(photo from Des Moines Register)

It's wet here.

Not just wet, but flooding. Flash flooding, regular flooding, power outages, water main breaks....and more rain expected Friday.

Prairieland herbs is fine. The ground is soggy, the weeds are huge, the owners are tired of the triple digit heat indexes day after day...but we are not flooded. The roads near us our open, our roofs are tight, and our basements are dry. We are grateful.

But for our neighboring cities Ames, and Des Moines, the picture is not so pretty.

Here's an excellent blog post about the local flooding.

Our soapmaker, Karla, lives 4 miles north of Ames - the city that is experiencing the most massive flooding. She and her husband were awake all Tuesday night, while the storms raged, trying to keep their basement (her soap room) dry. At one point, they had four, yes, FOUR, sump pumps running to try and keep up. Between that, and the road closings all around her area, it's going to be difficult for her to get us soap for the next few days. We may experience some shipping delays; I hope you understand.

Driving to work, I can see the ditches are full of water. Whole sections of fields are drowned out. Small creeks have turned into small rivers. Dragonflies and frogs are EVERYWHERE. Strange and beautiful faerie rings of mushrooms are popping up everywhere. We are living in a swampland!


More photos of local flooding here: Des Moines Register photos

August luxury soap of the month is here! Juicy mint! This soap could NOT be more perfect for our hot and sticky weather. It is just perfect! Minty-cool with a hint of refreshing citrus. Unisex, refreshing, cool, and smells like candy YUM! Contains a blend of mint and citrus essential oils, has big bubbly lather, and cleans like nobody's business! We have 40 bars of this soap, and when it's gone, it's gone, so get yours now!

That's right, folks...it's almost Sample Sunday time again! Join us this Sunday, August 15, rain or shine (We have two air-conditioned buildings!) for a wonderful time in the country! Here's what's happening...

Lynn Marie Parkey of Gauranga Reiki will offer 25 diffuser charm necklaces and free mini-reiki. What's reiki, you ask? It's like an energy massage! A gentle, natural way to soothe, heal, and promote relaxation. Don't be shy..give it a try. :)


Melodie Proffitt, of Mind and Body Massage Therapy will be offering $30 reflexology sessions, $1 a minute chair massage, and has beautiful new art to showcase.




Tracy Barton-Rouse of Compassionate Creations will have beautiful, yoga-inspired jewelry for sale!



Dawn Suarez of Morning Rain Massage will have chair massages, ear candles for sale, and henna tattoos, $25 hula hoops, PLUS a SUPER COOL Tye-dye station! Bring your own item(s) to dye, $10 per item, make a mess and have lots of fun doing some fun and funky tye-dyeing!



Laura Hess will be offering SHIMMERLITES, fun, washable, semi-permanent sparkling hair highights! (I wear them and get more compliments...they are so fun). Also, she has beautiful, affordable typewriter jewelry and bottlecap keychains.





Michelle White of Beautiful People Organic Salon will be offering free hair consultations and doing mini manicures for $10. (She uses wonderful Prairieland Herbs products in her full, in-salon pedicures...and is our official "prairieland herbs pedicurist" - do make an appointment with her, you won't be sorry!). She will also have some natural haircare and styling products for sale - we get asked about natural styling products ALL THE TIME so this is a great time to talk to Michelle about options and recommendations!


We have two new guest vendors this time!

The Stamps Family will be answering questions about their heritage breed, pasture-raised pork, and taking orders for 2011.


And the Ebersole Cattle Company will be here, taking reservations for their wonderful, humanely-raised grain and grassfed beef.

Last but not least, visit our wonderful fosterkitties from Panora PETS. We have kittens and adults cats, boys and girls, all wonderful and sweet and ready for their new homes! Also Panora PETS is really needing money to pay some vet bills. If you have a few dollars or even some spare change, please consider bringing it and putting it in their donation jar. Donations of food or litter are welcome as well.

Little Sabrina is waiting for her new home!

And of course at Prairieland Herbs...we will have our new August luxury soap PLUS hydrosols on sale, a basket full of free samples, and the most luscious luxurious handmade herbal bodyproducts that money can buy. We look forward to seeing you this Sunday!