Winter Gatherings in Chattanooga and Missouri

Hello Daylily Friends,

I went to the Mid Winter Convention on Friday afternoon, Feb. 6, 2015, but I returned home early the next day.  A week-end with Little Lily Rae was beginning, and I simply had to return home to be with her; I can't miss time with Lily Rae.  I had to personally bring an invitation to those attending the Mid Winter Convention to come to Atlanta for the National Convention in early June, 2015.  I showed the presentation prepared by the incredible Rita Buehner, and of course added as many additional thoughts as I could, subject to time limitations.  When I arrived in Chattanooga, I was so glad to again see my friends Elizabeth Trotter, who is Editor of the AHS E-Mail Newsletter, and Nikki Schmith, our AHS Vice President.  How do you like Nikki's new glasses?  I also was pleased to hear the presentation of Lucas Holman who spoke about new flowers that can enhance the daylily garden.  Lucas is a Tennessee high school Agriculture Teacher!

Then, last week-end, Feb. 13-15, 2015,  Diana and I were so privileged to participate in the program for Region 11 which was very close to Independence, Missouri.  Region 11 includes the states of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, and of course President Harry Truman is from Independence.  We were invited to come to speak at the Region 11 Winter Program by Michael Bouman, who is a very good friend.  Michael is the President of Region 11.  and we had the pleasure of riding from the airport to our hotel with Lois Hart as our escort.  Lois is the Representative from Region 11 on the AHS Board of Directors.  After we were settled in at the hotel, we all went and had a wonderful dinner; I had the "Pork Chops," which were delicious.

I also had the distinct honor of sitting across from Ms. Susan Dorris.  You never know for sure who you may meet at a daylily event, but as a Retired Attorney, I can't help but ask just a few questions.  It turned our that Susan is a highly educated Chemist who worked most of her adult life at Monsanto, which is an agricultural company that helps farmers all around the world.  Susan knows a great deal about "Colchicine," the chemical that I use to convert diploids to tetraploids.  Susan then began asking me questions about my "safety practices" when I use Colchicine.  She then drew on a napkin a glass/plastic housing unit that I should be using when I mix Colchicine and distilled water.  I'm showing a picture of what Susan drew for my understanding.  What a lady!  Then this distinct woman turned out to be a speaker at the Winter Program.  Diana and I listened to all of the programs, but I particularly enjoyed the "Round Table Discussion" led by President Michael Bouman.  The comments and questions were just lots of fun.  Its great to be in the world of daylilies, and meet so many interesting people.

I must also mention that our Cobb County Daylily Society is off to a great start for 2015.  Our new President, Steven Verner, got us off to a wonderful beginning.  I was asked to do the presentation for the meeting, and I did as Steven asked, I kept the presentation under 30 minutes.  I am hopeful that everyone enjoyed the progress I showed that has been made at the Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens.  Thanks Steven, and to all of our new officers.  We can guarantee you that if your come to the AHS National Convention on June 12-13, 2015, that you will have a great experience that you won't forget.

I must tell everyone about Little Lily Rae.  What a precious, precious child.  Only 3 years of age, and she was using Grandpa's binoculars to look at everything that she might want to see, "up close."  Earlier in the morning Grandma had washed her hair, and I couldn't believe my eyes.  Her hair was so, so beautiful.  It has rays of color that beauticians are paid to produce.  Her hair combined with her brown eyes, gives such a sight for the eyes to behold.  I just had to take a picture so that everyone could see what I saw.  We all must remember that when she was one and two years of age, her hair was not a dominate feature, but this has all changed.  Little Lily Rae's hair is glorious!

When we got up to go to Church on Sunday morning, Lily Rae was fully ready to go, when she asked her Grandma to trim a few of her fingernails.  Grandma has always done this when she arrives every two weeks on Friday, but she hasn't asked for a second trimming of her nails.  Nevertheless, she did this on Sunday Morning.  Grandma stepped in to help the Princess, and Sunday Morning with Lily Rae was a heavenly blessing.

Little Lily Rae is the best.