Fire Branch Farms

05/28/2026

05/24/2026

Good morning! While I was at work last night, Zeb texted me and said he heard cheeps in the chicken coop. We have had a broody mama sitting on about 40 eggs for what feels like forever. At this point we are unsure how many peeps we have, mama is still carefully sitting on the eggs although she has kicked a few out overnight. Time will tell!

05/21/2026

The lilacs aren’t fully open, and it’s not even Memorial Day yet, but we are already getting started for the firewood for the year. Starting early ensures it gets done in time for the next winter. We would much rather process wood when it’s warmer.

05/21/2026

Today’s plant is just starting to open up here in north central Maine. We typically have lilac blooms around Memorial Day.

Syringa vulgaris will be what is discussed here, but there are up to 40 species of lilacs. Originally hailing from the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, they have been naturalized and utilized in traditional herbal usage in both Eastern and Western traditions, first from Iran and the Himalayas then to China and Japan. The name Lilac is derived from Arabic. Traditional Chinese Medicine calls it Yuan Hua. All cultures use this plant the same ways.

Lilac is cooling and drying, containing tannins that make it astringent. It makes an excellent skin toner and hair rinse. Traditionally used for hot skin conditions and fevers (including recurrent disease like malaria), lilac also is used to keep lungs clear and promote blood flow in the GI capillaries. Gassy or constipated conditions can benefit from lilac in this way. Lilac also relaxes smooth muscle and has been shown to aid uterine cramping. It has a bitter quality, which stimulates better digestion and bile production, and is liver protective.

Analgesic and anti inflammatory properties along with antioxidants make lilac an excellent poultice aid for swollen joints, sprains, bruises, and muscle soreness. The scent is calming to the nervous system, although it is very difficult to obtain a true essential oil from lilac - beware the multiple businesses claiming to sell it, especially cheaply.

Teas used internally and externally from the flowers, leaves, and/or root bark have been used traditionally as well as a leaf and root bark poultice. A tincture can be made but note that the tannins need a little glycerine added to fully extract all the constituents that water and alcohol alone cannot draw.

The coumarins and other antioxidants help protect the heart, but people on coagulation medications should avoid lilac. It can also lower blood sugar and blood pressure, and the root bark promotes menstruation so pregnant persons or those on blood pressure or diabetic medications should avoid lilac (always consult with your doctor before adding any herbal supplements).

05/19/2026

We have finished up the raised bed prep last week (this is mid-process) and added in some more raised beds to finish out the space we have allocated for our vegetable garden. We have gradually added a couple more beds every spring, and are up to 13 4x8 beds and three 2x4 beds to start this season.

Our rocky ridge has boulders the size of our truck and we don’t have a crane to lift them out, so raised beds it is for most annual things. We do have an orchard space and other fruits in the ground, and are making an extended hugelkultur bed on the other side of the chicken coop that will be able to grow larger swaths of veggies (like corn) in essentially a giant raised bed area here in another couple of years. It’s coming along nicely, we are a couple of years into that process.

Yes, I laid down w**d barrier around them all, because maintenance while also working a full-time job with changing schedules needs a little help. I’d love to dump gravel on it, but one thing at a time. Baby steps. Plus, the priority is good food to save some on the grocery bill and not decorative function, so gravel is way down on the list.

All that prep work was done in one of the best times of the month to kill off the w**ds, and today we started the process of planting some of the veggies. Four types of onions, two types of carrots, some lettuces and salad blends got put in after work today until it got too dark to see. We will start with flowers elsewhere tomorrow, and then plant other veggies later in the week once this frost chance on Friday morning passes.

05/16/2026

We have tree leaves up at my house now! They popped in town a little while ago but we’ve been patiently waiting up here on our little ridge. Birches and poplars first, and maples arrived the next day. Now to just keep an eye on the weather because Thursday into Friday says it will be 42° overnight down in the closest town, and up where we are we trend 5° colder…and that’s still frost territory. I have my only Saturday off for the month today and the weather is gorgeous, so I’m going to attempt some groundwork for the gardens even if it’s just a little bit.

I’m fighting waves of vertigo again today. I had a good day yesterday but have had the past week dealing with it. Zero stars, do not recommend vestibular migraines to anyone. This is not dizziness, it’s the falling feeling with nausea without end plus headache and weird vision. Interestingly the headache is not as blinding as the “normal” migraines I’ve had since I was 9 years old. This is a new wrinkle that showed up in February and I’ve had four episodes since.

Last Saturday, I exhausted all my protected sick time hours to be away from work, so my husband has been driving me to my job all week. My brain still works even if my balance is terrible and I finished the week. The medication allows me to be upright and walk, even if I feel like a newborn deer. Yesterday I felt so much better; today it feels like I’ve taken three steps back again.

Today, I have been fully medicated and I still plan to go out and get my hands dirty anyway as much as I’m able to, even if I have to lurch over and sit to do it. It’s spring and I WILL garden on my day off! My Scottish DNA is stubborn enough to do some just on principle 😂.

05/14/2026

Chickens are just feathered cats.

Infinitely curious, and will follow you around to check out what you’re doing and sit on your feet while you’re trying to work. They also pounce on and eat mice and other small critters. And they will scratch you with their claws.

05/14/2026

No today. We will return next week. A lot going on here and I forgot about it, sorry.

05/13/2026

On Mother’s Day, my tulips fully colored in and opened up. The plan is to add in more tulips (and other plants) for next year, and to paint the front entrance.

I currently have flowers on the sugar maples now, but no leaves. The lilac shrubs have leaves the size of a squirrel’s ear and hints of the blooms to come. Spring has made the grass lush and bright green, even if the trees lag behind. We have had frosts over the last week including this morning, and will have another tomorrow. Hopefully the last frost for the year 🙏🏻

05/07/2026

Today’s plant is blooming all up and down Southern roadways, a common ditch plant that loves woodland edges. The black elderberry, Sambucus nigra, thrives in moist soils but is also drought tolerant once established, and can reach 12+ feet tall. It is linked to faerie lore & folk tales.

The flowers are the prize at this stage of the year, but the fruit is the prize later in summer. Elderflower is loaded with antioxidants, tannins, and also Vitamins A and C. Elderflower, like the later berries, are one of nature’s best antivirals- traditionally, used to ease influenza in 2 to 3 days when taken every few hours. It is diaphoretic (sweat inducing), making it an excellent way to break a fever, and it also clears sinus congestion and aids as an expectorant. If the flowers are made into a tea, it can be used as an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial skin wash to help aid swollen bruises, acne, and rashes. Drinking the tea is also diuretic, and helps flush urinary tract infections and bladder infections.

There is some usage for nerve pain, including sciatica and other back pain, and also to soothe sore gums. Additionally, some allergy relief benefit has been reported from the chlorogenic acid it contains, and its anti-inflammatory properties. We use a tincture of the elderflower in an allergy relief blend.

The leaves, bark, and unripe fruit have some toxicity, so it is recommended to make a tea with the dried flowers that have been carefully stripped from their stems.

Be aware that there is a deadly lookalike that grows right alongside of elderberry: water hemlock. It is vital that you not only know how to identify elderberry, but how to also identify the hemlock which is fatal if ingested. There are many resources available and visual aids - for elderberry, the flowers make flat umbels, always make berries, leaves are opposite and the veins don’t quite meet the edge of the leaf. Please do research.

Those with autoimmune diseases or those taking immunosuppressants need to take care, as elder stimulates the immune system. Elderflower also lowers blood sugar.

As always, harvest using safe, ethical practices, and be 100% sure of the identity.