Heads, Tails, or the Edge?

  UPDATE

 
SoWrite.Us Competition: Best First Chapter
  
Unbridled optimism.  I don't know about you, but  here At Incoming Bytes I like to believe that hope springs eternal from proactive optimists.  Proactive optimists, worth repeating. Horseshoes and four-leaf clovers are lucky.  "Holes-in-one" happen.  We believe good stuff does happen to those who wait, and sometimes luck of the draw is just that, short straw,  long straw, heads, tails spin-of-the-bottle for a kiss.   Luck  is magic and illusion, balancing on the thin edge of life itself. 
Sometimes it pays to get proactive and jump in feet first,get in it to win it, or die trying.



At  SoWrite.us.com  my entry in the November Fiction " Best First Chapter" contest created by Jim Bessey was successfully submitted without a hitch. Didn't even have to die trying!
 
 Wow!  In return, we received some great news. It went better than usual for me. Proactivism worked!




 
I was amazed to learn,-- my very own entry,  From Raggs: The Bent Man
   -----was awarded first prize ...$50.00 !!  Wow!

 Did I get to see the cash? 

You bet!   For contest doubters, you will be happy to know that  prize money offers from SoWrite.us  are real.  The cash   arrived almost within the hour.   Thanks, Jim!   
 

 Nice, and just in time for Christmas!   Ho -Ho-Ho !
How about that?  Here comes Santa!
 
We must congratulate co-finalists, Glory Lennon  and Teresa DePoy  --and all other competitors for for their wonderful entries. Special thanks to judges Amanda and Tamara for their hard work and particularly difficult decision. It's so hard to make a thin dime stand on edge!   
--and to Jim and SoWrite.us......Thanks again! 

  Maybe unbridled proactive optimism isn't such a bad thing after all?
 
Is that Incoming I hear?


 Photo credits: courtesy of  SoWrite.us.com  with thanks.

The 7 X 7 Link Award goes to .....Incoming Bytes!

The prestigious 7x7 Link Award

Here at Incoming Bytes  on a recent post, a curious  comment  was received  that included the question: 
" Where is your 7x7 ? " 


'Huh?  You mean my 4x4?  My rusty old Jeep?  Out in the yard ' I thought to myself.  VERY rusty, too, ...but nothing a nice shiny Ford  2012 F150 4x4 couldn't fix.  Oops...a little digression there.


  "Pssst...you won the 7"x7" !


I thought it might have been just another crank comment except for the fact that the "Pssst"  was from Red herself.   That's Ann Marie Dwyer --to those that don't already recognize her as the prolific, quintessential blogger at M3.   
It being just after  New Years,  and all,  --which is getting awfully close  to April Fool's Day if you hang around celebrating long enough, it immediately caused seven degrees of paranoia  suspicion  and an automatically-elevated eyebrow,  I hastened to gulp some searing-hot coffee just in case.  Wake up, man!   Destiny awaits!  Was it the really the 7x7   --would that be the big lottery, finally, the Super 7? 
Red is known to have a sense of  humor.   

Finally seeing a picture of the  7x7  with stars  and fireworks on it. but no wheels or dollar signs,  I was  even more paranoid  suspicious, what would stars and fireworks have to do with April Fool's Day --that wasn't even here yet? 


Alert readers, you can understand my predicament! Not being  any better informed,  we shifted  into default mode, put the pedal to the metal, palpitating and researching 7x7's,   49'ers ,  7/7's  and 1/7ths, just in case.  
Heavy research. Big time stuff.  Internet mayhem.  Scrambling. Google and such.


Now everyone is aware  of that  help-you-escape-from-anything mode  --4x4,--  find'em, grind'em,  pure  gas-sucking power.  It allows you to muddle, dawdle,  diddle,  and doodle, wandering aimlessly through the deepest muck and doodoo  research  with the greatest of ease.  We  didn't waste any time.  
Be it known that we're fearless (unless the ruts are deep and full of water and alligators )so,  roaring and grinning  with much bravado, 4x4 asked Red :  
"What's that?"   
Whoever said men can't ask directions was right, but we ask for information shamelessly  if we have absolutely no other choice, it's dark outside, and nobody's looking.  I digress. 
We soon found out.
It turned out  that Ann Marie Dwyer of M3  ( that would still  be Red   of Mommas MoneyMatters, ) had generously  presented this  award to Incoming Bytes  at the end of December, a whole  week ago,--  that being  pretty close to being  back in the good old days. 
Back in those days, it turns out, I was still in the dark ages.  The lights were out. I missed that all-important enlightening post in M3.  No matter. 
Hopefully, I was forgiven. Maybe.
I told you Red has a sense of humour. 



In spite light of that revelation, inexplicable as it was, I  accepted the 7X7 Link Award complete with  all  associated honor and fame that inevitably accompanies such prestigious awards.   
I immediately discovered that with fame,  lies certain responsibilities .  
I found out I have to actually DO stuff,  the most important of which 
 is to always thank the presenter prodigiously.
I  therefore wish to officially thank Ann Marie Dwyer,  a.k.a. Red,  since it is humbling --and a great honor to be presented a prestigious  award by a wonderful writer, prolific blogger,  helpful mentor, and famous person, --even if she's on a well-deserved vacation.


Here's the whole list of other stuff  in no specific stuffing order:

• Thank the nominator  ( I did that already, but thanks again, Red!  )
•  Tell a Secret.  Any real secret will do. Do you stick gum on your bedpost overnight? Do you keep Twinkies in your desk drawer?  Got any sexy vices that are interesting? 
• Post the 7x7 Link Award in a highly visible location like a Side-bar to enable bragging rights .  Put it someplace where it can be admired!
•  Share Seven (yes, SEVEN )  of your blog posts complete with links.  *Hint: Links that actually work are helpful to your loyal readers.  
• Nominate Seven NEW bloggers  (Yes, SEVEN)  that should receive this award. They should be bloggers that actually do good  stuff.
• Advise all 7 new winners that they are winners and now have 49 MORE things to do.   (Get that?  7x7 =49,  I knew that research would pay big dividends...hm.....now if I can just find the  6 lucky numbers.....)

So,  first of all,  the secret....they call them secrets because you don't really  want to tell them but  for this award,  'ya gotta.  Use small type. Maybe nobody will notice.
  I'm guessing nobody knows this secret--  I often  type   sdrow  words backwards whilst minding my own business.  I can also backspace at 120wpm, error-free. 


Seven Blog Posts:  These are some favourites, for various undisclosed reasons....

1. Most beautiful piece: The Age of Light
2. Most helpful piece:  The trouble With Word Mills: Writers Beware
3. Most comical piece:  The Ball and Chain Approach might Work for THEM too....
4. Most popular piece: North America...Rent this Idea !
5. Most controversial piece: EU Bans Canadian Seal Products but Condones Bullfights, Atrocities, and Hypocrisy
6. Most Surprisingly Successful piece: Sometimes Life Becomes a Legend of Glory
7. Most Underrated piece: Reinventing Energy:  the Rossi E-Cat

 I hope everyone likes the recommended blog posts! 

Now, happily,  I  get to   nominate present     this award to the following Seven wonderful bloggers --who  also get the 7x7 Link Award --complete with all 49 benefits.  ..(a.k.a. '49 more things to do" and stuff.)


The New 7x7 Link Awards go to:

1. Mandy's Pages    Amanda Dcosta may have been away on holidays, for a month,  but her peaceful approach to life, her incredible faith and skilful blogging has  much merit.  Mandy's Pages has almost become a sanctuary to read, a place to reflect.  The brilliant Eastern star is shining in the sky over Oman once more. Mandy's pages was previously recommended ! 
2. Just Camping Out    Jim Bessey's  blog on camping, relaxing and enjoying the great outdoors induces both peace of mind, encourages pleasant memories of past camping trips, and stimulates future summer plans.   Just Camping Out  is full of  interesting camping stuff.  Check it out, you'll see why We like camping better!  
3. Glory's Garden     Glory Lennon keeps gardens alive year around--out in the yard in the summer,-- and helps them grow in our minds in the winter.  If Glory's  not gardening, she's spinning novels  or teaching crafts!   Entertaining and highly recommended! 
4. Lala Musings       Rachel Howells has a unique voice in her blog that keeps you coming back. Insightful, cutting, and at times, hilarious.  A great read and  Highly recommended!
5. A Heep of Everything    Alexandra Heep  has an interesting way of  analyzing everything, ---heaps of life.   Alexandra also writes " A Heep of NASCAR.  Both of these blogs were previously highly recommended !
6. Freelancing and More    Doreen Martel's fab blog site on the business of writing is a 'must read' for anyone in the business.  If you're interested in learning the ropes about the intricacies  of writing successfully, Doreen's advice is  highly recommended !  By the way, while you're at it, check out Doreen's brand  new  web site  http://noscamworkathome.biz/.  You may be glad you did !
7. Poetic Parfait    Christy Birmingham's  *new blog Poetic Parfait is looking  at poetry and music  with  refreshing, open eyes and her unique insight.    *A relatively new blog,-- with a promising new approach!   ** By the way, watch for *Silver Drops*   in the next few days!  Hm...that sounds familiar, the poetic neck is on the line, and you'll see why!                                                                                                                     Tune in and help the new 7x7 Link Award winners enjoy their recommendations too!    Thanks again, Red!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Sometimes Life becomes a Legend of Glory

Coming Soon: Martin the Snow Dragon  (c)2011 wlk photography

 Mother Nature's wildlife, wherever it may be in the world, can be  incredibly  huge and magnificent.  Some animals are imaginary,  the inspiration of legend and lore.

 I write fiction, but today--I also yield to the lure of  high adventure.Why? Dragons.
From what I understand of dragons, they are diverse, amazing, and  fierce.  They have big teeth. Storytellers admire them, big and small, flying or not, and they are usually hungry. The question arises, how does one avoid becoming part of the dragon food chain?  With much research, we found out!
 
It turns out that  Glory Lennon yes,  that Glory, our  dedicated gardener, she  of maple tree fame, also loves critters of all kinds.  While on vacation in the Everglades in Florida,  she took some beautiful pictures of turtles, cranes, and even a picture of a --well...for now,  we'll call it a dragon. 
A  real 'we-wanna-gobble - Sir Tommy & Princess Glory-if-we-get-a-chance Dragon.  A big one. A legend in the making.....
Once upon a Time,  as the ultimate legend reveals, it seems that lucky Sir Tommy-the Dragon-killer  was traveling  down a dangerous, enchanted path to Everglade Castle in the warm noonday sun. As misfortune would have it, a gigantic dragon blocked the way as it had for centuries, eating small animals and threatening knights, weary travelers, fair maidens and little children alike that wished to travel the enchanted path.
"Foresoothe, be aware of the great dragon!" the  wise villagers along the flowered path warned.  
As good fortune would also  have it, the sun shines equally upon the handsome, the wise and the brave.
Sir Tommy, never one to be dismayed or discouraged by warnings of wise villagers or  dragon breath, --and highly experienced in such erstwhile adventures, -- cleverly avoided being eaten by cleverly promising the Dragon a much better snack followed close behind him. 

  "Foresoothe!"  Prince Tommy sayeth  to the dragon, " Thou wouldst  spoil thy afternoon repast by partaking of  a mere Prince?    Princes are tough as monkey-muscles  and wear shining armour of the toughest steel!   Wouldst thou wish such indigestion upon thy greenish belly  whilst a much safer, tastier snack followeth close behind,  oh feared and noble Dragon"?

The Dragon roared at Sir Tommy, shaking the very earth.

"Attemptest thou to fool me, the keeper of this enchanted path, with that old rag of a tale of mortals and those  simple-minded  Trolls lurking under bridges ?" he demanded.
He roared again.  When the echos from the distant mountains ceased, Sir Tommy spoke.

"Not I,  Fearless Dragon"  Sir Tommy offered boldly.  "Avert thy squinty reptilian eye to that tasty high-noon repast fast approaching!"

The dragon squinted down the enchanted roadway with one jaded reptilian eye.
Spying a fair Princess in the distance, the Dragon was persuaded to agree wholeheartedly.

"'Tis not indigestion I would have willingly this day, --- so pass then safely,  knave,  for yon I spy a far better lunch than thy gristled  bones this noon!"  the great beast roared.

"Oh help, me, oh help me kind Sir!  O' do tell, a dragon, foresoothe, a veritable dragon!  Help!"

That opportune and frantic commotion was heard in the distance along the enchanted path,  and the fairest of maidens was easily observed, waving her delicate silk handkerchief in the warm summer breeze.

"'Tis nought but lunch!" sayeth the dragon,  smiling  and showing many huge, sharp teeth.

Prince Tommy  laughed boldly and quickly stepped past the great beast guarding the narrow roadway, for the Dragon was enchanted completely  into distraction, as he admired the approaching maiden.

  "Beware, Dragon, yon Princess is tougher than thou mayest guess!"

"Come closer, fair maiden, that I may dine today on the fine repast offered by yon worthy knight!" the dragon said to the Princess, drooling mightily. 

"Feared Dragon,  'tis I, Princess Glory Zeitgeist  of Gardens that  shall pass hither this day in spite of yon pool of  drool!" the Princess boldly stated, drawing her jeweled sword of the purest silver.

The fairest of maidens, yes,  none other than our  gardening Princess Glory herself, (whilst dreading the possibility of becoming  part of a main course or midday snack  for such a villainous beast), bravely strode onward  to challenge the great dragon.

 "Fear not, but step wisely, Fair Princess!" the Prince shouted bravely from the other side, " tarry not long this day, for thy flameless, woeful dragon can run seven  furlongs in the wink of a newt's eye!"

 The reader at Incoming Bytes  can only imagine the glint in the great Dragon's eye and the drool pouring from the slavering jaw.  The tiny, hapless maiden approached the point of no return  on the enchanted path to doom, her sword of purest silver drawn at the ready.

With willful pause, we must wonder, for how shall our fair maiden flee, on such tender, fleeting feet  past a dreaded 20- foot-long dragon -- on a mere 15 foot wide enchanted pathway? --Fair reader, understandest thou the gravity of such challenge?

Now, being wise in the ways of fairy tales,  one  might  be persuaded to allow the reader to suffer no trepidation for Princess Glory's life, for the optimistic inner mind has already undoubtedly predetermined that her  very own   " Sir Thomas the Dragon-Killer "  should be standing guard, ready to rescue her with his gallant steed and jeweled sword of razor-sharp surgical stainless steel.
   
Foresoothe!  It seems not.  Instead he calleth  out to yon dragon  "Smile!"  distracting the great beast seven times,  coming to the rescue of the fair maiden  with nought but camera and zoom lens,  and  happily  recording seven pictures  of    " Princess Glory and the Dragon !" for posterity.

Clearly, our fair maiden had little other choice than to tap the very nose of the great Dragon seven times with her sword of purest silver, putting him into the deepest slumber for seven years.
  
It seems if legends of  life are to continue to contain drama  and promote independence of Princesses collectively,  Princess Glory was indeed  rescued from that very big dragon  by her own bold demeanor and magic.  Prince Tommy and Princess Glory lived happily ever after,  soon returning to cold, snowy, but much safer Poconos Castle.

                                                         The End.

By the way, it wasn't a fierce  hedgehog that had the big, big teeth.  You can see a picture of a real dragon wanna-be alligator right here on Glory's  post --and as you know, pictures don't lie. It seems that even today, legends and lore may be generated as the product of arcane poetic license.

So you see, our Glory  is far more than just your ordinary garden Princess. She knows how to tame fierce beasts, is equally handy with jeweled swords of the purest silver or garden loppers--and she can run fast too.
What a brave girl!   No wonder she likes gardening and maple trees,  rooting p.c.c. (Poconos Castle Coleus), --and.... even snow--better.
 We  have to wonder if our Princess has spotted Martin the Snow Dragon yet....



That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

100 Posts Later....

Discovery of the Light can be Blinding.....

This is a special occasion. One Hundred, count them, yes,  100 posts later, we're still here at Incoming Bytes !   We are still here.

Isn't that amazing? Why did we persist so?  Stubbornness. Foolishness, persistence,  the will to survive, no matter what?
Detractors and critics --we are sorry to disappoint you.  We didn't give up. We didn't quit. We did not run out of stuff to write about either.
Loyal friends, contributors, supporters and readers, rejoice, we clearly shall overcome!

We have become a real blog, talking about real stuff. 
From the abuse of Kakabeka Falls  to Fukushima Japan's nuclear disaster, elections and disastrous political games,  the destruction of Canada's Avro Arrow--an aircraft that has few equals even 50 years later!  We  happily digressed to  bonsai and heaps of gardening all the way to the Middle East--- and even dared to wander back home into dull, boring politics, electioneering and tongue-in-cheek political-psycho-babble, sanctions and mousy local dictatorships.
From sugar-maple  mysteries,  discussions of garden zeitgeists,   Glory Lennon our gardener  all the way from  sunflowers to oaks,  we have even migrated across  the tender economics of economic growth, global failure and the fall of nasty dictators.
Snowmobile high-marking made it to the foreground when that foolish, mindless sport caused deaths yet again last winter!   Will they never LEARN?  
Predictions of Doomsday were discussed right on time, but Harold Camping and his doomsday money-making machine  failed to make it happen.  Twice yet!  
A couple of wonderful guest posts were included,  one by  Adriana Heep, a young thinker who clearly offers hope for humanity,   and  M.J Joachim (Gum Pets on the Hill)  who stirred the hearts of  alert readers with her  distinguished voice in poetic justice. 

We  even got to the point of  telling stories, checking out Glorious Flower Power, tales of persistence and  and  promoting the publishing  of eBooks, starting with my new Christmas classic, Morgidoo's Christmas Carol.  We have hypothesized about the new Age of Light --and recently welcomed a new website  EffectivelyHuman.com, a site that promotes human worth and dignity, something necessary to initiate the Age of Light.   We asked questions. 


I still like this question the best:  "Is willful nuclear expansion a sign of collective human insanity, insatiable corporate greed, total lunacy, irresponsible governance, --or proof positive of all of the above?"  (MUST WE Contaminate the world with Radiation? Say NO! (Mar.23rd 2011)


As a reader, what more could you ask ?   The fact is, almost any subject matter  may show up at Incoming Bytes.
Where are we going NEXT?   Wait and see.  Stay tuned.  Participate!  Enjoy!

Where do we stand after 100 posts? We still want you to  think, --if you dare. We also want you to stand and be counted.


That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Never Underestimate Glorious Flower Power

Flower power.  It's not the sixties,  this isn't Woodstock or San Francisco, and  we're not hippies or flower-children, but I admire flowers anyway.  I admire people who admire flowers too, whether they wear them in their hair or not.    I always have, and always will.
Flower people are good people.  That's one of the reasons we should never underestimate glorious flower power.

At Incoming Bytes we observe the unusual.  Strange things at times. Surprising things. Unexpected things.   It continues to surprise me how little we actually know about  flowering plants that seem to exist only to beautify our surroundings.

Some seem to be quite set in their ways, inevitably soothing our souls, but flowering the same way every year, in the same place, at the same time in the season.  Some grow quickly.  There are tiny blossoms and huge ones. Some seem to take forever to bloom, only to have the blossoms fade immediately. Some taste good and others smell terrible.

Some flowers follow the sun too.  Sunflowers do, vast fields of sunflowers inevitably have every flower blossom   facing and following  the sun with unbelievable, powerfully  unspoken,  but  precise, delicate and elegant choreography.  Ask Alex, she'll tell you.  Alexandra Heep is the Sunflower power expert, you'll quickly find out why in her fascinating blog  'aheepofsunflowers' 
Maybe Alex can even tell  us why this sunflower is so unique!

                              A Beautiful, Unique Sunflower               photo credit (c)  Wendy L. Kukkee

She'll probably tell us there are a gazillion species of sunflowers.  No matter;  flowers really are glorious.

It's not only sunflowers that surprise either. Flowers are no less than amazing at times.
 
Are flowers powerful because they exist only to make us happy? Check out this Morning Glory, -- it looks like someone in that flower turned on the light just for us, or was it  switched on to showcase  the magnificent, tiny dew-drop jewels decorating her person?  Perhaps this is the real source of flower-power.

                       Morning Glory and her Light                                    (c) r.a.kukkee 2011

That's not all.    This  special Morning Glory has done something else that is no less than amazing.   She  survived no fewer than three major frosts, the last one being some -6C,  which is 21F, and no matter which  temperature scale you choose, that's  frozen- frozen, half-inch-ice-on-the-bucket frozen,  --and  too cold for delicate FLOWERS....or is it?

We took pity on the sad, frozen thing out on the deck, carried her --um...., rolled her by plant-ambulance complete with huge flowerpot-- into the house.  She sat for a couple of days looking dejected, rejected and pathetic, so we  picked off the many frozen- dead leaves, stuck some sticks into the pot for support,  and stood her back up.   
Flower power.  This is how she rewarded us. Perhaps only our gardening zeitgeist, our own Glory Lennon can explain this one....

      Frozen Morning Glory in all her Glory                             (c) r.a.kukkee 2011

 Doesn't that beat all?  The magnificent come-back flower-power kid is not only blossoming, and her vines are growing and climbing ever higher, ever faster.                 Glorious flower power at it's best.  

Remember the powerful light in the single blossom? Maybe there IS a bigger power source available here than we recognize. Perhaps each one of those blossoms  now has it's own 400 watt bulb in it.  That must be it.  Flower power.   Food for thought. Food for beautiful people. Food for people I admire.  Flower people. 



That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Lessons on Tenacity

                                       Tenacity and Persistence

Everybody knows of at least  one example of tenacity and persistence.  The person that refuses to give up against incredible odds,  the participants in miracles,   the tiny, ignored  runt of the litter that survives.  How about J.K. Rowling,  the  single mom  that becomes the  richest author in the world,  or the one seed out of a thousand  that sprouts and grows, saving a species from extinction.  They continue to amaze, and rightly so.  Why do they persist and succeed?

I  like  the idea of tenacity if only for the fascinating concept of observing  the  characteristics  of the extraordinary one that does survive  and promise to  outgrow, live and produce,  something like my  Charlie Brown apple tree  in  "Life's little Successes"  saved by tenacity and persistence.  Well, let's add a bit of  refusal to die, gardener's stubbornness and  some eternal optimism, the curiosity of experimentation, and such other  factors easily plucked from the air, but you get the idea.

We have to digress a bit.  See the picture?  It's a stump, a very large one.  White birch,  or what remains of a huge dual trunk.
  The  Paper Birch, Betula Papyrifera, a magnificent part of Northern Ontario almost seems doomed to pass into memory. The beautiful birch, also known as the canoe birch, silver birch,  or western paper birch,  has white, paper-like bark that has layers as delicate as fine paper or thick as old canvas that can be peeled off.  Some bark sloughs off naturally.  Fine stands of these trees are almost ghost-like in certain lighting conditions.
Magnificent trees?  Yes.  Invincible?  No.  They are attacked by bronze birch borers , typically causing tree die-back from the top down. The tops break off, and the  larger branches and trunk being essentially waterproof like a birch bark canoe, (imagine that coincidence )  the tree soon falls prey to decay and ultimately dies.
   It behooves us to use the beautiful hardwood if possible, and for a year or two  after the tree begins to succumb to the bug, the wood remains solid and useable for furniture or other creative  purposes. 
Interestingly,  if one fails to cut down a  dying paper birch before the last branches die off, the root system does not survive,  but if cut soon enough, a number of saplings will spout from the stump. 
The photo included herein is the one-in-a thousand instance in nature that should teach us the power of tenacity and persistence in nature. A lesson we can probably benefit from.  The majestic dual-trunk birch was probably 80 years old or more, and finally caught the attention of the insects. Alas, it had to be cut down a couple of years ago. Being close to the abode and dangerously leaning, was left by the power of procrastination and was very dead, -- no chance of sprouts left.  
Oh yeah?   Look at the picture.  On top.   See little twin-trunk clone,  the King of the Castle, the winner, the number one contender in nature--admittedly yet a runt, but soon to be giant?   Ha !  Harry Potter, wizardry?    Somehow I doubt it.

  Nature has us stymied once again.  Maybe Glory Lennon's  happy zeitgeist is so busy  she spreads  her enthusiasm to hopelessly dead  wild birch trees too.  It seems there's always hope left, no matter what happens. 
Now that's  how to be tenacious and persistent. 


That's my story and I'm sticking to it....

Life's Little Successes

Life's little Successes

See the black tape?    Every once in a while we should step back and check  the trees in the forest.  I check the ones in the yard too, while I'm at it.   I do  like checking trees; it comes honestly, and  I observe them carefully.   Closer examination is often required to see  mind-shattering, clever details.  When you focus on details, you often find surprises, too,  pleasant ones.   What seems normal is not.   Sometimes, persistence pays.  The strange and unusual can happen.

Let us digress with purpose.  Just for today,  pretend the world is  not in difficulty,  that wars are not in progress, and  that major  economies, even  countries are flirting with bankruptcy.   Let's ignore the weather which is haywire,  wreaking havoc upon the land  with unmitigated flooding, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, forest fires, and drought world-wide. Let's forget that we can't afford to take a wonderful vacation to an exotic land.
While we're at it, let's totally  ignore petty, corrupt politicians,  stuffed-shirts,   the self-entitled, the talking heads on television, and the  at-times sordid lives of  Charlie  What's-his-face  and So-So GaGa  in Hollywood .
Let's focus on life's little successes instead.  Let's talk about growing things.  Why?  Let's explain.   WE think happier is better. 

My friend Glory Lennon is a happy person. She is a wonderful  writer, blogger, and novelist,  but her blog "Glory's Garden" ( http://glory-garden.blogspot.com/ ) seems to be her happy  place. She grows things. She's an expert gardener,  she is knowledgeable.  She knows that day lilies don't have bulbs,  she knows what thistles are, even big ones;  she has two green thumbs,  and best of all, she  is always happy to help others with their gardening and floral  greenery challengerium.
  Glory may well  be the very zeitgeist of gardens, and doesn't charge  wampum for advice  or tips on how to grow stuff in front of your wigwam either.   No matter.  The point is,  I have been enjoying reading her blog for well over a year now,  that's longer than one growing season in gardening talk.  Good thing.  Things sink in slowly.   Let's not lose focus now, remember, patience is good, and persistence pays.
   
Back in 1994  I planted a skinny  McIntosh apple tree. It was a mere whip,  about 15 " high, no branches, and the size of a very skinny brown  pencil.  Despite my advanced gardening skills and encouragement, annual examinations and talking to  it,   in all this time (yep, seventeen years, threats and all )  it never grew more than 5' high, hm....actually it may  not even be  quite that high.

It is still not much more than an inch in diameter.  Stunted.  Height challenged. Anemic looking.  Nary a blossom.   A  potential Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  Sans vitamins or something.   Last year was definitely the last straw, time to cut it down.  Not so fast, gardening guy.   There's only one thing we hate around here  more than  wimps and quitters, and that's apple-tree-chopper-downers.  Apples, the fruit of the Gods and all that. 


The optimism in Glory's Garden  must have rubbed off on me.  "One more year...I'll GRAFT it."  I said, almost changing my mind,  the old fingers just itching to grab the axe.

THIS very spring, a few months ago,  while it was still looking leafless,   I was going to reverse direction again,  hack it down, and even made a cut on the base as I started to do so.    I  changed my mind at the last second.  It must have been the zeitgeist whispering.

Instead,  I studiously grafted a twig  (scion, that's apple talk)  from a producing "Sweet Sixteen" apple onto a  nipped-off handy branch, that would be  any arbitrarily chosen branch close to the trunk.   The theory is if a branch graft  will grow, you can eventually hack off  (in civilized terms, reduce)  the rest of the OLD tree and convert the whole thing to the new species.   Not a bad plan, since   I have had marginal to fair and reasonable to  erratic success grafting.   Out came the grafting knife and black tape.  A simple wedge graft. Match up the cambium ( that's the green stuff under the bark). That's how you do it. Crank it up with tape to seal it so no sap can escape.   Sap  has to go up into the graft  when the buds start growing.  All that sipping-sap makes it grow.
Well, that's the theory.

For the longest time the graft looked like a dud, completely hopeless.  A skinny stick with one end stuck in black tape.  No leaves.  Dried up buds.  Dead, falling off, and threatening to dry up completely.  The bark was even  beginning to wrinkle.  I clipped off  the top end of the graft stick  (scion, remember-- to real apple guys )   and sealed that cut  too.  

Nothing happened for a month, and the rest of the tree came into it's usual wimpy leaves, so in disgust,  I thought the best strategy was to simply ignore the whole tree for the season,  disassociate my hurt feelings and gardening soul from it, take revenge and viciously hack it down in the fall --after the  leaves dropped.
It's easier to do when the tree is 18 years old,  the age of majority for apple trees. Besides, in the fall, most trees look like  dead sticks without leaves  --much easier for sensitive  gardeners to hack down.   The  "chop it down with something , anything *sharp and get a real tree " concept came to mind.   (  THE *axe was indeed looking very tempting  at the time )

Surprise...I could not believe my eyes.  Three months later, a.k.a.  a few days ago, I discovered  the graft was not only growing, but it has  blossoms.  Apple blossoms.   That would be right, since the stick (scion)  I stuck on there wasn't from a spruce or poplar tree.  Success.    I held my breath. Are we there yet? A real dual- apple tree?

  Even  more confusing, the whole  tree began to grow like never before--putting on at least a foot of height.  The leaves are  now dark green, lush --  and healthy.   Why?  Grafting?   It's looking good!   I'll have a dual-species tree --if the original tree ever decides to blossom.

Maybe I half scared it to death with that sharp chopper. Maybe it just wanted extra encouragement, or company,  being an old tree and such.  No, it can't be.
I know.  I think the zeitgeist from  Glory's Garden  took over and  influenced it.  They can do that, you know.  I'll ask her.   She'll know.

that's my story and I'm sticking to it.