Ranch Newsletter | May 2025

Originally sent to subscribers on May 31st, 2025

Farm Update

May is always one of our busiest months on the ranch. Getting the gardens prepped and planted, the beginning of yard work, burning yard waste, cleaning up a winter's worth of straw and waste from both goat and chicken pens, and getting irrigation up and running.

It's exhausting. Which is why I try not to commit to too many things in during May and why I didn't have any soap classes this month. (But they're coming back! Details below!) In addition to all the outdoor cleaning this year, I've been working on restocking lotions, dandelion salve, and lip balms, as well as 2 new products. More info on them below!

I did, however, participate in the Earth Day Birthday celebration at the Ogden Botanical Gardens. This is my second year being a vendor at this event and it's always a great place to be.

We're still working on our backyard project. We've dug up the area where we want to put a sidewalk, but haven't had the time to do much else with it yet. I'm hoping that will change in the next week or so because the giant pile of rock we had delivered for this project and to make our lane a little easier to drive when it's wet is right in front of my garden/animal feed shed. Not in a problematic way, it's just annoying enough to want to start doing something about it.

The ducks were introduced to the pond, and I quickly realized I should have trained them to come when called before doing that. They spent one night on the pond instead of safe in their duck house because they flat out refused to get out of the water. We're doing better now and they reluctantly come in when I shake a jar of frozen peas.

The 4 baby chicks are doing well and getting big. The hairdo on two of them is cracking me up! Pictures below.

June is also going to bring the start of the CSA season. This is going to be our last year doing a CSA. We are looking into transitioning to a farm stand, so I'll be sure to keep you updated on that project.

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. I haven't decided if I'm going to breed Honey again, but if I do, I'll breed her in November or December for spring babies which would give us an extra supply of goat milk. However, I constantly have a battle in my mind about breeding her because of her extra teat. There are many breeders that would not breed her, or even cull (sell or kill) her from their herd. But I can't bring myself to do that and our space for goats is limited. And since Reba is not breed-able I'm left with a conundrum.

In natural skincare news: I have 2 new products! The first is available now - Soap End Sampler Bags. Get 3 random soap ends and a soap identification card for $6.00. These bags will replace the sample soap boxes once I'm out of the boxes.

The second item will be available the first week of July and will debut at the Mountain Arts & Music 4th of July Festival. It's our brand new Ranch Hand Soap! This soap is made with olive oil, coconut oil, and pumice. It's a scrubby soap to help you clean up after all the dirty jobs you do such as gardening, painting, working on vehicles, and more! There will be 3 scents available - Rosemary, Juniper, and Orange.

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

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