Good morning. That photo is from Sept. 9 2024. Seems like the meadow had more color then. More robust. The last dry spell didn't help. Glad we're finally getting some rain. Off to the mail trail. Hoping for an earlier day. Yesterday was long. Put in 11 hours. Enough time to get home, do a few things, eat, and go to bed. Hope you have a great day! #gm #coffeechain

Good morning! Mail today. Off tomorrow. Hope you have a great day! #gm #coffeechain

Good morning. I noticed yesterday the asters are starting to bloom. Another sign we are moving into fall. I was reminded yesterday the golden rods starting to bloom is another indicator. We are open 10 to 4 today, our usual Sunday hours. The plants have perked up since it started raining again. It was dry for so long it was starting to feel like it would never rain again. The plants in our garden kits look especially healthy. We've wondered about this throughout the growing season. We're wondering if the plants would rather be surrounded by other species while in pots waiting to be sold. Otherwise it's a quiet morning so far. The sky is gray. Everything damp. Like it lightly rained on and off throughout the night. That's all for now. Hope you have a great day! #gm #coffeechain #countryliving

Good morning. That's a Rocky mountain bee plant flower (Cleomella serrulata). I took the photo last evening while browsing our plants. There's 5 of them left. They're 50 percent off. They're an annual. I have planted a bunch of them in our front meadow. They're always crawling with insects. I'm off to the mail trail. Day 6 of 6. Then 2 days off! 🙏 I hope you have a great day! #gm #coffeechain

Good morning! Stiff golden rod blooming in one of our gallon pots we have for sale. Caught my eye when I stopped in on the mail route yesterday afternoon. Off to the mail trail for day 4 of 6. Hope you have a great day! #gm #coffeechain #countryliving

Good morning! A customer shared this the other day. It's always good to see plants that leave our place doing well!! Off to the mail trail. Day 3 of 6. I hope you have a great day. #gm #coffeechain

Good morning! Off to the mail. The first of six days. Hope you have a great day. #gm #coffeechain

Good morning! Off to the mail trail. Hope you have a great weekend! #gm #coffeechain #countryliving

Good morning! Off to the mail trail. Hope you have a great day. #gm #coffeechain

Good morning! Off to the mail trail. #gm #coffeechain

Good morning. Coneflowers and cordwood. Two labors of love for us. Beauty and a better world our aim. Off to the mail trail in a few minutes. I hope you have a great Tuesday! #gm #coffeechain #countryliving

Good morning. One more photo from the foggy morning in the front meadow. No flower this time though. The spider webs caught my eye. They were highlighted with moisture. Yesterday, while going to get a load of hay, Annie says part of the problem is that. She points at acres and acres of corn growing down the road from our place. "It sweats," she says. It was 95 and humid while we were going to get that load of hay. Phone said it felt like a 102. Going to get more hay today. That should do it though. We should have enough for winter. If we get it all hauled. Crossing our fingers that truck, trailer, and tractor hold together to get the job done. Noticing more lance leaf coreopsis seed heads ready to harvest. Last year I didn't want anymore around. This year, after seeing the late spring, early summer yellow flowers sprinkled throughout the meadow and along the ditch on E I'm a fan again. They're a tough plant. Better than lawn any day. In most circumstances. I can't become to purist about it. Ok. I have to start gearing up to haul hay in the heat and humidity. I don't mind it to a certain degree. I eat barely anything and drink a lot of coffee and top it off with a Bubbler (cold energy drink) in the afternoon. The magic of caffeine chemicals. I hope you have a great day! #gm #coffeechain

Good Sunday morning. 8:15:AM. A day off. Good to be home. In from taking photos in the front meadow. Heavy fog earlier. Starting to burn off. Had to get out there before it's gone. Fog brings calm and quiet. Looking at the meadow I want to show it off. It's 8 years old. Starting to grow up. That's it for now. I'll be back. I hope you have a great day! Fresh photo of hairy golden asters along the driveway and fence. #gm #coffeechain

Good morning. Black eyed susans again from the front meadow. Still catching my eye. Soon the petals will fall. Only seed heads will remain. Abundance of seed a lot, like stars in the sky. There used to be lawn here you know. Meadow much better food for the imagination Off to the mail trail. Have a great Saturday! #gm #coffeechain

Good morning. Those are black-eyed susans. They've done well this year. We didn't plan this. They're an annual. So we think they're going to die and never come back. Then they come back. Where we don't expect them. Summer surprises. Off to the mail trail. Hope you have a great day. #gm #coffeechain

Good morning. This caught my eye last evening. Thought it would be too dark to work. But it did. Camera captured it. Not much to say. Time is short this morning. Off to the trail to deliver mail. Hope you have a great day! #gm #coffeechain

Good morning. Two types of coneflower here. Pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida) and purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) They're eye catching when planted together. Pollinators love them, too! Off to the mail trail. Have a great day! #gm #coffeechain

Good morning. Day three of three days off. Tomorrow back to the mail trail. I am tired and sore. I want to rest. I over did it yesterday. I was out till dark mowing, watering plants, and planting. I try to pack as much in as I can on days off. And it's never enough of course. In closing after a conversation with my mechanic neighbor yesterday we wondered how we can slow time down. He laughed, and said when I get it figured out let him know. A local garden club is coming to check out the nursery this afternoon. So there was a bit of a rush to make the place look a bit more presentable. I planted some golden rods in my mom's meadow right before I started the rush here last evening. Two of them were in gallon pots; the other two in four inch. Roots well established. They needed to be released. Before I left I stepped in to say good bye. She had her mask off. I was glad to see that. When I got there I stepped in to say hello. To tell her what I was up to. Her face was lit up with multi colored lights. Here she had what looked like a hockey goalie mask with lights in it strapped to her head. I laughed and said she looked like Jason from Friday the 13th, but with a little pizazz. We chatted for a few minutes, then it was time to go. She thanked and hugged me.. Told me she loved me. I reciprocated. I noticed she was having a drink before bed. I was glad she had some time to herself. My Grandma lives with her. And she's a handful. There are times she doesn't know who my mom is. So the time she gets to be by herself is cherished. Those are yellow cone flowers from the front meadow from .a prior year. They're currently starting to bloom. I hope you have a great day! #gm #coffeechain

Good morning. This is a picture of a milkweed I took on the mail trail back in 2023. It was on July 6th. We had 16 of them in the hoop house yesterday. They were in 2" pots, yellowing, root bound and chewed on by monarch caterpillars. We didn't think they'd sell. They're in the front meadow now. I planted most of them in groups of three before noon yesterday. Some of them I planted by established milkweeds. It's the most milkweed I have ever planted. And I've been plugging in natives for 8 years now. We started the meadow in 2018. We figured it out the other day. That isn't the first time. We'll probably figure it out again next year. Seasonality and patterns of nature seem to matter more to me most of the time.For instance, the monarch caterpillars have emerged. And now I want big robust milkweeds in the front meadow for them to feed on someday. Hopefully the meadow wants them. We have tried to plant milkweeds in the meadow throughout the years. We have yet to have one flower and go to seed. They'll grow in our pulverized pasture. Where the ground is disturbed, dry, and overgrazed most of the time. It's frustrating to see.. Yet that's what I like about wild nature. It does what it wants to do. It has its own agenda outside of our people, property, and products world. I am off to take a couple goldenrods over to my mom's house. They're in gallon pots, big, starting to suffer, and haven't been selling. So we're going to unleash them into the wild meadow around my mom's place. I hope you have a great day! #gm #coffeechain

We own a small native plant nursery. It's called Bean Brook Nursery. It's in our front yard. And so are the monarch caterpillars feasting on the milkweeds we have for sale. :-) #countryliving #natives #plants