Richard: Hi Martha! I was feeding the goats when you called earlier. Sorry I missed you.
Martha: How many goats do you have now?
Richard: Four.
Martha: What kind?
Richard: Two Nigerian Dwarfs. One Nubian. One Kalahari Red I think. They were a gift from a farmer we work with. When they arrived, I was like, “WHAT THE F AM I GOING TO DO?” And now they're here. I love them so much. They make me so happy.
Martha: Don’t they eat all your plants though?
Richard: No, they have their own area in the garden. They've got plenty of room, but they have eaten everything. I have been feeding them organic vegetables by hand! Actually, I was thinking about you yesterday when I was down there giving them dinner because they poop everywhere. And remember when Harvey and I saw your giant new vegetable garden last summer? You told us it grew so well because your donkeys had been pooping in the paddock for years before. So maybe that’s the spot for my next vegetable garden?
Martha: I think that's the perfect place.
Richard: Anyway. How are you?
Martha: I’m good! I'm in my car as usual. I live in my car, as you know. Back and forth to the City to do my stuff. I just keep keep keep doing doing doing — as do you — we keep building and building as much as we can!
Richard: I hope so.
Martha: Also, that was the most elaborate Christmas present you sent, all those candles. Oh my God.
Richard: Oh, you are so welcome. The big candle box was Harvey’s idea. He did a great job on everything. He’s working so hard to refine what we’re doing together.
Martha: Congratulations on all your stuff. It looks so good right now.
Richard: Thank you. And thank you for having a chat today. I was thinking before the call, you know, I don't have many friends. I work ALL the time. I'm very selective with the time I have. But I really love you and I respect you and I'm really, really grateful we get to spend time together. It means a lot.
Martha: Thank you. I feel the same. So tell me, what's the book about?
Richard: It's called The Flamingo Estate Guide To Becoming Alive. It is actually more about lessons from the garden, what the garden can teach us about living. There's a chapter, for example, called “Prune Your Roses,” which is about editing your life really hard, you know, like getting rid of the bad people, not putting up with the crap. And most importantly getting rid of the distractions, which I know you agree with.
Martha: Yes.
Richard: And then there's a chapter on work called “Work like the Wisteria,” because…
Martha: …because you just can’t beat it down! It fills every nook and cranny, right?
Richard: Exactly.
Martha: You can try to kill it, and it just keeps going!
Richard: So I thought…who do I know who’s like Wisteria?
Martha: (laughs loudly)
Richard: And that's you, of course. Little Miss Wisteria.
Martha: But here's the thing with Wisteria. Have I told you what my father told me?
Richard: No.
Martha: He grew these two beautiful Wisteria trees and then one year, one of the two trees didn't bloom. And he told me to hit it with a hammer.
Richard: What?
Martha: Yes! Hit it with a hammer all along the branches! And the next year it will bloom brilliantly. So, of course, I hit it with a hammer. And it never bloomed more beautifully than the next year!
Richard: Wow.
Martha: And then guess what happened? It died!!!
(Both laugh)
Richard: So what’s the moral there? To bloom wonderfully and die, or stay flowerless?
Martha: Not to bloom. It’s OK not to bloom for a while. Because that's what happens in business. That's what happens in life. Not every year is as productive as you want it to be. And that’s OK.
Richard: There's a chapter in the book about the stone fruit trees, how the plums need to drop their leaves and rest, to come back stronger in the Spring, which is true.
Martha: Yes, even the trees need rest.
Richard: That reminds me, did you really just grow 600 Christmas trees?
Martha: No. I grew 609!
…
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