Canonfodder
Sapling
My name is Craig Mahagan and I have loved the idea of bonsai since I learned of it in high school. Right out of school I went into the U.S. Army and served for 17 years until I had to get out for medical reasons. I am now a retired veteran now and am trying to find ways to improve my mental health and find meaning in something. In the past I have bought trees from nursery’s and tried to pick up the hobby, but each time I found failure. I am once again taking a chance with bonsai as a way to learn patients and structure. This time however, I didn’t just go out and buy a tree, I bought a kit on Amazon.com to grow your own trees from seeds. Though I did go buy a tree from a nursery, I didn’t get one already formed and that is only a year old. I planted my first seeds today consisting of a Colorado Blue Spruce, Rocky Mountain Juniper, Black Spruce, and a Siberian Elm. I also bought some more seeds of other tree species that I plan to try. In particular I got some Quacking Aspen seeds. As a native born Coloradian, I love to go into the mountains and see the beautiful trees and want to keep some of home if I ever decide to move away. One day I hope to go into the mountains and collect some seeds to further work on the artistry and majesty of this hobby. I am getting my head ready for the possibility of loss and failure, yet this time I hope not to quit and continue on.