Thursday, April 16, 2009

One Big Mistake.

aaGarden 400

Since I was a Junior in High School when I moved to Florida way back in '82 (like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite), I had to visit the Guidance Counselor to figure out how to transfer my school history from Massachusetts to Florida, and then calculate the classes I needed to take to graduate from a Florida school. The Counselor made it known that my schooling in New England was stronger than what I was going to get in Florida, and that I only needed a few classes to graduate by the first quarter of my Senior year.

"Cool", I said.

So they gave me a list of classes to choose from, and on that list was a class that caught my eye.........French 1.

You see, where I lived in Western Massachusetts there's a nice little French population. I lived right on the Connecticut River near the Vermont border, and if you follow the river north through Vermont & New Hampshire (the Connecticut River is actually the boarder between the two states) all the way up to Canada you'll find yourself in French Canadian country.....Montreal, Quebec City, etc. You can actually listen to radio stations broadcast only in French in that area. So it was common in our school system for kids to take French as a language class requirement, and so I did......for 2 years. As in French 1 and then French 2. I should have been going into French 3 to continue my studies.

You must know that I was a terrible French student. Mostly C's & D's with a B- as my peak grade. Making matters worse, my French teacher, Mr. Routhier, had his son in my class who, obviously, was an A student. I was the antithesis of his son ,who spoke French like a Parisian. Needless to say I was also an annoyance to Mr. Routhier and he rode me hard for 2 years. So much so, that the only thing I can say in French to this day is....."Fermez la bouche, vous etes un cretin".........translation......."Shut your mouth, you're a moron". lol. Seriously.

So when I saw the French 1 class on the list I started to think......"Don't they know I've already had 2 years of French? Is this a test? Are they serious? They don't really know? If I'm able to take French 1 again.......I think....I think... I could do well. Will my old school tell the new school? Can I get this past my parents?...... If I check it and they say something, I'll just say I checked the wrong box.....yeah, that's what I'll do"

So I checked the box. (Routhier be damned!). I showed up to class and the teacher busted out the basics......la garcon (the boy), les femme (the woman), parlez-vous francais (do you speak french) and so on. Well! I was a master. Before long all the girls in the class surrounded me and were stunned at the ease in which I mastered the French language. Yes.....Mr. Routhier......I was a "star", an *A* student in French!

I never told anyone and nobody ever asked (my parents still don't know), but I was the best French 1 student in the history of Deland High School. How they ever overlooked such a thing I have no idea. Which brings me to my point.................

How I ever overlooked the need to have flowers around my garden to attract bees I have no idea. But I did. I'm like the Guidance Counselor and overlooked an easy, obvious issue. So I had to humble myself (if only I could humble that Routhier! lol!) and go to Lowe's to BUY some flowers and hope that I attract some bees to pollinate my squash before........the pickleworms get here! One big mistake.............. I won't make again.

38 comments:

  1. I had the same problem with my squash last year so I pollinated the flowers myself. First put on your black and yellow bee suit..then you take the stamen from the male flower and rub it in the female flour..you my friend, will have more squash than you ever thought possible.

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  2. I meant female flower, not flour..sheesh!!

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  3. Thanks Margaret.....although it sounds a little like husbandry to me......eww gross! lol! Just kidding.

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  4. You are so funny.......does your wife laugh all the time or just roll her eyes?

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  5. Actually.....her and the kids think I'm a wierdo!

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  6. Brilliant! Absolutely great blog, very well written and a pleasure to read! Birds do it, bees do it! LOL VN8

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  7. I hated french class. Being Canadian we have to take 5 years of it even though no one in hundreds of kilometers of us speaks french. After all those classes I really have no idea how to speak french but did pass some how.

    Always nice to have some blooms around. I have grown ornamental plants since I was really young, just the veggies that are new-ish to me.

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  8. See Dan, you know what I'm talking about! French is unknown in the US outside of the Northeast because, if I'm not mistaken, Quebec is the only Canadian province that's Frenchy. I will say though....I went to Quebec City on a field trip once, and it was beautiful. Very old school European/French.

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  9. Hi Dennis, http://www.sgaonline.org.au/info_companion_planting.html some light reading you might find interesting.

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  10. Pouvez-vous imaginer votre histoire affichée en Français chaque semaine? De ma part, je serais toujours à votre écoute.

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  11. Stew- Hey thanks.....very informative.


    Prospero- Oh boy.....what have I started? OK translation: "Can you imagine your posted history in French every week? On my part, I would always be one of your listeners." ????????

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  12. That's pretty good, Dennis. Actually, as you know, the translation is "My hovercraft is full of eels."

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  13. Thanks for sharing. Flowers are something I have been meaning to get around to. You bring up a great point, and it is appreciated. Thanks!

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  14. Where you in Mass again? I grew up in Williamstown. Did we go over this before? Probably. Oh, and by the way, the petunias will only last about another month down here, so don't feel bad if they croke on you. I hate the nurseries sell them this time of year. Stick with vinca, lantana and impatiens (in the deep, deep shade) when the weather heats up. Hope this helpful and not just annoying! ;D

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  15. Dennis, I need another blog! What do you have cooking? VN8 :)

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  16. Hi Dennis,
    I started my veggie garden last year right next to a perennial/annual bedding area so I didn't really bring in any other flowers except marigolds.

    This year when I expanded the veggie garden I made sure it was chocked full of all kinds of flowers... plus it is surrounded with 60' of blooming jasmine right now. I love the mix of flowers and vegetables.
    This morning I picked a basket of zuke and yellow squash.
    Hope you get your bees... and your squash.
    Meems @ Hoe and Shovel

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  17. WG- I'm from Montague, Mass. About 10 minutes from the Vermont boarder on the Conn. river.

    VN8- I'm back!

    Meems- I'm def. moving in the direction of adding flowers to my garden and even around my house......it's just that the veggies take priority right now.

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    Replies
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