Hey ya’ll, I’m Jess from Roots & Refuge Farm
Welcome to a place that feels like home. A small farm with a big family. We hope you’ll pull up a chair, grab some coffee and visit awhile.
There was a time that all I wanted in the world was a little farm where I could raise my family and grow our food. Now, that is exactly what exists outside my door. In watching it unfold, a new dream was formed in my heart – to share this beautiful life with others and teach them the lessons we’ve learned along the way. Welcome to our journey, friend. I am so glad you’re here.
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WHERE TO FIND US (Some of the links here are affiliate links. If you purchase through our links we’ll receive a small commission but the price remains the same – OR BETTER – for you! Be sure to check for any mentioned discount codes.)
– Our Website: https://rootsandrefuge.com
– Sign up for our newsletter: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-signup
– Abundance+ (Grab a FREE 7-day trial): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-wilder-still
– Shop our Stickers & Shirts: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-shop
– Order my book First Time Gardener: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-ftgbook
– Pre-order my newest book First Time Homesteader: https://rootsandrefuge.com/first-time-homesteader-yt
– Our music is by our friend Daniel Smith
– Instagram: www.instagram.com/roots_and_refuge
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rootsandrefugefarm
– Email Us: rootsandrefuge@yahoo.com
– To drop us a line:
PO Box 4239
Leesville SC 29070
– To have a gift sent to our house from our Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/SFA0IZHZRCOZ?ref_=wl_share
– To support us through PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jessicasowards
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PRODUCTS WE LOVE – You’ve probably heard me talk about these things a million times, so here’s where you can order them (and get a discount with my code!):
– Greenstalk Vertical Gardens (Use code “ROOTS10” for $10 off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-greenstalk
– Squizito Tasting Room (Use code “ROOTS” for 10% off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-squizito
– ButcherBox: https://rootsandrefuge.com/butcherbox
– Growers Solution: https://rootsandrefuge.com/growers-solution
#rootsandrefuge #homesteading #gardening
33 Comments
I have been working on my winter garden even though it is still in the 60's and sunny here in west Texas. I may only have a small garden in the suburbs but I get the most out of it as possible. I have to still make my prickly pear jelly in another month when the pears finish ripening.
I’m growing beautiful amaryllis and paper white bulbs to tide me over until garden planning and seed starting. More cooking and baking too. But in general, winter rest is good and I give thanks for that.
I savor the cooler temperatures. This past summer was so HOT and LONG. I drink in the fall colors, like the reds and oranges. I relax watching my cabbages burst forth with new growth, forming heads. I say goodnight to the towering oaks in my front yard. I love the fall, it's my favorite season here in Mississippi. Winter is crisp, and clean, gray with blue skies. Sometimes she is dreary, and wet, and mud tracks through the living room. I retired this year, so I will enjoy every minute sleeping in and curled up in a cozy warm blanket in the recliner. In my flannel pajamas, of course. Lol
Hi Jess, photography has always been my passion. You have an abundance of beautiful chickens with their own markings in Color, even their egg's. The cow's look so comfy with their surroundings. The gray will pass as we think of moving into the next season evening though Fall is my favorite. I even saved some pumkin seeds. Time to think on things, improve, rebuild to improve, make a fire and remind ourselves that much can happen in thought and to do. I mean look at Ben, how much he has grown and so helpful and smart already. I have a ton of to do's, just not as flexible as (I feel ya with that electric fence.)⚡️
So here's to Special Thoughts! 💞
It's my first winter in North Idaho. I went on a walk with my husband and son through 8" of snow today and I laughed at the new experience of nearly swimming through snow banks. My son's black and red checked coat was so beautiful against the snow. It was a new world.
Have you ever thought about selling your photos enlarged and framed? You could add it to your merch as no demand just here is what is on the site that's available. I can almost bet people would purchase your photography. Even unframed! I know I would 😊 your photos are phenomenal!
You look so pretty with your hair up. I’m kind of new and hadn’t seen you that way. Enjoy your day!
I REALLY struggle with the early darkness. I NEED me some sunshine! I bought a "happy light" a few years back, and if I get really sullen I haul that baby out and bask in it's glow for awhile. It helps.
Ohh I love all your pictures you took too!! ❤❤
I froze a bunch of milk from my goats and now I have the time to make soaps and lotions.
Hi guys! I finally can get some stickers and I don’t see they are available. Any idea when they’ll put some up again? Thanks for all the help!
Lettuce is $6 a head in NY! Im rolling the dice with a first time winter indoor hydroponic lettuce garden. Fingers crossed.
I do love your georgeous ladies aka fashionistas! + the lovely makeup they naturally possess! They just pose for the camera & that cutie Delmer. He's gonna be a handsome bull.. his mom Freya (not sure) is sweet how she keeps an eye & stays close by him!! Protecting mama❣️ the chickens 🐔 also were precious! All pics are very awesome. I do wish you'd leave the footage of you getting tangled in that fence as long as it's safe!! Love how you talk to all the animals also. The "No Thank-you" was hilarious 😂🤣. What Im doing to cope w/winter, short days is just more baking😋
One thing I don't mind is resting, but I know i need to stay motivated, read more etc 😁
Jess – what kind of fencing is that for your chickens? Could you let me know where you guys got it and what you bought to get that chicken fence started please?
Love the chicken pics! ❤ 🐓
The season between Sept and Dec is the season to finish processing all that has come in from the garden; a time to make sure "the larder is full" in preparation of winter, the time to reflect on what worked well in the garden, what did I enjoy the most, what was not successful, what did I really not like and needs to change. Also, it is time to prepare for Christmas — gifts & baking/cooking, friends & family. After Christmas is the time to really start dreaming of the next garden, make a plan or plans, make sure all the required seeds are in hand, and start planting seeds. But most of all, it is a season of rest & dreaming, healing & recuperation, for me as well as the garden.
my second winter nearly two feet of snow and frustrated!!! snow knocked down both green houses! so much for winter experimenting. now pouktry has a very limited area to walk around in. The chickens seem to hate the snow. It looks like ducks and geese are adjusting. I have MORE than enough seeds for years. So to occupy my garden side, I've started mallow in refrigerator in peat moss and it's working. hum go figure, follow package instructions 😵💫! today i planted Apple seeds that were growing INSIDE the apple so i put them in wet paper towel in baggie. today I harvested seeds for multiple varieties of apples. There are varieties here we've never experienced. like OPAL- YUMMY ! i have house plants to tend to. But mainly UNPACKING MY SEEING ROOM AND SEWING is my focus. We moved at the same time you did last year. but with unpacking downstairs and getting orchard, and berries planted we made raised beds too. SO… THIS YEAR… seeing room and sewing! learning about medicinal plants and hopeful learning piano. I'm seriously struggling that the plant green house caved in also because I'd planned on learning how to winter garden. so I guess instead I'll measure ALL these windows I've saved for years and decide how large glass greenhouse will be. man today I soooooo wish we had a real barn!!!! THE WINTER gardening BLUES ARE A REAL THING 😢🌻
I’m in the classroom. I’ve been canning satsuma pepper jelly, apple scrap jelly, apple butter, practicing bread making. Stretching my comfort zone.
I feel you on that.. the older I get the farther away my feet seem to be and I am not getting taller…
I’m enjoying the last of the summer flowers that reseeded. I’m planting a few winter vegetables as I go. Doing a little canning too. I got my first seed catalog last week, so now I’m doing a little dreaming too.
I love Delmar. He is so cute.
The thing I love about winter (and despite living most of my life in MN, I am not into outdoor winter sports or being out in the cold; but then again, I don't like being hot, either.) is that it's the only way I can enjoy being cozy. I don't really feel that same sort of coziness during the rest of the year. My two favorite pajamas are both made for winter weather. One is thermals-style with images of Eeyore playing in the snow. It's soft and comfy and warm, and I just feel hugged when I have it on. The other is also Eeyore but a one-piece zip-up costume/ pajama thing. It has a hood with a mane and his face, and in the back is a tail that thankfully I haven't had the trouble keeping attached as Eeyore has with his. It's my very favorite shade of periwinkle blue, which makes me happy and I feel pretty in that color. It's also comfortable, and warm and feels like a hug. I have the Pooh version as well but despite him being my favorite character, Eeyore's version of the pajamas is my favorite. I don't have a fireplace, but I dream of someday having one. I dream of having a library room in a house of my own (I rent a one-bedroom apartment) where I can spend harsh winters safe and warm indoors by a fire, with lots of books to read, a puzzle and games space, an old-fashioned radio to play old time radio programs like Burns & Allen on (even if I have to connect a modern-day electronic device to the radio so I can play them from an app I have, lol) and needlework (embroidery, crochet, knitting, etc.) to do. Winter always puts me in the mood for those things. Even if I mean to do them during the rest of the year, I never seem to find (or make) the time until late fall and winter comes around.
I'm currently knitting pajamas for my Pooh Bear, after finishing a crocheted drawstring bag with pompoms as a present for my niece. I've had Pooh for just about 35 years, he was a gift from Santa when I was 2, and as I have anxiety disorder and agoraphobia he's become my best friend and a sort of support animal. Having him along with me places makes it a bit easier for me to feel like leaving the house. I am also learning to trust God and that's really helping, Pooh's more like a crutch not really fixing anything (God's doing that) but he's helping me to feel comfortable moving forward with something I'd otherwise say, "No, thank you!" to, so that I can face my fears and learn to live well on my own. Anyway, the poor bear is getting bare spots and could use a cozy pair of pajamas to keep him warm this winter and I'm enjoying re-learning how to knit and discovering I've gained more patience and care than the last time I knitted anything (it's been a few years). 🙂
Sweet Jess, I find myself in the winter watching the sunrise off my front porch with a hot cup of coffee wrapped in my robe, and a blanket listening to the wild life waking up. I keep myself busy on bad winter days in the house doing chores. If it's cold, but not extremely cold, I will be outside clearing fence line, cutting trees, raking leaves, just doing things I couldn't do because it was too hot this summer. I enjoy walking our property when its cold out, and taking pictures. I also love planning my upcoming garden, and ordering seeds. One thing, I deliberately decided to do nowq was to go a head and have the surgery needed to remove my thyroid. It's been a problem(long story). So it's perfect timing being winter, gives me time to heal. Life is good!
“I have a lot of feelings about that” over winter coming… yeah… you and me both sister! NO, THANK YOU!
Cold weather…. no thank you!! 🤣🤣🤣…..i totaly get it sister. And I totaly feel you about not being as flexible as I once was 🤣🤣🤣
Thank you so much for sharing your farm videos with us. It feels my heart to see all the beutiful animals and your and your sweet family faces.
Keep up the good work
God bless you
I feel ya on the long gray (necessary 😢) winter …. No THANK YOU!!! 😇
Your breeds of chickens are beautiful
PS I love your shirt! 👕 Try & Enjoy your time of Rest- Spring will be here B4 you know it🙏🏼
I’ve been reading. Like a LOT lately. I’m not a fan of the cold, dreary days but books take my mind far away.
You are right about turning your passion into your job and then having it lose its luster (somewhat). Things that I truly enjoy doing my mom keeps saying to me, "You should become a [insert title for thing I enjoy]." She doesn't really seem to grasp when I explain to her, "If I made that my job, it would lose the element of fun for it that I enjoy right now. I don't want to lose that."
That's not to say that you can't have passion for the job you have, but not every passion needs to be considered for your job/career. Save some of them just for the fun of it!
I haven't been in temperatures less that 60ish F for 7 yrs. Went on vacation to.Central America in 2015 and still on it. Now in SW Mexico where it's been 90+ for months. I am not in pain is my biggest reason for hanging around so long. My family is in Colorado. I hurt a lot there in the winter. I know of cold therapy and how it helps the immune system.
I am seriously considering returning and having some cold therapy. I can always come back
so funny that you mentioned reading cookbooks. Spent most of our snowy day yesterday doing just that. Went through the old Betty Crocker cookbook. There are little tidbits about old traditions and how some originated. One on a dish called Welsh Rabbit. My youtube guy I watch just made it, Kevin Lee Jacobs. It looked so good I had to try it. I used a rustic sourdough bread thick sliced and toasted. You need to make this. Your men and boys would absolutely love it. Cheese toast, what’s not to love.
All your Jersey girls have their goin' out makeup on. They're lovely! I think you're now a farmtographer. It's perfect.