Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Monday, December 12, 2022

Out Potted

 My father loved his toothpicks and my mother loved her plants,

I know these things seem diff’rent as can be. Yes, this, I’ll grant,

But here, they go together in a tale both fun—and short,

Though it includes some laziness…and slow death of a sort…

My mom had read that healthy plants from pineapples could grow,

By lopping off the tops and planting them in soil just so,

And so she tried it and viola! her pineapple grew strong,

Three times she had to re-pot it. (It didn’t take that long!)

And so it stood there proud and lush in a pot by Daddy’s chair,

Totally within arm’s reach—three feet from his…derriere.

One day, my mama noticed that her plant was looking grim,

The leaves were growing yellow and the shine was getting dim,

She fussed and fussed about her ‘child’, gave nutrients and such,

But all her fussing did not seem to help it very much.

Now Dad would sit enjoying after-dinner toothpicks (Yum?)

Chewing them to sawdust, indistinguishable from gum,

He’d hand them to an unsuspecting child who happened by,

To throw into the garbage, claiming they were much more spry,

But when no child appeared to take his little ball of ‘ick’,

He looked around to find a place to toss it, neat and quick,

And what was near whose shaggy leaves could hide his sorry deed?

Yes, Mother’s plant. Perhaps (who knew?) on sawdust it could feed?

So through those months, Dad’s toothpicks turned my mom’s plant into dust,

Maybe blocking nutrients. (Or reacting from disgust.)

It fin’lly died, was buried in the compost out in back,

Mom tried again a time or two, but never got the knack,

So I’ve one question for you all, and toothpicks, it’s about…

What’s in those beggers that we daily put into our mouths?

Cause Mondays do get knocked a lot,
With poetry, we all besought
To try to make the week begin
With gentle thoughts,
Perhaps a grin?
So KarenCharlotteMimi, me
Have crafted poems for you to see.
And now you’ve read what we have wrought…
Did we help?
Or did we not?

We will be back in seven days
Talking about our muffin craze!

Thinking of joining us for Poetry Monday?
We'd love to welcome you!
Topics for the next few weeks (with a huge thank-you to Mimi, who comes up with so many of them!)...

Poinsettia -or- Potted Plants (December 12) Today!

Muffins (December 19)
Candy Canes (December 26)
Treasure (January 2)
Stuffed animals (January 9)
Get lost (January 16)
Clocks (January 23)
Time (January 30)

11 comments:

  1. I thought you were going to say he was picking those thorny leaves off the growing pineapple and using them as toothpicks. No, you had a better ending.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Toothpick munching can be so annoying.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Poor little pineapple plant! Who knew?! ...Laurie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Shudder. My partner's mother actually grew a pineapple starting from the top of another one. It was small, but perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I always thought they tasted strange. Love, Chris

    ReplyDelete
  6. I tried several times, years ago, to grow a pineapple from the top. I got the pineapple plant to grow several times, but never tried to fertilize it with toothpicks. Yes, you have me wondering!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Pineapples in a pot, and a gruesome death for the poor plant. Stramge matter for a verse, but you did well! I saw live pineapples in Africa, and thought someone was pulling my leg by placing pineapples in big succulents in the garden, but it was the real thing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've grown many pineapple plants, but the harvest percentage is very low!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, dear. They probably treat the wood with something, or bleach it to make them all uniform in color.

    We need to do pineapples as a topic for poetry someday.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm wondering if the pot was just in the wrong place and not getting enough sunshine. The toothpicks certainly wouldn't have helped though.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting! Drop by again!

Real Estates: All Murders Included in the Price!

Real Estates: All Murders Included in the Price!
My FIRST murder mystery!

Blessed by a Curse

Blessed by a Curse
My very first Medieval Romance!

God's Tree

God's Tree
For the Children

Third in the series

Third in the series
Deborah. Fugitive of Faith

The Long-Awaited Sequel to Daughter of Ishmael

The Long-Awaited Sequel to Daughter of Ishmael
A House Divided is now available at all fine bookstores and on Amazon.com and .ca!

Daughter of Ishmael

Daughter of Ishmael
Now available at Amazon.com and .ca and Chapters.ca and other fine bookstores.

Romance still wins!

Romance still wins!
First romance in a decade!

Hosts: Your Room's Ready

Hosts: Your Room's Ready
A fun romp through the world's most haunted hotel!

Hugs, Delivered.

Compass Book Ratings

Compass Book Ratings

Ghost of the Overlook

Ghost of the Overlook
Need a fright?

My Granddaughter is Carrying on the Legacy!

My Granddaughter is Carrying on the Legacy!
New Tween Novel!

Gnome for Christmas

Gnome for Christmas
The newest in my Christmas Series

SnowMan

SnowMan
A heart warming story of love and sacrifice.

Translate

My novel, Carving Angels

My novel, Carving Angels
Read it! You know you want to!

My Second Novel: Kris Kringle's Magic

My Second Novel: Kris Kringle's Magic
What could be better than a second Christmas story?!

Join me on Maven

Connect with me on Maven

Essence

Essence
A scientist and his son struggle to keep their earth-shattering discovery out of the wrong hands.

Essence: A Second Dose

Essence: A Second Dose
Captured and imprisoned, a scientist and his son use their amazing discovery to foil evil plans.

Looking for a Great Read?

E-Books by Diane Stringam Tolley
Available from Smashwords.com

The Babysitter

The Babysitter
A baby-kidnapping ring has its eye on J'Aime and her tiny niece.

Melissa

Melissa
Haunted by her past, Melissa must carve a future. Without Cain.

Devon

Devon
Following tragedy, Devon retreats to the solitude of the prairie. Until a girl is dropped in his lap.

Pearl, Why You Little...

Pearl, Why You Little...
Everyone should spend a little time with Pearl!

The Marketing Mentress

The Marketing Mentress
Building solid relationships with podcast and LinkedIn marketing

Coffee Row

Coffee Row
My Big Brother's Stories

Better Blogger Network

Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis
I've been given an award!!!

The Liebster Award

The Liebster Award
My good friend and Amazing Blogger, Marcia of Menopausal Mother awarded me . . .

Irresistibly Sweet Award

Irresistibly Sweet Award
Delores, my good friend from The Feathered Nest, has nominated me!

Sunshine Award!!!

Sunshine Award!!!
My good friend Red from Oz has nominated me!!!

My very own Humorous Blogger Award From Delores at The Feathered Nest!

Be Courageous!


Grab and Add!

Search This Blog

Ghost of the Overlook

Ghost of the Overlook
Need a fright?