A simple garden gift for Christmas that could be also created for Birthdays, Anniversaries and Weddings.
One of our friends in Callyfornia (thanks Arnold) sent me an email called a thousand marbles, in which it described an older man teaching a much younger person about the imporatance of time. He explained that a long time ago he knew that time was precious but to remind him he determined how many Saturdays he had left in his life to spend with friends and family instead of working at the office. This gentleman then took 1000 marbles and placed in a jar and each Saturday he would take one out and the remaining marbles would be a visual representation of his time left on earth. And if he was lucky enough to run out of marbles he then knew that indeed each future Saturday would be extremely precious...........
Well, I thought that was a great idea, however, doing the math, 1000 marbles would require a large container, so I modified it from a gardeners perspective and decided to use river rock and only one for each year that my wife and I probably had left on this earth.....with my father rockin and rollin at 86 I put enough rocks in there to reach 90.
I have one clear container with 18 rocks in it symbolizing the 18 years we have been married with a label on top which say's Cheryl and Glenn's Past with the following list .......... Great Memories, Good Times & Bad Times, Losses, Reflections and Personal Growth........we also have another conatiner with 40 rocks in it which is labeled Cheryl and Glenn's Future with the following list........Travel, Dreams, Goals, Anticipation, Possibilities.
Each year on our anniverary we will take one rock from the Future and place it in the Past and talk about what this past year has meant to us........these containers sit on our window sill for a daily reminder of what was and what is yet to come........this simple gift could be presented to anyone for their birthday, anniversary or new business venture.......an inexpensive gift with great potential......
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Tis the season........Yesterday, I was pruning the plantings at one of our larger clients on a crisp cold day that I would compare to any ideal summer day on a level of Mother Nature at her best. No wind, clean white snow and I was able to enjoy it while shaping up the gardens at this clients site. I did not have to wear my one piece suit, simply fleece warmups under my Carhartts and a few layers on top with the great gardening secret on my hands...What is that you ask?
When you are out working in the garden in the winter or fall, we have learned to wear nitrile or latex gloves under our work gloves. Kind of the wetsuit concept......when your hands sweat, they build up a thin layer of water between your skin and the nitrile gloves which in turn is warmed up to 98 degrees by your body and you stay warm...I have worked like that for four or five hours at a time....take a break for lunch, put on new nitrile gloves and then go back out to work.......-5 degrees this morning and on my way back out to prune where I was yesterday.....should be another great day.
My sisters passing (see previous post) has been perhaps the greatest gift I have ever recieved, as I thought I was thankful for my life, my family and my love of gardening, but now a day doesn't go by that I don't think about seeing my sister lying on her bed out in Denver and the outstanding strength she displayed during her final days. In the past I may have grumbled about having to work in 14" deep snow, but now I actually find myself excited each day to be able to do the work.....as I think my sister would perhaps give anything to be able to do what I am doing!
I am still tossing a book around in my head about gardening and life, but I need a lot more time in my favorite gardens to work through it. I can tell you that when I was pruning this fall and into the winter, I could see it as a great metaphor for life. I see the pruning as getting rid of the unnecessary things/appointments in your life to truly enjoy the important things. In pruning one thing you look for are crossing branches that are rubbing on each other and this causes the bark to be worn away and eventually the branches will die or grow weak. You then look at which branch is in the best position for future growth on the tree and remove the other branch and sometimes for the health of the tree you need to remove both branches. My father in law once asked me what was my most important asset and I was thinking cash, equipment, trucks and along that line...he told me my most important asset was time.....you can't save it up and add it to the end of your life and time is the great equalizer.....we each have so much.
So it is with that thought it mind that I now choose very carefully what, where and when and I reinforce for myself each day the importance of time with the thought of my sister who will not have the opportunity and I can only hope to have the impact that my sister has had on those around her......so this Christmas season give yourself the best present you can....the gift of time with family and friends and realize that work will be there when you return, because I can gurantee you that there are no luggage racks on hearses....you can't take anything with you........
My passion is family and sharing my passion for gardening with others and I look forward to the next 40 years of doing just that!
When you are out working in the garden in the winter or fall, we have learned to wear nitrile or latex gloves under our work gloves. Kind of the wetsuit concept......when your hands sweat, they build up a thin layer of water between your skin and the nitrile gloves which in turn is warmed up to 98 degrees by your body and you stay warm...I have worked like that for four or five hours at a time....take a break for lunch, put on new nitrile gloves and then go back out to work.......-5 degrees this morning and on my way back out to prune where I was yesterday.....should be another great day.
My sisters passing (see previous post) has been perhaps the greatest gift I have ever recieved, as I thought I was thankful for my life, my family and my love of gardening, but now a day doesn't go by that I don't think about seeing my sister lying on her bed out in Denver and the outstanding strength she displayed during her final days. In the past I may have grumbled about having to work in 14" deep snow, but now I actually find myself excited each day to be able to do the work.....as I think my sister would perhaps give anything to be able to do what I am doing!
I am still tossing a book around in my head about gardening and life, but I need a lot more time in my favorite gardens to work through it. I can tell you that when I was pruning this fall and into the winter, I could see it as a great metaphor for life. I see the pruning as getting rid of the unnecessary things/appointments in your life to truly enjoy the important things. In pruning one thing you look for are crossing branches that are rubbing on each other and this causes the bark to be worn away and eventually the branches will die or grow weak. You then look at which branch is in the best position for future growth on the tree and remove the other branch and sometimes for the health of the tree you need to remove both branches. My father in law once asked me what was my most important asset and I was thinking cash, equipment, trucks and along that line...he told me my most important asset was time.....you can't save it up and add it to the end of your life and time is the great equalizer.....we each have so much.
So it is with that thought it mind that I now choose very carefully what, where and when and I reinforce for myself each day the importance of time with the thought of my sister who will not have the opportunity and I can only hope to have the impact that my sister has had on those around her......so this Christmas season give yourself the best present you can....the gift of time with family and friends and realize that work will be there when you return, because I can gurantee you that there are no luggage racks on hearses....you can't take anything with you........
My passion is family and sharing my passion for gardening with others and I look forward to the next 40 years of doing just that!
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