Of Rocks & Trees and Citrus & Quail

Of Rocks & Trees and Citrus & Quail

The world is in a funny place right now. I spoke to a friend of mine who lives in Vancouver. He reads my blog so I expect he will recognize himself. I recently called him. I spent four years on his board of directors. The company was a small public company traded on the LondonStock Exchange. We spent most of our time trying to figure out how to make the company work as intended even though the underlying investments were in companies that were not working at all. The last year was spent figuring out how to exit gracefully. While I am out of that game (at least with that board), he is still working the problem. I called him because my expert witness business has suddenly intersected with that world in a peripheral way. I am being considered for an expert witness role that would be against one of the ex-investors in that little LSE public company. Naturally, I have fully disclosed that intersection though I do not believe there is any conflict. In fact, the very matter involved in the case is an investment technique identical to that which was used for the investment in the LSE company. Interesting how worlds collide.

That Vancouver friend and his wife have become friends with Kim and I and we were saddened to learn six or eight months ago that their beloved dog had died. To say that we know how that feels seems trite today, but we do. They have chosen to get a new puppy, who they are diligently training to be an obedient house dog. When I asked how things were going for them during COVID, he sheepishly said that they are having the best time of their lives. That doesn’t sound like what anyone is supposed to say during a global pandemic, but it was honest. She is home and not working and he is home and not traveling, so they are able to spend more time together and work together with their dog’s training, something they both enjoy. I think it is more than OK to say you are enjoying your time during this set of unusual circumstances. Let’s face it, in most crises, some people are harmed and negatively impacted and some people are not. Some businesses fail and some businesses flourish. It is probably right not to be too boastful, but among friends I think its alright to express your joys and pleasures as well as your woes. In fact, I’ll bet people would rather hear good stories than bad ones. If they are true friends, they only want good things for you. And I was glad to hear that my Vancouver friends were getting past the loss of their last dog and getting on with their life with their new dog. It feels right.

Kim and I are getting through each day, not knowing what creates what feelings for us. There is the loss of Cecil, there is this horrible COVID-19 pandemic, which shows only signs of escalation not abatement, there is the inability to see family and friends as we wish, there is the racial unrest in the country that desperately needs to be addressed and is being used by Trump as a punching bag for his play to his dwindling but determined base, there is, of course, the underlying and overwhelming divisiveness in the country being fanned daily by our Commander-in-Chief, whose sights are riveted to his waning reelection prospects, and, of course, the normal push and pull of inching towards retirement.

What is getting us through these difficult days is a blend of hope for better days that we feel begin and slowly show improvements against several of those concerns starting in early November, and finding new ways to keep ourselves busy and amused and still at peace. We are doing everything we can about the former, lending assistance as we can for one of the chosen battleground states, specifically my childhood stomping-grounds of Wisconsin. It is common wisdom in this battle for Democrats to assume nothing since so much surprise was delivered in 2016 for that lack of vigilance and over-confidence. Nonetheless, with little or no policy imperatives other than normal human decency and the intelligence to adhere to facts and science rather than politics and greed, the Democrats are pulling well ahead of the Trump presidency, which has fewer and fewer square inches on which to stand on their eroding and decayed platform. The news comes in stronger and stronger and the only thing that gives the Republican ship of state even the vaguest of chances is the antiquated and dastardly undemocratic Electoral College.

But there is only so much of the day we can stay glued to the latest news dispatches, so for therapeutic purposes, when we are not forced to do work (me for my several business endeavors and Kim for the general keeping of the house and her cabaret community) we have chosen to work on our surroundings, which is to say our gardens. I have made it clear that I have an affinity for rocks of all sorts, which is good, since we are surrounded on this hillside by lots and lots of very big rocks. But now we have begun an interest in Bonsai trees. We have three now and plans for more. Specifically, I plan to plant several Bonsai out amongst the rocks in strategically positioned spots for our viewing enjoyment. That will include a large rock outcropping between the garage and house, which today I cleared out for planting. Whatever training of the trees will take place indoors before they are planted and then they will be maintained in-situ. I am actually quite excited by the prospects, which is a testament to my back-to-nature love of rocks and trees.

Kim likes the rocks and trees and seems pleased with the Bonsai plan, but her interests have run in a different direction. We have seven citrus trees between the house and garage (one kumquat, the rest lemon and orange). Kim has decided that she wants to make use of the citrus, so she is learning how best to tend to them and today was fertilizer day. The area between the garage and house has suddenly become a very busy place. It seems several family of quail have taken up residence in our lavender patch. We have seen baby quail of varying sizes in the vicinity and a growing flock of adult quail cooing away in the lavender and teaching their young to scavenge and avoid human contact. Kim has put out three plates of quail food and the program seems to be having its effect. Kim also reckons that as the spirit of Cecil, nosing around the citrus trees, fades, the quail will flourish.

So today, Kim and I have decided that our newest project is to make a remembrance garden for Cecil by recasting the space between the house and garage. The citrus will stay and the boulders will get their Bonsai as planned, but the pedestrian utility of the garbage bins and the back shed will be reoriented towards the far side of the garage. This will require some transplanting of two large succulents and replacing the shed (probably needed anyway). We have ordered the wooden benches and have found a local fountain maker, so our plans for Cecil’s Garden are well underway. This therapeutic activity will give us our daily exercise, give us our project enthusiasm, beautify our home, occupy us until November and help to heal our souls. Different people need different salves. For me and Kim that would be rocks & trees and citrus & quail.