Our Lake

This week's blog is written by Alyssa Untiedt, owner and organic formulator for The Brown Barn Company.

When we decided to open our first Brown Barn Bath Company store, it wasn’t very hard to decide where to start: Lake Holcombe, WI.

Why Lake Holcombe? Many good reasons: We have family here, many tourists come through the area, the community is very welcoming, and everything seems to come so smoothly…it just feels right.

Also…there is a lake.

This, I suppose, is why all those aforementioned good things came here in the first place.  So in the most literal sense, the lake really made this place. And the funny thing about places is that if you stay long enough, the place will make you, while you make the place.

Kind of abstract, so I’d like to give a literal example, in the short, but still unfinished Tale of Eurasian Water Milfoil Invasion.

Draped over the blades of boat motors, this nefarious aquatic plant hitched a ride into Lake Holcombe and nestled itself into the comfortable, still bays of the flowage. Over a short time, the milfoil, efficiently reproducing through stolons and runners on the lake floor, began to over-run the area, crowding out native plants and altering the native fish habitat into an unrecognizable and nearly unlivable aquatic landscape.

This did not go unnoticed, however, by the people inhabiting the shoreline, and a plan was hatched! The Lake Holcombe Improvement Association brought in a regular naval squadron made up of platoons of weevils, 3mm long dark brown and tan striped insects with the ability to decimate the infamous Eurasian water milfoil by chewing up the stems and leaves, and laying larval ‘bombs’ on the tops of each plant.  When the eggs hatch, these ‘larval bombs’ will mine down into the stems of the plants, killing them from the inside out. This fearsome battalion is currently in-training but will be ready to be let loose by the end of the month!

Surrounded by this kind of environmentally conscious community, here at Brown Barn we understand the continual exchange we have with our environment, which is why we make it a top priority to use as much natural ingredients as possible and keep chemicals to an absolute minimum. We also use recyclable and/or biodegradable packaging and are continually refining our business practices to have a smaller impact on the environment.

If you have your tickets, join us Sunday for Lake Fest 2011 to celebrate Lake Holcombe, the fabulous community that surrounds it, and where Brown Barn Company makes its home.

Now shut down your computer and get out enjoy the nice weather while you can! Summer is already half over!

Wishing you much relaxation and good health, Alyssa