Hello, Friends. After being away for many months- I have returned with mixed feelings.
This past year- I underwent a cataclysmic divorce from my ex, which blew up our household and land holdings. In a sense- I lost (am losing) everything from that phase of my life.
I have moved back to Pennsylvania from where I originally hailed to be with friends and family, and to take a job in my career field here. My family or extended family owns properties in Scranton and Dunmore (Zone 6b) and also near Montrose (much colder). I spent the past year trying to re-locate as many of my plants as I could from Maryland to Pennsylvania to these various properties. Lots of items were lost, but I have been amazed by how much has survived. I am in the process of making an inventory of the survivors which I will eventually post on my profile.
This whole episode has been/ continues to be very challenging psychologically. My son, who is currently 7 years old, still lives in Maryland with his mother. I enjoy custody of him every other weekend, driving 8 hours just to host him for what are effectively 48-hour visits. I get him for longer periods in the summer. I love him so much. He is the best thing I have ever “grown.”
I continue to seek solace and therapy in growing fruit, vegetables, and other beautiful plants. I kept up the fight this past summer, on some of my mother’s property (formerly my late grandfather’s property) where she has one of her gardens (of which she allotted me a portion).
At the end of this post- You can see me holding a Georgia Rattlesnake watermelon I successfully grew (delicious; 24 pounds!). More posts and images hopefully to come.
My old handle “Matt_in_Maryland” will eventually be discontinued.
Now I will be known to you as “Matt_in_Pennsylvania.”
I have many fond memories of our chats and exchanges (and in-person visits!) over the past several years, and I hope to re-kindle that with you.
I apologize to everyone whose messages I failed to reply to these past several months. Please forgive me. I had a rough year. I will try to respond to those messages as I am able… and will be forging ahead into the usual projects in fits and starts. I will be severely limited in my ability to send scions for a while… but that might resume someday too, if the fates allow.
Please say hello by replying to this post. Don’t be a stranger. God bless you.
