Updated - November 20, 2007

Hello and thanks for stopping by!

My name is Margaret, owner of Herbs 'n Birds. We are located in Little Falls, Minnesota - check out the weather here today. The long hair is gone. I had it donated to Locks of Love... now I'm growing it back.

I hope to provide some insight on me and my business, Herbs 'n Birds, and how it all began. I would also like to introduce you to my family - after all they're a part of me too.

How it all began...

It all began in 1996 when my mom and I wanted to try Herbalife to lose weight. She asked me to sign up a distributor so that we could get a discount, and so I did. As we started to lose weight and feel better people began to notice and ask what we were doing! I'm no longer doing Herbalife as a business, but am still a distributor so that I can get a few favorite products at a lower cost.

Many of my Herbalife customers were looking for essential oils, so I also added Young Living Essential Oils For me I was first excited that sign-up was FREE (not now - only $49.95) Now I've had great success keeping my chronic sinus issues under control with their products. My daughter also used the oils for managing her headaches.

In the meantime I started raising cockatiels, parakeets, finches, and bourke parakeets. At one time I had over 50 birds in a spare room. With all these birds the supplements I was using was getting expensive, so I looked into selling them too...Thus the "Birds" part of my business was born.

Currently I only have Lady Gouldian Finches - which I'll be selling out of soon. (My daughters didn't want to share the same bedroom anymore, so I had to scale down to fit my birds into a living room aviary) The products I sell for birds are products I have actually used for my birds, and have been quite pleased with the results. Birdcare Co. and Vetafarm manufacture most of the pet bird products supplements and medicines.

Then a lady named Dawn introduced me to the Healthy Pet Net line of all natural foods for dogs and cats. I was amazed at the results in my dog and so I am also a distributor for these products as well. To provide variety for my customers I also added Flint River Ranch pet foods as well. Now that's a dilemma. My business name was Herbs 'n Birds. Hmm, I wonder if I should change it to Herbs 'n Birds - And dogs and cats!

Meet the Family...

First is my hubby Robin. We have been married since 1989 and have never (ok - so... almost never LOL) regretted it. It's awesome when a husband and wife are best friends! He claims he doesn't like all my birds, but when he comes home from work that is the first place he goes - to check on the birds, especially when there are babies! He also comes to the bird fairs in Stillwater to help me sell the bird products.

Over the last 10 years he's been suffering with terrible back pain that comes and goes. He has been diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (2003). Apparently now it's "slowed down" - he still has some pain, but it's a daily part of his life. The excruciating paid he had in the past doesn't show up very often lately.

Ankylosing spondylitis is a form of chronic inflammation of the spine and the sacroiliac joints. The sacroiliac joints are located in the low back where the sacrum (the bone directly above the tailbone) meets the iliac bones (bones on either side of the upper buttocks). Chronic inflammation in these areas causes pain and stiffness in and around the spine. Over time, chronic spinal inflammation (spondylitis) can lead to a complete cementing together (fusion) of the vertebrae, a process called ankylosis. Ankylosis causes total loss of mobility of the spine.

Ankylosing spondylitis is also a systemic rheumatic disease. Therefore, it can cause inflammation in other joints away from the spine, as well as other organs, such as the eyes, heart, lungs, and kidneys.

To read more click here.

Currently the main course of treatment is pain medications and anti-inflammatories and exercise to help keep as much flexibility as possible, increase lung capacity, and improve posture. Diet and supplements may also help.

Anyway off the meet the children... The pictures are WAY outdated!

In 1991 along came Aaron. He has the kind of energy that wears his poor momma right out. Just thinking of him makes me tired, but also smile because he is so silly! He loved the houseful of critters and wanted more! Now that he's driving and has a JOB - he doesn't have time for critters, so he found a great home for his parakeet.

1993 brought Naomi into our family. Poor thing is just like her mother, which means we often butt heads. When I tell Robin "Man, she's so stubborn!" he just laughs at me and says "Just like her mother." She is the one who is the most willing to help out when she can tell mom's getting stressed.

Ariana came in 1994. She was our surprise child...the best surprise we could have ever gotten. She is the kind of kid that never gets in trouble, at least so far (maybe she watches and learns from the other two).

And the rest of the family...

Janey is boxer/black lab mix we got at the pound in 1996 and a year later we added our Himalayan/Siamese mix Mickey. The two became fast friends. When Mickey occasionally goes outside the first thing he does is check to see if Janey is in her dog house. Then he'll go inside and clean Janey's face for her. Janey passed away this summer - she is greatly missed.

Pookey was Naomi's pet guinea pig. She joined our family January 2003. She was really very sweet although we sure had a time trying to convince Robin that a "rodent" in the house would be a good thing. Now he thinks it's funny that she'll let him pet her. Her favorite treat is carrots. Poor Pooky died July 29, 2005.