PITTSFIELD - Randy and Kathy Meyer loved their house in the woods in Suamico.
Randy built it himself, subcontracting specialized work like the concrete, brick, heating and plumbing but determined everything else be done by his own hands, right down to the hardwood floors, cabinets and ceramic tile.
The setting suited Kathy, who long had an interest in native wildflowers and through her work with the local Wild Ones chapter helped rescue woodland plants that would otherwise have been destroyed by road construction or development.
They lived there for 25 years. Then one day, they got a whiff of lavender.
The couple were in Washington state visiting their daughter in 2016 when they happened upon several lavender farms, picturesque fields of billowing clouds of purple and intoxicating fragrance. If only there could be such a thing in Wisconsin, they thought, wouldn’t it be the perfect hobby as they looked toward retirement one day?