We all enjoy getting outside and taking advantage of the longer daylight hours in the summertime, but an abundance of outdoor activities often leads to the need to give our bodies a little extra TLC. Thankfully, grandma’s old timey cures have withstood the test of time. From soothing sunburns and softening “gardener’s hands” to helping heal cuts and repelling pesky mosquitoes, we offer a few of our favorite cures for summer bumps and bruises: grandma approved! And best yet, all of these cures are made in the USA.

Throughout 2016, we’re celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park System by exploring the history of the parks, offering ideas about how to Find Your Park in the southeast, as well as tips to help you make the most of your park adventure.

This Father’s Day weekend, we’re celebrating an exciting new addition at Mast General Store. The Knife Shop is re-energizing what was once a feed/potato-grading room in the Original Store. This upcoming weekend officially marks the Knife Shop Grand Opening in Valle Crucis, with three days of events that will surely delight the dads, as well as knife enthusiasts, in your life.

It’s been said that “there’s something about the southland in the springtime.” New baby goats are arriving weekly at the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site in Flat Rock, NC. A pair of house finches who crafted a tidy nest on my porch weeks ago are now awaiting the arrival of their 5 chicks. The cherry blossom tree in the front yard is heavy with pink blooms. Everywhere you look, new life is bursting forth as winter transitions into spring.  Our Mast Store communities are also celebrating the season with activities the whole family will enjoy. Below is an offering of a few of the many events we’re looking forward to enjoying this April.

Some folks consider birding the best scavenger hunt available to mankind.  Last year, we explored Backyard Birding Made Easy. This year, we’re going to apply those principles to birding in the great outdoors. In celebration of the National Parks System’s 100th year, we’ve included a few tips on where to seek out and how to successfully identify birds in the woods and along the trail in a National Park nearest you.

The Charlotte Observer praised the Original Mast Store as a notable Southeast Excursion in the Living section. Here’s what they had to say:

From the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Trail in the mountains to the Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout on the coast, the National Parks in North Carolina are varied in landscape and diverse in beauty.

January is the perfect time of year to pull out your slow cooker (or Crock-Pot), throw in a combination of ingredients, and let them simmer all day to edible perfection. We’re sharing a few of our favorite mouth-watering, hearty, and super easy one-pot recipes for one of the coldest (and coziest!) months of the year.

The National Park Service (NPS) turns 100 on August 25, 2016, and everyone can take part in the celebration! Over the course of this year, we’re going to explore the importance of the NPS, the folks who helped create it, how to Find Your Park in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as tips and apps that you can use to help make the most of your NPS experience. Please join us as we learn more about and experience first-hand the awesome gift that is, as NPS documentarian Ken Burns lauds it, “America’s Best Idea!”

How would you like for your life to look one year from today? Would it look different than it does now? Most folks enjoy positive change and a fresh start, but it can be difficult to implement those things without a plan. The New Year provides the perfect opportunity to resolve to start anew, and it doesn’t have to be joyless or a drudgery. We offer a few “do-able” ideas from a personal perspective to help you approach your 2016 resolutions.