Separate Waters

Last week I was trying to pull together a number of projects to get ready to escape to Maine for a few days. We always do this right after Labor Day weekend. That weekend marks the end of our busy season although we remain open here at Vermont Flower Farm through Columbus Day. Telling folks you're open "by chance or appointment" is like saying you're still open. We almost always have someone cover for us and if all else fails we leave a note and a place for honest folks to leave money. They always do.

By Wednesday things were really hectic, so much so that one night before supper I needed a break. I headed down the lower woods road and then bushwhacked over to the red pine plantation. Along the way I encounter these rocks. Once they were a single piece of granite but over the years the forces of a glacier probably moved them apart. Since then they have aged with mosses and ferns but their separation from one another is obvious. I sat by them for a while and reflected on the summer.

In June, I went west to see my new grandson. I had a meeting to attend outside fo Portland, Oregon so I made it a point to head west to the ocean to wet my feet in the Pacific. I went past great logging companies, historical Astoria, old sardine factories and new lavender farms. On the way back and south I stopped at various places to hike marsh trails and watch bald eagles cruise the wind currents.

But now it was September and my thoughts were to the Atlantic and the Maine coast. There is something nice about the opportunity to touch both of these oceans a couple months apart. More than their names make them distinctly different. The two rocks reminded me of the two oceans, strong, powerful, distinctly different.

Along the way east to Maine, I'll share some thoughts but in the meantime I'll think about the two rocks and the smells of the woods as summer begins to fade.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond, where the red squirrels are cutting fir cones from the balsam trees and piling them neatly for winter food.

Gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com

Remember September 16th, 8-10 AM. Bee Balm. $10/shovel full. A great price for a great hummingbird, moth and butterfly magnet.