Author Lydia Noyes

Lydia Noyes is an Appalachian homesteader and writer that lives on a land trust deep in the mountains of West Virginia.

Food & Nutrition loaf and slice of freshly bakes sourdough bread with knife
How to Capture Wild Yeasts for A Sourdough Starter

Forget needing to be sliced! Frankly, the best invention of all time might just be bread itself.

We can only imagine how the first people that stumbled upon this chemical interaction felt when their lumpy dough transformed into an air-filled, yeasty loaf of fragrant bread. Today we take the magic of yeast almost for granted […]

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Food & Nutrition various cheese on wooden boards with cheese knife
Cheese Making: Easy Steps to Success

Long ago, a man lost to history decided to taste the curds formed from the spoiled milk he was storing in an animal bladder and serendipitously discovered the wonder that is cheese. He must have known he was onto something good, as today there are hundreds of varieties of cheese enjoyed all around the world. […]

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Movement & Fitness couple doing yoga pose on mat in home
Learning Yoga at Home: Best Tips for Success

Few things in modern times have been culturally appropriated as quickly and completely as yoga. What was once a relatively obscure Hindu spiritual practice in east Asia has become a mainstream form of exercise for overworked city dwellers everywhere.

It’s easy to scoff at the widespread popularity of yoga in the western world, but the […]

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Gardening & Farming dandelions in the foreground with grass behind
The Surprising Health Benefits in Your Weedy Lawn

What exactly is a weed?

Great thinkers have argued over a proper definition for centuries. Ralph Waldo Emerson provided a redemptive perspective on the scourge of gardeners by calling them “a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered”, while Doug Larson took the more pragmatic approach- that they are “a plant that has mastered […]

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Gardening & Farming Lush urban garden on rooftop with highrises in background
The Best Tips for Starting a Small Urban Garden

Taking steps to live a more sustainable life has never been easier. People everywhere are no longer satisfied with planet-killing produce and are starting a movement to regain control of the food system. They are demanding to know where their food is grown and how it is produced. And in many cases, they are sticking […]

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Lifestyle A wild blackberry picked and held by hand (close-up view)
Wild Fruit: Finding Free Food in Your Neighborhood

Free food! If those words don’t work to quicken your pulse, odds are you’re already dead. In that case, why worry about food anyways? You certainly won’t be needing it.

For the rest of us, what we will eat and where we will get it is a weekly, if not daily, consideration. Endlessly circulating the […]

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Food & Nutrition A four prong ginseng plant with green immature berries. (top-view)
Ginseng: The Truth Behind the Miracle Medicinal Herb

There’s no denying that modern medicine can be frightening. Industrial drug production often seems more focused on generating a profit for researchers than healing the ailments of the sufferers, who have little choice but to buy their products. For many, this is unsettling.

These fears have caused many people to turn away from commercially produced […]

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Gardening & Farming Shiitake mushrooms on a wooden table.
The Foolproof Guide for Growing Mushrooms at Home

If you are serious about reducing your global carbon footprint and gaining more control over where your food comes from, then cultivating your own mushrooms should become a priority. Rich in flavor and easy to utilize in a wide variety of recipes, homegrown mushrooms add a robust, earthy taste to any dish, and growing them […]

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Green Living A Dutch oven with charcoal pieces on top of and beneath it.
The Pollution-free Benefits of Cooking without Power

No one likes to be stuck in a sweltering kitchen on a hot sunny day. When the weather is gorgeous, summer evenings should be spent outside, not slaving away over air-polluting kitchen appliances. A recent study from California has brought to light just how toxic kitchen appliances can be. Gas powered ovens were found to […]

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