I had every intention of getting a newsletter out this Fall equinox, but life has been so abundant and full (in other words-crazy-busy) that sitting down to write just slipped down on my list of priorities. So here I am now, rounding the corner into holiday madness and I am taking a breath and wanted to give a big thanks. Thanks to all of you for choosing to support a small, family-run business like Wild Carrot. Thanks for all the growth we have seen this year, your FB posts, your emails, phone calls, personal experiences with our products, and all around enthusiasm. Thanks too for signing up for our newsletter and for lending an eye and an ear to all that is happening out here on our little farm in rural Oregon.

Reflections:

Our 4 year old daughter started preschool this year. It has been odd not having her around to help us and sing to us and swirl around in the yurt 3 days a week. I never thought preschool would be something we would opt for-but she is thriving on friends and play time, crafts and learning more songs than I could have imagined.

We put a lot of things up this year! We canned fresh tuna, our very own beets, bread and butter pickles, blackberry jam, apricot amaretto jam, grape juice, and apple cider. We froze gallons of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and peaches. We also made a lot of fruit leather and cordials-so delicious! For Wild Carrot we put up 55 gallons of St. John’s Wort oil and close to that many of Calendula oil. We are still harvesting calendula and making oil, as it hasn’t frosted hard enough and the plants keep producing beautiful golden flowers. We also made gallons of plantain, comfrey, chickweed, rose, yarrow, chamomile, nettle, burdock, and elder oils.

Since the last newsletter, we have lost both of our old farm dogs, Tita and Randy. Randy was a rescue dog that I adopted when he was 2. He was sprung from the clink, almost euthanized for chasing cows. He was really big for a Border Collie and looked a lot like a bear, and lived a luxurious, full 15 years when he left the farm. Tita died about 3 weeks after Randy did and I am still too raw to put much to words. I got Tita when she was 6 weeks old and we had almost 17 years together. She was my first dog and truly unique. She climbed ladders and trees and she was a skilled huntress. She was a mighty protectress too. We will miss you Tita Carmelita and Randoni on all of our plant gathering adventures, and miss your songs. I thank you for all the years of protection you gave us, the hundreds of miles of trails we walked together, and many, many good laughs.

I can’t believe it has been a whole year since I sent out our first newsletter! Here it is June again, one of my favorite months-especially as it grows warmer and the days are so deliciously long. It is 9:47 PM as I write this and there is still light in the sky. Peeking out the window, I can see the bats flying against the dark blue sky, feasting on insects. The chickens are still out, and I can hear the turkeys getting settled in their roosts.

It has been an unusually cool, very windy and long spring in Western Oregon. Last year at this time I was enjoying strawberries from our garden and this year, I am eye balling them along with the Blue Jays-just waiting for them to turn ripe. We did miraculously get the whole garden planted, which is early for us, as our ground is so wet. No sooner did we get it all in and then we had a deluge for a few days. Thank you Mother Nature! The calendula and lemon verbena over wintered this year, so we are already busy harvesting flowers. This year we expanded our calendula, chamomile, marshmallow, and yarrow plantings. We also are planting spilanthes and holy basil this year-they are still in the greenhouse. We also started some lovely lavender from seed this year, called Betty Blue, something we have never tried before. Our new greenhouse makes so many new things possible!

The spring has been cooler than my liking, but the flowers sure thrive with these cooler temperatures. The roses especially are out of this world. My daughter Ginger and I get giddy from the fragrance of all the roses as we walk about admiring all the subtle nuances in their scents and all the different colors. We have started harvesting petals to dry and use for our wild rose face mask, as well as petals for our rose petal infused jojoba oil. We harvest the wild rose petals that grow along our fence lines as well as the heirloom roses that we have growing all over our farm. I answered an ad over 4 years ago for free rose bushes and rescued about 40 of them from the bulldozer. I was thrilled to find that they were all heirloom roses and all of them survived except two. Some were so large we had to pull them out of the ground with a truck! Fragrant, abundant, hardy and disease free, they have been a welcome addition to the farm.

Ah, a rose is a rose is a rose…the soft petal face of this flower, rose is all about protection (picture the thorns) and being soft and vulnerable at the same time. Many cultures anoint new born babies with rose oil & fill cribs with rose petals-believing that rose gives a sense of protection and grace during transition from the Mother’s womb to the outside world, and it represents the true feminine-giving the feeling that “all is as it should be”. In skin care, rose offers toning of delicate tissues, especially those of the face and around the eyes. It is a great choice for face care as well as baby care. I personally have a real connection to not only the plant, but the smell of rose too-it reminds me of our Victorian ancestors and Grandmothers and helps me feel connected to all the women who were here before me.