May through September is a wild ride for us, especially July and August. And yet every year I'm surprised by how quickly the summer flies by. October is a nice break before our holiday season kicks off.
It was a fun summer for work, family time, and local Montana events. Here's a quick re-cap. (Keep in mind; these are all recurring events and I send out "What's Happening" reminders in the spring.)
Our lavender harvest this year was the best it's ever been, and we had a hard-working group of people cutting with us in July and August. We're still sorting through what we cut.
We'll steam-distill at least half of the harvest for oil, and the rest we'll use for dried bundles and sachets.
I'll throw this out there, since people ask me all the time. If you're in Montana, visiting or living here, the best time to visit the lavender field is at the end of June.
All 2400+ plants have stems with purple buds at that time. And as the bud's flower, the bees and butterflies put on their own show. Flower fields are filled with insects high on life. It's beautiful.
We start harvesting in early July, and we're done by mid-August. The time that the plants are actually purple passes quickly.
The farmer's market in Missoula was a blast! We have the same fun group of people selling around us and hanging out with them every Saturday is like getting back together with family.
We love seeing customers we know from past visits, and who come to the market just to find us. That's the best feeling! And we love all the new people we meet who are here visiting Montana.
I say this every spring, and I'll say it again — if you're in MT in June, July or August — stop by the Clark Fork Farmer's Market in Missoula. It's a beautiful market — the flowers, the pastries, the multi-colored veges as the summer goes on. It's a visual, and literal, feast.
Yoga in the lavender field with Natalie and Andrea on Saturday mornings was fabulous! They're awesome human beings, and they showed up no matter what the weather sitch.
This was our 4th year doing yoga in the lavender. It's positive, it's fun, it's inexpensive, and it seems to put you right where you need to be.
And even after the lavender is cut, there's still good vibes coming off the plants. The feeling as you sit there is magical. The plants definitely have their own thing going on. They probably wonder what in the world we're doing there:)
That's where we are. I'll post our holiday event schedule next week.
Take care:)