5/20/2006My father passed away somewhat suddenly while Dory, Bryce and I were in Long Beach for a wedding on the 5th of this month. I received a call from my mother at about 8am the next day telling me that he had collapsed while alone in the Drive-In at night. The sherrif's deputy found him at about 1am. The details of his death I suppose are not so important, but his passing brings a whole set of issues to the forefront for my mom. She has been wanting to leave Boonville for a number of years but has been tied to the house by my father's unwillingness to budge from his groove.

My father had accomplished a major transformation of his yard in the last 20 years. I have to admit that I admire his tenacity and patience. He used no pesticides, herbicides or chemicals of any type. He watered his plants only once per week, any that did not survive were replaced by ones that could. He spent the first few years hauling truckload after truckload of organic matter in, mostly reclaimed straw and manure from the local fair. He bought almost no plants, planting only those that he traded from other gardeners, propagating them, along with interesting weeds that volunteered in his garden. I had taken to giving him all my castoff plants from the bonsai club in recent years which he considered to be treasures. In some strange way he had developed a style of his own which seems to be influenced by asian design. His favorite plants were chamaecyparus commonly known as false cypress, along with Japanese maple. These two groups of plants alone seem to lend an Asian feeling to the garden.

After returning from Long Beach Bryce and Dory and I headed up to spend a week helping my mom. I can't help but think that Bryce was more of a help than either of us. I found it somewhat disturbing how at home I felt in my fathers garden, where I could mentally place bonsai benches to adapt the garden to my own uses. Watering it is the one thing that evokes an emotional response most stongly; watering is the daily, or at least periodic, nurturing of the plants, so it was then that I was really stepping into my father's shoes. After we had a memorial which was attended by much of his family and many people from the local community I tried to consolidate my father's potted plants into a central location so that my mom's handyman could more easily water them. I took a few plants including his favorite laceleaf red maple tree in a pot. The funny thing is that this tree had actually been purchased by my brother while he was in high school. It sat next to the front door of the house until my mom had so many cats that they were starting to damage it. She allowed my father to move it into his garden to keep it from being killed and it became his favorite plant. I coached him a few times over the years to trim back the outer sections of the tree to make it a bit more lush in the center, and to water it more than his other plants since the leaves would become dessicated by the middle of the summer.

I also started the lengthy process of cleaning out his woodshop. Neither my brother or sister are interested in any of the tools, so they fall to me. I have been trying some woodworking for a couple years, many times as improvements for my house. But now I'm starting to make bonsai stands which are essentially miniature furniture.

Bryce's implant surgery has been scheduled for June 2nd, which is coming up really fast. Dory and I are a little nervous but have been assured that this is a very minor surgery and that there are almost never any complications. Here's hoping.


3/22/2006
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12/20/2005
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10/27/2005
10/8/2005
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8/26/2005
8/9/2005
8/1/2005
7/20/2005
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5/27/2005
5/1/2005
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3/24/2005
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2/5/2005
12/28/2004
11/29/2004
11/3/2004
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8/23/2004
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7/21/2004
7/2/2004
6/8/2004
5/4/2004
4/20/2004
3/28/2004
3/10/2004
2/10/2004
1/15/2004


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