“It’s been awhile, Jen! Where ya been!?”
Good question, All Who Ask! A good question indeed!
After our sudden displacement from Montana (perhaps a good, long story for a podcast someday?), the Farm resided in Washington State for a bit (definitely worth a second season to afore mentioned podcast…!). Here in WA, my life, and the future of Desert Rose, started to take shape in a whole new way. A spectacular excursion to Norway in summer 2022 has inexorably altered the course of my vision!
Though, as One may have ventured to guess; just as roots started to throw out into WA soil, another sudden displacement occurred. I know I’m not the only one bouncing around in the post-COVID chaos! My heart is with the countless others out there whose worlds have been turned upside down, it truly is!
So, where to? Nearly 5,000 miles later, Desert Rose (and myself, respectably) hail to you from the North East! While many of the details of this hap-hazard adventure are less than fun, there have simultaneously been many excellent silver linings! At the end of the day, that’s the take-away right?
This year, in 2023, I will be collaborating with my Norsk counterpart, Plukka Sjæl, to broaden the horizons of the homegrown and wild-foraged goods I offer through Desert Rose. With any luck, I myself will be taking another foraging tour through the pristine wildernesses of Norway and will have more dried herbs and herbal preparations to offer this year and next as a result. And, once we refine logistics, we may be able to offer many or most products for shipment from Norway as well as the USA.
Side note- did you know that the cost for me to ship a 1oz parcel within the USA is 25% more expensive than shipping that same parcel to the USA from Norway? Yeah. Bummer, huh? But if my fellow Americans wanna save a few bucks on postage, it could be worth waiting an extra 5-10 days for your parcel. And for my fellow humans abroad, all around the world, international shipment from Norway is around 1/5 the price of international shipment from here in the USA. And it should arrive sooner, too! What’s not love!
But while these developments are incredibly exciting, there are a lot of logistics at play and me and my Norsk collaborator have not beat out the final details. It may take most of this year to bring these changes to fruition on the shopfront! So stay tuned!
As far as the farm goes… well, naturally it has shrunk progressively with the respective traveling. It hurts my soul to be so far from the land and animals I’ve spent so many years with, but new horizons promise new potential to root out once more. I remain determined and dedicated to my work of practical sustainability and sharing a healthful lifestyle with others!
For now, I’m working on my new line of herbal preparations, such as my herbal tea blends and salves! They are cropping up (slow but sure…!) on my Etsy shop as well as here on this website!
