Autumn's in the Air, and the Sweet, Sweet Smell...

...of Frankincense! I bet you thought I was going to say apples or something like that, right?

Here at our farm, the air is filled with the smells of winter, and especially the winter holidays:  sweet oranges studded with cloves and spice;  the bite and zing of frosty peppermint; the classic fir tree gracing the family room; bright, tart cranberries and balsam bough garlands to dress the banister;  and the rich, seductive scent of gold-dusted frankincense and myrrh.  We are overflowing with seasonal and holiday soaps!

All handmade soaps made in the traditional cold process methods that I follow need time to cure after they are made.  The curing time allows the soaps to dry and harden, and ensures that saponification is complete.  The general guideline soap makers follow is to allow at least three weeks for this process.  I allow a six week minimum cure time, and prefer to allow several months.  I find that the lather improves, and in most cases, the fragrance of the soap continues to develop and improve.  So, working backwards, we generally make our soaps three to four months ahead of our targeted sell date. In the case of frankincense and myrrh, I actually work five months out because the color and scent transform and improve so much as it ages.  (I have to admit it  is a little odd making such a richly scented soap when it is 90 degrees outside!)

Here's the frankincense and myrrh soap freshly poured into the mold, soft, creamy and yellow.

This is what it looked like 24 hours later after.  It is firm, and the color had already started to change on the surface of the soap.




My next step after slicing the soap into bars is to add the dusting of gold cosmetic mica.  A little bling for the holidays!  The mica gets on everything, including all over me. :)  

So here it is, sliced, dusted, and ready to go on curing racks.  You can see that the interior of the soap is still a soft ivory color.

Here we are eight weeks later.  The color has darkened considerably.  This is from the blend of essential oils that I use to fragrance the soap.

And now, almost 12 weeks later the soap is fully cured and the color is fully developed.  At this point it was placed into cardboard storage boxes, while the fragrance continues to mellow and improve.

 














But enough about the frank & myrrh!  Here's the Cranberry Balsam curing, along with a picture of the Orange Winter Spice.  The O'Christmas Tree is already boxed and tucked away.

This week I'm finishing up the Peppermint Frost, which has turned out to be a nice case of good timing. I have a cold and the peppermint essential oil that I am using to fragrance the soap is helping to clear my sinuses. Aaah.

Our seasonal and holiday soaps will all be wrapped in pretty papers, and will be ready for purchase beginning November 1st.  In addition to the bar soaps, we will also have a limited supply of our O' Christmas Tree liquid handsoap made with local Vermont sunflower oil packaged in beautiful glass bottles, and Candy Cane lip balms.

Soaps make great little gifts, and it's one thing that everyone needs!  Please consider us as you complete your holiday lists.  We generally sell out, so please shop early.

A Simple Lesson

One of our hens died yesterday.

She was a grand ol' girl, long retired from the egg making business.  She had an easy way about her.  Never the center of attention, but always tuned in to what was going on, friendly, and very aware.

About a week ago I noticed that she was really slowing down, so I started to keep a close eye on her.  With each passing day, she got a bit slower and slower.

Each morning when I opened the doors to let the chickens out, she lined up with the others and slowly walked down the ramp.  Throughout the day I would see her outside just hanging out, many times just resting in the grass.  When she moved around she walked in very slow motion, with very deliberate movements.  Pecking peacefully at grass or bugs or anything else interesting. She looked tired, but she seemed happy to be outside enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

The past couple days when I was doing evening chores and closing up the hens, I'd look for her inside with the others, and realize she hadn't made it back up the ramp.  I'd find her outside close to the bottom of the ramp, her head tucked back into her feathers, settled into a roosting position.  I think the day wore her out and walking back up the ramp was just not an option.  So, I'd pick her up, place her back inside, and close up the hen house and wonder if she'd live through the night.

Yesterday morning when the others lined up to go out, she couldn't make it over to the ramp. I picked her up and moved her over to a sunny spot where she could feel the sunshine streaming through the window.  I figured she'd like that.

When I came back a couple of hours later she was gone.

I've learned an awful lot of lessons about life and death from our animals.  This summer has been a challenging one for me for a couple of reasons, and this old hen reminded me of just how important it is to get outside, feel the sunshine, and look at the sky.

A simple lesson, but one that I needed to be reminded of.

Our New Farm Soap Wrapper: A Tribute to Molly the Chicken

Our Farm Soap-- made with eggs from our chickens, honey and beeswax from our hives, and lanolin-- has a beautiful new wrapper, thanks to Craftsbury, Vermont artist Gabe Tempesta.

I searched for the right artist for quite a long time, and am just thrilled with what Gabe has created!  I wanted a wrapper that would highlight the chickens since their eggs are a key ingredient in the soap, along with one of our sheep (for the lanolin) and a honey bee (honey and beeswax).  I also wanted the wrapper to include lavender plants, since the soap contains lavender essential oil, and to compliment the soap itself which is butter yellow with lavender buds and calendula petals on top.

I particularly wanted to pay tribute to Molly, an amazingly independent, affectionate (yes, chickens can be affectionate!), and intelligent pet Americauna chicken who lived in the goat barn instead of the hen house.  For those of you who have been with us a while, you probably were greeted by her when you visited our farm during Open Studio weekends.  She used to love hanging out in the pottery studio with me and managed to "assist" in the design of more than one pot.  One day we're going to write a children's book about Molly.  There are so many stories and tales to tell!  We think of her often and miss her.

I sent Gabe a series of photos of Molly and our rare breed Leicester Longwool sheep, and he began his work.  Here's his sketch:

You can see how he planned his design around the logo button and the name band that I would need to add later.

Then he went to work painting...and this is what he created:

I think it's beautiful!  

Here's the wrapper in it's final form, with the logo and name band attached. 

We were so smitten by Gabe's work that we asked him to do a couple more wrappers for us, including Lilac and Neem, Tea Tree & Company.  Right now he's working on a new Coconut Ginger Lime wrapper.   Look for the new wrappers in use soon!

For more information on Gabe and his work, please visit his website www.gabrieltempesta.com.

Thanks, Gabe!