Bean Brook Nursery

Bean Brook Nursery We grow native plants: flowers, grasses, sedges, and shrubs.

Good morning. My last day off from the mail trail. That's sunset on the waters of Spring Lake last evening. Sophia took ...
06/01/2026

Good morning. My last day off from the mail trail. That's sunset on the waters of Spring Lake last evening. Sophia took the picture. She's 13 now.

We didn't do any fishing. Just seeing how the boat ran after sitting in the garage all winter.

Today is our wedding anniversary. We've been married for 19 years. Prior to that was a 5 year trial run. That makes 24 in total.

Waiting for me at my second to last box in Earl Saturday afternoon was a dressed up elderly woman. She had on a bright pink blouse, pink transparent sunglasses maybe bought at Dollar General, and a pair dangling red beaded earrings hanging from her esrs..

I noticed there some handwritten cards in colorful envelopes to deliver to her. She doesn't get much mail. I assumed it was her birthday.

She confirmed it was after I asked her. She makes me smile every time I see her. The sunglasses did it this time. I told her I liked them and was looking good. She smiled and said thank you maybe a bit flattered.

She's always interested me. I always wondered how long she lived in Earl. So I asked her. 39 years! She said. I asked where she lived prior.

"Arizona. I got divorced and moved back here after my 16 year old daughter was killed by a drunk driver. Then I got hooked up with a guy here in Earl and we lived together for close to 40 years, until he died. We never married. We got along great. And figured we didn't need a piece of paper to prove it!"

I eventually had to cut the conversation short. Told her my scanner lets the office know I am sitting still. She was aghast!

"You mean to tell me Big Brother is watching you! Throw that thing in the ditch!"

"They wouldn't like that," I said after a laugh.

And I was on my way back to Spooner.

Back to my marriage. 24'years feel like a long time on one hand, on the other it doesn't. 24 years! Where did it go!?! Raising kids and paying for property and place is where it went Sacrifice.

Time to end this. I am thankful to be sitting at the kitchen table typing this in the house Annie and I built together out of cordwood and mortar. And now Bean Brook Nursery in the front yard. We've carved ourselves out a pretty unique life. Looking forward to what the future brings.

Hope you have a great day!

06/01/2026

Monday, June 1st
Closed today and tomorrow
Open again 10 AM Wed.
Hope you have a great day.

Good morning. It's the middle of it. Quiet here. I hear a robin occasionally call and a cricket continuously. I am at th...
05/31/2026

Good morning. It's the middle of it. Quiet here. I hear a robin occasionally call and a cricket continuously. I am at the kitchen table. One of my favorite places.

Outside it's 70, sunny, and pregnant with spring. I was out there earlier with Annie while she was watering plants.

I asked her if she plans on dividing up a large pot of sweetgrass into smaller ones to sell. She walked over and grabbed a gallon pot of it. She said, "this one isn't selling." So that looks like something we'll be doing together today.

I enjoy potting up plants with her. Good conversation and a brighter future on the horizon. And more native plants to going home in more hands.

I planted another wild lupine along the ditch on County E last evening. That makes 3 total. I didn't see my neighbor or his dog. A few cars and pickups went by.

One pickup has to be going 80. E is a straight shot east and west for miles. They just sealed the cracks in it the other day. To cover the sealant they use toilet paper. Guessing it prevents tire stickage.

Toilet paper looks like confetti behind pickup trucks at eighty miles an hour in case you were wondering.

I look forward to watching those tiny lupine grow in adversity. The soil is always hotter and drier down by E. Guessing it's the heat coming off the blacktop that does it.

I planted that lupine barefooted with a soil knife. The ground dry and poky under my feet. I packed the fine, dry, sandy soil around the roots and watered it. I look forward to tomorrow's visit and years of blooms to come.

There's a peace in planting plants. I felt it walking back to the house along the ditch facing the settings sun. I wasn't in the mail jeep on the blacktop like I was earlier. The skin on the bottom of my feet touching the earth. Like they did when I was a kid. Barefeet on earth is a simple pleasure I partake in every day.

I remember my Dad push mowing our lawn in his barefeet. It was when we lived in the trailer park. He was young. He stood on factory floors all day wearing steel-toed boots. Guessing once he got them off he wanted to keep them off despite the green feet he got out of it.

That's it for now. This was another one that I let go wherever it wanted to go. It feels like okay writing. It usually does after working with plants. If you made it this far I hope you got something out of it. I know I did.

Happy Sunday. 🙏

05/31/2026

Sunday, May 31st
We are open 10 to 4 today
Tomorrow closed
Have a great Sunday!

05/30/2026

Saturday, May 30th
Open 10 to 5 today.
Hope you have a great weekend!

Good morning. This is going where it's going to go. It'lI be cut short. I have to be on the road in 25 minutes.I planted...
05/30/2026

Good morning. This is going where it's going to go. It'lI be cut short. I have to be on the road in 25 minutes.

I planted two tiny wild lupine last night. Took them off the plant table that Annie has set up for the nursery. I couldn't resist. Seeing the blooming lupine that we have planted in the past as I drive by to deliver our mail encourages more.

I remember planting them imagining I would someday do this. That I would drive down County E and see blooming lupine along our ditch line. Yesterday was that day. I want more of it.

Tell me what you desire and I will tell you who you are, say the German romantics.

While I was planting them one of my neighbors stopped by. He had his dog with him. It's 14 years old. He didn't know if it would make it through the night. It's dying.

I was tired. Had a hundred things I wanted to get done before dark. He told me the news. I stopped what I was doing to listen and give my attention. I hope it was enough. It didn't feel like it.

I was run ragged though. Delivered over a hundred packages and mail in 90 degree heat. Got home immediately helped Annie plant Pennsylvania Sedge. And....

I hope his dog hung on. And when it does go it goes peacefully. It's hard to lose them.

Off to the mail trail. I hope you have a great day!

05/29/2026

Friday, May 29th
Open 10 to 5 today!
Happy Friday! :-)

05/28/2026

Thursday, May 28th
Open 10 to 5 today!
We hope you have a great day!

Wild Lupine (aka: Sundial Lupine) is ready!We are offering it early as plugs to start with this year. They will be potte...
05/27/2026

Wild Lupine (aka: Sundial Lupine) is ready!

We are offering it early as plugs to start with this year. They will be potted in our 2" pots for $3.50/each. We had great luck planting them last year and they had a much higher survival rate rather than waiting until they were fully rooted into the pots.

Remember, they don't love high quality soils or poor drainage. They prefer sand and no fertilizer.

05/27/2026

Wednesday, May 27th
Open 10 to 5 today
We hope you have a great day!

Address

W3266 County Highway E
Springbrook, WI
54875

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