Holy cow who would have thought that my love of backyard farming would create that very warm water bath that I have found myself in – not recently, but it has happened. This latest incident  was totally  unanticipated and unexpected! It started in an absolutely innocent fashion, simply and effort to continue to expand my gardening horizons.

How did it start? I was looking around for information on strawberries with “real” flavor. So many varieties in the commercial sector are bred more for looks, size and shipping. I found something that caught my eye. It is a strawberry cultivar that tastes a lot like a pineapple and aptly named the “Pineberry”. It is almost white when ripe, shaped like a strawberry and you pick it when the seeds turn red. See photo.

Pineberry image - can't wait to grow my own.

Pineberry image – can’t wait to grow my own.

Now how can this land you in hot water? I have been traveling quite a bit lately and falling behind on my blogging but always looking for something to ad to my garden. I ordered 50 seeds of this variety of “strawberry” and went on about my business. In fact I had nearly forgot about placing the order until this morning. I fly in from Midland, Texas last night, ran errands this morning and upon returning to the house my wife approached/confronted me with an envelope.  What had her much more than curious were the return address and the fact that the addressee portion – my name – was handwritten in very nice handwriting. The letter was sent from Brooklyn NY, and the “sendee” had a very Russian looking and exotic, at least from the perspective of my wife, name…..I will not publish the name but when I read the name I will have to admit it did conjure up an image of a very Russian “looking” female! – very “Katerina” like…

Kathy told me that she was very tempted to open the letter before I returned from my trip but resisted the urge. She brought the letter into the kitchen where I was dealing with some freshly baked squash and just stood there. Have been married to this beautiful and loving woman for over 30 years I knew that she expected me to open it NOW! I was clueless about the contents but didn’t hesitate…I really don’t have a secret alternate life so……… “The envelope please!” – Out popped the Pineberry seeds along with a bit of relief….I wasn’t really worried but there are people out there that fish the old fashioned way….via snail mail!

I am off the hook and not suspect of any misdeeds but because of my “ancient past” of which my wife knows there may always be that tiny seed of doubt out there……. I think it just adds a bit of mystique to our amazing marriage! Isn’t that right Hun!