06/09/2026
2019 → 2026
Sometimes things don’t survive a hard season but that doesn’t mean the story is over. I rarely dwell on what goes wrong and it’s served me well in life.
The photo on the first slide was taken when we planted Lavender Plant #1.
The photo on the second slide was taken seven years later as we planted Lavender Plant #1 again.
Last spring brought weeks of heavy rain that took a toll on our fields. Some plants made it through… Lots didn’t. This one happened to be one of the losses.
It’s more of a sentimental loss for me. I love the memory of my daughter, Baylee taking our photo after planting our very first bed of plants.
For a moment, it’s easy to focus on what didn’t survive. To replay what went wrong last season. To wish things had turned out differently.
But I’m not one to dwell on what wasn’t. I set up my phone for a new photo (with a lot more grey hair). The plant was dead but so much more is thriving.
Nature has a way of teaching the same lesson over and over again: difficult seasons don’t last forever, and they don’t get the final say.
So we replaced it.
Not because we ignore the hard seasons, but because we don’t live in them forever.
It’s like most anything else in life.
There are seasons when we don’t feel our strongest (I’m currently in one of those right now). Seasons when we’re stretched thin, weathering things we never expected, and doing our best just to keep moving forward. We may not look our best. We may not feel our best. But those seasons are not the whole story.
Eventually, the rain stops.
New growth begins. (Thank goodness for a beautiful spring so far 🤞)
And sometimes the bravest thing we can do is plant again.
Mike and I spent last Saturday morning together in the field, just the two of us, putting last season behind us and looking ahead with renewed excitement. It felt fitting to recreate this photo after all these years.
A lot has changed since 2019.
We’ve changed. The farm has changed. Life has changed.
But growth isn’t about never facing setbacks. It’s about continuing to show up, adapting when it’s necessary, and trusting that a new season is always possible.
So, here’s to fresh starts!
