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Jennifer Garner's 'nerdy farm facts' about pumpkins is delightfully educational

The overalls 😍

@jennifer.garner/Instagram

Jennifer Garner can talk about pumpkins with us all day, everyday.

Move over PSLs. The new mark of fall is Jennifer Garner sharing “nerdy farm facts” from her very own pumpkin patch.

In an adorable video posted to her Instagram, the “13 Going on 30” actress sported dungarees and a sun hat while holding a large yellow flower (spoiler alert: it’s a soon-to-be pumpkin) and educating us all on how pumpkins grow.

“This flower is both male and female. There’s a pistol inside and it needs the pollen,” she said. “Do you know who takes care of that? Bees! Thank you for the bees!”

Continuing her delightful and informative spiel, Garner tried to hold up the flower to show where the pollen from said bees might fall inside it. However, the wind kept the flower from exposing itself in such a way.

“Oh…she’s shy…” Garner quipped.

Once pollen does reach inside the pistol, “the miracle continues.” Garner then held the flower sideways to show what looked like the botanical version of a pregnant belly, and said, “This is when you get the email that says, ‘Congratulations, Mama Pumpkin. Your baby is the size of a large grape.'"

As Garner explained, this is when the seedling “keeps growing and growing,” to the point where the flower portion will eventually “curl and dry off.”

Picking up a full formed pumpkin still growing on a vine, she added that, “it’s like a little umbilical cord, it’s crazy.”

Cut to Garner holding up two small green pumpkins, joking that they are “a nice size b.”

Watch Jennifer Garner’s ‘Nerdy Farm Facts’ video now:

Down in the comments, viewers were bee-yond happy with Garner’s pumpkin presentation.

“🎃 🐝 This cracks me up (and so informative!),” one person wrote.

Another echoed, “Well done! Thank you for educating us 🐝👏🎃🙌. You’re the best 😂!!

Still another suggested that Garner start her own “children's educational show 👍”

A few also mentioned that those little blossoms are delicious in quesadillas. Recipe courtesy of Homesick Texan below:

Squash Blossom Quesadilla Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 poblano pepper
  • 24 squash blossoms, stems and stamens removed.
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 half medium-yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried epazote (can substitute with 1/4 fresh cilantro)
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 1/2 pounds (6 cups) Oaxacan, Monterey Jack, or Muenster cheese, grated
  • 12 corn or flour tortillas
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Salsa verde, for serving

Instructions

  1. Put the poblano under the broiler for about 10 minutes, turning once until it blackens. Place in a plastic bag, close it and let it sit for about 20 minutes. After this time has passed, take poblano out of the bag, peel it (skin should shred off easily), remove stem and seeds and dice.
  2. Gently wash the squash blossoms (there might be bugs inside) and remove stems and stamens. Roughly chop.
  3. Heat skillet to medium and add the olive oil. Add onions and diced poblano and cook for about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
  4. Add garlic, epazote, squash blossoms, salt, and pepper and sauté for 10 minutes or until all the liquid from the flowers has evaporated. Remove from heat and set squash-blossom filling aside. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.
  5. In a skillet heated to medium, melt a tablespoon of butter. Add a tortilla and cook it on one side until it puffs (about 30 seconds). Flip tortilla over and sprinkle over entire surface 1/4 cup of squash blossom filling and 1/2 cup of grated cheese.
  6. Top with another tortilla, and after cheese has melted and the 2 tortillas stick together (a couple of minutes), flip quesadilla and cook for a couple of minutes more or until lightly browned.
  7. Repeat for the remainder of the filling and tortillas. Serve warm with salsa verde on the side, if you like.

Sounds like a great recipe for Garner to try on her “Pretend Cooking Show.” It’s sure to be utterly wholesome and entertaining, just like everything else she does.

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Jennifer Garner crying at her kid's graduation is making other parents feel so seen

"Tell me you have a graduate without telling me you have a graduate."

@jennifer.garner/TikTok

Jennifer Garner crying is all of us crying.

Some parenting milestones are more bittersweet than others. With high school graduations, there’s the pride and joy with watching your child walk down the aisle, but also the profound and multi-layered sense of loss that comes as they enter adulthood.

And with such complex and conflicting emotions raging inside, for many moms and dads it all comes out through profuse tears.

Apparently, Jennifer Garner is no exception.

The beloved “Alias” actress recently celebrated the graduation of one of her three children (not specified), and posted a carousel onto her Instagram featuring several teary eyed images, along with the caption “Tell me you have a graduate without telling me you have a graduate. 🎓 (bless our hearts 🥺♥️🤣).”

There’s even a clip of her on a plane asking “How are we going to make it? What are we going to do?”

Garner’s post generated lots of commiseration from fellow parents—both fans and other celebs—who had been exactly where she is now.

"Oh honey ... I know. 😢 ❤️ You have done a great job , mama! I will be here for support and lots of hugs," Reese Witherspoon wrote.

“My daughter walked across the stage and stopped. Looked for me and said HI MOM! Massive tear shedding!,” someone else added.

A third said, "I feel seeen!!! My baby boy is graduating I can’t!!!! 🎓🎓🎓😭😭. I feel you mama!!! He’s our first too and no one prepares you for this! We are so proud of our boy and I know you are too of your baby girl! So many emotions."

Others offered encouragement that the pain is only temporary.

"You know it really does get better. Seeing them adult is a really cool thing too. I can’t say I don’t miss a full house, but it’s fun to watch them navigate life in their own way,” one person wrote.

"Just think about all the fun she has ahead- you got this mama!" wrote another.

Though nothing can fully take away the inevitable pain that comes from this important chapter in a parent’s life, there are several ways to cope with it all.

Experts seem to agree that simply accepting there will be a mix of joy and sadness is an important part of the process, as well as keeping busy while pursuing other interests or rekindling the relationship with your spouse outside of shared parental roles. There’s also nothing wrong with seeking outside professional help to make the transition a bit smoother.

All in all, may this story be a reminder for parents to allow themselves to feel those feelings. Grief is just love persevering, after all.

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Jennifer Garner attempting to bathe her cat is 100% relatable to cat owners

It’s usually not recommended to bathe cats, but Moose had an “issue” that required intervention.

Jennifer Garner/Instagram

Cats generally do not appreciate humans bathing them.

One of the biggest differences between being a cat owner and a dog owner is that cats are experts at grooming themselves. While dogs require regular bathing, cats don't—in fact, it's generally recommended that you don't bathe kitties for non-medical reasons because it can dry out their skin and disrupt the cat-owner relationship.

(For real, if you didn't know this about cats, barring any health issues, they are meticulously clean and their fur actually smells good, even up close. Some cats have a mild cologne-like scent that's quite pleasing, and they do it all by themselves.)

However, occasionally something might happen that requires a human to bathe a cat. When it does, it's an adventure, as Jennifer Garner hilariously demonstrated in a video on her Instagram page for National Pet Day.

It seems that her cat, Moose, had a bit of a poo issue, which Garner doesn't elaborate much on but that required some assistance to remedy. That assistance involved a bath—or sink shower in this case—which many cats aren't too keen on. Despite the viral videos showing cats who mysteriously love the bathtub, most domesticated cats don't, and they will let you know it in the only way they know how.

For Moose, that message was sent by climbing out of the sink and onto his owner mid-scrub, creating a scenario that left Garner asking aloud, "What's to be done? What would my mom do?!?"

Watch:

The helplessness of having a cat clinging to you for dear life is real. You don't want to pull them off because they'll just dig their claws in further, and when they climb up over your shoulder, you don't have any leverage to do anything with them anyway. It's definitely not a one-person job to try to bathe a cat who doesn't want to be bathed.

According to Britannica, most domesticated cats hate water because wet fur is uncomfortable and it takes a long time to dry. There's also the totally not-backed-by-science possibility that cats simply find the prospect of being bathed offensive. After all, they spend a large chunk of their waking hours cleaning themselves—how dare we measly humans suggest they aren't doing a good enough job of it?

Along with encouraging her to get her wounds cleaned and treated well, as cat scratches can be dangerous, people weighed in on the video with some hilarious commentary.

"I'm pretty sure Moose would have killed you if you'd gotten to the conditioner," wrote one person.

"I think the conditioner would have tipped Moose over the edge," agreed another.

"That cat went straight for the carotid. Much like my toddler when I suggested she put pants on this morning," joked another.

"You are so brave! Also, this was a tad reminiscent of Buddy the Elf trying to hug that raccoon, 😂" offered another.

All in all, Moose's bath could have gone worse. There are actually some ways to make a cat bath a bit more pleasant—and safe—for everyone involved. The ASPCA recommends these five steps for bathing a cat:

1. Prep Your Cat – If you're wondering how to keep a cat calm while bathing, it can be helpful first to get your cat used to being in the sink or tub—try putting them in without water, giving them a few treats, and then lifting them out. If possible, you can do this several times in the days before you plan to give your cat a bath to help things go smoother.

2. Add Cat to Water – Put a few inches of lukewarm water in the sink or tub and place your cat gently inside. Keep your cat calm by talking soothingly and praising them for good behavior. (I know, easier said than done!)

3. Wet Your Cat Down – Wet your cat's body and tail while avoiding the face. Most cats don't like water in their face, and you'll definitely want to avoid upsetting your soaked kitty.

4. Lather and Rinse – Add the shampoo, lather, and rinse your cat thoroughly. Try not to leave any soap residue behind, which can irritate your cat's skin.

5. Clean the Face – Use the soft cloth to wipe off your cat's whiskered face carefully. You can also clean the outside of the ears with a cotton ball. Never use a Q-tip or other instrument to clean the inside of your cat's ears, which could cause injury.

Garner's poopy bath adventures with Moose is prime evidence that cat ownership is never boring. You can follow Jennifer Garner for more relatable cat mom fun on Instagram.

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Jennifer Garner announces the death of her father with heartfelt tribute and family photos

"Today is for gratitude."

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Jennifer Garner ad father William John Garner starring in a Capital One commercial.

Grief and gratitude might seem to be in opposition to the other, but in times of loss, they both work in tandem to help us process our pain. As the “Ten Percent Happier” blog eloquently puts it, “grief embodies our humanity even as gratitude allows us to embrace pain and hardship.”

Actress Jennifer Garner recently gave a poignant example of this.

On April 1, the “Alias” star took to her Instagram page to share the news that her father, William John Garner, died “peacefully” in the afternoon on March 30.

Though her tribute expressed the loss she felt, it made plenty of space for humor and appreciation for the precious memories she got to create with her “kind and brilliant” dad.

Garner began her caption with a joke, saying, “We were with him, singing ‘Amazing Grace’ as he left us. Did we carry him across or scare him away — valid question.”

The lighthearted moment was followed by a nugget of heartfelt truth. “While there is no tragedy in the death of an 85-year-old man who lived a healthy, wonderful life, I know grief is unavoidable, waiting around unexpected corners.”

Still, Garner noted that “Today is for gratitude,” reminiscing her late father’s “gentle demeanor and quiet strength” his “mischievous smile,” and “for the way he invented the role of all in, ever patient girl dad.”

She then sent thank-you's to the medical staff that helped him during his final chapter, helping him get a few more days to spend with his grandchildren.

“There is so much to say about my dad— my sisters and I will never be done talking about how wonderful he was, so bear with us,” she concluded. “But for today, I share these memories with my appreciation for the kind and brilliant man, father, and grandfather he was, as well as the loving legacy he left behind.”

Along with the tribute, Garner shared a carousel of images of her dad, including a clip of their iconic Capital One commercial spot, where her father got to deliver the famous “What’s in your wallet?” tagline.

Garner aimed to honor her father in her tribute, and she succeeded.

“My heart aches a little because you lost someone so incredibly special, but also celebrates the comfort you must have in knowing what a precious and wonderful human being he was here on Earth. I am now singing to him as well!” one person wrote.

Another added, “What an amazing father and beautiful example.”

It prompted a few to reflect on their own relationships with their father.

“Dads are so precious. Sorry for your loss.”

“A father daughter bond is like no other — I’m so very sorry — sending love and prayers for your family.”

“What a lovely face he had! A wonderful father is a tough thing to beat. I had one too and know in my bones how lucky I was — how lucky you were— thinking of you and sending buckets of love.”

Part of being human means eventually losing everyone we love. We can choose to focus solely on mourning. We can also choose to try to bury the pain. But neither of those options helps us fully experience our own humanity. The hidden opportunity of grief is to feel gratitude at a profound level, as if to say “I am now more fully aware of how precious our time together was, now that it is no longer here.” May we all have the grace to embrace both sides when the time comes.

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