Quite nice with a morning office on the shore, with the sound of waves, and a fjord and mountain view! And only me and the weasel are awake.
The red cat darted past like some kind of feathered villain, wondering what a lady in a pink dress was doing in the middle of his workday.
So, picking and harvesting is in full swing these days! Intense days in intense heat! We sweat with bent backs and hot hands (and heads!) as we assess, clip, pinch and fill basket after basket with green treasures – and all this so that you get the best plants in the products you use to lubricate, wash and strengthen yourself.
Now it's time to act – this is the short window in which we must secure this year's herb harvest before next season.
The plan today is diverse: St. John's wort (wild St. John's wort that I have plans for new products with!), and yarrow and red clover. These three are essential in the absolutely wonderful, smooth, healing body butter: Body Balm with Wild Herbs. You can also find yarrow in the shampoo and Rosemary hair serum as this robust universal plant is great for hair and scalp too!
🌿 Do you want to feel the herbs on your body?
Here you will find the plant power we are picking right now:
👉 Body balm with wild herbs
👉 Rosemary Hair Serum
👉 Rose and red clover scrub
We need a lot of red clover as it is super central to Scandinavia's best peeling product 2025! So Vossabias Rose and Red Clover Scrub for the face and neck. No wonder it wins awards considering the hand-picked wild plants from the pure western Norwegian nature. We also have our own basket of goat's milk thistle. Pink and pretty, and perfect for the mountains now – and I'm going to immediately make it into a drink concentrate that can be used for juice, soda, drinks, jelly and other goodies, so we have it in the freezer through autumn and winter.
Pink goat's rue in the background and the universal plant yarrow in the foreground
And then there will be goldenrod and felt king's candle to take home too! Goldenrod is a fabulous herb, especially good for the urinary tract (diuretic among other things) and the respiratory tract. Felt king's candle is also great for the respiratory tract and mucus. I will dry them and use them as tea and make sure that Ylva and the others who brew for colds and coughs get goldenrod and felt king's candle in one of the tea blends I make, but I will also add some to alcohol to get an effective tincture.
With golden rice in hand, I met a good old friend at Vøringsfossen the other evening, and she tested her new camera on me. Enjoy spontaneous encounters in special places!
**PHOTO: Heidi Kvamsdal
There have been a few trips to the mountains now, and the other day Jonatan and I didn't get home until half past one in the morning. He gets to experience a lot with a mother who is always on the lookout for the best plants! He is starting to know some plants too, and calls out: Mom, look at red clover and yarrow! Then mom is happy and satisfied, hehe. It's nice that it's summer vacation for him, so he can sleep until late in the afternoon when he has to hang out with me on everything!
Mom picks yarrow and Jonatan takes a picture.
IN In the intense heat, it is fantastic that we have so many lovely rivers and lakes all around us, and a short distance to fjords and the sea. We especially love swimming in rivers and mountain lakes, and after picking and long days of work, a refreshing bath has almost saved us.
It was extra fun last night when I got to swim in the river with all three of my goldfish.
The need for bathing is strong for many people now, and it is especially fun when there are pictures from people using our environmentally friendly and people-friendly shampoo for outdoor washing. It is highly recommended!!
We call it river scum. Natural shampoo + body soap = fragrant wilderness women.
Now Linda has gotten up, and think how lucky I am. She now served me coffee for my writing and not only that: strawberries and waffles for breakfast!
Perfect before we quickly get to the mountains, and get ready for some effective and delicious hours bent over the plants! It's hard work and I can guarantee: no gym can beat a week of Vossabia back bends! But it's also a blessing and pure meditation: being close to nature in this way!
Hello beautiful red clover, now you will join the farm and become delicious and nutritious things that people will love to smear and scrub themselves with.