I was trying to unjam a desk drawer in Maddy’s room the other day, and when I did finally get it open, I found my old bucket hat inside. I’ve had this thing for 30+ years. I’m really not sure why – I’m not a bucket hat person. It’s a reversible hat, so beige on one side with fishing flies on the other side. I’m also not really a fisherman. I like the fishing I have done, but it isn’t something I do very often. No idea when or where or why I got this hat.

But at some point, I guess I did wear it, and one of those times is probably the reason that I still have it hanging around. Always loving outdoor stuff, one of the things we enjoyed doing in high school was going canoeing.

I think I’ve told you the story before about Kim scooping a giant gar across my chest on a rainy canoe trip (A Whopper of a Tale – Kerby’s Nursery). But on another adventure, we were paddling further up the Hillsborough River, where it starts to get a little skinnier and where you will definitely see more alligators. When I’m outdoors, I’m always a road-less-traveled kind of person. If there’s a more scenic or more adventurous looking route, you know that’s the one I’m taking. So I steered us into some little canal that paralleled the river, and it got narrower and shallower, with branches drooping everywhere, making it the perfect area for something in the trees to drop down into our canoe (you may also remember that Kim doesn’t like snakes…). This part of the river was definitely closing in on us a bit. We bumped over one floating log, and then a branch was suddenly in our faces, and I lost my hat. As I’m sure you know, the Hillsborough River is not filled with crystal clear water, so the hat sank a foot or so, and I couldn’t see it.

Some people might call it a loss and keep moving. Not me. I jumped in. Dirty water and potential wildlife ignored, I floundered around like crazy with my arms, feeling for the hat. And I found it. I can’t remember the exact year this happened, but at that point, Kim and I would only have been dating for a little while. Maybe a year or two? Apparently, my adventurous spirit was enough to keep us together, and all these years later, I still have the hat!

So maybe I should go as a fisherman tomorrow for Halloween. I could wear my trusty old hat, but I’d have to purchase everything else, so I think I’m going to stick with my defaults: pirate or Indiana Jones. The staff will be in costume, and we hope that if you swing by, you will too. You are never too old to have a little fun on Halloween!

And this Saturday, join us for Yoga in the Garden, where instructor Kaye will bring an element of gratitude into the practice. We race from Halloween to Christmas and often forget about the Thanksgiving holiday. I love to use the month of November to remind myself of all the things I have to be thankful for. When you really take a moment to stop and think, the list gets long!

And after yoga, you can grab a coffee from Quail Run Coffee or some sourdough treats from the pop-up shop with Spellbound Sourdough. And of course, the nursery is bursting with cool season flowers to get your garden ready for the holiday season. Cool temperatures are arriving, making it the perfect time to get out and have a little fun outside in the garden.