Ranch Newsletter | April 2025

Originally sent to subscribers on April 30th, 2025

"The earth laughs in flowers." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

April passed way too quickly, but it was an enjoyable, fun, and memorable month. Craig and I purchased experiences for each other for our 12th anniversary. The first was a Utah Hockey Club game, the second was a glassblowing class at the Local Artisan Collective where we made marbles.

I also started cleaning up the gardens and planting a few things. I'm still giving this nice weather a side-eye as I put plants in the ground since I have never been able to plant anything before May. But the dandelions are out in full force, which is a pretty good sign the weather will hold. But that also means it's Dandelion Salve season! I've picked 3,000 organic dandelions to make the largest batch of salve I've made yet!

We got part of our backyard project done. We moved the sprinkler line that was too close to our lane. We still have to blow out the line and put the sprinkler heads in, but we're still expecting that spring freeze...

I held my first two soap classes and loved them! I'm so excited to offer more of these. Because May tends to be very busy in the garden, I've scheduled the next classes for June.

And if all that isn't enough, we have new animals on the ranch! (See below for pictures) Our broody hen, Peppermint, sat on 5 eggs for 24 days and not a single one hatched. Upon investigation, 4 were unfertilized! So I grabbed 4 chicks from IFA and Peppermint is a happy mama hen.

But those aren't the only babies to join JulBud Ranch. We also got ducklings! 6 Khaki Campbell ducklings arrived about a week ago. One of them didn't tolerate the travel through the mail system very well and didn't survive, but the remaining 5 are thriving. They are incredibly messy, but adorable.

In goat news: Daisy hasn't come back into heat, so we are assuming she's pregnant. She'll be due at the beginning of August. We also celebrated her 1st birthday and Reba's 6th birthday.

In natural skincare news: Market season is here! I'll be at my first Market on May 3rd at the Ogden Botanical Garden's Earth Day Birthday celebration. There will be vendors, a plant sale, hands-on family activities, classes, and food.

My next soap making classes are:

• Saturday, June 21st 2-4pm

• Wednesday, June 25th 6-8pm.

Learn how to create your own small batch of Bastille bar soap using entirely natural ingredients, resulting in a soap perfect for sensitive skin.

You will discover the science of soap-making, explore the ingredients suitable for homemade soap, and create a 1-pound batch of soap to take home, cut, cure, and enjoy.

Please note, you will be required to wear safety gear for this class - gloves, glasses, and an apron. We will be working with lye.

Classes are $55 each, are limited to 10 people, and have an age limit of 13 and older. If you'd like to sign up, you can do so here: https://www.julbudranch.com/events-1

Mother's Day is coming up fast! If you're on Instagram, I have collaborated with several local businesses for an Ultimate Mother's Day Gift Basket. You can enter the giveaway by liking the reel, following all the small businesses listed in the comments of the reel, and comment your favorite thing about your mom. Tag your friends for extra entries.

I also have customizable gift basket options on my website, or just grab one or two of Mom's favorite pampering items and one of our unique blank greeting cards.