Dear Reader,

Greetings, and welcome to The Garden of Estrogen.  You may be prompted to ask, “What is this place?”  Is it an environment where the foolish male is adrift in a sea of self pity, never able to do anything right?  No (although occasionally it might seem that way).  Rather, the Garden is an oasis where one can observe and learn how females look at the world – filtered through a man’s eyes, of course.

For example…

The Scene:  Husband and wife are standing in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on preparations for a family party that afternoon.

Wife:  “What kind of wine should we serve - white or red?”

Truth be told, I’m more of a beer kind of guy, but I venture an opinion nevertheless…

Husband: “Red, I guess.”

Wife: “On our white carpet?  With kids around?  Are you nuts?”

Husband:  “If there was only one correct answer, why ask in the first place?”

Wife (laughing): “I have no idea.”

Does anyone else find this just a little perplexing?

* * *

A few years ago, I began to organize my observations into words, and sent my first “Postcard from the Garden of Estrogen” to about two dozen people.  The response was so encouraging, I sent another – and another, etc.  Before long, I started getting requests from people who had seen the Postcards and wanted to be added to the list of recipients.  The list has grown steadily over the years – both inside and outside the USA.

What I have found along the way is that the Postcards generate different responses from the two sexes.  Men tend to be amused by the observations and anecdotes and will often share their stories of a similar nature. 

What I did not expect was that women would have such an overwhelmingly positive reaction.  I think the reason for this is... actually, I have no idea why this is the case.

In the past few years I have been asked many times, “When is the book coming out?”  This is my response.  I hope you will enjoy the journey.

Don Staffin, a.k.a. “The Gardener”