Prize Winner

 Recently, I was looking through a case of old photos my mother has kept in a tiny case her father once used for his luggage when he would go away for a week.  Honestly, the case isn’t big enough for me to carry my toiletries for an over night stay.  In this treasure chest, one of his gardening awards was neatly placed amongst the photos.  What a find.  He took 2nd place at the 10th Annual Open Flower and Vegetable Show at Haymarket (west side of Edinburgh, Scotland) in 1953.  Score! 

It seems dirt under the fingernails goes back a few generations.  Perhaps I should consider an entry in the Kern County Fair this fall just to keep the awards rolling.

To help assure me of a win, I have requested Farmer MacGregor to dress in the same manner as my grandpa.  This technique may not have anything to do with successful gardening; but the gent certainly looks pretty dashing in his Spencer Tracy specs.

Note:  At the request of Farmer MacGregor, his image has been removed and replaced with this:

Great Scot(t) in the Garden

How do we get involved with gardening?  Necessity?  Not so much.  It typically starts our as a hobby that sometimes gets out of control.  Some of us have family that were successes in the garden and passed the green thumb along.  My father had a green thumb and so did my grandfather (on my mother’s side).  Those skills were necessities.  My grandpa was raised on a farm in the Scottish countryside but ended up in Edinburgh and a garden on Moat Drive.I wonder if he would enjoy gardening in Bakersfield, California where the hell like conditions are a far cry from those he conquered in the frigid north.  Would the arid environment just be another challenge like that he faced during World War I in Turkey?

Even if he did adjust, there’s something that I simply can’t imagine him doing.  Dressing like a schlump as most of us do now.  Just can’t imagine it.