Hang in there, O Faithful Readers of the blog, and I shall return one day. For now my energies are being given to my own garden, which was in terrible shape. As Voltaire said, il faut cultiver notre jardin. It's looking a little better now, especially since we finally got some rain, and I'm pleased to see the milkweed and goldenrod establishing themselves so well. (Honestly, if you can't get goldenrod to grow in your garden you may as well pave it over.) The purple coneflower, seen above in a photo from past years, isn't quite as happy, but I've moved it to a sunnier spot where I hope it will flourish.

Not everything in my garden is native, by a long shot, but I try to keep it in mind. The butterflies and bees need as much help as we can give them, and I really like these simple "weeds" that don't require any care.

Stay tuned for new Beechwood reports next week!