Lavender love

Daily Gratitude

• Sometimes trusting the process and going with the flow is difficult for me. Yes, it is. However, I am finding that bucking the system, relying on my own strength, or making up a separate set of rules doesn't always serve me well. I am actually thankful for systems and am becoming a rule follower. Fancy that! 
• Kind words, meaningful smiles. How lovely they are. And, they are free to give. Being the recipient of so many over the last couple of days has humbled me. I am greatly blessed.
• Learning is my gasoline. Travel is just one of the ways I learn. New places, new tastes, new horizons. I am getting my tank filled on this trip. Zoom! Zoom!

In the heart of lavender country

I once wrote, "Romantic pictures of fields filled with rows of lavender just thrill me. When I see them my mind soon fills with a fantasy of strolling through a European farm on a late summer afternoon, the overwhelming lavender scent on a warm breeze. The uncontainable color of amethyst is spectacular against an azure sky. I’m usually really tanned, wearing a flowing cotton skirt and a poet’s shirt. Of course I’m on the arm of a handsome French man who is carrying a basket filled with wine, cheese, baguette bread and fruit…well."

Lavender perfumes the air in Provence

Well...it was kind of like that. Sort of. Lavender is harvested in late July and early August. I visited Provence a bit too early to experience the glory of the region's lavender at its peak. However, I enjoyed every bit of it just as it is. Right now the buds are just forming.

Lavender rows with forming buds

The buds are just about ready to burst into blossoms

My friend pointed out to me fields that have wild wheat and poppies mixed in the rows of lavender. She said those fields are organic or have limited treatment for weed control.

Wild wheat and poppies indicate natural lavender fields

Even though it wasn't lavender harvest time, my friend and I visited the Les Agnels Distillery in Apt. Trucks back up to large tanks that are sunk into the ground. They dump their loads of freshly harvested lavender directly into the bins, where the distillation process occurs. 

Lavender colored distillation tanks

Working display explaining the distillation process

The lavender oil is made into a myriad of products that are sold in the region - soap, perfume, cooking products, and much more.

Handmade goat's milk and lavender cubes

Scented talc powder lines the shop shelves

An entire shop devoted to lavender products

Even the local grocery stores carry lavender products

The handmade products are lovingly made and help the local economy

A few years back I wrote a story for Mermaids of the Lake with more information about the properties of lavender and its many uses. Check out A Love Affair with Lavender for more lavender facts.