In May 2019 I had just finished up my last round of chemotherapy for aggressive breast cancer, I was facing radiation and many more surgeries....you could say I was a feeling bit down. My dad and I had been meeting weekly outside at a park for six months, a different park each time so I could see the plants and birds and feel the breeze while keeping my compromised immune system away from crowds. Each time my dad brought me a small token gift, a candy bar, a small succulent or a stuffed animal. 

 

This week was a bit different, my dad bounded up so happy and rattled off the story of how he found the perfect gift this time. He had just come from a large antique sale and came upon a booth of thousands of old books. He knew my hobbies, that I love antiques and of course gardening so he was looking for the perfect book for me with one of those loves in mind. He had opened what seemed like hundreds of books to find the very best one, but none seemed just right for the occasion. Until he was about to leave, when the older gentleman proprietor handed him an old green book from 1934 entitled "Wild Flowers of the Pacific Coast" My dad thought it was perfect and had it wrapped up right then. 

 

When we both arrived at the park in Davis we had our lunch and then chit chatted for awhile before he handed me the wrapped up book. I opened it and then started crying as I opened the pages..... my dad was utterly disturbed and in shock and had no idea why I was crying. I asked him "Did you know? How did you find it? Where was it?" He had no idea what I was talking about though. 

 

I explained to him that the book was written by Leslie Loren Haskin, his grandmother's uncle and that I had been searching for this particular book for many years. Genealogy is another one of my hobbies and this book ties into my loves perfectly. It is the first book published that brings together the scientific, folklore, and popular nomenclature of the wild flowers of Washington, Oregon and Northern California west of the Cascade range.