Travel and herbal letters from Mrs. Blomedilla

I thought I'd share a little bit from my latest little adventure 🚗 A trip to Karmøy is actually always an adventure! First because my incredibly talented friend and half-way colleague Margit Vea (check out margitvea.no) live there, but not least because of the fabulous biodiversity that is on the island and in this magical coastal landscape. This time there was also a swimming competition and the car was full of energetic young people, and Jonatan (soon to be 5) of course.

By Renate LundeJune 24, 2024

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Going on a trip with me is probably a bit of a strange experience for those who are not used to it. There may be some sudden stops, where I pull out a pick and shovel from the trunk and jump into the ditch 👩‍🌾 Or suddenly we have stopped and I climb up rock walls in search of treasures. A little exclamation and flower names may also suddenly come in the car where the passengers do not understand any of what I suddenly shout out and have seen 🤩🌻 I promise that I watch the road and so on, but it is not easy to not follow the edges, meadows and forests we pass.

BECAUSE: there is so much gold to be found! 🌟 There are treasures everywhere, whether for use in skin and hair care or for tea and tincture. And preferably for all of this at the same time, THEN I will be happy and excited!

👀 So this little letter is mostly an invitation to look around, turn on your discovery antennas and treasure hunting sense and let yourself be excited and curious 🔎 I love it and would love for everyone to feel the thrill of searching and finding nature's incredible gifts 💚 And then take your treasures home and refine them into tea, tincture, foot bath, steam bath, cake decorations, ice cream, food and drink, among other things.

We hadn't been driving for more than half an hour before I quickly turned off the main road because I knew about some amazing rose bushes in a public place 🌹 I had to check to see if they were blooming! And yes! It was pink everywhere, and I had been careful and brought drying trays stacked up to the car roof, baskets and sheets and everything needed. With help from Symjar, it was quick to fill the drying trays and baskets and the scent we carried with us in the car is almost indescribable! Rosey! 💖 Heavenly and delightful. The heart of the scent in a rose is deeply floral, with a hint of sweetness and a faint green freshness. I tried to describe it anyway, hehe. And we breathed it in for hours, me and the kids. Lucky, right?

I was specifically looking for just the right rose, but also a bit desperate for red clover 🕵️‍♀️ Because here at home there is currently only a tiny bit of red clover in some warm ditch edges, and I HAVE TO HAVE RED CLOVER NOW! Rose and red clover facial scrub is super popular (no wonder, it's so incredibly delicious and nutritious), but the last of the red clover is going to go soon here 😣 Help! And help again, because there was little to see while I drove 4 hours to Karmøy, so I just bet everything on Karmøy's coastal flora to save me and Vossabia.

Once we arrived, late at night, the most important thing was to get the roses out onto the drying rack at Margit's house! Then I could put my soon-to-be 5-year-old to bed, hahaah. Poor thing, he keeps hearing this: just wait Jonatan, mommy's just going to pick some more/mommy's just going to add more, dry these nice flowers, etc. 😅

On my way to the swimming competition the next morning I saw red clover along the road, fantastic joy and what a sight! 🙌 Finally! There were also many other species, and the color chart was purple from wood stork's bill, blood stork's bill and vetch, pink from jonsock flower and red clover, rose and wild rose, yellow from buttercup, winter cress, lingonberry and dandelion, white from white clover, dog biscuit and common primrose (have you tasted common primrose? Yum!), blue from honeysuckle and pansy and violet, and green from lady's mantle, ferns, raspberries and nettles 🌈 A rich and diverse universe that gives to all life above and below the ground, including us. But then, it was the red clover that I was going to try to focus on! And then just some flowers for a cup of tea then ☕️

After swimming we explored several of the extremely beautiful beaches on Karmøy, and there are always exciting species to check out. Still focusing on red clover, I also had to keep an eye out for rose, and of course horsetail. the shampoo .

The kids were cheering and playing on the beach, and I was scanning the meadows and edges 🧐 and there it was definitely starting to come Strandarve too! Have you tasted the juicy beach plant that tastes almost like a cucumber? 🥒 Absolutely delicious and fresh, and recommended when you are on a beach where it spreads out. I forgot to take a picture of this edible plant, but check out the picture from another trip when Jonatan was a baby and got to taste Strandarve.

But red clover ended up in the basket too! 💕 Hip hurray, happy Vossabia! I stood with my ass in the air and picked everything I could find, while sheep barked at me and cyclists and a few cars meandered past me on this narrow road to the beach 😆 It was certainly quite a sight. Red clover for menopause and red clover for the skin and red clover for colds and respiratory tract. And it's just incredible in a facial scrub as it's super valuable for skin for both children and adults, including eczema, rashes, psoriasis, acne, and it cleanses well together with rose 🩷

On one of the beaches that makes you wonder if you're in another country, like the Maldives or something, we ended up at a beach party! 🎉 Jonatan paddled for the first time, great fun, and while he paddled and I was chasing after him, I saw it! Crazy!! 🥳 I thought, I have to take it home!

🧺 I picked, and we had fun with paddling, bands playing live music, climbing, DJs, beach volleyball, juggling, surfing and good food! 🎉😋 Geez, it's always like this on Karmøy I thought! But, it turned out that this was once a year, with the opening of Blue Flag-certified beaches. Talk about getting into it!

Yes, we ended up on the next beautiful beach too! There the kids were running around on the seashore, while I found even more horsetail, and it ended up in the baskets and was taken back home for the shampoo pans and boiling of the world's best herbal shampoo 🌿 The favorite for hair and scalp, Kjerringrokk reduces hair loss, quickly relieves itching and gives shine and life to the hair! 🤩💚

🚘 On the way home, the car was full of good experiences, good swimming results and medals, lots of plants (the roses had dried well on Margit's bedsheet), and swimming bags.

But in fact there was a little more space in the trunk. So! When we came onto the narrow road an hour and a half from home, with a river on one side and a steep mountain on the other, and I saw rose root! 😃 Yes, then it was just a matter of turning right to the side and starting to climb! So I managed to fill a basket with Norway's most medicinal plant too, which in addition to using it A LOT as a tincture for low energy and for general strengthening, is also used in hair serum! 💚 Rosemary hair serum , the magic stuff, has rose root tincture in addition to other good plants from the farm and surrounding area. A brilliant plant for the hair too!

So then the car was full! Happy people, good plants that immediately turn into great products, lots of joy, laughter and not least bangers as the young people say! The last part home required loud music from the young people, and then I'm not late to pray, so we sang at the top of our lungs while I looked at the edges of ditches and a little on the road and so 🚗🤗🌾🎤 A wonderful trip where everyone had a lot of fun!

And whoever thought the trip was over with that must think again! 😂 Back home, it was time to hand a happy Jonatan over to a happy dad, and then I picked up some big baskets and headed straight away in the late evening 🏃‍♀️🧺 to get some more horsetail before the rain came. And it was magical! ✨ Huge amounts of horsetail with priest's collars in between and in a beautiful, ever-darkening light. But the idyll was violently broken by a gnat that made love to me! 😒 Face, neck, hair and scalp were eaten up! After a full basket I jumped in the car, found salvation Panther balm and smeared me really well!! Phew!! Finally the little creeps kept their distance! And a new basket was filled before it was bedtime.

Warm regards,
Queen bee 🐝 in Vossabia