11

Inside this

issue:

Groundhog Day 2

Letter from El

Paso

3

Walk on the Wild

Side

4

Office Update 4

Leap Year 4

Book Review 5

Mark Your

Calendar

5

King Cake 5

The Stranger 6

Love is in the Air 6

Puzzle Corner 7

Weed of the

Month

8

Last Word 9

...for discerning weeders February, 2012

Arbor Day was held on January 19th at the

local Tractor Supply. Many thanks to all the

Master Gardeners who were there! Carol

Baker, John Bauer, Bob Bayer, Bill

Buckellew, Les Chambers, Ed & Lynn Fabi-

an, Shari Farrell, Jim Martin, Joe Michetti,

Linda Morris, Carol Strom, Stacey Taylor,

Faye Todd and yours truly. There was also a

full complement from the Extension office

with Larry giving a pruning demo and Shei-

la giving a bare-root planting demo. We

also had Daryl Williams, NRCS; Molly Hoff-

man, Farm Bureau; Jennifer Bearden, Ex-

tension; Maria Wilson, David Smith, Chris

Rogers and Daniel Wesley, Forestry.

Good thing we had plenty of folks there—

this year we handed out over 2,000 trees

and met with over 200 people! For a

change we weren’t freezing, it wasn’t rain-

ing, and we were not walking through mud.

Needless to say it was a good morning.

DON’T FORGET!

You have to log your

hours onto the VMS

ARBOR DAY by Marg Stewart

Gardening is cheaper

than

therapy and you get

tomatoes.

Author Unknown

22

GROUNDHOG DAY By Karen Harper

Guess what? Groundhog Day is coming. As it does every year. Every...Single...Year. I always seem to catch the silly morning news shows making a big production out of rodent vs. shadow even though 5 minutes later I couldn't tell you the outcome. It does lack relevance to Floridians who don't have to deal with those awful winter storms that we like to watch the rest of the country suffering through.

So, how did the country get saddled with this peculiar ritu-al? Where the heck is Punxsutawney County and why did a groundhog named Phil rise to such fame? And who can really remember the details from year to year? Is it six more weeks of winter if he sees his shadow? If he doesn't see his shadow? I personally don't see how he could fail to see his shadow, what with the spotlights of most of the major networks shining down on the poor guy during his five minutes of fame. He gets picked up by the scruff of his neck by the dude in the top-hat, he casts a shadow on the ground under those glaring lights and unless he's blind he sees that shadow, wouldn't you think? And as long as we're analyzing this, isn't it a pretty safe bet that most areas of the country will in fact have at least six more weeks of win-ter after February 2? I grew up in St Louis, MO where, if memory serves, the last frost-free date was May 15 and you could bank on that. No one in their right mind would set their tomatoes out before May 15. Ergo, six weeks of win-ter is pretty much guaranteed after February 2 for a major-ity of the country. Certainly it would be in Punxsutawney PA.

Here's the official Wikipedia definition of Groundhog Day: “According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the bur-row, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.” There is no mention of the bright TV camera lights that illuminate the official groundhog site but I stand by my theory that unless Phil is blind, he would undoubtedly see his shadow. Now, Phil might well be blind because one of the tidbits of infor-mation from the official Groundhog Day website (www.groundhog.org) is that there is only ONE Phil the Groundhog and he's been around for about 162 years since Groundhog Day began in the 1800's. So Phil (who was named for King Philip) is quite elderly. At this website you will find more than you ever wanted to know about Groundhog Day (trust me on that) and you can even join the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club (Only $15! Pay with PayPal!)

The real backstory on how such a ritual as Groundhog Day devel-oped long ago is this: the celebra-tion is believed to date back to beliefs associated with Candle-mas Day in the days of the early Christians in Europe. The cus-tom at the time was to have the clergy bless candles and distrib-

ute them to the people in early February. The day marked a milestone in the long winter and the weather that day was important. If the sun made an appearance on Candle-mas Day, an animal, the hedgehog, would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather, which was the length of the "Second Winter." According to an old English song:

If Candlemas be fair and bright, Come, Winter, have another flight;

If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, Go Winter, and come not again.

Pennsylvania's earliest settlers were Germans and they

found an abundance of groundhogs in the new country. It

was those folks who decided that the groundhog, which

resembled the European hedgehog, was a most intelligent

and sensible animal and therefore could be trusted to ac-

curately predict the weather for the rest of the winter. And

so we have them to thank for the framework for the annual

spectacle that eventually developed. The Germans recited:

For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day,

So far will the snow swirl until the May.

Another February 2nd belief, used by American 19th cen-

tury farmers, was: “Groundhog Day - Half your hay.” Sen-

sible New England farmers knew that they were no where

close to the end of winter, no matter how cloudy February

2nd was. So, the local custom held that if the farmer didn't

have half his hay remaining on that day, there could be

lean times ahead for the cows before spring and fresh

grass arrived.

If it weren't for the Punxsutawney folks who keep their town on the map with their dedication to preserving the ritual of Groundhog Day, one would think it would die a not-untimely death. It's not one of your more popular holi-days and observances. It certainly isn't difficult to see where the inspiration for the movie came from. Bill Mur-ray of “Groundhog Day” film fame, was cursed to live the

infamous day over and over and over again. At least we only have to hear about it once a year in real life. On the other hand, though, if you live to be 100 that's an awful lot of Groundhog Days to live through.

Ed. Note. - Another common name for the groundhog is

Whistle Pig. They give a high pitched whistle when alarmed.

Groundhogs can also climb trees. Other common names:

land beaver and woodchuck.

33

Letter from El Paso by Bill Buckellew

Bill,

Where to start? Okaloosa and El Paso counties are both

in Zone 8, but the similarities stop there. Y’all usually get

five feet of rain a year while we feel really lucky to get 9

inches in the same

twelve months. With

scant rainfall to leech

the salts out of the root

zone, our soil tests

come back with pH

readings of be-

tween 7.5 to almost 9 -

about the same pH

levels as sea water and

baking soda. Even the

water in the Rio

Grande (when it isn’t

dry) and much of our

ground water tests in

that same high pH

range because of all

the dissolved salts. To reduce salt levels in our tap water,

El Paso operates the world’s largest inland desalination

plant.

Our “soils” range from large rocks embedded in caliche to

moderate-to-light clays containing very little organic con-

tent.

Our springs

are usually

dry, the sum-

mers HOT

and winter

night temper-

atures are

very often

below 32 de-

grees. And

when winter

fronts come

through, we

often have

near tropical

storm force winds blasting through the mountain pass-

es. However, extremely low humidity levels in the teens or

twenties make the summers pleasant and our sunny winter

afternoons are usually in the mid-50’s to upper-60’s.

El Paso may not be a gardener’s paradise when compared

with NW Florida, but the

Rio Grande river valley is

filled with commercial

pecan orchards, cotton

fields and vineyards. The

city’s parks and residen-

tial landscapes contain

many fruitless mulber-

ries, ash, Italian and Ari-

zona cypress, Afghan

pines and a number of

native drought tolerant

trees including mesquite,

palo verde, mountain lau-

rel, and desert wil-

lows. Roses do very well

here and there is a host of

hardy high desert peren-

nials and shrubs that are used as foundation and bedding

plants. Common Bermuda is the primary turf grass, but

there are fewer green yards these days as the city paid

home owners in 2001 to convert from grass lawns to xeri-

scape landscaping to conserve water. Of course cacti grow

well in El Paso, although not as well as many imagine. A

record hard freeze of 1°F last February did a great deal of

damage to imported cactus plants and many palm trees.

With proper soil preparation (elemental sulfur to lower

soil pH, organic materials to improve drainage, mulch to

retain moisture, plus a drip irrigation system) tomatoes,

peppers, eggplant, and squash always do very well in home

vegetable gardens. The El Paso Master Gardeners main-

tain a large garden that provides thousands of dollars in

revenue through vegetable sales at the local farmers market

each summer.

Just like in Okaloosa county, newly arrived residents to El

Paso must forget just about everything they knew about

gardening back home and learn to adapt to new climatic

and growing conditions. It’s not difficult to master and

really pays off in the long run with fewer disappointments

and a much healthier garden. And El Paso doesn’t have

yellow flies, black spot, driveway mildew, or hurri-

canes. And if we ever miss the azaleas, Southern crepe

myrtles or magnolias, we just head down to the Lowes and

Home Depot stores in the spring to see those plants on dis-

play for sale before they wilt in the dry heat and die.

Roger Stalker Ed Note: Roger and his wife were Mas-

ter Gardeners from our group before they moved.

A few of the 1500 roses in the

El Paso Rose Garden

Typical cross section of side calice

“soil” in central El Paso

Poppies on mountain after a “wet”

winter

44

A Walk on the Wild Side Linda Meyers

Courtesy of www.wec.ufl.edu/extension

So much for winter! February means the start of spring

here in Florida. Here are some interesting wildlife hap-

penings in February:

Birds

Early purple martin scouts will start to appear this

month. Now is the time to raise bird houses or gourds.

Ospreys will begin nesting near the end of the month.

Woodcocks begin courtship. Listen at dusk for their

“peenting” in open fields. Pileated Woodpeckers begin

their mating season and will start announcing territories

by drumming on various objects including houses and

telephone poles. Others who are beginning their nesting

season include: Little Blue and Tri-colored Herons,

Wood and Mottled Ducks, and Snail Kites. Purple Finch-

es and Pine Siskins will leave our feeders and begin their

migration back to northern nesting areas. Swallow-tailed

kites begin returning from South America.

Mammals

Eastern moles are breeding this month in tunnels under

our lawns. Striped Skunks begin their breeding season.

Pocket Gophers begin their spring breeding season.

Fish and Reptiles:

Alligator snapping turtles will start mating this month,

with nesting activity throughout the spring. Gopher tor-

toises seldom seen outside burrows. Crappie and Striped

bass are spawning.

Office Update by Shari Farrell

A great deal of change has begun in the Crestview Master

Gardener office; all for the better of course! We’ve been

cleaned out and cleared up as only Madam President can

do. Executive decisions were made trimming us down to

the necessaries.

A huge THANK YOU to Charlie Reuter, Laurie Mackey (at

-home), Dorothy Green, Klare Fox, and Faye Todd for their

continued commitment to the MG Desk. As the Crestview

Office Chair, the plan is to use Friday mornings for admin-

istration duties and walk-in traffic, of course.

There are still opportunities, for those who recognize our

principal commitment, to join the ‘team’. Take a look at

the web site membership calendar and let us know when

you may have a couple of hours a month to spare. Work-

ing with another MG is an enjoyable experience; don’t hes-

itate to do exactly that.

“In most cases, a person's decision to help someone in

need is influenced by temporary personal or situational

factors such as time pressure, number of bystanders, mo-

mentary feelings of empathy or a person's own distress”,

said Wade C. Rowatt, Ph.D., associate professor of psy-

chology and neuroscience in Baylor's College of Arts & Sci-

ences, who led the study and co-authored the article.

"The research indicates that humility is a positive quality

with potential benefits," Rowatt said. "While several fac-

tors influence whether people will volunteer to help a fel-

low human in need, it appears that humble people, on av-

erage, are more helpful than individuals who are egotistical or

conceited."

The office calendar can be found at http://my.calendars.net/

assoicationcal or by clicking on the link provided on the mem-

ber web site.

LEAP YEAR/LEAP DAY By Marg Stewart

Leap Day is Feb. 29th and was first

introduced over 2000 years ago with

the transition from the Roman Calen-

dar to the Julian Calendar. This is, ac-

cording to an old Irish legend, when

St. Bridget struck a deal with St. Pat-

rick to allow women to propose to

men—and not just the other way

around—every 4 years. This is believed

to have been introduced to balance the

traditional roles of men and women

similar to how Leap Day balances the

calendar.

In some places, Leap Day has been

known as “Bachelors’ Day” for the

same reason. A man was expected to

pay a penalty, such as a gown or mon-

ey, if he refused a marriage proposal

from a woman on Leap Day. There

were actual laws in the middle ages

governing this tradition.

In many European countries, espe-

cially in upper society, tradition dic-

tates that any man who refuses a wom-

an’s proposal on February 29th has to

buy her 12 pairs of gloves. The inten-

tion is that the woman can wear the

gloves to hide the embarrassment of

not being engaged. Scotland used to

considered it unlucky to be born on the

29th and Greece considered it unlucky

to be married during a leap year.

55

You know that you suffer from garden lunacy when you

don’t covet your neighbor’s spouse; you covet your neigh-

bor’s plants. You go to a garden center to spend $5 for

things you need and end up spending $305 for things you

don’t need. You invite total strangers to see your backyard,

but not your relatives.

Garden Lunacy: A Growing Concern by Art Wolk is a hi-

larious look at gardens and gardeners. It is a book for and

about gardeners that will have you laughing out loud. You’ll

meet people trying in vain to get along with non-gardeners

and you’ll encounter the pursuit of perfect soil, perfect

plants—all the unachievable goals that lead to inevitable

frustrations and accompanying eccentricities.

Art Wolk is an award-winning writer, gardener, lecturer,

photographer and flower show exhibitor. He’s published

many articles, lectured at Longwood Gardens and has won

the Philadelphia Flower Show Grand Sweepstakes.

Art’s devious and deviant behavior has continued unabat-

ed and he now admits to stealing cuttings in the past, nab-

bing his neighbors bagged leaves and other activities. He is

currently a prime candi-

date for Hortiholics Anon-

ymous.

That being said, Garden

Lunacy is more about gar-

deners than gardens. His

words about the book is

that he ‘neither wrote the

book to become a million-

aire (although it wouldn’t

make me depressed), nor

to win prizes (although

they’re not unpleasant to

receive), but rather to

make my readers laugh.

So go ahead and get this

book and be prepared to

chuckle out loud, get odd stares from people around you

and realize that as gardeners, we all have a touch of lunacy

about us.

Book Review by Marg Stewart

MARK YOUR

CALENDAR

February 1st

General Membership Meeting

Crestview

February 4th

Economic Living Expo

Emerald Coast Convention

Center

February 15th

Board Meeting

Extension Annex

Potluck

March 7th

General Membership Meeting

and Awards Ceremony

Extension Annex

Celebrating Mardi Gras? Then

perhaps you want to include a King

Cake. Traditionally the ‘cake’ is a

ring of twisted bread, similar to

that used for brioche. It is topped

with icing or sugar and is usually

colored purple, green, and gold

(the traditional Mardi Gras colors).

King Cakes also included a ’trinket’ baked inside (although due to a

choking hazard most bakeries do not bake them into the ’cake’). The tra-

ditional trinket is a bean. In the US Gulf Coast since the 1950s, the most

common trinket has been a small plastic baby doll. Other trinkets in-

clude a king wearing a crown and other items.

The person who gets the trinket is declared the King or Queen of the

day. They are also usually obligated to supply the next king cake or host

the next party or both. King cake parties may be held at the homes of

people who live on or near the routes of Mardi Gras parades. Some New

Orleans krewes select their monarchs via king cake.

Many bakeries now offer king cakes for all sorts of holidays as well as

very popular ones that cover the beginning of football season for Louisi-

ana State University and New Orleans Saints tailgate parties.

The colors purple (justice), gold (power) and green (faith) actually date

back to 1892 and have been the traditional colors ever since.

So go ahead, don the feathered mask, toss some beads, eat some King

Cake and Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!

66

The Stranger Courtesy of Dick Hickenbothem

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly ac-cepted and was around from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger... he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or sci-ence, he always knew the answers about the past, under-stood the present and even seemed able to predict the fu-ture! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind. Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and qui-et. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home

-not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our long time vis-itor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my moth-er blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol but the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, some-times suggestive, and generally embarrassing.. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?....

We just call him 'TV.' He has a wife now....we call her 'Computer.' Their first child is "Cell Phone". Second child "I Pod

LOVE IS IN THE AIR By Linda Meyers

I will admit when it comes to animals I can’t resist a sweet face with big eyes...and in my opinion Southern Flying Squirrels (Glaucomys volans) are just too cute! My first introduction to these fascinating animals was several years ago, when a friend raised (and released) an adorable baby that had fallen from it’s nest. Flying squirrels are very common in Florida. Their pre-ferred habitats are the same as gray squirrels, ranging from oak hammocks to cypress swamps. They need lots of drinking water and prefer areas near ponds or streams. They maintain several nests at a time, mostly in tree cavities or outside leaf nests, but will also nest in bird houses, or electric boxes on power lines. In summer they are usually solitary, but to stay warm in winter they will live in colonies of 4 to 25 squirrels crammed in a cavity. Active at night, having slept all day, they come out about 1/2 an hour after sunset. If you listen carefully you may hear them making high-pitched squeaks or whistles as they chase each other around in the trees. But it’s rare that you will see one, as they prefer to remain hidden by the dark and they spend little time on the ground. Nuts and acorns are their favorite foods, and will also eat buds, seeds, ber-ries, mushrooms, insects, lizards, mice, eggs and baby birds. Often they will raid your bird feeders at night!

Although called Flying Squirrels they really don’t fly but are expert gliders. Spreading their feet, a large flap of skin called patagium, stretches between their front and rear legs, allowing them to make a graceful downward glide. They launch from the top of a tree, landing on the trunk or branch of another as far as 20-60 feet away. Us-ing their tail as a rudder as well at to stabilize, they can make sharp turns, avoid obstacles, execute downward spi-rals and adjust their speed to make a perfect landing. Our Florida species is small measuring 8-10 inches in length, including their tail. Pups don’t open their eyes until they are 4 weeks of age, are able to defend themselves at 5 weeks and are weaned at 6 weeks. Mothers guard their nests from males who may eat their babies, and other fe-males who may try to steal them. It can be a dangerous world for them beyond their nests. Owls are their major predators, also domestic cats, bobcats, skunks, foxes, wea-sels, hawks, and occasionally snakes will make a snack of them. Their average lifespan in the wild is 5 years, in cap-tivity they can live to the ripe old age of 15! In Florida there is now a law prohibiting their capture. Source of Information: “Florida’s Fabulous Mammals” author Dr. Jerry Lee Gingerich

77

LEAP YEAR CRYPTOGRAM

S H W L C T D J J F G P A U C

O J A C J G O H D N U O R G S

I N S E N T I M E N T A L H N

U J H U Y O A R X B J C A P H

L D I D A Z C S F N I D P R Z

I R N U K C U H C D O O W E U

N A G B Z T R K O W T U S S I

C I T N A M O R I C W L A I X

O D O W C W S I R N O R F D W

L E N I T N E L A V G L K E L

N E P C X I S X E I O C A N R

Y R A U R B E F D W N E A T P

L Z R P I L M R E A D V H K E

V K G I K C A R D P W U I O E

E K X D N M S G N W D O T A E

CELEBRATE FEBRUARY WORD SEARCH

CANDY

CARD

CHOCOLATE

CUPID

FEBRUARY

FLOWERS

GROUNDHOG

KING CAKE

LINCOLN

LOVE

MARDI GRAS

PRESIDENT

PUNXSUTAWNEY

ROMANTIC

ROSES

SENTIMENTAL

SHADOW

VALENTINE

WASHINGTON

WOODCHUCK

PUZZLE CORNER!

88

WEED OF THE MONTH By Jenny Gillis

The Oxalis Weed Family

Ed. Note—Because this weed family is so large and there is

so much information, only part of Jenny’s article is pre-

sented here. To download the full article (and believe me

YOU SHOULD!) go to www.ocmga.org and click on the

Timely Tidbits link. We have provided the full article there.

Oxalis is a large genus of low-growing herbs that grow

along roadsides and in fields throughout the Americas and

South Africa. North American species are known as wood

sorrels. Like clover, wood sorrels have heart-shaped leaflets

in clusters of three, but the leaflets, unlike those of clover,

fold lengthwise at night. Small, five-petaled flowers in

white, yellow, pink, or red grow singly or in loose clusters

decorating wood sorrels. These plants are also known as

sour grass because of their sour-lemony tasting leaves.

Oxalis is an edible wild plant that has been consumed by

humans around the world for millennia. A characteristic of

the Oxalis family is that plants contain oxalic acid which

gives the leaves and flowers a taste which can make them

refreshing to chew. In Dr. James Duke's "Handbook of Edi-

ble Weeds," he notes that the Kiowa Indian tribe chewed

wood sorrel to alleviate thirst on long trips, that the Pota-

watomi Indians cooked it with sugar to make a dessert, the

Algonquin Indians considered it an aphrodisiac, the Chero-

kee ate wood sorrel to alleviate mouth sores and sore

throats, and the Iroquois ate wood sorrel to help with

cramps, fever and nausea. The plants contain oxalic acid

which gives the genus its

name. Eaten in large

amounts these plants

may be toxic as oxalic

acid can interfere with

digestion. http://

uk.ask.com/wiki/Oxalis

The UF/IFAS book

Weeds of Southern

Turfgrass lists several

species of Oxalis. Yellow

wood sorrel (O. stricta) and Creeping sorrel (O. cornicula-

ta) are most frequent. The small flowers of wood sorrels

produce okra-shaped seed pods that actually shoot the seed

long distances. Once established, oxalis can be difficult to

control. Oxalis can also be a weed present in potted plants

and are known to harbor other plant pests – so weedy wood

sorrels should be removed from container plants.

Yellow wood sorrel (Oxalis stricta) is a close cousin of

creeping wood sorrel, but is somewhat more upright in

habit and does not root from its stems.

Over 600 species of Oxalis are known, with more than 30

available as ornamentals. The foliage colors may range

from green to blue to silver or burgundy-purples to gold.

Some leaves show patterns.

Creeping Wood Sorrel, Oxalis

corniculata

Southern Yellow Wood Sorrel, Oxalis stricta

Oxalis grown in a container as an ornamental

99

Your member site:

www.ocmgamembers.org

The Foundation for the Gator

Nation.....An equal opportunity

institution.

LAST WORD Marg Stewart

Have pictures or an idea for

an article?

Send it in!

Articles and pictures are

always welcome.

Last meeting, we were introduced to

the term/concept ‘mast year’. Accord-

ing to the dictionary a mast year: is

from the old English word maest and

relates to a phenomenon when the

fruit (mast) produced by trees in a giv-

en year is exponentially higher than

average; by extension, a year in which

vegetation produces a significant

abundance of fruit.

So, basically, we’re talking about an

abundance that is more than we’re used

to. I can relate to that. Lately I’ve no-

ticed and experienced an ‘abundance’

of homework, yard work, retired hus-

band under foot, housework, projects I

really want to get done some time this

century....and did I mention the seed

catalogs coming in?

Then we have the abundance of politi-

cal ads (I really want that machine that

zaps the computer at the other end), e-

mails, phone calls....

What is not experiencing a mast year

is my time. So I’m forced to admit that

I can’t get everything done. In fact, I’m

starting a new mantra, “What gets done

gets done.” Last time I looked the dust

bunny police weren’t knocking on my

door.

How many of us are also experiencing

a ‘mast year’ just in relation to all the

things we feel that we ‘have’ to do? We

need to figure out what we really ‘have’

to do in relations to what we ‘must’ do.

We all must take time for ourselves

and time to relax. Time to spend with

family, friends and recharge our mental

and physical batteries.

That is one of the many good things

about our group. We definitely have a

‘mast year’ when it comes to brains and

talent! It should never be a case where

someone feels that they are on their

own when it comes to an event, a talk,

answering the phones....

But guess what? No one will know that

you need a hand if you don’t say some-

thing! It’s no shame in needing some

help and there are plenty of willing

hands to provide it—all you have to do

is ask.

The household hubby and I have

found that out. He didn’t want to in-

trude on what he perceived as my do-

mains. Once I asked for some help, he

gladly provided it. The dishwasher fairy

is nice to have around and has now

morphed into the trash emptying fairy

(still working on laundry fairy but

that’s going to take a while).

Point is, we can actually ENJOY our

mast year and all it’s wonderful chaos

as long as we remember that we can’t

do it all and there are plenty that will

willingly share in dealing with our

abundances!

Marg Stewart—Editor

Shari Farrell, Karen Harper

and

Linda Meyers—Co-Editors

Pleiospilos

pendunculata ,

Split Rock, Cleft

Stone, Mimicry

Plant in bloom