Life is a little more subdued this week. The passing of Jeff Woodward leaves many folks with an emptiness that will take forever, if not longer, to fill. I don’t remember when I first met Jeff. It was probably at Alamosa Sporting Goods many years ago. It could have been at the Sunshine Festival when he would bring down the Snoshack—that would have been the mid 70’s. More than likely it was the connection to the Early Iron Festival. So many years ago.

Jeff was a fixture in our community. He was a leader. He got things done. He served many years on the Tourism and Marketing Board. He was active in his church. Above all, family came first. He will be missed! We all have this void, this emptiness that is hard to explain. And understand.

I talked before about hindsight. In hindsight, I’m thinking the Motorways Building should have gone to the Early Iron Club. I don’t know what happened. I know it was rough on Jeff and an entire group of people. I do believe that if the Early Iron Club had gotten that building, it would have already been something! It would have been something good for our community, really good. As a community, we made a mistake. I’m not sure who is/was responsible. Maybe we should revisit the original proposal and ask ourselves, “why not them”? Just my opinion!

Jeff will be missed greatly at this year’s Early Iron Festival—the 38th annual event. Everyone will certainly miss Jeff as the DJ in the trailer. His booming voice. His excitement. His love of cars. There will no doubt be many tears shed over this Labor Day weekend. Rest in Peace, Jeff. No one will fill your shoes. But we will try. We will try to live up to your goodness. Thank you for the inspiration.

Back to gardening. I actually trimmed the wild yellow roses in Mom’s Garden this week. I will probably trim them down some more, because I am already seeing some new growth, in just a couple of days.  It’s nice to see the ASU sign. The worst part about trimming these shrubs is knowing that when you trim the top, you promote root growth—yikes! I will be digging starts for anyone looking for a shrub that grows with next to no water, has beautiful yellow roses in early June, and has thorns, so needs a wide berth. I gladly dig, but kindly ask, and appreciate, for a donation to my charity funds. 

Speaking of donations, in a roundabout way, I got a donation from Nora Holmes’ family. I have always said that when I grow up, I wanted to be like Nora. When you see me dying my hair, all kinds of different colors, you will know that I have arrived. I will be planting a couple of rose bushes in Nora’s memory and will also be able to add six bales of the Soil Conditioner I brag about, to Mom’s Garden. I will smile and laugh as I remember Nora, and I will know that she has welcomed Jeff to the group of angels.

I also got my Hollyhocks cut back. This was not easy to do, as they were still blooming lightly. I just couldn’t stand it anymore. All I had to do was think of the mess from the seeds, and that was enough to make me go forth and conquer. Next to the hollyhocks, we also cut and pulled down one of my Hops vine. Also hard to do, but it had developed rust and was turning an ugly color so decided to hack away.  Hoping I get some new vines growing that I can share with folks on my list. And this will also allow me to start painting the trim on the store (because I don’t have enough to do).

I am sincerely hoping that you are working on your lawn and making it as healthy as possible. Digging up the sod and putting down gravel doesn’t have to be the answer. It really doesn’t. If your soil/lawn are healthy and taken care of in the proper ways, you can water less. Honestly, you can. I am as busy as the next person, but if you need advice, give me a call, or come by the Green Spot and I will try and make a visit to your house. I will try. We need to keep the grass.

If everybody takes their grass out, and puts down rock, do you realize the temperature could rise 10 degrees? If you don’t believe me, spread your blanket on a bed of gravel and see how nice it is having a picnic. Is it hot? Are your grandkids loving playing on the rocks? Can they run around barefoot? Think about it.