Hillside Cottagestead

09/10/2026

I have often imagined her with a gray muzzle playing patiently with all of my future kids outside. She was such a failed farm dog; she was really a family dog. She was so sweet, even up until the end when things got scary and she was being rushed around to different vets. She loved sitting atop our hill and watching the farm, being by our side, chasing her jolly ball, digging up moles, and napping under our oak trees. She was still a puppy at a year old when we made the decision this morning to put her down. She declined quickly over the last couple of days and was suffering from an unknown neurological disorder and could barely breathe. She was largely unresponsive towards the end, but did manage to wag her tail and sniff the toys we brought her, which reassured us that she knew we were there and loved her. Rest in peace my sweet Roamy girl, we will miss you incredibly.

07/02/2026

06/14/2026

In an effort to manage my garden organically and to support a beneficial ecosystem of bugs, I grow several botanical plants, lavender being one of them!! After the lavender has bloomed for a few weeks and has attracted the beneficial insects (this year we relied very heavily on the lacewings and margined leathering beetles to control the thrips), I give them a good pruning and dry them to use in our soaps and perfume oils 😍

06/14/2026

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the Market Square Farmers Market today in Knoxville!

06/09/2026

It’s June and the garden is bursting with life (and death lol). Our mild and dry spring helped a thrips infestation take over my roses but now we’re starting to see beneficial insects roll in and eat the thrips. What a beautiful thing it is to watch nature take over. The pollinator patches that I started from seed last year are looking fantastic and drawing in a ton of pollinators to my grapes, blackberries, and fruit trees! Last year we decided to diversify our farm so that we didn’t have to be dependent on one single crop and we wouldn’t feel the need to jump into spraying if one crop failed that year. Cut flowers and eggs will always be our bread and butter, but we are very excited to begin offering small amounts of figs, blackberries, grapes, and apples. These fruits take time to mature to have substantial harvests, but it looks like we will have enough for some small harvests this year! How cool!!

06/04/2026

26 weeks carrying my sweet Hollyn ❤️. She’s the size of a spaghetti squash now and that is absolutely crazy! Everyday I wonder what she’s going to look like, how she’s going to feel in my arms, what its going to be like watching Steve hold this precious baby and be a father, and I imagine the kind of life I want to give her. Mostly I think about the kind of mom I want to be and that always makes me pause. I suppose that part will just naturally evolve as time goes on, no matter how many books I read on the subject to prepare. There are some things you just can’t prepare for.

06/03/2026

These colorful mini grab & go bouquets will be available tomorrow at Malco Produce in Cookeville ❤️❤️ made with 100% locally grown flowers ONLY

05/29/2026

Fresh batch of duck and chicken eggs at The Walnut Street Market in Cookeville ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️