Moon Units 

Before jaunting to NM, I was in California visiting our clients Easy to Grow. I’ve worked with them for 6.75 years, but had never been out there. 

“Come for the Ranunculus bloom!” they said. (Their sister company, the California Flower Bulb Company, has a stake in the fields.)

We hit up the Carlsbad farm at peak.

From the same parking lot you can also go shopping at a giant outlet mall and eat at a food hall. 

Thankfully the last remaining farm in Carlsbad is on a hill, so that while, yes, you can look out at the roof of the mall, you can also squint and see the ocean in the distance.

“What gives?” I asked. 

“This allllllllll used to be farms and a sleepy surf town. The Flower Fields are all that’s left.”

It’s one of the only agritourism/ working farm attractions I’ve visited IN THE MIDDLE OF A PARKING LOT. I’m just glad it’s still there. The narration on the tractor ride explained the history of the farm, how the ranunculus grow, are trialed, graded, harvested, etc. etc. It’s good for people to see how plants grow!!

There were workers harvesting for cut flowers right next to Instagrammers getting selfies for their grids. 

The place was PACKED. 

People loooooooooove flowers. Even surrounded by parking lots. 

At lunch after our tour I asked, “Will New Mexico food be like this? Tex-mex?” Their eyes got big. 

“Nooooooooo. It’s different there. So many green chilis on everything.” 

****

On the way up to Santa Fe from Albuquerque I stopped in Madrid. (MAD-rid). 

“Do you have a bathroom?”  I asked.

“Only a portable out back,” they said.  “Would you like chili in your mocha?”

“No, thank you.”

I also passed on the portable. Even though the moonscape would offer no bush to hide behind should I need a break before Santa Fe.

The next week was filled with lots of art making and frequent reminders to drink water. And also, “Use the bathroom before you go. They only have a portable!” 

Most days we didn’t often need one. We immediately sweated out anything we drank, and that promptly evaporated. 

Our faces turned brown and we reached for the ochres — reds and yellows — from our palettes, and of course the bright cobalt-like blue. A New Mexico blue. For the famous skies. 

I’ve never seen a sky like the sky over Santa Fe. 

Bright, cloudless, expansive. A good place to land, if not for the water. 

(Incidentally, watercolor is hard when the paint dries immediately. I will never take our humidity for granted  again.) 

****
I took the scenic route (The Turquoise Trail) back to ABQ for my departing flight. 

Stopping at Java Junction in Madrid, I ordered a Mocha. 

“Add the chilis please.” 

A couple behind me asked if there was a bathroom.

“There’s a portable out back,” the barista said. They must have gotten a look because they offered more, “We have extremely limited water resources in town, so there are not many public bathrooms, period.” 

“Oh, oh. Gotcha gotcha gotcha. No problem.”

The barista looked at me. “Anything else?”

“Does the brownie have chilis in it?”**

*******

I arrived home, glad to have some quiet after two weeks on the road and a LOT of talking. 

I absolutely love to make art in community because often I don’t get to. (The Urban Sketchers chapter here is . . .  not my vibe, unfortunately. Though I’ve really enjoyed going out with others while visiting different cities.)

When I DO make art in community, it is always like a bucket of cold water to my face to listen to other people talk about THEIR OWN ART. 

“It’s too busy.”

“There’s too many colors.”

“I don’t know how to use gouache. So this sucks” 

“My lines are’t straight.”

“My lines are too straight.”

“WAIT, THERE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE LINES?” >> Me, probably.

I came to art making so late in life, with no formal training, that I am DELIGHTED at anything I do. I have no angst. (Commissions gave me angst, so I stopped.)

My fellow classmates in Santa Fe were retired art teachers, or graphic designers, or surface pattern creators, or MFA graduates, many of them.

And some of them had a lot of angst. I feel lucky that I’ve never experienced (beyond maybe, middle school) having a grade attached to art.

Fine art isn’t part of my family legacy, so I have no baggage in that way, either.

One guy was there with his wife, who was taking the quilting workshop, also offered by MISA. 

On Thursday we did collage. “I didn’t think this is what we would be doing,” he said. “But hey! We’re quilting with paper!”

I developed a  theme or pattern of my own that week: Tetris mountains. The red rock hills, but make them Tetris. 

My cat, Frisky, used to watch my dad play Tetris. 

I guess a little bit of family showed up in my art, anyway. 

*****

One of my colleagues once said to me, “Everyone brings a suitcase to work. The trick is figuring out what to do with what’s inside.”

That’s the thing, as we reach peak spring: We’re ALL dragging suitcases around with us.***

The trick is to figure out what to do with what’s inside.

For the next 7 days, for many of my readers, it doesn’t matter what’s in there. Push the pile of dirty clothes to the corner. For the next 7 days, Take the money. Worry about it later. 

Then, ask yourself this:

• Should I pick up my suitcase and go somewhere else? 
• Maybe I have something great that would go with that thing in my customer’s suitcase — no there’s time to tell them about it.
• Do I need a bigger suitcase? 
• Should I get a different suitcase? 

Obvs. the suitcase isn’t a suitcase**** (The ***s are footnotes).

YOU are the suitcase. (Was I touched by Aliens in New Mexico? It is starting to sound like it, no?)

This is NOT a newsletter about manifesting. I’m not gonna tell you to think your overstuffed suitcase shut. (IT CAN’T BE DONE! I’VE TRIED!)

My point is, you have stuff in your suitcase.

So does everyone else.

Maybe someone wants to trade.

Maybe your stuff and their stuff will look great together. 

Maybe, in amongst your stuff, is something someone else really needs. 

Maybe your stuff is way less important than you think it is. (No bathroom, no problem?)

*****

I read a book this winter called, “Take What You Need.” The book was interesting, but I loved the title. 

Today’s newsletter is a little bit of take what you need. A little bit from my suitcase for you. If something fits, by all means, take it.

If you need to hear: 
“It’s time to go. I know it is time to go, so I’m going to leave.” then take it.

If you need to hear: 
“We have to be closed until 11 to water our plants and we need to tell our customers WHY we are closed until 11 and trust they’ll be ok with it.” then take it.

If you need to hear: 
“I have to raise prices if I want to keep doing this.” then take it. 

If you need to hear: 
“I need more flowers!” then take it.

And if you need to hear more like this, please tune into Amanda Thomsen’s and my new Podcast:

OPEN AND AWKWARD: SHOP TALK WITH KATIE AND AMANDA.

(We actually do talk about aliens during Episode 4 or 5. And bathrooms during episode 1. If you have ideas for Amanda, please share.)

It’s on Spotify right now (free to listen online here), and will be coming to other Podcast platforms. 

Who is it for? Well, you. It’s for you!

If you actually like reading this newsletter, I think you’ll like the podcast because it is. . . this newsletter, but with a friend!

It’s for shop owners, and women in business, middle aged women, anyone having thoughts about thoughts, dealing with customers, and anyone who feels like they’re lugging their suitcase of stuff around by themselves. 

You’re not alone. We’re here too. With some occasional business nuggets. 

I recommend listening to it on the way to and from work. It’ll help you calm down. Because you’ll be laughing a lot.

If you enjoy it: like, follow, rate it, and share it!

If you don’t, it’s not for you. Listen to something else. 

New episodes every Tuesday. Show Notes are here.

If you listen and need more help, I have a service for that. 

In the spirit of this newsletter I’ll be real open and honest with ya: I, Katie, TGOW, am footing the bill for the podcast. We aren’t sponsor-supported because we want to say what we want to say. 

AND if you need MORE help or elaboration on something, please do nab a Pick My Brain session. That’s why it is available. And past  brain pickers have loved it! 

Actually Useful Info

If you missed the webinar Deb and I did in March re: automatic emails to customers, you can watch that here.

I wrote more about how to do what we talked about in my May Green Profit Tech Connection column Here:

I have a lot of Cultivate sessions, so jot these down:

Creating the BEST Branded Digital Content of Your Life – A Traveling Workshop

Saturday, July 13 • 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Marketing for Growers

Sunday, July 14 • 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Live Inventory for Growers: A Panel Discussion

Sunday, July 14 • 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Planning & Managing Tech Jumps

Monday, July 15 • 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Plant Marketplaces: Should Your Business Join One?

Monday, July 15 • 2:45 PM – 3:45 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Handy Links

Each newsletter always has a mix of fun and functional links.  Here they are! Have a link to share? Send it to me!

I have read lots of good books since January. 
You can see which ones in this Instagram highlight.  I keep it updated, so follow along.

Here’s a “where was that photo taken” tool.

EVERYONE GO GET THIS BOOK AND LOVE IT. 

While you are at it, pre-order this one, too!

DO YOU NEED HELP WITH BUSINESS FORECASTING? 
My colleague Ken Lane is THE BEST THERE IS at this and he has a workshop at cultivate. Please click here to take a look. 

A great issue of Total Anarchy
Reading recs for communicators.

Best Online Video Editors

Housekeeping

TIMING: It’s been two months since the last newsletter, because, well, I was making a podcast. It’s likely that you’ll next see me in you email box in mid-June. Never say never, though! See you on the PODCAST EVERY TUESDAY!

AVAILABILITY: We are FULL and will be opening up to starting new projects after July 15. (That seems like a long time from now but it is, in fact, ONLY TWO MONTHS FROM NOW WHAT THE HECK!?!)
HOWEVER, if. you are interested in our help, please do grab a discovery call time because, as you know, shovel in the dirt isn’t the same as a site visit. Basically – been thinking about it? Get on our radar now. CLICK HERE>

HOURS: Our GOW working hours are Monday-Thursday. Anything after noon Thursday might be answered the following Monday. 

We are closed all US Federal holidays, but always OPEN AND AWKWARD on Spotify! (Yes we stole that podcast title from Amanda. Good thing it is also her podcast.)

CULTIVATE: Wendy and I are looking forward to seeing you at Cultivate. Here’s a list of my sessions. If you’d like to meet up with Wendy, email her at wendy@thegardenofwords.com. If you’d like to chat with me, hit “reply.” 

Now, what did you take from this email? Got anything to share with me? 

Cheers,

Footnotes:

* Atlas Obscura says the Musical Highway is gone, but I actually heard the music. Was it aliens? We may never know. 

** Ellen Zachos made me some DELICIOUS Hatch Green Chili Brownies.

*** Some of us have 4 suitcases and thank you to Ellen for not bringing that up when I came to visit her.

****  I carried a briefcase from the tender age of 7. I have always been dragging a suitcase.

Art P.S. 
Dispatches from art camp in Santa Fe. The Tetris Mountains By Katie™ 3 ways.