beauty and the beech

This post struck me last week. Beauty is truly all around us and I’m blessed to be able to experience it each and every day here at Northwind.

I’ve been meaning to chime in here on our website and I get continual prodding to put myself out there - but what does that even mean? What does that look like? I have everything to do to each day to tackle the never ending list of chores around this place and run this small farm business. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in this world.

I’m told blogs are passé, relics from the early days of social media but we all know I love a good relic. More on that later.

What brings me here on this particular day, which happens to be Arbor Day, is my desire to begin to share with you my occasional thoughts about this place and all it means to me.

And what I want to share with you as I begin to peel back this particular proverbial onion is my thoughts on a particular tree - Steve’s Beech

Some of you reading this knew my late husband, Steve Coster. Steve passed away in 2019 but prior to that time he’d been one of the guiding lights here at Northwind and he was larger than life - many of you may have been fortunate enough to work with him as his creativity and craftsmanship is not only woven throughout this place but so many different properties throughout SE Wisconsin.

But today I can’t help but reflect on Steve’s Beech which is tucked behind the farmhouse and struggling to survive in recent years.

Those of you who have been to Northwind have your own connection with this place. For some of you it’s the grounds and all of its beauty, for others it’s the plants or your desire to have a deeper understanding of gardening and for that there’s my business partner Roy Diblik.

But I see things so differently here at Northwind and I can’t really step anywhere on this ground where I don’t have a vivid recollection of how a particular area used to be or what a particular outbuilding used to house.

Steve was not only a gifted mason but he too, like Roy, was a talented plantsman. Steve had a particular love for trees and once again, I can’t turn anywhere on this farm where I’m not reminded of Steve whenever I catch a Hickory or Oak out the corner of my eye.

We’re all continuing to grow and evolve here at Northwind despite Steve not being here to see it anymore I feel his presence daily.

And though that Beech of Steve’s is struggling to show-up some seasons, there’s much comfort in its presence here. I feel it daily and I hope to be able to share other thoughts with you throughout the season. And maybe there’s a lesson here to be learned from that old Beech tree. Sometimes showing up is a struggle and that’s okay.

I hope that through these occasional glimpses and reflections from the farm that you’ll grow an even greater appreciation for all the beauty that awaits you here at Northwind.

Soulfully,

Colleen