A LONG, LONG PAUSE

It's been way too long since I posted.....The last post was prior to our September 17-18 show, and since that time, it seems that I've either been too busy or too uninspired. First of all, I need to say that our show was just beautiful! We had great attendance, our best judging teams ever, and some of the most amazing dahlias that we have ever had. We had great participation by team members, with most people volunteering hours of their time, as well as food and hospitality for our Federation judging teams.

I think one of the reasons it has taken me so long to catch my breath is that, for some reason, this year's show seemed like about 10 times as much work as last year's show. I suspect that reason might be our desire to raise the bar, making our show more professional and more polished looking. I think, also, that as we become more seasoned growers, we are more competitive when deciding what to exhibit, and less satisfied with mediocrity. Raising the bar has consequences, and several of us experienced a higher level of stress than in the past. There are so many little things that go into putting on a show, and having experienced the process this year, I think we learned a lot of things that will make it easier next year. My home is also the repository for a lot of show paraphernalia, such as ribbons, trophies, shelving, office supplies, books, forms, files, tables and various and sundry items essential for the physical space of a show. I am only now (a few days before Thanksgiving) getting my dining room cleared out, by moving these things into storage.

Digging, dividing and storing tubers has taken my energy recently......I will post more about that later....