Ramblings About My Garden and My Life this Month

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I like to mix up the newsletter so today I am going to do a little rambling. Writing this as we head to see family, so I’ll just talk about a few things that are top of mind.

I was gone last week to see my daughter at Princeton, and while we do not get to spend Thanksgiving with her this week, we did get to see her all last week and she gets to spend it with her boyfriend's family. How do I feel about my daughter's boyfriend, you ask? I judge people almost entirely by their ability and desire to have a nice garden. Based on his cooking skills, his willingness to do physical work, his future income potential, and his love of the outdoors, I think we have a potential gardener in there. With boyfriends, I treat them like planting an expensive plant in the wrong location. You hope it works, and you have a lot of time and effort put in, but you never know what is going to happen or if it will still be there in a year.

Speaking of family. If you ever wonder why anyone in the 50 to 70 age range turned out the way we did, I have realized we can blame this guy. This guy raised us. Think about it. If he walked up to you today and said, “I would like to spend 30 minutes with your kids every day,” how would you feel?

He was not really a captain, and I never saw a kangaroo in any episode for a decade. All I ever saw was a moose who caused constant messes with ping pong balls and a rabbit who always seemed to be the smartest one in the room. Any time I make a bad decision, I pull up this picture and say, “Blame this guy.” Thank goodness Mr. Rogers and Gilligan bailed us out and gave us the life skills to get through life. But now that I’m thinking of it, I wonder if Mr. Green Genes is my catalyst into gardening although I think it is the green in my genes.

As we enter Thanksgiving, I want to share a few random things I am thankful for.

This variegated Monstera. I bought it as a small cutting five years ago for three hundred dollars because it had some of the best variegation I had ever seen. It did not disappoint. It has put out dozens of new shoots, and each leaf seems better than the last. During Covid I sold a few cuttings on eBay for two hundred dollars each and made more than two thousand dollars. Now it sits in the corner of my living room like a piece of art. I do not sell pieces anymore. I give them away as gifts. It is the perfect gift. It is easy to grow and can live for decades. I love getting photos of the plants from the people I gave them to. There are not many gifts that can bring this much joy for this long.

The people who keep our parks and trails the beautiful places they are. At this age, I appreciate nothing more than hiking, walking, and running trails. I know it is not something I will be able to do forever. I never take for granted how clean and well maintained so many of the trails are. Whether it is government funded or volunteer maintained, I appreciate the effort.

In Colorado they have Trail Angels. Groups of people who volunteer their time every year to maintain and improve the trails. They clear fallen trees, reset rocks, build bridges, and pick up trash. I do not volunteer as much as I should, but this is one area where I do help and want to do more. Nothing resets you like a walk or a hike in nature. It pulls you away from the noise of the news and social media. It takes a lot of work to keep it this way, and we should never take for granted who and what makes it possible.

I am thankful I only had to stay in a room with this bed for a few days. Who does this? The bed tricks your mind into thinking that is the end, leaving your shins exposed to the beating they are going to take every time you move around the room. Every time I got up at night to use the bathroom or paced while talking on the phone, the world heard a loud scream and a string of expletives as I took a direct hit to my legs. You would think searing pain would teach me to avoid it, but judging by the eight times it happened, I clearly have no ability to learn through pain. I guess I should have figured that out, since I keep signing up for marathons, Ironman races, and 50K runs even though I am in agony at the end of every one.

A wife who makes the best apple and pumpkin pies on the planet. There are a lot of special things in this world, but if I had to choose one on my deathbed, it might be her apple pie. During the making of these pies there is probably a national shortage of sugar and butter based on how much goes into each one. In a world of healthy eating, Ozempic, and no sugar diets, this is the offset we all need to keep the world in balance.

I will gladly skip a meal to make room for two pieces, and I feel no guilt about it. If I have to run ten miles to avoid putting on ten pounds, I will run twenty miles, because I am going in for seconds. I may even add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you pass on a piece because you are watching your weight, you are no longer a friend and I think a little less of you. This pie is for special occasions, and today qualifies, so I never take it for granted.

The pumpkin pie is equally good, but I am lucky because Stacey makes it several times a month and keeps a steady supply all year. I think she does it just to keep the house smelling incredible. Why burn a candle that smells like this when you can have the real thing? If it is true that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then my wife has a direct express lane to mine.

Being on MidAmerican Gardener. I have literally grown up on this show. I started on the program in 1995. Thirty years and more than half my life talking about plants. Even though I retired, they are kind enough to still let me come on. If I did not travel so much, they would probably have me on even more. I have learned a lot just by listening to the other panelists. For a local group, we have some of the most knowledgeable plant people in the country. It’s an honor to be part of this group and I love looking at old episodes and seeing myself age in real time. I also pulled off a miracle on live TV. Over the years my hair slowly receded, and then miraculously all came back.

As you can see here, I love telling stories and making plants and information fun. Most people garden because they enjoy it. I am one of the few who make a living doing it and still enjoy it. I will not lie, I had to step away to enjoy it more, but that is how life works. To really see how important and meaningful something is, you need to step back and look at it from a higher level. Sometimes you even need it taken away for a while.

It is the same reason we miss our children so much when they leave. We love the process of raising them, but we get caught up in the day to day. It is not until they are gone that you realize how wonderful it was having them around. The same goes for your garden. It might feel like a lot of work, but if you had to move to a townhome or a place with no ground to grow anything, you would probably be miserable and miss it terribly.

As always, thanks for reading this little newsletter. I hope you have enjoyed it so far and picked up a little information and a few laughs along the way. Thanks again to everyone who has ordered honey from Beehouse. Remember, honey makes the perfect gift and it ships free, so think of me during your holiday orders. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we will see you next week.