Midsömmar Apothecary & Luminarium

09/07/2026

We forage and slow-render spruce resin for our Spruce Salve here in Door County. For a good while, there was a large stand of Norway spruce that was struggling with injuries that befell them during a big winter storm. They’ve recovered nicely~ and we needed to do quite a bit of traversing woodlands to find trees producing enough resin for us to feel comfortable harvesting from them. With the help of our friend Bob Bultman of Door County Prairie Services, we’ve gathered resin for a new batch, and are shipping on Tuesday to all the folks that pre-ordered. Anyone else wanting to order~ private message please. I honestly don’t know whether anything smells more delightful than fresh spruce resin. 🌲

A Little Bit About Spruce

Across the northern forests of Europe, conifer resins have long been valued as practical skin medicines. In Finland, and particularly in Finnish Lapland, salves made from the resin of Norway spruce (Picea abies) have been used for centuries for wounds, sores, burns and damaged skin. The tradition survived not as an obscure historical remedy, but as household medicine passed through generations.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4827294/

Now, Finnish researchers have studied refined Norway spruce resin preparations for difficult wounds, including chronic surgical wounds and pressure ulcers. A randomized clinical trial found substantially more complete healing in the spruce-resin group than in the comparison group, while laboratory studies have identified antimicrobial activity and resin constituents associated with re-epithelialization and skin renewal.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4827294/

Conifers produce resin to seal and defend their own wounds when their bark is damaged or insects attack. Ancestral people living among spruce forests understood that the sticky, aromatic resin is useful medicine for damaged human skin as well.

Scientists are now researching the resin acids, lignans and other constituents, and are helping to explain some of the mechanisms of medicinal action. Modern research provides a satisfying confirmation that this age-old forest medicine deserves respect.

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/health/resin-and-honey

At Midsommar, we work with spruce resin in much the same way northern people have as far back as we can trace. We find it particularly suitable in angry, hot, red, rough, cracked and persistently irritated skin conditions. And ~ we find its aromatics energizing, awakening, and spirit-lifting. I keep a tin nearby, and often apply it to the back of my neck, as a bit of sensory mood-medicine when I’m tired, cranky or stressed.

🌲 Some of its most valued applications include:

🐦‍⬛ Hot, red and irritated skin. Especially skin that feels inflamed, uncomfortable or persistently “angry.”

🐦‍⬛ Dry, rough and scaly patches. Particularly areas that repeatedly become thickened, flaky, cracked or irritated.

🐦‍⬛ Itchy, reactive skin. Especially when dryness, scratching and irritation begin feeding into one another.

🐦‍⬛ Cracked or compromised skin. Useful where very dry skin has begun to split, fissure or become tender.

🐦‍⬛ Hard-working hands. For weathered, cracked, rough or repeatedly irritated hands exposed to frequent washing, gardening, outdoor work or the elements.

🐦‍⬛ Cold- and wind-stressed skin. A particularly natural fit for winter skin that becomes rough, dry, reddened or cracked.

🐦‍⬛ Rough heels, feet, elbows and knees. Especially stubborn areas that need both protection and sustained emollient care.

🐦‍⬛ Minor scrapes and superficial skin damage. Spruce resin has a remarkably long history in traditional wound care, and this is one of the areas in which modern research has begun to substantiate the folk practice.

🐦‍⬛ Splits, fissures and minor working-skin injuries. The sorts of small cracks and damaged areas that historically would have been everyday realities of life in northern farming, fishing and forest communities.

☀️ As with any resin-rich botanical topical, spruce resin can occasionally cause contact allergy in susceptible people, so discontinue use if irritation develops.

09/05/2026

We love the Canadian Herb Conference! Strongly recommended. ❤️

Tickets for the 2026 Canadian Herb Conference are now officially open!

While our full speaker lineup will be unveiled in the coming weeks, we couldn't wait to share the vision guiding this year's Conference and invite you to take your place in it.

When the structures of the past no longer serve us, our path forward begins not with resistance, but with deep, intentional presence.

The 2026 Canadian Herb Conference invites you into a transformative space where we face the breakdown of old ways and plant the seeds for what comes next through the process of releasing, adapting, and re-imagining.

To build anew, we must first honour the necessary grief of letting go- surrendering outdated paradigms in ourselves, our environment, our communities, and our herbal practices. Rooted in regenerative ethics and practical plant wisdom, this year’s Conference is about digging our hands into the soil of possibility.

Come join us! You can get your ticket at https://herbconference.com

09/04/2026

We’re re-stocking some cool season favorites as we move into the Labor Day Weekend. Nordic Spa is a customer-favorite that works just as well after bath / shower / sauna, or as a tired-and-achy muscle relieving massage oil.

“Vikings are well known for their plunder and conquest, but they were also highly skilled traders, by sea and land. One of their main trade routes connected them across Europe, through Constantinople to the Silk Road and the spices of the East. Much traditional Scandinavian fare prominently features cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, anise, fennel, vanilla, and pepper. Here, we offer warming, spicy aromatics, perfect for a night in front of a fireplace.”

08/25/2026

The Conference at Innisfree Farm & Botanic Garden on Vancouver Island was a most exceptional experience. The folks at Canadian Herb Conference are both expert and wise, and this online event in November is an opportunity for everyone to participate. You certainly don’t need to be an herbalist to benefit from their curated range of presentations. Highly recommended. 💕🌲🐦‍⬛

We are seeking herbalists, and land stewards to teach at this year's Canadian Herb Conference - learn more about workshop formats, suggested workshop topics, past workshop topics, and key dates for this year’s Conference at herbconference.com

Applications close on Thu Sep 3 at 10 am PST.

07/23/2026

The smoke has cleared. We’ve got blue skies, breezes off the lake and *perfect* temperatures. It’s a gorgeous day in summerland. Come see me on your way to the beach, or the woods. We’ve got Bug Banisher, Too Much Sun and all the fixings for cold, sparking, refreshing tonics. ✨🌿🍹🥒🐦‍⬛

07/20/2026

🫐 Aronia (Chokeberry): Tiny Berry. Big Medicine.

Aronia is one of those remarkable northern fruits that doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves. Deeply colored and intensely tart, these berries are among the richest natural sources of anthocyanins and other polyphenols - compounds responsible for many of their health-promoting effects.

Modern research suggests that aronia may help support cardiovascular health by:

❤️ Promoting healthy blood pressure by encouraging nitric oxide production, allowing blood vessels to relax and circulate more efficiently.

❤️ Supporting healthy cholesterol levels, including reductions in total and LDL cholesterol in several clinical studies.

❤️ Helping protect our arteries by reducing inflammatory processes involved in the earliest stages of plaque formation.

❤️ Nourishing the endothelium - the delicate inner lining of our blood vessels - which is essential for healthy circulation.

This is one of my favorite examples of where traditional foods and modern research meet. We don’t need exotic superfoods from halfway around the world when our northern landscapes offer berries like aronia, packed with compounds that help support resilient health.

Have you ever tried aronia? They’re delightfully tart~ perfect in syrups, oxymels, jams, teas, or simply added to smoothies.

In Door County, Hidden Acres on Beach Road just north of Sister Bay offers fresh & frozen aronia berries at their farmstand, and we highly encourage filling an ice cooler and returning home with frozen berries.

We also offer our Giant of Gills Rock Oxymel, fruity and potent with aronia, mulberry, hawthorn and rowan berries, in craft cocktails, or simply splashed over still or bubbly water for a delicious & healthful daily tonic beverage. 🐦‍⬛🫐

📚 For those who enjoy reading the science, here’s an excellent review of the research:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8235034/

07/13/2026

For those of you that ask where we source our herbs, you will have heard me mention Oshala Farm as one farm-direct provider of beautiful, high-quality medicinals. Before my recent visit to Innisfree Farm for the Vancouver Herb Gathering, I ordered a collection of herbs that were here waiting when I returned. Here we have an organoleptically-delightful batch of artichoke leaf from Oshala Farms, that we include in our Death’s Door Bitters.

Alas~ Oshala Farm suffered a devastating fire on July 6, 2026.

Here’s their message~ they’re shiny, and exemplary of how to do it well ~ very much needed as we continue to encourage small medicinal herb farms across the U.S. and Canada. Please consider donating to their rebuild and recovery, via link at the bottom.

“On the afternoon of Monday, July 6, as our crew was preparing to head home, a devastating fire broke out at Oshala Farm.

Thankfully, every member of our team and all of our animals made it to safety. For that, we are profoundly grateful.

In just a few short hours, a fire took nearly everything we’ve built over the last 13 years. We lost our drying barns, storage facilities, processing equipment, coolers, mechanic shop, and the vast majority of our harvested herbs. Our fields survived, but much of the infrastructure needed to harvest, dry, process, and store those herbs did not.

The loss is difficult to put into words.

What Survived the Oshala Farm Fire
While the buildings are gone, what matters most is still here.

Our people are safe.

Our animals are safe.

Our fields are still growing, full of the medicinal herbs we’ve spent this season tending with care.

In the midst of heartbreak, that feels like something to hold onto.

More Than a Farm
Over the past day, we’ve been overwhelmed by your kindness.

Your messages, phone calls, prayers, donations, and offers to help have reminded us that Oshala Farm has always been about so much more than buildings.

It’s about people.

It’s about community.

It’s about our shared belief that plants have the power to heal.

For more than 13 years, we’ve had the privilege of growing certified organic medicinal herbs in Southern Oregon alongside an incredible team of 40 year-round employees and a seasonal crew of 20. Many of our employees have worked beside us for over a decade, helping build Oshala Farm into what it is today.

This morning, we gathered together as a team.

We cried together.

We hugged one another.

And together, we made one decision.

We are going to rebuild.

Why Oshala Farm Needs Your Help
One of the questions we’ve heard most is whether the herbs themselves survived.

The answer is both yes and no.

Our fields are still growing, but the fire destroyed the vast majority of this year’s harvested herbs, along with the buildings, tools, and equipment we rely on to harvest, dry, process, and store the herbs still growing this season.

We currently have only a limited selection of products available after losing the majority of our harvested inventory.

Our greatest hope is to rebuild quickly enough to save as much of this season’s harvest as possible.

Help Rebuild Oshala Farm
Many of you have reached out asking how you can help, and we’re deeply grateful.

If you’d like to support our rebuilding efforts financially, we’ve created a fundraiser to help rebuild our drying and processing facilities, replace essential equipment, and keep our incredible team working while we begin the long process of rebuilding.

Every donation helps.

Every share makes a difference.

Every message of encouragement reminds us that we aren’t walking this road alone.”

https://gofund.me/e46cb0210

07/12/2026

Oxymels are a perfect summery drink, and I don’t know that there’s a more tasty and refreshing way to stay hydrated in this heat and humidity. Oxymels are a blend of raw honey and vinegar, along with an array of fruits, berries, herbs, flowers, roots and/or spices. They provide a natural, bioavailable source of electrolytes to support hydration, and enzymes and probiotics in support healthy digestion and guts. Each has additional benefits beyond this foundation, based upon ingredients.

Here we have Love Your Peaches. I find that the favorite shifts daily~ and today, people are loving this lung-friendly concoction of cooling and demulcent mullein and peach leaves, and rose petals. If you haven’t tried it, come downtown and visit our tasting bar. 🌿🍑☀️ I’ll post more about our oxymel collection all week. ✨

06/11/2026

These sweet gnomes in Sister Bay are darling~ and unaffected by the storms and humidity. I, on the other hand, am in the apothecary with my Baba Yaga hair, scaring passersby. C’mon on down and visit me tomorrow and I’ll set you up with oxymels and bitters.

06/05/2026

Happy Birthday to Matthew Wood! ❤️ Matthew is among the most beloved of herbalist elders, and his teachings are carried as foundational to the practice of herbalism by emerging generations. Today, I had morning coffee and a chat about old days herbalism with my friend David LaLuzerne, who gifted me with an early, hand-photocopied version of “An Herbal Materia Medica Traditional Western Herbalism by Matthew Wood Herbalist”.

Here’s a photo of the book, alongside a picture of Nathan Wright, Jim Mcdonald and Matthew Wood from last month’s Northwoods Nature Fest

Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism