructive—but fortunately shy—bear that broke into our yard the summer before last was a singleton, and that was bad enough. I would NOT want to confront a mother bear, with not one, but two cubs to get elevated over.

In my June 24 post here, I mentioned our neighbor who was keeping a few beehives.

Hal, our neighbor, discovered not one but three bears attacking his hives on his game cam. He said one bear was holding a big honeycomb in his paws. “It looked just like Pooh Bear,” said Hal, “munching on the comb with a big smile on its face.”

Sounds like a fun story…but as I mentioned in that post, the next day, when Hal tried to tend to his damaged hives, his bees attacked him. 

He was stung about 20 times. The thing is, our little corner of the Foothills is not a place to have a medical emergency. The closest medical help is the fire station about 9 miles away; the hospital is an hour’s drive, and that’s if you break the speed limits.

The happy ending is, that Hal recovered…and he’s now got an electrified fence around his hives.

The most serious wildlife episode recently happened to our other “next door” neighbor—her house is about 100 yards from ours.

She has three dogs, Aussie-Doodle mixes. The two burly adult males are good watchdogs, while the third is a five or six-month-old puppy. They all freely wander around her property.

A lot of country folks depend on their dogs to deter wildlife, but it didn’t work this time.

As our neighbor related, a coyote went straight for the puppy, but one dog managed to protect the pup. Then the coyote(s) went after the other adult dog and badly mauled him. The vet said the nature of the bites indicated this poor dog had been attacked by at least two coyotes.

I’m delighted to report the injured dog is healing. But our neighbor, who immediately reinforced her backyard fence with large steel panels, no longer allows any of the dogs out of her yard.

Before this, I’d only ever heard of a cougar attacking adult dogs. And while I’ve never felt afraid of coyotes, this incident does give me pause.

And More Bears…

I’m also happy to report that I’ve had only two minor bear encounters this season. 

While I was cycling through the county park, just a few feet away from me a bear strolled across the narrow, forested park road, about 3 miles away from our house.

As soon as it saw me, it scuttled into the woods and disappeared. No danger, no drama, the way I like it.

Taking my evening walk earlier this week, I saw another bear about 40 yards away, crossing our lane. I stopped immediately, just it saw me. The bear just looked at me for a long moment, then, like the other bear in the park, it strolled into the woods. 

Needless to say, I turned right around and headed back home…checking over my shoulder frequently!

In the local bears’ non-hibernating months, from April to November, I never go too far into our woods without John. But after hearing about all this bear activity close by, I’m super cautious just going out to my compost piles.

Now if only all the neighborhood bears would just trek the 3 miles to the park’s woods and stay there!

This post is from my June 2025 newsletter, This Little Farm Life…it’s where you’ll also find monthly wildlife stories and book recommendations!

International Fairy Day & Bears + Bees

Fun Irish Read with my favorite fairy snowglobe!

Watch out for fairies…because today, June 24, is International Fairy Day!

If you’re a regular reader here at the Little Farm blog, you know I’m big on fairies—especially Irish fairies. 

Irish mythology is chock full of magical beings, from banshees to pookas to leprechauns, but if you’re looking at unexplained mischief, malarkey, and even malfeasance, fairies are sure to be the cause!

I recently came across an enjoyable fairy-themed Irish novel, The Story Collector by Evie Woods. 

Told in a dual timeline between the early 20th century and modern-day, it’s the story of an American researcher who comes to Ireland to do proper research on fairy lore, and the young Irish lass who helps him. 

One hundred years later, a visitor to Ireland discovers the young girl’s journal of their fairy research!

Now, I’ve looked into plenty of Irish fairy lore myself, learning about the various fairy spells, kidnappings, and how to detect a changeling, for starters. 

But I found a new kind of fairy magic in The Story Collector. Not to give any spoilers, but when a character gets into grave danger, a huge swarm of bees magically appears to the rescue!

In regular life, however, we all know a bee swarm is something to avoid. Even if it’s only a bunch of angry bees…again, you’ll want to keep your distance.

Our neighbor, who lives about 1/3 of a mile away, was keeping a couple of beehives. And we’ve been hearing about the bear sow and her two cubs who’ve taken up residence on our wooded lane. 

The young bear who visited our place two summers ago

Last month, a bear attacked our neighbor’s hives—we don’t know if it was the sow or other bears lurking around—but the hives were heavily damaged. When our neighbor went to tend to his hives, his bees attacked him. He was stung quite badly, and ended up calling 911. 

Thankfully, he recovered fairly quickly, but it was a hard lesson about protecting your Foothills crops. Hives around here need to be inside an electric fence, no way around it.

If you enjoy wildlife tales, I’ve included more of our neighborhood critter news in “Where the Wild Things Are,” my June newsletter…I hope you’ll take a look! 

National Scavenger Hunt Day & The Goonies!

It all started with the skeleton under the floor…

Today, May 24, is National Scavenger Hunt Day! If you like hunts, but aren’t participating in a real-life hunt today, here’s a fun way go on a scavenger hunt in your imagination…with my middle-grade chapter book, The Secret Astoria Scavenger Hunt!

The story opens with…

“The human skeleton dangled from an invisible cord beneath a clear floor panel, light from the nearby fireplace flickering on the top of its skull…”

So where do The Goonies come in?

I dreamed up the story when I was in Astoria, Oregon, for The Goonies Anniversary Celebration. 

If you’re a Goonies fan, you know that the 1985 movie was filmed in and around Astoria—and every five years, the town puts on a big event celebrating all things Goonie!

But the inspiration for the book goes waaay back. When I was a kid in St. Cloud, Minnesota, one of my friends lived in a big house with a secret passageway. And when I was even younger, I always dreamed of having a secret room of my own. So being very intrigued by secret and mysterious places…

And being a big fan of The Goonies movie, that weekend visit to Astoria, I visited an amazing Victorian home, lots of historical sites, and fascinating nooks and crannies. My writer’s brain did a lot of alchemy, and in popped a story about 3 plucky kids going on a ghostly scavenger hunt!

Here’s the Victorian mansion that inspired the haunted B&B in my story

And the old Astoria county jail, now the Oregon Film Museum, that appeared in the movie…and where my fictional scavenger hunt begins!

Also, while writing the book, I was reading Anne of Green Gables. I was so taken by the sweetness and innocence of that story, that I wanted to reflect that simpler time in my book. It’s for tweens, but younger kids, and early teens might like it too. 

Here’s more about the story…

The Goonies Anniversary Celebration brings Seattle tween Morgan to Astoria, Oregon, for a fun weekend with her younger Astoria cousins, Sean and Ronan. The boys have just entered a spooky contest inspired by the movie, and Morgan wants to help them win…and she’s determined to make their Anniversary Celebration weekend together the most memorable ever!

But there’s something really peculiar about the bed-and-breakfast where Morgan, almost thirteen, and her mom are staying. When an even more outlandish girl at the B&B asks the three to go on a cryptic quest on her behalf—a scavenger hunt that could help the boys win the contest—Morgan and her cousins begin a rollicking visit to Astoria’s most famous spots.  

Yet as the weird hunt kicks into high gear, they discover a mysterious boy is following them all over town.

Here’s Astoria’s historical theatre, reputed to be haunted. It inspired the scary theatre in the book’s scavenger hunt!

With the stranger in hot pursuit, the kids realize that the secrets and legends of old Astoria may be haunting them. Will Morgan, Sean and Ronan be able to escape from the powerful forces of the past?  Or will they remain trapped in a world of shadows and dangerous secrets?

To celebrate the 10-Year Anniversary of The Secret Astoria Scavenger Hunt, I’m offering a special sale on my store… Buy the paperback, and get a free print copy of the first book in the series too! Price includes shipping! 

The sale goes through June 8, 2025, this year’s The Goonies Anniversary Celebration, or while supplies last. And even if you only take a look at my store, I appreciate your supporting my small business!

If you prefer ebooks, you can find The Secret Astoria Scavenger Hunt at all your favorite bookstores…Amazon, Kobo, B&N, and Apple Books. You can also get the auto-narrated audiobook at Amazon! 

The Secret Astoria Scavenger Hunt is a tale that also touches upon the ways kids find their place in the world. And if you’re a big Goonies fan, here’s where you can find out about the 2025 Celebration! 

Free Irish “Beach Read” Romance…a First-time Freebie!

Book 2 of my Irish series

Sparkling banter, family secrets, and a slow-burn romance…Mother Love, my Irish “beach read,” is a free ebook this week!

In this rollicking, engaging romantic novel, 30-year old Grainne embarks on a summer of discovery—she’s confronting her feelings about her complicated mother and embarking on her own impetuous plan, just as her longtime crush turns into a passionate love affair. 

You can find the ebook on Kobo, where it’s been selected for a special free promotion…just scroll down to “Find your fave new reads…” 

The ebook is also free at Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and just about every other ebook store. 

(But not Amazon…sorry. Tech issues.) 

Here’s more about Mother Love, Book 2 of the Village of Ballydara series:

For her thirtieth birthday, Irish girl Grainne (pronounced “Grawn-ya) Larkin yearns for three things: her mother's love, a baby, and her old flame Rafe Byrne—not necessarily in that order. On Rafe’s wedding day—a business tycoon, he’s marrying a rich, gorgeous American blonde to please his family—brash, irreverent Grainne decides to settle for second best: the nice guy in the wings, who’s successful and mad about her too.

Yet the Larkin family, as usual, muddles her “failsafe” plan…Grainne's oldest sister pressures her to leave Dublin for the quaint little village of Ballydara, to help their beautiful, complicated mother Eileen launch a B&B. Given her turbulent relationship with her mam, the last thing Grainne wants to do is live with her.

But when Rafe turns up in Ballydara a free man, Grainne plunges into a no-holds-barred pursuit of her lifelong dream. Yet Grainne may discover that opening her heart—to Rafe, to the prospect of motherhood, and to her mother—is the biggest risk of all…

And There’s Another Freebie:

Book1 of the Ballydara series, It Only Takes Once, is permafree—that is, free every day…

Book 1 of the Ballydara series—a fun Rom-Com

And since Mother Love will be free through the Memorial Day weekend, now is a great time to grab both ebooks for free…You’ll find links to all the ebook stores and lots more about the series at www.susancolleenbrowne.com!

Magical Garden Pest Control and More Homestead Garden Class Insights

Barred Owl…Photo credit: Pixabay

Have you watched “The Biggest Little Farm” documentary? You’ll never look at garden pest control the same way. More on that below…

This spring, my “Grow a Homestead-Style Food Garden” had so many interested students, the college ran a second session! 

The second class was just as fun and insightful as the first, but a pair of students shared a garden pest control strategy that’s actually a bit magical…

Back to “The Biggest Little Farm.” 

In the film, the farmer couple watched helplessly as their crops—in which they’d invested years of hard work—were devoured by pests. Then, they had an insight: 

Put Mother Nature to work! 

By creating habitat for certain wildlife, and adding certain farm animals, they discovered every pest has a predator:

*Hawks eat starlings

*Ducks eat snails

*Spiders and wasps eat caterpillars

*Ladybugs eat aphids, and

*Owls and snakes eat gophers

The two students I mentioned above, a married couple, had created a wonderful food garden…then the pests arrived. Critters were attacking everything they grew, from starlings, rats and mice, to voles and squirrels. They said the starlings were the absolute worst.

They couldn’t harvest anything.

But the husband, an engineer who likes to tinkerdoodle around his property, had a brainwave: 

An owl house!

It’s also known as an owl box. It’s like a birdhouse, only really large, where owls can raise their young. You can find kits online, but if you’re handy, you might make your own.

He shared how his owl house came about: after thorough research, he hand-built his own owl house. He advised to make it larger than most kits; his owl house is 2-feet x 3-feet, with a 6-inch round opening. 

On the floor, he uses twigs or wood chips for bedding.

An owl house is just not a simple box: you need to attach hinges to one of the walls to make it moveable. This way, you can simply lift one side to clean out the inside a couple of times a year.

My student placed his owl house in a tall fir at the edge of his property. Online, I saw you can set it at a height of 10 - 20 feet, but he recommended 12 feet. 

He also installed a wildlife cam, and showed me a video. In it, the owlets are staring, big-eyed, into the camera. He said he and his wife spend a lot of time watching them!

Anyway, in a short space of time, the starlings were the first to vamoose, then the rest of their garden pests disappeared…Like magic!

We have lots of barred owls around our neighborhood—here’s a story about my recent encounter with two of them. Since we also have LOTS of voles, my husband John is looking to build an owl house too. 

But if you have lots of pests, and are just beginning your food gardening adventures, here’s something to consider:

Rhubarb: A resilient crop

Why not start by growing food crops that don’t really have pests? While voles do eat rhubarb roots, the rhubarb root systems are very robust, and can generally hold their own. Garlic and onions aren’t plagued by critters that I’ve ever seen. 

Homegrown is the best tasting garlic you’ll ever eat!

Plus these crops are easy to grow. A win-win! 

More Interesting Tips:

Fava Beans: We were discussing cover crops, pros and cons, and one student said, “Fava beans work great.”

These aren’t the regular Fava beans, but a small Fava bean specifically bred as a cover crop. She said when you’re ready to overplant your Fava crop, you can pull the plants out easily—unlike most cover crops that have to be tilled in, and often get invasive.

Dairy Whey: One student makes a lot of homemade yogurt. I’ve made a few batched of ricotta cheese. If you’ve ever made either one, you know you end up with a lot of whey. If you don’t have pigs to share it with, what can you do with whey?

This student actually dilutes the whey with water, and uses it in her garden…and reported that regular whey applications have made her asparagus patch flourish!

I hope you love these off-the-wall tips as much as I do…and I’ll report back once John builds our owl house!