Wednesday, December 22, 2010
A three mph wind tosses snowflakes around as they sprinkle the earth this morning. Just 7 AM and people are moving up the road from the pond, en route to work. Silence prevails here as we are recovering from two days and nights of Karl the Wonder Dog being very sick. He is coming around slowly and has survived another difficult time. Once again I have probably been blamed for feeding him non-traditional dog food but he can find things outside all by himself that should be left alone.
Gail made a trip to Montpelier yesterday to take care of the recycling and trash and pick up a couple things she had ordered in locally. She said holiday shoppers were crazy and spending more than they should. Gail's observation of shoppers was so accurate as she described people shopping for their families who had not been touched by lost jobs, sickness or homelessness versus those who cannot pay the heat bill but are still trying to get something for a child who thinks that Santa doesn't discriminate regarding poverty or unemployment. This is a difficult time.
Almost as soon as she got in the house, Gail picked up a thank you from Green Mountain Pug Rescue that has been sitting on the counter for over a week. Gail wants it there because she rereads it daily. Every year we make a donation in memory of our pug, Baker, and every year we receive a nice thank you. This year the info on the number of rescued pugs was overwhelming as was the organizations obvious spirit. They included a nice picture of a pug named King Titan who was going to a family the next day. Gail read the note, picked up the picture and smiled. We think the best holiday gifts are for someone you don't even know.
If you have read The Vermont Gardener in the past, you probably know how much I enjoy my trips to Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. A holiday gift idea you might not have thought about is a trip with friends to go visit a nice garden. It needn't be as far away as Boothbay, Maine. Here in Vermont it could be a day trip to the gardens at the waterfront in Burlington, the Lilac Festival at the Shelburne Museum, or a visit to nurseries like Rocky Dale or Cadys Falls, the Interval Gardens or even Vermont Flower Farm. With a little planning, a trip could include a shared lunch or just a return stop for tea, lemonade or homemade ice cream. It doesn't have to cost very much, admission fees are small or don't exisit, friendship bears no pricetag, and memories are priceless. The best gifts are the ones that are remembered forever. Give it a thought as time grows short and you remember something or someone.
Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the blue jays are looking for more cracked corn as they chat noisy mystery words I can hear from my desk.
George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social network connections via Facebook as George Africa and also as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
Twitter thoughts at vtflowerfarm
Gail made a trip to Montpelier yesterday to take care of the recycling and trash and pick up a couple things she had ordered in locally. She said holiday shoppers were crazy and spending more than they should. Gail's observation of shoppers was so accurate as she described people shopping for their families who had not been touched by lost jobs, sickness or homelessness versus those who cannot pay the heat bill but are still trying to get something for a child who thinks that Santa doesn't discriminate regarding poverty or unemployment. This is a difficult time.
Almost as soon as she got in the house, Gail picked up a thank you from Green Mountain Pug Rescue that has been sitting on the counter for over a week. Gail wants it there because she rereads it daily. Every year we make a donation in memory of our pug, Baker, and every year we receive a nice thank you. This year the info on the number of rescued pugs was overwhelming as was the organizations obvious spirit. They included a nice picture of a pug named King Titan who was going to a family the next day. Gail read the note, picked up the picture and smiled. We think the best holiday gifts are for someone you don't even know.
If you have read The Vermont Gardener in the past, you probably know how much I enjoy my trips to Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. A holiday gift idea you might not have thought about is a trip with friends to go visit a nice garden. It needn't be as far away as Boothbay, Maine. Here in Vermont it could be a day trip to the gardens at the waterfront in Burlington, the Lilac Festival at the Shelburne Museum, or a visit to nurseries like Rocky Dale or Cadys Falls, the Interval Gardens or even Vermont Flower Farm. With a little planning, a trip could include a shared lunch or just a return stop for tea, lemonade or homemade ice cream. It doesn't have to cost very much, admission fees are small or don't exisit, friendship bears no pricetag, and memories are priceless. The best gifts are the ones that are remembered forever. Give it a thought as time grows short and you remember something or someone.
Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the blue jays are looking for more cracked corn as they chat noisy mystery words I can hear from my desk.
George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social network connections via Facebook as George Africa and also as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
Twitter thoughts at vtflowerfarm
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