Re: [gardeners] A visit from JD
Ron Hay (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 24 May 2002 09:24:04 -0700
Hello, Penny,
I, too, am delighted to have made Jim's acquaintance. I hope we will be
able to get to know each other much better over time.
When he came, he brought us a start of "Malaguena," an old rose no
longer available, from which he makes starts, in some fashion. Lovely
fellow.
Oh, I do hope you can rescue your tree! systemics work so slowly! It was
and is so painful to see our thousands of beautiful eucalyptuses die,
prey to the lerp psyillid! It is sad to drive along 101 and see mile
after mile of dead and dying trees on the way to Santa Barbara.
Today we will have one of our miniature temperature spikes, into the mid
80s; but the nights are still in the 30's. But despite our swings, the
veggies are thriving: "riesentraube" is already almost 3' tall. One of
our heirlooms, however, has all of its leaves in a curl. I sprayed with
insecticidal soap once, but fear I will have to use Malathion.
You should see the bevy of volunteer epazote, yellow pears and cherry
tomatoes! And, then, there is the airborne gift of a pumpkin or some
other squash that is flourishing and must be moved.
****
Golden years:
You know, Penny, you are so lucky to have had each other for so long,
and your children are blessed to have you both; and you are again
fortunate to have enjoyed relatively good health, all these years, and
to lead a comfortable life as you choose, and to be able to travel.
I lost my father to cigarettes at age 60 (!!); my dear sister in law saw
her mother lose her mind to Alzheimer's at 65. The closer I get to 60,
(next year for me), the younger that seems.
Maybe you could have someone rototill a patch for you, thereby doing the
hard stuff, and you could enjoy puttering at it. Just a thought.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Fondly,
Ron