Thursday, January 22, 2009

Shoveling Snow

There are certain outdoor tasks that some of us find certain comfort in doing----alone! My dear friend Liz, of This Full House, loses herself in the drone of her lawn mower. A customer from Brick who visited this past spring almost hugged me when I let it be known how much I enjoy pulling weeds. She seemed relieved to know she wasn't alone in finding solace in an activity most find so abhorrent. With no weeds to pull, no iris or peony plants to divide, or mulch to spread, I need an outlet for that pent up energy (house work doesn't do it for me!). Mother Nature has provided that niche for me. Snow has fallen at Pittsgrove Farms on a regular basis this winter, giving me numerous opportunities to get outside and keep those muscles from getting lazy.



Shoveling snow is an activity I have enjoyed since I was a kid. My dad, one of the sweetest men who ever lived, worked shift work and when winter dumped a layer of snow in our driveway, I would shovel either so he could get up and go off on his midnight to 8 AM shift, or find a clean drive when he arrived home from a 4-11:00. I especially enjoy shoveling at night when my only companions are the stars in the moonlit sky, or first thing in the morning when early sunlight sparkles like diamonds on the new fallen snow. Even the sound of the shovel rhythmically scraping back and forth, back and forth brings a peace, and the air that I breathe has such purity.

Well, the snow is shoveled until the next storm and it's time to refill the bird feeders, but before I go I just want to let all of you New York Metro folks know about Plant-O-Rama at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden that will take place next Tuesday, January 27. Check it out to get your gardening fix until things begin to thaw.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love digging in the snow, too. Of course, we haven't had much snow to speak of this year...either :)