Pull Up a Chair

Y'all, this summer has been something else. We are up before the heat breaks, feeding animals, filling waters, hauling, mowing, weed-eating, and coming in with mud on our boots and sweat on everything else. Finding good help out here has been a real challenge, and we cannot wait for you to meet Jess. She has been such a gift to this farm, and we are so glad she's here. It still takes all of us to get through a day, but having the right people alongside you changes everything.

Here's what I keep coming back to, though-- we chose this place. Not because we love sweating through a Tennessee summer (preference? not exactly), but because we wanted a life that asks something of us. That has always been part of the deal. And I'll tell you, there's real meaning in choosing work that keeps you moving, keeps you present, and keeps you honest about what you can actually do. It is not a gym membership, but it is a great way to stay active.

I think a lot about what it means to design a flourishing life. I used to believe that meant finding the arrangement where everything ran smoothly. I don't think that anymore. Sometimes a flourishing life looks like coming in from the heat with aching arms, knowing you did something real.

Jules & Lane

Out in the Garden

Lesser-Known BlackBerry Fact

If you grow blackberries, you probably already know about primocanes and floricanes. First-year canes, second-year canes. Primocanes store energy and fruit next season, floricanes fruit this season, and are done for good. Once your floricanes finish, cut them to the ground. For your primocanes, tip them at 3 to 4 feet to push out lateral branches, then thin to the 4 to 6 strongest in late fall or early spring.

But here's the thing I just learned that I had to share with you: you can tell them apart just by counting leaves.

Primocanes: 5 leaflets per leaf.
Floricanes: 3 leaflets per leaf.

That's it. Just count. I don't know why nobody led with that, but now you know and so do I. Always learning out here.

Tuck it in Your Pocket

"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."

Theodore Roosevelt

Have a question you'd love me to answer? A project you're proud of? Something inspiring you've seen? I’d love to hear it—and it might just show up in a future newsletter.

We’re building something beautiful here, together. Now that's BombDiggity!

Here’s to designing a flourishing life,

360 Bethlehem Lane, La Follette, TN 37766
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