The Happy Gardener

This is my dad who is a lot happier about his abundant hanging baskets than he looks. In fact he is downright puffed up with pride and delight about them -- though you can't tell by the look on his face.

My dad is the CUTEST little thing. I always thought he looked a lot like a leprechaun. And most of the time he's cheerful and charming... accept with certain relatives, which makes loads of sense to me.

Daddy has been legally blind for some fifteen years -- he has macular degeneration from having spent 40 years in the sun with no eye protection. Yet he does his own cooking, cleaning, laundry and plant growing. Just in front of those baskets is a mighty impressive tomato plant -- and when the tomatoes are ripe he will pick them, peel them and can them. Another thing he does is volunteer at the local municipal building -- what we used to call Town Hall. He works real hard and flirts with all the secretaries and lady cops and anyone else who will laugh at his shenanigans.

He even does his own grocery shopping -- I drive, but he writes out his list which is only sometimes hard to read. Did I mention that he is 80.

We should all be this energetic.