
For example, I have noticed that a gardener might be standing there holding a hose and watering a plant when she sees something pretty out of the corner of her eye, maybe a new bloom. She turns to look to see what it is and the next thing she knows, she has just watered her shoes and her legs and is soaked from the knees down. That's goofy, isn't it?
Or maybe the gardener is startled by something slithering nearby or flying just a little too close while she is standing there watering. She lets out a tiny nearly inaudible yelp while simultaneously dropping the hose. The hose naturally lands with the hose spraying water straight up on to the gardener, soaking her as she valiantly tries to simultaneously grab it and keep track of whatever it was that startled her in the first place. The very act of “valiantly trying to grab the hose sprayer” is usually accompanied by an awkward assortment of goofy movements on the part of the gardener, a special “gardener’s dance”, of sorts.
And what must the neighbors think when they see their gardening neighbor next door running as fast as she can across the yard, waving a hoe above her head in an effort to scare away rabbits. “How goofy,”, they might think, “what does she think she’ll do with that rabbit if she actually catches it?”
No, you may not have the phone number for my neighbors to ask them what they think.
I have also observed gardeners in public, all cleaned up, so to speak, except for that little tell-tale grass stain on the knees of their pants, or maybe a little leaf stuck in their hair. And they have mud on their shoes. Or even more goofy, they have mud on their gardening shoes, which they inadvertently slipped on as they hurried out the door. But they weren’t in such a big rush that they didn’t have time to stop and kneel down and pull that one weed, which explains the grass stained knee. No telling how they got that leaf stuck in their hair.
And though I have used “she” or “they” in these examples, I think men have their goofy moments in the garden, too.
Case in point, have you ever observed a gardener reaching to trim something just out of reach, thinking that if he stretches just another inch or so, he’ll be able to reach it? But instead, he loses his footing and lunges forward directly into the shrub he was trimming, only to bounce right out of it, quickly looking to the left and right while saying to no one in particular, “I meant to do that”. Yes, we are sure you did.
There are other examples of a gardener looking a bit goofy, even foolish. There is the foolish and wild flaying around while trying to shoo away a bug that has long since passed by. And the frantic smacking of arms and legs to knock off a spider that turns out to be just a piece of a dried up leaf.
And what about gardeners who get caught alone in their gardens talking to their plants? Goofy.
We should all admit it. These wild, unexplained movements, looking a bit unkempt at times, and talking to the plants when we think no one is looking do make us look goofy. It can’t be helped. It is all part of being gardeners, no matter how dignified we think we are.
We should just embrace looking goofy, at least in the garden, for a happier life.
Comments
Happy Gardening!
Or am I misremembering that story?
and yes, the garden hose and i have had many a dance.
loved your post! hehe
Mr. McGregor would have been proud to see you chasing a rabbit with hoe. I'm partial to a yardstick or a broom, but have used a shovel for the purpose on occasion.
You didn't really address the goofy clothes we wear, but that's where I really embrace it. Big floppy hat, baggy stained clothes, socks with gardening clogs. Not good looking, for sure, but it's what works.
THANK YOU GIRL !!!! : )
Yes, I think goofiness and gardening go hand in hand.
Ok, so maybe I have been known to prance around the yard in my ratty blue bathrobe trying to get a photo of a butterfly...or hide behind a bush trying to get one of a hummingbird...and I guess my make-up doesn't matter when all that passersby can see is the largest part of my body stuck into the air as I weed the flowerbed next to the road. Ok, I give up--I'll embrace being goofy.
P.S. My kids already think I'm goofy because of my obsession with gardening.
greeting from México!
love,
Tay
I enjoy being goofy and silly, though. It's that inner child still coming out in my old age.