Lake Lure Visit before Hurricane Helene

This year's summer vacation took us road tripping to Lake Lure, North Carolina.  Hurricane Debbie had just left Florida and was slowly heading to South Carolina as we left on our trip.  In fact, the storm was so slow that we caught up with it in South Carolina, and then it reached us again the next day at Lake Lure!  Never before did we experience one storm in three different states!
 

We got to enjoy the mountains and Lake Lure, nature at its finest!  

 

The reports, pictures and videos of Lake Lure and the surrounding areas devastated by hurricane Helene are unimaginable and heart breaking.  The people we encountered were pleasant, upbeat and also hard working.  With their resilience and strength, they will rebuild and we hope to one day return again!

Morning views from the cabin, rain moving in for the day.

Started raining, but we went out exploring Lake Lure.

Cabin views, we spent a lot of time just enjoying the surrounding mountains.

Cabin house was picturesque!

Side yard of the house.

New day, exploring the beach area after dinner.

Lake Lure Inn & Spa.

Approaching the marina, a beautiful evening stroll.

The marina was well taken care of.  Boat rides were booked days in advance, so we didn't get to go on any rides.  If planning on a lake ride, it would need to be booked as soon as arriving in the area, especially for a short stay like we had.

 

 

Nighttime house view.

 

Lake Lure Morse Park was beautifully maintained.

Lake Lure by the marina entrance (Morse Park).

Another Morse Park area by the marina.

Lake Lure shore by the marina park.

Lake Lure was booming with boats!

Another stunning display of nature.

Climbing the winding roads.

Walking through the woods was a dream!

Last night at the cabin house enjoying the sunset over the mountains.

The GOAT Farm Skincare Review

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, the products were purchased by us.   The post contains affiliate links/discount code that can earn us a commission if a purchase is made.

One major change to our routine has been to switch out all personal care products, as well as detergents, dish washing and laundry, to natural products.  The improvement on our skin has been significant, no irritation and skin doesn't dry out and become flaky.

We usually buy natural-ish sunscreen at the natural food stores, but wanted to give this small family owned and operated business a try.  We were in no way disappointed!  

 

The GOAT Farm Skincare

Purchased the GOATS' DAY OFF CRAZY COCONUT Sunscreen Lotion, the smell alone was delicious!  The lotion has a whipped consistency, rather than being smooth and free flowing.  It goes on nicely and is absorbed by the skin without leaving a ghostly white look.  It doesn't feel greasy, we applied the sunscreen before leaving the house and after three hours in the sun at the beach, no sunburn!  I usually have issues with my cheeks feeling the sun burn, but not this time, the sunscreen worked like a charm!

GOATS' DAY OFF CRAZY COCONUT Sunscreen Lotion

The second item we ordered to try out was their natural deodorant ORANGE BEACH.  I am a big fan of citrus, this deodorant has a nice orange fruit smell that lasts.  It goes on very smooth and so not much is needed, it lasts all day with no funky smells! 😂  We usually have an issue with deodorants that result in skin irritation, such as open sores or swollen underarm lymph nodes within the first or second day, even the several natural brands we tried.  So far, we used this deodorant over a week and are happy with no irritation or swollen lymph nodes, plus the freshness lasts!

 

ORANGE BEACH Natural Deodorant

ORANGE BEACH Natural Deodorant

We also ordered their Out of Woods Insect Repellent, but haven't fully tested it out.  Florida is seeing an immense increase in mosquito presence, what used to be 2-3 mosquitos, it is now 10-20 surrounding you at once.  They seem bigger too and everyone we talk to says the same thing; never have we had this many mosquitos in this area.  I will update the post once we give the repellent a full chance when the mosquitos are most active, which is at dusk.

There are several more items we will be ordering from The GOAT Farm and in the meantime, if you are looking to give them a try, use our discount code for 12% off at checkout, (code: lifeinmylane).

UPDATE 9/1/2023: 

As promised, an update on the Out of Woods Insect Repellent.  It was a hit and a miss for us here in Florida.  We have an increased amount of mosquitos in our area and the repellent isn't effective.  It does offer some protection, but not all mosquitos stay away.  

It also depends on who else is present, for example, when I am outside with my husband and we used the spray, he doesn't get bit and I do.  It may also have to do with each person's body chemistry in how much the mosquitos are attracted.  We still use the spray when we need to be outside to keep the number of bites down, but mostly try to stay inside during dusk when they are most active.

I would also like to provide an update for the deodorant, because I want to be as transparent as possible.  After a few weeks of use, my husband did experience lymph swelling as he does with many similar products.  The deodorant does work great in keeping fresh, really the best we ever tried as far as freshness, so we switch it up between other types and use it from time to time and don't experience this issue anymore.  It's worth noting that the lymph nodes need proper flow & drainage and it is up to you to conduct any further research on this matter.

The Crazy Coconut Sunscreen we used all summer and it has been great, no issues experienced and no sunburns.  We'll be trying their soaps and body wash products next.

With love,

Growing Pineapple from a Store Bought Pineapple Fruit

It all started with a store bought pineapple fruit and now there are many pineapple plants on the property that are almost self sustainable as they are in a sub-tropical environment and don't need much care.

Zone 10a, sandy soil.

How I grew pineapples from fruit tops: I cut off the green leafy top with still some fruit flesh attached, this is to not cut off the roots contained within the leaves.  I cleaned off the fruit flesh and peeled off by hand several layers of the bottom leaves to expose the roots.  Next, a small hole was dug into the ground and the pineapple top placed in and buried about 2-3 inches deep depending on how large the top is.  A few scoops of compost soil were added.  Plant was watered and all it then needed was regular watering until the roots were established and strong.

Related: Starting Small in the Garden

UPDATED to include more step by step photos.

Cut top of pineapple.

 

Clean up any pineapple flesh to prevent rot when planted and start peeling off bottom leaves to expose the roots.

Peel off leaves to expose pineapple roots.

Pineapple top ready to be planted.

Plant the pineapple directly into the ground or in pot to be transplanted later.

Pineapple top growing into an established plant.

Pineapple bud.

Pineapple blooming.

 

Pineapple plant with fruit.

Pineapple on plant.

Plant ripened pineapple.

 

The pineapple is ripe once it turns a golden color and is the sweetest.  The above photo has the top half still slightly green and this part is not as sweet as the bottom golden colored part.  I ended up having to pick it early due to pests moving in.  The taste was sweet as honey with a floral fragrance, best pineapple I ever tasted!

Pineapple plant producing suckers after fruiting.

Pineapple plant sucker after the plant has produced fruit.

 

It took about 18 months to see the plant fruit, others took well over two years to set fruit.  It took about 4-5 months for the fruit to ripen.  After fruiting, pineapple plants begins the die off stage and produces suckers, new plants to plant.  I also planted the top of the fruit it produced.  Currently, the two dying plants have produced 4 suckers emerging from the plant itself.  As the suckers get big enough, they are twisted off and planted.  Research shows that the plant can also produce suckers growing from the mother plant from the stem below the ground, but my plants have not produces such suckers yet.

Potted pineapple plant.

Since then, I have experimented with planting the pineapple top into a large container.  The difference here was that within one year, the plant was fruiting.  The area where the pineapple was planted into the ground has a lot of oak tree roots stealing nutrients and water, thus the plants don't thrive as much. 

For nutrients, I soaked banana peels and egg shells in water inside a large glass jar with a lid for two-three days.  This I've made every 3 months or so. I also added chicken manure dissolved in water every 4 months.  These fertilizers were also given to the plants planted directly into the ground, but they didn't thrive as much while competing with the oak trees.

Let me know what you are growing in the comments below!

 

With love,

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Starting Small in the Garden

It has been a while since the last post and as with everyone else, much has happened, much has changed.  However, the seeking of nature has never lessened and I have been enjoying working on a small garden. 

Having a garden is a commitment and can be overwhelming, for this reason it is ok to start out small, such as just a pot of mint or your favorite herb.  From there, you learn how things work and adjust.  It's important to remember that there will not be a 100% success rate, things die off, are eaten by pests and the environment can be unpredictable.  

For reference, the hardiness zone in my area is 10a, you can find your Growing Zone here.

The soil here is mostly sand and any top soil will just sift through and disappear, so planting native plants and plants that are meant to survive and thrive in this environment is important.  When planting native species in your zone, the plants have a better survival rate and need less attention.

Growing in Florida's climate can be a challenge, it is hot and humid, so I am learning to take advantage of the cooler months.  I have started composting to make my own nutritious soil as not much grows in the sandy soil that's here, the plants just don't grow healthy and strong, thus they are easy prey for pests and disease.  Last year, I worked the compost into the soil and that did not work out for me, the plants would barely grow and what did grow died pretty quickly.  Earlier this year, I have put down about 3-4 inches of compost on top of the sandy soil and a layer of mulch to keep the moisture in.  I saw a great improvement in the plant growth and once a month I added a layer of compost to keep the plants fed.

At the beginning of the year I planted peppers and tomatoes, a rule of thumb is to sow extra seedlings as not all will make it.  When the seedlings grew large enough, I planted them into the compost layer, but many disappeared overnight, looks to have been eaten down to the soil level.  This can be disheartening, but the extra seedlings came in nicely.

 

Amish tomato.

 

The variety I planted was the Amish tomato and although the plants started out good, the Florida Spring was too hot too quickly for the plants to produce a lot of fruit and harvest was minimal.  As Florida growing season starts up again in September, I am now starting seedlings again to try out this time of year to compare what works best for my garden.  I will be adding chicken manure to the compost before planting the seedlings.  The tomatoes that we did harvest were sweet, flavorful and so delicious, they simply can't be compared to anything store bought.

Edible petite marigolds.

Pineapple

The pineapple plants have started by store bought pineapple tops.  I cut off the top, trimmed off the fruit part and peeled off a few layers of the bottom leaves to expose the roots, stuck it into the ground and watered.  Pineapple plants take 2-3 years to produce fruit, so the wait is on. :)

Parsley, ginger and salad do great in pots, the salad mix was grown during colder months in Florida.

Mint

Mint is easily grown in pots.  Once a year I do replant it as the roots fill up the pot.  One way to replant the mint is by cuttings, just bury the cut end into the soil, water until the plant is established.  Another way is when trimming the plant to leave a smaller stalk with the rooted runner in tact, plant into soil and give it water.

Radishes growing in pot.

Radishes grow very quickly and are ready to harvest as soon as 3 weeks.  The above photo is a pot of radishes with seeds sown randomly.  I wanted to try a different way than what the package suggested, I scattered the seeds randomly and covered with soil, watered and left in full sun.  I have learned that radishes like a lot of water in order for the root to grow large enough for harvest.  I harvested these as they grew in, the top of the root becomes visible.  Pulling these larger plants allowed space for the smaller ones to grow in and this gives a steady supply of radishes.  These were grown in the cooler Florida months and I left a few to go into seed production for the next growing season.

Radishes grown in pot.

Sweet potato flower.

The sweet potato plant came from curiosity; a sprouted sweet potato peel.  I never knew what a sweet potato plant looked like, I expected something similar to the regular white potato, but to my surprise it is a vine that grows along the ground.   

I'm excited to see what the growing season will bring, until next time; happy gardening!

With love,

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