Recent Posts

a black plastic seed tray with little two-leafed seedlings poking out of their dirt

Backyard Suburban Garden Plan, Year 6 (2024)

I'm growing tomatoes (of course), repeating other favorites, trying new veggies, and planting more flowers than last year! Read how my crop rotation is panning out, and goals for this year's garden.
honeybees crawling over a brood frame in the sunlight

Bees: Splitting a Hive That Survived the Winter

Northern winters can be rough for beehives. Not all of our hives made it. Instead of buying a new nuc or queen, here's how we've attempted a split! Plus, read what I've been doing with the harvested honey and beeswax.
four crochetted water bottle carriers with water bottles in them

Tutorial: Super Simple Crocheted Water Bottle Holder in 5 Steps (Great First Project!)

Never go thirsty with this straightforward and functional water bottle carrier! Comes together fast. A good project for beginning crocheters!
a skein of wool yarn beside an unfinished rectangle of a lacey crochetted scarf

Projects: Learning to Crochet! Scarves, Water Bottle Carriers, a Hat, and Shawls

When your friends decide to learn to crochet at book club, you bring yarn and join in! Here's what I've been making from yarn this winter!
heirloom tomatoes, big and small, piled on plates, bowls, and in a basket

Backyard Suburban Gardening: My Year 5 Harvest

This year's expanded garden was more work, but the increased yield was worth it! I added to the front flower garden, too. Here's how everything grew and what I want to do differently next year.
a man in a white bee suit holding up a frame from a beehive, which has capped joney covering 70% of it and some bees crawling on it

Winterizing the Bees, Year 1

Northern winters are cold—so what do the bees do? Here's how we prepared our hives for the snowy months.
pint size mason jars filled with honey in a line on a wooden surface

How We Managed Our First Honey Harvest

Our bees have been productive this summer, so we decided to harvest some honey! Here's what we've learned about the honey extraction process.
a man in a white beekeeping suit holding up a frame from a hive covered in comb and bees

Why We Started Beekeeping—And How It's Going!

No secrets: We wanted the honey. Here's why we started with four hives, how we setup the bees, what happened when one hive swarmed, and other faced challenges so far.
cover of the book Retrosuburbia by David Holmgren featuring a smiling man on a bike with three kids on the back, and a basketfull of greens in the front bike basket; he's smiling at a woman holding a baby goat, and another goat is standing in front of the bike nibbling the greens. A house, water tank, a man, and a woman wearing a baby on her back are in the background.

Book Review: Retrosuburbia: The Downshifters Guide to a Resilient Future by David Holmgren

Not everyone has 40 acres and a mule. This book explains how to be more sustainable, off-grid, and productive on a regular neighborhood lot!
Close up portrait of a chicken face, beak pointing to the right

One Year Later, Are Backyard Chickens Worth It?

We brought chicks home a year ago. Now, how do we like having hens? How many eggs do they produce? What do you do when they escape their run or get attacked by hawks? Are they more work than they're worth?
top down view of a bucket of spiky chives, many with buds or flowers, kind of like a chive firework exploding toward you

How I Planted My Suburban Yard Garden, How It Grew, and What I Learned (Gardening, Year 4!)

A long, cold spring; a late first frost; new spaces, new flowers, new tools—here's how this year's garden grew!
three brown eggs resting on soft green moss

Backyard Chickens: First Eggs, Starting Compost, and New Challenges

We set up our backyard coop and got chicks in late March. After months of waiting, the payoff is real: the first eggs! But not everything is peachy… flies? adventuring hens? What did we sign up for?
new raspberry leaves, vibrant and lush

Backyard Gardening, Year 4: Spring Planning, Planting, and Improvements

Each year I try to level up a few gardening skills—and this year we have to landscape along a new front fence and incorporate the chickens into our routine!
dry stone wall along a grassy path in the countryside

The Farmer's Lament, a Poem

Tolkien recognized the importance of lay poets and musicians. His characters sing and compose verse about the great deeds and events of their age. What about in our world? Here's one attempt, inspired by Tolkien's Durin's Song.
two chicks standing beside each other being fluffy

Backyard Chickens: Why We Got Them, Where We Set Up the Coop, and What's Next!

Chickens? We weren't going to get animals until our kids could do the chores. Here's why we changed our minds and how we got chickens set up in our backyard.
close up of braided flannel rag rug

Making Rag Rugs From T-Shirts and Old Sheets (Reuse and Upcycle!)

I love finding new uses for old stuff. I had a collection of old t-shirts and ripped sheets... what better thing to do than repurpose them into beautiful rugs?
a loaf of warm crusty sourdough resting on a flour sack towel

The Fastest, Easiest Way to Bake a Great Loaf of Sourdough Bread

Armed with a new sourdough starter, I was on a mission to make a fantastic loaf with the least amount of time and effort. Here's my method.
Mason jars of apple jam lined up on a wooden cutting board

Seasonality and Natural Rhythms: Why Growing and Preserving Your Own Food Matters

Having a garden isn't just a hedge against the End Times. Whether canning jam, fermenting cabbage, or dehydrating tomatoes, here's why the natural rhythm of growing and preserving food is good for us.
Tomatoes and cucumbers climbing their twine trellises, with marigolds, peppers, and basil underneath

Gardening, Year 3: What I Grew and What I Learned in My 200-square-foot Backyard Garden

Every year in the garden is different. I never know which plants will grow well, based on the weather and where they're planted. Here's what happened this year: what grew, what didn't, and what I learned.
small pepper plant just planted in the dirt in the garden bed

Backyard Gardening, Year 3: Spring Planning, Planting, and Pests

Starting tomatoes, planting herbs, and preparing for a season of fresh vegetables! But how do we deal with the neighbor's new bunnies?
yellow marigolds in a garden bed

Gardening, Year 2: What I Improved and How I Planned, Planted, and Harvested My 200-square-foot Garden

Could I replicate year 1's magnificant tomato harvest? Here's what I planned, how it went, and what I learned.
big beautiful red tomatoes in a wooden bowl

Gardening, Year 1: How I Planned, Planted, and Harvested a 200-square-foot Garden and What I Learned

I used the square foot gardening method to grow flowers, herbs, and tomatoes. I was most excited about tomatoes. If I grew some, the garden would be a success!

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About

We're Jacqueline and Randy, a blogging duo with backgrounds in tech, robots, art, and writing, now raising our family in northern Idaho.

Our goal is to encourage deliberate choices, individual responsibility, and lifelong curiosity by sharing stories about our adventures in living, loving, and learning.

Learn more about us.


Connect:

whoo@deliberateowl.com

Start here

Curious about our life and journey? Here are some good places to start reading:

Jacqueline and Randy leaning their heads together smiling at the camera

A Blog About Education, Lifestyles, and Community

A brief history of how the Deliberate Owl came to be and why we're writing a blog about us, our lives, and how we're living out our values.
Priests in red and gold celebrate a traditional Latin Mass

Discovering the Traditional Catholic Mass

How I discovered the traditional Latin Mass a few years ago, why that discovery changed everything for me, and what was wrong with the Novus Ordo Masses I'd attended.