It’s mid-October and we are in high fall gear. There are always two busy pushes on the farm-spring and fall. With the explosion of mums, tucking in next year's plants, cleaning up and winterizing the farm, there is an endless list of projects and things to tackle, which makes having a solid team critical.

This year has been filled with change- some good, some bad, some just change—one of those being the leader of the farm. Back in July, we said a bittersweet goodbye to my dear friend Elizabeth as we watched her spread her wings and fly high in the financial industry. Our farmers continued under my scattered guidance but with such grace and ease that it helped me immensely when I was dealing with so much on my plate. Just knowing that our farm team had it in the bag with little guidance from me was such a blessing.

However, after the summer flurry settled down I knew they deserved better leadership than I could singularly provide. Like so many other times in my life, the answer was right in front of me all along. I just had to look for Hope.

If you have been here for my stories then you know my girl Harleigh. One of the many blessings of Harleigh was the amazing people she shared with me along the way. One such individual is Hope. Hope joined us a few years back as a summer help in the fields. She regularly came back and has always been one of my favorite regular faces to greet back to the farm. Last fall Hope rejoined the team full-time and has diligently been working with our crew to manage the farm, so it felt like such a perfect fit to have Hope step into the role of Farm Team Lead for us.

She had always been the glue behind the scenes but now I get to brag on how amazing she truly is. Hope is not just an amazingly graceful and beautiful soul. She has the best humor and personality I’ve ever met. She has a real affection for specialty coffees and can whip up quite the brew if given the chance. She is creative and practical all at once, finding creative low-cost solutions daily and making some of the prettiest pressed flower glass pieces I’ve ever seen. Hope is my friend and I’m excited to see her grow in this new role at the farm. She is so good for our farm she reminded me when I told her I wanted to write about her to tell folks to come to our mum summit. (Which she has also put a lot of work into it and just like a good farm manager she wants this to be successful for us all!)  Shoot us a message to share with Hope– we want her to know you are all just as excited as me to have her lead the farm!