[Friday – Ask the Experts] The Best, Smartest, Funniest and Only Plant Blog Panel of Experts Anywhere

Hello my dear planties, and happy Friday!

Welcome back to the Good To Grow site, and thanks for being here.

It’s been quite the week, so let’s just dive right in. We’ll start by saying hi to the Experts. Hi everyone!

 

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Liza!”

From left to right, that’s Andy Williams, Tim Thackaberry, EZ Ed Johnson, Dottie Correll and Lewis Casey. If you’d like to know more about them, please click here.

Here’s this week’s question:

Q. Would you please share a story about the fall season?

Expert Andy, please start us off

A. I love the Fall.  It is my favorite time of year.  Leaves changing.  Temperatures dropping noticeably almost on a nightly basis fueling more sleep.  And ah yes, the beginning of college basketball season.  Midnight Madness is nary a week away now.

I don’t really have any stories per se, but it is incumbent upon me to bring up a perpetual argument I have had with a few friends.  They, being hunters, have taken the position that the human females are driven by the same behaviors in the Fall as other mammals, such as deer and elk.  They claim that females begin preparation of mating, driven by both animalistic instinct as well as the pre-holiday season.  They claim to have experienced this human “rut” first hand on many occasions.  So, their theory is that mating heats up in the Fall for our ladies.

I, on the other hand, believe that the Spring/Summer transition increases the mating urge.  My theory is that the weather is warming, the sun is more prevalent and the body parts are more exposed due to fewer layers of garments and smaller creations out of thread, such as bikinis, my personal favorite fashion invention.  By this increased body exposure, attraction is kindled and potential mates begin to engage in more potentially promiscuous activities.  I shall not comment on the experiential nature of this theory other than obviously personal encounters shape our theories to begin with.

A. I love Fall. Football season (American and the real kind), temperature changes, back to school, elections: what’s not to love about Fall? Fall always reminds me of my first Homecoming in high school, taking Shannon on a real date. Life felt more…important back then, and Fall always takes me back to that to some degree.

As far as the schedule goes, I vote to go through October and take November & December off. But I’ll do whatever y’all want!

A. I don’t remember much about autumn.
Except the leaves. They fall, sometimes into creeks and are carried south. Sometimes they hover under a breeze before they settle on the honest ground.
I almost remember a harvest Kansas moon, so large it hid summer behind it.
And flowers not yet dried, winds not yet born, frost not yet formed.

————————

Liza here. So, I haven’t heard from Dottie or Lewis, which is a little odd (but maybe not, because they knew I would be working in Santa Fe all day). They may send in their entries later, so check back to see if I’ve updated the blog, which I can do within minutes of receiving their posts.

In the meantime, let’s admire their adorableness:

And wrap up this week’s Experts Panel.

Thank you fellas, I enjoyed your responses as usual. I appreciate you being here! And I enjoyed your fall stories!

We’re still working out the new Experts schedule, so I will let you know if they will be back next Friday. Chances are good, so everyone keep their fingers crossed!

Also, if you have questions for the Experts, please leave them in the comments section, or email them to me. I’m sure they would be interested in hearing from you.

Ok, let’s get to the puzzler:

???Real or Fake???

Last week, I asked if this flower was real or fake:

Let’s see how you answered:

Mr_subjunctive from Plants Are the Strangest People wrote, “I’m going to say fake, but a pretty good fake.”

Claude from Random Rants and Prickly Plants wrote, “That’s a damn good fake. Looks almost like a florist mum.”

Ivynettle from Letters and Leaves wrote, “Good try, but not good enough to fool us – fake!”

Joseph Brenner wrote, “100% real polyester.(B>{D>>”

Zach from Indiana wrote, “That’s a forgery and a sham if I’ve ever seen one!”

That’s five votes fake, zero votes real.

What’s the correct answer? Let’s take a wider view:

It’s a crappy phone photo, but hopefully you can tell that the flowers are FAKE!

I think the reason it was a little tricky is because mums are fairly simple looking flowers. I’m surprised that the makers of fake flowers don’t just always make them because they don’t look terrible. Why take on the Orchids of the world when you can concentrate on mums? (To be clear, I wish there were zero fake flowers in the world because I like the real ones so much better. Also, the fakes collect dust, are expensive and don’t have scents.)

Anyway, you all nailed it! Well done. I’m not surprised – you’re super smart with these puzzlers.

Mr_subjunctive, you were first with the correct answer, which makes you the best answerer. For being so speedy, you’ve earned the following title for the next week: Mr_Brainiac, Mr_Swiftest, Mr_Mr, Mr_Bestest, Mr_Crazy-Good-Knowledgeable-About-Houseplants, Mr_Fastest, Mr_Suave, Mr_Awesome, Mr_Charismatic, Mr_Numero Uno, Mr_Midwest, Mr_Witty, Mr_High Moral Character, Mr_I Beat Everyone Else, Mr_Grandest Champion of the Houseplant Blog Universe and Beyond.

So if you meet someone new in the next week, you should introduce yourself as Mr_Subjunctive Mr_Brainiac, Mr_Swiftest, Mr_Mr, Mr_Bestest, Mr_Crazy-Good-Knowledgeable-About-Houseplants, Mr_Fastest, Mr_Suave, Mr_Awesome, Mr_Charismatic, Mr_Numero Uno, Mr_Midwest, Mr_Witty, Mr_High Moral Character, Mr_I Beat Everyone Else, Mr_Grandest Champion of the Houseplant Blog Universe and Beyond. I’m sure that won’t be weird at all. Congrats! You may multiply all the prizes by Autumnal Awe. Nicely played!

Everyone’s a winner this week. To show my gratitude for you playing, I’d like to award each of you the following prizes: Several fall moments, one Cochiti Lake, chile rellenos, your own personal pile of Autumn leaves, two miniature Marginatas, four brass pinkies, 16 1/3 extra credit points, one Breaking Bad finale, lots of oohs and ahhhs, watermelon juice, 17 additional points, tango lessons, an A+, a shimmering moon, six cashews, one Poodle puppy, a bouquet of fall flowers, a voucher good for a free voucher, my sincere appreciation, and one more September weekend.

Congratulations, and thanks again for playing!

Up next, the new puzzler:

???Real or Fake???

Is this flower real or fake?

Think you know the answer, smartyplants? Leave your best guess in the comments section or on my facebook wall. You have until midnight next Thursday, October 3rd, MST (that’s 2a.m. EST) to cast your vote. I’ll reveal the answer and the winner(s) after next week’s panel of Experts. Remember, the prizes may be imaginary but the link to your site and the glory of winning are oh-so-real.

I’ll be back tomorrow, hope to see you here.