Newsletter May 2025
05-2025 Nashama Equine & Wellness Farm Shop Newsletter
As May 2025 ends, I am very busy undertaking work and Qigong courses, and doing some more candle testing of the beeswax, trying to get them into a happy candle wicking place. George has settled in and is now a happy, confident dog with just the occasional outburst. Days are short and the first snow of winter may fall this weekend.
New Products
Nothing new for May due to course work. However I have an extensive range of products in the shop, so everyone is still spoiled for choice.
Test Bench
Still working on these organic Beeswax candles. I have tossed the containers, and am test-wicking more pillars. I may need to just use the lighter wax, which has the same properties and certification. It will be a shame as the honey scent from the dark wax is divine, but at the end of the day it is meant to be a candle and it needs to burn. I may make some flameless candles or wax melts from the dark wax, or just keep it for my certified organic balms.
As I get a little time, I do play with my Cricut and sublimation gear. Some of you may notice some rose gold decorations on our mailing/gift boxes.
Healthy Discussion- Why Cold Process Soap
Looking at a supermarket skin products and shampoo aisle, it’s not surprising that so many people think their skin is irritated by soap.
The thing is, most of that aisle is not soap at all, it is a synthetic chemical concoction of fragrances, detergents and surfactants that looks like soap. Many of these ingredients are well known skin irritants.
We discussed synthetic vs phthalate and paraben free fragrances and natural fragrances in the last couple of monthly newsletters.
Where the products in that aisle is real soap, it is often cheap, nasty, pesticide laden ingredients, which will also cause irritation.
Skin irritation is why we make our own cold process soap, and have for over 20 years now, because cold process soap is the top of the heap when it comes to soap, ingredient dependent.
It is a traditional method of soap making, mixing lye and oils to from a gentle, non-stripping soap.
Our recipe is primarily certified organic, cold pressed, grain free oils, which give it that silky feel.
While we mainly use organic essential oils, we do make a few fragrance oils. All are phthalate free, most are also paraben free.
Where we don’t use cold process is glycerine soap for our childrens’ soaps, where we buy in a healthy Melt & Pour base, which is also primarily organic & all Paleo ingredients, from a trusted supplier. While you can use our cold process soap with kids, glyvcerine soaps are sometimes best with very young childrens’ tender skins. They are also very flexible so are very easy to make into fun soaps. They do attract moisture so take some special handling, but otherwise are a great choice.
Qigong Activities – 9 Practices for Boosting Immunity
As above with my course in 5 Elements with my current school, but I am also studying quite a bit with Grandmaster Mantak Chia, who is the primary teacher of my teacher.
As we come into and Australian Winter, we look at being locked inside with everyone else’s virus’s.
9 Taoist ways to boost immunity are the usual common sense:-
1. Laugh;
2. Smile;
3. Eat Real Food;
4. Move (walk);
5. Move again (Do Qigong));
6. Breathe;
7. Jump, Vibrate, Tap, Shake;
8. Drink clean water;
9. Do Qigong again (healing sounds).
To boost they eyes, head out in Nature and drink in the green around you.
Nashama Equine & Canine
Glen is busy with his regular equine customers and his day job. Abscess season is in full swing just a day off Winter with a vengeance, so keep an eye on hooves and call your farrier if you need an abscess drained. Signs from the horses are sudden lameness, heat, and swelling. Nashama Equines Certified Organic Thrush and Abscess formulation is a great assistance in treating wet hoof issues.
We have good stocks of our equine and Canine products, including our unique Abscess and Thrush Formulation, which remains one of the most cost effective and the only organic preparation on the market, and dog shampoo in the farm shop.
The new recipe formulations have not made it to the test bench yet as I have been playing with my new toys this week, but they will get there.
Farm Life
The horses and dogs are turning into woolly mammoths and the farm’s Ravens are starting to request free meals (only when it snows, you lot!), so, while it is still warm, we know winter is lurking. The leaves have well and truly turned, and we are spending a lot of time cleaning them off walkways. Did you know that if you leave leaves where you can over winter, they provide homes for small organisms?
Jake and George have an armed truce now. They improve slowly but Georges early behaviour was quite a shock to easy-going Jake, so he remains wary with George. George improves every day, and his basic training has progressed to remaining on my left and following vocal commands, something essential with a vision impaired human.
He is still on lead and is a quick learner of the vocal commands Jake, as a working Spaniel, has been taught as a pup, like “no”, “heel”, “wait”, “steady”, “hold”, “go”, “come away, “drop it”, and “come behind”. For those that think these are just commands you see on TV shows like Muster Dogs, think again, as they are everyday commands for a useful farm dog to move stock around, and George is learning them.
We remain in touch with George’s previous family and provide regular updates on him, which provides some comfort they did the right thing by George, as they work through the issues that can happen in any of our first responder families that saw George need to be rehomed.
It is hard to believe the year is flying by, Daylight Savings has ended, Easter and ANZAC Day have passed, and we are nearly in June.
Until next month!
Julia & Glen