We had a bit of snow overnight last night - light, fluffy snow that was (fortunately) easy to shovel. When it's so light like that, it can really pile high on leaves and branches and, well, anything outdoors, making for some interesting pictures!

Today it's cold - well, all week actually. The expected high for tomorrow is somewhere around 7 degrees. UGH. :( We hope a few people will come out and see us for Sample Sunday anyway! Picket Fence Creamery are having specials and sales - their cream is VERY much on sale, and they have new flavored butters - garlic, cinnamon, honey, and garden herb (featuring our herbs!). They are delicious and if you buy 3 you can get one free! We have lots of free samples of bath salts and milk baths in our sample basket, and have our Breathe Easy items (see below)on sale both on our website and in the store!



This breathe easy set is really lovely. Even if you don't have a cold or sinus issues right NOW, the thing to do is have this kinda stuff on hand in your herbal "medicine chest". Then you can grab it whenever you start to feel stuffy and alleviate the problem of having to wait 3 days for your natural sinus relief to arrive in the mail! (I am speaking from experience here! When I don't have this stuff on hand in my medicine chest here at home, I always regret it!) These last 2 weeks we've been flooded with people calling or coming in for our Breathe Easy wand, eucalyptus hydrosol and eucalyptus essential oil, becuase they and their kiddos have icky sinus congestion. 'tis the season...unfortunately. :(



So this past week, we've been making stuff like crazy in the shop. It's been quiet, so we have time to go through and re-stock the store in a methodical and organized fashion. We been so busy, we haven't been able to do that in MONTHS! It's really nice. :) Normally we'd do something like this around October. Usually by then the garden is put to bed, and the holiday craziness has not yet hit, so we have a few weeks simply to stock up and get our ducks (geese?) in a row. But this past October was a madhouse. The weather was beautiful and we had not yet had a killing frost, so we were distilling and harvesting our herbs. We had three BIG new wholesale accounts open up, and seemed to be just crazy busy with orders.

You will also start to notice that we have entirely new labels for all of our products. For years, we have printed our labels and handcut them all. But not we've decided to redesign our labels for a cleaner, more uniform look. Plus, they are now pre-cut, saving us ALOT of time and hassle! We are using a waterproof vinyl for many of our labels as well, so we hope they will look nicer, longer. We hope you will enjoy this new look. We're working on all new photographs of ALL of our products....another huge project. We will keep you posted on our progress.

The Luxury Soap of the Month has arrived!!

And....we have 2 of them this month!

Due to a weather-related soapmaking problem, Geri was only able to provide us with 2 small batches. So we have a double-header! "Aphrodite" and "Sunrise". We have 16 bars of each...and they're going to go fast. These soaps are amazing! Containing hydrosols, silk, clay, shea butter, organic goat milk and essential oils - well, they're just fantastic. Details on the website!

A Day on the Farm

It's wintertime, and we've gotten past the holiday craziness. I thought I'd try and post a little bit about what a winter day on the herb farm is like.

Donna is an earlybird, so she is always up and about and doing stuff WAAAAAAAY before John and maggie arrive. She usually goes out early to feed the cats and let Beaker the Wondergoose out of his pen (we have to keep him penned up at night for his own safety, due to the neighbor dogs). She usually starts up the computer and does some emailing and pulls some orders before the shop is open at 10.

John and Maggie usually arrive 10ish (heavy on the ISH). We say hi to Beaker and all the dogs and cats (that takes a while...there are lots of dogs and cats at PLH).

The rhythm of our day is changeable, depending on what needs to be done. Filling orders and getting them in the mail are always our first priority. Donna usually pulls the orders, prints them, and answers the emails. This can take quite a while! All day, if it is a busy "order" day. Or only an hour if there are just a few orders.

Usually, while Donna is printing the orders, John will pack them while Maggie makes stuff. Of course this can change at any time depending on what needs to be done. If we need candles made, John will be in the classroom/chandlery doing that. If we are in the midst of making a TON of stuff (thousands of lip balms, let's say), then Donna will help with the laborious task of labelling and shrinkwrapping them. All in all, we do whatever needs to be done.

Of course one of the most important tasks is letting the dogs and cats in and out of the door. Those of you who have pets know what I am talking about!! Maggie has 2 dogs that come to work with her, and Donna has 3 dogs that live on the farm with her. We have assorted cats that live in the shop, Donna's house, or the barn (as they please). We don't let the pets in the manufacturing area, but they are allowed in the shop as they please. So plenty of time is alloted each day for letting the pets in an out, assuring everyone has proper "blankies", and generally spoiling them rotten.

Other things that may occur on any given day: Answering phones, setting up bus tours or classes, ordering the hundreds of packaging items or raw materials we use in our production, cleaning, organizing, bill-paying, filling wholesale orders, making deliveries, shopping, unpacking and putting away delivered items, working on the blog or website, discussing new products/changes/renovations, shoveling snow, researching, creating an enewsletter, taking photographs, designing labels, stocking the shelves, and a million other things that go into running a farm and small business.

We are a family business, and our family is VERY important to us! Donna's dad lives with her, and so of course he is part of the general action too. He likes to make us lunch, and we LOVE it when he cooks and bakes for us! Lunch is a kind of random affair. We are near a teensy town with hardly any restaurants and such....and Maggie is vegetarian which cuts down even further on food options in our tiny town. So we might get pizza once a week, or eat some goodies from our neighbors at Picket Fence Creamery (their cheeseball is a staple of our lunch diet!). Sometimes we don't have time to eat at all. Only one thing is guaranteed: if there is a lunch, the SECOND we sit down to eat, customers will arrive. No matter if it's at noon or at 3 or anytime in between! It's just guaranteed. Murphy's law, right?

Speaking of customers. We are a small store located in the middle of nowhere! So on a "normal' day, we may not have any customers are all. We may have TONS of customers. It is completely random! Generally speaking, Saturday's are our busier days in terms of having customers in the store. But in the winter especially, a day or two or perhaps even three might pass without us seeing a single customer in the store!

Toby, Donna's grandson, gets out of school and off the bus about 3:45, so from that time on, there's extra activity (generally involving action figures, playing in the snow, radio-controlled cars or possibly cartoon watching) that goes on between 3:45 and closing time. He is a good kid and loves to "help" make bath salts and such. :)

4:00 is post office time! The little post office in woodward closes at 4:30, so at 4:00 maggie loads the van with the day's packages and heads into town (about a mile drive). Our postal folks are AWESOME, we cannot say enough nice things about how helpful, pleasant, fun and wonderful they are!

After that, we finish up any projects we're working on (or get to a stopping point), and get ready to close down at 5:00.

So, is anyone besides us cooped up inside and doing alot of reading?

Donna always gets a slew of paperbacks for Christmas (it's a tradition), and then enjoys a little bit of free time reading them (she's a FAST reader, has been doing a book a day at least!). She has been reading a series that may be interested to some of you - it's a mystery series, set in the late 1300's, and involved a Welsh man an herbal apothecary. Interested? Check out the Owen Archer series by Candace Robb!

I have been reading about FOOD (surprise, surprise!). Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver was on my "best books" list of 2007. So far in 2008 i am getting my mind blown (in a good way) by Living the GOod Life by Scott and Helen Nearing. COOL! Also, I am LOVING this book "Infused" - it's all about infusing herbs, spices, veggies, fruits and flowers to make really, REALLY fantasic - sounding flavored liquors. Expect future posts from me on THAT subject!!!

Any books any of you would like to recommend to us?

We are heavy into a fit of reorganizing and updating here at PLH.....working on all new labels, and an all new website....plus entirely reorganizing our kitchen space, our shop, and our classroom!!! We will keep you updated on all those events. But in the meanwhile...isn't Mo cute?!

Just a little bit of our world the last few weeks.....ice on the trees and a blue iowa sky. :)

Long time no blog, I know! Well, what can I say. We were busy making products and packing orders. PLUS, the weather has been absolutely gross! The first weekend in December we got a BIG ice storm that turned our driveway, parking lot, and walkway to the shop into a solid, 1-2 inch thick sheet of ice. Since then, we've had a winter storm EVERY WEEKEND, just adding layers of ice and snow. It's pretty exciting. We did have some brave souls come out and shop (thankfully everyone was really careful and there were no accidents or falls), but overall this weather is really crazy for December! I wonder what the rest of the winter is going to be like?

Yep, it's December. And while recent weather events (stupid ice storm! stupid snow!) have kept our retail folks from getting to our shop....well, folks have certainly been shoppin' online. Here is the load we took to the post office today!


Also, i don't think I've ever posted a picture of our cash register? It's really cool - big, old and heavy, and people coming into our shop often comment on it. So here it is, for you folks in the rest of the world! :)

Is that not the HANDSOMEST goose you have ever seen? He recently celebrated his first snow with a nice swim in the pond. The cool weather does not seem to bother him one bit!

Beaker is currently without fowl-friends....Unfortunately, the neighbor's dogs came down to our farm (we live in the country....no fences), and killed Beaker's duck friends. They actually tried to get Beaker too, and he was slightly injured on one of his wings, but he is fine now. Now we have to keep Beaker in a safe, roomy pen when we're not around to watch out for him.



This is or cat Tilly - Donna's cat, really. She lives in Donna's house but occasionally comes out to the shop to "supervise". The other day she positioned herself on top of our antique cash register and spent quite a bit of time there, just watching the world go by!



We have a new soap - Just Plain Goatmilk! We do get a fair number of requests for unscented products so do try to have a nice selection of fragrace-free handmade goods!



John is making candles like a crazy man, and also working on a new, floral essential oil candle. Makign a new candle takes a lot of time! First, he tries out various essential oil blends and mixtures, to get something that smells wonderful. Then, the various blends must be made into candles and thoroughly burn-tested. Here's some of the blends he was working on the past few days....when our new floral candle is ready, we'll be sure to let you know about it!

Um, yeah. ICE. soooooo much ice! Maggie stayed home yesterday, due to this ice storm, and this morning Donna reports a solid inch or more of ice on our driveway, parking lot, and walkway. PLEASE, folks - if you were thinking about driving out to do some shopping - don't! It's not safe until we get this ice cleared off!!

In other news - I'm updating the website here in a few minutes with our $5 Flat Rate shipping for the month of Dec! So stay home and warm and safe and shop online, k?

More blogging, with pics, coming soon!

Stay AWAY from the malls - you know you want to!

Anyway, we're having 20% off all our pre-made gift sets, from now until next Wednesday morning. Shop at home in your jammies; it's much more fun. :)

We made several cool new gift sets for guys too!

New fantastic recipe, to be archived on our recipes page:

Triple Orange Double Chocolate Biscotti

1 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
juice of one orange
zest of one orange
10 drops orange essential oil
3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 12/ tsp. baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325; grease a baking sheet. Combine butter, sugar, and eggs; stir well. Add the juice and orange zest, and essential oil. Stir in flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder until very well blended. Add chocolate chips. You may need to add more flour, depending on the size/juiciness of your orange. You want a soft dough that is easy to handle but not too sticky. Divide dough in half; shape each half into 5 by 10 inch logs. Place on baking sheet, and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Removed from oven and let cool thoroughly. When dough is cool, cut logs on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices. Lay slices on baking sheet and bake about 8 minutes, then turn them over and bake the other side. You want them to be dry and lightly toasted, but not overdone! Remove from the oven, and cool. Enjoy!

It's the holiday season, so we're doing BIG batches of everything! Here is a triple batch of lip balms. It is ALOT Of work to pour, label, then shrinkwrap every tube. Donna is the queen of shrinkwrapping (a title she would gracefully give up - if anyone else wanted it!)



We had now yesterday! An unexpected inch or two of snow, the day before Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for pictures of Beaker the goose enjoying his first snowstorm...

We were reviewed (well, our baby stuff) by Wickedly Chic! Cool site. :)


In other news - John has been making candles like a Madman, and now we have 2 new kinds of travel candles - Citrus, and Fir Needle, and a new Soy Wax Melt (breathe easy). It's a great time for candles...i love warm candles in the fall!



October is Fair Trade Month, and we are delighted, as always, to help promote Fair Trade pracitices and principles. We use Fair Trade cocoa butter, coconut oil, and shea butter produced by a women's co-op on Togo, Africa, and we like to give them as MUCH business as we can. So we're running a wicked good SALE on our Whipped Shea Butters and Shea Butter Body Balms - stock up now, 'cuz dry winter skin is NOT your friend!!!

So, in case you wonder what we've been doing lately, THIS is what we've been doing lately.

Our shop was nearly empty after filling several largeish wholesale order, then this BIG order came in, and we spent a week making everythign to fill it. In case you ever wondered, this is what $2400 of prairieland herbs merchandise looks like. I packed it in five very large, very heavy boxes!




In other news: the only members of the PLH family that actually *like* the rain we've been having every day (for almost a week straigh) are Beaker (shown enjoying the now-full pond), and the ducks. Normally the ducks are pretty boring but they are funny when they come out in the middle of a downpour and quack their way around the yard, just enjoying a little walk in the rain....

We are swamped with big wholesale orders. Why do they all come at the same time?

Yesterday, Donna planted a bunch of hazelnut bushes. We're so excited! We'll have our own hazelnuts in a few years! In the last few weeks we also planted 2 pear trees, and another apple and another cherry. Our orchard is shaping up nicely! Yesterday I planted some black tulips (for use in natural dyeing), and some saffron crocus - our own saffron too, how exciting! Now I need to find time to plant some garlic and shallots....

Meanwhile, at the shop, I've made 500 perfumes in the last few days- amonng other things. John has made some 350+ candles INCLUDING new scents (which will be on the website soon).


And Tori (pictured above) still needs a home - she is the only kitten left, and she is sooooo sweet and adorable!

In a shameless fit of advertising, I will tell you also that I listed some new botancially dyed bandannas in my etsy store, as well as some of my handspun yarns.....

Is this the most gorgeous salad you've ever seen?
This was one of the fabulous foods submitted to our recipe contest at the Iowa State fair this year. Sally Kilkenny, of Granger, IA (one of the nicest ladies AND one of the best cooks on the planet) submitted these "kitchen garden bouquets". And you know what? it tasted at LEAST as good as it looks!

It was VERY rainy the other day, and Beaker LOVED it! He spend hours out in the pouring rain, just enjoying himself. Then he found a mud puddle to splash in - ohhhh boy did he love that!



We have 4 kittens that need homes. This is Tori, cuddled up in Maggie's bag. Yes, they are all this cute. YES, they need to go live with you!!! But seriously - just email or call if you are interested in adopting one of them. They are used to kids, cats and dogs, are litterbox trained, and ready to go home!


Yesterday was a busy day! Donna did her annual impersonation of a swamp monster - she always crawls into the pond to get it cleaned out before the winter. It's a stinky, slimy job but this year she had "help" - Beaker thought it was a FABULOUS game! As you can see, he is thoroughly enjoying himself. He kept diving down into the muck to nibble on mom's toes! He even picked off her toenail polish in the process. Living with a goose is *quite* an experience, I'll have you know!



Meanwhile, some of the rest of the gang did some organizing in the shop. Even though we ship out about 75% of our business, we didn't have a very good shipping area. So with some reorganizing and cleaning, we managed to concoct (we think) a more organize d area for shipping your products. We'll be packing up some orders this afternoon, so we'll see how it works!



Then we cleaned up and raced off to teach our "Lovin' Lavender" class last night through the Des Moines Adult Ed program - always fun! So fabulous to share herbs with others!



Last but not least, we're starting a new thing. A friend of ours in New York makes fabulous, luxurious bars of soap, so we're going to be offering a Luxury Soap of the Month! We'll post it around the first of every month, and keep it online until they're gone. We'll only get 20-40 bars of each kind, so when it's gone, it's gone! They will rotate with the seasons, and all be different and wonderful! This month its "Golden Orient", made with shea butter, organic goat's milk, silk, calendula and clays! MMMMM.......

SO, the other week we hosted a tour group of 4th graders. We don't usually do too many tours with kids, but these guys were great. They were studying the Iowa farm economy, and got to visit our farm, Northern Prairie Chevre, and Picket fence creamery. Note the dogs, cat and goose....they are never far from the action!



Duncan and Ollie think we should have 4th graders visit every day!!!!



Our naturally-dyed scarves are for sale in the shop....



...and don't forget to take a gander at our handspun yarns! (sorry, couldn't resist...)

And yes, Beaker (the goose) is still here, and doing just fine! He's getting big and fat, and LOVES to eat herbs. Parsley, thyme, and sweetgrass seems to be among his favorites. We've been warning against getting *too* fat and savory...we don't want anyone getting ideas about having a hand-raised Christmas goose!!

Save the Date! Sunday, Oct 7th - our farm neighbors to the south are hosting a fabulous Farm Crawl! Guaranteed to be a fabulous time for all....we plan to be there for sure.

In other news - Maggie posted a few new botanically dyed silk scarves to her etsy store....