Still Distilling!
Lavender from labyrinth awaiting distillation. Still Distilling! It goes on forever, it seems! Each morning at dawn I see Donald careening down the path in the “mule” with our two labs in the back (I am writing in my studio!) Ramon picks, Donald distills. Each load takes about 2 1/2 hours. Donald getting a little… Read more »
Dry, with spicy intensity. (no) It is not true that goats will eat anything! In fact, they have quite discriminating palates when it comes to wild plums. Remember those plum blossoms of last February―flowery memories of prohibition in the Napa Valley, when plum orchards replaced vines? The marauding birds, coyotes, and deer seeded these mountain… Read more »
Early morning harvest of Lot Natalie 12 for distillation. Once a fellow lavender grower told me that when people asked him if he would buy their lavender, he replied, Do you really want me to come and cut it back just when it is its most beautiful? Usually the answer was maybe not! But that… Read more »
We are almost 1/3 through distillation this year, and this Saturday, July 7, we invite you to join us. Donald will show you how we distill, and we will have special prices on our Biodynamic organic lavender essential oil and hydrosol. For this day only, our 2009 and 2010 Biodynamic organic essential oil will be 60% off… Read more »
Bog Candle One of the last in the spring wildflower series, the bog candle is just finishing its bloom on the edge of the forest. The first time I saw it, I marveled at its delicate beauty. Then suddenly, I saw it everywhere! An orchid, it blooms on our ranch in June into early July…. Read more »
Sphinx or Hawk moth, about the size of a hummingbird. Perhaps it is the patron moth for a garden of a Jungian analyst (me!)— a sphinx moth! Otherwise unnoticed, she mysteriously shines in the flash of the camera as she searches for nectar from lavender, Lot Goatsong. These moths work primarily at twilight or night…. Read more »
The bees are letting us know it is time to distill! The calyxes are open and ready to go. Sitting in the lavender is like sitting in a hive (I think. Not that I have done it!) Listen and watch these busy ladies! (We always leave some unharvested so the bees get their fill.) View… Read more »
Photographer Lowell Downey of Art and Clarity photographing Clare Cooper Marcus.(You need to contact him to see the photo!) A number of photographers were present Saturday at the Open House. This is Lowell Downey of Art and Clarity, a local Napa photographer and land activist who actually helped us get started with our marketing ten… Read more »
Photos by Barbara and Ivan Linderman In Biodynamic farming we are asked to include animals on the farm, something most farmers no longer do. We want to have enough of the right kinds and numbers of animals to provide manures to compost to then fertilize our crops—and have enough food to feed the animals. That… Read more »
Norma in another year. This year she was in purple. Our friend Norma helps us each year at the Open House. She is one of the more generous people I know. You may have met her yesterday: she was greeting people as they arrived, selling lavender products, and making sure everyone helping got fed. She… Read more »
© 2026 Patricia Damery.
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