The Wild Quiet Project

06/01/2026

If you are in PR tomorrow, swing by and say hi! We will be kicking off the libraries summer reading program by planting some stuff for all to enjoy this summer! (And i will have free sunflower seeds from my garden for all to take because sunflowers can brighten any day! 🌻)

05/27/2026

💜10 years of Freyja today💜

A typical Frey Day....

✅️Sunbathing directly in freshly worked garden beds before i get anything planted
✅️Defending against any suspicious squirrels or neighborhood dogs who are minding thier own business
✅️Getting overly excited about a new bandana
✅️Short jaunts through the park (these days the hips dont work for anything longer)
✅️Drinking water loudly for what feels like 45 straight minutes
✅️Being my #1 sidekick and the goodest girl in the whole dang world!

There’s something really special about growing alongside an animal for that long. She’s been beside me for so many seasons of life already—different houses, different seasons, kids growing up, gardens changing, chaos, calm, all of it, and it is hard to imagine this little wild life without her in it.

So HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY my little moon 🌜 my little crawdad 🦐 my little trotting horse 🐎
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Great Dane life, dog birthday, Minnesota dogs, nature loving dogs, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County.

05/26/2026

🪱 Composting…one of the weirdest and most rewarding things humans collectively agreed to normalize 😅

“Yes, I keep a pile of decomposing food scraps, leaves, dirt, worms, and mystery garden debris in my yard and I’m VERY proud of it.”

It gets ingrained in you surprisingly fast that food scraps DO NOT go in the garbage. I don’t even think twice anymore about packing up scraps while cooking at my parents’ house so I can bring them home 🤷‍♀️

I finally turned my much-needed-attention after-winter compost pile this weekend and honestly…there’s something deeply satisfying about watching all that stuff slowly break down into actual usable soil again.

Oh, and did I mention the WORMS? (I may have a mild worm obsession if you haven’t noticed already.)

Everyone wants healthy gardens, but so much of it starts down there first—worms, fungi, bacteria, decomposition, and all the weird underground life quietly doing the work.

THE HEALTH OF EVERYTHING ABOVE GROUND STARTS BELOW IT!

Anyway. Long live worms 🪱
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Composting, soil health, Minnesota gardening, earthworms, sustainable gardening, organic gardening, grow your own food, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County

05/24/2026

🌿 today’s agenda includes:

-hardening off peppers and tomatoes
-hunting for worms and washing rocks for unknown but VERY important reasons (🤷‍♀️ ask my 5 year old 🪱🪨)
-hearing a cardinal somewhere nearby that i cannot physically locate no matter how hard i try
-reading a couple library books about soil life because honestly…that stuff is fascinating

📚one thing i think we really underuse is our local library system. there’s SO much free knowledge sitting there if you’re curious enough to go looking for it. gardening, compost, soil health, native plants, herbalism, birds, food preservation…all of it.

What are you up to? Any good nature books? Send them my way!

*These two are FANTASTIC! The Dirt by Lindsey Leigh (for kids AND adults!) and Grow Your Soil by Diane Miessler

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Minnesota spring, gardening with kids, soil health, worms, local libraries, hardening off tomatoes and peppers, Fergus Falls gardening, Otter Tail County.

Pelican Rapids Public Library Fergus Falls Public Library

05/23/2026

🌿 Minnesota gardeners: this is your reminder to SLOW DOWN just a little 😅

I know everyone wants tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and basil outside immediately right now, but we’re still in that risky time of year where one cold night can ruin your whole mood.

NOW is a really good time to start acclimating plants though.

A simple hardening off schedule looks something like:

🌱 Day 1–2: an hour or two outside in shade
🌱 Day 3–4: a little morning sun
🌱 Day 5–6: longer stretches outside
🌱 Day 7+: start leaving them out most of the day if temps are looking good

I always refer to the U of MN extension website (biased as I am a U of MN Master Gardener ☺️) when it comes to anything gardening in Zone 4...here is a screenshot from the following page : https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/starting-seeds-indoors

Honestly this time of year is mostly gardeners trying to balance excitement with self control 😂

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05/23/2026

Yum!!! 🌶🥕🥒🍅🫛🫑🌽🧅🫜 Keep the fresh veg comin' Sower's Harvest Farm

05/21/2026

Ok everyone! I just came across this awesome new resource through Blue Thumb - Planting for Clean Water and created by Prairie Restorations, Inc.
I am all about making planting and caring for native plants more accessible and simplified, and this is a great place to start!
What's on you list that you are excited about? Leadplant is on mine...which is so exciting because I randomly discovered them 2 years ago at Inspiration Peak Wayside Park and fell in love!

At Blue Thumb, we love sharing tools that make native planting more approachable and successful. 🌼✅ That’s why we’re excited to highlight our partner and sponsor Prairie Restorations, Inc. and their new online tool: PRESTO. ⚡

PRESTO helps take the guesswork out of choosing native plants. By combining site conditions with historical ecological data, the tool generates a tailored list of plants that are likely to thrive in your space, whether you’re starting your very first pollinator garden or planning a larger restoration project. 🌿🌻

Our latest blog post breaks down how PRESTO works and what inspired its creation. Read on at https://bluethumb.org/meet-presto-prairie-restorations-new-plant-finder-tool/

Thank you for being a Blue Thumb sponsor, Prairie Restorations! 💚

05/20/2026

Spring has officially reached the “my cats are losing their minds at the windows” stage 😹

Birds everywhere, squirrels back with thier cat harrasing ways, windows open, and at least 14 dramatic emergency sprints from one side of the house to the other every day.

Hope everyone else's cats are surviving this rough time of year too!

(This is my most dramatic 'observer' Bonez Malone)
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05/17/2026

🌿 Things I’ve done in the last 24 hours as a person trying very hard to be patient for real gardening season:

🌶️Stared at my pepper starts and dreamed about fresh Poblanos 2 times
🗺Mentally redesigned my entire yard 3 times
🪱️Got really excited about worms 7 times
🌡Checked the weather 12 times

Anyone else or just me?!?!

05/16/2026

🌿 Good morning, Minnesota!

It’s one of those days where everything feels awake again after being cooped up all winter.

I’ve spent a lot of time this winter thinking about food, nature, sustainability, learning practical skills, and how disconnected a lot of us have become from each other and from the places we live. It’s a big part of why I started building The Wild Quiet Project in the first place.

Which is also why I’m really excited to officially be partnering with Acres of Asher as part of their Hub & Spoke community.

It feels good finding other local people who care about growing food, supporting local producers, rebuilding community, and making gardening, sustainability, and local food knowledge feel approachable again instead of overwhelming.

I’ll still be over here figuring things out as I go—planning workshops, Grow 10%, Dirt Nights, gardens, all of it—but I’m excited to be building it alongside a community that’s trying to move in the same direction.

Honestly, I think more of us are craving this kind of connection again.
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Fergus Falls community, local food movement, local food systems, Minnesota gardening, sustainable living, local gardening workshops, grow your own food, Otter Tail County.