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Life is full of surprises. Last year felt like riding the rapids, and right now feels a little more smooth-sailing but with some amazing views around. Can you tell I'm desperate to get out in nature? Well, thanks to the lovely weather, we have been getting out a little more thanks to the slow coming of spring. Speaking of spring, remember how I mentioned in my last letter that we are launching a tea line? Well IT'S HERE! And one of the teas is called Spring Sweetness. I just can't wait for you to check them out because I put my heart and soul into these teas. If you had asked me last year what I would be doing right now, it would not have been creating a tea company. And yet, the shoe just fit so perfectly that it seems like it was always meant to be. Funny how life surprises us that way sometimes. If you've had any of those surprises of your own lately, please email me! I love hearing from you.
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What's Up On The Farm
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This month has been a "prep" month. We:
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- pruned the apple and peach trees to prepare them for spring (they already have silver buds on them! eek!)
- planted tulips bulbs along our driveway that will hopefully bloom in a few short weeks to months
- seed started by planting our onion, kale, Japanese mustard, celery, hyssop, rosemary, yarrow flower seeds in our mini "greenhouse"
- in the cottage: installed the bathtub and reworked all the plumbing in the two cottage bathrooms. He is now working on tiling the bathrooms
- learned how to make our own butter from heavy cream
- have started to see big improvements in Olympia's health and strength after a year and a half long flare-up
- watched our friends' sheep give birth to two healthy baby lambs last week
- started taking an online herbal remedies class to learn more about foraging and medicinal herbs
- have been getting everything ready to launch Saint Basil Teas which are HERE!
- are so stoked that our dear friend Anna who owns a gluten-free bakery here in Winston-Salem is going to be on Food Network's Spring Baking Championship premiering Monday, March 4 at 8pm ET/PT!
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Coming June 2024
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I mentioned last month that there was lots of "new" in our lives. Well, here's another one! Coming June 2024, I will be launching a 10-week program called Back to Basics with my friends and fellow health coaches Cynthia Damaskos and Molly Sabourin of Filled with Less. You might remember I did a podcast episode they had me on that I talked about in the December monthly update newsletter.
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Anyways, Back to Basics is our new project.
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Back to Basics is a low-commitment, resource-packed 10-week experience that is a light-hearted and fun way to explore new hobbies that fit into your daily life. Back to Basics is about returning to the fulfilling habits that generations before us intuitively knew and thrived in. I'll definitely be sharing more with you as we go along! Watch the trailer here or click on the picture above.
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New in the Farm Shop!
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I am so excited that we have finally launched Saint Basil Teas in our farm shop and on etsy. I source 100% pure, organic, non-GMO, fair trade herbs and teas whenever possible and never use any artificial flavors, colors, or chemicals in our teas. Because of my interest in nutrition, I specifically chose each of the various herbs for each blend so that it would have certain medicinal and nutritional benefits and so that other would know how health-promoting teas really are. I hope you check them out or share with friends, and please use the code newyearnewtea15 at checkout to get 15% your first purchase! I will be rolling out new teas as well so be sure to check back once in a while too. If you have any ideas for types of tea you'd like to see, please let me know and I welcome the feedback!
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Spring Sweetness Specialty tea is a blend of vanilla black tea, raspberry leaf, lavender flowers, rose petals, and honeysuckle. It has been described as creamy, comforting, and smells like a hug in a cup. 1.5 oz bags make roughly 20-24 cups of tea.
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Ingredients: vanilla black tea (calendula, marigold, sunflower petals, natural flavors), raspberry leaf, lavender flowers, rose petals, honeysuckle
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Instructions: Using a tea infuser, steep 1 generous teaspoon loose leaf tea into 8 oz hot water (210-212°F) for 4-5 minutes. If you like your tea stronger, feel free to steep it for longer or add 2 teaspoons of loose leaf tea into your tea steeper.
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Balanced as a Bluebird Medicinal herbal tea is adaptogenic, relieves anxiety and chronic stress by modulating your nervous system, has anti-inflammatory properties, and respiratory support. This tea contains three different types of holy basil tea (krishna, vana, and rama) as well as ashwagandha and cornflowers to bring the perfect balance to your body's needs. Give it a try to bring tranquility and "calm" to your body, mind, and soul.
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Ingredients: holy basil (vana, krishna, rama), ashwagandha root, cornflowers, ashwagandha root powder
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Instructions: Using a tea infuser, steep 1 generous teaspoon loose leaf tea into 8 oz hot water (200-212°F) for 5-10 minutes.
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Thank you for reading our newsletter about our adventures on the homestead. Please write us if you have any thoughts or if you just want to say hello! To read past monthly emails, you can read all the past farm updates here.
With love from the Rusu's at Saint Basil Farm
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