Fermentation, Nectar, and the Turning of Autumn
Dear friends,
The wheel of the year is gently turning, bringing us with it into autumn. The barest hints of red and yellow are beginning to appear on the trees surrounding our farm, a harbinger of the crisp air, chilly sunrises and cozy evenings ahead. The quality of daylight in autumn carries a kind of softened brilliance. It arrives lower on the horizon, casting longer, slanting shadows that stretch across the browning ground, quiet reminders of time passing. The light itself feels burnished. Golden, honeyed, sometimes edged with copper, as though the sun is filtering itself through an unseen veil. Unlike the high, unyielding blaze of summer, autumn light is tender, contemplative, almost wistful. It illuminates the edges of leaves until they glow like stained glass, and it makes the air feel more spacious, more transparent. There is a hush in it, a subtle dimming, as though the earth itself is exhaling and preparing to rest.
Autumn is my favorite season. Certainly in part because of the brilliant display of fleeting color and a cozier wardrobe, but also for the natural slower rhythm that comes with shorter daylight hours. There seems to be more time to create and contemplate, taking the place of go, go, go and do, do, do of summer’s height. Routines settle in again, framing our days, and much of the excitement and spontaneity of summer is packed away until next year.
As we slip into this much-beloved fall season, I’m delighted to share that the online shop has re-opened after my maternity leave. With autumn’s arrival comes a testing of our resilience as the immune system is called to rise against the steady tide of seasonal challenges. I love stocking our home pantry with numerous bottles of spicy and sweet Cider Fire, elderberry remedies in all forms, and cozy teas to brew as the sun sets and the rooms grow dark.
With the online shop open again, some new offerings have arrived as well. Each one crafted with care and reverence, and infused with the wisdom of fermentation and the sweetness of nectar.
Fermented Face Drops
This serum is alive. Born of the microbial magic of fermentation, it carries with it the vitality of transformation itself. With each drop, the skin is invited into a conversation with balance and renewal. Fermentation enhances bioavailability, meaning your skin receives nourishment more readily, more deeply. These drops are lightweight yet potent—an elixir for luminosity, resilience, and softening. In crafting them, I imagined the way compost feeds the soil, how what is broken down becomes more fertile, how transformation is the essence of vitality. These drops carry that truth: that change is nourishment. These drops lay the foundation, feeding the skin with living vitality and deep nourishment, and harmonize best when followed by an oil-based serum or moisturizer. We have fermented three different fruits for the unique benefits they all bring to the table, and the result is three powerful options for your skin.
Feminine Nectar Oxymel
Sweet and tangy, grounding and enlivening, this oxymel is a celebration of the feminine essence in all its forms. Honey and vinegar carry the wisdom of preservation and sweetness, blending with herbs that support cycles, vitality, and deep inner nourishment. Taken by the spoonful, stirred into sparkling water, or drizzled into tea, this nectar invites you to slow down and savor. It is an offering for those seeking to connect with the sacred rhythms of the body, to tend to the womb, and to honor the fertile ground of being.
Both of these new creations feel like companions for this time—expressions of what I’ve learned in these months of tending and being tended to. They remind me that everything we craft, consume, and embody is part of a larger dialogue with life itself.
I am so grateful for your patience, your kind messages, and the way this community has continued to pulse with life even in my absence. It is a gift to be able to re-open the apothecary doors and to step once more into this work with herbs, roots, flowers, and the alchemy of the earth.
Love and herbal tea,
Jenn
