I know, sounds strange.   Let me explain…

When I was in grade school, every year our school participated in a fall fair in a nearby village.  There were three legged races and other games.  You could enter art work or hand writing samples to be judged.  Or, you could enter garden produce.  Each spring, the school would provide us with our choice of a package of flower seeds and a package of vegetable seeds.  Over the summer we would plant and then care for these seeds, and then enter the results in the fall fair.  I always chose bachelor buttons for the flowers and carrots for the vegetables.

Practicing farm safety.

Dad would help me sow the seeds.  He showed me how to thin out the carrot sprouts, he showed me how to weed the carrots and then he would help me dig up and wash the carrots in the fall.  Together we would select the ones that we thought had the best shot of winning a prize (first, second and third place received cash!)….and, our carrots even won prizes a few times if I remember correctly.

So, to this day, when I peel, scrub or chop carrots, I think of my Dad and smile.  Today is his birthday, and that makes me smile too!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Looking through old pictures, this is one of a few where I was not holding my Dad’s hand….yes, I was a Daddy’s girl!