David and Kyle Benjamin
PeeTee, our Trumbull Carolina Dog
Best of breed, best of show at the nursery dog show, a fictional event.
This is the one and only selfie I have ever, will ever take, don't want to fall backwards off a cliff to a preventable, unfortunate, and untimely death.
That's “Little Kid” on my left. He is in high school now and no longer likes that name- don’t know if he ever did actually. Many people ask if he is "the Next Generation" in the nursery and to that, I say emphatically "NO." This business ain't what it used to be. Its really really seasonal, something that allows for lots of surfing in the winter but man cannot live on surfing alone. Summers are now intolerable (‘18 not too bad), with extreme heat, blazing sun, extended droughts, something that didn't used to be but is now, and will only get much much worse no matter what our fearless and all-knowing leader tRUMP says. I have no polite words to describe that semi-human, environment-destroyer.
I went to N.C. State University on a swimming scholarship and intended to major in forestry because I like being outside, then switched to horticulture. Didn’t put much long-long term thought into it. Nursery work is HARD WORK. I have lots of classmates who live pretty easily, but I know the grass is always greener. I’m outside all the time, all year long, and I guess I got what I was looking for after all.
I have advised Kyle that he is going to have to do something profitable and fun for a living instead of being in the nursery business, like being a frontal lobotomist. Customers never get mad after you provide the service, and there is an endless supply of people in this world who really need that operation!
None of the family members who used to work here work here any more, they skedaddled off to far corners of the globe, but June Beney, and Edgar share the fun toil here with me as well as seasonal help.
With the departure of my family members and changes in the nature of today’s economy goes the diversity in the garden center. We no longer have a flower shop or a Christmas shop. Our garden center offers the essentials but the trinkets and the chemicals disinterest me. I’ve turned away from offering homeowners every chemical known to man because I do not believe in that way of life anymore, and try to sell instead a more sustainable outdoor lifestyle for cohabitation with Mother Nature. There can be a balance between a nice property and coexisting with mother nature’s other creatures.
If we don’t learn to ignore Home Depot ads, Monsanto, Bayer, Ortho, etc, we are in trouble as a species. Those profitable companies have distributed millions of tons of environment-wrecking lawn and garden chemicals, and have made millions and millions of dollars at the expense of our insect, bird, amphibian, native plant and small mammal populations.
Do you ever think that they will ever acknowledge and apologize for their contribution to the decline of our cohabiting animal/plant life partners on this planet? HELL NO THEY WONT.
I am uniquely suited with my education and decades in this business to help homeowners find the balance of cohabitating with nature and having a nice property. I’m hoping that there are tons of other people like me to help people undo mass market brainwashing. It’s really really important to stop applying chemicals of all kinds to your lawn.
My lawn is HUGE and after years of putting on this chemical and that, I’ve given up. Extended droughts and daily blazing sun crinkle it into oblivion, and it just got to the point where I realized that it was an uphill battle. Just not worth it. So, where it’s green and nice, it’s green and nice. Where the soil is thin and the grass struggles, the weeds take over. Weeds like clover that flower low all summer supporting hundreds of insects like someone’s honey bees (native honey bees are extinct). It’s green and tough, so clover is fine by me!
Connecticut DEP is sluggish at best in regulating horrible chemicals, don’t know why. We used to sell TO HOMEOWNERS an agent orange cousin, DDT, CHLORDANE...... slowly, at the pace your fingernails grow, these shitty chemicals were outlawed. Get this- we STILL manufacture them and ship them abroad- how twisted is that??? Brazil is a big customer. Note to self- don’t buy Brazilian orange juice. They apply chemicals there we don’t allow here, and the chemicals are absorbed by food shipped back to America.
Funny how we have been brainwashed into thinking that we need to kill every insect that we see. Summer of ‘18 news reported a 75% decrease in the insect population since 1970 (90%in Germany)! Anyone with a tenth of a brain can figure out how this changes our lives. Less insects=less of all other kinds of life. What do we do??? I think it’s too late. I have already noticed less birds chirping in spring. Chickadees, barn swallows... they aren’t around in the same numbers like the old days. Does this bother the crap out of you?
We need to Vote republicans out of office- they stonewall democrat’s attempts at regulation saying it’s too costly. Really??? I wonder what they will say when Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” really arrives?
I have no apologies for sprinkling my distaste and utter hatred for tRUMP and republicans on this website as my love for the climate, the environment, and civic politeness by far outweighs that cowardly political party. When will America be America again?
We need to repair our thinking- Americans don’t, as a whole, care about nature and the beasts large and small who share this place with us.
We need insects- all of ‘em. It took Mother Nature millions of years to design them, and it’s taken mankind a few dozen years to exterminate them.
Funniest thing is, ironically, that the world’s most hated chemical, Roundup, is my favorite. I use it almost daily with total disregard for everything you have read in the news.
You are NOT SUPPOSED TO:
breathe roundup
drink roundup
get it on your skin
spray it on crops you are going to eat
conclusion: if you adhere to the above, what’s the problem???
Ohhh, it’s bad for the environment you heard?
BULLSHIT.
Roundup is NOT supposed to be sprayed into the water!
Roundup sticks to organic matter and does NOT leach into groundwater!
Roundup has no residual in the soil.
Roundup decomposes in about a week, eaten by soil microbes.
Within a week or two, weeds start growing again as if you never sprayed it at all.
Im highly educated in this industry and the kinds of virulent commentators postulating on roundup have been stirred up by lawyers looking to make big bucks off lawsuits. If, after reading this, you still abhor the concept of using roundup, go get the second best alternative- a pick and shovel, because that’s really the only alternative, not a good one.
There is ONE good objection to roundup that is true, though. Weeds killed with roundup that insects rely on for food reduce available sources of nutrition. How much roundup do I sell? Almost none.
That's “Little Kid” on my left. He is in high school now and no longer likes that name- don’t know if he ever did actually. Many people ask if he is "the Next Generation" in the nursery and to that, I say emphatically "NO." This business ain't what it used to be. Its really really seasonal, something that allows for lots of surfing in the winter but man cannot live on surfing alone. Summers are now intolerable (‘18 not too bad), with extreme heat, blazing sun, extended droughts, something that didn't used to be but is now, and will only get much much worse no matter what our fearless and all-knowing leader tRUMP says. I have no polite words to describe that semi-human, environment-destroyer.
I went to N.C. State University on a swimming scholarship and intended to major in forestry because I like being outside, then switched to horticulture. Didn’t put much long-long term thought into it. Nursery work is HARD WORK. I have lots of classmates who live pretty easily, but I know the grass is always greener. I’m outside all the time, all year long, and I guess I got what I was looking for after all.
I have advised Kyle that he is going to have to do something profitable and fun for a living instead of being in the nursery business, like being a frontal lobotomist. Customers never get mad after you provide the service, and there is an endless supply of people in this world who really need that operation!
None of the family members who used to work here work here any more, they skedaddled off to far corners of the globe, but June Beney, and Edgar share the fun toil here with me as well as seasonal help.
With the departure of my family members and changes in the nature of today’s economy goes the diversity in the garden center. We no longer have a flower shop or a Christmas shop. Our garden center offers the essentials but the trinkets and the chemicals disinterest me. I’ve turned away from offering homeowners every chemical known to man because I do not believe in that way of life anymore, and try to sell instead a more sustainable outdoor lifestyle for cohabitation with Mother Nature. There can be a balance between a nice property and coexisting with mother nature’s other creatures.
If we don’t learn to ignore Home Depot ads, Monsanto, Bayer, Ortho, etc, we are in trouble as a species. Those profitable companies have distributed millions of tons of environment-wrecking lawn and garden chemicals, and have made millions and millions of dollars at the expense of our insect, bird, amphibian, native plant and small mammal populations.
Do you ever think that they will ever acknowledge and apologize for their contribution to the decline of our cohabiting animal/plant life partners on this planet? HELL NO THEY WONT.
I am uniquely suited with my education and decades in this business to help homeowners find the balance of cohabitating with nature and having a nice property. I’m hoping that there are tons of other people like me to help people undo mass market brainwashing. It’s really really important to stop applying chemicals of all kinds to your lawn.
My lawn is HUGE and after years of putting on this chemical and that, I’ve given up. Extended droughts and daily blazing sun crinkle it into oblivion, and it just got to the point where I realized that it was an uphill battle. Just not worth it. So, where it’s green and nice, it’s green and nice. Where the soil is thin and the grass struggles, the weeds take over. Weeds like clover that flower low all summer supporting hundreds of insects like someone’s honey bees (native honey bees are extinct). It’s green and tough, so clover is fine by me!
Connecticut DEP is sluggish at best in regulating horrible chemicals, don’t know why. We used to sell TO HOMEOWNERS an agent orange cousin, DDT, CHLORDANE...... slowly, at the pace your fingernails grow, these shitty chemicals were outlawed. Get this- we STILL manufacture them and ship them abroad- how twisted is that??? Brazil is a big customer. Note to self- don’t buy Brazilian orange juice. They apply chemicals there we don’t allow here, and the chemicals are absorbed by food shipped back to America.
Funny how we have been brainwashed into thinking that we need to kill every insect that we see. Summer of ‘18 news reported a 75% decrease in the insect population since 1970 (90%in Germany)! Anyone with a tenth of a brain can figure out how this changes our lives. Less insects=less of all other kinds of life. What do we do??? I think it’s too late. I have already noticed less birds chirping in spring. Chickadees, barn swallows... they aren’t around in the same numbers like the old days. Does this bother the crap out of you?
We need to Vote republicans out of office- they stonewall democrat’s attempts at regulation saying it’s too costly. Really??? I wonder what they will say when Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” really arrives?
I have no apologies for sprinkling my distaste and utter hatred for tRUMP and republicans on this website as my love for the climate, the environment, and civic politeness by far outweighs that cowardly political party. When will America be America again?
We need to repair our thinking- Americans don’t, as a whole, care about nature and the beasts large and small who share this place with us.
We need insects- all of ‘em. It took Mother Nature millions of years to design them, and it’s taken mankind a few dozen years to exterminate them.
Funniest thing is, ironically, that the world’s most hated chemical, Roundup, is my favorite. I use it almost daily with total disregard for everything you have read in the news.
You are NOT SUPPOSED TO:
breathe roundup
drink roundup
get it on your skin
spray it on crops you are going to eat
conclusion: if you adhere to the above, what’s the problem???
Ohhh, it’s bad for the environment you heard?
BULLSHIT.
Roundup is NOT supposed to be sprayed into the water!
Roundup sticks to organic matter and does NOT leach into groundwater!
Roundup has no residual in the soil.
Roundup decomposes in about a week, eaten by soil microbes.
Within a week or two, weeds start growing again as if you never sprayed it at all.
Im highly educated in this industry and the kinds of virulent commentators postulating on roundup have been stirred up by lawyers looking to make big bucks off lawsuits. If, after reading this, you still abhor the concept of using roundup, go get the second best alternative- a pick and shovel, because that’s really the only alternative, not a good one.
There is ONE good objection to roundup that is true, though. Weeds killed with roundup that insects rely on for food reduce available sources of nutrition. How much roundup do I sell? Almost none.
Scholars and intellectuals are bringing environmental eradication to light but without a caring and valid government being a part of conservation it is probably wishful thinking to believe that a small percentage of the population can turn things around. IT CANT, but it’s our only option.
Insects are complex complicated live bots. The best we have been able to make to mimic them is drones operated remotely. If humans desired to design, create, patent, then manufacture an insect using state of the art technology, our bug would die the first day outside, suffering a painful death as some wasp neutralized it and flew our bug back home to feed Junior.
LINK TO AN INTERESTING ARTICLE:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/11/science/bees-pollinators-insects.html?action=click&module=Discovery&pgtype=Homepage
Insects are complex complicated live bots. The best we have been able to make to mimic them is drones operated remotely. If humans desired to design, create, patent, then manufacture an insect using state of the art technology, our bug would die the first day outside, suffering a painful death as some wasp neutralized it and flew our bug back home to feed Junior.
LINK TO AN INTERESTING ARTICLE:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/11/science/bees-pollinators-insects.html?action=click&module=Discovery&pgtype=Homepage
The article blames global warming, but it also might be environmental pollution everywhere.
Link to article:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/15/insect-collapse-we-are-destroying-our-life-support-systems
We all caused this problem, and we gotta fix it or we as a planet are doomed.
Link to article:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/15/insect-collapse-we-are-destroying-our-life-support-systems
We all caused this problem, and we gotta fix it or we as a planet are doomed.
FEB NPR article link:
The bad bad news just keeps coming every week!
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/02/18/694301239/massive-loss-of-thousands-of-hives-afflicts-orchard-growers-and-beekeepers
The bad bad news just keeps coming every week!
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/02/18/694301239/massive-loss-of-thousands-of-hives-afflicts-orchard-growers-and-beekeepers
Bottom line is that insects MATTER!
Insects are really creative! I found this tiny mud cask invented by some art-loving insect- looks like they use it either for raising Junior or for storing “Bug Juice” for weekends. It was stuck under an overhang on one of the machines.
When will average Americans start to care about their surroundings- surroundings that include something more alive than nice weather and beautiful sunsets? When will Mother Nature become more valuable to us than shallow possessions and technology? Never I believe, and the sad truth to this belief is that if there ever is a point in time when most of us give a shit about our environment, it will be too late to save it.
https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/02/11/health/insect-decline-study-intl/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/02/11/health/insect-decline-study-intl/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Sorry for the distraction- BACK TO “ABOUT.....”
A sleeping Carolina dog keeping my kid comfy. She's a great store greeter
Peetee frolicking on my irrigation/ice hockey pond a month or so after she smiled her way into our car.
When Lucy died (15 yo yellow lab) I asked two veterinary friends what kind of dog to get for long life and few medical problems...1/12,000 of a second later both replied “GET A MUTT.”
Mutt-hunting I went. and now there is a mangy critter running freely on our property- brings life and interest to our nursery. She is really cool looking.
So many people asked what kind of dog she was so I took her to one of the vet-friends who took three gallons of blood with test coming back “basset hound!”
When I was done shredding the $200 test results I found on the internet pictures of “American Dingo...” looked just like her-almost.
So that’s what I say she is.
When Lucy died (15 yo yellow lab) I asked two veterinary friends what kind of dog to get for long life and few medical problems...1/12,000 of a second later both replied “GET A MUTT.”
Mutt-hunting I went. and now there is a mangy critter running freely on our property- brings life and interest to our nursery. She is really cool looking.
So many people asked what kind of dog she was so I took her to one of the vet-friends who took three gallons of blood with test coming back “basset hound!”
When I was done shredding the $200 test results I found on the internet pictures of “American Dingo...” looked just like her-almost.
So that’s what I say she is.
Her name is Peetee (after little rascals pit bull). She is a rescue dog and we believe most of her genes are from the native Carolina dog/American dingo, a breed discovered surviving in packs in the Deep South woods. DNA test results showed 100% Siberian strains. This led scientists to surmise that this breed accompanied arctic wanderers into America when the glaciers melted 15,000 years ago.
She is not purebred, she is a mongrel, with spoonfuls of other breeds sprinkled in here and there. Her mom liked to party on the streets of some Virginia city and was picked up by the "Tails of Courage" rescue located in Danbury.
I had reserved a Black Lab named Amy, said I'd be there in an hour, and by the time I got there they had sold Amy. My kid asked if he could pick up the squirming half breed- the only puppy left in the joint, and because I did not know the puppy-pick-up-rule, I said yes. For those of you who do not know the "puppy-pick-up-rule," it states the following, and I quote directly from Wikipedia:
"Never ever allow a child to pick up, smell, hold, caress, or otherwise google and fawn over an unclaimed puppy less than eight weeks of age unless you are willing to own said dog for the rest of it's life, which could be as long as 12-16 years."
If you are looking for an excellent companion and family member, give one of these a try. It's hard to say she is the best dog I've ever had without hurting the memory of all the others (Heidi, Fritzie, Rusty, Hilda, Beedie, Hazel, Lucy), but that sentence has almost escaped my lips on a couple of occasions (sorry guys!).
She is not purebred, she is a mongrel, with spoonfuls of other breeds sprinkled in here and there. Her mom liked to party on the streets of some Virginia city and was picked up by the "Tails of Courage" rescue located in Danbury.
I had reserved a Black Lab named Amy, said I'd be there in an hour, and by the time I got there they had sold Amy. My kid asked if he could pick up the squirming half breed- the only puppy left in the joint, and because I did not know the puppy-pick-up-rule, I said yes. For those of you who do not know the "puppy-pick-up-rule," it states the following, and I quote directly from Wikipedia:
"Never ever allow a child to pick up, smell, hold, caress, or otherwise google and fawn over an unclaimed puppy less than eight weeks of age unless you are willing to own said dog for the rest of it's life, which could be as long as 12-16 years."
If you are looking for an excellent companion and family member, give one of these a try. It's hard to say she is the best dog I've ever had without hurting the memory of all the others (Heidi, Fritzie, Rusty, Hilda, Beedie, Hazel, Lucy), but that sentence has almost escaped my lips on a couple of occasions (sorry guys!).
Newtown historical society, located on land my ancestor bought from the Indians in the 1600s.
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The very top of the hill in Newtown, Connecticut, right next to the flagpole.
Rumors persisted in our family for years that my ancestors were among the first settlers in Newtown Connecticut, confirmed Winter 2018.
The Sherman family (Samuel) bought one square mile from the Indians. I’m sure he ripped the Indians off.
“Hey, squeaking crow, I’ll trade you this pewter belt buckle for one square mile of virgin forest...” Squeaking Crow: “No, two pewter belt buckles.”
“Ok”
The Benjamin family settled in Stratford Ct. in 1632 and the Shermans arrived around the same time. The Benjamins shuffled off to Boston decades later and the Shermans were one of the first families to settle in Newtown Ct. and petition the "governor" for permission to charter the new colony. They were one of the seventeen founding families, but I feel they had the very best property, right at the top of the hill next to the famous flagpole (currently located right smack in the center of the intersection-BIZARRE!). Occasionally, unaware motorists drive directly into the pole ending their lives prematurely.
What I find most unusual is that neither of my parents were born in Connecticut. Dad is from upper state NY, and Mom was born in New Mexico. They moved to Newtown in 1976 and never knew the details of our family history while living here.
Additionally, I find it extremely uncanny that I have basically an agricultural business (that's what my ancestors did) 400 years later halfway between both towns when nobody from either family has lived here for hundreds of years! Because the nursery is on the road that connects both towns, I am sure that the Shermans rode their horses past this property on their way to Newtown. Also, because there could not have been too many people in Stratford Ct in the 1630s, I am absolutely positive that the two families knew each other. I wondered if they liked each other, were friends, or cared not for each other’s company... "Hey Ebeneezer, top of the day to you!" “Go to hell, Sherman!”
Check out your family history if you haven't already!!!
The Sherman family (Samuel) bought one square mile from the Indians. I’m sure he ripped the Indians off.
“Hey, squeaking crow, I’ll trade you this pewter belt buckle for one square mile of virgin forest...” Squeaking Crow: “No, two pewter belt buckles.”
“Ok”
The Benjamin family settled in Stratford Ct. in 1632 and the Shermans arrived around the same time. The Benjamins shuffled off to Boston decades later and the Shermans were one of the first families to settle in Newtown Ct. and petition the "governor" for permission to charter the new colony. They were one of the seventeen founding families, but I feel they had the very best property, right at the top of the hill next to the famous flagpole (currently located right smack in the center of the intersection-BIZARRE!). Occasionally, unaware motorists drive directly into the pole ending their lives prematurely.
What I find most unusual is that neither of my parents were born in Connecticut. Dad is from upper state NY, and Mom was born in New Mexico. They moved to Newtown in 1976 and never knew the details of our family history while living here.
Additionally, I find it extremely uncanny that I have basically an agricultural business (that's what my ancestors did) 400 years later halfway between both towns when nobody from either family has lived here for hundreds of years! Because the nursery is on the road that connects both towns, I am sure that the Shermans rode their horses past this property on their way to Newtown. Also, because there could not have been too many people in Stratford Ct in the 1630s, I am absolutely positive that the two families knew each other. I wondered if they liked each other, were friends, or cared not for each other’s company... "Hey Ebeneezer, top of the day to you!" “Go to hell, Sherman!”
Check out your family history if you haven't already!!!
This house is across the street from the flagpole and the main church in Newtown. It was built by the Shermans and lived in for generations. The rear of this house was occupied by slaves. It is unclear if the slaves were Indians or "African Americans," but it certainly is a stain on my visualizations of my family's history.
My sister got married in the church you see in the picture, and nobody was aware at all of our family history in this town until today!
My sister got married in the church you see in the picture, and nobody was aware at all of our family history in this town until today!
Approximately 265 year old pitcher my mom gave me last week. She moved into a senior living place near Wilmington, NC. This pitcher was passed down from generation to generation eight or nine times.
The initials are “TK” for Thomas Knowlton, her ancestor.
Nobody ever asked who Thomas Knowlton was. When I got home with the pitcher, I looked it up.
I’ve loved this pitcher ever since I was a little boy.
You would love it too, if you were in our family, and saw it in various places from house to house. It’s easy to tell it’s REALLY OLD.
TURNS OUT, Thomas Knowlton was the very first American army ranger, the very first army intelligence officer, established during the Battle of Harlem in 1776, when he was shot in the back by the British troops attacking Manhattan.
Dont know your family history? Find out before your parents/grandparents die or are too old to tell you anything.
Dont know your family history? Find out before your parents/grandparents die or are too old to tell you anything.
The nursery was started as a roadside stand just after World War Two and grew into a much larger operation by the Wakeman family.
Sarah and Stan Benjamin bought the nursery from John and Charlie Wakeman with everyone chipping in to make the nursery operate smoothly. Stan ran the garden center and the office, Sarah ran the flower shop, and David operated the nursery/ landscaping. Sarah Benjamin worked to please people with anything and everything they needed help with. An inspiration to all in the customer service business.
The nursery specializes in trees, interesting conifers, perennials, shrubs, and all things needed for great landscapes. People come and walk around to see plants and trees growing naturally in settings that help them visualize how they can improve their own yards. Landscaping is like painting!
Lucy. One of the most loyal and loving dogs that ever roamed the earth. She came to work every single day. She trotted alongside the machines all day long till she was ten, then after that till noon until she was twelve. Then after that she would spend most of the day inside or lying in the sun welcoming people and wagging. We almost always tear up when looking at old pictures.
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Lucy, I will ALWAYS love you!!!
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