Welcome to WoolyMossRoots! I’m glad you found your way here. I’m Taryn. My spirit is fed by flowers in bloom, the smell of beeswax, wooly yarn, and homemade goat cheese. I wasn’t always gardening, fermenting foods, knitting, and milking goats though…

In fact, when I left home I had pretty much no cooking skills, even though there were some good cooks in my family. In my first apartment I couldn’t rely on heating up packaged food in a microwave (since there wasn’t one), and I still remember the day I opened up a can of soup and heated it up in a PAN on the stove… you know, like a “chef” or something. This story still cracks me up, but I was seriously so excited at the time, it almost felt like I had made the soup myself. 

I had grandmothers who canned, sewed, cooked from scratch, and gardened. One of my grandfathers grew up working on the family farm, and milking cows before he left for school. My other grandfather was an amazing woodworker and builder. It wasn’t until later in my life I wished I would have learned more skills from all of them while we lived closer to one another. Some of them have passed away now.

Busy school days in my childhood consisted of eating a quick bowl of cold cereal before heading out the door, having after school activities before coming home to eat dinner with the family, doing homework, and then heading to bed. I didn’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen. My sister loved learning to bake cookies from our grandmothers, but learning skills from the adults in my life was not something I did much of. 

Seeds were planted though…

I knew there was pure magic in my grandma’s home-canned strawberry rhubarb jam, and feeling deeply nourished by her home cooked meals left a lasting impression…

Seeing my aunt’s wool weavings made me realize my gravitational pull towards wool…

The smell of different woods would instantly transport me to my grandpa’s woodshop decades later…

And I still touch the hand stitches on the quilt my grandmother made with reverence, like one of the most precious things in the world…

Even though I was a lifelong lover of books, by the time I was done with school, I was tired of book learning. I felt so done with sitting at desks and so ready to move, be outdoors, and use my hands.

Though I wasn’t exactly sure that was what I was looking for until I found it.

I was ready for a big change, and I moved from the Midwest to the West Coast when I fell in love with Oregon. I also fell in love with a mountain man named Jeff.

Meeting Jeff opened up a whole world to me. He had been gardening since he was eight years old. He was a great cook, and had experience raising bees, hunting, butchering chickens, building greenhouses, making compost, and fixing anything that broke.

His garden was so beautiful, and there were flowers everywhere.

We started gardening together, building together, and we even sang karaoke together (which was so much fun.) We became best friends, and later we got married. (Oh, and the age difference? We get asked about that. My reply is that you just never know who you are going to fall in love with! Life is full of surprises.)

I really enjoyed living in the country for the first time too. Laundry on the line… frogs singing… the land spoke to me and I felt I was right where I belonged.

I learned how to start a fire for the first time. I ate kale for the first time. I made sauerkraut for the first time. And most exciting of all- I learned how to cook other things on the stove besides just heating up a can of soup! (I’m no gourmet chef, but thankfully my culinary skills have come a long way since the days of my youth simply sticking a Pop Tart in the toaster!)

{ Family photo taken in 2015, photo credit: April Christopher Photo & Art  }

Jeff and I started a business together (you can find our family’s handmade shop here, where we share what we create with the love of our hands), worked on the homestead he had been living on for many years prior, and had a baby. It seemed like we blinked and that baby is a tall boy now! (As in teenager! Not like the family picture from 2015 portrays.)

These days B loves beekeeping, insects of all kinds, growing plants in the garden, and drawing. He has been helping me in the kitchen since he was born (playing with pots and pans on the floor while I made applesauce) and started cooking at a young age. I joke that he had more life skills when he was a little kid, than I did as a young adult. But in so many ways, it’s true! 

That brings me back to the heart of it all. I started this blog in 2009 to share inspiration, and though this space has evolved a lot over time, sharing inspiration is still what I do here.

The beauty in nature inspires me every day, and when there is something beautiful in my life, or something that brings me joy… I want to share it.

I want to share it in the hope that you will find inspiration here, and that every time you visit this space your spirit will feel renewed. I hope you will come away from your time here inspired to get outside, look for the beauty in your life, and create with your hands.

At WoolyMossRoots, we plant Seeds of Inspiration for Your Soulful Life.

I want to encourage you on your soulful journey.

At the heart of WoolyMossRoots is:

Being Grateful Every Day & Getting Outside

There is so much nourishment and connection to be found by practicing gratitude, and spending time outdoors- connection to our soul, to others, and to the earth.

Heart to Hands: Learning Skills

With each new skill we learn, we become more empowered and our lives become richer. And there is so much JOY to be found in making things with our own hands. 

Simple Joys: Living with the Seasons

Noticing the beauty of each season brings us into the present moment, and gives us more appreciation for the simple joys in life. The smell of lilacs… the first ripe strawberry of the year… each day brings something new to savor.

With time, I have come to realize what I gift I have been given with learning so many skills from Jeff and having him walk me through the steps in person. He has shared a lifetime of learning with me and B, and we have also learned a lot of new skills together.

I feel that blessings are meant to be shared, and I love to share what I’m learning here!

Now I’ve come to appreciate how incredibly valuable so many of these traditional skills are. Growing food… preserving food… caring for animals… mending clothes… saving seeds… composting… At one point, these were skills most everyone had.

Cooking skills are one of the best ways that we can eat healthier, and save money at the same time. Gardening can save us a lot of money too, and not only that- the food tastes better (the flavor!) and is more nutritious. It can also get us outside with our families, gets us moving and stretching, and gives us more food security in our own backyard.

Whether you have a windowsill, small deck, or a backyard for growing a few things, there are so many opportunities for us to find creative ways in our lives to be producing more ourselves. We can grow microgreens on the countertop, ferment vegetables from the farmer’s market, keep some potted plants on the deck, or be experimenting with making salves or learning all about canning in our kitchens.

There is always so much we can do, right where we are! 

This space is all about inspiring handmade, homegrown living, and learning together.

At first, learning something new can feel awkward and at times a bit overwhelming, but eventually can become second nature, like those recipes we know by heart.

When we find people to learn from in person that is amazing, and if not- the internet can be a great resource- there is a whole world of learning at our fingertips! Either way, when we learn something valuable and experience is gained, let’s share. There are so many skills that are important to pass on!

Thanks for joining us here friends. Come join the community in the comments, and let’s inspire each other!

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

P.S. I know that blogs can have a way of making things look glamorous sometimes. (You are seeing all the beautiful pictures, and not all the messes!) I can tell you that our life is not. Shoveling out goat houses, and hauling firewood in the cold are not glamorous. But they are satisfying and rewarding! The “simple life” does not always feel so simple, it’s a lot of hard work! But my goodness- the food is sure good!

P.P.S. I encourage you to check out this blog from a computer because there is so much goodness I share in the sidebar, that gets cropped out when you read from your phone. From making sauerkraut and fermenting vegetables to learning to knit, seasonal recipes, and winter gardening inspiration… I have years of inspiring content that I’ve worked hard to put together for you!

Your comments are what keep me writing! I hope you will join the WoolyMossRoots community and chime in- so we can all be inspiring one another!