I had a lot to be thankful for this past week. I went to the doctor for a regular check up. It was a doctor I was meeting for the first time. I noticed that he had a lot of prints from the Group of Seven artist, Lawren Harris. Seeing this, I asked if he was a Group of Seven fan. He was.

Before we got around to what I was there for, he explained that his office was the former residence of Lawren Harris. Awesome! He gave me a tour of his office, showing me vintage black and white photos of Harris and his family in various rooms of the house. He even had a photo of the examination room we eventually used. I was grateful I asked the question, grateful for the tour and grateful for the new knowledge.

I became grateful once again when I visited one of my farm clients at their home. Upon entering their home, I noticed a vista of hardwood trees through the back windows. Upon closer inspection, I saw a Kentucky coffee tree, one of my favourites. My host noticed my excitement and asked if I wanted a tour of her arboretum. I got to see two species of trees I had never seen before: a cucumber tree, and an amur cork tree.

Under the cucumber tree were some seeds. I picked them up. My plan is to try and stratify them to see if I can get them to sprout. I have never stratified before, but I am looking forward to the challenge. Learning about the stratification process will be a new learning experience and I am grateful for that.

I am grateful for the office tour and grateful I said yes to touring the arboretum which resulted in the opportunity to see something new. I will be writing thank you cards this week. What are you grateful for this week?