Hyphenated-Homestead

It’s been a while since I wrote a personal post on Hyphenated Homestead.

Life got busy, the brain got noisy, and writing kept getting pushed into that familiar category called “soon.” You know that imaginary future where people have free time and no mental tabs open. Lol.

But this week, the lilies by our mailbox pulled me back.

Almost exactly a year ago, on May 30, 2025, I wrote “My ‘Deer’ – Please don’t do this!” (Blog link) after the neighborhood deer treated our lilies like an all-you-can-eat buffet. We had watched the buds grow and then lost the whole thing just before they bloomed. It was funny in theory. Less funny when you’re standing there staring at empty stems like a betrayed event planner.

This year, though, I saw bright yellow lilies blooming in that same spot. And I smiled.

Not because the deer have changed. Let’s not assign character growth where none exists. But because the lilies came back. After time. After stronger boundaries. After one full year.

That felt bigger than gardening.

• Some things do need patience.
• Some things do need protection.
• And some things are not finished just because they were interrupted.

That’s true for flowers. Also true for people.

Anyway, I’m back, the lilies are blooming, and the deer can stay a little disappointed this time.

I’ll leave the video below as proof.

Your Turn
What in your life looked finished a year ago, but may have just needed more time?

Updated pics from May 22, 2026

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