Mike Corazzi
Masterpiece
Thank you, Carol. Toughest thing I've ever faced.
Time works though.
Am now with a great lady who was also widowed same year. Got lucky twice.
I Quit
- Thread starter one_bonsai
- Start date
Time works though.
Am now with a great lady who was also widowed same year. Got lucky twice.
Maybe something a little more thriving on neglect? I know plenty who collect cacti or rare succulents so that they can enjoy some greenery without everything dying if they are away from home for some weeks.
Good for you. Glad you got a second chance at love.Thank you, Carol. Toughest thing I've ever faced.
Time works though.
Am now with a great lady who was also widowed same year. Got lucky twice.
Orion_metalhead
Masterpiece
Better to quit if its not for you. The ability to recognize when something doesnt align with yourself is a sign of maturity.
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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Clearly if you want to keep bonsai and or orchids, you need to learn how to eliminate slugs and snails. There are snail and slug baits that will effectively poison these pests. I found I had to use these baits for the basement under lights orchid collection, and around the flowering bonsai kept outside. Learning pest control is essential in any horticultural hobby. Trying to help, not scold. I found "organic" methods were not effective once you had more than 3 trees, or 3 orchids. I routinely have several hundreds of orchids and at least 25 or so trees. I do have to resort to agro-chemicals.
Check out www.hummert.com if you don't have a source of agro-chemicals. They ship to all USA states.
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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My level of interest in bonsai goes up and down, I tend to post more on BNut when I don't feel like actually doing stuff to my trees. But over the long term, I have always had an interest in bonsai, since I was in high school. I did loose a tree I had been caring for for over 40 years some years ago. That set me back, considered dropping out entirely. But I stayed, I still have some trees I have cared for, for more than a decade, or two decades. Right now, most of my friends that I see in the real world are friends through the Milwaukee Bonsai Society or the Illinois Orchid Society. I've been involved in both hobbies so long, that at 68 years old, my hobbies have "become my life". Granted, my friends and I have all evolved our friendships to the point where we barely mention bonsai or orchids when we meet, but that is our common interest that got us together in the first place, it is our grounding point. Even if I got rid of all my trees, my friends would remain, and our common interest would at its core, be the trees. I don't see that changing for me. But I am lucky, through the two groups, the Milwaukee Bonsai Society and the Illinois Orchid Society, I met a handful of people in both groups that are truly special, worth my making the effort to keep them as life long friends. Actually I am not often seen at the general meetings of either society anymore, but almost weekly I am meeting up with someone from either of the two groups. So even if I gave up trees all together, my friends would still remain, and they are all "tree people" and or "orchid people".
Mikecheck123
Omono
I'm still in awe of Captain Joshua Slocum, who built a boat with his bare hands that he then sailed around the world totally alone. And oh yeah--when no one else had done that before.I admire people who have the skill to build something like this. I just make my own benches and they look like made by pair of blind monkeys tbh. Make a thread with more pictures of the process.
ABCarve
Masterpiece
Actually he rebuilt Spray, a 9 ton oystering fisherman.
Baku1875
Shohin
quitting feels so good tho!
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
This is actually an interesting subject that I am going to start a new thread on. "How to enjoy bonsai - and not make it a chore". Because I have felt the "burden" and only when I solved it could I go back to enjoying bonsai.
ShadyStump
Imperial Masterpiece
I'll be looking for it.
This is something that everyone has experienced, I'm sure.
Baku1875
Shohin
I find that in my stage of bonsai addiction, the sheer enthusiasm and joy behind the process of learning and discovery is fueling a lot of my work, but I can forsee a slowdown in that 'novice enthusiasm' and am trying to take measures to work smarter, not harder. . trying to avoid expanding my tree count beyond my ability to keep up with styling, pruning, watering, pest control. Also not adding too many high maintenance varieties that are not south florida friendly, using common sense techniques to reduce the need to water 3x a day in extreme heat like top dressing and humidity trays.
It truly is a bummer to see people publicly quitting though.
Mikecheck123
Omono
The thing that keeps me going: the trees are different every single day. How can you stop a story mid-way through?
Mikecheck123
Omono
...by going into the forest and cutting down trees.
It's not like he had a kit and instruction manual.
That looks like a fine little gaff rigged sloop!This quelled my itch. Just reminiscing. I keep wondering who is that young guy steering.
View attachment 485774
We're all Mad Here...🎩
Shohin
Another, which I'm sure has been discussed at some point, is how to get perfectionist-type people to actually work on material and just cut. I have tons of plants - a relatively expansive cactus collection, large agaves, and I put so much care into keeping them healthy that the frqrbof destroying one often prevents me from bonsai-ing...outside of the Engelmanns spruce I got from Nature's Way based on a recommendation from @Leo in N E Illinois to buy a tree in development, I wonder if I'm in the wrong arena, like, maybe I am just a plant keeper.
I watch Mirai videos, look at old Oki and Naka stylings, view threads...but in my mind, the expectation that I have for myself is that only the highest level of quality outcome should be achieved, but I know damn well that Ryan, Ben and John likely butchered their fair share.
It's a terrible position to be in, but at least I kept my trees, cut or not, alive through their first winter.
is it just me?
We're all Mad Here...🎩
Shohin
'Some' of the cacti...Another, which I'm sure has been discussed at some point, is how to get perfectionist-type people to actually work on material and just cut. I have tons of plants - a relatively expansive cactus collection, large agaves, and I put so much care into keeping them healthy that the frqrbof destroying one often prevents me from bonsai-ing...outside of the Engelmanns spruce I got from Nature's Way based on a recommendation from @Leo in N E Illinois to buy a tree in development, I wonder if I'm in the wrong arena, like, maybe I am just a plant keeper.
I watch Mirai videos, look at old Oki and Naka stylings, view threads...but in my mind, the expectation that I have for myself is that only the highest level of quality outcome should be achieved, but I know damn well that Ryan, Ben and John likely butchered their fair share.
It's a terrible position to be in, but at least I kept my trees, cut or not, alive through their first winter.
Dav4
Drop Branch Murphy
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My obsession with plants started with cacti when I was 12 years old. Over 40 years later, my parents still have 4 or 5 of them, alive and well.
ShadyStump
Imperial Masterpiece
Linking to @Bonsai Nut's new thread.
www.bonsainut.com
How to enjoy bonsai - and not make it a chore
I thought this might be an interesting discussion, because every now and then I hear of people who get frustrated with bonsai because it becomes too much work / too much stress. So I thought I would start a discussion about "how to ENJOY bonsai". My own personal experience includes: (1)...
one_bonsai
Shohin
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Great idea. When I started this thread I was hoping for a positive outcome like this that would make Bonsai a little more enjoyable for everyone
