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!

Blossom to Seed to Soap: Borderview Farm Sunflowers in Full Bloom

Our Sunflower Oil Soaps are made with sunflower oil that is grown and pressed in the Lake Champlain Islands, just a short car ride (or boat ride!) from our farm.  This week I was able to take a drive over to visit Borderview Farm in Alburgh, owned by "my" sunflower oil farmer, Roger Rainville.  I've been  wanting to see the sunflowers in their full glory, and have been anxiously awaiting full bloom.

It was worth the wait!

Aren't they beautiful? The black spot in the sky is a bee.  

Borderview Farm is a gorgeous place, and sits right on the US/Canadian border.  The gravel road in front of his house literally divides the two countries.  I don't know how old the property is, or what all has been farmed there over the years besides dairy cows, but today the farm is a University of Vermont research farm and there are test plots everywhere growing a variety of plants, including all kinds of different grains and hops...and then there are all those gorgeous sunflowers!  Lots and lots of sunflowers!

It's a little hard to see, but there are a couple of bees here busily working.

Roger tells me the sunflower project is really about producing alternative fuels, but as a soap maker,  I see all those seed heads and all I can think about is the creamy, skin loving bars of soap that golden oil can produce.  Sunflower oil is one of the best oils for skincare.  It has a fatty acid profile similar to olive oil and is very high in vitamin e, which is known to help the skin heal and protect itself from sun damage.  Biofuels are great, but I love the fact that I can make a line of gentle soaps using a really beneficial oil that is grown locally, cold pressed, and naturally filtered.  How can you beat that?!

The different varieties of sunflowers were progressing at different stages.  This variety was just starting to flower.

This group was finished flowering, and the heads were starting to droop and dry.

The UVM/Borderview Farm sunflower project has been successful, and now there are farms all over the Champlain Islands growing and testing sunflowers and producing oil.  Besides the oil, Roger says that the pellet left over after the seeds are pressed is high in protein and is being added to animal feed.  Plus, it burns really well in pellet stoves.  I love that every part of the plant is being used.

I need to patiently wait until the seed heads are fully dried, and the oil is pressed and has had a chance to naturally filter itself, probably sometime in November or December.  I'm getting my buckets lined up and ready to go.  But, for now, I'm looking forward to another drive to the Islands so that I can enjoy the sight of all those friendly, welcoming flowers before they are gone!

Enjoy the last days of summer!

Join Us in Shelburne for Shelburne Days Festival

If you don't have any plans for Saturday, August 17th, come on over to Shelburne and join us at Shelburne Days! Held on the third Saturday in August each year, the festival offers activities for children, demonstrations by the rescue squad and firemen, fingerprinting of children by the police department, crafters, food and a variety of live music.  The regular weekly Farmer's Market will be a part of the event, and will have extended hours this week.

If I'm not mistaken, Shelburne is celebrating its 250th Anniversary this summer, so I'm expecting a little extra celebration!

Hours run 9 AM - 3 PM in the park across from the Shelburne Police Department.

Rotational Grazing, Goat Torture, and Bovine Compassion

Our goats and sheep are grass fed.  In the winter we use hay that is grown and cut just two miles down the road, and in the growing season we use rotational pasture grazing.  We choose to graze this way because we think it's one of the best ways to manage the internal parasites small ruminants face, plus we have found that it keeps our pastures in the best shape and allows a nice variety of plants to flourish.

Every farm manages rotational grazing a little bit differently, but for us it means using a series of electric netting fences to create pasture spaces that can be grazed down fully within a week or so.  Some larger farms move the spaces every day, but that just isn't practical for us.  From a parasite management point of view, it's just important to break the three week life cycle of the parasites by not keeping the animals in the same spot for that long.  Once the goats and sheep have grazed there, it's also important to allow that pasture to rest for quite a while.  Since our farm is small, and because goats don't eat the plants all the way down to the ground like cows and sheep do,  I will often mow behind them with our tractor to allow the sun to penetrate the soil and hopefully kill off any eggs and larvae.  All this moving of fences is time consuming, but we've had very few parasite issues over the years, and have been able to skip routine use of chemical dewormers.

So today it was fence moving day.

Generally I really enjoy this chore.  I usually wake up early so that I can be outside while everything is still quiet and calm, and before the sun is high.  I didn't sleep well last night, so this morning I was up and out even earlier than normal, just after the sun came up.  It was just gorgeous!  We had a cool night last night so the air was clean and fresh, the sky was clear, and the animals were all still resting and chewing their cuds. So calm and peaceful, and such a treat to be awake to enjoy this first light!

I got the tractor out, started to take down and gather the first net fence so that I could load it into the tractor bucket and move it to the new area.  Millie, a sweetie and one of our momma goats, was paying attention and started getting excited. See, the goats LOVE it when I move them to a new pasture, and she knew exactly what I was doing.  Woohoo!!

Millie

The thing is, though, Millie is very vocal.  And persistent.  And very impatient.

And this week, moving the fences was a big job.  I needed to move six sections of fence, and because the pasture where we were going hadn't been used yet this summer, I needed to also mow a border before I could stand the fences up.  (Tall grasses touching the electric net kill the charge and make the fence ineffective.) This was a several hour job.

All of this was taking entirely too long for Millie.  So, her excitement turned to agitation, which then turned to sheer frustration. "WHY is it taking so long??"  She got the rest of the goats fired up, and they  all started calling to me.  Have you heard goats holler?  It sounds like babies screaming. You would have thought they were all being tortured!

All this noise was bad enough first thing in the morning...but our new bovine neighbors heard all of the goats' fussing, so they came to the fence to see what was going on.  "Those poor goats!  What are you doing to them?!"   So they started bellowing these great big, deep calls.  That got the dogs wound up, so they started barking.  And then the roosters and hens joined in.  Uugh.  What a cacophony!

So much for my peaceful morning chore.  My head was reeling.

Finally I was done, and to the delight of the goats (and probably my neighbors) they were moved into the new pasture.  Once the goats quieted, everyone else settled down.  Now all I can hear are happy chomping noises.

Finally. Happy goats.  Look at the size of Sophie's mouthful!

Next time I'm wearing earplugs.  Right now I'm in search of Motrin.

The Year of the Rabbit

I know Chinese Astrology says this is the year of the snake, but around here it is the year of the rabbit.    We've had years where it was clearly the year of the snake when every venture outdoors yielded a sighting, a couple years where we were overrun with mice, and one very miserable year where we endured a wave of field rats.  Eeeww.  This year, it's definitely the rabbits, and I'm delighted!

I have a thing for rabbits.  I'm not sure why really, but I just do.  

Our very wet spring and summer has made keeping a tidy and mowed lawn a real challenge.  Well, that, and the fact that our mower has broken and been in the shop three times.  And don't even peek at our flowerbeds!  It's really embarrassing. Anyway, all this water and our lack of keeping up with the weeds has made our place a haven for wildlife.  We've seen all sorts of critters, but the rabbit family that has moved in is by far my favorite. 

Papa Rabbit is huge, and I don't see him very often.  He must hang out somewhere in the back pasture.  Another adult, I think a female and I'm guessing the Momma, is always near the goat barn at dusk when I am out doing farm chores.  Two baby rabbits were born this year.  The first one was just a wild thing, dashing around, running from bush to bush, and back and forth across the street.  Unfortunately, she was run over by the UPS truck.  It wasn't unexpected the way she was always flying around, but I still got pretty upset by the whole ordeal, and removed her from the road.  Have you ever looked closely at a rabbit's skin?  I was amazed at how delicate and transparent it was.  I guess that's why so many cosmetic firms have done testing on rabbits' eyes and skin over the years.  (We don't test our products on animals!)

The other baby is alive and well, is very calm, and moves at a much more reasonable pace.  Every morning, and every evening, I have the great pleasure of watching him nibble his way through the clover next to our front door.  It has been great fun watching him grow from a little tiny thing into a healthy sized juvenile.  When he was smaller, Momma was always close by.  She'd often sit in the shadow of the car, or in the taller grasses and plants, keeping a watchful eye. Nowadays he's usually on his own. Sometimes I leave scraps out there for him to discover, but mostly I just watch from the window and enjoy.   

My view from the window.  Look close to the driveway, near the lily of the valley plants.

Here he is zoomed in a little bit.  The photo is shot through the screen so it's a little distorted.

And here he is up close.  

Black Eyed Susans, Egg Yolk Soap, and Pavlova

This week we have finally been able to enjoy a few classic Vermont summer days.  They've been few and far between this summer with our months of heavy rain and flooding and then extreme heat and humidity.  Maggie and I took a walk through the back pasture and gathered a bouquet of my favorite summer wildflowers,  Black Eyed Susans and Queen Anne's Lace.  So simple, and so beautiful!

We've been overrun with eggs this week.  I guess the hens have been enjoying these warm days and cool evenings as much as we have.  

So, what's a girl to do with a surplus of eggs?  Well, around here, it means two things:  egg yolk soap and Pavlova.

Our Egg Yolk and Honey Farm Soap was one of our first soap recipes.  I've tweaked it quite a few times and now have a formula I'm crazy about:  rich egg yolks from our hens, a little honey from our bees, a little beeswax, a little lanolin, some organic oils and butters, divine essential oils, a few flower buds, and a whole lot of love!

Here are the egg yolks waiting to be incorporated into the melted oils.  Aren't they beautiful?  Those bright orange yolks are the result of happy chickens allowed to freely wander and peck in grasses and pasture.

Here I'm straining the yolks into the soap bucket of melted oils, beeswax, lanolin and honey.

I found it difficult to mix the soap and take photos, so next time I will have an assistant, but here's a shot of the soap after it has been fully mixed and has reached trace.  It is ready to be poured into molds.

Here it is poured into a mold, topped with dried calendula blossoms and lavender buds.  Now it is ready to be covered and allowed to finish saponifying.  The saponification process generates a good amount of heat.  

About 24 hours later, the soap has cooled down and has turned firm and opaque.  Here are a few slices of the freshly sliced soap.  I've found that this soap always has a greenish center when it is first cut.  I think it is the combination of egg yolks and the lavender, though my lavender oatmeal soap looks this way when it is first cut, too, so perhaps it is just the lavender. The odd color goes away within the next 24 hours, and then the soap takes on its beautiful butter yellow color.

The soap is now on racks curing.  It should be fully cured in 4-6 weeks.

So that took care of those extra egg yolks. What about all those whites?  It's Pavlova time!

If you aren't familiar with Pavlova, it is a sweet, fluffy meringue generally topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit.  Many years ago when my husband was in graduate school, we became close friends with a couple from Australia.  Apparently Aussie's take great pride in their "Pavy"and claim it to be one of their national desserts, and Belinda's was the best.  Crisp on the outside, fluffy and moist on the inside.  She generally served hers topped with a tin of passion fruit, whipped cream, and some raspberries.  Yum.  It has become a family favorite, and it's always a happy day around here when there's a pavy in the oven.  Save this recipe for a day when the humidity is low.

Binny's Pavlova

8 egg whites at room temperature

2 cups superfine white granulated sugar (see note below)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

fresh heavy cream, for whipping

fresh berries or seasonal fruit (cut into bite sized pieces, if necessary)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (F).

In a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until foamy.  Continue beating at high speed and slowly add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing a few seconds in between additions.  Periodically stop the mixer, and scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a clean, grease-free spoon.   Once all of the sugar has been incorporated, continue beating until the mixture is glossy and quite firm.  I use a kitchenaid and find that it usually takes me about 20-25 minutes to slowly add the sugar and get the whites properly beaten. 

After the whites are beaten, drizzle the vanilla extract and vinegar over the top.  On slow speed, mix until combined.  Using a small sifter, shake the cornstarch over the top, and again, gently combine on low speed.

Mound the beaten whites onto a (very) clean cookie sheet, in a rough circular shape, leveling the mixture slightly with the back of your spoon or spatula--about 8-9"in diameter and 3-4" tall.

Place on the bottom rack in the hot oven, close the door, and immediately lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees.  Bake 1 hour and 30 minutes.  

The Pavlova should feel dry to the touch when done and have a crispy crust.  Allow to cool, then slice into wedges and enjoy with fruit and whipped cream.

Note:  I buy superfine granulated white sugar at my local market.  Regular white sugar works ok, too, if you don't have it.  Or, if you are so inclined, you can briefly process the sugar in your food processor or blender.  The superfine sugar seems to yield a finer texture in the pavlova.

Enjoy these summer days!

Jackson the Rooster Holds Off Fisher Cat

Jackson

It was a wild weekend around here.

We keep chickens on our farm, and along with the hens we always keep a few roosters hanging around.  A good rooster can really help with flock management, sounding the alarm when something is amiss, keeping peace in the hen-house, and keeping tabs on the hens.  Plus, I find them entertaining and really enjoy listing to a good crow.

Our last batch of hen chicks turned out instead to be a big batch of roosters, so at the moment we have more roosters than we really need.  I keep saying that I need to reduce the number, but I haven't done anything about it quite yet... and this past weekend I was really happy to have all those guys around, especially Jackson.

Jackson is my favorite rooster.  He's a five year old Americauna, really easy going, and full of charm.  He's got this  s l o w  dramatic strut that just cracks us up!  He leans way back and with big, wide sweeping movements brings each leg way up in the air and then down to take a step forward.  The hens love him,  too-- I'm sure because he is so gentle and full of personality.

On Saturday, in the middle of the afternoon, as my husband was driving into the driveway, he could see Jackson and another one of our older roosters puffed up and making a fuss.  He thought maybe they were having a little manly tussle, but as he walked closer and could hear their tone he knew something was definitely wrong.   A fisher cat, a nasty creature known to decimate a flock of chickens in a matter of minutes, had entered their yard and attacked a hen. Amazingly, the two roosters had worked together and placed themselves between the injured hen and the fisher, and were blocking the fisher from moving towards the rest of the flock!  A third rooster, a fairly young bird, had the hens gathered in an area away from the excitement, and was standing guard in front of them.  (The fourth one, who is a pain in the you-know-what had run to hide inside the hen house. Coward. He'll be on the list to go.)  Once my husband got close enough to tend to the problem, the two roosters backed away and joined the hens.

We were just so impressed that those two roosters were able to hold off a fisher cat.  Jackson was a little scratched up from his encounter, but has recovered.  Unfortunately, we ended up loosing the injured hen, but if it hadn't been for those brave roosters, the outcome could have been MUCH worse.

And that is why I keep roosters on our farm.  :)

If you've never seen a fisher cat, here's a photo.

Chasworth Farm Soaps Featured on Healthy Living Market's Blog

We were delighted to be featured in Healthy Living Market's blog on July 18th.  You can check out their post here.

Our soaps are located on one of the display units in the center of the body care department along with other local products.

New Eucalyptus + Spearmint Soap

Freshly made soap, ready to place on the curing racks.

This summer we introduced a limited edition Eucalyptus + Spearmint soap, and we were so wowed by the response that we decided to add it to our regular Artisan line.   

I wanted to up the game a little though, and wanted to make sure I was using the very best variety of eucalyptus I could find for this application, so I bought and tested a bunch grown in different places around the world.  I settled on Eucalyptus Blue Mallee from Australia.  The scent is amazing! Crisp, camphorous without being too medicinal, woody.... Ahh.  :)  Blended with my favorite spearmint--a first cutting spring mint grown and distilled in the Pacific Northwest, the final scent of the soap is really invigorating.  

I also wanted to jazz up the soap's design by adding some layers and brightening the colors.  The dark dotted line between around the white layer is finely crushed dried spearmint leaves.  I love the way it accentuates the layers!

I hope you like the new version!  The soaps are curing and will be available in early August.

Advanced Soap Maker Certification

I just learned that I earned my Advanced Soap Maker certification through the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetics Guild (HSCG), and I'm really excited!

The HSCG is an international trade organization for companies that manufacture handcrafted soap and cosmetics. The certification program ensures quality in the handcrafted products members of the HSCG manufacture.  The Advanced Certification process includes passing a written exam, and creating a soap (along with supporting calculations and documentation) for analysis.

I've been a member of the Guild for several years, and as my company has grown, I've felt that obtaining certification was becoming more and more important to provide a certain level of assurance to my customers and prospective customers that my products are well made and safe to use.  After all, there's a lot of science behind those creamy, delicious bubbles and soothing creams!  :)

Join Us at the First Spruce Peak Market of the Season!

We are busy wrapping soaps, packing pots, and gathering eggs in preparation for the first Spruce Peak Farmer's Market of the season this Friday,  11:00 AM - 3:00 PM.  The weather forecast is encouraging and I'm looking forward to my drive through the Notch to Spruce Peak.  Come join us! It should be a great day to visit Stowe and shop for seasonal produce and local wares.  If you want to make a day of it, the resort is hosting an evening BBQ with fireworks at dusk.

Welcome to Healthy Living Market!

We are so excited to add Healthy Living Market in Burlington to our list of retailers!  They will be carrying our Vermont Sunflower Oil Soaps as well as a selection of our Artisan Soaps and Lip Balms.  Look for our products on the shelves by the end of next week.   

Meet Our New Neighbors!

The parcel of land adjoining ours recently sold, and our new neighbors have moved in.  Twenty-some handsome and very friendly bovines.  Maggie has introduced herself and is a little intimidated by their size, but everyone is on good terms.  When the roosters get to crowing, the cows line up at the fence to see what's going on.  I'm delighted to have them join the neighborhood!